Blog blog, seems like i am going to neglect you for quite some time. It has been like this for a while and i guess it will remain so for quite some time to come.
=P
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
It was a fun august and a good start for september.
It has been a while since my life was this fun and exciting. Beyond all the playing it is now time to be mugging... The real mugging mans. I have backlogged quite a lot. STOP ROTTING away!
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
What a weird semester...
As time goes on, I made more friends. And at the same time, I saw more strangers... Got closer to a few friends and also got further from some friends...
Balance? Is it balanced?
Balance? Is it balanced?
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
DBS commercial
I chanced upon the song while shuffling my songs, (everyday i'm shuffling...) and went to youtube to search for this very song.
It was sung by LMNT - Life is Beautiful. I find the lyrics very meaningful and probably would be a very good wedding pre-queal even! The commercial was very touching and probably one of the best in the bank's history.
It was sung by LMNT - Life is Beautiful. I find the lyrics very meaningful and probably would be a very good wedding pre-queal even! The commercial was very touching and probably one of the best in the bank's history.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
August, when it all dies down...
It is the start of August and with it came a few realisations in life.
The long holidays are ending, there is barely a week left. Once again the start of school also means the end of lazing around. The realisation that i could have spent the holidays more fruitfully and of course, the completion of many house improvement projects =).
I have finally finished laying cat 6 ethernet cables in level 1 of my house, and the next part is level 2 and 3. School's starting so it is time to prepare my table for the upcoming semester.
Being alone is boring, but what can be done? I wish things will change time after time, and yet it remains status quo. Oh man... is this destiny? Living life is never a breeze, but sometimes i wish that the dreams will come more often.
I could not go on exchange. I am so envious of those who had the chance to go on exchange, but i guess that is impossible for engineering at this stage already. Sianz!
The next semester will be a busy one, and I hope that i will be able to cope well with the stresses. It is not gonna be easy, yet I believe that I will emerge triumphant! ARHHHHH
"We F**king DID it!"
The long holidays are ending, there is barely a week left. Once again the start of school also means the end of lazing around. The realisation that i could have spent the holidays more fruitfully and of course, the completion of many house improvement projects =).
I have finally finished laying cat 6 ethernet cables in level 1 of my house, and the next part is level 2 and 3. School's starting so it is time to prepare my table for the upcoming semester.
Being alone is boring, but what can be done? I wish things will change time after time, and yet it remains status quo. Oh man... is this destiny? Living life is never a breeze, but sometimes i wish that the dreams will come more often.
I could not go on exchange. I am so envious of those who had the chance to go on exchange, but i guess that is impossible for engineering at this stage already. Sianz!
The next semester will be a busy one, and I hope that i will be able to cope well with the stresses. It is not gonna be easy, yet I believe that I will emerge triumphant! ARHHHHH
"We F**king DID it!"
Sunday, 24 April 2011
When reality sets in
I realised that i only felt like blogging when exams are nearing. So.. that means that i blog when stress is mounting in order to destress. Mmm some self-diagnosis there.
Because, when life is good, what is there to complain? Moreoever, nothing sucks more than exams in my life (w.r.t. my own lifestyle for now) When i am having fun, i don't blog. When i don't see a need to let people know what i'm doing, i don't blog. Because, blogging simply takes up time! And in order not to waste time having fun, so don't blog!
Ah, that is not the case when studying. There must be an outlet to destress, somewhere to run away from reality. Somewhere where you can justify wasting some time. Something which you interact with and know that it will be recorded. Maybe its my way of telling someone that i'm stressed, except that someone is neither alive nor will it reply me.
Running along, I went around reading blogs of my friends. Some are updated frequently, some are dead since 2007. But people seem to use blogs as a "touch-n-go" point. I need to record down what I did, I blog. I need to remember this moment, I blog. I need to RANT! I blog. When there isn't anyone to listen to me, I blog. Something I just need to say it out, but need no rethorical reply from a person, I can blog too!
People's life change, friends which you think you are close do can change to those which you are furthest away from. If we use a stranger as a reference point and interaction as a gauge, an enemy is far away, a friend is closer. A close friend is very close, while a friend that you are trying to ignore is i would say further than an enemy. Because at least there is some interaction with enemies, while there are absolutely no contact with someone you are ignoring.
I for one like to interact, it is rather boring to live life alone or live a life of solitude. If i were to ever shipwreck and get stuck on an island with a WILSON volleyball, i guess i'll go nuts faster than that guy did in the movie "Castaway"
So, exam periods SUCKS SHIT cuz noone is free to interact! and I have to give myself the impression that i must mug harder instead of rotting ard, however unproductive my mugging is. Haiz. Time to move on.. go mug mug.
Because, when life is good, what is there to complain? Moreoever, nothing sucks more than exams in my life (w.r.t. my own lifestyle for now) When i am having fun, i don't blog. When i don't see a need to let people know what i'm doing, i don't blog. Because, blogging simply takes up time! And in order not to waste time having fun, so don't blog!
Ah, that is not the case when studying. There must be an outlet to destress, somewhere to run away from reality. Somewhere where you can justify wasting some time. Something which you interact with and know that it will be recorded. Maybe its my way of telling someone that i'm stressed, except that someone is neither alive nor will it reply me.
Running along, I went around reading blogs of my friends. Some are updated frequently, some are dead since 2007. But people seem to use blogs as a "touch-n-go" point. I need to record down what I did, I blog. I need to remember this moment, I blog. I need to RANT! I blog. When there isn't anyone to listen to me, I blog. Something I just need to say it out, but need no rethorical reply from a person, I can blog too!
People's life change, friends which you think you are close do can change to those which you are furthest away from. If we use a stranger as a reference point and interaction as a gauge, an enemy is far away, a friend is closer. A close friend is very close, while a friend that you are trying to ignore is i would say further than an enemy. Because at least there is some interaction with enemies, while there are absolutely no contact with someone you are ignoring.
I for one like to interact, it is rather boring to live life alone or live a life of solitude. If i were to ever shipwreck and get stuck on an island with a WILSON volleyball, i guess i'll go nuts faster than that guy did in the movie "Castaway"
So, exam periods SUCKS SHIT cuz noone is free to interact! and I have to give myself the impression that i must mug harder instead of rotting ard, however unproductive my mugging is. Haiz. Time to move on.. go mug mug.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Troubles, Disaster & Respect
Tests are coming, and i'm not mugging? Disaster. Its about time to start doing something about it. I have only 5 days left, MUG!
Oh ya, my personal disaster is micro in scale as compared to the Japanese disaster. Well, they are resilient people that even the westerners must respect. I read reports saying that they are stoic, in the face of the disaster. There are sad, crying and dead people but no mass hysteria. I do agree with the report, saying that it would be so much more different if it happens in LA. I believe the reaction of the people will be similar to what i see in hollywood movies. "screams everywhere, OMG!, looting and gunfights". The best part of it is, the robbers the reporter only heard about are foreigners.
This is what i respect about the japanese people. This part of their culture is the embodiment of what most asian cultures originally is. Internalise the problem, solve it yourself or don't make such a big deal out of nothing. Yes you might be injured, but someone else might be on the brink of death. Think of the whole situation before yourself, the injured you might be more useful helping other people than to wallow in self pity.
People simply walk home when the train service stopped, power cut, roads distrupted. However, I havent heard reports of complains. It probably is such a common occurence that it doesnt bother them anymore. OR, it could be that they know that there is nothing that can be done about it in the face of such natural calamities that they simply don't see the need to make the situation worse by making a mountain out of a molehill.
We will most certainly react differently from them. I heard about people who want to go to tokyo to see the destruction and also check out what the aftermath is like -_-! I think that it makes sense NOT to be KPO. The media will show it to you, damn we probably are too sheltered. I'm not complaining about it though, being sheltered does have lots of benefits. For one, we can focus on what we are good at without worrying too much about the other issues. I would hate to see a tsunami while i'm on a beach or fear about my house possibly collapsing while sleeping.
We are blessed, and by considering the whole situation, my first complain is seriously just a molehill. Its time to solve it without making a fuss.
Oh ya, my personal disaster is micro in scale as compared to the Japanese disaster. Well, they are resilient people that even the westerners must respect. I read reports saying that they are stoic, in the face of the disaster. There are sad, crying and dead people but no mass hysteria. I do agree with the report, saying that it would be so much more different if it happens in LA. I believe the reaction of the people will be similar to what i see in hollywood movies. "screams everywhere, OMG!, looting and gunfights". The best part of it is, the robbers the reporter only heard about are foreigners.
This is what i respect about the japanese people. This part of their culture is the embodiment of what most asian cultures originally is. Internalise the problem, solve it yourself or don't make such a big deal out of nothing. Yes you might be injured, but someone else might be on the brink of death. Think of the whole situation before yourself, the injured you might be more useful helping other people than to wallow in self pity.
People simply walk home when the train service stopped, power cut, roads distrupted. However, I havent heard reports of complains. It probably is such a common occurence that it doesnt bother them anymore. OR, it could be that they know that there is nothing that can be done about it in the face of such natural calamities that they simply don't see the need to make the situation worse by making a mountain out of a molehill.
We will most certainly react differently from them. I heard about people who want to go to tokyo to see the destruction and also check out what the aftermath is like -_-! I think that it makes sense NOT to be KPO. The media will show it to you, damn we probably are too sheltered. I'm not complaining about it though, being sheltered does have lots of benefits. For one, we can focus on what we are good at without worrying too much about the other issues. I would hate to see a tsunami while i'm on a beach or fear about my house possibly collapsing while sleeping.
We are blessed, and by considering the whole situation, my first complain is seriously just a molehill. Its time to solve it without making a fuss.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Oh my its an update!
I still remembered the days when i went to NTU open house feeling lost and out of place. Now that I am there, it doesnt feel all that bangs and wows anymore.
In fact behind the facade of happy, cheerful students, there's the real truckload of hardwork to score in University. I wonder if the newbies realise...
In fact behind the facade of happy, cheerful students, there's the real truckload of hardwork to score in University. I wonder if the newbies realise...
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Project L.O.V.E part 2
Thailand
The visa on application process was an amazing trip for the non-sporeans who had to apply visas. The visa station was 2km away and the tuk tuk charged them 400 baht (daylight robbery) for the short journey! Due to the rush, they ran from place to place. Totally exciting! They finally made it back, with no more than 10-15 mins to spare. Fortunately, there was no complications.
And so the journey on the train from Nongkhai to Bangkok started. We were suppose to be in the first class cabin, but it ended up as 2nd class upper sleeper -_-! The tour agency cheated us! However, it was cool anyways. We were hanging around with nice people. We also found out from a local, what to do, where to go.
The train journey was much better than that in vietnam. We were sleeping parallel to the direction of travel, and there was much more space. I had a nice sleep. The train was freaking 2 hrs late though -_-! We reached like 8am when we're suppose to reach like 620am. I wonder what is the use of the schedule.
The visa on application process was an amazing trip for the non-sporeans who had to apply visas. The visa station was 2km away and the tuk tuk charged them 400 baht (daylight robbery) for the short journey! Due to the rush, they ran from place to place. Totally exciting! They finally made it back, with no more than 10-15 mins to spare. Fortunately, there was no complications.
And so the journey on the train from Nongkhai to Bangkok started. We were suppose to be in the first class cabin, but it ended up as 2nd class upper sleeper -_-! The tour agency cheated us! However, it was cool anyways. We were hanging around with nice people. We also found out from a local, what to do, where to go.
The train journey was much better than that in vietnam. We were sleeping parallel to the direction of travel, and there was much more space. I had a nice sleep. The train was freaking 2 hrs late though -_-! We reached like 8am when we're suppose to reach like 620am. I wonder what is the use of the schedule.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Project L.O.V.E
When i first joined LDP, the first project that attracted my attention was Project L.O.V.E. It gave me an opportunity to do OCIP, to travel with friends and do something i usually wont do myself.
The journey was one of insane distance, and long duration. The trip lasted 14 days, of which around 3 days is taken up for travelling from place to place. Many things happened, and this made it an even more amazing trip.
Which route did we take?
We first took a jet star 3hr flight from S'pore to Ho Chi Minh city, followed by a 2hr local flight to Hanoi. This is followed by a 5hr train journey to Vinh, which we took a 8hr bus ride to the Vietnam-Laos border. From there, we took minivans to our final destination of Nonghet, Laos.
We stayed 10 days in Nonghet and took a 16 hour bus ride to Vientiane. Stayed 2 days in Vientiane, crossed the Laos-Thailand border to Nongkhai train station and took a 12 hour train to Bangkok and stayed 1 day there. I would have wished to stay longer in Bangkok, but we had a great time together nonetheless. Probably, the shorter the time spent, the more precious.
Vietnam
When the plane landed in Ho chi Minh, it was rather hot, around 26 degrees. We started to sweat the moment we got out of the airport. This was made worse by the sudden flight cancellation the night before by Jetstar. Fortunately, we were able to book another flight by Air Mekong, which was really luxurious by any standards. By doing so, we managed to escape many of the possible inconvenience caused by change in plans.
It was the first time i sat a bombardier plane, i had only ever sat boeing and airbus planes. The 2 x 2 arrangement was really comfy, the service and food was good. It has been eos since i had to take a bus or walked the tarmac to the plane as it was too small for the aerobridge. It was a totally refreshing experience.
I thought that Hanoi being the capital of Vietnam would be more developed than Ho Chi Minh. To my surprise, Hanoi was similar to Vientiane in my opinion. The buildings are short and consisted mostly of industries. The air was polluted and haze thick.
"The time is ##:## and the weather is light winds and the temp is 12 degc ..." WTH? HUH? 12 DEG? How the HELL did it drop from 28 to 12 deg within such a short distance? We were flying through thick clouds and the plane probably landed with 100m visibility. The fog and haze was horrible. Anyways, we were ill-prepared for the low temperatures that we are about the experience. It dropped to around 8 deg when the sun went down. I took out all of my thickest jackets during then and still shivered in the cold.
A vietnamese scholar who was a friend of the committee was there to lias and helped us around. He treated us to some street food, which was vermicelli with duck meat. It was cheap and good, something to warm us up in the cold weather.
We moved on to riding the train. It was a 6 person sleeper compartment which was a squeeze in my opinion. We were sleeping perpendicular to the direction of travel, but i was able to sleep nonetheless. When we reached vinh, it was 4am in the morning and we looked for food, eating a 20000 dong ($1.3) chicken porridge. At 6am, we boarded the bus and started the journey to Laos.
We were stuck at the vietnam border for quite long as they had problems understanding our passport with english stating sex as F & M. Finally after a long time, we passed. With the bus leaving our luggage behind at the laos border as we took too long.
Laos
Visa application was troublesome at the Laos border but we got through anyways. The minivans brought us to our guesthouse of the the next 10 days.
We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the guesthouse. We had rooms with beds and quilt blankets. However, the blanket is not thick enough and the wind keeps blowing the cold wind outside into the room. Limited water supply causes us not to have water sometimes. Bathing in the cold room despite having hot water is a very cold affair. Its almost impossible not to shiver. There are also no heaters available.
The food prepared for our meals is alot and quite good. However, the chicken parts were quite difficult for me to eat. They were bony, had little meat and were tough to bite. I wonder why people like kampung chicken when they had tough meat, usually roosters instead of the tender juicy fat hens that we eat. Our menu was later changed to daily similar breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.
The project was quite a success. We built a multi-purpose court, taught in 4 primary schools colours and basic english. We also distributed water storage containers to 2 villagers. 10 days is a long time, but it is also a short time. The time spent there was very nostalgic and unforgettable. We had campfire, food exchange (visited the market many times), and finally a farewell dinner.
At the end of 10 days, we started the 16 hours bus journey to Vientians.
Phonsavan was by right a 2.5 hr journey, but the bus took 5! This was due to them picking up people along the way. What surprised me most was that they provided plastic seats when the bus was already full! The journey was long but the road was generally smooth. It was winding though, and usually children cannot stand such trips and develop motion sickness. This was when the boy in front of me started to feel like vomiting. He just sticked his head out of the bus window and vomitted outside!
We finally reached the hotel in the morning 6am. There were some complications, but we still got the room anyway. We now have an unlimited supply of hot water! However, the volume flow rate cannot be controlled and it wasn't really hot enough -_-! Spent the next 2 days exploring Vientiane, knew it like the back of my palm and it's just like clark quay. Mainly for food and probably some massage.
We were provided a free bus to the laos border, which was actually a lorry-ttuk tuk. Surprising how it could fit all of us, but the ride was exciting nonetheless. We had to pay 10k kip as a crossing fee, and took a train across the Laos-Thailand border. It was fun taking photos with the train.
The journey was one of insane distance, and long duration. The trip lasted 14 days, of which around 3 days is taken up for travelling from place to place. Many things happened, and this made it an even more amazing trip.
Which route did we take?
We first took a jet star 3hr flight from S'pore to Ho Chi Minh city, followed by a 2hr local flight to Hanoi. This is followed by a 5hr train journey to Vinh, which we took a 8hr bus ride to the Vietnam-Laos border. From there, we took minivans to our final destination of Nonghet, Laos.
We stayed 10 days in Nonghet and took a 16 hour bus ride to Vientiane. Stayed 2 days in Vientiane, crossed the Laos-Thailand border to Nongkhai train station and took a 12 hour train to Bangkok and stayed 1 day there. I would have wished to stay longer in Bangkok, but we had a great time together nonetheless. Probably, the shorter the time spent, the more precious.
Vietnam
When the plane landed in Ho chi Minh, it was rather hot, around 26 degrees. We started to sweat the moment we got out of the airport. This was made worse by the sudden flight cancellation the night before by Jetstar. Fortunately, we were able to book another flight by Air Mekong, which was really luxurious by any standards. By doing so, we managed to escape many of the possible inconvenience caused by change in plans.
It was the first time i sat a bombardier plane, i had only ever sat boeing and airbus planes. The 2 x 2 arrangement was really comfy, the service and food was good. It has been eos since i had to take a bus or walked the tarmac to the plane as it was too small for the aerobridge. It was a totally refreshing experience.
I thought that Hanoi being the capital of Vietnam would be more developed than Ho Chi Minh. To my surprise, Hanoi was similar to Vientiane in my opinion. The buildings are short and consisted mostly of industries. The air was polluted and haze thick.
"The time is ##:## and the weather is light winds and the temp is 12 degc ..." WTH? HUH? 12 DEG? How the HELL did it drop from 28 to 12 deg within such a short distance? We were flying through thick clouds and the plane probably landed with 100m visibility. The fog and haze was horrible. Anyways, we were ill-prepared for the low temperatures that we are about the experience. It dropped to around 8 deg when the sun went down. I took out all of my thickest jackets during then and still shivered in the cold.
A vietnamese scholar who was a friend of the committee was there to lias and helped us around. He treated us to some street food, which was vermicelli with duck meat. It was cheap and good, something to warm us up in the cold weather.
We moved on to riding the train. It was a 6 person sleeper compartment which was a squeeze in my opinion. We were sleeping perpendicular to the direction of travel, but i was able to sleep nonetheless. When we reached vinh, it was 4am in the morning and we looked for food, eating a 20000 dong ($1.3) chicken porridge. At 6am, we boarded the bus and started the journey to Laos.
We were stuck at the vietnam border for quite long as they had problems understanding our passport with english stating sex as F & M. Finally after a long time, we passed. With the bus leaving our luggage behind at the laos border as we took too long.
Laos
Visa application was troublesome at the Laos border but we got through anyways. The minivans brought us to our guesthouse of the the next 10 days.
We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the guesthouse. We had rooms with beds and quilt blankets. However, the blanket is not thick enough and the wind keeps blowing the cold wind outside into the room. Limited water supply causes us not to have water sometimes. Bathing in the cold room despite having hot water is a very cold affair. Its almost impossible not to shiver. There are also no heaters available.
The food prepared for our meals is alot and quite good. However, the chicken parts were quite difficult for me to eat. They were bony, had little meat and were tough to bite. I wonder why people like kampung chicken when they had tough meat, usually roosters instead of the tender juicy fat hens that we eat. Our menu was later changed to daily similar breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.
The project was quite a success. We built a multi-purpose court, taught in 4 primary schools colours and basic english. We also distributed water storage containers to 2 villagers. 10 days is a long time, but it is also a short time. The time spent there was very nostalgic and unforgettable. We had campfire, food exchange (visited the market many times), and finally a farewell dinner.
At the end of 10 days, we started the 16 hours bus journey to Vientians.
Phonsavan was by right a 2.5 hr journey, but the bus took 5! This was due to them picking up people along the way. What surprised me most was that they provided plastic seats when the bus was already full! The journey was long but the road was generally smooth. It was winding though, and usually children cannot stand such trips and develop motion sickness. This was when the boy in front of me started to feel like vomiting. He just sticked his head out of the bus window and vomitted outside!
We finally reached the hotel in the morning 6am. There were some complications, but we still got the room anyway. We now have an unlimited supply of hot water! However, the volume flow rate cannot be controlled and it wasn't really hot enough -_-! Spent the next 2 days exploring Vientiane, knew it like the back of my palm and it's just like clark quay. Mainly for food and probably some massage.
We were provided a free bus to the laos border, which was actually a lorry-ttuk tuk. Surprising how it could fit all of us, but the ride was exciting nonetheless. We had to pay 10k kip as a crossing fee, and took a train across the Laos-Thailand border. It was fun taking photos with the train.
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