Hundreds of pages, pages, pages forwards

2006-06-16T20:52:00.000+08:00

On July 20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. His first words after stepping on the moon, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," were televised to Earth and heard by millions.

But just before he reentered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark, "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky."

Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs.

Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the "Good luck Mr. Gorsky" statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled.

On July 5, 1995, in Tampa Bay, Florida, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26-year-old question to Armstrong.

This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question.

In 1938 when he was a kid in a small Midwest town, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball, which landed in his neighbor's yard by the bedroom windows.

His neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky. As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky.
"Sex. You want sex? You'll get sex when the kid next door walks on the moon."

2006-04-15T00:47:00.000+08:00

Cold Winter

In October, the Indians asked their Chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or not. Not really knowing the answer, the chief replied that the winter will be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.

Being a good leader, he then went to a phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is this winter to be cold?"

The man on the phone responded, "This winter is indeed going to be very cold."

So the Chief went back to encourage his people to collect even more wood to be prepared. A week later he called the National Weather Service again, and asked again, "Is it going to be a very cold winter?"

"Yes," the man replied, "it's going to be a very cold winter."

The Chief went back to his people and ordered them to go out and bring back every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that this winter is going to be very cold?"

"Absolutely!" the man replies, "the Indians are collecting wood like crazy."

2006-04-03T00:41:00.000+08:00

HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE

Five lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain.
One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him.

Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice-cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the
ice-cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the
ice-cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. The Obstacle In Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When It Counts.
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease.

Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

2006-02-11T00:41:00.000+08:00

A Multiple Choice For Men

Note: All "real men" answer "C" to all of these questions. Knowing this, women will have come far in understanding men and enriching their own lives.

1. Alien beings from a highly advanced society visit the Earth, and you are the first human they encounter. As a token of intergalactic friendship, they present you with a small but incredibly sophisticated device that is capable of curing all diseases, providing an infinite supply of clean energy, wiping out hunger and poverty, and permanently eliminating oppression and violence all over the entire Earth. You decide to:
A. Present it to the President of the United States.
B. Present it to the Secretary General of the United Nations.
C. Take it apart.

2. As you grow older, what lost quality of your youthful life do you miss the most?
A. Innocence.
B. Idealism.
C. Cherry bombs.

3. When is it okay to kiss another male?
A. When you wish to display simple and pure affection without regard for narrow-minded social conventions.
B. When he is the pope. (Not on the lips.)
C. When he is your brother and you are Al Pacino and this is the only really sportsman-like way to let him know that, for business reasons, you have to have him killed.

4. What about hugging another male?
A. If he's your father and at least one of you has a fatal disease.
B. If you're performing the Heimlich maneuver.
C. If you're a professional baseball player and a teammate hits a home run to win the World Series, you may hug him provided that:
(1) He is legally within the base path,
(2) Both of you are wearing sufficient protection, and
(3) You also pound him fraternally with your fist hard enough to cause fractures.

6. In your opinion, the ideal pet is:
A. A cat.
B. A dog.
C. A dog that eats cats.

7. You have been seeing a woman for several years. She's attractive and intelligent, and you always enjoy being with her. One leisurely Sunday afternoon the two of you are taking it easy. You're watching a football game; she's reading the papers. Suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, she tells you that she thinks she really loves you, but she can no longer bear the uncertainty of not knowing where your relationship is going. She says she's not asking whether you want to get married; only whether you believe that you have some kind of future together. What do you say?
A. That you sincerely believe the two of you do have a future, but you don't want to rush it.
B. That although you also have strong feelings for her, you cannot honestly say that you'll be ready anytime soon to make a lasting commitment, and you don't want to hurt her by holding out false hope.
C. That you cannot believe the Jets called a draw play on third and seventeen.

8. Okay, so you have decided that you truly love a woman and you want to spend the rest of your life with her - sharing the joys and the sorrows the world has to offer, come what may. How do you tell her?
A. You take her to a nice restaurant and tell her after dinner.
B. You take her for a walk on a moonlit beach, and you say her name, and when she turns to you, with the sea breeze blowing her hair and the stars in her eyes, you tell her.
C. Tell her what?

9. One weekday morning your wife wakes up feeling ill and asks you to get your three children ready for school. Your first question to her is:
A. "Do they need to eat or anything?"
B. "They're in school already?"
C. "There are three of them?"

10. When is it okay to throw away a set of veteran underwear?
A. When it has turned the color of a dead whale and developed new holes so large that you're not sure which ones were originally intended for your legs.
B. When it is down to eight loosely connected underwear molecules and has to be handled with tweezers.
C. It is never okay to throw away veteran underwear. A real guy checks the garbage regularly in case somebody (and we are not naming names, but this would be his wife) is quietly trying to discard his underwear, which she is frankly jealous of, because the guy seems to have a more intimate relationship with it than with her.

2005-08-13T01:11:00.000+08:00

Next stop: 22 August - Air Force School, ADA Wing.

2005-07-24T01:04:00.000+08:00

A friend of mine posted this in a forum, it was pretty funny so i thought i would share it with whoever bothers to read my blog :)

In response to the woman who accidentally walked into the men's restroom:

Please don't feel bad. It wasn't you entering the men's washroom that caused that guy to pee on the guy next to him. Hell, we do that all the time. It's rare for us guys to ever hit what were aiming for. Sometimes I go into the washroom, start to pee, and then just start spinning around; just so I'll make sure I hit something.

You see, something you ladies should understand by now is that men's penises have a mind of their own. A guy can go into a bathroom stall because all the urinals are being used, take perfect aim at the toilet, and his penis will still manage to piss all over the roll of toilet paper, down his left pant leg, and onto his shoe. I'm telling 'ya those little buggers can't be trusted.

After being married 28 years my wife has me trained. I'm no longer allowed to pee like a man - standing up. I am required to sit down and pee. She has convinced me that this is a small price to pay. Otherwise if she had gone to the toilet one more time at night and either sat on a pee soaked toilet seat, or fell right into the toilet because I forgot to put the seat down, she was going to kill me in my sleep.

Now another thing us guys don't usually like to talk about, but because you and I have become such good friends and you think I'm a classy guy, I might as well be candid with you because it's a real problem, and you ladies need to be understanding. It's the dreaded "morning wood".

Most mornings us guys wake up with two things. A tremendous desire to pee, and a penis so hard you could cut diamonds with it. Well, no matter how hard you try, you can't get that thing to bend, and if it don't bend you can't aim, well hell, if you can't aim you have no choice but to piss all over the wallpaper and that damn fuzzy toilet seat cover you women insist on putting on the toilet.

And by the way, when you use those damn fuzzy toilet seat covers, the friggin' toilet seat won't stay up by itself. So that means we have to use one hand to hold up the toilet seat and the other hand to try to control ourselves for that perfect aim.

Now sometimes, when you're newly married, (and I know the guys in here will back me up on this) you think you can get the toilet seat with that damn fuzzy thing to stay up. You jam it back and compress that fuzzy thing until the seat stays there. OK, so you start to pee, but then that compressed fuzzy starts to decompress and without warning that damn toilet seat comes flying down and tries to whack off your weenie.

So us guys will not lift a toilet seat with a fuzzy, it's just not safe. I tried to delicately explain this morning situation to my wife. I told her . . . look, it won't bend. She said, "sit down like I told you to do all the rest of the time." OK. I tried sitting down on the toilet with "morning wood".

Well it's is very hard to get it bent under the toilet seat, and before I could manage it, I had pissed all over the bath towels hanging on the wall across the room. Now, even if you are sitting down and you can get it forced down under the toilet seat, when you start to pee the pee shoots out from the crack between the bottom of the toilet seat and the top of the bowl. You piss all over the back of your knees and it runs down the back of our legs on to that damn matching fuzzy horseshoe rug you keep putting on the floor in front of the toilet.

I have found the only effective maneuver to deal with this morning urinary dilemma is to assume the flying superman position lying over the toilet seat. This takes a great deal of practice, perfect balance, and split time precision but it's the only sure way to get all the pee in the bowl during the first morning pee.

So you ladies have to understand that us men are not totally to blame. We are sensitive to your concerns about hygiene and bathroom cleanliness, but there are times when things just get beyond our control.

It's not our fault, it's just Mother Nature.

Now, if it was Father Nature..., there wouldn't have been a problem!!!

2005-07-08T22:23:00.000+08:00

Been 3 months since i last blogged, time flies. Just to update those that haven been in contact, i'm now in OCS doing my service term in the Air wing. Lots of things have happened while i was in OCS. It's a long story how i ended up in the air force. I miss my pals in infantry echo wing.. Hope is a motivation that keeps you going.

2005-07-08T22:12:00.000+08:00

A herd of buffalo can move only as fast as the slowest buffalo, and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular culling of the weakest members.

In much the same way the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, we all know, kills off brain cells, but naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first.

In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, constantly making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. So drink more beer!

2005-04-08T01:33:00.000+08:00

Well, i'm off to the army! Bye people and thanks for the messages that you've sent me (you know who you are). Take care!

Kevin

2005-03-04T22:30:00.000+08:00

It's been quite a while since i've last blogged. The last 2 months have given me plenty of time to think about my life and what path do i intend to take in the future. Things still seem very uncertain but i'll take it as they come. No doubt the ride will be bumpy like what one of my buddies, Michael, has said "Why make life miserable when life itself is already a tough journey we have to walk through? It's never a bed of roses so don't expect it to be smooth all the while."

I'd seen life created and death occurring among my friends' lifes and it makes me appreciate the little things in my life that makes me happy, like just being able to hang out with my buddies and chill, enjoying the company of my parents or having my girlfriend by my side. It doesn't have to be something really special to cheer me up; watching my dog sometimes makes me smile.

Soon i'll be enlisting for national service on the 8th of april. Finally.
It has been a long enough wait for me.

Tomorrow morning, 4 of my brothers whom i have known for a good part of my life will set sail on their journey to Malaysia, Brunei and Korea. I wish them the best of luck and return safely from their trip. I'll see you guys. =)

2005-01-13T13:52:00.000+08:00

A friend sent me this email and i found it pretty heart warming. Just wanna share it with you guys..

The Best Kind of Love
Annette Paxman Bowen

I have a friend who is falling in love. She honestly claims the sky is bluer. Mozart moves her to tears. She has lost 15 pounds and looks like a cover girl. "I am young again!" she shouts exuberantly.

As my friend raves on about her new love, I've taken a good look at my old one. My husband of almost 20 years, Scott, has gained 15 pounds.Once a marathon runner, he now runs only down hospital halls. His hairline is receding and his body shows signs of long working hours and too many candy bars. Yet he can still give me a certain look across a restaurant table and I want to ask for the check and head home.

When my friend asked me "What will make this love last?" I ran through all the obvious reasons: commitment, shared interests, unselfishness, physical attraction and communication. Yet there's more. We still have fun. Spontaneous good times. Yesterday, after slipping the rubber band off the rolled newspaper, Scott flipped it playfully at me: this led to an all-out war. Last Saturday at the grocery, we split the list and raced each other to see who could make it to the checkout first. Even washing dishes can be a blast. We enjoy simply being together.

And there are surprises. One time I came home to find a note on the front door that led me to another note, then another, until I reached the walk-in closet. I opened the door to find Scott holding a "pot of gold" (my cooking kettle) and the "treasure" of a gift package.

Sometimes I leave him notes on the mirror and little presents under his pillow. There is understanding. I understand why he must play basketball with the guys. And he understands why, once a year, I must get away from the house, the kids - and even him - to meet my sisters for a few days of nonstop talking and laughing.

There is sharing. Not only do we share household worries and parental burdens - we also share ideas. Scott came home from a convention last month and presented me with a thick historical novel. Though he prefers thrillers and science fiction, he had read the novel on the plane. He touched my heart when he explained it was because he wanted to be able to exchange ideas about the book after I'd read it.

There is forgiveness. When I'm embarrassingly loud and crazy at parties, Scott forgives me. When he confessed losing some of our savings in the stock market, I gave him a hug and said, "It's okay. It's only money."

There is sensitivity. Last week he walked through the door with that look that tells me it's been a tough day. After he spent some time with the kids, I asked him what happened. He told me about a 60-year old woman that had a stroke. He wept as he recalled the woman's husband standing beside her bed,caressing her hand. How was he going to tell this husband of 40 years that his wife would probably never recover? I shed a few tears myself. Because of the medical crisis. Because there were still people who have been married 40 years. Because my husband is still moved and concerned after years of hospital rooms and dying patients.

There is faith. Last Tuesday a friend came over and confessed her fear that her husband is losing his courageous battle with cancer. On Wednesday I went to lunch with a friend who is struggling to reshape her life after divorce. On Thursday a neighbor called to talk about the frightening effects of Alzheimer's disease on her father-in-law's personality. On Friday a childhood friend called long-distance to tell me her father had died. I hung up the phone and thought, This is too much heartache for one week.

Through my tears, as I went out to run some errands, I noticed the boisterous orange blossoms of the gladiolus outside my window. I heard the delighted laughter of my son and his friend as they played. I caught sight of a wedding party emerging from a neighbor's house. The bride, dressed in satin and lace, tossed her bouquet to her cheering friends.

That night, I told my husband about these events. We helped each other acknowledge the cycles of life and that the joys counter the sorrows. It was enough to keep us going.

Finally, there is knowing. I know Scott will throw his laundry just shy of the hamper every night; he'll be late to most appointments and eat the last chocolate in the box. He knows that I sleep with a pillow over my head; I'll lock us.

I guess our love lasts because it is comfortable. No, the sky is not bluer: it's just a familiar hue. We don't feel particularly young: we've experienced too much that has contributed to our growth and wisdom, taking its toll on our bodies, and created our memories. I hope we've got what it takes to make our love last. As a bride, I had Scott's wedding band engraved with Robert Browning's line "Grow old along with me!"

We're following those instructions. "If anything is real, the heart will make it plain."

There are some people who meet that somebody that they can never stop loving, no matter how hard they try. I wouldn't expect you to understand that, or even believe it, but trust me, there are some love that don't go away. And maybe that makes them crazy, but we should all be blessed to end up with that somebody who has a little of that insanity. Somebody who never lets go. Somebody who cherishes you forever.

2004-12-30T01:12:00.000+08:00

In the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit much of Southern Asia and East Africa, we have received numerous offers to help from staff and students. Ngee Ann has decided to approach this as a collective effort to better channel our energies to help victims of the devastation

Several groups of students and an alumnus will be spearheading Ngee Ann's disaster relief effort.

This relief effort will consist of two parts:

1. Donations in kind (30 and 31 December 2004)

We are appealing for donations in-kind only for the following items by Noon on 31 Dec.
(please note that no cash donations will be collected during this drive):

Water purification tablets
Bandages and plasters (eg. Handyplast and Band-aids)
Paracetamol (eg Panadol)
Muesli/Granola Bars
Rice
Instant Noodles
Canned Food
Tents
Blankets
Ground Sheets

Medical items stated in bold above are of greater immediate demand.

The details for the collection are as follows:
Dates:30 and 31 December 2004
Time:10am - 5pm (30/12/04)
9am - Noon (31/12/04)
Collection Point:The Atrium

Students led by the NPSU, the NP Outward Bounders and NP Sports Club will be manning the collection booth. All collections will be packed on the afternoon of the 31st and delivered the next day to the Singapore Sinhala Buddhist Association through Melissa Guna Desa, a 2002 Mass Communication graduate.

2. Cash donations (6 - 10 Jan 2005)

We are also working with the Singapore Red Cross Society (SRCS) to set up a booth along Orchard Road (at the road junction in front of Crown Prince) and at Ngee Ann Polytechnic to collect cash donations.

This is a cash only donation drive. It will take place next week, between 6 and 10 January 2005.

We are currently working out the details with the SRCS, and more information will be released to you in the next couple of days when they are finalised. The NPSU, the NP Outward Bounders and a group of students led by Sherlyn Poh/BME, are leading this. We are also involving the NP Student Council and its constituent academic societies.

On behalf of Ngee Ann, I'd like to thank you in advance for your contributions and your generosity. Let's come out in full force to do our part!

Regards,
Mariam Mohamed Sali
Alumni Relations Officer
Student Development & Alumni Relations Office
Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Kevin - You've seen the news and saw the destruction. Help the victims out, do what you can.

2004-12-28T16:04:00.000+08:00

Due to the long loading time, the Penang Race 2004 pics have been moved to here.

2004-12-27T16:00:00.000+08:00

http://media.ebaumsworld.com/blockme.swf

Enjoy! :)

2004-11-29T01:45:00.000+08:00

4 More days..

Counting down to the Penang trip.. Brings back the memories.. especially the 12 hours bus ride. DOH!

2004-11-22T13:32:00.000+08:00

Singapore River Regatta 2004

National Championship Women 12 crew Plate Final

1st National University of Singapore Team B Time: 1.56.75
2nd Canada Team Santa FE Time: 1.58.90
3rd Ngee Ann Polytechnic Team A Time: 2.00.06

National Championship Men 24 crew Plate Final

1st National Junior College Time: 1.27.50
2nd Singapore Civil Defence Force Team A Time: 1.27.68
3rd Ngee Ann Polytechnic Team B Time: 1.27.75

Thanks for the memories, whether good or bad, i will look upon them. Never forget what happened on Saturday, and you'll never forget the bitter taste of defeat. Our Men's team is very good, believe me. I was almost sure that we'll win Men's IVP, till misfortune struck us in the worst possible way. I'm sad that some of you didn't have the last chance to win a medal at the regatta, but that's life. Nonetheless, NPDB will churn out the next generation of rowers. Its future is bright, keep the fire burning; The Legend Continues...

2004-11-19T11:45:00.000+08:00

Life's like that

It's been 4 days and my feet is still hurting but not as much though. So is my right arm which has been smarting since i got that tetanus shot. I have no doubts that i can row but whether to the best of my ability, that i don't know. But Dragonboating is such a mental sport, i'm confident i can overcome the pain barrier.

Just pray that i wouldn't slip on the stairs during loading. lol

2004-11-17T02:40:00.000+08:00

Time to clear the Cobwebs

It's been quite a while since i've last blogged. Have been really really busy with training for the regatta and being involved with work in a new company. It's an events and artiste management company and the amount of work to do is overbearing. There's a company website - www.m5concept.com but it's still not ready yet for the big day so dun expect much.

Went to Devil's Bar on Oct 16th(it's like so long ago) with ryan and kevin loh and watched Man utd drew with Brimingham. Man that's like one of the most boring matches so far this year.

Die-hard Man Utd fans

Mr. Ryan Lim

Visited the guys in OCS the next day and boy do they look smart in their smart 4's and white stripes. It was family visiting day and while we were at the canteen, i can't help but smile as i noticed most of the mums and dads bought fast food (majority KFC) for their sons. Nothing weird but just a general observation. Even had to help lek finish his chicken. Heh free food~

Ryan trying too hard to open his eyes..

Short, tall, short, tall, short, tall, short... it's okay if you dun get it ;)

Taken at the top of SAFTI Tower, marvelous view.

Can't recall what i did then from mid october to early november but i guess a big chunk of it consisted of training sessions and meetings and more meetings. Went to double O on hallowen night with the officer cadets and bing and just chilled on the dancefloor with the guys. Saw this guy trying to get fresh with a gal and she just flipped out and confronted him. In the end, the bouncer had to seperate them. Should have just kicked the guy out, the loser despo. The ambience was okay but can't really dance to the music. Guess i just prefer phuture. =D

On the eve of Deepavali, i went down to Zouk and man.. i think the crowd could have easily reached 2k. Hundreds of people were turned away and heard that over at MS, Dbl O was jam packed too. Having lost our enthu-ness, we split into 2 groups. We went over to Geylang's You Tiao Da Wang (loosely translated - King of Dough Fritters) while the other group had a session of karaoke at Katong's KBox. After the late night supper, we went over to One Fullerton and proceeded on to Boat quay. Entered this bar/pub called Hoegarden i think.. Had a pint of hoegarden while watching some americans smash concrete blocks in a martial arts competition on cable tv. Once the show ended, we went outside and chilled beside Singapore River. Chatted till 3+ and we went home. Training on the following morning was a bitch, i almost fell asleep in the boat..

Today i caught the movie "Taxi" starring Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon. The storyline was pretty weak but it has its funny moments throughout the movie. Queen Latifah was the highlight of the show for me with her comic talent. Run time was about 1hr and 45min. "Taxi" gets 3/5. And there are so many shows coming up i wanna catch, like "The Incredibles" and "Alexander".

That's about it, i'm outta of brain memory and stopping here. If you're free this coming weekend (20th and 21st), might wanna come down to UOB Plaza to watch the Singapore River Regatta 2004 around 1pm-5pm. Heats on Sat and Finals on Sun.

2004-10-11T01:07:00.000+08:00

Men's Rules:

1) The floor is considered an acceptable clothing storage location.

2) Never ask me to purchase feminine products. Assume that I will come home with the wrong thing.

3) When watching TV hugging is always fine because I can still see the screen. Kissing should only be done during timeouts and commercials. Questions should also be limited to this period as you stand a much better chance of getting an immediate response.

4) When we are watching your show and I change the channels during a commercial, do not hassle me that the commercials have probably finished, and to change the channel back. I always know when the timing is right. Also, when we are channel surfing do not ask me to go back, there was a good reason why I skipped it.

5) If you need help with the laundry, I am more than willing to carry it from the bedroom to the washer. In my mind this is half the chore and I am now free to return to the couch.

6) If I mention that a male friend of mine is allowed to do something it is not necessary for you to call his wife/ girlfriend to discuss it.

7) If you don't like the way I am driving close your eyes. And I would appreciate it if you would refrain from making that reverse inhaling alarmed noise. I haven't hit anything yet and if I do it will be your fault.

8) I go clothes shopping to buy, never to look.

9) Just tell me what you want me to wear before I get dressed. And remember that this takes me less than ten minutes no matter what the occasion is. After all I am getting dressed, not getting ready.

10) Don't ask me if I prefer one outfit over another or if a certain accessory should be worn or not. I consider this a no-win situation and would rather just wait for you to get dressed while watching TV.

11) If you want me to put the seat down when I am finished then you should leave the seat up when you are finished. It's only fair. And stop giving me a hard time about missing the bowl.

12) I will cook anything as long as it is on the BBQ.

13) Yelling to me across the house sounds exactly like stadium crowd background noise to me. I am not ignoring you.

14) When I am on the phone to my pals, I usually talk about important stuff, and I'm finished talking quickly. I don't phone someone and talk for hours about stuff I could've said when I saw them in person earlier.

15) "Housework" is not a word I like, and actually doing any of it, I like even less. So this is a non starter, don't even think of suggesting this to me.

2004-10-09T01:08:00.000+08:00

Bu, Chu and Fu emigrated to America from China.
After a while of living in America they decided to americanize their names.

Bu changed his name to Buck.
Chu changed his name to Chuck.
Fu had to go back to China.

2004-10-06T22:43:00.000+08:00

Watched White Chicks today with xue at cineleisure. It was a hilarious show. The 2 actors were really funny while disguising as the white chicks, the moments getting hit on by men, squeezing into tiny clothes. The only downside is that it lasts for only 1 and a half hour i think. I would recommend a 'must watch' for White chicks.

2004-10-04T23:02:00.000+08:00

They're all gone now...

2004-09-27T01:08:00.000+08:00

Came across this website

Find it pretty cool and a good time waster. Enjoy :)

2004-09-25T01:49:00.000+08:00

Met up with Bryan, Xueli and the 3 Mohawk Warriors, Mic, Lek and Guanhong. They have just had their PoP(passing out parade) the day before and will be free for the coming week. Congrats bros..

We went to cineleisure to catch a movie. I was hoping to see dodgeball but lek had already seen it so we decided on Saved!. I didn't even know of this movie's existence till today and i realised why after watching it. Though it starred Mandy moore, a lousy movie can't be saved by a hot babe! Rating for Saved!: 1 out of 5. 'nuff said.

We had lunch at the cafe cartel located at the newly renovated b1 of cineleisure. They have this new offer at the outlet: Lousy service, bad cooking. What a great combo. The place wasn't even half-filled and Bryan waited like 30 minutes for his pizza. Not a word of apology from the waiter. The free bread tasted better than the lasagna and pizza. Raing for Cafe cartel@cineleisure: 1 out of 5. 'nuff said.

Posted the photos taken at the dinner at fish&co on 20th sept. Tried to brighten the pictures, this is the best i could do. Click on them to enlarge. yeah thanks Dawn.

Guys 1

Guys 2

Group pic 1

Group pic 2

Me and Bryan

2004-09-22T22:10:00.000+08:00

I feel like i caused my dog's death..

I'll miss you Boyboy

2004-09-21T01:30:00.000+08:00

A dinner was organized last night(Sep 20th) at the Fish & co, glasshouse, sort of like a last gathering for those dragon boaters before they enlist on Sep 29th or Oct 1st. There were 11 of us, Sharon, cynthia, dawn, xueli, yixian, ono, Tj, vic, kevin loh, bryan and I. It felt good seeing all those familiar faces again.

We were supposed to meet at 630pm. My lessons ended at 4 so i met bryan before that at Orchard. From Orchard MRT, we walked along the underground passage through Wisma Atria heading towards taka. Just infront of the Isetan entrance, we saw this visually handicapped person walking alone, and he seemed very lost. Everybody else just walked by, some looked at him but didn't offer any help. So we did and asked where he was headed.

He said he wanted to buy some mooncakes so i agreed to take him to taka to get it. Then he asked if i could pay for him, saying he doesn't have any money. Of course i was abit apprehensive but in the end i agreed, as he said he wants one only. On the way, we strike up a conversation and he was complaining about how bo chap singaporeans are. How no one wanted to help him.

We reached taka and went on to level b2 where there were rows of stalls selling anything associated with the mooncake festival. We walked to a stall and the sales women wanted him to try a sample and he did after we finally got him to understand that it was only for sampling and not the mooncake for sale. He liked the taste so we bought one ($8!).

Immediately, he asked if i could buy him another one and then i started getting uncertain. In my defence, i'm just a student who isn't working. Eight bucks can last me a whole day. Now there's this needy person who tells me he doesn't have money and asking whther i can buy him an item which is not a neccessity. If it's food like rice or biscuit, most probably i will agree. I admit i really had my reservations about him asking me to buy him mooncakes.

At this point, one of the aunties selling mooncakes pulled bryan aside and whispered to him. I didn't what they were discussing but i had already made up my mind. I had to refused to buy him another mooncake even though i felt bad. I asked him where does he want to go next but he said he'd just stay around the place. So me and bryan left and i asked him what did the auntie said to him. He recounted the auntie saying that the man may be a con artist as she had seen him in toa payoh asking people for money.

She could be wrong about him being a con artist though.. He really seems blind. When he whined about Singaporeans being unhelpful, is he part of the reason why they don't want to help, with his 'strong arm' tactics? Then again, why can't a handicapped person have a little luxury of enjoying mooncakes, when we spend hundreds on the latest shoes or watches? Thinking about it, i feel quite selfish and guilty. Maybe i should have bought him the 2nd mooncake.

2004-09-17T19:09:00.000+08:00

Okay i have a situation here.

I've been planning to buy a pair of adidas shoes, The Adidas Tuscany, which is like ubercool; the epitome of coolness in sportswear. Well I quite like them in brown/gold colour or black/cream. Surfing through a website, i found them in white/black which i haven't seen in shops here yet (anyone wanna go queensway shopping centre?).

So here are the 3 studs in all their glory. Just make a post or a comment and share your views, good or bad, i wanna hear them. Thanks peeps

2004-09-14T00:03:00.000+08:00

Me fighting the urge to just lie there and sleep.. we left close to midnight

2004-09-14T00:01:00.000+08:00

Bryan and i.. he's the maaaan

2004-09-13T23:59:00.000+08:00

If you have it, flaunt it!

2004-09-13T23:58:00.000+08:00

Hip-Hop dance part 2!

2004-09-13T23:57:00.000+08:00

Tj and i trying the newest hip-hop moves in town..

2004-09-13T23:55:00.000+08:00

Ono, on the extreme right, falling asleep while posing.

2004-09-13T23:52:00.000+08:00

From Left - TJ, Victor, Ben and Bryan. The guys were standing in ascending length of their manhood in case you were wondering. Of course i was the last one so i had to take the pic

2004-09-13T23:49:00.000+08:00

Buddies, Bryan and TJ

2004-09-13T23:48:00.000+08:00

TJ was so overwhelmed that he cried..i love that sissy

2004-09-13T23:47:00.000+08:00

Attack of the boobs!!

2004-09-13T23:46:00.000+08:00

Sharon (Girl on left) oblivious to the plan Bryan and i were coming up.. TJ on the extreme left is drooling about the food

2004-09-13T23:43:00.000+08:00

We love our Cotton Candy...

2004-09-13T23:42:00.000+08:00

The guys entertaining themselves before dinner.

2004-09-13T23:37:00.000+08:00

The guys fighting for the cotton candy, which is free..... =D

2004-09-13T23:34:00.000+08:00

The principal of NP, Mr Chia. Notice Cynthia on his right resting her chin on him :P

2004-09-13T23:32:00.000+08:00

Getting ready for the occasion! The Fusion Dinner, 2004.

2004-09-10T20:02:00.000+08:00

Day of Escape

These are the pictures taken when xue and i went to the Escape theme park on wednesday. It was pretty crap in the early afternoon when the queues were long and those little brats from kindergarten kept cutting the queue. The kids were all left on their own and i discovered the teachers, 2 of them, hiding in the shade. So much for being responsible and teaching kids the correct manners.

The queue for the Daytona go-kart was excruciatingly long.. there's so many new regulations now. Like at the start, the cars have to move off 1-by-1 instead of altogether.. blah blah.. waited for at least 30min for a 5 min ride.

Thankfully, the crowd started thinning in the evening and we played the go-kart for like a consecutive 6-7 times. Haha even the guys working there knew me. And there's this new ride, forgot the name, but it wasn't too bad, enjoyable in fact. For the third time in as many visits, the cadbury inverter is not open and i still have yet to try it. Has anyone tried it and is it fun?

Click the pics to enlarge them.

2004-09-10T20:01:00.000+08:00

Having a break from the brats

2004-09-10T20:00:00.000+08:00

Xue trying to poke the soft toy in the eye

2004-09-10T19:53:00.000+08:00

Me and Xue at the Games Tent

2004-09-10T19:29:00.000+08:00

Outside my house right now, are thousands of swallows flying about, and you can hear them, like the sound of little mice. My dad said they migrated from the north to escape the colder weather, how far north i dunno. But the view just looks great with all of them in the sky, almost like the scene in 'The Day After Tomorrow' where there's a shot with numerous birds flying over the city skyline. They're settling into the trees now and have quieten down. They better don't shit on my head!

2004-09-03T22:59:00.000+08:00

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the coffee...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.

He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your God, your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal." Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

2004-08-28T22:32:00.000+08:00

Can you find the answer to the riddle? I'll give you a clue.. the answer is pretty lame =)

A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the
boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper, then you
have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50."

The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no
matter what the worker writes, he'll just say he weighs more or less.

In the end the boy ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win
the bet?

2004-08-21T01:01:00.000+08:00

10th of May was the first day. Slightly over 100 days later, my attachment has ended.

I wouldn't miss the journey to work every morning, nor the inhuman waking hours in order to make the 1 and a half hours transit. What i'll miss will be the human touch, especially Yuanhao, my attachment partner, and Kris, my colleague or rather they should be called friends. With them around, the place seems more livelier.

Orignally, i had wondered on the first day of work just how was i going to survive through the arduous period. The staff that first greeted us were all female and much, much older than Yuanhao and me. The lab of more than 6 staff contains only 1 desktop, and our boss was nowhere to be found. He was in europe togther with our officer-in-charge for a conference. So that means 1 whole week of going-to-work-at-9-and-slack-the-whole-day-till-6.. wow. 7 days down, 96 more to go.

Thankfully, after they came back from the trip, everything started looking up.

Shirley, our officer-in-charge, was a very nice lady who assigned real work to us (YES!) and patiently explained everything to us. Shortly after their trip, Kris joined us. He was from the same batch but had already graduated and is now hired back as a temp staff. The three of us had lots of laugh together, from playing billiard to getting free food and to blowing lab gloves up and exploding them. ;) And the staff member who treated us as free labour did not had her contract renewed after it finished, so we both weren't really bothered when she left. Glad even.

On our 2nd last day, Shirley organized a farewell dinner for us at our boss' house, which was really nice of her. The most senior staff member, Dorothy even brought us breakfast on our last day. What made it even more cool was that she was once my self-declared arch enemy. =) Old memories are kept, new challenges await.

Farewell Oncology Laboratory - Dept. of Paediatrics, NUS.

2004-08-20T23:02:00.000+08:00

Three mice are sitting at a bar in a pretty rough neighborhood late at
night, trying to impress each other about how tough they are.

The first mouse throws down a shot of bourbon, slams the empty glass
onto the bar, turns to the second mouse and says, "When I see a
mousetrap, I lie on my back and set it off with my foot. When the bar
comes down, I catch it in my teeth, bench press it 20 times to work up
an appetite, and then make off with the cheese."

The second mouse orders up two shots of tequila, drinks them down one
after the other, slams both glasses onto the bar, turns to the first
mouse and replies, "Oh yeah? When I see rat poison, I collect as much
as I can, take it home, grind it up to a powder, and add it to my
coffee each morning so I can get a good buzz going for the rest of the
day."

The first mouse and the second mouse then turn to the third mouse.

The third mouse finishes the beer he has in front of him, lets out a
long sigh and says to the first two, "I don't have time for this
stuff. Gotta go home and have sex with the cat."

2004-08-16T01:56:00.000+08:00

I know it's long but spare just 5 to 10 mintues of your time to read this.. - Kevin

A fatal misunderstanding and the person who love me the most in this world is gone forever.

[This is a true story, taken from "Family" (dictated by LD, edited by LSX, translated by SaFe).]

Cruel misunderstandings one after another disrupted the blissful footsteps to our family. Our original intend of having Mother enjoy some quiet and peaceful moments in her remaining years with us went terribly wrong as destiny's secret is finally revealed at a price, everything became too late.

Just two years after our marriage, hubby brought up the idea of asking Mother to move from the rural hometown and spend her remaining years with us. Hubby's father passed away while he was still very young. Mother endured much hardship and struggled all on her own to provide for him, see him through to a university degree. You could say that she suffered a great deal and did everything you could expect of a woman to bring hubby to where he is today.

I immediately agreed and started packing the spare room, which has a balcony facing the South to let her enjoy the sunshine and plant some greenery. Hubby stood in the bright room, and suddenly just picked me up and started spinning round and round. As I begged him toput me down, he said: "Lets go fetch mother." Hubby is tall and big sized and I love torest on his chest and enjoy the feeling that he could pick me up at any moment put the tiny me into his pockets. Whenever we have an argument and both refuses to back down, he would pick me up and spin me over his head continuously until I surrender and beg for mercy. I becameaddicted to this kind of panic-joy feeling.

Mother brought along her country-side habits and lifestyle with her. For example; I am so used to buying flowers to decorate the living room, she could not stand it and would comment: "I do not know how you young people spend your money, why do you buy flowers for? You alsocan't eat the flowers!" I smiled and said: "Mum, with flowers in the house, our mood will also become better." Mother continues to grumble away, and hubby smiled: "Mum, this is a city-people's habit; slowly you will get use to it."

Mother stopped saying anything. But every time thereafter, whenever I came home with flowers, she would ask me how much it costs. I told her and she would shake her head and express displeasure. Sometimes, when I come home with lots of shopping bags, she would ask each and every item how much they cost, I would tell her honestly and she would get evenmore upset about it. Hubby playfully pinched my nose and said: "You little! fool, just don't tell her the full price of everything would solve it." There begins the friction to our otherwise happy lifestyle.

Mother hates it most when hubby wakes up early to prepare the breakfast. In your view, how could the man of the house cook for the wife? At the breakfast table, mother's facial expression is always like the dark clouds before a thunderstorm and I would pretend not to notice. She would use her chopsticks and make a lot of noise with it as her silent protest. As I am a dance teacher in the Children's Palace and is exhausted from a long day of dancing around, I do not wish to give up the luxury of that additional few minutes in the comfort of my bed and hence I turned a deaf ear to all the protest mother makes.

From time to time, mother would help out with some housework, but soon her help created additional work for me. For example: she would keep all kinds of plastic bags accumulating them so that she sell them later on, and that resulted in our house being filled with all the trash bags; she would scrimp on dish washing detergent when helping to wash the dishes and so as not to hurt her feelings, I would quietly wash they again. One day, late at night, mother saw me quietly washing the dishes, and "Bam" she slams her bedroom door and cried very loudly in her room.Hubby was placed in a difficult position, and after that, he did not speak to me for that entire night. I pretended to be a spoilt child, tried acting cute, but he totally ignored me. I got mad and asked him: "What did I do wrong?" Hubby stared at me and said: "Can't you just give in to her once? we couldn't possibly die eating from a bowl however unclean it is, right?"

After that incident, for a long period of time, mother did not speak to me and you can feel that there is a very awkward feeling hanging in the house. During that period of cold war, hubby was caught in dilemma as to who to please.

In order to stop her son from having to prepare breakfast, mother took on the "all important" task of preparing breakfast without any prompting. At the breakfast table, mother would look at hubby happily eating his breakfast and cast that reprimanding stare at me for having failed to perform my duty as a wife. To avoid the embarrassing breakfast situation, I resorted to buying my own breakfast on my way to work. That night, while in bed, hubby was a little upset and asked me: "LD, is it because you think that mum's cooking is not clean that's why you chose not to eat at home?" He then turned his back on me and left me alone in tears as feeling of unfairness overwhelmed me. After some time, hubby sighed: "LD, just for me, can you have breakfast at home?" I am left with no choice but to return to the breakfast table.

The next morning, I was having porridge prepared by mother and I felt a sudden churn in my stomach and everything inside seem to be rushing up my throat. I trie! d to suppress the urge to throw up but I couldn't. I threw down the bowl and rushed into the washroom and vomitedeverything out.

Just as I was catching my breath, I saw mother crying and grumbling veryloudly in her dialect, hubby was standing at the washroom doorway staring at me with fire burning in his eyes. I opened my mouth but no words came out of it, I really didn't mean it.

We had our very first big fight that day; mother took a look at us, then stood up and slowly made her way out of the house. Hubbygave me a final stare in the eye and followed mother down the stairs.

For three days, hubby did not return home, not even a phone call. I was so furious, since mother arrived; I had been trying my best and putting up with her, what else do you want me to do? For no reason, I keep having the feeling to throw up and I simply have not appetite for food, coupled with all the events happening at home, I was at the low point in my life.

Finally, a colleague said: "LD, you look terrible, you should go and see a doctor."

The doctor confirmed that I am pregnant. Now it became clear to me why I threw up that fateful morning, a sense of sadness floated through that otherwise happy news. Why didn't hubby, and mother who had been through this before, thought of the possibility of this being the reason that day? At the hospital entrance, I saw my hubby standing there. It had only been three days, but he looked haggard. I had wanted to turn and leave, but one look at him and my heart soften, I couldn't resist and called out to him.

He followed my voice and finally found me but he pretended that he doesn't know me; he has that disgusted look in his eyes that cut right through my heart.

I told myself not to look at him anymore, and hail a cab. At that moment, I have such a strong urge inside me to shout to my hubby: "Darling, I am having your baby!" and have him lift me up and spin me round in circles of joy. Wh! at I wanted didn't happen and as I sat in the cab, my tears started rolling down. Why? Why our love couldn't even withstand the test of one fight? Back home, I lay on the bed thinking about my hubby, and the disgusted look in his eyes. I cried and wet the corner of the blanket.

That night, sound of the drawers opening woke me up. I switched on the lights and I saw hubby with tears rolling down his face. He was removing the money. I stared at him in silence; he ignored me, took the bank deposit book and some money and left the house. Maybe he really intends to leave me for good. What a rational man, so clear cut in love and money matters. I gave a few dried laugh and tears starting streaming down again.

The next day, I did not go to work. I wanted to clear this out and have a good talk with hubby. I reached his office and his secretary gave me a weird look and said: "Mr Tan's mother had a traffic accident and is now in the hospital." I stood there in shock. I rushed to the hospital and by the time I found hubby, mother had already passed away. Hubby did not look at me, his face was expressionless.

I looked at mother's pale white and thin face and I couldn't control the tears in my eyes. My god, how could this happen? Throughout the furneral, hubby did say a single word to me, with only the occasional disgusted stare at me. I only managed to find out brief facts about the accident from other people. That day, after mother left the house, she walked in dazed toward the bus stop, apparently intending to go back to her old house back in the country-side. As hubby ran after her, she tried to walk faster and as she tried to cross the street, a public buscame and hit her...

I finally understood how much hubby must hate me, if I had not thrown up that morning, if we had not quarreled, if...

In his heart, I am indirectly the killer of his mother.

Hubby moved into mother's room and came home every night with a strong liquor smell on him. And me, I am buried under the guilt and self pity and could hardly breathe. I wanted to explain to him, tell him that we are going to have our baby soon, but each time, I saw the dead look in his eyes, all the words I have at the brink of my mouth just fell back in. I had rather he hit me real hard or give me a big and thorough scolding though none of these events happening had been my fault at all.

Many days of suffocating silence went by and as the days went by, hubby came home later and later. The deadlock between us continues, we were living together like strangers who don't know each other. I am like the dead knot in his heart.

One day, I passed by a western restaurant, looking into the glass window, I saw hubby and a girl sitting facing each other and he very lightly brushed her hair for her, I understood what it meant. After recovering from that moment of shock, I entered the restaurant, stood in front of my hubby and stared hard at him, not a tear in my eyes. I have nothing to say to him, and there is no need to say anything.

The girl looked at me, looks at hubby, stands up and wanted to go, hubby stretched out his hand and stopped her. He stared back at me, challenging me. I can only hear my slow heart beat, beating, one by one as if at the brink of death. I eventually backed down, if I had stood that any longer, I will collapse together with the baby inside me.

That night, he did not come home, he had chosen to use that as a way to indicate to me: Following mother's death, so did our love for each other. He did not come home anymore after that. Sometimes, when I returned home from work, I can tell that the cupboard had been touched - he had returned to take some of his stuff.

I no longer wish to call him; the initial desire to explain everything to him vanished. I lived alone; I go for my me! dical checkups alone, my heart breaks again and again every time I see a guy carefully helping his wife through the physical examination. My office colleagues hinted to me to consider aborting the baby, I told them No, I will not. I insisted on having to this baby, perhaps it is my way of repaying mother for causing her death.

One day, I came home and I saw hubby sitting in the living room. The whole house was filled with cigarette smoke. On the coffee table, there was this piece of paper. I know what it is all about without even looking at it.

In the two months plus of living alone, I have gradually learned to find peace within myself. I looked at him, removed my hat and said: "You wait a while, I will sign." He looked at me, mixed feelings in his eyes, just like mine. As I hang up my coat, I keep repeating to myself "You cannot cry, you cannot cry..." my eyes hurt terribly, but I refused to let tears come out from there. After I hung up my coat, hubby's eyes stared fixed at my bulging tummy. I smiled, walked over to the coffee table and pull e paper towards me. Without even looking at what it says, I signed my name on it and pushed the paper to him.

"LD, you are pregnant?"

Since mother's accident, this is the first time he spoke to me. I could not control my tears any further and they fell like raindrops. I said: "Yes, but its ok, you can leave now." He did not go, in the dark, we sat, facing each other.

Hubby slowly moved over me, his tears wet the blanket. In my heart, everything seem so far away, so far that even if I sprint, I could never reach them.

I cannot remember how many times he repeated "sorry" to me, I had originally thought that I would forgive him, but now I can't. In the western restaurant, in front of that girl, that cold coldlook in his eyes, I will never forget, ever. We have drawn such deep deep scares in each other's heart. For me, its unintentional; for him, totally intentional. I had been waiting for this moment ofreconciliation, but I realized now, what had gone past is gone forever and could not repeated!

Other than the thought of the baby inside me that would bring some warmth to my heart, I am totally cold towards him, I no longer eat anything he buys for me, I don't take any presents from him and I stopped talking to him. From the moment I signed on that piece of paper, marriage and love had vanished from my heart.

Sometimes, hubby will try to come into the bedroom, but when he walks in, I will walk out to the living room. He had no choice but to sleep in mother's room. At night, from his room, I can hear light sounds of groaning, I kept quiet. This used to be his trick; last time, whenever I ignore him, he would fake illness and I will surrender and find out what is wrong with him, he would then grab me and laugh. He have forgotten that last time, I cared for him and am concerned because there is love, but now, what is there between us?

Hubby's groaning came on and off continuing all the way till baby was born. Almost everyday, he would buy something for the baby,infant products, children products and books that kids like toread. Bags and bags of it stacked inside his room till it is full. I know he is trying to use this to reach out to me, but I am no longer moved by his actions. He has no choice but to lock himself in his room and I can hear his typing away on his computer keyboard, maybe he is now addicted to web surfing, but none of that matters to me anymore.

It was sometime towards the end of spring in the following year, one late night, I screamed because of a sudden stomach pain, hubby came rushing into the room, its like he did not change and sleep, and had been waiting for this moment. He carried me and ran down the stairs, stopped a car, holding my hand very tightly and kept wiping the sweat off my brow, throughout the journey to the hospital. Once we reached the hospital, he carried me and hurried into the delivery suite. Lying on the back of his skinny but warmth body, a thought crossed my mind: In my lifetime, who else would love me as much as he did?

He held the delivery suite door opened and watch me go in, his warm eyes caused me to managed a smile at him despite my contraction pain.

Coming out of the delivery room, hubby looked at me and our son, his eyes tear with joy and he kept smiling. I reached out and touched his hand.

Hubby looked at me, smiling and then he slowly collapsed onto the floor. I cried out for him in pain... He smiled, but without opening that tired eyes of his... I had thought that I would never shed any tear for him, but the truth is, I have never felt a deeper pain cutting through my body at that moment.

Doctor said that by the time hubby discovered he had liver cancer, it was already in terminal stage and it was a miracle that he managed to last this long. I asked the doctor when did he first discover he had cancer?

Doctor said about 5 months ago and consoled me saying: "Prepare for his funeral." I disregarded the nurse's objection and rushed home, I went into his room and checked his computer, and a suffocating pain hits me.

Hubby's cancer was discovered 5 months ago, his groaning was real, and I had thought that... the computer showed over 200 thousand words he wrote for our son: "Son, just for you, I have persisted, to be able to take a look at you before I fall, is my biggest wish now... I know that in your life, you will have many happiness and maybe some setbacks, if only I can accompany you throughout that journey, how nice would it be. But daddy now no long has that chance. Daddy has written inside here all the possible difficulties and problems you may encounter during your lifetime, when you meet with these problems, you can refer to daddy's suggestion... Son, after writing these 200 thousand words, I feel as if I have accompanied you through your life journey. To be honest, daddy is very happy. Do love your mother, she has suffered, she is the one who loves you most and also the one who loves me most..."

From play school to primary school, to secondary, university, to work and even in dealing with questions of love, everything big and small was written there.

Hubby has also written a letter for me:

"My dear, to marry you is my biggest happiness, forgive me for the pain I have caused you, forgive me for not telling you my illness, because I want to see you be in a joyful mood waiting for the arrival of our baby... My dear, if you cried, it means that you have forgiven me andI would smile, thank you for loving me... These presents, I'm afraid I cannot give them to our son personally, could you help me to give some of them to him every year, the dates on what to give when are all written on the packaging..."

Going back to the hospital, hubby is still in coma. I brought our son over and place him beside him. I said: "Open your eyes and smile, I want our son to remember being in the warmth of your arms..."

He struggled to open his eyes and managed a weak smile. Our son still in his arms was happily waving his tiny hands in the air. I press the button on the camera and the sound of the shutter rang thought the air as tears slowly rolled down my face...

The end...

2004-08-13T00:33:00.000+08:00

Target Achieved

Finally, NAPFA is over, and i'm happy. Didn't get full score but i'm not complaining, i didn't really train for it. =p NAPFA Score Awarded: Gold. Points: 29.
Really pleased with the 2.4km run. I was expecting a 10min++ timing but felt damn good throughout the run. A note of thanks to Kevin Low for pacing me for the last two rounds. Another burden taken off my chest.

Attended training with Bryan.. Did some gym but felt pretty shagged out. Bryan looked tire out too. lol Went to check out guy's pool rowing afterwards and boy.. the fucker made me so pissed. The attitudes of some of the freshies are really.. if i was the president, they either change their attitude or get out of the team.

The freshie couldn't keep up with the pace of the stroke rate (he's not small-sized) and i told him. I repeated it again but apparently, he doesn't understand english or is just a muthafucker who needs a paddle shoved up his ass. There was no real effort to even keep up with the pace. So i treated him like a kid and shouted at him but then i guess he's just plain deaf. Cue for bryan to take over. On the next set, bryan shouted so loud that everybody knows it's that freshie who's cocking up. Guess that hurt his ego.

Now i'm just waiting for saturday to arrive so i can cox the freshie's boat. I'll aim that muthafucker if he shows me anymore attitude on the day.

2004-08-09T14:33:00.000+08:00

What a day.. Was slacking at home when i heard this screeching of tyres followed by a bump and den more screeching and finally the sound of metal crashing against metal.

Yep. A car accident. Right in a carpark. Lovely.

After more slacking, went down to maju mall at serangoon gardens to catch the Charity Sheild match with the gang and coach. It was more for the company rather than for the soccer. The action on tv was pretty entertaining but the food looked more enticing. Haven't seen coach laugh or smile so much for some time.

After soccer, the gang went down to bing's house for some land swimming activity. The mind was willing but the flesh was weak. The NSFs were almost KO-ed by 3am. Mic gave up his seat to Ray who provided some much needed laughter from his lameness. Lek was peeing after every round. Gh looks stoned. Hur.. Ono looked like a lost soul wandering around.

It was a fun night overall. Oh yeah.. Happy 39th Birthday Singapore. Hitting the big 40 soon.

Menopause.

2004-08-08T20:06:00.000+08:00

Took me half an afternoon just to customize the picture and title.. man..
The column and tagboard shall have to wait.
It's time for Man Utd Vs Arsenal! Charity Shield!

2004-07-30T22:50:00.000+08:00

Life's pretty stagnant.. pointless.

Mood: Sick of my life

2004-07-26T23:47:00.000+08:00

Yet another joins the fray..

And then there was two.

2004-07-23T23:27:00.000+08:00

Have i changed? Sarcasm seems to be my favourite mood

2004-07-21T01:46:00.000+08:00

We Were Meant To Live For So Much More.

In less than 36 hours, some of my best buddies are gonna enlist into the army. A number of them, i've known since secondary 1. Small little geeks we were then.. turning to men, serving the nation. The days spent with no worries, afternoons on the basketball court playing soccer or in the new courtyard. One of them, Michael, has similar taste as me. Both our 1st girlfriend was the same girl! Well, both of us has learnt our mistake. ;)

3 years ago, i'd never had envision the feelings i will get to see them go. Sure, i can still see them on weekends, but it just ain't the same anymore. No more mahjong sessions and electrical therapy at bing's house; no more late night suppers at chong pang nasi lemak; no more soccer with these guys. The sense of feeling knowing that you can call them out anytime (well, almost).
New buddies are gonna be made in the army, time are gonna be spent with them too.

Tomorrow, on the 22nd of July, Hendry, Michael, Ah Lek and Guanhong are gonna be enlisted, followed by Ben on the 27th.
This is the transition from an adolescent to a man. A phase in every Singaporean guy. I hope we wouldn't grow too distant. My buddies.. Tok Cock, sing song, play mahjong, anytime, anywhere.

Take care in there.. SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBYE!

Switchfoot - Meant To Live

Fumbling his confidence
And wondering why the world has passed him by
Hoping that he's bid for more than arguments
And failed attempts to fly, fly

[Chorus]
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

Dreaming about Providence
And whether mice or men have second tries
Maybe we've been livin with our eyes half open
Maybe we're bent and broken, broken

[Chorus]

We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life, yeah

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live
We were meant to live

2004-07-18T20:27:00.000+08:00

Zen Sarcasm

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me,for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty muchleave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and aleaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal yourneighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Sex is like air. It's not important unless you aren't getting any.

5. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't bepromoted.

6. No one is listening until you fart.

7. Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.

8. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

9. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple ofcar payments.

10. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in theirshoes. That way, when you criticize them you're a mile away and youhave their shoes.

11. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

12. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how tofish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

13. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it wasprobably worth it.

14. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

15. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

16. Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

17. Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comesfrom bad judgment.

18. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half andput it back in your pocket.

19. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

20. Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side and a dark side,and it holds the universe together.

21. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

22. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips aremoving.

23. Experience is something you don't get until just after you needit.

24. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

25. We are born naked, wet and hungry, and get slapped on ourass...Then things get worse.

26. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and alaxative on the same night.

27. There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

28. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it tooseriously.

29. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people tomake a big deal about your birthday...around age 11.

30. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

2004-07-15T22:23:00.000+08:00

Don't question what i do, for it's none of your damn business

I hate it when people question what i do, especially when it's none of their business or doesn't affect them.. Sometimes.. sometimes i just wanna spit right into their face "Cos i like it, it's my choice, you don't have a say in what i choose."

I don't understand why they should question my actions, i don't see them doing anything. There's a thin line between being concerned and being just a plain busybody. More often than not, that line is crossed. That's when you annoy me and i just wanna rip your fucking head off, and step on it till it becomes a mashed pulp.

Don't like my attitude? I'm sorry.. Fuck you.

fuckface.

2004-07-10T21:43:00.000+08:00

Chasing Dreams

Business Times
Published October 11, 2003
Young, successful - and in search of a dream

By DANIEL BUENAS

UNHAPPY - that's how I feel as a young Singaporean.

I feel this way not because I'm jobless, poor or uneducated. In fact, I have a good job, a stable income and a good education. By most standards, I should be considered a successful young man.

However, I am slowly realising that the achievements I have been chasing are, perhaps, a chimera. I have sought and yearned for success, when perhaps what I should have been looking for was happiness, or meaning in life.

This is the dilemma that the youth in Singapore face - we cannot reconcile our apparent success with our gnawing dissatisfaction with life, and nobody can tell us why.

What we suffer from is a crisis of the soul.

Young Singaporeans are getting lost in a world in which our worth as human beings is tied to our material, social and physical successes.

However, as we look behind these successes, we often find the faded vestiges of what once were our dreams. Thus, our life's purpose has been drowned in the ocean of practicality.

This distinction between success and happiness was brought home to me recently after the death of a friend. He had passed on suddenly and in the prime of his life, and his death shook me from the stupor of endless days of work.

I realised that I had perhaps neglected my family and friends around me and,in so doing, had lost the true meaning of life.

It is too late now, but if I could speak to my friend one last time, I wouldn't say anything. Instead, I would listen to what he had to say.

Why?

Because Singaporeans are too busy rushing to work, rushing from work and rushing at work. We don't take the time to listen to others.

His death made me reflect on my own life, and the search for happiness. Sadly, the need to find meaning in life wasn't one of the things I learnt at school. The need for success, however, was. The desire for success is ingrained in our national psyche, and has been pursued with a fervour that equals - and often surpasses - religious zeal.

From young, we are streamed, labelled and forced into educational moulds,emerging as world-class products of our world-class education system. We graduate equipped to be successful in life.

Yet, I feel that in some way, we are lacking. I was never taught to pursue my dreams. Instead, I was taught to be practical. I chose my field of study, computer science, and my university based on practical considerations. I thought this would eventually lead to success. But success doesn't always translate into happiness.

Perhaps my idealism is brought about by a life that has not known the cruelty of war, or the bitter struggle for survival. Yet, I have met those who hold on to similar ideals, despite going through great suffering.

For instance, I recently interviewed a well-respected academic who spoke at length with me on the virtues of finding meaning and purpose in what we do. He was no stranger to suffering, having lived through the Japanese occupation, the Communist revolution in China and nearly starving to death as a young boy. After so much hardship, one would expect him to extol the virtues of being practical.

Instead, he spoke of passion, desire, purpose and happiness in what we do. I found it ironic that it took a senior citizen to point this out to what he called 'a handsome, energetic young man' (what I found even more ironic was his use of the word 'handsome').

Singaporean youth need to learn that our lives are not just about achieving success and that we cannot rely on the government or society to provide us with the reason for our existence. If we do, we will surely come away disillusioned and disappointed.

More than anything, Singaporean youth need to know that the beauty of life lies in fulfilling our own dreams - not someone else's - and that we should not fear pursuing them, whatever they may be. Therein lies our road to happiness.

As Eleanor Roosevelt so eloquently put it: 'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams'.

The writer is a BT journalist. He is 24.

2004-07-03T01:02:00.000+08:00

Joke!

I saw this joke from an email i got from a friend.. it got me laughing good. I love it!

One day an evil witch took over the forest, "One-by-one, all of you useless animals have to come up here and tell a joke... if everybody laughs, you will be spared... or else I'll cut off your head!"

The monkey went up first and told such a funny joke that all the animals laughed except fot a tortoise.. so the witch cut off his head.

Next, a giraffe went up and she, in turn told a joke that set all the animals off laughing... but still, the tortoise did not laugh...so the witch cut off her head.

Then, the rabbit went up... but before she could say a word, the tortoise started laughing...

"Why are you laughing you stupid tortoise?" the witch asked.

"The monkey's joke was very funny..." was the reply.

2004-07-02T11:02:00.000+08:00

Once again..

Once again i'm down.. fever, cough and cold. Thankfully, the fever didn't reach 40 like the last time round, otherwise i would be spastic by now. i know what you're thinking. I mean being real spastic, not acting it. Been sick 7 days out of the last 12 days, wow.

But what i'm going through is nothing compared to those with worse off illnesses. Like Leukemia. On thursday, i attended a meeting with practically almost everybody in the department of Paediatrics, NUS. Clincal researchers and doctors. As i walked to the meeting room, i walked past the children's ward for the first time. THe decor was bright and child-like, a sense of playfulness. Underneath it all, i see kids, less than 10 years old, some even 3 or 4 only, lying on their beds. All of them had that same look. I see them fighting for their lives here, instead of living like normal kids.

Dealing with their DNA in the lab and actually seeing them in the flesh makes for an entirely different experience. The cure rate for Childhood Leukemia is 80%, or so i've heard. Thats not too bad, but it still means 20% of kids still die.

Destiny. Some may believe in it, that we all have pre-destined paths in life. Me.. i think it's bullshit. Everything has a cause. Your choices in life will invariably affect you in some ways or other. Whether you smoke, drink, eat veggie, exercise, etc. But those kids.. they didn't choose for their suffering. It's all in the genes.

I remember i saw this movie before. The Gattica or something like that. In the movie, future parents can already know the odds of their kids suffering from some disease or what not in the future. So the list goes: 85% Leukemia, 70% High BLood pressure, 30% Heart Congenality blah blah. Imagine being discriminated before you're born. Maybe in future, there'll be 'super humans'. Smarter, stronger, faster. A guaranteed chop to success. Maybe the phrase 'Survival of the fittest' will then ceased to exist.

Everyone is the fittest.

2004-06-28T22:47:00.000+08:00

Anyone has got a clue on how to make that bit of ad go away?

2004-06-22T02:33:00.000+08:00

Here i am

It's 240 am on the 22nd of June and here i am blogging away. I just woke up from my slumber which started at 11pm and felt incredibly sober. I guess maybe the fact that i've just taken my temperature under the tongue which read 39 degrees celcius had something to do with my nocturnal instincts. I figured if i rise up to 40 degree celcius and they find me foaming at the mouth in my bed early morning, this blog shall be my will.

I would like to thank my parents first and foremost for the wonderful and undying love they'd bestowed on me (Shit, i think the fever has enhanced my language capabilities) in the 20 years i've been walking and talking normally (i might hit 40 and go bonkers). I'd like to assign my personal favourite belongings to different people or fish; First, my limited edition backstreet boys CD to xueli, who had taken it and apparently disappeared from the face of the earth as of since; my pet tarantula (his name is Mr. Spider) to my dad's ariwana; my medals from dragon boating to the clubhouse board for display; and last but not least, my personal collection of bomberman figurines to my irritating cousin who will most probably destroy them at record speed.

I've been sitting here for 20 min and i still feel the same as i did 20 min ago. I just checked livescore.com and England is trailing by a goal to Croatia in the 6th min. Brilliant. These English likes to do things the hard way. Temperature check: 38.7 degrees. I'm off to laugh at them in front of the telly.

Out

2004-06-21T00:19:00.000+08:00

SINGAPORE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL 2004

1st - Tertiary Open (Mixed)
3rd - Tertiary Open (Women)
2nd - Tertiary Open (Men)

The Legend Continues..

2004-06-17T23:06:00.000+08:00

2 more Days!! Finally, after 6 months or so of training.. the last race that i'll be participating in with my buddies. 3 years of shit, tears and laughter that we went through together. A special bond that was formed during all the hardship and punishment that we'd endured together. And of course the fun we had.. =D

Memories of our victories, memories of our losses, memories that will stay with me.

On saturday and sunday, new memories will come.. and they'll be happy memories. ;)

2004-06-11T00:06:00.000+08:00

Life's philosophy

On the first day, God created the cow. God said, "You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a lifespan of 60 years." The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for 60 years. Let me have 20 and I'll give back the other 40."
And God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey. God said, "Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh I'll give you a 20-year lifespan." The monkey said, "How boring, monkey tricks for 20 years? I don't think so. Give me 10 years and I'll give you back the other 10." God agreed again.

On the third day, God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a lifespan of 20 years." The dog said, "That's too long to be barking. Monkey gave you back 10, so that's what I'll do too, okay?" So God agreed (sigh).

On the fourth day, God created man. God said, "Eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy. Do nothing, just enjoy, enjoy. I'll give you 20 years." Man said, "What? Only 20 years? No way, man. Tell you what, I'll take the 20, and the 40 the cow gave back, and the 10 the monkey gave back and the 10 the dog gave back, that makes 80, okay?" "Okay," said God.
"You've got a deal."

So that is why the first 20 years we eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy, and do nothing; for the next 40 years we slave in the sun to support our family; for the next 10 years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and for the last 10 years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained.

2004-06-01T22:47:00.000+08:00

The Big One

4/5 for The Day After Tomorrow
Gripping stuff and Manchester United is mentioned in the show! ha

Just found out today that im gonna cox for the chinese garden race this coming sunday. Barring no major cock ups from me, hope we can get something.
It'll be a good morale booster for the June race. The Big One.

18 days to go.

2004-05-28T22:50:00.000+08:00

Life in NUH

Attachment is getting better, at least i'm doing real work now. Instead of bumming around all day and sticking to people like a leech watching them work, i actually get to do some work alone, or rather with my course mate.

I can't stand one of the staff who keeps asking us to make some gel for her. Everyday. i know we're just attachment students. we're way down in the pecking order but it's beginning to feel damn fcuked to keep doing things for people when you've got your own work to do. Instead of asking us in the beginning to do it for her, she's now like "I need 4 gels today." You need it? GO FUCKING MAKE IT YOURSELF. sheez i dun see the other staff ordering us around. the bitch is making use of us and the fuck thing is we cant do shit. the life of an attachment student... fuck it

2004-05-25T10:13:00.000+08:00

Life's Rules

1. When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and
not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground
easily, it is a valuable plant.
2. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a
replacement.
3. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
4. One good turn gets most of the blanket.
5. There are two kinds of pedestrians -- the quick and the dead.
6. An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
7. If quitters never win, and winners never cheat, then who is the
fool who said "Quit while you're ahead"?
8. ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI.
9. Our good friend Willie is dead, he will be seen no more, for what
he thought was H20 was H2SO4. (rhymes)
10. Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
11. It's not hard to meet expenses, they're everywhere.
12. Jury -- Twelve people who determine which client has the better
lawyer.
13. The only difference between a rut (a groove) and a grave is the
depth.
14. Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second
marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.
15. Before marriage, a man yearns for the woman he loves. After
marriage, the 'Y' becomes silent.

2004-05-21T23:59:00.000+08:00

Exhausted, lacklustre, overwhelmed.

2004-05-17T00:16:00.000+08:00

Violence.. and more violence

I just caught Troy today at lido. I was looking forward to movie but in the end, it kinda fell short of my expectations. The battle scenes were good, but something is lacking. I dunno what it is, maybe the way how the movie evolves and the plot is kinda thin too.

3 out of 5 for Troy

2004-05-10T22:54:00.000+08:00

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

First day of IAP and i am starting to dread it.. approxiamtely 100 days to go..

My dear supervisor is in a conference somewhere halfway around the globe, so my friend and i were reduced to reading scientific journals. Just how much more fun can it get?
Luckily, (or rather unluckily) we have our fyp presentation today so we got to leave at noon.

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Looks like Murphy's Law came true. The damn hyperlinks in the powerpoint went haywire and i forgot my lines as a result. The Q&A was demoralising.. need i say anymore.

What a great start to the week.

2004-05-07T23:18:00.000+08:00

Peer Pressure

There was an old man, a boy, and a donkey. They were going to town and
it was decided that the boy should ride. As they went along they
passed some people who thought that it was a shame for the boy to ride
and the old man to walk. The old man and boy decided that maybe the
critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some more people who thought that it was a real
shame for that man to make such a small boy walk. The two decided that
maybe they both should walk.

Soon they passed some more people who thought that it was stupid to
walk when they had a donkey to ride. The man and the boy decided maybe
the critics were right so, they decided that they both should ride.
They soon passed other people who thought that it was a shame to put
such a load on a poor little animal. The old man and the boy decided
that maybe the critics were right, so they decided to carry the
donkey.

As they crossed a bridge they lost their grip on the animal and he
sadly fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story: If you try to please everyone, you will
eventually lose your ass.

2004-05-06T00:43:00.000+08:00

The Big Fat Bitch

Went to watch Van Helsing with xueli today at cineleisure right after our papers finished.
I was served by this lady at the counter and i wanted 2 seats at the side of the cinema, but she kept saying she has 2 tickets at the middle aisle already printed out and told me to take them. I insisted for the corner seats but she kept repeating herself. Right there and then, i felt like giving the her the finger.

FUCK YOU BITCH! I PAY! I CHOOSE!

but then again, of course i didn't have the guts to do that and i just took the tickets for the MIDDLE aisle since we only had half an hour left for dinner before the movie starts. So we went down to LJS and i ordered some food.

"Hi Sir!. What would you like?"

"2 sets of combo 1 and add a piece of fish for 1 set only."

"Okay. So what would you like for your drink? Coke?"

"Yes."

"So you want the big size for your drinks?"

"No. Regular ones."

By now, i was getting pissed off as i was running out of time but the guy was being courteous (however irritating) so i just bear it. Mr. order-taker cum cashier then produce a reciept from nowhere and started scribbling on it and placed the reciept under the counter. And then..

"Sir. So you would like coke for your drink?"

"Yesssssss."

"And you wanna upsize your drinks?"

"NO!"

"And your order is 2 sets of combo 1 and add a piece of fish to each set?"

"NO!"

Okay enough.. On any other day, i'll just probably forget about this small incident but today is the day that i meet the fat bitch at the movie counter. If one thing that irritates me more than anything else in the world, it is BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE! Yes, i have been a waiter before and some customers just makes you wanna stick your foot in their ass but still, they are the one who pay your goddamn wages! So don't treat them like they owe you a living! Bad servers should be condemned to hell with their fuck up attitude!

But at least the movie is good. Great sets, acceptable acting, excellent CGI, original and interesting plot.
3 and a half out of 5 for Van Helsing.

Out. (i hate bad service)

2004-04-30T22:31:00.000+08:00

The Elephant Whisperer

A carnival, which included a huckster with an elephant, was traveling
through a small town. The huckster was offering people $100 if they
could make the elephant nod its head up and down. Many people tried,
but no one was successful. Finally, a small quiet individual appeared
and timidly asked if he could try.

He promptly walked around the elephant and gave it a good swift kick
in the backside. The elephant was so surprised, it jerked its head up
and down. The little man pocketed his $100 and walked away.

The following year, the same carnival returned, with the same huckster
and the same elephant. The huckster had decided to make sure he
wouldn't lose any more money in this town, so he offered $500 to
anyone who could make the elephant nod its head up and down, then
shake it from side to side.

Again, many people tried. They pulled the elephant's ears, pulled its
tail, tickled it, etc., but no one was successful. Finally, the same
little man appeared and asked if he could try. The huckster was so
sure the deed was impossible that he readily agreed.

The little man walked around to the front of the elephant and looked
it in the eye.

"Do you remember me?" he asked. The elephant vigorously nodded its
head up and down.

"Do you want me to do that again?" he asked. The elephant quickly
shook its head from side to side.

The little man pocketed his $500 and walked away, smiling.

2004-04-28T13:30:00.000+08:00

Rush of blood

The feel of the leather on my hands; the sound of the engine; the screeching of the tires. The rush of blood to my head..The feeling is just indescribable. Man, something inside me has awaken..

2004-04-23T23:29:00.000+08:00

If you know what i mean

Thinking how long it was since i last updated, i find that im kinda lost at what to write, or rather type. I guess i'm really bad at describing my day's events, or maybe there wasn't really much to start describing with. Hur

Sometimes i marvel at the meticulous way some of my friends can describe their day in such initmate detail, it's like being a worm in their stomach, if you know what i mean. I don't really remember all the details 'cos i'm such a 'living in the moment and forget everything later' type of person. So if someone goes, "Today, i met with monica at the fancy little gift store in front of the entrance of Taka, and she was wearing this sexy red tube top that shows her curves all at the right places. God i'm so horny!" I'll probably go, "Met monica today." OKay i wun forget the sexy red tube top but i prefer to keep it to myself, if you know what i mean. ;) (Ed's note: The above fore mentioned incident did not happened, it is only an example, so don't bug me)

Blogging really takes quite some effort, so i really do admire those that can blog day after day about their daily events. Sometimes they have so much stuff going on in their life, that you start to wonder what the hell are you doing with yours. If i was asked to write a post about my day, i would start to think real hard and go about writing like i would for my 'O' levels Egnglish compo. And then do a spell check followed by grammer. Guess either i'm a freak for english writing or i need to loosen up.

And then i'm reminded of a post made by a "soon you"(ack chinese) of mine which goes about how he can't really go into details what he thinks as he knows his blog are read by those of whom maybe he doesn't want them to. I can empathise with him as i had experienced it before with a post that was so expletive-filled that if it was censored, the sentences probably wun make sense. Well, i had this rage inside me that i didn't really cared what others think when they read my post, or even the person to whom it was directed to. It just felt fuck-ing good to let it all out, after that it was all cool. I felt relived and my anger subsided. wow this is a good therapy for anger management.

But the biggest reason why i tend to avoid going to a blogging style that includes my daily regime of eat shit and sleep is that i dun really think that people would care how many marks i got for my proteomics test or what was the colour of my shit today. Funny thing is the most blogs which i visited the most frequently were the ones that had this style, partly because i knew there's always something new to read. Even if people do express their interest in my life, frankly i would be too lazy to do it. Blogging just feels different for me now, just like a weekly soccer commentary for some fantasy soccer game i used to do. It was fun at first, but once the novelty wears off, it feels like a chore. Just like watching that girl in the red tube top. Hmm on second thoughts, it ain't a chore for me, if you know what i mean. ;)

2004-04-20T00:33:00.000+08:00

Blink182 - I Miss You

Hello there, the angel from my nightmare
The shadow in the background of the morgue
The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
Where you can always find me
We'll have Halloween on Christmas
And in the night we'll wish this never ends
We'll wish this never ends

(I miss you I miss you)
(I miss you I miss you)

Where are you and I'm so sorry
I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight
I need somebody and always
This sick strange darkness
Comes creeping on so haunting every time
And as I stared I counted
Webs from all the spiders
Catching things and eating their insides
Like indecision to call you
and hear your voice of treason
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight
Stop this pain tonight

Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)

Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)

Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)

2004-04-20T00:32:00.000+08:00

FUCK IT! FUCK SINGTEL! FUCK ALCATEL! FUCK ADSL!

2004-04-14T04:37:00.000+08:00

Absolutely stoned.. i need a damn break

2004-04-14T00:18:00.000+08:00

Saw this off henryk's site.. just to share some laughs

Q: What do you get when you breed a Bulldog and a Shitzu together?

A: Bullshit

2004-04-11T01:46:00.000+08:00

Today's training was, to say the least, unsatisfactory.
There was no fluidity in our strokes, every stroke was a forced movement of our limbs to comply with our mind's command. The mind is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Maybe Coach is right. Our fitness is not the same level as before.
Personally, i felt like shit. The first 2 sets were quite manageable, but after the rowers were shuffled, i just dunno why. Every stroke was not good. My body seem to shut down; my back ached for respite, my feet can't find their footing, and my arms trembled under the weight of the unusually heavy paddle.

I felt like the way i just joined dragon boating, i felt like a freshie.

I feel like giving up, i asked myself, "why am i here suffering?"
Flashbacks of glories from previous races ran through my mind, and with renewed determination, my body obeyed to its commands. Training ended, and everyone was quite shagged out, visibly seen from their faces.

I recalled the moment when i was telling michael, "It seems like i can't give my maximum to every stroke, something is holding me back." Is it fatigue? Hot weather? New boat? Less than 2 months to go to the race but we're still not race ready. After the break from exams, training is going to be doubly hard.

The june race is gonna be hard. Competition is gonna be tough. Waves are gonna be strong.
Spirits will be high. Hopes will be dashed. Winners will rejoice. Losers will regret.
Are you ready? I hope i will be.

2004-04-07T00:16:00.000+08:00

Damn tired.. Hectic weekend.. deadlines tests deadlines tests.. don't the smart ass lecturers realise everything is jammed together?

From sunday, stayed up till 6.30am to finish up final year report, which should have 10k words but we didn't even reach half of that. slept for 3 hours and went to school to sit for test which i haven't study, so studied on the way there. Did okay suprisingly.. i'm a genius! =D~

Den on monday night, did a presentation till 3.30am. Sad to say, i did the most work as 1 member did not do any slides, 1 just copy and paste stuff, another gave me crap and the last one finally gave me his slides at 230am.. End result = 1 fuciking lousy presentation! Of all the groups, the lecturer gave us the most stick. Nvm, it's all over now. No more shit to take.

Enough whining and bitching for now. Nite

2004-03-26T22:35:00.000+08:00

On the way home from SGH, i thought about my dear old grandmother or "ma ma", the way i call her in cantonese. What i recall about her, her ever smiling face. Now that i think about it, ma ma never really lost her temper, not at me, not at anyone else. Even when i see her being chided by my aunt for something, she never did raise her voice nor show any temper.

She was the perfect grandmother to me. While we were kids, we would always have meals at her place since we live at the same block. Whenever my sis and i wanted some particular dish for dinner, she would always cook it for us, no matter the trouble. When i was really small, like about 3 yrs old, ma ma and ye ye (that's cantonese for grandfather) would bring me to have milo and half-boiled eggs for breakfast frequently. Maybe that's because i was their only grandson at that time.. and i'm still am. =)

Once, when i was alone with ma ma at her flat, i recall playing around the kitchen while ma ma did some cooking. By accident, i caused ma ma to fall and i was really scared. I could see that she was in alot of pain, but still she did not even lose her temper, not even one word. Last sunday, it was my little cousin's turn. While vanessa was running about playing, she suddenly ran across ma ma and caused her to lose her balance. Unfortunately this time, my ma ma fractured her pelvic bone.

Standing there alone, looking at ma ma sleeping soundly in her hospital bed, i realised how old she really looked. More wrinkles at her eyes, more greyness in her hair than before, she looked so tired.. The voice of the nurse aroused ma ma from her sleep. She saw me and gave a smile. I chatted with her and left soon after that. Most prob, i wouldn't say this to my ma ma in person and she wouldn't get to see this but still, i just wanna do it..

Thanks for the care and love you've shown me, ma ma. I love you.

2004-03-20T00:52:00.000+08:00

Today before our Hybridoma test, Dr Forday mentioned about getting into universities locally or abroad. He did some estmates of the cost of getting a degree local and abroad..
Locally, 10k per year for 4 years = $40k
Foreign eg. Australia. 50k per year for 2 years (2 years exemption) = $100k

obviously, i wun be getting into a local university.. and getting into an overseas one is gonna cost a shitload of money. Getting a loan might be an option.. but it sure gonna take a few years or more to repay it, assuming a job is available after graduating. If i get pes A/B or something for NS, at least can pia for OCS and get a decent pay, or else it's all fucked during NS.. but then realistically, i'll get like pes E thanks to my brilliant lungs.. oh boy talk about planning your life

I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.

2004-03-12T21:56:00.000+08:00

Your True Nature by llScorpiusll
Username
The quality that most appeals to you:	Sex Appeal
In a survival situation, you:	Play dead
Your hidden talent is:	Resourcefulness
Your gift is:	Genius
In groups, you:	Get the party started
Your best quality is:	Your protectiveness
Your weakness is:	Your laziness

Created with quill18's MemeGen 3.0!

the reason why this is quite accurate is because humans have alot in common, just that we are all too self centered to notice it =]

2004-03-08T23:38:00.000+08:00

Had a pretty good weekend.. After training on sat, went home with xl to celebrate my dad's birthday. We had dinner together, all of us. It's been a long while since the whole family sat down for dinner together, so i pretty much enjoyed it. And the damn dog has got fleas on his body again.. with his hair getting long, it was kinda hard to see the fleas and pull them off. The dog, boy boy, is pretty pissed and trys to bite us even though we are helping him.. the little puss cant stand abit of pain..

On sunday, ben, guanhong and i went over to a house in serangoon to do this shoot for the hype magazine in NP. On arrival, there's this little fierce terrier barking ferociously at us but ran away when the gate opened.. haha. Gh and i were given clothes to put on; Gh got the chic outfit, nice long sleeved shirt good enough for chionging with pants while i got the vintage jeans with t-shirt. I couldn't button the jeans so i just left it zipped up only. the jeans even come with a little hole right at the groin spot.. now that's vintage.

After the shoot, we went down to NTU to have a soccer match with gh's frien's team. naturally we lost as we are so disorganized and lack playing experience. it felt good though, to be standing on a field playing.. haven't done so for a long while.

Today after school, went down to town with emma to pick up xl's present from the shop. Saw xl's friend in the shop and gave me a shock, thinking xl is there too.. haha I'm gonna need that cheque for coxing soon.. =]
The plan was to watch Honey after picking up the present, but lido doesn't have the show after 7pm, so i manage to get emma to watch The Butterfly Effect. What a great show it turned out to be.. full of twists, suspenseful and great acting from Ashton Kutcher.. with a pretty decent ending too. i thought the ending was going to be real crap. 4/5 for it.

2004-03-04T04:28:00.000+08:00

Just came back from zouk and i'm still feeling abit stoned from drinking.. but it was good..
Berd and i bought 1 jug of long island during happy hour and basically downed 1 jug each.. i was real high after drinking long island and berd was like stopping me from drinking further.. hahaha

After that, we went to exhange the coupons for korona beer and "ta" it.. and den i dun really remember what happened.. but i knew that i danced alone at phuture.. and berd puked. LOL.. The pos..

Saw alot of peeps down there.. like penguin and sharon.. and of coz the Bio people.. I'm still abit dizzy so i think im going to slp.. out

2004-03-02T23:28:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time there was a female brain cell, which by mistake
happened to end up in a man's head.

She looked around nervously, but it was all empty and quiet.

"Hello?" she cried, but no answer. "Is there anyone there?" she cried
a little louder, but still no answer.

Now the female brain cell started to feel alone and scared and yelled
at the top of her voice, "HELLO, IS THERE ANYONE THERE?"

Then she heard a faint voice from far, far away...

"We're down here!"

2004-03-02T02:04:00.000+08:00

Finally the day is over. Day of test and to hand up the freaking long summary.. test didn't go well at all.. was thinking summary was okay until i saw emmanuel's and then it went downhill.. Gotta remember to spruce up any shatty assignments in future.

After the test, went with xl to Mt Alvernia to visit my grandma.. She was admitted last night after feeling dizzy and the visit to the doc showed she had high blood pressure. It's good that she didn't suffer any stroke.. i dun wanna see her suffer at her age. She sounded okay and was even complaining there's no one in the ward last night and that she was afraid of the dark. hehe cute.

It was only about 5 or so after visiting, so i decided to go town to find my friends to watch a movie. Felt bad to ditch xl alone so decided to go to her house or where she is after im finished doing proj on tues. There was alot of faces over there but hung out mainly with berd, astrid, emma, zuoyi and sab. We watched Big Fish. It was a very nice movie. Great acting and good work by the director. I was thinking that the pace would be quite slow but it wasn't. Enjoyable show overall. And a refreshing change from the usual action packed movies or love stories. Rating of 4/5 for Big Fish.

Good luck to those taking tests in the coming days.

2004-02-29T14:10:00.000+08:00

As the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match, i knew that with it, Man utd's chances of defending the title virtually evaporated. With this draw, arsenal's lead extended to 9 points and to add insult to injury, roman's rich boy club Chelsea overtook Man utd to 2nd place. The result was bad, but what made it even more disappointing was the manner Man utd effectively conceded their title asiprations. Sure, Man utd came back from this sort of position last season to claim the crown, but this time their fighting spirit was not evident.

Even as a Man utd fan, i'm beginning to question Ferguson's choice of tactics. I can understand the FA cup match with Fulham is coming, that they had just played in the Champ League on Wed, but to rest the Goalie and main striker is absolutely baffling. Watching the match on telly, it seems that the midfield needs some sorting out. There's no one to close them down in the park, every ball in the middle seems to go to Fulham. The defence is not playing an offside trap but neither is it fast enough to close down players like Boa morte. Roy Carroll in goal makes me wanna laugh. The goal he conceded was fucked up. Instead of saving the ball with his legs, he was more concerned with falling down on his big fast ass. Why the fuck is he still a man utd player i cannot fathom.

Maybe it's time to let Ferguson. It's been a great ten years of glory and joy he has brought to the club. I'm grateful to him for bringing players like cantona and Rvn to Man utd, for bringing up players like giggs and scholes through the club. But the decision to let Becks go.. simply.. fucked. Maybe his lifestyle is not the one you would have liked, fergie, but he is still the captain of the England national team. He knows his limit. Letting a world class player go and bringing in a portugese kid more renowned for doing stepovers than his crossing and passing, it just ain't the same. The likes of Djemba-djemba and kleberson are just not in the same league as ronaldhino and nedved. I just hope this is not the end of the dynasty..

2004-02-28T23:41:00.000+08:00

Guess the riddle..

You have nine coins. One of the nine is counterfeit. The counterfeit
coin can only be distinguished by weight --- it is heavier than the
rest. Using a balance scale twice only, find the counterfeit coin.

2004-02-26T00:38:00.000+08:00

Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt before, and dance like nobody is watching.

2004-02-25T12:47:00.000+08:00

Had a crappy time sleeping last night, i have this rashes on my body after playing soccer on monday and they itch like hell. Doesn't seem like mosquitoe bites but they sure itch like one. Bryan and Ah lek had them too.. hope they have a better time than me.

Tomorrow it's the graduation photo taking thingy. Feel funny that i'm going.. since i'm not gonna graduate this sem. Sometimes don't you just wish that you could turn back time and change your future? What a waste of time and money.. No use crying over spilt milk.

Yesterday there was a main comm meeting after training. For some fucked up reason i was scolded again. Those that are present, bryan and henryk, know why.. Okay i can accept for being scolded for talking cock, although i didn't really say it out, but for giving that face? What the fuck is wrong with you? i get your fucking point, carry on with your fucking meeting. What face do was i suppose to give? A crying one or a fucking serious one? Would it make a fucking difference?

out

2004-02-21T23:50:00.000+08:00

Something really dumb happened today.. i had this seminar talk in the morning but halfway through, i was getting really bored so i went for a break with my friend, berd. we went to c2 for a drink and then to the smokers' corner at the back gate since berd want a smoke.

So standing there, i thought of the time when my dragonboat ex-president, weishun, told me how he had pulled out one half of the back gate with the other seniors. naturally, stupidity got the better of me and i went to proceed to try it out.

Bad move

The whole damn thing came out and landed on my toes.. oh fug it.. it hurts but i had still hold onto the gate or else it will fall over.. i called for help from berd and he was like.. erm.. okay.. lol

We spent the next 5 or ten minutes trying to put the shat thing back while passerbys gave us weird looks and we got ourselves dirty. haha Hot and sweaty, we went back to the comfort of our air-con lecture and slacked away.

Training was good today.. not much mistakes but still can be better.. at least i enjoyed it much better than last week.. went to mic's house for soccer and watched man utd draw with leeds.. there goes the title.. 12 matches to go, 5 matches lost and 7 points gap..
nowadays, watching man utd play is so different from the past.. sometimes i wondered if becks was still around, would he have made a difference?

laterz

2004-02-20T13:28:00.000+08:00

Finally i've gotten a blog like the rest of my friends.. thanks to ray
i didn't like the idea of a blog as i think it will be a chore just to update it regularly so dun expect me to do so.. i'll write like maybe thrice in the 1st week, twice 2nd week and then just write once every 12 months..
or when i feel like it =D

First of all, i'd like to congratulate Mic for getting his driver's license!! Great job dude.. maybe you can send us home next wed after zouk. heh

The coming study week is gonna be like so slack.. i have only 1 test so it's like 7 days to study 6 chapters.. not bad eh?

laterz.. off to class now