Breakin Up - Rilo Kiley
This LA alternative rock band released their latest studio album "Under The Blacklight" in August last year, peaking at #22 on the Billboard 200. They aren't famous, but this song managed to receive airplay in Singapore on 987FM. BTW,Jenny Lewis has a great voice!
It's one of those songs that tells you that breaking up is a good thing and should be savored.
It's not as if New York City
Burnt down to the ground
Once you drove away
It's not as if the sun won't shine
When clouds up above
Wash the blues away
Are we breaking up
Are we breaking up
Is there trouble between you and I
Did my heart break enough
Did it break enough this time
Here's to all the pretty words
We will never speak
Here's to all the pretty girls
You're gonna meet
Am I breaking up
Am I breaking up
Is there trouble on the line
Did your heart break enough
Did it break enough this time
Ooh it feels good to be free
Ooh it feels good to be free
Ooh it feels good to be free
Betrayal is a thorny crown
You wear it well
Just like a king
Revenge is the saddest thing
Honey, I'm afraid to say
You deserve everything
Am i breaking up
Are we breaking up
Is there trouble between the lines
Did your heart break enough
Did it break enough this time
Ooh it feels good to be free
Ooh it feels good to be free
Ooh it feels good to be free
Saturday, March 29, 2008
It may be my life, but is it now or never?
Career Days are actually productive after all. And I'm not talking about about the bunch of freebies, which include a Snakes-and-Ladders type of board game provided by the Navy that is constructed to irritate the hell out of you unless you use 3 or more dice.
Instead of narrowing my education/employment choices, I now have more. Tell me if that's a good thing.
1. Journalist/News Anchor
Looks repsectable and glamorous, IMO at least. I admire the most successful of these journalists and news anchor for their spirit,determination, depth of analysis and poise. And if you make high enough, you get to go abroad to cover news (important meetings perhaps) in faraway lands, hopefully with a good hotel stay thrown in. Unfortunately, this means I will have to rid off my self as a procastinator, and be able to analyze many issues in depth. Sounds like a tall order.
2. GIC
Impressive occupation to most people, I believe. Offers do sound lucrative, but dwelling into accountancy and finance isn't really my cup of tea.
3. Translator/Interpreter
Sounds good, only that I have hardly been talking in Mandarin, despite going for CSC classes.
Courses that may interest me
1. Journalism/Mass Media
2. Applied Math - Career offers are aplenty, not sure how well they pay.
So it all comes down to interest vs salary/glamor. This is gonna be a hard one.
Instead of narrowing my education/employment choices, I now have more. Tell me if that's a good thing.
1. Journalist/News Anchor
Looks repsectable and glamorous, IMO at least. I admire the most successful of these journalists and news anchor for their spirit,determination, depth of analysis and poise. And if you make high enough, you get to go abroad to cover news (important meetings perhaps) in faraway lands, hopefully with a good hotel stay thrown in. Unfortunately, this means I will have to rid off my self as a procastinator, and be able to analyze many issues in depth. Sounds like a tall order.
2. GIC
Impressive occupation to most people, I believe. Offers do sound lucrative, but dwelling into accountancy and finance isn't really my cup of tea.
3. Translator/Interpreter
Sounds good, only that I have hardly been talking in Mandarin, despite going for CSC classes.
Courses that may interest me
1. Journalism/Mass Media
2. Applied Math - Career offers are aplenty, not sure how well they pay.
So it all comes down to interest vs salary/glamor. This is gonna be a hard one.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
What do Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie have in common?
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/26/clinton_criticizes_obama_over_his_pastors_inflammatory_words/
Gilded branches found on candidates' family trees
Barack Obama likes to joke that he and Vice President Dick Cheney are distant cousins.
It turns out that he and the other major presidential contenders share lineage with several other famous historical figures and current celebrities, the New England Historic Genealogical Society said yesterday.
Obama, whose mother was born in Kansas, has at least six presidents as distant cousins, including President Bush and his father; Gerald Ford; Lyndon Johnson; Harry Truman; and James Madison.
Hillary Clinton has common ancestors with actress Angelina Jolie and Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles. Because Clinton's family has French-Canadian heritage, she is also distantly related to "On the Road" author Jack Kerouac and pop stars Madonna, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morissette.
John McCain is a sixth cousin of Laura Bush, the genealogical society said. The fact that most of his ancestry is Southern makes "notable connections somewhat harder to trace because of challenges to genealogists in that region," genealogist Christopher Child said.
Gilded branches found on candidates' family trees
Barack Obama likes to joke that he and Vice President Dick Cheney are distant cousins.
It turns out that he and the other major presidential contenders share lineage with several other famous historical figures and current celebrities, the New England Historic Genealogical Society said yesterday.
Obama, whose mother was born in Kansas, has at least six presidents as distant cousins, including President Bush and his father; Gerald Ford; Lyndon Johnson; Harry Truman; and James Madison.
Hillary Clinton has common ancestors with actress Angelina Jolie and Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles. Because Clinton's family has French-Canadian heritage, she is also distantly related to "On the Road" author Jack Kerouac and pop stars Madonna, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morissette.
John McCain is a sixth cousin of Laura Bush, the genealogical society said. The fact that most of his ancestry is Southern makes "notable connections somewhat harder to trace because of challenges to genealogists in that region," genealogist Christopher Child said.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
I would never have expected A Moment Like This
11 out of 12 of the participants met at Commonwealth station at 7.45am, and we were all surprisingly on time! We hopped onto 198 to get to ACS(I), which obviously was wrong choice, as the bus started cruising onto the AYE. In the end we had to return by traveling in the opposite direction and alighting near ACJC. What a GREAT start.
At 9am, the essay round started. The question required us to discuss the influence of folklore on exploration in the historical context. In addition, there were a range of sources given which have to be used in the discussion. Not so good.
The 2nd round was an individual quiz consisting of 120 MCQs. Had to guess many of the questions on Lit and Art and History. Economics wasn't too bad for a person who just survived a 2 hour crash course the day before. Science (Astronomy) and Math were probably the easiest.
After lunch and slacking around, there were the dreaded debate sessions. Oh gosh!! Our competition consisted of 2 ACS teams. The first motion, where we had to argue that art is a more powerful form to express the frontier than a poem, went alright, although I stuttered (as usual). We (with Bing Huan and Yue Zhi) lost narrowly. The 2nd motion was about the Archbishop crap, which none of us could do as we had not read anything about it. Possibly the most humilating moment in my life. *bangs head on wall*
The Scholar's Challenge, a 110-MCQ group quiz followed. My team sucked at Art and Lit, but came out strong in Astronomy. We had tons of lucky guesses in the Math round, though the score was dismal. That concluded all the components of the competition for the day and all 12 of us celebrated.
The prize presentation for the junior division was excruciating. There were at least 18 prizes waiting to be given out to about 10 deserving members, mostly RI students. So those guys ended up picking 4-5 medals each.
The senior division presentation turned out a lot better. Turns out that studying for a mere 24 hours was already quite productive. We ended up with a haul of about 10 individual and team prizes - and we were expecting 0 up until that point of time, considering the lack of prepartion and a proper coach/mentor (hello, Ms Tan!). Managed to win my first personal medal (Gold for Math portion of individual quiz) as a school participant in my 6 years in Dunman. Big winners are Ruijie, Vina and Peiyu, and all of them are going to Seoul in end may. Hooray for them.
Shall dedicate another song to everyone.
A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson
Congrats all!
At 9am, the essay round started. The question required us to discuss the influence of folklore on exploration in the historical context. In addition, there were a range of sources given which have to be used in the discussion. Not so good.
The 2nd round was an individual quiz consisting of 120 MCQs. Had to guess many of the questions on Lit and Art and History. Economics wasn't too bad for a person who just survived a 2 hour crash course the day before. Science (Astronomy) and Math were probably the easiest.
After lunch and slacking around, there were the dreaded debate sessions. Oh gosh!! Our competition consisted of 2 ACS teams. The first motion, where we had to argue that art is a more powerful form to express the frontier than a poem, went alright, although I stuttered (as usual). We (with Bing Huan and Yue Zhi) lost narrowly. The 2nd motion was about the Archbishop crap, which none of us could do as we had not read anything about it. Possibly the most humilating moment in my life. *bangs head on wall*
The Scholar's Challenge, a 110-MCQ group quiz followed. My team sucked at Art and Lit, but came out strong in Astronomy. We had tons of lucky guesses in the Math round, though the score was dismal. That concluded all the components of the competition for the day and all 12 of us celebrated.
The prize presentation for the junior division was excruciating. There were at least 18 prizes waiting to be given out to about 10 deserving members, mostly RI students. So those guys ended up picking 4-5 medals each.
The senior division presentation turned out a lot better. Turns out that studying for a mere 24 hours was already quite productive. We ended up with a haul of about 10 individual and team prizes - and we were expecting 0 up until that point of time, considering the lack of prepartion and a proper coach/mentor (hello, Ms Tan!). Managed to win my first personal medal (Gold for Math portion of individual quiz) as a school participant in my 6 years in Dunman. Big winners are Ruijie, Vina and Peiyu, and all of them are going to Seoul in end may. Hooray for them.
Shall dedicate another song to everyone.
A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson
Congrats all!
Friday, March 21, 2008
The devil made me do it
After the mandatory CIP activity, I joined the 11 other Scholar's Cup participants in Bing Huan's house for a mass study session. The other 11 are:
- Bing Huan + Yue Zhi (+ me)
- Judy + Ying Xian + Yixian
- Ruijie + Vina + Peiyu
- Berlinda + Meng Shuen + Mei Hui
Scope of Subjects: Fine Arts, Economics, Astronomy, Math, Literature and History
The Econs team was great. Summarized 1.5 years of Econs work in about 2 hours coherently and they also managed to make it seem so commonsensical and interesting. Although most economics students would love to refute this statement.
After that we forced ourselves to do a trial debate session. Despite Ruijie's good tips and advice and clear instructions, it seems that he can't change the inevitable in a matter of minutes.
Instead of heading back home to prepare the notes for the common good of the teams, I hopped on the bus and subway to Orchard with Meng Shuen, hoping to cash in on the Borders membership card which Jun Jie was carrying, who we would later join. Along the way, I learned that he is a Clinton supporter (the 2nd one I found, after Wenjian, who's not that ardent in supporting her) and he does eat his vegs (while consuming a McChicken). (Grr! But on 2nd thoughts, my unconventional dietary habits are pretty much on the brink of insanity, and anyone who wants to challenge that is pretty much deserving of a place in a hospital for the rest of his/her life.)
Met Jun Jie at Borders. Turns out I can't find the stuff I need, and instead have to serve as his 2nd pair of hands. (I already have issues holding stuff for girls, much less a guy..) A short trip to Kino for those guys to buy more books. Made my way home after that unfruitful trip to Orchard. Still reading Scholar's Cup material as of now, though the chances of anything registering in my brain is probably a mere 1/1000th of the odds of throwing a 7 on a single die.
To tie in with Scholar's Cup prep, I shall dedicate this song to the other 11 DHS participants.
Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
I know it's cliched, but 皆さん、頑張ります！6+ more hours!
- Bing Huan + Yue Zhi (+ me)
- Judy + Ying Xian + Yixian
- Ruijie + Vina + Peiyu
- Berlinda + Meng Shuen + Mei Hui
Scope of Subjects: Fine Arts, Economics, Astronomy, Math, Literature and History
The Econs team was great. Summarized 1.5 years of Econs work in about 2 hours coherently and they also managed to make it seem so commonsensical and interesting. Although most economics students would love to refute this statement.
After that we forced ourselves to do a trial debate session. Despite Ruijie's good tips and advice and clear instructions, it seems that he can't change the inevitable in a matter of minutes.
Instead of heading back home to prepare the notes for the common good of the teams, I hopped on the bus and subway to Orchard with Meng Shuen, hoping to cash in on the Borders membership card which Jun Jie was carrying, who we would later join. Along the way, I learned that he is a Clinton supporter (the 2nd one I found, after Wenjian, who's not that ardent in supporting her) and he does eat his vegs (while consuming a McChicken). (Grr! But on 2nd thoughts, my unconventional dietary habits are pretty much on the brink of insanity, and anyone who wants to challenge that is pretty much deserving of a place in a hospital for the rest of his/her life.)
Met Jun Jie at Borders. Turns out I can't find the stuff I need, and instead have to serve as his 2nd pair of hands. (I already have issues holding stuff for girls, much less a guy..) A short trip to Kino for those guys to buy more books. Made my way home after that unfruitful trip to Orchard. Still reading Scholar's Cup material as of now, though the chances of anything registering in my brain is probably a mere 1/1000th of the odds of throwing a 7 on a single die.
To tie in with Scholar's Cup prep, I shall dedicate this song to the other 11 DHS participants.
Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
I know it's cliched, but 皆さん、頑張ります！6+ more hours!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
North Korea as a role model for the rest of the world
Don't be too quick to dismiss the Hermit Kingdom as a hindrance to global development. Here are some interesting facts.
In terms of per capita carbon emissions, 1990 saw each head producing 12.4 metric tons. By 2004, the figure has dropped to 3.36. That's a 73% decrease!
The DMZ around North and South Korea is now one of the most well-preserved pieces of temperate land in the world.
They ain't so bad after all.
In terms of per capita carbon emissions, 1990 saw each head producing 12.4 metric tons. By 2004, the figure has dropped to 3.36. That's a 73% decrease!
The DMZ around North and South Korea is now one of the most well-preserved pieces of temperate land in the world.
They ain't so bad after all.
Le haha
Cindy Wang and I have the funniest conversation together, ever. She has really outdone herself.
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
anywy
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i hate you
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
)"
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
*):
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
you actually put berlinda's name down with xueling and txy instead of mine on your blog!
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
AFTER ALL THE IMMERSIONS WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
AFTER ALL THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE TOGETHER E.G. WALK INTO VERSACE IN CHINA
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
YOU PUT HER NAME INSTEAD OF MINE!!!
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
erm, sorry, your voice doesn't sound very funny
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
hahahahahahaha
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
emo girl
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
you hurt me...
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
WAILS
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
le sigh
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
looks like i;ll never be as good as berlinda
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
maybe i should just jump off the mrt platform on monday or smthg
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
, don't be sad
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
HUR
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
you superficial thing
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i bet you put berlinda's name instead of mine cuz you think she chio and she has long legs!
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
z
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i shall go eat my chicken chop now and feed myself lipids
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
after all
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
I WILL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS BERLINDA
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
SO WHY TRY
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
><
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
byebye
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
don't go...
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
LOL
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i really want to eat dinner
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
hahaha
Cheers!
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
anywy
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i hate you
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
)"
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
*):
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
you actually put berlinda's name down with xueling and txy instead of mine on your blog!
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
AFTER ALL THE IMMERSIONS WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
AFTER ALL THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE TOGETHER E.G. WALK INTO VERSACE IN CHINA
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
YOU PUT HER NAME INSTEAD OF MINE!!!
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
erm, sorry, your voice doesn't sound very funny
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
hahahahahahaha
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
emo girl
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
you hurt me...
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
WAILS
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
le sigh
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
looks like i;ll never be as good as berlinda
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
maybe i should just jump off the mrt platform on monday or smthg
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
, don't be sad
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
HUR
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
you superficial thing
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i bet you put berlinda's name instead of mine cuz you think she chio and she has long legs!
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
z
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i shall go eat my chicken chop now and feed myself lipids
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
after all
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
I WILL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS BERLINDA
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
SO WHY TRY
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
><
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
byebye
#un Chet voted out 5-2 http://thecriticalbits.blogspot.com/ finally updated says:
don't go...
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
LOL
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
i really want to eat dinner
cindy is gonna start screaming "YATTA!". {FOOD AND MORE} says:
hahaha
Cheers!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Birthday celebrations continue
(Writing for March 11)
Question: You can't have too much of a good thing, can you?
Thesis: I disagree to a large extent.
Though the day was supposed to be good, I woke up on Tuesday feeling down coz I had to rush to Dunman to help wash and pack up those equipment. So yeah, wash, wash and wash. Colin remarked that he didn't like washing the mess tin which Kek used to whip up his half-mashed fried potato. LOL, I would have been quite willing to wash it, coz I enjoyed every cubic millimeter of it.
Then it was time for Math lecture. I actually like P and C, which is obviously way better than stuff like Vectors and Complex Numbers. I really don't like Math that deals with the abstract, which happens to fit with my personality type.
The gang (minus Ruijie, who's enjoying himself in Hong Kong, pfft, and Peiyu, who had to finish her Econs essay, and Vina and Wynne of Year 5 some place else) decided to cancel that reservation at Settlers' Cafe and opted to celebrated the birthdays of the threesome (Vina, Wynne and I) at Vivo instead.
Binghuan, the only other guy in the group ("imba (sex) ratio", as declared by the schemer) told me that he originally wanted to join ODAC. Oh great, now you tell me. But really I have to thank him for joining TKD instead; my social life is much more interesting now.
For lunch, we dined at Terra on the 2nd floor. I was treated to the meal, minus the drink. Unsurprisingly, I chose the baked potato. (The theme of my birthday this year is really revolving around this tuberous veg.) At this point of time, I was presented my presents, magnetic earrings. Awww.
After that it was a rush to enter the cinema to watch There Will Be Blood. Critically acclaimed, but I wasn't that impressed by the plot. I'm glad that stupid religious fanatic Eli was killed; apparently religion has hardly astounded me. Final rating: 5.8/10
After a trip to Page One, I boarded the train to City Hall with Wynne. She was telling me about this Dunman senior in some university who discovered a new species of......
moss! Wow, what a great time he's gonna spend examining it for the rest of his life. We both agreed that it would be much more interesting if he had discovered a new species of moth instead.
Walked to Seah St to collect my $50 medical claim, that I zipped over to Bugis to get on the train home. Gosh, I must be a real lucky guy to celebrate his birthday with friends for 3 days in a row. Somehow it is resembling CNY or Christmas, no?
In the evening, I received a message from Yu Ting saying that the damned CSC talk on Friday was cancelled. Hallelujah! Chatted with Xue Ling about it excitedly over MSN. Now if only the same would happen for future talks.
Question: You can't have too much of a good thing, can you?
Thesis: I disagree to a large extent.
Though the day was supposed to be good, I woke up on Tuesday feeling down coz I had to rush to Dunman to help wash and pack up those equipment. So yeah, wash, wash and wash. Colin remarked that he didn't like washing the mess tin which Kek used to whip up his half-mashed fried potato. LOL, I would have been quite willing to wash it, coz I enjoyed every cubic millimeter of it.
Then it was time for Math lecture. I actually like P and C, which is obviously way better than stuff like Vectors and Complex Numbers. I really don't like Math that deals with the abstract, which happens to fit with my personality type.
The gang (minus Ruijie, who's enjoying himself in Hong Kong, pfft, and Peiyu, who had to finish her Econs essay, and Vina and Wynne of Year 5 some place else) decided to cancel that reservation at Settlers' Cafe and opted to celebrated the birthdays of the threesome (Vina, Wynne and I) at Vivo instead.
Binghuan, the only other guy in the group ("imba (sex) ratio", as declared by the schemer) told me that he originally wanted to join ODAC. Oh great, now you tell me. But really I have to thank him for joining TKD instead; my social life is much more interesting now.
For lunch, we dined at Terra on the 2nd floor. I was treated to the meal, minus the drink. Unsurprisingly, I chose the baked potato. (The theme of my birthday this year is really revolving around this tuberous veg.) At this point of time, I was presented my presents, magnetic earrings. Awww.
After that it was a rush to enter the cinema to watch There Will Be Blood. Critically acclaimed, but I wasn't that impressed by the plot. I'm glad that stupid religious fanatic Eli was killed; apparently religion has hardly astounded me. Final rating: 5.8/10
After a trip to Page One, I boarded the train to City Hall with Wynne. She was telling me about this Dunman senior in some university who discovered a new species of......
moss! Wow, what a great time he's gonna spend examining it for the rest of his life. We both agreed that it would be much more interesting if he had discovered a new species of moth instead.
Walked to Seah St to collect my $50 medical claim, that I zipped over to Bugis to get on the train home. Gosh, I must be a real lucky guy to celebrate his birthday with friends for 3 days in a row. Somehow it is resembling CNY or Christmas, no?
In the evening, I received a message from Yu Ting saying that the damned CSC talk on Friday was cancelled. Hallelujah! Chatted with Xue Ling about it excitedly over MSN. Now if only the same would happen for future talks.
Monday, March 10, 2008
You're on the other side of the world.... or maybe just a few feet away
So birthday boy arrives at school late for the Kota Tinggi trek. Packs group stuff and leaves on bus, yada yada, waits 1.5 hours at Tuas, yada yada, Kek reveals his paper "passport" worth a grand total of $15, yada yada, arrives at Kota Tinggi, where it was pouring.
We began the climb at 1.30pm. There were many instances when I really felt that I was wasting my time, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and I had to turn to unglam language for my solace.
Reached the campsite, like 2 mins behind Kek and 5 mins ahead of Shue Ling, and 10 mins ahead of the rest of group 3. Once again, I was bombarded by Shermaine and Peixin for ditching the rest of the group. But we came to a consensus that Kek was the schemer/mastermind and I got of scot-free. (ha!)
Together with Colin, Yanwen, Wen Jian, Arthur, Bao Xue and Jia Ying (the onl girl), we started building makeshift toilets for both genders, ie digging holes using shovels. The toilets for the guys were just plain holes, and its theme was natural scenery. For the girls' toilets, we decorated each site with delicately laid stones, with designs like the universal female sign and the heart shape. And due to the nature of this task, toilet jokes were abound. (Geez, I did not have such a good laugh in days!)
So I joined my team in preparation for the Creative Cooking Competition. Everything seemed botched up, coz the spaghetti did not taste the way it was supposed to be, and some guys were arguing with Peixin over the method for cooking the veggies. Sensing the need to save them, I brought out my stash of food for the trip and whipped out the 50% cocoa (which also contains rum!) chocolate bar and the marshmallows. With Shue Ling's contribution to the marshmallows, a few of us (Shermaine, Peixin, Shueling and Gao Miao or Jiahui, one of them) started on the dessert. We melted the chocolate and marshmallows and pour the diced apples into the mess tin containing the melted chocolate.
Final product: OMG! Heavenly!!!!
The other team members have also finished their respective dishes.
Potato salad with canned tuna: Woots!
Fried potato: Oh gosh, love
Spaghetti and sausages: I thought we were so screwed. Great comeback!!
Soup: Nice~~
Kankong: Eh, didn't dare touch it.
And unsurprisingly, we won the competition, and were awarded with 2 crappy cans of cocktail syrup.
Next up, performance time. I was forced to sing, and everyone wanted something by Wilber Pan. Never the crowd pleaser, I chose to sing Other Side of the World by KT Tunstall (the most played song on my playlist). If you're interested, here's the link.
The performance soon evovled into a singing PK competition. Feeling threatened by other talented participants, Peixin stepped up her game by singing a second time to silence her competition and critics. Indeed, her beauty and abilities are unmatched. HAHAHA.校花 indeed.
Lights out at 11pm, but sentry duty at 3am. Did for an hour while listening to the Year 5s gossiping about the Year 6s. Shan't reveal the content here. Rained at 4am, so everyone went back to their tents and slept.
Breakfast time, and the group had to finish the remaining food supplies to avoid bringing them down. Peixin did not express much interest in filling her golden stomach, so Shermaine, Nigel and Kek had to shove a slice of bread into her golden mouth.HAHAHAHAHA at the brawl. The sad Peixin consumed that piece of bread as if she were a mother cat which had lost her appetite after one of her kittens died. She declared that she wanted to fight for her human rights - the right to choose what to eat. Maybe I could have been lawyer.
Just before we began the trek down, it started raining ever so GOD DAMN heavily. I was feeling so BLEAH. It would totally apt to have Xue Ling or Txy or Berlinda there to shout, "This is so screwed!". That would have made my day.
On the way down, one of the instructors told me I had a leech on my leg. Surprisingly, I didn't lose my composure, and he sprayed repellant on that leg to rid the damn bug. More was to ensue, as Shermaine later found out that there was a leech on HER NECK. This inadvertedly led to her and Peixin (next to her) to scream at the top of their voices. Geez, I dunno whether I should be sympathizing with or laughing at them. They were saved with Kek's oil, which he he trouble applying on Shermaine's neck coz she just couldn't cooperate.
Arrived safely back down, nice lunch, play at the waterfall and slide. Great stuff, especially the well-designed slide. Unfortunately Ms Lee lost her glasses and everyone had to spend time finding it, but to no avail.
Right before boarding the bus, the instructors showed up with a birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays of 2 guys; the other being Shun Jie. I have never quite acquired to art of cutting cake, and it's been 7 years since I got any birthday cake, so I had to serve some disproportionate slices to everyone. But whatever, nice cake.
Best was not to be. At the Woodlands Checkpoint, our dear friend Kek was detained because helooked like that schemer terrorist Mas Selamat, with that curly hair of his was holding on to that suspicious looking piece of paper. Moral of the story: Renew your passport many days before you plan on going overseas.
Arrived in school, packed up, waited for my father to bring me home. Not so over yet, coz I had to go to the doctor to deal with that irritating growth on my eye. He told me that it was a sty (a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.) that needed to be treated with ointment. If my situation did not improve, then I may have to go under the knife. OUCH!
In conclusion (NB: good GP students don't end with this cliched phrase), that was one heck of a birthday.
We began the climb at 1.30pm. There were many instances when I really felt that I was wasting my time, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and I had to turn to unglam language for my solace.
Reached the campsite, like 2 mins behind Kek and 5 mins ahead of Shue Ling, and 10 mins ahead of the rest of group 3. Once again, I was bombarded by Shermaine and Peixin for ditching the rest of the group. But we came to a consensus that Kek was the schemer/mastermind and I got of scot-free. (ha!)
Together with Colin, Yanwen, Wen Jian, Arthur, Bao Xue and Jia Ying (the onl girl), we started building makeshift toilets for both genders, ie digging holes using shovels. The toilets for the guys were just plain holes, and its theme was natural scenery. For the girls' toilets, we decorated each site with delicately laid stones, with designs like the universal female sign and the heart shape. And due to the nature of this task, toilet jokes were abound. (Geez, I did not have such a good laugh in days!)
So I joined my team in preparation for the Creative Cooking Competition. Everything seemed botched up, coz the spaghetti did not taste the way it was supposed to be, and some guys were arguing with Peixin over the method for cooking the veggies. Sensing the need to save them, I brought out my stash of food for the trip and whipped out the 50% cocoa (which also contains rum!) chocolate bar and the marshmallows. With Shue Ling's contribution to the marshmallows, a few of us (Shermaine, Peixin, Shueling and Gao Miao or Jiahui, one of them) started on the dessert. We melted the chocolate and marshmallows and pour the diced apples into the mess tin containing the melted chocolate.
Final product: OMG! Heavenly!!!!
The other team members have also finished their respective dishes.
Potato salad with canned tuna: Woots!
Fried potato: Oh gosh, love
Spaghetti and sausages: I thought we were so screwed. Great comeback!!
Soup: Nice~~
Kankong: Eh, didn't dare touch it.
And unsurprisingly, we won the competition, and were awarded with 2 crappy cans of cocktail syrup.
Next up, performance time. I was forced to sing, and everyone wanted something by Wilber Pan. Never the crowd pleaser, I chose to sing Other Side of the World by KT Tunstall (the most played song on my playlist). If you're interested, here's the link.
The performance soon evovled into a singing PK competition. Feeling threatened by other talented participants, Peixin stepped up her game by singing a second time to silence her competition and critics. Indeed, her beauty and abilities are unmatched. HAHAHA.校花 indeed.
Lights out at 11pm, but sentry duty at 3am. Did for an hour while listening to the Year 5s gossiping about the Year 6s. Shan't reveal the content here. Rained at 4am, so everyone went back to their tents and slept.
Breakfast time, and the group had to finish the remaining food supplies to avoid bringing them down. Peixin did not express much interest in filling her golden stomach, so Shermaine, Nigel and Kek had to shove a slice of bread into her golden mouth.HAHAHAHAHA at the brawl. The sad Peixin consumed that piece of bread as if she were a mother cat which had lost her appetite after one of her kittens died. She declared that she wanted to fight for her human rights - the right to choose what to eat. Maybe I could have been lawyer.
Just before we began the trek down, it started raining ever so GOD DAMN heavily. I was feeling so BLEAH. It would totally apt to have Xue Ling or Txy or Berlinda there to shout, "This is so screwed!". That would have made my day.
On the way down, one of the instructors told me I had a leech on my leg. Surprisingly, I didn't lose my composure, and he sprayed repellant on that leg to rid the damn bug. More was to ensue, as Shermaine later found out that there was a leech on HER NECK. This inadvertedly led to her and Peixin (next to her) to scream at the top of their voices. Geez, I dunno whether I should be sympathizing with or laughing at them. They were saved with Kek's oil, which he he trouble applying on Shermaine's neck coz she just couldn't cooperate.
Arrived safely back down, nice lunch, play at the waterfall and slide. Great stuff, especially the well-designed slide. Unfortunately Ms Lee lost her glasses and everyone had to spend time finding it, but to no avail.
Right before boarding the bus, the instructors showed up with a birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays of 2 guys; the other being Shun Jie. I have never quite acquired to art of cutting cake, and it's been 7 years since I got any birthday cake, so I had to serve some disproportionate slices to everyone. But whatever, nice cake.
Best was not to be. At the Woodlands Checkpoint, our dear friend Kek was detained because he
Arrived in school, packed up, waited for my father to bring me home. Not so over yet, coz I had to go to the doctor to deal with that irritating growth on my eye. He told me that it was a sty (a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.) that needed to be treated with ointment. If my situation did not improve, then I may have to go under the knife. OUCH!
Friday, March 7, 2008
U.R.A. Failure?
Briefly, what I learnt at that USP Workshop today about the URA.
What they have done right: Void decks for most HDB apartment blocks. Void decks are a great
i) way to ventilate
ii) place to hold social activities like weddings and wakes
iii) place for elders to hang out.
What's not so right:
i) random structures that are of no use, like the viewing gallery in the park in Toa Payoh
ii) not developing Ann Siang Hill as a tourist spot
iii) tearing down the old National Library, the most awesome brick marvel in the world
Verdict: Try harder URA.
What they have done right: Void decks for most HDB apartment blocks. Void decks are a great
i) way to ventilate
ii) place to hold social activities like weddings and wakes
iii) place for elders to hang out.
What's not so right:
i) random structures that are of no use, like the viewing gallery in the park in Toa Payoh
ii) not developing Ann Siang Hill as a tourist spot
iii) tearing down the old National Library, the most awesome brick marvel in the world
Verdict: Try harder URA.
Monday, March 3, 2008
When 12000 is actually a small number
Yeah, 12000 is the measly score I got for my carotenoid test, which places me in the high risk group. 30000 to 49000 is considered moderate, while the pass rate is 50000 and more. Yiwei comforted me by saying he also got a low score, and that there were at least 3 other people who got a score of under 10000. Seems like my 0.000000000000000001% veggie diet owns those guys.
And it seems I've been doing pull-ups the wrong way all this while. Or maybe the PE teachers can't agree on a standard procedure.
And it seems I've been doing pull-ups the wrong way all this while. Or maybe the PE teachers can't agree on a standard procedure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
