the magic eight ball

slow download & slower run

2006-08-29T22:22:00.000+08:00

As I type this post, I am also downloading the notes for tomorrow's lecture. This download is taking an excruciatingly long time to finish... Someone should remind the lecturer to not get carried away with doing a powerpoint presentation until it becomes 18mb... plus the transfer speed is at best 15kbps and at worst 1000 bps (this small number reminds me of old dial up modems... *beep beep beep beeeeeeeeeep*)

Since I'm on the subject of "slowness" I might as well confess that I bombed my 2.4 run and therefore failed my IPPT =[

Yes, I failed miserably. Haha. Then again, this was without any training on my part so I guess that's not unexpected (oops for the double negative). Anyways, I probably got 3 more tries before I hit the deadline i.e. the dreaded RT... and no, RT does not refer to my name, but remedial training... gah.

Anyways, i have set the worst possible result for IPPT so I guess this only means that there's only one way to go from here... UP!

Oh, luckily I didn't wear my super comfortable white Air Force OCS service term singlet to do the IPPT. Would have been so malu-ating...

the file is still downloading...

Oh, had dinner with ML at bedok corner. The pork cutlet noodle is nice. Of course, that probably means its terribly unhealthy, but who cares =p

Yay. Finished downloading. Only took me 15-20 minutes =/

Women shouldn't teach men in church

2006-08-24T23:48:00.000+08:00

Happened to be RBSing (Random Blog Surfing), when I came across a post by a Postgrad Student in the states who linked to a news report that said that a female sunday school teacher was sacked from a certain American church. The dismissal letter quoted 1 Timothy...

Heheh. Sounds familiar? Pastor Aaron had been talking about this in one of his sermons on 1 Timothy. I remember, cos I did that silly skit with the 3 girls. hahaha.

[They] dismissed [the female teacher] on Aug. 9 [note: S'pore's National Day!] with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.

The letter quoted the first epistle to Timothy: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent."

Link to full article HERE.

diarrhoea... one hard word to spell

2006-08-24T19:59:00.000+08:00

Interesting pick up line all guys should try once in their life.

"My love for you is just like diarrhoea?"... "cos I just can't keep it in!"

End joke.

Been suffering the last two days. Think i should go see a doctor. These stomachache attacks have been happening too frequently. Especially in the morning. Bleargh. IBS? Need to see doc soon.

food food food

2006-08-15T20:31:00.000+08:00

list of 50 things to eat before you die
(stolen from steffi and nat, who got it from HERE)

1. Fresh fish
2. Lobster
3. Steak
4. Thai food
5. Chinese food
6. Ice cream
7. Pizza
8. Crab
9. Curry
10. Prawns
11. Moreton Bay Bugs
12. Clam chowder
13. Barbecues
14. Pancakes
15. Pasta
16. Mussels
17. Cheesecake
18. Lamb
19. Cream tea actually just cream and scones
~~20. Alligator~~ in Tamworth, Australia
21. Oysters
22. Kangaroo in Tamworth, Australia
23. Chocolate
24. Sandwiches
25. Greek food
26. Burgers
27. Mexican food
28. Squid
29. American diner breakfast in Vegas
30. Salmon
31. Venison
32. Guinea pig
~~33. Shark~~ in Tamworth, Australia
34. Sushi
35. Paella
36. Barramundi
37. Reindeer
38. Kebab
39. Scallops
40. Australian meat pie
41. Mango
42. Durian fruit
43. Octopus
44. Ribs
45. Roast beef
46. Tapas
47. Jerk chicken/pork
48. Haggis
~~49. Caviar~~
50. Cornish Pastry

43/50... not too bad =D

jesus feeds the 120++

2006-08-11T23:49:00.000+08:00

welcome tea is finally over. I am really relieved that everything turned out alright if not great. All the IS enjoyed themselves, the food (and cutlery) were enough, and almost all problems that did crop up were solved quickly =)

If you were there...

You would have seen how food that was catered for only 60 IS (and none for the VCFers!) was sufficient for 120! We even had special hidden cookies right at the end =) I seriously kept thinking like it was so similar to Jesus feeding the five thousand. Multiplying the food. cool.
You would have seen how the 100 forks and spoons were more then enough for the entire crowd.
You would have seen how many enjoyed themselves so much that even though the event was suppose to end at 8pm, people were there till 10 plus.
You would have seen how wonderful the final "choice" of Engine Bridge as a venue for the welcome tea was. There was enough space for games, we didn't have a time to leave, etc...

Ahyah. It was a great effort by all the VCFers who came down but most importantly, it was a day where God showed us that He will provide. Then again, I wasn't too stressed about the whole event, but God did allow for some close calls to keep us on our toes =p

I'm tired now. Bible olympiad tomorrow. I'm still sick. drugged up on panadol. hungry. Only ate half a packet of sliced fish hor fun the whole day. typing in short sentences. looking hungrily at my aquarium fish. raid my fridge? sad.

bleargh

2006-08-10T22:19:00.000+08:00

I don't believe I wasn't smart enough to "show hand" when I bidded for my 5th module. GAH.

I need to find a fifth module for this semester and my 3 day week is in jeopardy =[

On a positive note, I attended the national day parade yesterday.

I was singing the national anthem while taking the pic...

Update: I just realised my module could have been bidded under 2 module codes of which I chose the more expensive one. Also, If I had bid the same amount for the other code, I would have gotten it! My sadness has just reached a new level =[

national anthem

2006-08-06T01:13:00.000+08:00

someone from VCF recently mentioned to me that there was a survey given to NUS students to ask what the name of our national anthem was and 50% of NUS students said it was....

Mari Kita!

rofl.

p.s. I cannot confirm the validity of this but it certainly is worth a laugh.

Anyways, for those interested, here's the translation of our national anthem:

Onward Singapore

Come, fellow Singaporeans
Let us progress towards happiness together
May our noble aspiration bring
Singapore success

Come, let us unite
In a new spirit
Let our voices soar as one
Onward Singapore
Onward Singapore

luke, I am your father!!

2006-08-04T22:26:00.000+08:00

Met Nat for dinner today. Tried New York Pizza for the first time. I kinda liked it. The meal there was more filling then expected. Though the chicken wing was rather out of place.

Anyways, decided to walk around TM to shop for a present when we made our usual trip to Toys R Us and guess what I found!!!

*drumroll please*

This was selling for I think 90 bucks initially when I first saw it long ago. Here's a picture of me trying part of it way back in May 2005...

But, I decided not to splurge 100 bucks. And patience has paid off! I think it was a mistake on the part of Toys 'R' Us because they priced this gem of a toy for only 20 bucks! When I went to pay, we looked at a brochure they had and it was supposed to be selling for 50 bucks (with a coupon). So I promptly paid for it and ran home to scare my family.

"Luke, I am your father!!!"

This thing comes with a voice changer. So fun!!! wahahhahaa. I'm as happy as a kid at Christmas day morning!

You can check out this link to someone using the mask and a cool lightsaber replica to scare his wife.

CORS and sleeeeep

2006-08-03T23:23:00.000+08:00

CORS is ongoing. This semester's module selection looks good. Hopefully I get the modules that I have selected. Doing so will allow me a fantastic 3 day week again (Remember, I had a nightmare 5 day week last semester which dragged me all the way to NUS for a 1 hour tutorial even though my total journey time to & fro was 3 hours plus!!!)

Read a really good article about sleep. I recommend it to all those out there who have any problems with sleep.

An excerpt:

Tips for a Good Night Sleep

Sleep only as much as you need to feel refreshed the next day.
Get up at the same time, 7 days a week.
Exercise regularly.
Make sure your bedroom is comfortable and free of disturbing light and noise.
Make sure that your bedroom is at a comfortable temperature during the night.
Eat regular meals and do not go to bed hungry.
Avoid excessive fluids in the evening. Cut down on caffeine products.
Avoid alcohol, especially in the evening.
Smoking may disturb sleep.
Don't take your problems to bed.
Train yourself to use the bedroom only for sleeping and sexual activity.
Do not TRY to fall asleep.
Put the clock under the bed or turn it so that you cannot see it.
Avoid taking naps.

For the full article, link is HERE. Courtesy of boingboing.

propane tanks

2006-07-15T23:17:00.000+08:00

Ok, im blogging this so I don't forget this useful nugget of information:

Ever wondered how much gas is in your LPG tank under your stove or bbq pit? Besides using this tank, apparently you can just warm up some water and pour it on the side of the tank. Since the gas is liquid and cool, the water's heat will cause the tank to form condensation at the current level of the propane. Eureka.

Note: I have not tested it but have always wondered how much is left in the small gas tank of my BBQ pit...

eyesotum chapter 108264

2006-07-12T23:43:00.000+08:00

Gah. I lost my wallet... again. The last time I lost my wallet was in sec 1. So I guess I lose my wallet once every 12 years. Somehow, once I had found out that my wallet was missing and had confirmed it after much frantic searching, last Sunday's sermon came to my head.

"Wah, she praying for what? Miracle ah?"
"Ah But Then!"

and

"Never judge God's love for you based on your circumstances but on the cross"

Somehow these two things remained in my mind. Perhaps it was because I took down sermon notes. Haha, shameless plug for taking down sermon notes.

So what am I gonna do? Pray for miracle lor =) and know that whatever happens, God is in control. Cheers.

exercising

2006-07-05T22:22:00.000+08:00

I'm really trying my best to exercise my blogging muscles. The inertia of not updating this for the last 2 months is really strong. Recently I realised that I should be blogging more often as it's, sadly, my only way that I journal events and interesting happenings in my life. I'm reminded by this only because someone likes to pop by my old entries and laugh at my silly life, which reminds me that I have a silly life worth remembering to begin with.

Speaking of exercising. I need some real physical exercise. Been wanting to run since Sunday. Need to keep fit so I can attempt IPPT (soon). Finally settled to a new running route round my estate, it's about 2.4 to 2.6 km and includes ups and downs. Too bad, I'll be at away at Queenstown Methodist for the next 3 days. It doesn't help that my body is trying to tell me that I'm gonna fall ill soon. Certainly feels like it.

I have things to do...

Economics and the World Cup

2006-07-01T14:20:00.000+08:00

Going by the title of this post, many would think this would have to do with revenue earned during the WC or prices of tickets to matches or something related with money. Strangely but yet interestingly enough, it's got to do with penalty kicks.

Happened to come across a boingboing article that discussed about the "Game Theory of Penalty Kicks". This article was based upon work done by an economist from Brown university.

" penalty kick is a situation in which the shot-taker either scores or doesn't score based on simultaneous actions taken by both the shot-taker and the keeper. Simplistically, both the shot-taker and keeper (the "players") must decide whether to aim right or left, without knowing the direction that the other will aim (the shot-taker aims with the ball, while the keeper aims with his body). Both players generally do better going to one of the two sides, and, logically, will choose to play their strong side more frequently than their weak side. However, neither player can always choose his strong side, because then the other player will know where to aim. Therefore, each player must decide how frequently to play each side, so as to maximize his expected payoff (for the shot-taker, the probability of scoring; for the keeper, the probability of preventing a score). "

Link to BB article.
Link to the Game Theory Article.

Still reading through the paper.

i wonder if...

2006-06-07T23:56:00.000+08:00

...they cancel your account if you never update.

Rejected Cover

1 down, 4 to go

2006-04-23T20:58:00.000+08:00

One day after that fateful paper I'm finally feeling better. Less kancheong, less worried.

It's strange how things that happened today seemed like it was all packaged just for me. The early morning conversation/prayer, the worship and the sermon.

3 key words/phrases that I'd want to remember from today...

Total surrender?
The joy of the Lord is my strength
Faith

25 MCQs

2006-04-21T23:24:00.000+08:00

*begin grumbling*

Thats what my chance of studying honours is gonna be dependent on. How can you have a final exam for an important level 3000 module that's just 25 MCQs! Oh, I forgot to add that there's negative marking involved.

Some simple maths:

25 correct = 50/50
20 correct = 35/50
17 correct = 26/50
16 correct = 23/50 (FAIL)

I can only get a max of 8 wrong to pass this paper =X

*end grumbling*

Yes, I am worried. eyeamnotsogoodatmacroecons =[

tis the season for..

2006-04-18T22:46:00.000+08:00

study plans!

from now till 5th May I have planned 112 study hours. I'm behind schedule by 2 hours already.

I think if I can achieve 80% of what I planned I will be satisfied.

Yep, haven't updated for eons. Oh well.

something I learned today...

2006-03-18T21:55:00.000+08:00

So what is your objective when you join a smallgroup, lifegroup, cellgroup, contact group, etc?

"I want to learn from others"

"I want to have people to be accountable to"

"I want to have a fun time"

"I want a group that cares about me"

"I want to have a listening ear for my problems"

This question came up during the Masterlife class (part of membership class). CN asked us why we joined smallgroups and what we expected from joining. To be honest, some of the responses above were floating in my mind when he asked it.

He then told us that when we join a smallgroup, our objective should be to love one another. We should be expecting to give and not take/receive. Wow. Why wasn't I thinking about this? It made perfect sense.

A lot of time people go into smallgroups expecting to take, take, take and when they feel that they are not getting anything from the smallgroup or when problems occur, they get discouraged and leave. They go in expecting to receive and not give. Christ commanded us to "love one another" (John 13:34-35) and we should do so in our smallgroups. By giving unto others we receive too. Thus our focus should be on the giving to others (loving others) and not on the receiving. Let it just be a bonus that should spur us to give even more.

I think I always knew the answer but I just never actively thought about it. How can I live this out today? Hmm.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

-John 13:34-25

stopping time

2006-03-14T18:19:00.000+08:00

ever wanted to stop time? I sure do. I wish I could stop time right now and slack till I was happy (which would take forever) or right before an exam, stop time till you finish studying and finished going through the entire set of past year papers.

Lucky for me, it is now possible. Check this out!

STOP TIME

a spastic mouth

2006-02-20T22:54:00.000+08:00

I'm just having the most painful week ever and according to my dad, it's gonna be another 3 more days at least. argh.

I got a huge ulcer on my upper lip which continually brushes against my teeth. This means no eating on one side of my mouth. In addition...

I got an ulcer on my tongue. I had accidentally (and rather idiotically I might add) bit into it while eating and talking with daniel at the same time in the canteen. My mouth is spastic. It's times like this when u realise what your tongue does while you bite, chew and swallow.

I am grumpy, in pain, and erm... grumpy. Bah humbug. Please excuse me =)

wow.

2006-02-18T23:23:00.000+08:00

I guessed I needed a reminder about priorities, and at a time when I wasn't even expecting one. Strange. My guard was down and his words seemed so perfect for me. Like he knew what I was thinking of and what I needed reminding about.

I admit, the stress of doing well this semester has got to me. My priorities are all over the place.

Oh, I bombed the International Econs mid term this morning. This feels like Financial Econs all over again. I can only wish that the end result will be something similar.

Membership Classes have begun.

I'm surprised I managed to remember Romans 8:28 (ok, it was a teeny bit iffy, but it was the OP camp theme verse plus I had just read it during my daily bible reading 2 days ago)

More brainstorming done today with lots of help from Kris, Cheryl.

Thoughts all over the place.

Good time for a mid-term break.

Oh, Man Utd lost. Disgusting injury to Alan Smith. Dislocated his ankle joint. Eeyucks. I'm so squimish at injuries.

15 mins to relax and think about my chinese

2006-02-14T21:42:00.000+08:00

I was clearing up one of my shelves in my cupboard by accident just now and happen to come across my report books, academic certificates and other important documents. It was all so darn dusty. Maybe I should have filed all of them up instead of leaving them lying about on the shelf.

Anyways, decided to read through some of my report books/cards. Spent a good 15 mins just flipping through the various years, looking at the teachers' comments and looking at my grades rise and fall over the years.

Some notable comments...

"... He has to improve in his work attitude towards Chinese."
- Ms Han Kok Peng, Sec 3, Semester 1

"... keep up the good work and do more reading in chinese..."
- Ms Han Kok Peng, Sec 3, Semester 2

"Ryan must believe that he can do well for chinese."
- Mr Tim Lim, Sec 4, Semester 2

I sense a pattern here =/

Oh, by the way, my secondary 2 chinese teacher brought forward her retirement after teaching me and a few chinese "geniuses" chinese for one year =[

And who can forget the famous challenge to me by my JC chinese teacher...

"you cheng! lu guo ni bu ken wo yi qi yong gong du su... blah blah blah..."

I gave up trying to type out the hanyu pinyin... so here's the rough translation (add in your own cheesy chinese accent if you wish...)

"Ryan! If you don't work together with me and study hard and do my all my nonsense, you will get a F9 for chinese! But... if you work hard and cooperate, you willl surely get a ...... D7!"

I almost died. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Btw, I chionged on my own effort and got a C6.

lessons learnt from this week

2006-02-09T22:58:00.000+08:00

I learnt that reading the bible is actually not that bad. Got through the book of Matthew and Acts already. Thinking of what to read next. I'm actually a little excited about reading the bible nowadays =)
I learnt that guys (ok, myself) enjoy retail therapy (somewhat) too. Don't get me wrong. I don't go shopping for hours on end for bags or little shiny stuff. Just this week I was feeling rather stressed up over my macroecons tutorials that I decided to go "zhng" my fish tank with new fishies and decorations. yes, I am that sad =/
I learnt that ever since I entered Uni, Thursday have always been a big test of my willpower and determination. My schedule never seems to flow nicely with VCF and I always end up thinking about going home instead of going for CF (But I still go CF!)
I learnt that my new fishes (clown loaches) can really hide. One morning I woke up and tried to find them. I looked through the front, back, sides and top of the tank but still could not locate the darn clowns. I began to search my bedroom floor just in case they decided to jump out. Apparently, the fishes can hide really well in the tank.
I learnt that I am able to wake up at 5:50am on 3 consecutive days and get to school by 745am. This, I am really proud of =)

i feel dumb

2006-02-06T23:00:00.000+08:00

macroeconomics tutorials are making me feel very very very stupid.

2 tutorials and I can't solve them both. not a single question =/

maybe 4 level3000 econs modules wasn't sucha great idea after all.

praying for sudden divine wisdom right now =)

devouring pages

2006-01-15T01:01:00.000+08:00

I read over 1100 pages over the last 3 days.

I wished they were pages from the bible. But no, they were not.

I wished they were pages from my 4 econs textbooks or my 1 religious studies textbook. But no, they were not.

I wished they were pages from some christian literature. But no, they were not.

I wished they were pages from the latest Harry Potter (so I wouldn't need to read it in the near future). But no, they were not.

I wished it was part of a job that I would get paid from. But no, I wasn't going to get paid.

It was just 2 novels that I had read before and I happen to chance upon while looking through my bookshelf. Heh.

Sunny Friday the 13th

2006-01-13T23:01:00.000+08:00

And so it finally stopped raining and the sun said hi. This was my chance to wear berms and sandals to school since school started =] Really, who wants to wear sandals when it rains, the idea of feet soaked in disgusting rain/puddle water and left to dry in your various lecture theatres for anywhere from 2- 4 hours is certainly not my cup of tea.

Didn't even realise it was Friday the 13th till I heard it over the radio in the evening. I should have guessed though. Then again, I was less unlucky and more stupid argh.

Lessons were to start at 2pm so I figured I had plenty of buffer time to play with. Perhaps I would wake up at 10am, makan lunch, watch a bit of telly then go off to school around 12?

I woke up at 8am. Snoozed the alarm and...

woke up at 1pm. Garrrhhh...

So i jumped out of bed, did the usual quick change routine, and ran out to the bus stop. Trying to act smart, I figured I should take the bus to Simei so I could save the time on the train (the buses take abt the same time to go simei, tamp and pasir ris).

So I reached Simei, got to the train platform, sat down, took out my textbook and started reading since I was going to be late. Soon the traina rrived and I happily boarded it. After about 2 stops I heard the announcement "Pasir Ris". ARGH. I took the train in the wrong direction.

And so, thats how I ended up 45 minutes late for lecture. Thankfully, its just the 1st lecture so nothing too important.

Anyways, I think I found the first nominee for worst invention for 2006. Those silly flapping thingamajigs that they attached to the collection points for trays in the school canteen. 4 days later after they were introduced, the canteen people have decided to get rid of them. Haha.

Hmm, got a decision to make soon. I just realised I'm distancephobic. Garh.

it has begun

2006-01-10T22:33:00.000+08:00

School starts tomorrow for me. I guess I am a little excited. Back to a normal routine and some mental exercise. This sem is gonna be a little tougher then last sem and I really don't know what to expect from some of the modules. I am hoping to improve on last sem but I got to admit, I'm not that confident.

FIVE day week here I come. I finally had to get it. No more pleasures of a 3 day school week. Argh. On the bright side, it's quite a relaxed timetable for a 5 day week, with my lessons mostly starting after 9am or even in the afternoon for some days.

Anyways...

Here's a really interesting and funny site for your viewing pleasure.
(taken from www.i-am-bored.com)

Steve, Don't Eat It!

Yes, it's use of language is a little liberal, but reading beyond that, you will find priceless quotes a plenty.

The horde in the distance...

Weekly Bible Reading Update: Matthew 10-20

woe is me timetable

2006-01-09T13:07:00.000+08:00

Argh.

'nuff said. Gah.

=[

Zombies!!!

2006-01-08T22:48:00.000+08:00

Zombies closing in on me!
My figure looks like chewbacca =/

This game is really fun! All must try! =)

a blessed new year to all

2006-01-01T22:03:00.000+08:00

2006. I'm actually pretty excited about it =)

Lots of things to look forward to and I believe its going to be a really great year. Yes, I'm motivated, I have the drive. Consistent QT, achieving my academic target I have set for this semester and the next, building up existing friendships & working on those friendships that I have been neglecting, LG, CG, SGL and many more church & cf related acronyms.

Then again, I can't help but feel this tinge of cynicism from myself. I'm probably not gonna succeed in everything listed above but I guess that shouldn't stop me from trying. After all, if you don't set goals, then what do we have to look forward to, how can we improve, step up to the next level, etc.

Had a busy last 2 days. The retreat, watchnight service, 1st YM for the year, debriefs, meeting with pastor. Was so tired that by the time I reached back home this afternoon, all I did was eat lunch, sit on the sofa and fell asleep. Still dressed in what I wore to church and even my SOCKS. =/

Had a dream while I was sleeping. Dreamt that I flew into this insane rage inside church. The kind of temper/rage I had as a little boy. Unacceptable language, total lack of respect for people, etc. Wow. It was so shocking. After my outburst in church (during the dream of course) I walked out of church and fainted (how pansy is that!?@?!). Then I woke up.

Was that suppose to mean anything to me? Hmm, all I can think of is that I feel really really happy that I no longer had the temper that I used to have. Haha, maybe it's hard for some people to believe that I was such a brat with a hot streak but you can ask Ralph or my sis, they would know. =X

Weekly Bible Reading Update: Matthew 1-9

gah

2005-12-31T00:43:00.000+08:00

My aircon is leaking badly.

Bah.

On a positive note, I decided to start a proper bible reading structure for my QT. Will start with some easy reading. Gonna go through the gospels first. Perhaps a few chapters a day. Yes, I am inspired by MK. =p

clean, clean and clean?

2005-12-30T02:51:00.000+08:00

Cleaned up my fish tank. Added in fake plants and got rid of the live plants. Too lazy to keep getting rid of the dead leaves. Bleh. Fake plants much easier. Also, I realised because I hadn't used my tank light for the past week, all the algae in the tak disappeared and the tank. I think the fish are happier... and still alive =)

Cleaned up my phone. Emptied my phone of the hundreds of images that had been using up my memory. All those memories bring back a smile. From the "cup in mouth" images to the many insane "fun @ toys r us" images.

Lastly, I need to get cracking on my daily QT. It's been a mess this christmas. I still can't underdstand why my QT is more regular during examinations then during holidays. bah.

the tank all cleaned up

lots of ice cream... mmm

spot the 2 otters

secret is out =)

2005-12-26T00:37:00.000+08:00

anyways, feeling rather moody/sian/tired right now. I believe its the lack of sleep. I hope. I need some rest. I just felt so tired tonight from the past 2 week's activities.

thumbs up -> telephone call

10 seconds after this, the owner wasn't too pleased!

Family 2005

of guns and grades

2005-12-23T09:23:00.000+08:00

Just ended my mini In Camp Training. It was a 2 day familiarisation shoot with the SAR-21. Thank God that there were familiar faces around and more importantly that everything went through smoothly and safely. The SAR-21 really is a nice weapon and the stripping and assembling is really easy. Justa bunch of boys with their toys.

Called up NUS to get my results while we were waiting to out-process from the training. I think I had pretty clear expectations of my results so I wasn't too nervous. Actually, I was rather pleased with myself that I had actually put in that much effort for this exam. But I know more can be done especially since I only started revision about a week and a half before the first paper.

My results were much better then expected and all my thanks goes to God. Certainly, on my own strength I doubt I would have managed to get such a score. 2 modules were a surprise. I was even expecting a fail for one of the modules but I truly believe God was merciful.

The coolest moment? I got my first A+. What's so cool about it? I got it for financial economics which I thought I was going to fail at the beginning of the semester and which I continuously regretted to myself for choosing the module. Lesson learnt: Give each module a chance and do your best, you never know how well you can perform if you don't put in the effort and persevere.

Thank You God =)

on a hot date...

2005-12-21T00:22:00.000+08:00

...with the army.

Be back on thursday.

Christmas is coming =)

links links

2005-12-20T00:12:00.000+08:00

Christmas is coming.

Been really busy plus my nose keeps leaking everytime during carolling practices. Urgh. On a positive note, I have discovered the powers of LEMSIP. It really works!

My sandals have taken a battering over these weekend. TOFU on Saturday and todays ultimate frisbee in, erm, muddy grass (mardi gras?) at East Coast have led to my sandals being in a not-good-condition. =[

Anyways, here are some links cos I was bored and perhaps maybe you too?

Video of People acting out Mortal Kombat (no blood)

Site full of cute pictures for animal lovers

Urban Ninjas - jumping around buildings

weird power rangers clone?

humouring maicie

2005-12-16T23:45:00.000+08:00

Instructions:

Post 5 weird/random stuff about yourself.
~~At the end, list the names of 5 people whom you want next to do this, and leave a comment "YOU ARE TAGGED!" in their blog and tell them to read your blog for rules.~~

--------------------------------->

I like to sleep without the air-conditioning, fans and all my windows and door closed. And also with my blanket over my whole body. I also usually sleep with a night light and with my radio at volume level 3 (read: barely audible).
I have a strong aversion to strawberry flavoured things (except ice-cream) including strawberries. It probably started from young when my doctor kept prescribing to me strawberry flavoured antibiotics and I kept puking from the yucky taste.
Generally, I do not eat all fruits except green ones such as green apples, honeydew and erm durian (ok, so the rule is rather dodgy). I really dislike papayas too.
I own exactly 2 red t-shirts and have only worn each of them once. I do not like red except red ang paos.
I know of 2 other people who were born of the same day and same year as me. Both are./were in VCF too.

Bonus!
I like to kill off memes like this one. So I shall not name any others =p

Sadistic yet Funny

2005-12-15T23:16:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered what it would be like to wake up in a video game like "Doom" or "Resident Evil"? You have to check out this video. It's amazing the amount of effort put in just to trick this guy.

"I'm not afraid! I'll shoot ya!"

Guy Wakes up in Video Game

Hypnotism. Funny till it happens to you =X

games workshop

2005-12-15T00:14:00.000+08:00

Had the PAF games workshop today. Really fun =)

I learnt a few things...

1. karate chops can break a watermelon... eventually

2. (some) people can drink blended burger and coke

3. waterbombs are scary thingies

more pictures available on my flickr or
you could see the post on the PAF blog.

Some good news: I received a free GV movie ticket from taking part in some obscure NUS survey. Thank you NUS Sociology department! =p

the irony of holidays...

2005-12-13T21:53:00.000+08:00

...is that you think you will have more free time but the truth is that you end up equally busy, if not more busy, as you start to fill up your planner with meetings, camps, activities, etc.

It doesn't help that the army decided to help me further "busy" my holidays by planning some reservist training for me =X

Don't get me wrong, my holiday activities have been great and I don't regret any of them =)

quick recap...

2005-12-01T23:46:00.000+08:00

ok, I typed this once and IE hung on me. bleh. So here goes...

Here's a quick recap on what has happened since I last blogged.

My Yamato Shrimp in my fish tank died. After taking it out of my tank, I realised it looked like some kind of sushi. So I ate it. Sidenote: What's the plural for shrimp?
Went for a run on Monday. Couldn't run on Tuesday and Wednesday as my body was in immense pain. I think if I took IPPT this month, I will fail badly.
Ran today. Legs still hurt. Ran (or jogged) really slowly. Sun was nice and hot.
Cleaned up half my room on Wednesday. Threw away 2 bags of rubbish and a spoilt desk lamp. Looking at my room today. It seems nothing has changed. Either more rubbish has magically appeared to replace the things that have been thrown away or the stuff that has been nicely arranged has mysteriously crawled back to their not-so-neat arrangements. Greeeaaaaat. =X
Ok, I didn't eat my shrimp. I flushed it down the toilet bowl.
Went for carolling practice. Very rusty indeed.

Anatomy a of Guy's Desk

See if you can recognise all the items on the table.
Click for larger image.
[highlight below for answers]

pencil box, mos burger number tag, fish food, puffy square calendar, pig with heart on its butt, eight ball (of cos!), some cds, lots of pencils and assorted stationery, nail clipper, 2 post cards (austin powers and star wars), random motivational poster, memory card reader, roll of cord, carabiner (spelling?) and tube of green dice.

can't wait...

2005-11-23T21:09:00.000+08:00

38 hours more to go till end of exams...

15 days to LTC...

28 days to Reservist...

32 days to Christmas...

39 days to the New Year...

Things to do today (21st)

2005-11-21T22:13:00.000+08:00

Read up on the history of S'pore from 1819 onwards

Keano

2005-11-18T22:14:00.000+08:00

Roy Keane is no longer part of Manchester United

Yikes.

Things to do today (18th)

2005-11-18T16:25:00.000+08:00

~~Meditate~~
on
~~Microeconomics~~
=)

Oh, Today's exam was pretty tough. =X

Things to do today (17th)

2005-11-17T01:00:00.000+08:00

~~EC2303: practice past year paper 1~~
~~EC3101: game theory (one shot game)~~
~~EC3333: EMH/measurements~~
~~EC2303: practice past year paper 2~~
~~nap for 1 hour~~

Things to do today (16th)

2005-11-16T16:26:00.000+08:00

~~EC3101: Notes 2a and 2b~~
~~EC3101: Notes 3a and 3b~~
~~EC2303: Practice past year paper~~
~~EC3333: Prepare futures notes~~
~~Nap for 2 hours~~

things to do today (15th)

2005-11-15T10:50:00.000+08:00

Go through EC3101 2a and 2b notes and tutorials
Prep notes for EC3333 (~~options,~~ futures)
~~Finish remaining notes for EC2303 along with tutorials~~
~~Print EC3333 past year papers~~
~~Nap for 1 hour~~

my floor - my study center

2005-11-14T23:54:00.000+08:00

Saw MK's maths notes on his blog. Figured that I should do a comparison of my studying area between this semester and last semester.

Last Semester...

This semester...

Ok, besides the fact I actually have more stacks of paper/notes/junk I also realise that I'm facing different directions for the different semesters. This semester I'm facing east c.f. last sem where I faced west. Hopefully facing east will help me absorb the information better.

Ok, so I'm bored...

Time for sleep so that I can start piecing together all the info I have gone through tonight.

Things to do today...

2005-11-14T14:42:00.000+08:00

Just to ensure I finish the things that I want to finish (erm, redundancy?) today:

~~Finish up notes on first half of EC3333~~
~~Study 6 sets of EC2303 notes and practice tutorials~~
Prep notes for EC3333 (Options, Futures)
~~Go through EC3101 notes 1a and 1b~~
~~Print EC2303 Past Year Papers~~
~~Nap for 1 hour~~

I'm tired and my body seems to be wanting more and more sleep out of me. bleh.

On the bright side, I got out of bed and the first thing on my mind was... do QT. Must be yesterday's mass teaching during YM. heh.

overcoming inertia and opposing forces

2005-11-13T00:28:00.000+08:00

I finally managed to overcome my inertia to begin studying for the exams. T'was hard but I finally sat myself down (actually, my favourite studying position is lying on a huge cushion on the floor with all my notes and textbooks sprawled everywhere) and began rewriting notes and revising.

Unfortunately, in response to this, my mind has decided to go into overdrive and I've been besieged by lots of distracting time-wasting ideas like: cleaning my desktop and laptop of viruses and spyware, cleaning my fishtank, reading newspapers, watching inane HBO movies, reading jokes from Readers' Digest, etc...

The battle wages on...

An Atheist and a Bear

2005-11-12T00:12:00.000+08:00

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that evolution had created.

"What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!", he said to himself. As he was walking along the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. When he turned to see what the cause was, he saw a 7-foot grizzly charging right towards him. He ran as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing. He ran even faster, crying in fear. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that moment, the Atheist cried out "Oh my God!...." Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all of these years; teach others I don't exist; and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as Christian now, but perhaps could you make the bear a Christian?"

"Very well," said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran again. And the sounds of the forest resumed.

And then the bear dropped his right paw ... brought both paws together... bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful."

Inertia...

2005-11-11T23:30:00.000+08:00

in-er-tia: [noun]

[Physics] The tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force. (Newton's 1st law of motion)
Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change.
The excuse why Ryan is very behind time in his study schedule. Related to definition 2.

Bleh.

Joke time...

A bear walks into a bar and says “I want a bourbon and....a coke”, the bartender asks “what’s with the huge pause?” The bear say “I’ve had them all my life.”

Gettit?

Ma Po Tou Fu

2005-11-10T23:59:00.000+08:00

The combined thursday CG met up for the pre-exam outing. Both Boggled and FTP (which I now know stands for "funky thursday people") travelled down to Bugis (with some honorary thursday CG people) for some Ma La Huo Guo.

The Aftermath on the all-guys plus
one bak chor mee aunty table

Luckily there's no school tomorrow. Can stay near my toilet just in case =X

Finally did up my studying schedule which looks mightily impressive. Unfortunately, I'm already 2 hours behind schedule. Have to make up for it soon.

Study break is upon us.

Be afraid, be very afraid...

rain rain splash

2005-11-09T23:04:00.000+08:00

Driving in heavy rain is always exciting. Especially when it's at night and you're on the highway.

SPLASH!

Joke time...

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed in an accident"

"OH DEAR GOD NO!!!" George W. Bush exclaims. "That's terrible!!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the president sits, head in hands. Finally, the President, devastated, looks up and asks,".... how many is a Brazillion?"

End joke time...

Engrish

2005-11-09T00:09:00.000+08:00

Engrish Locks!

a prawn joke...

2005-11-01T21:24:00.000+08:00

taken from reader's digest october 2005...

Two prawns, Tom and Christian were swimming in shark-infested waters disussing how difficult their lives were.

"We never know when we're going to get eaten," said Tom. "I wish I was a shark - then I wouldn't have to worry."

At that moment, a shoal of cod appeared. "Your wish is granted," they chanted and, pow, Tom turned into a great white shark. Christian, terrified of his former best friend, swam away and hid.

Months passed and life grew very lonely for Tom. Whenever he saw his old prawn friends, they swam away in fear. Christian was so upset by his oldest pal joining the enemy that he refused to leave his house.

Desperate to put things right, Tom searched everywhere for the mysterious cod. Eventually, he found them. "Please make me a prawn again," he begged. Puff - he was a shellfish once more.

With tears of joy in his little eyes, Tom swam home to Christian.

He banged on his door and said," It's me. Tom. Come out and see how I've changed."

"No," Christian replied. "I won't be tricked into being your dinner."

"But that was the old me," implored Tom. "I've found cod. I'm a prawn again, Christian."

Ok, it took a while to get to the punch line but I thought it was pretty funny and creative. Anyways, I used to read lots of jokes from Reader's Digest cause I thought I wasn't funny enough =X

Games Day

2005-10-30T21:56:00.000+08:00

(accidentally posted this on the PAF blog.. eyeamsotum... heh)

Yay, Games day is over.

It was all planned in 2 weeks and it's finally over. Phew, what a relief.

I must admit I was quite (read: very) worried about the attendance, which looked really bad right at the start. Actually, seeds of doubt starting seeping into my mind just before the program started. Once that happened, I immediately flashed back to thursday night's conversation with C. I was telling him that I desired to continually trust God in everything that happens everyday.

Flash back to the present.

Closed my eyes and said a prayer and dedicated the program to God remembering that it was not about the numbers or the "success of the event" but its just about doing our best and trusting it in God's hands.

Thanksgivings:

For the Attendance, not too shabby
For the smooth running of the program that ended on time!
For a committed and excellent planning team (Isaac, Jeslyn, Des & Nat)
For an enthusiastic and happening crowd
For no stage fright (I get really nervous in front of crowds)

MK has uploaded some photos from Games Day on his blog. More to come I promise.

On a side note, my throat is much better and my ears are slightly better. Thank God =)

chilli ikan billis

2005-10-28T23:59:00.000+08:00

My throat feels slightly better. Strangely enough, the relief came only after I ate dinner with my Dad. and yes, there was chilli ikan billis, the kind you might get as finger food at pubs. Mmm. Must be the chilli that burned the sore throat away...

Fighting poison with poison...

Isn't there a chinese idiom?

Ears still hurt. Dad recommends I go see a ENT specialist if I don't recover soon.

rain, pain, abstain?

2005-10-27T23:09:00.000+08:00

Rain: Its raining uber heavily outside and I'm glad I made it back to my house where I'm nice and warm and away from the eeky rain. Just as we ended CG and were heading for supper/home, the heavens suddenly opened up.

It's precisely in times like this that I have to make a conscious effort to look on the bright side and be thankful for things instead of cursing the weather. Because, even the weather is created and designed by God right? So here goes...

1. I'm thankful that I decided to bring my jacket to school today especially since I usually cannot be bothered to carry it.

2. I'm thankful that I have a sister who drives, owns a car, is awake and most importantly, is willing to pick me up from the MRT station in the midst of this torrential rain.

Pain: My ears really hurt now. Its an on and off kind of sharp pain to my ear drums. Throat hasn't gotten worse but that just means its still the same. Well, I'm just happy I made it through school and CG.

Abstain: (ok, I was looking for a word that rhymes with rain & pain and has a definition similar to "skipping lecture". Yes, the word does sounds wrong...) I need to get some rest tonight, not going to recover unless I do. By right, I have a lecture in a little more then 8 hours. By left, I think I can survive without going for that lecture =)

bleh part 2

2005-10-26T21:42:00.000+08:00

Slept for only 3 hours last night. The painful throat is really bothering me. So woke up at 7am to go see the doctor and came home with a bunch of medication to fight this infection.

I'm leading a bible study tomorrow and it's going to be my first in CF so this is actually a bad time to be having a sore throat, losing my voice and feeling overall bleh.

I admit the temptation to skip school tomorrow and just stay at home and lie in bed sucking on lozenges sounds very tempting. Very. But I believe that things will work out by tomorrow and by the grace of God, I will be at CG (attempting) to lead bible study.

Argh, my throat and ear drums really hurt.

erm ber?

2005-10-26T00:05:00.000+08:00

Silly Youth Ministry Advertisement

courtesy of ber

bleh

2005-10-25T23:41:00.000+08:00

pei pah kao doesn't seem to work and my left ear drum hurts =/

cobwebs?

2005-10-24T23:14:00.000+08:00

Been a while since I last updated (again).

Heh.

Anyways, if anyone wants to know, I'm having trouble doing the Valsalva manoeuvre. My left ear makes a squeaky noise. I am pretty sure its not supposed to do that.

My throat hurts. I need more Nin Jiom Pei Pah Kao.

wokay wednesdays

2005-10-12T23:08:00.000+08:00

watched a movie
helped the guys with maths
cooked spaghetti carbonara
played Risk (and won!)
cooked a pirated version of spaghetti carbonara

Not too bad =)

Introducing the Green Ninja Sect

2005-10-07T00:04:00.000+08:00

The Boss and his two mystery "lai ren"

financial aftermath

2005-10-04T22:36:00.000+08:00

All I can say is...

THANK YOU GOD!

Walking along AS1 hallway, I chanced upon my tutorial mate from financial economics. He told me that the lecturer had already posted the answers to the test on the IVLE.

*cue funeral song*

With great fear and a lot of curiosity, I walked to the library and accessed my IVLE page.

1. wrong

2. wrong

3. wrong

4. wrong

5. correct

6. wrong

Jia lat liao. 5/6 wrong (read: 83% wrong) already. Scared to look at the rest. I immediately recalled briefly going through the answers with another friend and giving up halfway due to the many mistakes I had spotted.

Thankfully, after question 6, things were much brighter. I managed to salvage the rest of the test as the later questions were of higher weightage. I actually scored more then 70 percent.

Overall, very very much better then expected.

Lesson learnt? Yup.

5 hours is not enough to study for a mid term test that is 1/4 of your entire module's grade.
I had a few silly mistakes which could have been more free marks. Darn. Check, check and check again

Thank God for teaching me a lesson on studying hard. My entire Friday was bleh, all because I thought I did terrible for the test. Thank God that my lesson learnt did not come at a high price (read: failing miserably).

Where do I go from here? STUDY lor. =)

memento

2005-09-30T21:05:00.000+08:00

9:06pm @ Bedroom

I'm sitting at my desk looking at my 'replacement' cardinals in my fish tank. Feeling better.

Hmm, plants in the tank are growing a bit too well... omg, is that a snail in my tank?@!?!@

8:00pm @ 2nd Floor Living Room

Watching American Chopper on Discovery Channel and eating my dinner (Fried rice with an egg along with some chicken stew). This is one of my favourite channels to just sit in front of and vegetate. My bleh face reflects off the tv screen.

Hey, why is the chicken ice cold???? Eufemia.......

7:00pm @ Loyang Point Fish Shop

Is it me or has everyone I met today been really really nice to me? Must be my sad face. After a bit of complaining about my luck with keeping tetras, he offers to sell me a new batch cheap and with a guarantee =)

6:30pm @ Neu Cut (previously known as Sri Nadi)

Aunty was really nice about cutting my hair even though it had a some gel on it. She was also quite patient with me especially since I kept asking her to cut shorter and shorter and shorter...

I think I can finally do the 'fin'.. heh.

5:30pm @ NUS engine bridge

Contemplated whether I should go for the bible study. Decided against it. Was rather tired due to the lack of sleep and wasn't in the right frame of mind. Plus, was still feeling bleh over that thing earlier in the afternoon.

2:00pm @ NUS FASS LT11

Attended Friday's EC3101 lecture. Figured it would be better for me to attend this today then I can skip school on Monday. Got LOTS of help from cheryl regarding the assignment. Thanks =) Rush rush.

Handed up the assignment then attended the next lecture at 4pm but left halfway because I wasn't absorbing much and the lecturer seemed to be talking nonsense and reading off the slide.

Still feeling lousy over that test.

12:00pm @ LT8

My financial economics mid-term test...

Nuclear mushroom cloud and I think it's laughing at me =(

Yup. I bombed. I'm just hoping I scrape a pass from this test.

8:00am @ Green Tables at Arts Canteen

Started studying and finished notes by 11am. I think I'm pretty confident of doing ok.

more boredom

2005-09-28T23:17:00.000+08:00

heehee 93 percentile

MAW - make a word

2005-09-26T00:05:00.000+08:00

because i was bored =)

google earth

2005-09-25T00:51:00.000+08:00

Google earth is kind of fun. Who would have thought people get a kick out of finding their homes from satelite images? Now the only problem is that Singapore has too many clouds over it.

I'm somewhere there right at this moment...

stripes

2005-09-24T22:52:00.000+08:00

Somebody got new quiltcover from Ikea.... me.

I ~~must be such~~ am a lucky silly boy =)

Aquarium v1.01

2005-09-22T22:10:00.000+08:00

Haven't updated very much recently. I figure it's because I haven't had much to gripe about. Been rather happy over the past week. Birthday was a quiet affair and I guess that's the way I like it.

Anyways, most of my spare time over these few days have been spent meddling with my new self-purchased present for myself - my new fish tank. Some pictures...

Aquarium v1.01

Crashed Star Destroyer with a
Cardinal Tetra swimming by

Lord Vader standing on Prawn Peak

My desktop

2005-09-21T23:52:00.000+08:00

Sleeping pattern out of whack

2005-09-13T21:10:00.000+08:00

I think my body is going crazy. For the last 2 days, I have been falling asleep at 8 and 9pm respectively. Then I wake up around midnight or 1am. This means my sleep is now divided into two 3-4 hour blocks. It's not that bad a thing actually except for the fact that I had a test this morning and was studying for it yesterday till about 9pm when I mysteriously fell asleep while studying. Next thing I know, it was 1am in the morning and the notes were still in my hands. (ok, I admit, it was partially my fault for studying on my bed, eyeamsotum)

The time now is about 9pm and I'm feeling sleepy. urgh.

Maybe all this rain over the last 2 days is making me so sleeeeeepy.

Just flipped through the new Ikea catalogue. So many nice things. I think I'm going to go there one of these days after school.

QT has improved over the past week. Last week was terrible, only did QT like 2 times =/

Which Rurouni Kenshin Character Are You?

Cheh. I'd thought I would be someone cooler like Saito!

bored at 2am

2005-09-12T02:37:00.000+08:00

Go see this funky ninjaburger site. I wonder if they deliver to Singapore.

the comics there are the funniest.

ok, the only reason im awake is because I napped from 8pm to past midnight =/

google?

2005-09-12T01:36:00.000+08:00

So if you type in "failure" in google, check out the first thing on the list...

taken from i-am-bored.

because I was bored.

oh, if you wanna find out why, search wikipedia about google bombs

7 hr stopover

2005-09-09T23:44:00.000+08:00

I just realised that I was only home for 7 hours last night. Reached home at 2330 and left my house this morning at 0630. Just a 7 hour stopover at 122LR.

Met Graham on the train today. Poor guy has to travel to the west everyday. Plus it's like a fews stops further then mine and I only go school 4 times a week.

E-games tomorrow. Xbox party. All are invited =)

It's been an interesting week.

During CG sharing we were just discussing about maintaining friendships and making new ones with people other then those in church and VCF. I realised that I haven't been keeping in contact with many of my friends outside of church and CF. Will try to take the effort to work on these relationships in the coming weeks.

On an interesting note, I recently made some new friends in my tutorials. Its so strange and not the usual me. You would expect this to happen in the beginning of the semester and not smack in the middle. Oh well, maybe it has something to do with what was discussed at CG.

Mid terms have snuck up on me. The first two are next week. Eeeeps.

Oh, the youth ministry TOFU blog is up. Check out the picture of a past year tofu. Heh.

yay.

2005-09-07T23:42:00.000+08:00

Phone is repaired at no cost. Luckily I'm still within my warranty period.

Unfortunately, rat is still in kitchen I think. Big shiny white metal pole (for rat bashing) is still downstairs.

One out of two isn't too bad.

phone drenching and rat bashing

2005-09-05T21:45:00.000+08:00

Argh.

My air con pee-ed (read: leaked) on my handphone. The buttons now only work intermittently. Gah. I hope the repairs don't cost too much. =[

My dad got me all hyped up just now when he mentioned that there was a rat in the kitchen. No other phrase sounds cooler from your dad then...

"I need something to hit the rat"

Of course, I immediately took it to mean...

"I need a big metal pole to hantam the squeaky rodent!!!"

and in came the "Rat Basher 2000". Patented and copyrighted.

I always knew the spare shower
curtain rod would come in handy.

But alas, the rat escaped and the rat bashing would have to wait till another opportune moment.

Now, if I can only get my phone to work again. Tried hairdrying it already...

G-Max-ed

2005-09-03T23:36:00.000+08:00

G-Max @ Clarke Quay

Met the LG at Clarke Quay to celebrate Jeremy's birthday. The idea was to send Jeremy on the G-Max ride. Somehow, I ended up joining him too =X

Check out this link to this really cool colour optical illusion... amazing.

dreaming of econs

2005-09-02T23:38:00.000+08:00

Amazing.

Fell asleep while doing my econs. Was stumped at a particularly tough econs question.

Had a dream where I 'saw' a mistake that I made while doing the question.

Woke up, went to school and re-attempted the question (and corrected my mistake according to the dream).

SUCCESS.

/Amazing.

Oh ya, the tough, stressful week is over and I'm also glad I went for CG. No stress, no worries, just a bit tired =)

Jason Mraz - Curbside Prophet

stuffing myself with econs

2005-08-31T21:25:00.000+08:00

Note to self:

DO NOT EVER attempt to do your Microeconomics II, Financial economics and Foundation Econometrics tutorials in one day.

Oh, and also not together with your 4000 word essay (Economics too)

Hahaha. eyeamsotum...

The temptation to skip CG due to all this work is really great. I pray that I will be there... and awake.

procrastination - it's a love-hate relationship

Daniel Powter - Bad Day

random thoughts in Aug

2005-08-29T22:02:00.000+08:00

Got a slight headache from my nap. Urgh.

Anyways, just some thoughts...

Nin Jiom Pei Pa Kao is really damn nice =) especially for sore throats
Someone told me today that I not only had the "engine" (engineering la) look, but also the GEP (Gifted Education Program) look... Should I be happy?
Got so many things that are due this week. Ok, perhaps only 4 things. But I scared I'm going to procrastinate till last minute. Urgh.
Studying at the green tables at the canteen is a good thing. Somehow, during my 2X2 hour break on Friday, I squeezed in almost 3 hours of productive time (mixed with some talking nonsense...)
I realised I have not updated this blog in ages
Finally some progress on the YM website. some only.
I have stop hanging out in the central library as often as I did in my first year. Somehow, the canteen (see point 4) and AS7 com labs have been better alternatives. Library? good for sleeping only. Heh.
Petrol prices are VERY VERY EXPENSIVE now.
- Distance travelled to and from school = 70km
- Cost of petrol used = 70km X 0.09l/km X $1.92 $/l= $12.10 and 1 hour of my life...
- Cost of taking public transportation = about $7 and 3 hours of my life...
Question: Is $5 worth 2 hours of your life?

Jason Mraz - 1000 Things

1st CG

2005-08-25T23:50:00.000+08:00

Got this random gift today from a VCFer. Haha. Nothing cheers up my boring afternoon like the Dark Lord of the Sith. =)

Just got back from the first CG of the semester. Turnout was prety good in terms of freshies and that was rather encouraging. I also had a chance to pray with someone who prayed in cantonese. Quite an interesting experience, though I honestly had no clue what he prayed for. Heh.

Anyways, its 2355h now. I'm tired, I need to bathe and I got an 8am lecture to attend tomorrow and I'm not driving. *cries*

1 X Slack Kitty at Fong Seng

Excel-lent.... Not...

2005-08-24T23:20:00.000+08:00

Another bunch of tutorials to go through.

And I cannot find my Office 2002 CD to go install a neccessary add-in for MS Excel for one of my statistics modules. Grrrr...

Anyone has a CD I can borrow?

Anyways, while reading through one of my economics coursepacks, I discovered an interesting fact: the Chinese were the ones who invented wallpaper (along with porcelain, gunpowder, the compass and other useful items).

I dislike wallpaper. I dislike the wallpaper hanging on my room walls. I've been wanting to paint my walls for the longest time, but removing wallpaper has been a difficult task that I do not want to take up. Painted walls are the best. Don't like the colour? Repaint lor.

Wednesdays, my free day, a good day to just lie in bed and dream.

CG tomorrow. 1st CG for this sem. =)

Daniel Powter - Bad Day

tutorials...

2005-08-22T22:24:00.000+08:00

Argh.

An economics tutorial. Not too bad.

An economics tutorial thats mainly maths based. A little bad.

An economics tutorial thats mainly maths based and taught by a lecturer with a strong chinese accent. My nightmare.

Work, work.

8am lecture tomorrow =[

thanksgiving: Managed to finally meet the PAF com and settled some important stuff over the weekend. Thank God.

Shall end off with a funny pic of pansy pootball players...

CORS and swear (pun intended)

2005-08-17T23:19:00.000+08:00

Oh. Flickr is now part of Yahoo. Seems like every small successful start up is being bought up by the large usual suspects i.e. Yahoo, Google, MS, etc...

Anyways...

*insert long rant about how slow and useless the NUS CORS system is and how much time is wasted just waiting and clicking*

Now that I'm done with that, we can move on to more important stuff like...

I really really need to find a time to meet the PAF committee... ARGH.
I really need to plan for the aforementioned meeting.
I really need to get back to the rhythm of school. Feeling so lethargic and slack.

this cute dog really wants to escape

Weezer - El Scorcho

panicky tuesday

2005-08-16T22:59:00.000+08:00

Argh.

Woke up today ready to be productive. Top of the list: Clean up my room followed by my CORS tutorial bidding.

Yeah. I thought it was open for bidding today.

So I popped by the CORS site to make my ranked choices. Upon reaching, I see this announcement regarding the extension of the next round. I immiediately start to freak. Why are they announcing this in the first round? Is the first round over? OMG, did I forget to bid for my tutorials?

AHHHHHH.

Tried to calm down to check. obviously I hadn't calmed down enough because as I looked through the details of the bidding rounds, I somehow had the idea that the first round of bidding was on monday and I had missed it.

I was filled with terror. My precious schedule was going to be ruined. I missed the chance. I was going to have to fight for scraps.

Anyways, panicked for about an hour then decided to get my mind off this nonsense by cleaning my room and by zombifying in front of the xbox.

I just realised (as of 12 midnight) that I made a boo-boo. Bidding for tutorial actually starts tomorrow not monday and I shouldn't have anything to fear for. Hehehe.

eyeamsotum.

Anyways, why do people think the picture below is of Shane?

bleargh

2005-08-15T23:58:00.000+08:00

I still feel as if school has not started yet.

Argh.

ok, so I was a little bored

Interpol - C'mere

coke and admiral zhang he

2005-08-12T23:31:00.000+08:00

Decided to have a ice cold glass of coke last night before I slept.

Big mistake.

Managed to fall asleep easily, only to get up about 90 minutes later as I was wide awake due to the caffeine. This pattern continued all the way till 7am when I gave up, washed up and left for school.

8am Lecture. Hehehe. I was 45 minutes late. Hope I didn't miss much.

I'm glad I decided not to have 4 lectures in one day. Cannot absorb. Thank God for polo mints which have been keeping me awake during lectures for the whole week.

Interesting Fact 1: Admiral Zhang He, the famous chinese admiral who sailed around and discovered many places, etc, was a eunuch. I had heard about this during an econs lecture today. The lecturer mentioned that the only reason why Admiral Zhang He could accomplish so many great things was because he was a eunuch and thus did not waste precious energy chasing after women because he had no.. erm.

Interesting Fact 2: Admiral Zhang He was responsible for the creation of the Peranakans. Apparently, when he visited the sultan of malaya (some place around there), he gave the sultan guy a gift of 500 chinese beauties. These chinese beauties inter-married with the malays and this all led to a fusion of cultures thus leading to beautiful peranakan people and the most important thing....

Buah Keluak. I still have plenty in my fridge. *smug look*

Disclaimer: I didn't bother to go research all these facts, it's just stuff I remembered from my lecture.

Third Eye Blind - Never Let You Go

random thoughts

2005-08-12T00:25:00.000+08:00

Managed to reach home in time to catch LOST on tv. I figure this is the last time I get to see it as I will be having CF on Thursdays from next week onwards. Luckily stef has it on VCD (right stef?)
Early morning lecture tomorrow. Thank God my sis is lending me the car as she's flying overseas.
I had my first lecturer from China this week. Took me a while to get used to his pronounciation.
My textbooks are gonna cost a bomb this semester. Argh.
Spent 30 minutes reading photoshop books at the co-op to pass the time. Very educational. Though, those xbox machines there are rather tempting...
Dinner with JC classmates this Saturday. Yay.
No one who attended the Arts VCF welcome tea stays in Pasir Ris.
I can't wait for dinner tomorrow =)
Lots of Buah Keluak in my fridge. This kind of food is best enjoyed over a few days. Yum yum yum.
10 hours in school tomorrow. Whoopee or Argh?

the national day post

2005-08-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

Just got my butt kicked at Yahoo Pool by biggy180, some random guy that wanted to challenge me and whom promptly served me a can of whoopedass.

Relatives all came over for a yummilicious pot luck dinner. Lots of eating, talking, eating, watching the national parade, eating, watching shooting stars, eating dessert, talking more...

btw, everyone should really try those Cornetto Minis. They are really really yummilicious. I had 2 today. My cousin had 3. I have more in my fridge, saved up for tomorrow. Want?

National day. Standard conversation topics cropped up. Elections, the amount of vehicles in this year's parade convoy/drive-by, how those national day performances are getting a bit boring, etc. It also gave me a chance to throw in some overused post-NKF nonsense jokes (counting in peanuts and the most expensive durian, u go figure it out) Thankfully we managed to move on from those boring topics to something of more significance in a global scale...

Soccer and the WORLD CUP (which is in eleven months, but that doesn't stop SCV from advertising the fact that they are the official broadcasters). Another interesting point, because of the world cup, football fans all over the world (especially EPL fans) will be in for non-stop soccer from today till the end of the following season. 2 seasons of soccer and a world cup squeezed inbetween. yummilicious.

Oh another football point to note. Watch this video to see this 9 year old soccer prodigy. That little twerp is 9 year old but is amazing...

Still can't stop thinking about yesterday.

Jason Mraz - You and I Both

free sniff please.

5am and I'm awake

2005-08-09T05:15:00.000+08:00

I'm awake at 5am in the morning wondering...

"why in the world am I up at this time?"

Answer: Drinking a glass of yummy Ribena.

Listening to the sound of my tower fan and the beat of my own heart.

weekend round up

2005-08-07T22:45:00.000+08:00

Friday
Events: Shopping for present, Collection of present, wrapping of present, quick stop for tea and stationary shopping, birthday party, sleep.

Feelings: rushed, embarassed from carrying a huge soft toy around, relief, happy, hungry, full, tired, a bit sick

Saturday
Events: Woke up feeling sick, folded paper and prayed for later event, one purpose race, loitered around parkway, queued, queued some more for FOP, queued a bit more, get a bit cheesed off at people blatantly cutting the queue, queued a bit more, FOP, bus back, sending home duties, late night supper and walk

Feelings: sick, peaceful, excited, hot, tired, sian, frustrated, sick of queuing, joyful, tired, sick, happy, scared.

Sunday
Events: Woke up still sick, 11am Service, Lunch, YM, hung around airport, send off, dinner, sleep?

Feelings: sick, emotionless, hungry, tired, happy

Walking home alone at 12 midnight scares me. Somehow all this talk about all this 7th month nonsense is getting at me. Nothing spookier then a empty stretch of houses at midnight with no lights on, nobody around and just the dogs barking at you... or the creepy ghost behind you =x

School tomorrow! YAY! or boo?

voting?

2005-08-04T22:06:00.000+08:00

"Aug 27: Presidential Polls Set" - Straits Times 4th August 2005

I might actually get to vote this year? Maybe not.

I totally forgot that we Singaporeans get to vote =/

Anyways, I'm trying to be optimistic as I'm hoping to finally vote for the first time in my life. Ok, perhaps its not a big deal. Then again, if there's an opportunity to vote, we will be getting a public holiday on the 27th August.

Argh. 27th August is a Saturday. Chay...

Today was really funny. A lot of people were so surprised, shocked. Hahaha. Damn funny.

Placebo - English Summer Rain

"early" wake up

2005-08-03T22:34:00.000+08:00

Woke up rather grumpily this morning. A combination of a flurry of morning SMSes and Euphemia constantly banging the darn vacuum cleaner against my door (2 points to ponder: Is the outside of my door so dirty that she has to vacuum it for 5 mins? This house needs a quieter vacuum...)

Anyways, I proceeded to explain to Euphemia that there is absolutely no need to vacuum a house with parquet flooring which you already sweep and mop. Seems like overkill to me. And its really noisy for such an early time.

Ok, so what if it was almost noon, it's still early to me. Hahahaha.

The weather is Singapore is so interesting. On my way to Loyang Point to get some bread, I took a casual glance at the sky and it looked nice and breezy.

Walked a bit further, turned to my left and saw the incoming weather...

Argh, better run then.

Some random funny looking mongrel stray dog near my house

Had dinner at Triple3 at Mandarin Marina. Yum. The Lobster bisque there is my next favourite soup after Shark's Fin plus Hot & Sour Soup combo from Regent Hotel.

Argh. Haven't done QT yet. Luckily I remembered.

thud goes the cat

2005-08-02T22:56:00.000+08:00

Was watching some tv earlier at the 2nd floor living room and the entire time I was lying on the sofa I failed to notice this stealthy greyish black cat sitting right behind me (about a metre away) watching tv with me. Happily watching a mixture of dragonheart and a football match.

Ok, for those who don't know me, I do not own any cats (btw, I'd rather get a dog. In fact, I love this particular breed, I think its a West Highland Terrier). This was some cat that has been stalking my house for the past year or so. In the beginning, about a a year back, it was happy just sitting outside at the driveway. it soon graduated itself to sleeping on one of the chairs in the driveway. Somehow, recently, according to my dad, it has finally decided to come into my house =X

Geez, does my house have a sign that says "Cat Hotel"?

Not that I'm an animal hater or anything like that. It's just that if you (read: any animal) wants to invade my house, at least try to look all cute and all and PLEASE do not sneak up on me.

Anyways, after being alerted to the presence of the alien in my house by my sister who had just reached home, it immediately scuttled down the stairs, ran to my glass dining table and...

*THUD* (thats the sound of it running headfirst into my glass table)

Dazed but not bent on being caught (as if I wanted to catch it, I was enjoying the great escape), he got up, and leaped towards my glass doors leading to the driveway and...

*THUD*

Finally, my sis opened the door and let it run out.

I now know the sound of a cat running into a glass door.

Listening to the sound of my aircon

ahyah, eyesotum and embarassed

omg

2005-08-01T22:54:00.000+08:00

I slacked the whole day =[

Looking forward to tomorrow instead.

Things to do this week:

Brochure for PMCK
Write-ups for the photo compilation
Get my last module on CORS
Plan a PAF com meeting
Clean my room
Go running at least twice

Everclear - Wonderful

food food drinks

2005-07-30T23:34:00.000+08:00

Had breakfast at Ya Kun this morning. Decided to have runny eggs. Mmm. It's been so long since I ate those kind of eggs. Heheh, the texture is so gross but yet its so yummy with all the pepper (I'm going to go blind) and the soy sauce (I'm going to have kidney failure).

I think the tea at Ya Kun is so-so only. Is it very ah pek to drink hot teh?

Oh, minor digression: I was with Ralph and MK eating breakfast at the kopitiam near church on wednesday.

Me: Aunty, 1 teh please
Chinese Aunty: 1 teh? You malay ah?
Me: erm... =X

Ya. Ok, I thought that was a stupid experience.

Had a rather unproductive afternoon, but the company was good. Managed to cut the red board though. Now all I need is to finish the compilation of photos. Urgh. About a quarter way done.

Was walking to Loyang Point when I passed by this...

Suddenly, I had a craving for Macs. And lucky me, I bought the McDippers (at Macs, I didn't pick this one up) at $2 due to the weekly promotion. But it wasn't that great =[

Went back again to LP to get a drink. Spent about 10 minutes deciding which drinks to buy back. Choices, choices. Settled on some Lemon Barley and a bottle of Ribena. I dunno why but I have been having a craving for Ribena too.

Found these "drinks". Since when did they use vegetables to make drinks?
Wheat grass drink and Watercrest drink. Yucks.

Bible Quiz tomorrow. I wonder how prepared everyone is.

The Postal Service- The District Sleeps Alone Tonight