Watson's Blog

新年快乐！

2012-01-23T00:07:00.001+08:00

Chippy! 新年快乐! 祝你开开心心！我们都很想念你。。。

Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T17:30:00.000+08:00

Dear Chippy,

It has been 4 months since you left us and tomorrow is going to be the last day of the year.

2011 will always be remembered as the year where my beloved you left us for heaven. I miss you very much. :(

Have a happy new year in heaven ok, Chippy? Take care !

A birthday without you....

2011-12-04T18:15:00.001+08:00

Dear Chippy,

Today is my birthday. And I completed a marathon early in the morning. I remember the first time when I completed a marathon on my birthday in 2006, I was able to celebrate with you, father, mother and Sarah at night. In subsequent years since 2008, Wan Ching joined us in our celebrations.

I miss you. How I wish you were here celebrating my birthday with me. Though we now have Peachy, we still miss you a lot. I have cut a piece of cake for you and placed it on your bowl. Enjoy the cake, Chippy and take care of yourself in heaven. I really really miss you, my dear Chippy!

Love,

Watson

Chippy, meet Peachy.

2011-11-06T11:45:00.001+08:00

Dear Chippy,

How have you been? I miss you very much. It has been 68 days since we parted but I still think of you every day and night. Hope you are doing well and having fun in heaven, Chippy.

Yesterday, on 5/11/2011, we went to SPCA to adopt another Jack Russell Terrier called Peaches. We renamed her Peachy so that it sounds more similar to your name. I felt that I have betrayed you when we decided to adopt another dog. Chippy, we hope that you do not mind us keeping another dog. No matter what happens, you will always have a special place in our hearts and we will never forget you. We will always love you.

Let me introduce you to Peachy. She is 5 years old and her built is similar to yours, but she's slightly bigger. She was given up by her family who moved overseas and didn't want to bring her along. Poor thing, wouldn't you say? She's like you in so many ways and when she came to our home yesterday, I was reminded of the day when you first came. Like you, she's very well behaved and peed only in the toilet. She hasn't barked once in the home since she was here more than 20 hours ago. She's hyperactive and energetic, like how you were when you came to us. She even tried to squeeze through the hole in the gate like how you did when you ran away from home! We had to wire that up again. You liked to play with your bears and her obsession is with balls. Like you, she will grab hold of her tennis ball (bear in your case) and guard it with her life, fearing that we will snatch it away from her. While typing this, how I wish that we can travel through time and relive those moments with you again :'(

Even though we miss you terribly, we understand that Peachy is herself and not a substitute for you. You have gone through so much together with us and we will never be able to find a substitute for you. We will love and take care of Peachy and at the same time, we will remember you, our dearest little Chippy, never forgetting how loving and adorable you are. Please take care and have fun in doggie heaven, Chippy. Till we meet again!

Regards,
Watson

一个月了

2011-09-30T11:45:00.001+08:00

Chippy, 你还好吧？
你在天堂生活一个月了。
生活过得开心吗?
天堂一定有很多好吃的东西和好朋友陪你玩，对吗？

你有没有想我们？
我们都很想念你。
我每天跟你说的话你有听到吗？

你要好好照顾自己，Ok?
有朝一日，我们会重逢。
我们永远爱着你!

Missing you dearly.

2011-09-19T21:38:00.002+08:00

Chippy, it has been three weeks..... I can still remember the last time we saw each other three weeks ago. You were very weak, but I didn't think that you would not be able to pull through. I thought you would be fine and I told you: "Chippy, be good. Stay in the hospital for tonight. We will come and fetch you home tomorrow okay?" Never did I expect that that was the last time I saw you and spoke to you. I wanted to kiss your forehead that night, but for some reason I didn't, and now I will not be able to do so again..... Why did you not wait for us to come and fetch you, Chippy? If I had known you were going to leave us, I would have brought you home. Up till now, I still feel very upset that we were not by your side during your last moments. I'm sorry.......

I was very upset the first few days after you were gone. Every time I think of you, tears will well up in my eyes. I couldn't sleep at night as I will wake up feeling afraid, afraid of a future without you. The most difficult moments of the day are when I wake up in the morning and not seeing you around, and when I come home from school and don't find you waiting for me by the door.

Gradually, the tears stopped flowing as frequently, but that doesn't mean that I miss you any lesser. Maybe the tears have dried up, or I have got more used to a world without you. Or have I successfully deluded myself that you are still around? Not only me, so did Papa, Mama and Sarah. We still place food at your bowl during mealtimes, we left your beds untouched in their usual positions. Every night, we will place your favourite pillow beside Mama's bed so that you can sleep by her side like you usually do. We act like you are still around..... Maybe that is the best way to lessen our pain.

I used to wonder why someone who has lost someone close can behave so normally in front of others. How they can smile and sometimes even laugh. Now I know why. When I am in the company of others, life seems to go on as usual. It is when I am alone that I will miss you very very much, think of the happy days that we had together, lament why these moments cannot last longer and regret that I did not treat you better when you were around. On your last week, I came back from school late on weekdays and paid little attention to you. Walks in the morning were very short as well. Even during the weekend, I was more concerned about the Presidential Elections than you who were fighting for your life. I found it more important to enjoy myself at soccer on Sunday than bringing you to the vet. I have let you down, Chippy.....

Though I am slowly getting used to your absence, there are times when I am reminded of what I have lost and I will feel very dejected, like last Saturday when we brought Snoopy to Orchid Country Club. Throughout the journey on father's bus, I was staring at the empty space where you used to sit. And when I squatted down to ask Snoopy to come to me, I thought of how you used to come running over to me when I do that. When I carried Snoopy in my arms, I remember the feeling of carrying you down the stairs every morning for our walks. How I wish I can carry you in my arms again.....

Chippy, I miss you.

What Do You Do When A Good Friend Dies? By Mark-David Cohn

2011-09-11T15:37:00.000+08:00

What do you do when a good friend dies?
Do you lash out in anger and curse at the sky.
Or grasp hard denial, the means of the weak,
In an effort to kindle the comfort you seek.

What do you do when a good friend dies?
Once life's breath, so precious, gives the chest final rise.
In haste you take blame, no other at fault,
You kneel upturned earth and deem all happiness to halt.

What do you do when a good friend dies?
When with him the times, both good and bad, lie.
Do you cast aside the past, for memories hurt much too much,
Or struggle and fight for that last lingering touch.

What do you do when a good friend dies?
When all of the tears have all but been cried.
No matter how much, no matter how hard you try,
The only thing to do is say farewell.
Goodbye

Mark-David Cohn (1996)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been 13 days since you left, Chippy, but memories of you are all around me.
No matter where I go, I will think of you.
We have walked the whole neighbourhood together, just you and I.
How can I forget the seven years that we have spent together in just a matter of days?

How are you doing right now, Chippy?
Did you find your papa and mama, and your siblings as well?
Is your hind leg okay now?
Can you jump and run and bark like how you used to?
Take care of yourself, Chippy, and have fun at rainbow bridge with your family and friends.
I really miss you a lot.
Every morning when I wake up, I cannot believe that you are no longer around because I feel your presence everywhere.

For now, we have to be parted, because I have to stay here to take care of Papa, Mama, Sarah and Wan Ching.
Some day in the future, we will go and fetch you from rainbow bridge, and we will no longer be apart.
See you, Chippy! I love you!
We are very sorry to leave you alone for now, but we will be reunited one day! <3
Take care!

说了再见。。。

2011-09-06T22:19:00.000+08:00

说了再见才发现再也见不到

能不能就这样忍着痛泪不掉

说好陪我到老永恒往哪里找

再次拥抱一分一秒都好

Sorry, Chippy.

2011-09-04T11:41:00.001+08:00

This time last week, you were sick and battling for your life.

But I still chose to go and play soccer instead of sending you to the vet. I am so selfish.

If I had sent you there earlier, ,you wouldn't have suffered a stroke and may not have left us. :(

I'm sorry, Chippy. Hope you are in a better place now. Please take care of yourself when we are not around.

In loving memory of Chippy Chua -- Unknown Birth Date to 30th August 2011

2011-08-30T04:08:00.010+08:00

Dear Chippy,

I still remember the night when Uncle Jim brought you to our home somewhere in 2004. You were such a busybody, sniffing around and looking curious, so keen to find out about this new environment. You must be around 3 to 4 years old then. Uncle Jim said you were not toilet trained but you adapted to our home like you have always been here, going straight to the toilet to pee. We wanted to keep you in the kitchen for the first night, but mother decided that you could roam freely in the flat without my knowledge. I was pleasantly surprised to see you roaming in the living room when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. I will never forget the day when you came, because you brought with you so much joy and happiness and you changed our lives. You took to us immediately and we liked you very much. Though Sarah was not at home when you arrived, you immediately became the best of friends when you met.

You were so greedy and wanted a piece of whatever everyone is eating, and earned yourself a big tummy. We brought you for walks, taught you how to shake paws and fetch your bear bear. That was your favourite game. You will always place the bear near our feet, retreat a few steps back, and wait for us to kick the bear bear as far as possible. You will then grab the bear with your teeth and fling it around with might, like a hunting dog who has caught her prey. Bear after bear were destroyed by you, you were so ferocious!

Unlike many other dogs, you like your baths and whenever mother said : "冲凉“, you will be so excited. You loved your walks (gai-gai) too, and I will always prompt you to get ready by saying: "Let's go!", which never failed to make you jump to your feet and wag your tail excitedly. We loved you so much we couldn't bear to leave you alone at home. So everywhere we go, we will bring you along. Be it the weekly visits to grandma's home or the occasional visit to ah gong's, visits to the airport, and even meals at the restaurants. Everybody loved you, and why wouldn't they? You are such a lovely and energetic dog. Ah gong even fed you abalone during reunion dinner!

Life wasn't without its mishaps, and we were always very upset whenever something bad happened to you. First, you sneaked out of home through the grills of the gate during your first year with us. You were missing for one whole day and we were so worried about you. Luckily, you ended up in a construction site where some kind security guard took care of you before father found you. We immediately reduced the size of the gaps in the metal gate with wire so that you won't run away!

The second unfortunate incident was when you were ran over by a car while we crossed the road. That was the first time I cried for you. I'm sorry. I should have replaced your leash earlier when I realised it was not functioning well. If I had done that you wouldn't have broke free of the leash. You fractured your hip and couldn't use your right hind leg properly as a result. After a week's stay at the hospital, you returned home but was unable to walk and had to move by dragging your body around with your front leg. It was so heartbreaking to see you like that. But you are a strong girl, you never gave up and in a month or so, you were up on your feet and gradually learnt to walk on your own again, albeit with a limp. We were so happy for you!

Day by day, you grew older and weaker and in June 2010, you were hospitalised again, this time because of congestive heart failure. Prior to the hospitalisation, you collapsed and lost consciousness a few times but woke up immediately after that. The doctor said that your heart is weak and you cannot do strenuous activities. I was very sad upon hearing that knowing how much you loved your walks. However, with medication, you defied all odds and we were on our daily walks again (although we cut short the distance)!

When I thought that all was going smoothly, you were hospitalised again three months later, this time because you lost your appetite and were getting feeble. The diagnosis this time was that your kidney had problems as well. After your discharge, I had to do the subcutaneous drip on you, poking your skin with a needle everyday. It hurts me to see you go through so much pain but luckily you survived this ordeal once again and was back to being a happy and healthy dog!

Except for the occasional collapses, you were doing great and starred in Takeshi's and Sarah's wedding on 19th March! I was afraid you may not be able to make it after the doctor diagnosed your kidney problems but you showed the world once again that no illness is able to get you down. Sarah is overjoyed to have you as her bridesmaid for her wedding and you were even given your own seat at the VIP table! We were all so happy for the couple as well as you. I kind of hope that I can have you at my wedding and my convocation as well.....

We were living happily together from then on until last week when you started losing your appetite again. We didn't think it was very serious even after you threw up whatever you were eating and had blood in your stool. We only brought you to the vet yesterday on 29th August 2011 where we were told you had suffered a mild stroke and your condition was critical. I should have brought you to the vet earlier. When we visited you in the evening, you seem to be a bit better and I was optimistic that you will recover and go home, just like you have always done in the past.

Then came the dreaded phone call half past midnight. When I saw that the number was from the hospital, I knew something was wrong. And indeed, the nurse called to inform me that they have failed to resuscitate you after you collapsed and have passed away. I was shattered, and so were my parents after I informed them. Why did it happen so suddenly? If I knew it, I would have brought you home instead of leaving you in the hospital. We didn't even have a chance to say the final goodbye. Are you afraid that we will be too upset to see you go? Was that why you left when we were gone? Or was the pain too much for you to bear? My dear Chippy, my poor Chippy. You don't deserve all these suffering! I am already missing you, very much. I feel a sense of emptiness inside me. It is impossible to replace the void that you have left in my heart.

Chippy, I know that you are in heaven right now because all dogs go to heaven. Please take care of yourself when we are not around. Have fun with the other dogs there and socialise with them okay? They will keep you company until the day we are reunited. Can you hear us from there or read our thoughts? I have so many things to tell you. Thank you very much for bringing so much joy and laughter to our lives. Even though you couldn't speak, you taught us how to love. I will always remember you, Chippy. Remember how you used to wait for us at the door, wagging your tail excitedly when we come home. Remember how you jumped in excitement in your younger days. Remember the routes that we used to take for our walks. Remember how you barked at us when you wanted us to feed you what we were eating. Remember how you liked to challenge the stray cats but hide behind us when they confronted you. Remember you lying on my chest. Remember the smell of you. Remember the pillow, the blanket and the kennel that you slept in. Remember how you kept your snacks all over the house. Remember how you snorted to ask us to open the doors to our room. Remember how I kiss your forehead. Remember how you ate from my hand. Remember those bright innocent eyes that cheer me up.

Chippy, I used to shake your paw and tell you that 我们永远在一起。Why did you leave me so early? I look forward to the day when we are reunited again. Rest in peace and take care, Chippy. I love you. We love you. You will forever be part of our family. You are the best dog ever. Hugs and kisses.

With love,
Papa, Mama, Sarah, Takeshi, Watson and Wan Ching

New Zealand Trip 2011, Beautiful Yet Exciting!

2011-05-23T22:04:00.017+08:00

New Zealand is such a beautiful place. Our first stop was Queenstown and the picture here is the view we get from the city centre itself. Magnificent and picturesque! How I wish I could wake up to the view of a mountain range every morning. If there is one place that I will like to retire in, Queenstown will be it!

We went for two day tours in Queenstown. The first of which was the Milford Sound tours. On the way we passed by the Mirror Lake and chanced upon a rainbow!

The tour of Milford sound was on a cruise and it was great! We saw waterfalls, dolphins and seals! As it was raining rather heavily, we did not take out our cameras and missed the opportunity to take more pictures. =(

On the way back to Queenstown from Milford Sound, it snowed somewhere along the road! And what a heavy snow it was! All the passengers on the bus were excited and so were we!

The second tour was the tour to Mt Cook. Once again, spectacular views of mountains and valleys on the way!

We also passed by Lake Pukaki where we were supposed to see Mt Cook at the end of the lake. But it was a cloudy day and Mt Cook was hidden!

We finally reached the Mt. Cook National Park. Even though we didn't get to see Mt. Cook due to the clouds, we didn't waste any time having fun and taking pictures!

We finally had to leave Queenstown with much reluctance. However, more activities await us at our next destination, the city of geothermal activity and adventures Rotorua! Our first activity is whitewater rafting down the beautiful Kaituna river. The highlight of the rafting journey is a descend down a 7m waterfall! Exciting!

After whitewater rafting, we headed straight for the Polynesian Spa where we dipped ourselves in the thermal pools overlooking Lake Rotorua. The lake is full of seagulls and other birds and is gorgeous in the evening sun.

The next day, we went to Wai-o-tapu, the geothermal wonderland. On the way, we got to visit the mud pools as well as the Lady Knox Geyser where water sprouted to a height of almost 20m!

The Wai-o-tapu national park was a colourful one where rocks show traces of different colours due to the minerals accumulated from the geothermal activities.

Our last activity in Rotorua was the most exciting! We went to Agroventures where I tried the Rotorua Bungy while Wan Ching and Wan Wei did the Swoop, swinging themselves high and fast! Here are the videos:

Our last day was in New Zealand was spent in Auckland where we visited the Auckland Museum. It was large and filled with lots of information. We didn't have the time to view all the exhibitions as the museum closed at 5pm. We visited the Sky City Casino at night and that was all, we were going back to Singapore the next day. =(

It was really a nice trip: the beautiful and magnificent mountain views of Queenstown, the relaxing spa and adrenalin-pumping activities in Rotorua and the nice and friendly people there. Best of all, I got to enjoy everything with my beloved Wan Ching! It was really lovely to be able to see her when before I go to bed every night and again when I wake up in the morning! And I liked the meals she cooked for me very much! <3 Looking forward to our next vacation!

Updates in 2011

2011-02-19T20:24:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year has come and gone and my I haven't been updating my blog, no thanks to Twitter.
So we are well into 2011 and I haven't had much progress in my work. =(
Nevertheless, things are still going well.

Me and Ching just celebrated a simple Valentine's day, watching The Black Swan and having dinner at Zen vegetarian restaurant. Her birthday is coming soon! ;)

Chippy's health is getting better too. And I am full of gratitude for this.

My sister's wedding is also upcoming, in exactly one month's time!

Lastly, I didn't win Toto yesterday. Only got 1.5 numbers in four sets (24 non-unique numbers)!!!
Expected that anyway. Winning the jackpot is a 1 in 8 million chance (or 1 in 2 million since I bought 4 sets). I couldn't have been so lucky.

That's all, folks! Hasta pronto!

Living Graves - By George Bernard Shaw

2010-12-27T15:35:00.000+08:00

Living Graves

- By George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

We are the living graves of murdered beasts,
Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites.
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the path we tread.
We're sick of war, we do not want to fight -
The thought of it now fills our hearts with dread,
And yet - we gorge ourselves upon the dead.

Like carrion crows we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and the pain
we cause by doing so, if thus we treat
defenceless animals for sport or gain,
how can we hope in this world to attain,
the PEACE we say we are so anxious for.
We pray for it o'er hecatombs of slain,
to God, while outraging the moral law,
thus cruelty begets its offspring - WAR.

Blog is now likeable on Facebook

2010-12-18T11:55:00.000+08:00

My blog is now likeable on Facebook!
See the like button just below the title.

You can make your blog likeable too by follwing the instructions at http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like.

A bit of HTML editing involved but if you have any problems, just ask me. =)

My First Friend (English Subs)

2010-12-07T10:42:00.001+08:00

Nice song with a simple but touching storyline.

Half-marathon!

2010-12-06T16:17:00.000+08:00

We completed our first half-marathon together.
Congratulations, Wan Ching on completing your first!
I'm proud of you! =)

Chin up bar

2010-07-30T09:10:00.001+08:00

Had my chin up bar wrapped using badminton wraps bought from ebay. Time to do chin ups again!

Wan Ching's Convocation

2010-07-29T10:10:00.000+08:00

Happy convocation, baby!

超时代

2010-07-28T09:52:00.001+08:00

Our first concert!
And Jay Chou is good!
No wonder he has so many fans!

Perth 18th May 2010- 23rd May 2010

2010-05-24T04:35:00.012+08:00

Finally had a chance to go on a real overseas trip with my darling Wan Ching (Malaysia and Bintan not counted) and the destination is..... Perth!

We reached Perth on the night of 18th May and quickly settle
d down in Goodearth hotel. We booked a 2 bedroom apartment (her mum and grand-aunt travelled with us) which was nice and cosy.

1st Day:
The weather on the first day was cooling and it feels like the air-con was turned on outdoors. We went for a tour on the hop-on hop-off bus which cost us $25 each, only to realise that the money was unnecessarily spent as we could have taken the free CAT bus or other buses. The bus took us around the city centre, Burswood casino, King's park and Harbourtown shopping complex. We spent only 10 mins in Burswood (not enough time to gamble, of course) and the trip there was on an open-top bus. The feeling on top of the bus is great because the weather was cool and the view was great!

After Burswood, our next destination was the Barrack Street Jetty which is a ferry terminal. The wind was strong and it made us feel cold! The swan bells was also directly opposite the barrack street jetty.

Next up is King's park and this was the best of the bus tour, in my opinion. We took a tour of the park on the bus and we should have gotten off the bus and taken a walk in the park. There was a point in the park that overlooks the entire Perth city and the Swan river and the view was magnificent. A pity that we didn't take pictures from that spot.

Nothing much after King's park except window-shopping at Harbourtown and grocery shopping at a supermarket in Murray Street. After that, it was back to the hotel as the shops close at 5pm and there was nothing to do at night. What a relaxed lifestyle!

Day 2:

We embarked on the first of our two day tours with Aussie Perth Tours and we the first was a tour of the Pinnacles. We had to get up at 6+ and be ready by 7.15am. The Pinnacles was far far away in north of Perth (around 250km!!!!) and the journey took 3-4 hours (or maybe more). It was so long that I can't remember how long it was. On the way, we stopped by at Yanchep National Park where we saw our first koalas and kangaroos in Perth. There was also a beautiful and picturesque lake in the park and the view is something that you will see on a desktop wallpaper. We didn't spend too much time there as we had a long journey to continue.

The next notable stop-over was at the Cervantes beach where we had lunch. From there, we had a great view of the ocean. This trip to Perth enabled me to see how big the world can possibly be. I saw oceans without boundaries, lands without boundaries and skies without boundaries, which I couldn't have seen in Singapore where everything is blocked by skyscrapers.

After Cervantes, we were off to the Pinnacles which was the highlight of the trip. I shall describe using pictures instead of words.

Day 3:
Went to the Margaret river and stopped by at the Ngilgi cave, the old cheese factory, Margaret River chocolate factory and a winery for wine tasting. :)

Day 4:
Went to the port town of Fremantle to visit Fremantle prison, Fremantle market and the Cappuccino strip.

Day 5:
Last day in Perth. =( We went to the Caversham wildlife park, then to the Western Australian Museum to watch "A day in Pompeii" exhibition. That was followed by a short tour of Northbridge where we had pancakes and fries. Yummy. After that, we were off to the airport and home....

[Pictures to follow]

It was a great trip! I love you, baby!!! Muacks!

Happy 22nd Birthday, Baby!

2010-03-07T23:09:00.001+08:00

Darling!!! Happy 22nd Birthday!
Sorry I posted this late but I was with you 12am to 10pm on your birthday!!!
Love you!!!
Hope you have a lovely year!!! Muacks!

Long trip ahead....

2010-02-14T18:41:00.002+08:00

Im starting the first leg of my four-legged trip from Singapore to Krakow.
*Yawns*
Currently at Changi Airport! Waiting for flight to KL!

Now at KL, waiting for flight to Amsterdam! =(

Didn't update cos there was no free wireless internet at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam and Frederic Chopin airport in Warsaw.

Amazingly, I made it through the four-legged trips with 3 stopovers in 28 hours with my luggage intact!

Im so lucky!

Welcome back!

2009-12-22T10:44:00.001+08:00

Welcome back to Singapore, baby!
I will like to give you a hug asap!

Waiting for you to come back.

2009-12-21T10:24:00.002+08:00

37 and a half hours more before I can see you again.
I am waiting for you you you you you!
I miss you, baby!!! =(

I miss you!

2009-12-10T00:05:00.001+08:00

Darling, I miss you miss you miss you you know?
Hope you are doing fine in Suzhou.
You must take care of yourself and have fun ok?
Muacks!
XOXOXOXOXOXO!

祝你一路顺风

2009-12-06T23:00:00.000+08:00

Darling, you are going to Suzhou for two weeks tomorrow.
I will miss you. You don’t miss me too much ok?
Have fun and enjoy yourself. Just think of me occassionally.
Wish you bon voyage and take care of yourself when Im not around.
Have a safe journey, baby! This video is for you!

一路顺风！ I love you baby! Have fun! See you in 2 weeks! Muacks!

Good luck, darling!

2009-11-18T22:24:00.001+08:00

Wishing my darling good luck for her first paper tomorrow!

Darling, Jia you!

You will do well! Muacks!

Windows Live Writer

2009-11-16T13:32:00.001+08:00

One reason that I have been lazy to blog was due to the fact that I always have to log in to my blogger account to post and I find it very troublesome. =P.

Now that I'm using Windows Live Writer, I can blog from my desktop. Hopefully, this will encourage me to blog more!

Banes Of Our Progress

2009-10-23T22:39:00.005+08:00

Why do we keep on moving forward? Why can't technology move backwards? Wouldn't that make life simpler? Many people may not be able to live without a computer or the internet. But think about it, without these things, we can spend more time with the people around us. We can engage in real, meaningful conversations and not just typing on the keyboard. I don't know how much of my life is wasted in front of the computer like now. And what do I really get out of it except strained eyes?

Without advanced technology, we can sleep when it is night-time instead of having to work because it is office hour in another part of the globe and we have to cater to other peoples' needs. Sleeping is such an underrated activity. Many so called successful people think that sleeping is a waste of time because they want to do as many things as possible with a limited amount of time. The amount of things you can do is unlimited, but your lifespan is limited. So why not sleep when it's time to sleep instead of trying to achieve an impossible task? To those who say that nothing is impossible, then why is the word invented in the first place? Even if you don't close your eyes for a second throughout your entire life, you will not be able to finish all your tasks, because there is no end to work.

If technology is less advanced, we will have less vehicles and people will be healthier since they have to walk or run to get to their destination. Obesity won't be an issue and diseases related to obesity will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, fewer people and animals will be killed in road accidents.

Animals are the greatest victims of mankind's progress. When we build roads and run vehicles through them, animals who try to cross the road inevitably get killed, some at the first attempt, some after numerous attempts. When biomedical research has to be done on some drugs to cure diseases, the drugs are first tested on animals like lab rats to observe the side effects, some of which are fatal. The worse victims are those animals involved in factory farming. Animals are treated like tools from which we can make money out of and when there's money to be made, people forget that these animals are living things and can feel pain. Lives are created (through breeding) and ended in a painful way so that the container of the souls can be exchanged for money. Other examples of how animals are exploited include skinning them to get their fur, which is the most sickening thing I have ever heard of. I don't even dare to watch the videos after hearing of how it's done and I wonder how a human being with a conscience can perform an act like that.

As technology advances, humans live longer and mortality rates are lower. The population of the world keeps on increasing and there are more mouths to feed, more diseases to cure, more roads to be built and more fur/leather products to be made. I wonder if anyone has done a survey (if it can be done at all) to count the average number of lives taken by a particular species of animal during their lifespan. My guess is that on the top of this list will be human beings, even if we do not take into consideration the number of homicides and suicides and any other form of killing where the victim is a human. Even the most ferocious of beasts have to hunt their own preys and it is unlikely that they will have a meal every day. On the other hand, thanks (or no thanks) to technology, food is in abundance for human beings because animals are raised in bulk worldwide and slaughtered every single day (maybe every single minute or second) so that human can have their pork and mutton and chicken and beef and (you name it). Therefore, it is no surprise that in one day, a man can take more lives than a lion, a tiger, a leopard or even all three of them put together on average (though ironically, he certainly has no chance of survival against either one of them).

What attributes distinguishes human beings from animals? What is humanity?
From dictionary.com :

Humanity: the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence
Humane: characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, esp. for the suffering or distressed.

Somehow, I think these definitions make a mockery of mankind seeing how animals, and sometimes other human beings, are exploited. I have seen examples of animals being more humane than human beings. For example, in this age and day, the probability of your dog sticking with you when you are old and sick is higher than the probability of your children doing the same thing. I will say the main attribute that separates human from animals is intelligence. Intelligence has helped man to built tools for his own benefit and made him the dominant species in this world that he is today. However, does having a superior intelligence give one species the authority to exploit another species for his own benefits? If the answer is yes, then by the same reasoning, a more intelligent person can also exploit a less intelligent person for his own benefit. Well, come to think of it, I think this is already happening in this world. One example may be a con job, where the conman being the more intelligent person, cons his victim (who is obviously of inferior intelligence or else he wouldn't have been fooled). Another example is a boss of a company who makes his workers work long hours for meager pay so that his company can make a lot of money. Again the intelligence of the workers are assumed to be inferior or else they would have found a better job. So maybe it's just how life should be? Survival of the fittest as in Darwinian theory?

Anyway, back to the point, these kinds of exploitation is nothing compared to how human beings exploit animals. So if one day, all these animals that are reared for food or hunted for their body parts become extinct and there are only human beings left in this world, will it be justifiable for the more intelligent human beings to lock the less intelligent ones in cages with poor living conditions, let them mate and give birth to children, before killing the children for their flesh or organs and then dumping the mother aside to die once she cannot give birth to any more children? If the answer is yes, I fear for the future of mankind. If the answer is no, then by the same logic, a more intelligent species should not be doing the same thing to a less intelligent species either. If the answer is "I don't know", then maybe it's something worth thinking about.

Some of my views may be a bit extreme and to be fair, I have known of men and women who are compassionate and really humane. To clarify, I am not a vegetarian myself though I try my best to eat vegetarian food when I have access to them. I feel guilty for the animals that have suffered every time I eat meat. Therefore, when I refer to human beings, I am referring to myself as well. Maybe I have lost my point but what I am trying to say is that the advancement of technology and the progress of mankind has made the lives of other species much much more miserable without actually benefitting mankind greatly. Are we happier now in front of our computers (or iPhone or Blackberry for that matter) than if we were born a century ago without all these? Personally, I feel that life should be simple and right now, things are way too complicated with all the money and competition. Wouldn't it be nice if we could roll back time or rather, roll back technology and everything is simple yet again? We will not be facing the stress that we are facing right now and more importantly, other animals can enjoy their torture-free lives. Sadly, this sounds like something only Doraemon can help me with.

Human beings are progressing by leaps and bounds in terms of technological advancement and I wonder where is the pinnacle? Science fiction of the past is becoming reality of the present and the human brain is so amazing and powerful that I can't help but feel that it is the only thing that can bring down the human race itself, ironic though it may be. Will human beings be the victims of their own quest for knowledge and power? As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss....

Happy Anniversary!

2009-10-15T10:25:00.001+08:00

Click here for my message! Muacks!

Bintan Holiday!

2009-09-28T18:07:00.005+08:00

I'm back from a 2D1N trip to bintan. It was a wonderful getaway with my baby Wan Ching, her sister and her sister's friends. The beaches at Bintan Lagoon Resort are just too nice. After checking in on Sunday, we headed for the beach almost immediately. We wanted to try snorkeling, so me and baby rented two snorkeling sets. However, we were total greenhorns at snorkeling and in the end we didn't get to see much (There weren't many things for us to see anyway). Looking on the bright side, at least we learnt how to use the snorkeling set and flippers. =P

After snorkeling, we hung around the beach, playing in the sea and enjoying the sun. After that, we went to the Aura Resto at Pasar Ole Oleh for massage. All of us chose the combination massage which is a Thai massage followed by a Balinese massage. It's quite nice and the masseurs are very professional. The only thing I didn't really like was the "crack crack" thing when doing the Thai massage because I feel that it's rather scary. The massage parlour provided us with a free taxi service back to the resort and I will say that the ride is quite "exciting". There were no streetlights in bintan and the road was dark. Nevertheless, the driver drove quite fast, without slowing down even when there were incoming vehicles on the opposite lane. My heart was in my mouth every time the driver drove pass some vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Ok, maybe it's not so bad and the driver know what he's doing. It's just that I wasn't used to it and the lack of lighting on the road didn't help. Anyway, we reached the resort safely. =)

After a dinner of instant noodles, we turned in for the night so that we can wake up early for the breakfast buffet the next morning. And we woke up real early. Me and Baby were the first to reach the restaurant for the buffet at 6.20 am, even before they were ready! Haha. Ok, we were not that hungry. We just wanted to start our day early as we wanted to enjoy the morning sun at the beach. The breakfast buffet was great and our favourite dish was the omelette and the porridge. We ate till we were more than full, changed into our swimming attire and headed off to the beach after around 1.5 hours at the buffet. =P

We reached the beach at around 8.20am and the beach was empty, except for a couple doing sun-tanning. The beach was so calm and serene it makes us feel very relaxed and peaceful. The couple left shortly after, leaving the whole beach to only the two of us. Seriously, at one point of time for about one hour, there was really no one else except me and Ching. It feels so good to have the whole wide beach to ourselves. We could even swim in the buff there but of course we didn't. I was a bit tempted though. Haha. =P We stayed till the sun was too hot and went back to our room to wash up, getting ready to check out.

I really enjoyed myself; the sun, the beach, the sea and the massage. What I enjoyed above all these was Baby's company and it was our first overseas and overnight stay together though we slept in different rooms (Ching slept with her sister and me with her sister's male friend). The service staff at Bintan were also really polite and friendly and their service was excellent. This includes the taxi driver who sent us back to the resort. Seriously, though the ride was quite thrilling, the driver was very friendly and attended to all our needs. One thing that I didn't like about this trip is that a two days one night stay is just too short! 3 days and too nights will be just fine. I feel like going back to the beach tomorrow. =( I hope I can have the chance to go on more more more more more more more more more holidays with Wan Ching! Muacks! I love you baby!

Einstein and God

2009-09-17T22:11:00.003+08:00

Einstein had previously explored this belief that man could not understand the nature of God when he gave an interview to Time Magazine explaining:-

I'm not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.

And I will say this topic is very interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relationship_between_religion_and_science

A meaningful quote by Albert Einstein which I'm sure most of us agree to:

“Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” - “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

Man's best friend

2009-08-27T22:57:00.001+08:00

Dogs are shining examples of enduring love and faith. Could we as Homo Sapiens, a breed far more intelligent than mammals, fare better? I guess not.......

[Quoted from Noah's Ark blog http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2008/06/mans-best-friend-in-life-and-death.html]

Im back from Tokyo!

2009-08-17T12:35:00.003+08:00

I'm back from Tokyo after spending 4 days there! It was a short but nice trip. We stayed in Tokyu Stay Hotel in Yotsuya which is quite near the Tokyo train station.

Tokyo is a clean and modern city with a homogeneous Japanese population. The Japanese are polite and civic-minded. They will sort out their trash into bottles, cans, papers and combustibles etc before disposing them off in the respective bins. Compare that to Singapore where you see people throwing their leftovers into recycling bins. *Yucks* The streets are clean and the salesperson are friendly and helpful. Always welcoming you and ready to serve you, even though you did not buy anything. The service is truly first-class. The Japanese also have high integrity. Most of the people living near where we stayed rode bicycles and they can just park their bikes outside the shops and nobody will ride off with their bikes. Again, compare the stark contrast with the case in Singapore where even if you had LOCKED your bicycle, your wheels and handlebars will still get stolen. The only safe place to keep a bicycle (especially an expensive one) in Singapore has to be your home, I suppose. =S And one more thing, their pavements are wide and there's a special lane for bicycles. How I wish we have that in Singapore!

We travelled from place to place by train and the train system in Tokyo is very efficient though it's quite complicated. [Photos from http://vagabond.air-nifty.com/kp/images/JR-KantoRailway_2.png]
The tokyo station itself is so big that you can get lost inside there though you go there to work everyday, according to my sister. =S The station itself is a shopping mall selling all sorts of things and shopping inside there itself can take one whole day. Inside the trains, the Japanese also behave in an orderly manner, sitting only when seats are available, instead of rushing in and jostling for seats! A happy journey is just like that! =D

Of course, leaving in Tokyo has its downside (or else the whole world would have migrated there right?) The things there are really very expensive. =S A meal for 3 at a restaurant will easily set you back by $60-$80 Singapore dollars (partly due to the high exchange rate). So you may ask, why did we have to dine in a restaurant then? The answer is..... there are only restaurants and cafe there! There are no hawker centres, food courts or whatever place that sells cheap food. =(

In fact, I don't think one will ever use the word 'cheap' anywhere in Japan. Ok, maybe for cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes are sold using vending machines and a pack costs only 300+ yen which is like only $4+. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked my guts out there. Thankfully, Im not. =) The most incredibly-priced thing in Tokyo in my opinion has got to be swimsuits. The bikinis and tankinis cost $10,000-$15,000 yen which is like $150-$280!!! Im not sure how much they cost in Singapore but Im sure they are cheaper than that. And don't ask me why I was checking out the prices of bikini. =P

Ok, sorry for the lack of pictures as they have not been uploaded yet. Once I get my pictures into the computer, I'll post them up together with my experience for the highlight of the trip. The trip to Tokyo Disneysea!!!!

*To my darling: I missed you a lot throughout the trip and I wished that you were with me. Happy 10 months together! I love you!! This time round, I'll let the presents do the talking ;) !!!

Today is National Day!

2009-08-09T09:58:00.005+08:00

Happy 44th Birthday Singapore!

I love Singapore! Weeee! =D

I love my darling too!!! Muacksy!!!

Troubles

2009-07-16T11:37:00.003+08:00

My paper was rejected yet again. Though that was something I expected, Im starting to feel the stress now. Still no meaningful work done up till now, and I wonder if Im doing the right thing. I think Im just too slack and lazy.

So many things have been troubling me lately. Seriously, I don't know what will happen in the future.

However, I came upon this blog post http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2009/06/jolies-tale.html and realised that things are not that bad for me. There are others in a worse situation than me and I should learn from Jolie the dog as well as my own Chippy. =)

I need to work harder and stop slacking anymore. Ok, looking on the bright side, I don't have to go to Washington D.C. which will cost me a lot.

Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson

2009-07-01T08:57:00.004+08:00

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson passed away last thursday due to cardiac arrest. Though I wouldn't dare claim to be a die-hard fan of his, most of the English songs that I listen to, if at all, are his works. My favourites are Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Black Or White, Beat It, Heal The World and You Are Not Alone. I even sang Heal The World as part of a trio when I was in primary three in front of the whole school. =) My group also presented Black or White for one of our courses, Music: Adventures in Listening, when I was an undergraduate. His songs are so captivating that the only reason that someone do not like his songs can only be that the person has not heard them before. However, what I like most are his music videos, especially the earlier ones like Smooth Criminal and Thriller, which are electrifying to say the least. In addition, one of my all-time favourite video game is Moonwalker, featuring Michael Jackson himself.

I've been following news report about his death and about his life and what I realised is that his life was quite sad. Forced to perform since the age of 5, he didn't have a proper childhood which he felt was something missing from his life. That led to his love for children which in turn got him involved in the child molestation case and tarnished his reputation. In the end, he was acquitted of all charges but people still had their doubts. Only until his death did people start to believe him and remember the good things that he has done, the music that he has brought us. But isn't that a little too late?

That has always been the problem with human beings (myself included), always looking at others' bad points and overlooking the good ones. It is always until the person is gone that we will start to forgive, and start to remember all the good things he or she has done. But the person will never get to hear the good things about him or her again.

MJ had a bad childhood where he was always beaten up by his father. He was in a bad shape towards the end of his life too. I guess the only happy moments in his life was somewhere in between. According to news reports, he took up to 8 kinds of drugs everyday and was not eating much, making him very frail. He was also heavily in debt due to his child molestation court cases and poor financial management, not to mention many people trying to fleece him. And the worst thing is, he had to perfrom in 50 concerts in London. 50! Can you believe it? 50 concerts for a weak 50 year old man with all sorts of health problems. How can he manage that? I guess death is his only escape. It's sad that things have to end up this way. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson, your music will always be remembered.

Massacre of the pigeons

2009-06-14T10:34:00.002+08:00

Recently, there were a lot of pigeons around my block and the number was increasing by the day. The reason for the rapid increase in population of pigeons around here was that residents have been feeding them. People have even been throwing food out of their windows and this is attracting more and more pigeons. The droppings of the pigeons are a nuisance and the food used to feed the pigeons may attract rats. As such, I wrote in to the town council to ask them to stop these people from feeding the pigeons. And I specifically said that Im not asking for the pigeons to be killed. Just ask the residents to stop feeding and the pigeons will go away.

The town council didn't reply me up till now but on thursday, they sent people to poison the pigeons. I don't know whether they acted upon receiving my email or complaints from other residents. But I really didn't want them to kill the pigeons. The sight of it was terrible. Pigeons dropped dead on the ground just like that. The worst thing is, some of them are not really dead after dropping to the ground and they were rolled over by cars. I can see them flapping their wings in pain after the car ran over them. It was very sad. And none of them were spared. From late morning to evening, more and more pigeons were posioned and their carcass littered the grounds. Occassionally, the workers will pick up the dead pigeons and out them in a thrash back. I think I saw three big thrash bags amounting to almost a hundred pigeons if Im not wrong. Hundred lives taken, just like that.

Why can't the town council issue warnings to the residents who were feeding the pigeons and slap them with fines? Why must they so cruelly kill the pigeons? If the residents don't feed them, they won't come. Is it because identifying the residents feeding the pigeons is a more laborious task and killing the pigeons is an easier way out? Is that why their lives are sacrificed for the convenience of human beings? Somehow, I feel guilty for sending out that email. And Im sad to see the pigeons being killed. If I knew that the town council will resort to this, I wouldn't have emailed them. However, Im sure Im not the first nor the only person to bring up this problem as someone has also written in to the newspapers about the same incident in my area.

Despite all these, the problem is not solved. I still see residents feeding the few pigeons that are left and since pigeons grow very quickly, it will be a matter of time before their numbers grow large enough to become problematic. And when the time comes, will there be another massacre? This will become a cycle unless the problem is nipped in the bud by stopping the feedings. To the pigeons who were killed: Im sorry. =(

Sundown Marathon Team Challenge

2009-06-06T09:36:00.007+08:00

Team Snoopy Rank: 96

Total time: 05:02:17.23

Race results

First race of the year. Took part in the adidas sundown marathon team challenge with darling and her two good friends. Timing is as above. Mine was not too bad but not very good either. Hopefully the next race will be AHM and then SCSM. Still considering whether to take part this year. Hmm..... Congratulations to darling for completing her first 10km. 你真棒！Muacks!

Ching Ching and me!

Team Snoopy!

Sexy Boy

2009-05-10T21:49:00.002+08:00

Shawn Michaels' Sexy Boy, edited for my darling:
Haha.
Just for Fun, don't read too much into it. =)

I think I'm cute.
I know I'm sexy.
I've got the looks,
That drive my darling wild
I've got the moves, that really move her.
I send chills up.
Up and down her spines.

I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy
I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy

I make her hot.
I make her shiver.
Her knees get weak,
Whenever I'm around.
She sees me walk,
She hears me talk,
I make her feel,
Like she's on cloud nine

I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy
I'm just a sexy boy,
Sexy boy
I'm not her boy toy,
Boy toy

May Day

2009-05-01T13:17:00.003+08:00

It's the first of may again and 2 years ago on this date, Chippy met with an accident and I can still remember what happened. Nevertheless, she is alive and well now, although quite overweight. But still, I will not forget my promise to take care of her and treat her well.

I think that Im leading a blessed life, with parents and grandparents who take good care of me since young, a very cute little dog, and more recently, a girlfriend who I love very much and is very nice to me. I don't have much to ask for in life, just those who I love and love me live happily and healthily from day to day. =D

我们在一起半年了！

2009-04-13T22:21:00.010+08:00

Happy 6 months, baby! This video is a dedication to you to tell you what you mean to me. =D

And my message here => http://wcloveswc.blogspot.com/?zx=8f5a73b112a6bdbd

Love you! Muacks!

Drive to ECP

2009-03-31T21:29:00.003+08:00

Wow! I finally managed to drive without an experienced driver by my side, five years after getting my licence -.-.
And it was from Woodlands St 82 to East Coast Park in Ching's Dad's car and back.
It was stressful at times but I felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of the journey.
Yeah, I didn't let you down, baby. =D
Muacks!

P.S. And thanks to your friends for the directions!

Happy 21st Birthday!

2009-03-06T14:50:00.002+08:00

Happy 21st Birthday, Darling!

You're officially an adult now!

But you'll still be my Baby!

I want to say this:

I love you!

Hope you don't get sick of hearing this! =P

Noah's Ark Visit

2009-02-23T12:50:00.003+08:00

A meaningful quote

2009-02-23T12:45:00.002+08:00

Your dog is your friend, your partner, your defender your dog. You are her life, her love, her leader. She will be yours faithful and true to the last beat of her heart. You owe it to her to worthy of such devotion.

Our First Valentine's Day Together!

2009-02-16T19:59:00.002+08:00

It is our first Valentine's Day together! A special bouquet of flowers for a special girl. There's a story behind this bouquet of flowers which can't be bought outside. Not many people know the secret. =P Ching loved it so so so much though she said that I didn't have to waste money buying flowers for her on Valentine's Day. 口是心非！Haha. But Im really glad to see her so happy!

A caucasian guy from a push-cart at Raffles City shopping centre offered to curl her hair for free to demonstrate the hair-curler he's selling. It was very well done and she looks gorgeous with the curls. I love this picture soooooooooooo much!!!

The rest of the day was spent shopping for her gifts and then we went "on top of the world" at the Singapore Flyer. There were so many people and we both think it was okay only. Haha. After the ride, she treated me =P to dinner and dessert at Roma's Deli and 记得吃 respectively. All in all, it was a wonderful day! =)

To you you you you you you: Baby, thank you for being my Valentine! *Muacks!*

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T10:41:00.003+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy 4 Months together, Darling!

This time round, my message to you won't be posted on my blog but somewhere else.
It's up to you to guess where it is. =)
I love you!
*Muacks!*

Vote for us! =P

2009-02-10T09:40:00.004+08:00

Dear Friends, Please vote for me and Wan Ching under http://www.cozycot.com/valentines/contest/5 No. 81 ;)

To do so, sign in by clicking the icon on the right, under Google account, then choose the number of stars (5), then comment! Your help is very very much appreciated!!!

Thank you very much for your time. =)

卉出靖彩校园演唱会

2009-02-05T09:08:00.003+08:00

I attended my first ever campus concert in NTU after almost five years, and it's a concert held by my primary school classmate Huang Jinglun, together with Shi Xin Hui! The guy who used to play soccer, go swimming, play console games with me and whose home I've been to most often among all my friends is already a superstar with his own album! Of course I can't miss the opportunity to ask for his autograph! =P

He reserved two VIP tickets for me and together with Ching, we sat in the front row. It was so close! Haha. Ching said she felt like a judge for a singing competition. =S

The two performers' singing was awesome and I was very impressed by Jinglun who not only sang well but was also very vocal on stage, cracking a lot of jokes that made the audience laugh. Except for his appearance, he was totally like the Jinglun I know, even on the stage. Haha. Really feel glad for him for being so successful in what he has always wanted to do. Looking forward to his personal concert soon!

Our first Chinese New Year together!

2009-01-29T09:27:00.001+08:00

First Chinese New Year together!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-26T00:43:00.003+08:00

新年快乐，万事如意！
身体健康，事事顺利！
恭喜发财，财源广进！

Happy 牛 Year!

IPPT

2009-01-14T10:02:00.003+08:00

I took my IPPT last tuesday and was only expecting a pass as my training jumps for my Standing Broad Jump is only between 212cm and 221cm. However, on the test itself, I actually jumped a 225cm. I was so surprised that I didn't bother to jump a second time (every person was allowed 2 attempts).

However, after everything is over, I realised that I only needed to jump 5cm more to get Gold! And that's $200 more! Hai... Maybe I should have jumped a second time, who knows I may get lucky? Haha. But then, getting a silver when I was expecting a pass is already good enough. I'll just have to try harder next time.

2009-01-03T13:20:00.001+08:00

Oh dear! it suddenly occured to me that when ppl ask me when I graduated,

my ans will be

'Last year June'

Hahaha!
=P

An eventful new year's eve and new year's day

2009-01-01T22:53:00.003+08:00

Our new year's eve began with a trip to the Peranakan museum at city hall area. The museum would have been boring at other times but after watching 小娘惹, it became very interesting, the exhibits were all as shown in the show. Ching liked the beadworks and jewellery and she kept telling me they are very pretty. =) It was great to learn more about the peranakan culture.

After the visit to the museum, we went to Lotus Restaurant at Quality Hotel for a vegetarian steamboat dinner. The food was nice and we ate until we were very full. Maybe we could have eaten more if we had more time, but maybe not. But we had to leave early because other customers have made reservations after our time slot. We were taking photos outside the toilet when a group passed by and a guy asked us if we needed help. Haha. It was quite paiseh. =P

After the dinner, we did a bit of shopping at Novena Square before heading over to Orchid Country Club where my uncle had booked a room and my family members were having a gathering. They invited me and Ching over and Ching was feeling a bit uneasy about it as this is the first time she's going to meet my maternal grandmother, uncle, aunties and cousins. She was rather nervous. Haha. She bought $10 worth of bread from BreadTalk there and we stayed around in the room for a while before we went to venture around. We strolled to the swimming pool which was already closed by then. We didn't swim of course but lay on the tanning bed to gaze at the stars. It was so romantic! After a while, it was time to countdown to the new year and it was our own private countdown! Away from the crowds at marina bay, vivocity, sentosa or wherever. 5-4-3-2-1... Happy 2009! We kissed on the stroke of midnight like many couples do. =D

After more star-gazing, we left OCC and I stayed over at her home that night (in separate rooms of course) because we had another interesting activity in the morning. We woke up at 5.10am and left her home at 5.30am where we made our way to sembawang park to watch the first sun rise of the new year! The process of leaving with her together so early in the morning is quite fun in itself, it feels like we were eloping. Haha. When we reached sembawang park, it was around 6am and the sky was still dark and the sea breeze was cold. Thankfully, the thoughtful Ching brought jackets for both of us and we waited at the jetty for the sun to rise. Slowly, we saw the sky being brightened to an orange colour. It was really beautiful even though our view of the sun was partially blocked! I really liked watching the sunrise and this was a great experience! And Im really fortunate to have Ching by my side to watch it with me.

That's not all. We went back to her home and we went jogging at Circle Green! Yes, all these despite a tiring day and only three hours of sleep. I wonder where we got the energy from. Haha.[And there's a secret about my running wear which I can't disclose. =P] After two rounds of running we went back to her home and had breakfast which her parents had bought for us before we watched the recorded episode of 小娘惹 which we had missed the previous night. That sums up our new year celebration. It was really eventful; I don't think I've ever done so many things and been to so many places within 24 hours! Thank you Wan Ching, I love you!

Going places this holiday!

2008-12-20T12:43:00.007+08:00

Places we've been to:

-27/11/08 IMM
-29/11/08 Suntec City (Loving Hut) + Paragon
-02/12/08 The Cathay (Bolt)
-04/12/08 Singapore Expo + Escape Theme Park + White Sands
-05/12/08 Circle Green (for running)
-07/12/08 Junction 8
-16/12/08 Orchard Cineleisure (Pride and Glory)
-17/12/08 Escape Theme Park
-21/12/08 Vivocity
-24/12/08 Johor Bahru
-25/12/08 Orchard/Bugis
-31/12/08 Perankan Museum, Lotus Restaurant, Orchid Country Club
-01/01/09 Sembawang Park

When the past comes back to haunt you.

2008-12-07T23:34:00.006+08:00

This post has been moved here.

Half-marathon

2008-12-06T19:38:00.004+08:00

Im going for half-marathon tomorrow!

No more finisher of 42.195km this time round. :(

My 25th Birthday

2008-12-04T23:11:00.005+08:00

This year's birthday is much more special than the others, all thanks to one person: My girlfriend Wan Ching.

First thing she did for me was to wait until midnight on the stroke of my birthday to post a Happy Birthday cum I love you wish on her blog. Sweet!

We had planned to go to escape theme park so since it's in the east, I decided to go and collect my half-marathon race pack at Expo first and she accompanied me.

When we met, she wished me happy birthday and handed me my present. It was wrapped in a I love you wrapper and when I opened the wrapper it was a box with heart shapes on the outside. Sweet!

I didn't get to open the box until after I've collected the race pack which was 2 hours later. The collection was a draggy process and I was quite impatient at times. Luckily she was there to make me feel better. =)

When I finally opened the box, inside was a pair of Adidas running shorts which I had wanted to get for some time but didn't because it's too expensive. =P
Other than the pair of shorts was a heart shape on which she wrote "Watson & Ching".
Sweet, sweet, sweet!!!

Now the sweetest part.... she made sandwiches for me! Mock meat patties with pickles sandwiches and egg mayo sandwiches which we ate for lunch. They are so delicious!!!!! Especially the one with pickles.

After that we went to escape theme park and that is where things started going wrong. Once we entered the park, it started to rain and the rain got heavier and heavier by the minute. We had no choice but to go for a walk at E-hub! where there was nothing much either. So we went to Mr Bean to ate glutinous rice balls. It was nice and sweet. But too bad we had no "kamcheng" to eat from. Haha.

The rain never stopped and at around 5.30pm, we decided enough was enough. Luckily our tickets were revalidated due to the bad weather and we can go back within 3 months' time. So we left and had ice-cream at Swensens at White Sands because I had a voucher. She had a banana split and I had a Firehouse Happy Birthday, just for the occassion. =)

After that, she bought a shawl at a shop near Pasir Ris MRT before we headed for dinner at Jurong Point. After dinner, she came to my home where my parents had bought a durian cake and I cut the cake with all my loved ones around me. My parents, my dear Wan Ching and my beloved Chippy. I feel so fortunate!!! At the same time, we were watching 小娘惹 and tonight's episode was sad because both 菊香 and her husband died.

The end of the show marks the end of a day made wonderful by a wonderful person despite the rain trying to dampen our spirits. Thank you Ching for making the journey from Woodlands to Pasir Ris and to Boon Lay and back to Woodlands again. You must be really tired. Thank you for everything you have done for me today: your gifts, your sandwiches, your company. I really appreciate it very much.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

The other gift I received was a Burberry belt from my sister sent all the way from Japan, thanks to her too!

Why is it so different?

2008-11-18T13:15:00.002+08:00

When I was an undergraduate, I have the time to watch 9pm shows everyday, play soccer twice a week, study only until dinner time during exam periods, can even continue playing soccer during exam periods, sometimes can even afford the time to watch anime and serials during exam periods. And I can manage to get A, A+ or at least a B+.

Now, I stopped watching 9pm shows. I study until around 10-11pm during the exam periods. I stopped playing soccer during the exam period and I haven't even watched anime for a long time. But now..... Im struggling to get a B! What is wrong????!!!! Why is there such a great difference?

It's been one month.

2008-11-14T09:32:00.006+08:00

One month ago on this day, we became a couple.

It has been a wonderful one month and I am so glad to have loved you!

I Miss You!

2008-11-07T20:19:00.003+08:00

When can we meet again? :(

Stupid exams.

My exam revision schedule (Bold = exam day):

Haizz........

A pleasant surprise.

2008-10-31T09:41:00.003+08:00

When I opened my wardrobe to fetch a piece of T-shirt to wear to school, I caught sight of an unfamiliar object lying on top of my pile of clothes. Wondering who left it there, I picked it up, turned it over and what a surprise I got! It's a card from Ching! How sweeeeeet! =)

Im really touched by what you have done. Thank you very much! I am so fortunate to have a girlfriend like you! This is what I want to say to you:

So sweet, just like my life now. :p

2008-10-30T08:51:00.002+08:00

小酒窝长睫毛
是你最美的记号
我每天睡不着想念你的微笑
你不知道你对我多么重要
有了你生命完整的刚好
小酒窝长睫毛
迷人得无可救药
我放慢了步调
感觉像是喝醉了
终于找到心有灵犀的美好
一辈子暖暖的好
我永远爱你到老

幸福开始有预兆
缘分让我们慢慢紧靠
然后孤单被吞没了
无聊变得有话聊有变化了

我想就这样牵着你的手不放开

2008-10-24T09:06:00.002+08:00

All my feelings are expressed in this song. :)

我喜欢你

2008-10-15T09:44:00.003+08:00

"我喜欢你"
These were the words I told Wan Ching yesterday while we were walking along NIE, back towards NTU. The environment was nice, the moon was bright and there was a cool breeze. The only thing that was not so ideal was that it was in school.

But I didn't want to wait anymore. Im afraid that if I dragged any longer, I will lose the courage to say it out. She was quite surprised and she certainly didn't know how to answer me when I asked her if she liked me also, except with "Okay"s. I think she said at least 10 "Okay"s from NIE till we reached the bus stop. I thought the only difficult part was for me to tell her how I felt, didn't know that for her to give me an answer was also not easy. Haha. She told me that she will sms me the answer when I got off the bus.

When I reached home, I received an sms and it was a "Yes". Thank you for making things easy for me, but that doesn't mean I won't appreciate it. :) To quote 王力宏 from 大城小爱: "千万不要说天长地久,免的你觉的不切实际" but I really hope that she is my first as well as my last. She is such a nice girl. I know that if I miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult for me to find someone like her. It's really a case of "爱情来的太快就像龙卷风离不开暴风圈来不及逃". Haha. Sorry for all the quotes. I think I have been doing too much research. Haha. I still have a lot of things to blog about but due to time constraint I'll have to stop here.

2008-09-26T16:38:00.002+08:00

Oh.... when was the last time I blogged? So much has happened during the last month and I didn't even think about blogging because I don't really have the time. I used to give weekly summaries, now it's monthly summaries. Haha.

Starting of the month I attended the transferable research skills course held my imperial college which I enjoyed very much. It was fun, I made a lot of friends and learnt useful reserach skills from the course.

Middle of the month was my cousin, Alson's wedding. It was a simple dinner which consists of mainly family members but we have a big family. :) It's been some time since the whole family got together and all of us cousins managed to take a photo together. The last time we did this was when we were kids?

Another big thing that happened was the revival of Truefakers. The guys I used to play soccer together with when I was in primary/secondary school got back again and training is now on every sunday morning. We'll be having our first match this sunday and let's hope we do well. For more details, please refer to www.truefakers.blogspot.com.

Lastly, I joined the Animal Lover's Society sub-comm and my first task was to create a lucky draw box. :D Easy task I shall say. And we had our first outing for the year 2 days ago which was a visit to the goat farm followed by a visit to the fish farm. The highlight was the fish spa and I talked to my boss, the events manager in person for the first time. Haha. And we didn't stone like she said we will.

Anyway, I have a new blog skin!

Seeing Stars

2008-08-31T13:11:00.004+08:00

My eyes are very tired recently and I think I have to avoid staring at the computer screen so much. But that's not an easy thing to do, considering the fact that almost everything I do, from work to entertainment, involves using the computer. I wonder if anybody from our generation can avoid touching the computer completely for just one day.

The modules Im taking are getting tougher and there are a lot of assignments to do. And I can't understand a lot of what the lecturers are talking about. Especially for Computational Intelligence and Multimedia Networking. I wonder if I've chosen the wrong modules. My research on Ontology Alignment is not going very well either. I've been reading a lot of papers but I can't seem to comprehend more than 40% of what is being written in the papers. And I feel that I've been lacking in self-discipline. I haven't been sleeping at 10pm for weeks and I've been waking up late. It's time I shape up or ship out; either I improve or I face getting chopped. Comparing my attitude now to when I was an undergraduate, I have only this to say: “这感觉已经不对，我努力在挽回。。。”

Enough about work. Went skating with Rong Hua, Siying, Weiming, Peiru and Jastinian at East Coast Park yesterday. I took the wrong direction for bus 15 at Eunos MRT and ended up an hour late. Haha. But then it was drizzling also. Just nice that the rain stopped when I reached. We lugged our skates for hours and ended up skating for slightly over half an hour. Went to Geylang for supper after that. I really need to go out or I'll end up using the computer the whole day and see more stars.

We got the samples for the family potrait from Serangoon Broadway last week. Here they are:

I think I'll look good if Im really that tall. Haha.

Usain Bolt!

2008-08-20T23:17:00.002+08:00

Usain Bolt just won the gold medal in the men's 200m, breaking Michael Johnson's record on the way to achieving that. He's just too fast, just too good, creating history by winning the 100m and 200m in world record times and being the first man since Carl Lewis to win both the 100m and 200m. He may appear arrogant but people adore him because he's good enough to be.

Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps with his 8 gold medals in the pool will certainly be remembered for this Olympics in years to come. Tributes to the two of them!

Sentosa

2008-08-17T22:28:00.004+08:00

It's been a long time since I last went to the beach. But too bad the weather wasn't exactly nice yesterday. It started to drizzle when we reached Harbourfront but luckily it stopped. The weather was cooling and not sunny at all. The attendance was good. As of Friday night, only me, Zhen wei, Sicong and Jiehe were confirmed going. But in the end, Daji, Eddie, Sihan, Ryan and Ching Siang turned up as well.

We played frisbee, beach soccer and beach volleyball. The only bad thing was that there were not many bikini babes around which sort of defeated our purpose of going. =) But then it was fun and I hope to go back there soon.

Congratulations to Singapore for getting our first Olympics medal after 48 years! I didn't watch a lot of this Olympics but I like the volleyball matches. Swimming and track events are exciting and I saw one cute Japanese table-tennis player on TVmobile this afternoon: Ai Fukuhara. However, I still prefer the Russian girls. =)

Money No Enough 2

2008-08-14T13:58:00.002+08:00

Was expecting Money No Enough 2 to be a comedy but it turned out to be much more than that.
Some parts of the movie are funny but the show became very touching towards the end.
Though the storyline of how children shirk their responsibilities when it comes to taking care of their old age parents is rather cliched, it is still heart-wrenching and I guess it reflects the situation of the society now.

The song "Mother, 你只是一个名字" was repeated several times to enhance the effect of the moving scenes and you'll have to try hard to fight back your tears (that is, for those who have a heart). One meaningful phrase from the film by Mark Lee: You are poorest not when you have nothing in your pockets nor when your bank account is empty, but when you do not have your loved ones by your side.

All in all, the show was nice and brings a good mixture of laughter and tears to the audiences but I don't like the parts done using computer animation. The technology is still not good enough to make them look realistic. Bottomline: Spend your money carefully and take good care of your parents.

Back to school

2008-08-05T21:40:00.003+08:00

First day back in school. The same old environment but not many more familiar faces. First lecture was Computational Intelligence and there were only 2 locals in the lecture group, me and Alex! Also no pretty girls, as expected.

Went to my assigned lab at CAIS after the lecture. I was assigned a cubicle in a not so strategic location where anybody coming in can see what Im doing. Tried to register for my graduate modules but the system totally sucks. To those who think STARS was bad, you haven't seen the worst. First I have to select the modules I want to take. After that, I will be placed on a waitlist for that module and I have to print out a form for my supervisor to sign as a mark of approval. However, if there are no vacancies, I may not get the module and I'll only be informed if I get the module or not on the 15th of August which is after registration ends.

What this means for me is that it may happen that I choose 3 modules, get my supervisor's approval, attend 2 weeks of lessons and find out on the last day of registration that I didn't get any modules allocated to me at all. What an "intelligent" and "logical" system! Good grief! Give me STARS anytime, I don't mind playing "fastest fingers first". Spent an unproductive day in school as a result. Hope tomorrow is a better day.

A week of slacking

2008-08-01T13:35:00.004+08:00

Finally, I am out of job and got my one week break before school reopens. Monday was spent meeting my professor in school for a discussion on what I have to do. Following that, there's the Junqin + Feng Cheng + Watson treat at Paulaner. It was initially only the Junqin and Feng Cheng treat but I decided to chip in as well since I can be considered to have a job. 11 persons turned up and the total bill was a whooping $432! Thanks to Zhen Wei's Citibank credit card, there was a 15% off and the amount was reduced to around $360, so that's $120 from each of us.

Picture of everyone with all the food.

After the dinner when the food's all gone.

The treaters.

Tuesday and Wednesday was spent reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter and I had to finish it before the due date on Saturday. Well, I managed that. Met Tooter for lunch on wednesday too as I went to return the hood to Melvin in Jurong West. Received some souvenirs from her as well for her trip to Redang some time ago. I also registered for the half-marathon in Standard Chartered. No more full marathon this time round because of my previous injury. Don't even know if I can manage a half, hopefully yes.

Thursday was spent watching not one, not two but three dvd movies at home! Namely, Maid of Honor, 10,000 B. C. and Batman Begins. In between the movies, I went for a swim at NTU and I realised I haven't been swimming for some time. The feeling of the evening sun on my skin is great.

Before I realise it, it's already Friday. Watched another movie, Quill (导盲犬小Q) in the morning. Another nice touching doggie show. Decided to cook some pasta for lunch which is also something I haven't done in a while. Went to NTUC to buy minced chicken and then cooked a big plate of pasta with minced chicken plus a fried egg for myself. Guess I cooked too much, feeling a little too full. Next, Im going to watch another DVD: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

Convocation!

2008-07-29T11:12:00.011+08:00

After four years of hard work, we finally convocated on the 25th of July 2008 with Bachelors of Engineering (Computer Engineering). Congratulations to us all! We thoroughly deserve our degrees. And convocation day is definitely a good day for taking photos. So here goes....

One of the few times I have to wear a tie. Dressed up and ready to go.

The world is waiting for me, but Im going back to NTU. Ask the world to wait for a while more.

My moment on the stage.

Photo-taking with my parents. Without them, there wouldn't be me.

Me, Jun hao and Jun wei. The super talk cock kings.

More photos with classmates/schoolmates/playmates/teammates. :)

Ex-Chinese High guys plus Jun Wei.

All-star line up!

Didn't get a chance to take photo with Rong Hua, Weiming and Jastinian on convocation day itself. What a pity. We made up for it by taking photos on the SCE Graduate's Evening at Grassroot's club the following day.

Me and my professor Prof Angela Goh, who was my academic counsellor during my undergraduate days and who I will be working with for my post-graduate studies.

Though everyone keeps saying SCE is a boring and stressful place, when it comes to separation we will still miss each other. I won't be seeing the same faces that I have been seeing for the past four years when I go back to school next week. Throughout these years, I have made a lot of friends though I did not stick with any particular group. Most of these friends are people who I can talk cock with and people who I can work well with. I wish all my friends good luck in their future endeavours and hope that we can stay in touch!

Matriculated

2008-07-23T18:47:00.008+08:00

I just matriculated today. Im a freshie! Haha. Fresh research student though, not fresh undergrad.
New semester going to start soon but I don't have much drive. The requirements that I have to fulfil don't sound easy. Can I still reach the levels that I had reached as an undergraduate? It's a totally different game now.

Lethargic

2008-07-22T20:48:00.002+08:00

My new job is making me quite lethargic, that's why I haven't been updating my blog. Today is only my seventh working day and I feel that it's been a long time. The job is monotonous and boring at times. If not for the nice colleagues there, life will be bad. I don't know why I feel so tired everytime I reach home. I can feel the lethargy when I go running after work. Maybe it's the aircon in the office or sitting down all day long that made me so tired. I don't even feel like going out. I spent the last saturday at home reading and watching DVDs while Sunday was spent playing soccer.

Went for a medical examination for my post-graduate admission last Wednesday and found out that they had to draw my blood for a blood test. Scary. I have a phobia for that. I'll always break out in cold sweat whenever my blood is drawn. It's psychological and I don't know how I can overcome it. I remembered there was once in JC when my whole face turned pale after my blood was drawn. So embarassing. Luckily this time round it was not that bad.

Went to watch 赤壁 with Ong, Ivan and Junhao later on the same day. The show was quite nice and not as bad as what some of my friends claimed. Some of the parts were quite exaggerated though.

Went to Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at Jurong Point with my parents on Saturday night to celebrate my father's birthday. My treat. Haha. The food there is not bad and the price is not too expensive.

The brand with the 3 stripes

2008-07-12T22:57:00.008+08:00

Went shopping alone at Ang Mo Kio Central this afternoon since I went to my grandma's home which is around the area. Picked up my third bargain from Adidas within a month in Sportslink. This time round, I bought a pair of Adidas +F5.6 TRX HG soccer boots for only $31.50.

So here's a summary of my haul for the past month:

Product	Original Price	Price I Paid	Location Bought
Adizero CS	$163	$79	Adidas Store Vivocity
Adidas ESS Messenger Bag	$49.90	$24.95	Adidas Store Junction 8
Adidas +F5.6 TRX HG	$79	$31.50	Sportslink AMK

Yeah! Everything half price and below. Im a good bargain hunter. Haha.

From Fuji to Meiji

2008-07-11T19:25:00.004+08:00

After a week of being unemployed, Im back to work again, this time at Meiji factory. My new work place is near and I just have to cycle for 15 to 20 mins to reach there. My job was to do data entry and work was rather boring. The first half of the day was spent checking if my predecessor, Keith made any errors in entering the data. After that, I have to input the rest of the data. The people there are quite nice and friendly though. I got to know them better during lunchtime when we went to the nearby hawker centre.

Today being Friday, "Sweet Adventures" (a store located in the factory itself selling Meiji products at cheap prices) was open and I couldn't resist doing some shopping. Haha.

Total amount spent: $17.70 for a carton of 7 boxes of Meiji Plain Crackers with Oat, 1 box of Meiji Petit Brunch chicken biscuits, 1 box of mixed Hello Panda, 1 roll of Meiji Gummy Chocolate and 4 packets of Copan Garlic Toast. I started buying from Meiji even before I received my first pay from them. Haha. There were many other things to buy including chocolates but I don't really like them. Of all the things I've bought, I'll most likely eat the biscuits while the other junks may be given to my cousins. Maybe my parents will take one or two. :P

Night at the museum

2008-07-10T15:22:00.004+08:00

Went to Jiehe's home last night with Zhen Wei, Feng Cheng, Ryan and Chin Siang. What an experience it was! His house has got to be the biggest I've ever been to; it's three storeys high and the porch can park like 7 to 10 cars? There are already four cars in his family: his father's Mercedes, his mother's BMW, his and his sister's cars. Then yesterday there was also Zhen Wei's car and still there was space for a few more cars. Wow.

The first thing that we see when we set foot in his living room was a 65-inch plasma TV. 65-inch!!! Oh my god! A 40 plus inch TV is already considered large to me, now what do I see? A 65-inch. His house definitely has the "WOW-factor". Haha. Jiehe took us on a tour round his house, starting from the first storey. He first showed us the guest room with the pool table. Then he brought us outside to have a look at the swimming pool and the water fountain with the koi pond. The view from there, overlooking the Bukit Panjang estate, is rather nice. Back in the house, he showed us the study room where there are a few computers arranged in such a way that it reminds me of a mini computer lab. Nice working/studying environment.

Next, we followed him to the second floor where they all slept. The second floor has its own secondary living room and the lighting in his house can be controlled by a centralised system using a touch-screen monitor, something like those we see in the lecture theatres. He brought us to his room which is spacious but quite empty except for his bed, and every room has its own attached bathroom.

After that, we went to the third floor which consists of a sound room used to play music and a theatre. We just spent a while in the sound room but it was the theatre that bowled me over. Imagine having your own theatre in your own house! Amazing. And when I said it's a theatre, it really means a theatre, not just a room with a projection TV. It was a huge sound-proof room with an enormous screen and there were even seats like those in Golden Village or Cathay cinemas. Wow! That's not all! The room also doubles up as a KTV room and there is even a computerised system just like those in KBox, PartyWorld and such where you can select songs from the database. So basically it's just like a KTV room, except that the screen is much much larger, the room is much much bigger, the seats are much much more comfortable and the sound system is much much better! Incredible!

So after the tour, we went to the living room to play with his Playstation 3 on his 65-inch plasma TV. I've never seen a real PS3, much less played with one. We played Winning Eleven 2008, followed by Grand Turismo and then NBA 2K8. The graphics rocks for the GT and NBA but not for Winning Eleven. We played from around 9pm to 1am before we went up to the theatre for the second round of activities. We had originally intended to watch a movie but we couldn't find a DVD which none of us had watched before and we had a KTV session instead. We sang all the way until 5 plus in the morning and surprisingly I didn't feel tired at all; maybe I was too amazed to feel tired. We ended our "tour" after that and it was a wonderful experience. Thanks Jiehe!Haha. I think it will be more fun if the others like Sicong, Daji, Eddie, Junqin and KC could make it. Hopefully, there will be another visit! :)

[Maybe pictures can better describe how awesome his house is but too bad no one took photos.]

10 Promises To My Dog

2008-07-09T12:29:00.005+08:00

After much delay, I finally went to watch "10 Promises To My Dog" yesterday. I have been waiting to see this show ever since I saw its "Coming Soon" billboard advertisement when I went to watch "Chocolate" at Plaza Singapura. Coincidentally, I watched the show yesterday at PS too. The show is very touching and some of the parts are very sad. The ones I remembered were when Akari and her father had to move into the University hostel and she had to leave Socks behind with her friend. The parting scene between dog and owner where the train began to move and the dog chased after them is heart-wrenching.

Another sad part is when Akari grew older, fell in love and started to neglect Socks. She even said that she felt very confined as she can't go anywhere because she had to take care of Socks. She said that she felt as if she was the one wearing the collar and sort of vented her frustrations on Socks. I felt so sorry for Socks. How easily people forget when things don't go their way. She had forgotten how Socks had faithfully been by her side all those years and made her happy. Luckily she remembered in the end. Of course, the saddest part was during Socks final moments when she lay helpless waiting for Akari to return from work and say her last goodbye. There were also many other parts that made me sad, like when Socks couldn't leap at the rainbow like she used to anymore because she was getting old and Akari realised that.

Inevitably, the show made me cry and I was thankful that the cinema was dark enough. However, my eyes were red after the show as I could see in my reflection in the toilet's mirror. Shows about dogs always make me sad as I will relate them to myself and Chippy. As I watched Socks grow old and eventually pass away, I know that one day the same thing will happen to Chippy too and being 7 years old, she's not young anymore. I have to constantly remind myself to treasure every moment I have with her and shows like these serve as good reminders.

When Akari first had Socks, her mother made her promise 10 things to Socks. I can't remember the 10 promises exactly but I know that they are based on "The Ten Commandments of Dog Ownership" which are as follows (from a dog's point of view):

My life is likely to last ten to fifteen years. Any separation from you will be painful for me. Remember that before you aquire me.

Give me time to understand what you want from me.

III

Place your trust in me. Remember that before you aquire me.

Don't be angry at me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, and your entertainment. I ONLY HAVE YOU!

Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words. I understand your voice when it is speaking to me. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget.

Remember before you hit me that I have teeth than can easily crush the bones in your hand,but I choose NOT TO BITE YOU.

VII

Before you scold me for being uncooperative, obstinate, or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I don't understand what you ask of me or perhaps I am not feeling well, not getting the right food, been out in the sun too long, or my heart is getting old and weak.

VIII

Take care of me when I get old, you too will grow old.

Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say "I can't bear to watch" or "let it happen in my absence". EVERYTHING IS EASIER IF YOU ARE THERE.

REMEMBER I LOVE YOU!

Among the 10 commandments, IV made the deepest impression on me as a dog-owner. Sometimes we are too preoccupied with our own life that we forget that we mean the world to our dogs. Their work is to accompany us, their entertainment is playing with us and their friends are also us. So what do they have if we neglect them? Thus, I will like to make my 10 promises to my dog and tell her: "Thank you for being by my side."

Trailer for "10 Promises To My Dog":

Jie Wei's Wedding

2008-07-08T10:07:00.008+08:00

Jie Wei's wedding dinner was on Sunday evening at Holiday Inn Park View. He is the third friend to invite me to a wedding dinner after Chang Hui and Veronica. I didn't manage to attend Chang Hui's dinner but I attended his ROM ceremony. As for Jie Wei, it was the opposite. I wasn't free to attend his ROM but I attended his wedding. David, Dennis, Zhiwen, Chang Hui and Ah Xiong were the others who turned up for. We have all known each other for a long time; I started playing soccer with them when I was in primary school and they were in secondary school. We have been playing soccer week in week out since then until recently. I still play soccer with David, Dennis and Ah Xiong at times but I haven't seen Zhiwen, Chang Hui and Jie Wei for some time. To be precise, the last time I met Chang Hui and Jie Wei was during Chang Hui's ROM one year plus ago. Now, one is getting married and another is already a father. I didn't know Chang Hui had a son until David mentioned it. Congratulations to him for that and to Jie Wei for tying the knot. I wonder who's going to be the next one.

The dinner itself was not bad and each guest was given a small teddy bear as souvenir. I took the male bear but Chang Hui gave me his female one because he said “不要拆散他们”. Haha. So I ended up with a pair. There was one cute waitress who I couldn't help but stole a glance everytime she walked past (and she walked past me more than a dozen times because she was in charge of serving the table next to mine. Haha.) but she didn't look in my direction even once. =(

I met Eddie at Orchard to shop for his suit and while on the train, I found out from my cousin Cindy that my cousin Alson is also getting married in September. That's very good news for the family. My two eldest cousins on my maternal grandmother's side are already married and Alson is the third eldest. So if it goes in that order, I'll be the fifth to get married? Haha. That's highly unlikely I shall say.

Anyway, Eddie and I went to the G2000 Black Label at Wisma to look at the suits. The blazers with matching pants cost $199. Eddie size's is the same as me, even the smallest size 44 looked just a little bit too big on us. I tried on one of the blazer myself and wow, what a difference it makes to a person. It made me look ... classy? Haha. One day I shall borrow it from Eddie for some important function. Eddie didn't buy at the Wisma outlet because the salespersons' attitudes were fucked up and I can't be bothered to elaborate. In the end, he bought it at the G2000 outlet in Takashimaya while I left to attend the wedding dinner.

Last day at Fuji Xerox

2008-07-05T16:18:00.004+08:00

7 weeks on and I have come to my last day in Fuji Xerox. When I first got the job from JAC, my first thought was: "Ok, just bear with it for 7 weeks and I'll get back my freedom to slack at home after that." But how things have changed, right now I am hoping that the contract period was longer because this has to be the best job that I had ever worked, mainly because of the people around me. I feel kind of sad that it's going to end just like that, 树倒猴子散 (Qiu3 dou4 lao3 gao2 sua3, a hokkien phrase I heard from a warrant officer when I was a trainee in SISPEC which I think is quite funny).

I'll miss the talk cock sessions, lunches at NUS/Holland Village/Ghim Moh, the outings, the slacking, the photo taking and all. Talking about photo taking, I realised that I took as many, if not more photos in these 7 weeks than I did in an average year, thanks to Lionel's powerful camera and Alex's handphone (on the last day). Haha. There's talk of keeping in touch and having more outings but my guess is only a minority will be attending, which is usually the case. All of us will be moving on to another phase in life: some to the army, some back to study and some on to other jobs and time will be scarce in a competitive society like ours. 天下无不散之宴席，all things good and bad will come to an end and this is just one of those things that has happened before and will keep on happening. New acquaintances/friendships will always be made and old ones may gradually fade. It is fate that brings us together as we had talked about in the cinema yesterday.

So the last day began with me reaching the office around 9.30-9.40am as usual. Surfed the net and came across Eddie's blog. We went to Vivocity for lunch and while we were on the bus to Vivocity, I received an sms telling me to look behind. I turned around and there he was, Eddie. Haha. What a coincidence! He was meeting his ex-colleagues for lunch somewhere around the area also. We had lunch at Superdog in Vivocity and I had the student meal which consisted of a grilled fish burger and iced premium brewed tea. It wasn't filling at all so me and Weiqi bought bread at Giant's bakery which tasted horrible. Alex and Desmond bought bowl noodles to cook in the pantry. Shopping at Giant was followed by a trip to the arcade and we went back to office around 2.40pm, meaning our lunch break was like 3 HOURS!!!! Haha. Anyway, it was the last day for all of us with the exception of Weiqi and we can't be bothered. He can't either.

After work, me, Weiqi, Yong Bin, Alex, Sing Hong, Lionel, Melissa went for the last after-work outing which was dinner cum movie at Orchard. We had dinner at NYDC outside Hereen and the topic eventually shifted to their first days and my first day at work. And I jokingly told Weiqi that I felt like giving him one tight slap the first day I saw him. And he retaliated by telling me what a short freak like me was doing in their office on my first day. Hahaha. Hurling insults at each other is a good form of communication!

You don't mess with the Zohan is damn hilarious. We were all laughing from start to end, so much so that my jaws ached a bit. It's been some time since I watched a movie like that and Im glad I did. Haha. After the show, the guys went to play the basketball shooting game in the arcade while Sing Hong and girlfriend, Melissa and Lionel left. On our way out of Cineleisure, Yong Bin said he saw Stella (some girl they saw on a blog) and we went back into Cineleisure to take a look. I wasn't very keen but followed anyway. This detour was almost costly as we nearly missed the last train and we had to run to reach it. Wtf? All these just to look at someone who we don't even know?

One person whom we didn't get to say goodbye to was Mun Wai. He's been quite unhappy for the last few weeks, and Im aware of part of the reasons. I feel sorry for him, knowing what he's been through. Maybe we are both old people, that's why I know how he feels, I think..... He's a hardworking and helpful person and doesn't like to trouble others. However, his shortcoming is that his behaviour is eccentric at times and I have told him that. He even sent me an sms to thank me for that yesterday after work. Too bad I didn't have a chance to shake his hand and wish him all the best in finding a job and pursuing his degree.

Rejected because I don't look mature enough

2008-07-05T15:22:00.002+08:00

The week began with me on paid leave on Monday (Yes, paid leave for a temp job, that's how good the job is). So after watching the Euro final, I slept in late and woke up at 11 plus which is very late for me but early for many people I know. Chatted with Wan Qi online and she said that she wanted to go out because there was drilling ongoing on the flat above hers and it was driving her crazy. It was rather impromptu, so I quickly bathed and changed but when I was ready, she told me that the queue at the post office where she was waiting to renew her PDL was long and asked me to wait at home first. So I waited, in my formal shirt and pants, in front of my computer for her to call me when she's ready. I wouldn't have changed so early if I knew she was going to take that long.

And so we met at Jurong East MRT and proceeded to Ikea because I have an audition later that evening at Puegeot showroom which was just beside. She had a hot dog bun, then we went to the hawker centre for dinner. After that, we returned to Ikea where she bought a cake home to eat. From there, I went for my audition and she left for home.

Together with Eddie, Keith and Keith's friend, we were directed into a small room for the auditon where there were already 10 to 20 people waiting inside. The audition was for recruiting stand-in participants for a seminar. Basically, we were supposed to go into some rooms to attend talks and fill up empty seats, acting as investors. We will be paid $100 per day for the 4 days event which will be held at Shangri-La hotel. They needed people who look mature enough to be investors so they got us all to walk out of the room and one by one they told us whether we were "OK" or "Too young". I was labelled "too young" and was therefore REJECTED. Damn it. There goes $400. In fact, among the four of us, only Keith was accepted but since Eddie participated in the event last year, they let him through though he, like me, was considered "too young". So, there goes the job but Keith told me he may have a vacancy for me at his auntie's Meiji factory which is near my home, so there may be a chance for me to earn some more money.

Met Rong Hua, Jastinian and Wei Ming for dinner at Marina Square food court for dinner on Wednesday. That has been our meeting place for the past dunno how many times. Haha. What to do? We stay all over Singapore, me in Jurong West, Jastinian in Tampines, Weiming and Rong Hua in Sembawang and Woodlands area respectively, so meeting at City Hall is easy for all. I didn't really want to go because it was quite last minute and the sole of my shoe peeled off and I had difficulty walking. But then considering that I haven't met them for like 2 weeks, I went in the end. They arranged to meet at 6.30 to 7 pm but I was already at buona vista at 6pm. So I took the train to Eunos with Weiqi and then back to City Hall again to kill time. Haha. And it was just nice that Rong Hua arrived when I was reaching City Hall.

Went out again after work on Thursday. Wan Qi was having an interview around the area so I met her at Redhill MRT after work. We went to Bugis and had dinner at the food court of Fu Lu Shou complex. She never fails to amaze (or frighten) me with her appetite. After we had our meal, we ordered a plate of Rojak. I ate only the pineapples and cucumbers and I was already quite full after that. Wan Qi finished the rest of it and after that, she had another packet of fried Golden Mushrooms. She kept telling me that it was very tasty for like 20 times while we were walking around Bugis Junction. So much so that I told her: "If you are not going to stop telling me that, Im going to slap you. " Haha. Of course I didn't mean that, it was just a joke. We window-shopped, then sat by the fountain at Bugis for a while before taking the train home. On the way to the MRT, she stopped by Crystal Jade to buy some buns which she claimed to be for her breakfast tomorrow. Haha. Don't know how much she spent on food alone.

Spain: Champions of Europe

2008-06-30T14:12:00.005+08:00

Fernando Torres scores the only goal of the match and Spain has ended their 44 year wait for a trophy! Wow! 44 years, that's a long time. That's their captain cum goalkeeper Iker Casillas lifting the cup. Congratulations! I didn't support the wrong team!

[Pictures taken from Soccernet]

BBQ at Pasir Ris Park

2008-06-30T12:59:00.005+08:00

Went for the BBQ at Pasir Ris park with Fuji Xerox people on Saturday night. You can't believe how far the place is. After a 1 hour journey by train from boon lay to pasir ris, we had to take a feeder bus to the park and after alighting, we still had to walk a long distance to the pit. Upon arrival at Pasir Ris park, we started feeling tiny droplets of rain falling from the sky and we could see flashes of lightning streaking across the sky. I started to wonder: "Is this going to be our day?" Seems like we had made a mistake in going.

Thankfully, the sky cleared up and it was business as usual. We really started eating only around 9pm. Each of us had paid $20 for this barbeque and we were expecting some really good food. In the end we only had sausages (enormous ones I should say), satays, fish, squid, pork chop and chicken fillet. It turned out that there were still a lot of food left uncooked and those were the expensive ones; there was a packet of beef sirloin. Major cockup. No wonder Chae told me he was pissed that we kept cooking the sausages.

Ironically, the most enjoyable part of the day came about when we were away from the BBQ pit and playing basketball. Im not much of a basketballer myself but the others are good. We mixed the temps and the perms for the first match and for the second match, it's temps vs perms. Yong Bin is too damn good, we can see the difference in class from the way he plays. Weiqi is very good as well but he can't go on for more than 15 mins (or was it 5 mins? Haha.) On the FEW occasions when he wasn't sitting down on the floor resting, we caught glimpses of how good he can be. :D Lionel was aggressive enough and hit a couple of stunning long range shots that had us awestruck. Melissa was always involved in the build ups to our attacks, but she got hit by the ball more times than she would have liked. Haha.

After the game, we were all sweaty, oily, stinky, smoky and in very pathetic states. It was already 1 plus near 2 when we left. So we shared a cab home, bathed and slept.

Viva España!

2008-06-27T20:57:00.004+08:00

I watched my first live match of Euro 2008 this morning, and it's the second last match of the tournament! All the rest of the matches I watched were either highlights or delayed telecasts. Spain vs Russia was the match I watched and thankfully Spain won; I can wear my España t-shirt (The one Im wearing in the picture above)proudly. Haha. Euro 2008 final: Germany vs Spain. Monday morning 2.45am. I'll be watching that, I even took leave on Monday for that. Will Spain win the tournament?

Over at work, the new project started this week: Wajima 2 Bytes - Simplified Chinese. But progress was very very slow. I finished only less than one third of what Im supposed to do. We had been too slack, that's why we can't get back to working mode. Have to catch up next week, which is also the last week of work. Feeling a bit guilty over my incompetence....

Part of the reason why progress is so slow is because I was learning Cantonese from Melissa. Weiqi was learning too. It all began with his "Lei ge kar lat dai hou yuk xun." :D From there it led to him learning how to sing 好心分手 in Cantonese and me, 情深的一句 and 当我遇上你. I think Melissa is the first person I know who has heard of so many Andy Lau songs, but she certainly hasn't heard as much as me. But damn it, I printed the lyrics with cantonese pronunciation but forgot to bring them home. I had planned to learn them over the weekend.

It's friday night and Im at home blogging. In fact, I didn't go out the whole week. Guess my energy has been expended from the KTVs and such from previous weeks and Im reverting to the "homely" guy that I am, aka 宅男. I want to watch "10 promises to my dog" but nobody wants to watch with me. Everyone is saying "me and my stupid dog show". Melissa even told me not to be so "girl". Wtf? Guys can't watch these kinds of shows? People nowadays don't have a heart. Haha. If only I can bring Chippy to watch together, but then she wouldn't understand what's going on anyway. So, who wants to watch with me???????

The Alchemist

2008-06-24T20:27:00.004+08:00

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." This is what the old king said to Santiago and the quote that I remembered most from the book "The Alchemist", recommended to me by Melissa. The book is about a boy Santiago who dreamt of treasures hidden under the pyramids in Egpyt and travelled all the way there to fulfil his dream (his Personal Legend). Along the way, he met with many difficulties that almost made him give up. He also met a girl he loved and almost wanted to give up his dream and stay by her side. However, he overcame all odds in the end and managed to find the treasure.

The story tells us that if we have a dream, we must go all out to fulfil our dream despite the difficulties faced. We must also not be too bothered about what we will lose, including leaving our loved ones behind. If we were to give up our dreams because of that, we will regret it in years to come.

So how does this apply to me? I don't really know. I don't really have any dreams in the first place. Since young, I only aim to study hard so that I can earn enough to give my parents a good life, just like they did for me. Other than that, I only enjoyed playing soccer and running. I once had a dream which is to complete a marathon. But now, I've done that twice. So what's next? Anyway, that's more of a personal goal than a dream. Seriously, I don't know what I aim to achieve in life, and I know that Im not alone. Which of you reading this post can tell me what your dream is? Im curious to find out.

In the book, the boy met a crystal merchant. He's used to his life and doesn't ask for anything more out of it and doesn't like much changes. His dream was to visit the holy city of Mecca but when he was young, he wanted to earn some money first so he started a shop. But when the shop is doing well, he couldn't bear to put the shop in another person's charge and so he can't bear to go to Mecca. Another reason why he didn't go is because it's the dream of going to Mecca that kept him alive. He was afraid that if he were to go, he will no longer have anything to dream about.

Im just like the merchant, too used to my way of life. Eat, study, sleep, run, watch TV, play soccer, spend time with my family and my dog. Many people asked me why I didn't want to go overseas to do my Phd because my results are good enough to do so. Firstly, I just can't bear to leave my family behind and secondly, I don't like to adapting to life in another country, just like the merchant. At least the merchant has something to dream about, I don't know if I have any. In fact, Im so used to my life that I've never gotten into a relationship. I don't know how my life will change if I were to do so, thus explaining why Im always lacking in intiative when it comes to these matters. Even on the few occassions that I tried to take the initiative, I failed. So now Im just waiting for others to take the intiative on me. Haha. Yes, I know that's wishful thinking, but just let it be then....

Something damn funny happened during lunchtime today. We were at Cold Storage at Holland Village when a funeral procession (出殡) was ongoing just outside. Then there was this Caucasian kid who shouted to his mum: "Mummy look! There's a chinese travelling circus!" And his mother looked as if she thought it was a circus too. We almost laughed our asses off.

Wild night at KTV

2008-06-20T20:30:00.008+08:00

Went back to the Chinatown $10 KTV again last night with my colleagues from Fuji Xerox: Weiqi, Sing Hong, Lionel, Melissa, Yong Lim and Da Jie. This was a totally new experience, thanks to one guy - Weiqi. He totally brought the house down. Haha. 笨小孩 brought out the rocker in him and from then on, he went insane, insanely good I shall say. I still feel like laughing when I think of how crazy he had been last night.

His "One night in Beijing" left us totally speechless, no wonder he told me that is THE song he must sing when he goes to KTV. He can scream and he can sing, and the database of songs that he can sing is extensive. Yong Lim raps well and Sing Hong is good at Jay Chou's songs. Lionel sang a couple of English songs and it sounded good, but he was not confident of himself. Haha. Da Jie sang very little too, and she likes to sing in "Analog" mode. Maybe she's too pai seh.

Melissa is a great singer as well. Found out that she was from the choir just as we were about to reach the KTV. She mostly sang duets with Weiqi and they sounded good, except for the occassions when she forgot (or was it don't know how to read) the lyrics. Haha. Well, I did a duet with her too, and guess which song we sang? Yeah, 好心分手. One of my favourite songs and one of the few which I can sing well, I think. She sang her part magnificently, I hope my part was good enough to make the song sound good. Haha. The others I sang were mostly Andy Lau songs, some by Mayday and a few random others, and Weiqi said I brought the Andy Lau style into 童话. Ooops... Im just not versatile enough when it comes to singing. :P

The greatest disappointment of the day was that 动你脚车 failed to deliver 那就这样吧. 动你脚车 was the name of the duo of me and Weiqi modified from 动力火车. Haha. I know it sounds lame but what can you expect from two lame guys? We both like the song 那就这样吧 and we agreed to sing it at the KTV. But when the song came up..... there wasn't any scrolling lyrics!!! It was just a normal MV without the enlarged font and the blue filling. Oh my god! It was damn difficult to sing that way. Maybe Weiqi can do it, but I can't. Haizzz..... In the end, we flunked and 动你脚车 face the possibility of getting disbanded. :(

As they say, save the best for the last and that's what we did. We all got together to sing 朋友 just before we left and it was damn fun and funny. Weiqi kept doing funny actions as we sang and we played along with him, raising our glasses as we sang the 一杯酒 part. Haha. Lionel took photos for us and the photos should be up in facebook soon. A pity we forgot to help him take photos of himself so he wasn't in the pictures. What a waste.

To end this entry:

Adizero CS

2008-06-19T10:05:00.004+08:00

Spend, spend and spend. I have been buying a lot of things recently. From T-shirts to DVDR to new shoes. Luckily Im working now, if not I don't know where the money will come from. The most recent thing I bought: a pair of Adizero CS running shoes. It's red and white and looks great. Lionel borrowed an Adidas VIP card from his friend and we went down to the Adidas Store and Vivocity after work yesterday to check out the shoes. The pair that I chose was originally $162, but it was on sale and there was 30% off. Using the VIP card, I was entitled to another 30% off the discounted price which makes it 0.7*(0.7 * $162) = $79! That's a good bargain in my opinion, the price I paid is only 49% of the original price. I really have to thank Lionel for that. He himself bought another pair of black Adizero which is the same as what Mun Wai is wearing. I wanted to buy a pair of soccer boots as well but the smallest size is UK 7.5 while mine is UK 6.5 (Yes, I know I have small feet). I tried the kid's size and the largest size was UK 5. So where does that leave people like me with feet size between UK 5 and UK 7.5? Or are males not supposed to have that kind of feet size? :(

Reached home around 8 and had dinner. My mum went out to do her newspaper job and left me with a super big bowl of pork porridge. I struggled to finish everything and felt so full after that. Usually I wouldn't have finished it but recently I felt that I've lost weight. Even my friends who play soccer with me told me that. Did I really lose weight? But why? There wasn't any changes in my lifestyle. And Im also not under any stress. That's puzzling....

Choosing to finish all the porridge was a bad decision. I couldn't sleep well at night because I was too full. I went to sleep at 10.30pm but woke up again at 11.30pm because my stomach felt uncomfortable. Tried to sleep again but was kept awake by some dog's howling from the opposite block. I hope that the dog is not being abused, because its howling sounded pathetic. But I have no idea which unit the sound came from. If someone was really abusing the dog, I wish that person a horrible death.

That's not all. After some time, the air-conditioner compressor (Im not sure if that's what it's called but it's the thing outside the window) from the unit above mine started to make a lot of noise. Im sure the thing needs servicing but the asshole of a neighbour just can't be bothered to do it. That is not the first time it has happened and the sound was damn loud. If there's one thing I really hate, it is to have my sleep disturbed. I feel like going up to slap that idiot who lives above me, stupid inconsiderate fool. But in the end I didn't and instead, tried to go back to sleep. The noise faded off and just when I thought that was it, it happened again. Arrgggghhhh.........

Eventually, I only got to sleep at about 3am and I woke up today at 7.05am. The alarm didn't sound, I just woke up naturally because Im used to waking up at that time. I had set the alarm at 8am. Ok, now that Im awake 1 hour early, do I
1) Go back to sleep?
2) Go and run?

Option 2 was chosen. I put on my running shoes (not the new pair) and off I went, approximately 5.6km around the neighbourhood. Reached home at 8am, washed up and left for work around 8.30am. Im quite late today but when I reached the office, Im still one of the first few. Haha. I wonder if I can survive the day with less than half the amount of sleep I get from a typical day. Hopefully I can, but today's going to be a long day because we're going to KTV after work! :)

$10 KTV at Chinatown

2008-06-14T16:55:00.002+08:00

Went to the $10 KTV at Chinatown on Wednesday after work with Ronghua, Jastinian, Weiming and Jastinian and Weiming's girlfriends. The place was not bad, but I heard that it was difficult to book a place, especially on weekends. This is the first time I went to KTV with this group and they are too good! Weiming doesn't sing but the rest of them can sing very well. I was quite stressed. Haha.

Tried a few new songs which I've never sang before and realised that there are some songs I must avoid. For example, JJ Lin's songs will expose all my flaws because I can't raise my voice to his key. I tried to sing 一千年以后 but halfway through I know I won't be able to make it. Haha. I'll have to select songs with lower vocal ranges.

But I managed to sing 好心分手rather well, a duet with Weiming's girlfriend Peiru. I like that song but I didn't think I have much of a chance to sing it because it's not easy to find a girl who can sing cantonese to sing with me. So when she picked that song, I readily agreed to sing it with her. :D

Met Weiming and Jastinian for dinner on Friday at Marina Square. Had planned to go to the PC show to buy some DVD-Rs. But we took our time and reached the exhibition hall late. Stupid Weiming told me it closes at 9. When we reached there at 9 plus, it was already closed. Damn it. I think I'll ask someone to buy it for me since Im too lazy to make a trip there and mingle with the crowd. Crowds are scary things.

At work, one of my colleagues Mun Wai deliberately avoided another colleague Melissa because of a joke we played on him last week. It was just a harmless joke but we didn't expect Mun Wai to take it so seriously and get all stressed up over the matter, even after we had stopped talking about it. He started to do all sorts of funny things and that made Melissa feel awkward too. We had definitely joked with the wrong guy and made a mess of the situation. Things got better towards the end of the week and I hope that he will be back to normal. If not we will feel bad, even though it's not deliberate.

2 late nights

2008-06-08T11:38:00.004+08:00

Went to Timbre@ the Arts House on Friday night after work with my colleagues from Fuji Xerox. It was sort of a farewell for Chae as he is leaving the company and at the same time, we celebrated Yong Bin's birthday. Nothing much to do in there except listening to the live band. It was cramp and hot, not what I had expected. I ordered a cocktail, Around the World. It didn't really suit my taste. I preferred Long Island Iced Tea and China Blue, but it's better than AK47 which tasted like..... yucks.

Went to St James Power Station with Weiming, Peiru, Shinneng and Rong Hua on Saturday night. It was my first time there. We had planned to meet 8.30pm at Harbourfront MRT so that we can enter for free before 9pm. However, I reached the MRT only at 8.45pm and we had to rush from Vivocity to St James. We managed to reach in time after a super-fast walk and run. :D

How should I describe my experience there? The music was way too loud for my liking, Im really not used to it. And we had to shout when talking, I think we weren't supposed to talk much anyway. We explored Dragonfly, The Bolier Room and the Powerhouse. All in all, I just have to say that it's not my kind of place. It didn't turn out to be a wild night like I have expected. What a waste...... :D

We left around 12 and went to MacDonald's for supper. I took the Nightrider home after supper and saw Shihan on the bus. What a coincidence. The last time I took the nightrider was also with her, and I happened to wear the same shirt on both days. :D That's where the similarities end, the difference: Nightrider is now $3.50 instead of $3! Wtf!

Results are out

2008-06-05T19:42:00.003+08:00

Results are finally out. This is what I've got.

What a close shave. B+ is the minimum grade for FYP to get a First Class Honours. Anything lower then that and it's gone. Nevertheless, I got it, after 4 years of hard work. Harder in the beginning, not so hard towards the end (because I slacked). Sacrifices had been made, what should be done had been done, what shouldn't be done had also been done. Thanks to all those who had helped me in one way or another, and to all those who believed in me, I didn't let you all down. Haha.

Second interview

2008-05-31T09:43:00.002+08:00

Suprisingly, I was called up for the second round of A*STAR interview. I thought I had flunked the first round but apparently, my performance was still acceptable. The second round of interview was easier than the first round. There were only 3 interviewers and not so many questions were asked. In total it took only around 10 to 15 mins. The first question the chairman asked me was "Is your father still driving a school bus?". I replied yes and he said "Then he must be very proud of you." In fact, up till now I still have achieved nothing until the results are out next thursday. Im not one to count the chickens before they are hatched. The interviews are more or less done but the next thing I have to do is the dreaded GRE. I haven't even started studying for it and I have to take it before the next term starts. Im already left with so little time after coming back from work and I don't feel like sacrificing my sleeping time. So I guess the next option is to utilise my weekends. Haizzz...... Why do I still have so many things to do even after my exams are over? The GRE is not easy from what I hear. I seriously doubt that I can achieve the required score with just one month of studying. If I can't, I may have to postpone my studies till January.

Joined my colleagues at Fuji Xerox for lunch after the interview since my workplace is only 10mins away from the interview venue at Biopolis. We went to Sean Im food centre at harbourfront for lunch followed by some shopping in Vivocity. In the afternoon, I was "banished" to the other side of the office. Sian, less chances to talk cock and do funny things anymore unless I walk over back to where I came from. Yah, and we found a good time-killer : Sudoko! The first time there was a 6 man challenge and I came in third. The others assumed that I will come in first but I think Im over-rated, as usual. Haha.

Steamboat at Chong Pang

2008-05-24T10:27:00.002+08:00

I didn't log on to msn for 3 days! Haha. Looks like I can live without it. The reason for that is because I spent the whole day using the computer at work, so I don't feel like sitting in front of the computer again at home. Everyday is about the same, wake up at 7.00am, leave home at 8.00am, board the packed buses and trains to work (Singapore is getting seriously overpopulated), reach the office around 9.00am ++, leave the office at 5.30pm and reach home before 6.30pm. On tuesdays and thursday, I will go for a run when I reach home. After dinner, will bring Chippy downstairs for a walk, watch TV at 9.00pm and go to sleep after that. It's so easy to get to sleep when the day is spent at work, you don't even think much, especially of the things you don't feel like thinking about.

The first week at work is good. A lot of guys to talk cock with. Don't know why I always end up in an all guys (almost) environment wherever I go. Haha. For these 2 weeks Im under 大姐, a nice person who doesn't speak much but I can always go to her for help. But she told me I'll be under another guy after 2 weeks and that guy has a bad reputation. All the others are telling me "Good luck".

Had the first bonding session last night (after only 4 days at work) when we went to Chong Pang for BBQ steamboat. It's some sort of farewell for the guys who are leaving for NS after next week. I think the amount of meat I ate yesterday was equal to the amount I eat in an average week. Went to paradiz centre to play Counterstrike after the steamboat. That's the first time I played in a LAN shop. Haha. Not my cup of tea, but I just joined in the fun.

Chocolate / First day at work.

2008-05-20T20:39:00.002+08:00

Watched Chocolate at PS with Rong Hua, Weiming and Jastinian and their girlfriends. Nice show. Action packed and the girl is cool, hats off to her. I wish I could fight like her, beating up people like that. I saw the advertisement for a new show, "10 promises I made to my dog." Im going to watch that. With who I still don't know.

Don't know what Weiming and Jastinian said to their girlfriends such that their perception of me was so bad. Am I really that bad? I can't answer the question myself. Haha.

Today was my first day of work at Fuji Xerox. I can only describe it in one word, slack. The guys there are very friendly and I had practically nothing to do the whole day. We went to NUS canteen for lunch, taking the free shuttle bus. The rest of the day was spent surfing net and talking cock. My new colleagues are a bunch of fun guys, work won't be boring with them around, I guess. The down side is that there are not many girls but what can you expect from an IT job?

Interviews

2008-05-15T20:28:00.002+08:00

Went for 2 interviews on successive days. First interview was for AGS. Flopped, flunked, whatever you call it. I wasn't well prepared and it showed during the interview. I couldn't tell the interviewers much about my proposed research. One of the five interviewers even said "You've got to be better prepared for your interview next time."

The interview today was for a temp job at Fuji Xerox, a contract job from 20th May to 4th July. That was a success. I'll be going down to the agency to sign the contract tomorrow. I was supposed to go down and sign it today but I went to somewhere happy with Minghui, Cal and Minghui's friend. Minghui said happiness can be bought. I agree now. Haha. It's just how you define it.

Anyway, the first interview was the more important one as it determines my future while the second one is rather insignificant. Never mind, one out of two is better than nothing.

The sun loves me.

2008-05-13T20:40:00.004+08:00

Did another part time job and guess what? I have to stand in the sun again, damn it. Im already tanned enough, I don't need anymore tanning. It's an SMRT roadshow this time and we are the traffic marshallers for the test drive of the new taxis. Have to stand in the sun whole day, my whole face is red now, just for $50.

The only perk of the job is that there are show girls and dancers. Even had a chance to talk to show girls. Nice. Haha. Too bad didn't take photos with them. Only took these photos.

That's me and Thong Loon. We may be smiling but we were damn shagged out.

Downtown East

2008-05-12T11:31:00.002+08:00

Went to downtown east for may day cum mother's day celebration. Had free tickets to wild wild wet and escape theme park. Nothing much in wild wild wet except a lot of people. A lot of aunties and kids, not many bikini babes.

After that went to escape theme park with Cindy, Candy, Audrey, Amelia, Isaac and Ronald. Tried most of the rides including Pirate Ship, Rainbow, Inverter and others. The most exciting should be the pirate ship but it's nothing compared to the rides I tried at Taiwan during my NS days. Those were thrilling. The rides at Escape are more for kids, I should say.

We had free food coupons too and I had a Big Mac for dinner. Yes, one of the few times that I ate fast food. I didn't eat any fries though. Managed to forget my troubles momentarily but I guess Im going to go back to living the life of a hermit soon, just as I was before.

Don't I deserve a break?

2008-05-10T19:10:00.012+08:00

Quarrelled with my mother soon after I woke up today. I don't know what she wants. She just don't like me to stay at home or go out. She wants me to go and look for a temp job, those kind that requires me to go to work everyday. It's not as if I've not been doing anything. I've already done the Starhub roadshow and there's another incoming ushering job this tuesday. There's also another job assignment at Lianhua Primary School on the 22nd and the 23rd. But she's just not happy, she just wants me to go and work everyday. But my FYP presentation has just ended and I have studied hard for four years, don't I deserve a break for now?

I've been doing part time for all my holidays except the last which I have to do my FYP. And all these years in school, I have tried my best to get good results. Why did I do that for? It's not because Im afraid that I will not be able to have enough money to enjoy in the future. Im only afraid that I won't be able to provide a comfortable life for my parents just like they did for me. I motivated myself using this fear. I know they have worked hard, scrimped and saved to put me and my sister through University but have I not done my part? I have never asked them for any money except for the weekly allowance that my father gives me. I have never spent my money wastefully either. Now what do I get in return? Get treated like a good for nothing, by my own mother. Well, maybe Im really a good for nothing. Never mind, I shall just quickly find the job, go and work and work and work then back to study, then back to work again. Till the day I die. Forget about the phuket trip, forget about having fun. Just go and earn money, if that's what she wants.

I didn't want to stay at home and quarrel with her, so I went out. Went to the library and read some magazines. Then met Tooter for the first time at Jurong Point. She looks just as she is in the photos, so ~~skinny~~ slim. We first went to Sakae Sushi, then to the hawker centre near her home, then to IMM. Just walked aimlessly, not knowing what to do. I just didn't want to go home so early. If this happened a few weeks ago I might have gone out with spongeboob, but she has also stopped contacting me recently. Guess she must be busy and I don't want to disturb her also.

==============================================
I made my mother cry.
Im an asshole, a piece of shit, a good for nothing.
I've been fooling around too much. I've forgotten my purpose in life.
I feel bad and miserable.
Why is so much shit happening to me? One thing comes before I can get over another.
It's time I go back to my normal life and stop having fun.

Dinner at Bugis

2008-05-08T11:25:00.002+08:00

Went out again yesterday. That was the third consecutive day I went out with friends. This time round, went out with Rong Hua, Jastinian and Weiming to town. Me and Jastinian went to Plaza Singapura first before the other two came to meet us.

After that, walked to Bugis because we wanted to look for something cheap to eat. But in the end, went to some 来来 for dinner and it was not cheap also. Haha. Had shredded chicken rice with peanuts. The taste is okay but the serving is so small, even for me.

Went to walk around Bugis junction after that then ended up in MOS Burger again, as usual. Haha. Talked cock on and on, what else can we do? Talking cock is really an enjoyment. But.... I missed my 9pm show! Shit. Need to get a cheap dvd recorder soon.