Nayru's Wisdom

New Blog

2008-10-04T21:51:00.002+08:00

All right, I'm going to change to a new blog. It will be at kanzy.livejournal.com Reasons for the switch will be posted there. I guess this blog has served me quite well as a place for me to pen my thoughts, rant, comment, etc over the past 2 years. Yea... wonder if i can move the archives over. Oh wells. Shrug

Mehh

2008-09-08T23:07:00.012+08:00

Wrote this in my diary on 31st August 2008:

"A 2-month writing hiatus..lol. Got back blocks, went through piano exam, blah blah. Nothing much to say.

But i read somewhere about what happens when a guy likes a girl. If he confesses, the girl can profess her feelings too then their relationship will start. But if she rejects then their friendship will likely be awkward and fizzle out. (Have seen real life examples of this) But then, he can choose not to confess and keep their friendship the way it is.

So that's the way it is. I value our friendship a lot and hold our friendship quite dear. I definitely would not want to see it fizzle out or anything of that sort. So... just remain quiet for now.

But, the thing is, I know I have very positive feelings for her, but are those feelings bf/gf one or a very good friend one? Sometimes I wonder myself... how do you differentiate between the 2?

And then again, I don't know whether she knows about this or not. Apparently, it is obvious enough that some not in the loop think that it is obvious. But I don't really understand why it is very obvious. It's not like I do a lot of public displays of love or anything. -.-

But if she did know, and isn't deliberately avoiding me or anything, that's good right? Or is it just because she has enough faith in our friendship to think that I wouldn't pull something stupid? Haiz... this is really confusing and retarded.

Anyway, recently retook MBTI test, and am fairly convinced that I'm ENTP (for now anyway). Was XXTJ (XX means too close to judge) when I took it in sec 3. But now my E is quite pronounced, about 70% or so. Changed from J to P.. more organised/planning to carefree and relaxing...hmm.. Always have been (probably always will be) a T. Though I guess sometimes I let my heart rule, my cognitive abilities are definitely much better than my feeling abilities. Intuitive/Sensing.. not sure about this one, but apparently I'm intuitive for now.

I would say that my personality is quite different from when I was in sec 3. But I know that quite a huge part of the change is because I wanted myself to be this way. Even now, I'm fairly certain that if I project a different image of my self to follow, my personality would gradually change towards that image. So...which is my real personality? The true me? Am I who I want to be? Or is there something underneath that? Ie, the me that is driving these wants...hmmm. Sounds like a cliche teenager identity crisis kind of thing... haha

But more or less, I guess I have a rough/vague idea of what I want in my life. My passion as my job, a nice family... blah blah. Haven't sorted out the details though... financial status,what job, where to live, etc. But I guess things will iron out along the way.

But anyway, I guess I can (and will) be who I WANT to be! :D"

Lol.. sounds a bit screwy at some parts. The first part is more typical emo/lovelorn thingum. ): Hope I get over that soon. I guess having taken MBTI i have a clearer idea of my personality, and know what things i can develop and what things to take note. Though i wonder, if i make these changes to my life because they tell me that I'm ENTP, what if i'm really not ENTP? Then these things may change me such that I really become ENTP, or what? Hm...

Some lame quiz...

2008-09-06T00:17:00.003+08:00

1. Someone who seems to have a lot of close friends.

Any dota/LMC/sparker gang. Lol... All of us are close :D

2. Someone you've known for a long time.
ZK... unsurpassable ... 7th year le

3. Someone you'd like to trade places with.

her, i guess... just so i know what/how she thinks... ><"

4. Someone who seems likely to be a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

pohting? iono.. .she's the only person i can think of... but she seems a bit out of place here ><"

5. Someone who seems like a chatterbox.

jonlee

6. Someone who seems to have a lot of wild ideas / fantasies.

junnies...me sometimes

7. Someone who seems like they were popular at school.

jang, mogie

8. Someone you think you would have been close to if you went to school together.

jiamin (though we're now in the same sch) or nicole?

9. Someone you want to stay up all night talking to.

mass convo.. or her.. but i doubt she'll stay up all night =/

10. Someone who can look after children.

Niang. du-uh!

11. Someone who seems to fall in love a lot.

Lol... the person i got his quiz from?

12. A beauty.

beauty =/= pretty/chio right? So i'd say her again lor.

13. Someone who seems like a celebrity.

jang.. pres leh..

14. Somone who is girly / manly

Edward.. pumps iron and bakes...

15. Someone you want to dress up as the opposite gender.

alvin. omg tt wuld be funny.

16. Someone grown-up.

wei han

17. Someone childlike.

me XD

18. Someone who is like a princess / prince.

xiangquan... edward.. all the rich dudes

19. Someone who seems capable.

tt would be me. but on a serious note, i guess..all those capable ppl lor.. jiajun/weihan/etc etc

20. Someone who has a unique view on life.

uh..me. but i guess everyone..

21. Someone S-type.
jasmine/charlton

22. Someone M-type.

andy. definitely

23. Someone you think of as your boss.

sheena lol.

24. Someone who would kill you if you got on their bad side.

keeen/lc. they're too bitchy.

25. Someone who seems good at seduction.

eileen.. cough cough...

26. Someone you think you could seduce.

iono... mogie/alvin/kevin/hiippy (if i get really desperate)

27. Someone who loves with all their heart.

my mum... maybe me?

28. Someone you want to see in cosplay.

zk... that would be funny XD

29. Someone you seriously want to go on a date with.

lol.

30. A message to all the above people

Have fun. Chill more. Dun emo. I rock! (:

Random Personality Test

2008-09-04T23:32:00.001+08:00

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

I think some parts are quite true... Lol..

Confidence

2008-08-06T22:58:00.001+08:00

"My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything - even if you have no clue what you're doing" -Jesscia Alba

Whoo! That sounds pretty right. After all, what other people see is the outside and they don't see what is inside. So looking confident pwns all. Yepp... gotta look confident for exams tomorrow. :D

Wish me luck! (:

<3 HCult! Frisbee Flying High! (:

2008-07-30T22:50:00.007+08:00

Saturday was the 4th Inter-JC Frisbee League, and I am proud to have participated in it as part of HCult TeamB - the Hammers! (:

The league was held at Teacher's Network at Grange Road, and the field sucks. Like seriously. Probably also due to the fact that it rained the night before, but the field was super super muddy. It's like after a match there will be a lot of mud stuck to your boots. And can almost mudskate on the field la. It's THAT muddy. ):

But anyway my team had 3 other teams in our group: RJ team A, AC team A and AC team C. Sad to say, we lost all 3 matches ): Got thrashed in two and lost by a slim margin to AC team A. But the 2 teams that we got thrashed by were both in the finalists, so I bet it's because they are pro and not we are noob. =P But it's quite obvious that in terms of skill and structure we weren't as good as our opponents (except perhaps AC team A). But that's ok cos this year is for gaining experience and to have FUN!

At the beginning I put Frisbee as a third priority in terms of CCA, and even though it still is (due to my prior promises to Guitar and OAC), I LOVE it a lot! And I totally don't regret joining it at all! There is something about teammates and team spirit in team games/sports that just cannot be replicated anywhere else. And I think Frisbee is really a sport where individual effort is quite useless and it really really takes a team to win. In basketball you can have some 30 point-monster to carry team and your team might win. In soccer you can have someone do some imba shit and score a winning goal.

But not in Frisbee. No matter how good you throw, how good you run, how good you are at cutting, how fast you run, how much you sky people, you still need your teammates to throw to you, you need teammates to receive your throws, you need teammates to pull defenders away, blah blah blah. The list goes on and on. Therefore, I really like Hammers! Some point along the way, there were times when I really felt that I was in a team, playing with a team of committed and fun individuals, working for each other towards something. Lol

So I would like to thank all the hammers: Jack, Huanzhi, Dayong, Lincoln, Marcus, Yu Zheng, Yi Ding, Ming Chong, Gu Chao, ZK, Lily, Xinmei, Jingyi, Pearlyn! Thank you all! <3!! I hope you all had as much fun as I had being a part of this team!

Hammers! <3!!

I really love Frisbee! It's really damn fun! I can honestly say that I look forward to all frisbee trainings! :D Sadly, tomorrow will be our last training with our J2 seniors, and our last training in quite a long time (promos coming). But I guess we will still randomly throw around the field or Central Plaza, because no matter what, we are still ONE HCultimate! =)

HCultimate! <3!!

Thank you all so much, guys! Disc in! :D

Block Tests Reflections

2008-07-16T22:49:00.003+08:00

Before Blocks, I wrote in an unpublised (ie not posted on blog) diary entry that my goals for block test are these "4 As, 2 >90 percentile". Most people said 4 As quite impossible, but at that point in time I haven't gone through blocks yet, so I didn't know how hard it would be. And based on previous lecture test results, 4 As seemed attainable.

All told, I will say that 4As wasn't that unattainable. I guess I just underperformed a bit. Maths was quite a pleasant surprise, considering I had problems doing tutorials (some), and I got C for the lecture test. But after I did my test, I felt >90 marks was attainable, so in the end 83 was a bit of a disappointment. Guess I was quite careless and stuff la. And I did spend the most time revising maths (ie instead of just revising the day before, I actually also spent 1 or 2 days during the hols doing maths hol package! =D ) Oh wells. Got joint third in class for Maths and is one of my >90 percentile and double digit rank (99).

Got 84 raw score for Chem, which translates to 76%. Not bad, I guess, but could have been better with better time management. Oh well, at least the time management is tons better than my first lecture test. Allegedly top in class, which was quite a surprise for me considering there is an A*Star scholar in my class and a few rather zai PRCs. Some people don't believe that I only started studying the day before and spent total about 6 or 7 hours on Chem. But Chem should be my best subject, so I guess.. not bad la. Another >90% and double digit rank.

Econs was disappointing yet pleasantly surprising. At first I thought I got A, until I realised case study is 30. So in the end B. Which I thought was quite bad. Until I logged into ISP today and discovered that they moderated my B to an A, and I am ranked 25th (another >90 percentile) in the batch. Wow. Not bad, considering Econs has one of the most students. Lol. So I'm rather pleasantly surprised.

Err... GP got a B. Which isn't that good. But I stick to my belief that GP marks depends a lot on the strictness (or leniency for some people) of your GP tutor. And I believe that my GP tutor is really rather strict. Out of all the classes she teaches, she only gave like 1 or 2 As for essay (she told us that herself). And I got 31 for compre, which isnt good, is top in class. So in the end its a plain old B. Siigh.. havent gotten A for gp at all this year.

Physics was just plain disappointment. Granted, I stuck to my revision schedule of "study the day before", but I thought I should have gotten at least a D. Got 43 marks, which is S. Like wtf. Sigh. Moderated to a E, but doesnt change the fact that i got damn shitty marks. Like shit. Rather upset, so haven't really gone through the paper and see what's wrong yet. Sigh. But I guess I really haven't been paying much attention to physics, so I should really buck up? Crap crap crap.

Ok so overall i got 3As, 3 >90% and 1 HUGE disappointment. So i sort of achieved my goal, and I sort of didn't. Oh well. But I must say my first forage into block tests wasn't that bad, considering all the seniors' horror stories. And I expected to be proven that last minute studying doesnt work, as many lecturers have been fond of telling us since the start of the year. Guess it still works for some subjects... But physics... sigh

Oh wells, I guess the post might have been a bit braggish ><" but .... Im sorry... Anyway.. I guess EBAAA (or an unmoderated ABBAS) isnt that bad. Just that the scores could have been higher for most. Yea.

You Should Play the Piano

You are a true music aficionado who loves many musical style and eras.

You find music to be an escape. And you'd like to be relaxed and comfortable when you're making it.

You're very innovative, and you have a unique way of knowing what may sound beautiful.

There's a strong possibility that you could compose some of your own work songs quite easily.

While you have a lot of creative energy, you are also serious and conscientious.

Your musical talent needs time, practice, and lots of privacy to flourish.

Your dominant personality characteristic: your painstaking attention to detail

Your secondary personality characteristic: your natural tendency to be whimsical

What Musical Instrument Should You Play?

Lol. Guess I chose the right instrument to start with? I really like the piano, though. Just that sometimes I don't find the motivation to practice real hard ><"

Pitter Patter

2008-07-14T23:25:00.005+08:00

Recent spate of friends (actually only 2) blogging about social relationships, and about our friendships after JC. I must admit that coincidentally, I have also thought about that today (before I read their posts). A thought struck me that, for all the friendships that I have built up over these 6 years, what would happen after JC? Do we just go on living our own lives, making new friends over again, and only occassionally meet up and catch up in those awkward outings that you don't know quite what to say and what you want to say? Or will we totally lose touch and only remember each other when we have nothing better to do than remenisence about the old times?

Being an optimist (nothing to do with whether the glass is half full or empty, but essentially, whether you believe the future will be better or worse), I do believe (and hope) that our friendships will continue to blossom and develop. While I guess we may not be as close as we are now, or see each other as often, we can still remain friends, and in some cases, good friends, no? After all, with the marvels of modern technology, the world has become a smaller place (as it was always small, just smaller now), and we can communicate with each other as and when we like.

Furthermore, with guys, we can always find some games that all of us like and bond more together with those games. Though arguments and unhappiness will undoubtedly arise (as they will from any competitive game of any sort), it will do much to keep us close even after we have moved on from JC.

All right, so the above was probably rather superficial and nowhere near as thought-provoking as Linus' and Clem's posts, as I guess it mostly just echoes what most people think anyway. But I guess I just want to state my belief that we will still remain rather close to each other even after we have moved on.

And yes, Linus was (and still is) right that 2M remains the most bonded class I have ever been privileged and lucky to be in (God knows what I will be if i was in 2N or 2O, no offence though ><). And while the good ol' days can never be relived, at least we still have our friendships from then, and even after 4 years, it would not be wide off the mark to say that most of us are still rather close. (Our successful end of year chalet last year being a case in point) 2M really has provided me with my closest friends to date: ZK, Mogie, Clem, Alvin, etc (though ZK was from before 2M), and Im glad that Im still close to them. I mean we like talk almost everyday, and well, any topic under the sun is a possible topic. (Which is one of the problems with talking with girls, cause there are just some stuff that can't be mentioned)

And another thing. To this date, even though I have had 2 new classes since the days of 2M, the group in my msn that consists of all my 2M contacts still remains labelled as "My Class", while 4M and 08S6N are labelled "4M" and "08S6N" respectively. And I assure you (and myself) that this isn't due to my laziness to rename the groups and what not. 2M really is my class, for 2 years from 2004-2005, and forever. (cliched, cliched, but oh well) (And 4M and 08S6N people reading this, which would probably be few and far between, dunid to be sad. Lol. Just too bad that you weren't part of the fun shit called 2M2005. And no worries, you all are still good friends to me)

Ok, that rather long bit about 2M was rather unexpected.... just came up spontaneously. Oh well, I guess I would really like to talk about social acceptance and stuffs liddat, but I think that's for another post. So I guess now comes the conclusion which, I personally feel, is hard to write. (And writing my thoughts as they come, such as now, can be pretty retarded too, but oh wells....). Guess I shall just end off with this thing from blogthings.com:

Your Brain is 67% Female, 33% Male

Your brain leans female

You think with your heart, not your head

Sweet and considerate, you are a giver

But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Err.. not too sure what the results actually mean, but its slightly embarrassing? I mean its nice to be sweet and considerate, but my brain leaning towards female? Hm.. redid the test twice with 1 or 2 changed answers (asin I changed the answers that I was rather iffy about and could have gone either way), and got 60% female and 50+% female. Shrugg...

But I was thinking, all this stems from what is conventionally labeled as a "male" characteristic, or "female" characteristic, no? I mean, just because say, 80% of the female population displays this characteristic, do we then have to label this characteristic as "female"? Are there no sweet guys, or no tough girls? I guess this is another of those spasticity of society. And why do we have to classify a brain as male or female? Why can't a list of corresponding characteristics just be listed, instead of assigning each characteristic to a gender then telling you whether your brain is more male or female. So I think actually a more accurate result would be, instead of "67% female and 33% male", it should be " your brain is 67% of what society percieves as female, and 33% of what society perceives as male". After all, what society perceives and what is the real thing can be rather different. (Yes, this is open to much debate, like what is true beauty, and isnt beauty defined by society, etc.) Alright, guess Im being rather pendantic here (siao application of what i learnt from gp).

And NO, these comments arent just because my results show that the gender of my brain doesnt actually match my actual gender, though I do admit that if I had a slightly more balanced result, I might not have typed all these. Its just that the result provoked me to think about it slightly deeper, and ta-da, that's the result.

And so, my blogpost ends up being longer than it was supposed to be. I guess that makes up for around a month of inaction? And I think I may be considering writing a Gundam Seed or Artemis Fowl fanfiction soon. Already have some ideas and main plotlines in mind. Just need to find the right (write) state of mind to start.

Fun!! (:

2008-06-10T17:25:00.002+08:00

Whooo at my cousin's house again! Shuaang. This time the timing damn nice also, cos got Euro 08 to watch. Whooo!

Its really damn cool la... other than guitar, all i do is play, watch soccer and sleep. Whoo!! Somemore my cousin bought Super Smash Brothers: Brawl on the Wii.... which is like daaamn fun! I completed the story mode in like 2 days.. lol.. .tells u hw much ive been spamming.

Uhh.. Oh yea Elite Beat Agents on DS too! (: Fuuunn!! And still got like call of duty 4. Waaahh! Get to sleep past 2am everyday... Then of cos playing with my cousins is more fun la... :D

Too bad I have to go home tmrw... oh well, the fun cant last forever. Then I'll have to go mug for blocks. But until then... im off to play now! :D

Dvorak

2008-05-19T23:29:00.004+08:00

Hmm.. I've decided to start learning Dvorak. For those who don't know, Dvorak is an alternate keyboard layout to Qwerty. As most should know, Qwerty was designed to slow typists as the typewriters then couldn't process letters as fast. Thus, Qwerty causes inefficiency and fatigue in typists. There have been studies to prove that Dvorak is faster and more efficient, but there have also been critics that said that these studies are not academically rigorous, blah blah. However, it is worthwhile to note that the world record for the fastest typing speed is 212 wpm, and is recorded on a Dvorak keyboard.

A Dvorak keyboard layout.

Apparently, those already familiar with the Qwerty keyboard will take some time to convert to the Dvorak keyboard (quite common-sensical, really). And I guess I'm quite proficient w/ Qwerty. I think my max typing speed recorded (with those online typing tests) is around 110-120wpm, which really is not bad, I think. According to Wiki:

"An average typist reaches 50 to 70 wpm, while some positions can require 80 to 95 (usually the minimum required for dispatch positions and other typing jobs), and some advanced typists work at speeds above 120."

Hm.. My speed is close to double that of an average typist, and it qualifies me for positions that require fast typing, and I'm almost at the "advanced typists" level. Muahahaha. Not bad eh?

I'm not really sure about typists' fatigue, injuries, etc., since I don't really type that much anyway, but I do notice that when I'm typing, especially at high speeds, there may be some awkward keystroke combinations that causes many mistakes. Perhaps this can be solved with Dvorak?

I guess if my typing speed really increases significantly, it would have been a worthwhile investment (of time and effort). But I won't know till I try, right? So I'll give it a try. If my typing speed really improves quite significantly (at least >150), I guess I'll recommend it to other people? Lol.... I think it's nice to learn new skills when I'm young, because they say that learning is easier when you're young, right? So might as well.... (:

Spark, Glow, Fire

2008-05-18T20:37:00.003+08:00

Hm.. long time no update.. Lol.. Ok finally another diary entry. Written on 14th May 2008:

"After a few disappointments, is she the one? Possibly. But I don't like to rush these things. I would much rather have slow, but steady and stable development.

I would much rather not have something that starts with a great spark, and burns impossibly with all its glory, blindingly bright, but burns out very quickly. In the end, there is nothing left but ashes to ever remind us of its existence in the past, and some memories to keep, perhaps as consolation?

I would much rather have something that starts out small, slowly, and steadily burning brighter and brighter. Though it may not be as glorious, or as illuminating, it will burn for a long time. And in itself, even without the blinding brightness or great glory, there is some inherent beauty for all to see. Stable as a mountain, it may burn on forever more.

I guess that from my point of view, it seems that the relationships that I observe seem to be the former kind. However, many end in regret, disappointment, tears, anguish, and in some, even despair. It may be great while it burns brightly, but are you able to live with the reality of having only cold, insubstantial ashes left?

Yet, I guess it is not really that bad. Just because it has to end one day does not mean that you should not start it. If that were so, we should all just end our lives now. I guess it is very much the process, and what you take from it that counts. After all, they say that it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. What is important, however, is the ability to pick oneself up, and having the optimism and bravery to try creating a spark once more.

Oh wells, one of my objectives in JC is to have fun, and troubling myself with all these relationships stuffs is not really fun. In fact, I think I have been able to care less and less about this, and I'm proud of myself. (: I will just chill, and let nature take its course. Of course, if it does come, I will not reject it. As Sara's mother put it:

Whatever will be, will be

Whatever will be, will be, indeed. :D

P.S. I think that when I read back on all these 5 years from now, I will find my writing incredibly immature and retarded. But until that day, I will stand by my views, and believe in what I believe in. "

Lol.. reading back, I can't believe that I really wrote all of that. Especially the lame parting shot. ><

Esperanza

2008-04-29T22:48:00.002+08:00

Ok this post is quite late, considering Esperanza was on Saturday. Must say that I was rather pleasantly surprised by the turnout though. We managed to fill the main blocks of the auditorium, which is really good! Considering ticket sales were totally abysmal in the first few weeks or so.

Esperanza was my first concert in a performing arts group, and I must say that I rather enjoyed the experience. Though trainings were rather frequent, and the songs we played weren't exactly super-nice or even of decent length, but they were still fun. Got to know like some cool people from Guitar that I didn't know before.

Was in Programmes Comm, so stayed back until quite late for most nights before the concert. Waaah.. can't say I wasn't tired. But I guess we got to see many behind-the-scenes stuff that we wouldn't have if we hadn't joined programmes comm. And we got to know some seniors better too! I guess we had some pretty good ideas, but most of them did not come into fruition and the special effects for the concert was actually quite minimal. But oh wells...

As for concert day itself, it was just chiong here chiong there from like 11am onwards. Went coro buy last minute stuff, then tech run, full dress, then the actual concert. Had to settle shanliang choreography and brief ushers somewhere during that time period too. Yea was so rushed that we didn't even have time to eat our dinner la!

And I must add that I was quite nervous during the concert. What if we screwed up when moving the chairs? What if we play too fast/someone play wrong note? What if.. what if...? Lol.. luckily there were no major screwups and everything went quite fine. =D (got scolded for abandoning my post halfway through tho, but oh wells..)

I guess overall the concert went well. Yep. Was pleasantly surprised by the number of gifts I received though.. haha.. Wasn't really expecting any gifts at all... Lol.. Went for supper/celebration at KAP afterwards, and just talked/chatted and stuffs.

Anyway, thanks to all who supported HC Guitar Club, and came to watch Esperanza! If you couldn't make it, you can always come next year! (:

Sigh

2008-04-28T23:27:00.003+08:00

Ok. I got over my emo/pissed-off mood le. Guess I kind of got over it already. Oh wells...

Just wanted to post a line that I randomly typed out into a convo.

Tomorrow brings a new dawn, and with sunrise comes new hope.

Lol. Corny, I guess. But it sort of applies here. Looking forward to free cone day tomorrow! =D

OAC Elections

2008-04-28T22:16:00.001+08:00

I won't even pretend that Im not disappointed with elections results. 4 elections. 1 successful (the successful one being the elections to get into OAC) Seriously, I wonder what the hell is the problem with me and elections. Somehow, I just fail, fail and fail. Wtf. Haa! Not even 2nd choice. I got a frigging non-choice.

Fuck. Is there really a problem with my popularity? Am I really that unwell-liked? Lots of things to say, no way to express them. Bleh. And where are your friends when you need them? Clearly, some of the "friends" I thought I had in OAC are too besotted with other people to even care. Just walk away... Don't give a damn, shit or fuck. Shrugg.. oh well. At least now I have a clearer understanding of who I am to some people. And at least now I know who really cares.

Council

2008-04-25T23:56:00.003+08:00

Lots of things have happened since the last time I blogged. I have failed to get into council, felt depressed, picked myself up again, and now I'm enjoying my life to the fullest. Tiring though it is, I must admit that my current combination of CCAs provides lots of fun and are interesting too. Guitar, OAC and Frisbee. Yet, it is probably inevitable that I will have to drop 1. And I'm still running for Fac Comm.

Today was elections for Faculty Head. Sad to say, no one from the HSC made it. Yep. Absolutely no one. Last year there was still Guo Jie. It's these sort of things that make you think about the difference in systems between the High School Council and the College Council. It's hard to say, really. I would say both sides have their pros and cons (yes, typical answer), and I'm now too tired to really elaborate on this.

Anyway, Li Xiang talked to me a few days ago, and said that he really missed our HSC days. When meetings started 1 hour late, were probably full of crap talk, etc. He says that college council is too strict. That got me to reminiscence about my HSC days too. Can't say it wasn't fun, really. The times we all stayed up together, staying late together, pia-ing it out as One Council. Everyone clicking well, joking around, laming around, niao-ing each other, bitching around... Ha.. those were the days.

I guess part of my motivation (a rather huge part, really) in wanting to join college council was to try to relive those days. But then again, when you try to relive your memories, you may actually worsen your memories. Asin like it will take the good light off your memory. I guess I can't express this eloquently enough, but I hope you get my point. I guess I'm satisfied with keeping HSC as a wonderful part of my memory, my experiences, my life.

Oh yes, Li Xiang said that he really prefers HSC to college council. I was thinking about it, and wonders if he'll say the same thing at the end of J2.. After so many working events, late nights, will he say the same thing? I have my serious doubts.. And so i'm writing this done, and I'll check this out 1 year plus from now and see if it's true.. Hehe...

I guess I'll blog about Council in greater detail next time. Need to sleep now. Esperanza tomorrow!! My first concert ever! Wish us luck (:

Birthday!!!

2008-04-07T23:58:00.003+08:00

Ok managed to get this post in just before the nick of midnight, signalling the end of this nice nice day. (: I guess this year's birthday is really much better than previous years'. Last year didn't even really celebrate, just went for quiz comp. training, then went for mogie's LDP group's wheelchair thingy then went for dinner. Hmm.. year before went mogie's house for mini-celebration with mogie, john, kevin and 1 or 2 more others.

Yea.. ok so this year, had at least 60+ ppl sing birthday song for me. I'm so touched la. 25 from class. Another 20+ from guitar. And add OG and Comanches.... haha. Ok la, so maybe not all of them meant what they sang, but still... One thing i've always wondered though, what are you supposed to do when people sing "happy birthday" to you? Stand there and stone? Sing and clap along? Smile and look retarded/embarrassed (which was mostly what i did today)? Lol... someone tell me..

Hm.. and i got some DAMN NICE presents from a lot of people!! Omg.. Ok i'll list them out then like post pictures after i download them from my dad's cam.

Ok... here goes (in NO order of merit/preference/niceness):

1. Twilight Princess figurines (ZK, Mogie, Mark, Clem, Linus, Kevin (?), some other ppl?) - haha.. a great buy.. a great choice. Been eyeing these figurines at Comics Connections since like last August? Haha.. Though they complain of the lack of quality due to the inability to upskirt Zelda, but I'm totally fine with that. Really... haha! (:

2. Orange Hairband + Bottle of Jelly Beans + Pink Poo Massager (Sheena, Jingyu, Huijuan) - Hmmm.. what can I say? Orange hairband = gay = so not me. Jelly beans = sweet = i like = i eat lots! (: Pink poo massager.. people say it has a striking resemblance with me, which i disagree to. Hm.. can ease my back/shoulder ache problems (: Haha..

3. Small bottle of stars (Sheena) - OMG. The stars in this little bottle are ownage. Zzz been trying to fold stars from straws, and these stars own mine by like.. many many times. Hmms.. very beautiful.. nicely folded.. (:

4. Small cat keychain (Joanna) - Supposed to attract xing4 fu2 or happiness, i guess. I looked at the back and saw that there are other cats available. Would have preferred if she got me the attract love one. Haha no la. Its nice and cute (:

5. Origami rose with stalk (Jiajun) - Hm.. supposed to be a sample of some gift for YL Nite. Lol.. nicely folded. what else can i say? haha..

6. Box proclaiming "no, it's not a cake" + 17 cupcakes that spell out "Happy 17th Birthday" (Gloria) - !! Damn sweet, in more ways than one! Damn nice la.. 17 cupcakes lehh! Omg.. somemore got spell out something one! Was totally shocked when i opened it. So much effort! And apparently she burnt herself.. so nice la.. omgosh... Yea.. and they're sweet too! Got chocolate topping/icing. Haha.. and m&ms embedded inside somemore. Yeaahh xD Perfect for my sweet tooth.

7. Purple striped shirt from BUM (OG 29!) - Lol.. purple is SO not my colour. Haha but i guess this is some kind of fresh experience kinda thingy, so my wardrobe finally has something purple in it. Guess my OG was really thoughtful to have bought horizontal stripes to hopefully make me look fatter, haha =) Hm.. nice dragon emblem on it.. Haha..

8. Banana guy thingum + cute crocodile stapler (Valerie) - Haha.. both quite random. Apparently the banana guy looks like me when i'm sleeping too -.-" Hahah..pretty cool. Something like what I got my mortal for Val's Day. Hehe... my idea of a funky present.. hmm.. and crocodile stapler.. haha cute addition to my stationery (:

9. Eeyore softtoy w/ cape that has yang2 word on it (Linette) - DAMN CUUTE! Omg..! Nvr knew eeyore has the capability to be this cute! Haha.. always preferred tigger.. But I really like this eeyore! Super uber cute la. Plus got this cape thingy with my name on it. Hand-sewn la! So nice!!! Really!! And with the cape eeyore looks like a super-hero.. so I kinda call it super-eeyore? Haha.. or something.. dunno..

10. Bag of 17 cookies + small handmade tiny pillow thingum (Eileen) - Hm.. delicious cookies!! (: Home-baked! damn nice laah xD Hehe... Think i may get fatter eating all these foodstuffs.. Hm.. then the small tiny handmade pillow.. dunno what it's for. Even after much thinking I still have no idea.. haha.. Will try to use it somehow/somewhere... Lol (:

11. Blueberry blended ice (Junlin) - treat courtesy of Junlin. Haha.. met him at fishtank and he asked me what I want, so... it's sweet! Haha..

12. Chocolate mousse (sp?) cake (08S6N) - nice cake! Omgosh.. ate like 2-3 huge slices.. ahh couldn't resist my sweet tooth againn. Haha.. its a scrumptious cake (:

13. Random "happy birthday"s/hugs (many people) - Thank you all! You all helped to make my day wonderful (:

14. Dinner + 1 pack draft (Mogie, ZK, Alvin, Clem, Linus, Mark, WX, Terence) - Ate dinner with me, plus magic one pack draft. Thank you guys for sacrificing your mugging time to eat dinner with me (: Appreciate it!! =)

Hm.. I think that's all, other than random candle from some guitar people -.-" Haha.. Hope I haven't missed out anybody's present. If i have, blame it on the late time that I'm posting this, plus the fact that i'm half braindead. Yepp.. Just hit me on the head a few times to remind me.. and I'll be sure to add it in. Yeaaa..

Haha.. ok think this post is rather useless other than to show off my presents. Hm...Haha.. even now still cant get over the nice-ness of most of the presents!! Ahhhh!! =D Super super niice... Once again,

THANKS EVERYONE!! (:

Really, thanks for making my 17th Birthday such an enjoyable, fun, cool, funky, memorable one. Thank you all!

Birthday

2008-04-07T00:11:00.000+08:00

Yay its my birthday today. Happy Birthday to me! (:

LIVERPOOL

2008-03-23T00:30:00.005+08:00

After tomorrow, Liverpool will have won 8 matches in a row. Yay (: So cool. Let's see.. I predict either 1-0 or 2-1 to Liverpool, Torres scoring a goal in either situation. Probably Rooney or Tevez scoring in the latter situation. Ronaldo won't score, he sucks at big games. :P In fact, Mascherano will clamp him down so effectively like he did against Kaka, that Ronaldo will be virtually anonymous throughout the whole game. (:

Admittedly, the above "prediction" is super uber biased. Well, who cares, I just want Liverpool to win. Hmm.. looking at the previous 2 meetings between Liverpool and Manure, Liverpool have dominated on both accounts. If I recall correctly, Liverpool has much higher Shots, Shots on Goal and Possession, but were foiled by a freak lone goal on both accounts. -.-"

Furthermore, Liverpool are currently riding high on confidence, what with 7 consecutive wins, 2 of them against Inter Milan, leader of Serie A and only recently beaten once in the league. Also, there's the ever-mentioned never-forgotten fact that Torres' streak is hotter than Jessica Alba at the moment. Furthermore, Alonso has recovered his form, Mascherano is still as stable and dependable as always (and just scored his first goal for Liverpool), Babel is also recently showing quite a bit of skill (quite a few nice runs). I'd rate our chance of not losing as rather high.

As for winning, it's still quite hard. Much as I'd hate to admit, Manure do have a good squad, and the match is at Old Trafford, so that's quite hard for us to win. However, Liverpool's away form this season has been not too bad, and there was even a period in time when their away form was better than their home form. Lol. =D

In any case,

LIVERPOOL WILL WIN!!! (:

<3 LIVERPOOL

Haha Jiayou, Liverpool! (: Sneak up on the leaders and win the EPL!

The New Me

2008-03-21T10:44:00.002+08:00

Yay! A rather long-awaited post. The thing is right, since so many people reflected positively about my recent posts, I have felt a bit of pressure about blogging and expectations seem to be rather high. Which has resulted in me being slightly reluctant to blog, seeing as the posts may not meet up to expectations or something. Of course, once again, I'm going back to my old problem of being too concerned about my readers. I should just let it flow. Haha. Having said that, enjoy the post! (:

Written on 21st February (Almost a month. Wth. Haha):
"
Today was a pretty great day for me! However, Tuesday was quite shitty.

Tuesday was the posting results of JAE. I guess we already knew that yuenying and Li Xin weren't going to make it, but when the actual results came it was still quite a shock. Up till now, I've been facing this with cheerful optimism, thinking that it will all turn out good in the end. Apparently not. Reality hit home and I was left reeling with emotional pain. we had a very emotional farewell as a class, and at a few points in time, I almost cried. [Edit: Apparently the girls all cried after the guys were made to leave. I think I would have cried if I stayed there too] We've only been together as a CT for about a month, and are just starting to bond, and dnow we are going to be separated?

Sigh...... I really regret not talking with Li Xin more. Yuenying should be fine, since she has like Yilina, Collin and Yangxuan. But Li Xin is like quite quiet, and I like asking quiet people to be less quiet! Also, she's like the first female Liverpool supporter I've met! (Yay Liverpool 2-0 Inter! Take that! (: ) Above all, she's a really nice person. Wish I had spent more time with her before this inevitable departure..... Hope she comes back on Friday, like Yuenying did today. Of course I feel damn happy for Yuenying, but can't help feeling very sad for Li Xin. Only few consolations are that she's just across the road, and that we might be able to get her to join CT outings! (: Anyway, as the poem goes, 人有悲欢离合，月有阴青圆缺，此事古难全, so it's rather inevitable that we will have to separate one day......

Anyway, felt really good today. [Edit: "Today" is Thursday] Yilina commented that I was "hyper", and I guess I really was. Firstly, I managed to talk to someone in my class who was rather quiet, and guessed our conversation was actually rather meaningful, instead of random conversation starters. So, guess I made another friend today. Yay! (:

Also, I played cards with some people from Mogie's CT. Didn't really know some of them, but just started chatting and all, and it was quite fun. Got to know some people, so I am quite happy with that.

Then, I went to play court. I felt that I was more confident than I was yesterday, and I played better (albeit just slightly). Was able to hold the ball abit more and made some pretty decent passes. Also scored a goal, even though it was just a simple tap from a defender's mistake. had some nice goal-scoring opportunities but did not really make use of them. Also, I realised that I need to up my physical a bit. Need to be able to hold off defenders for at least 1-2 sec to give myself time to shoot. Also, aerial control needs great working on.

Also, instead of being my usual quiet self at court, I talked to people quite a lot. Like I was talking with Yu-Wei whom I barely know, Benjamin, and I encouraged my teammates a lot. I was also like shouting random stuff when I wasn't playing. Yay, finally set a day for soccer training with ZK [Edit: We ended up cancelling it. Forgot why ><]

Overall, a lot of my responses today were rather uncharacteristic, and I hope I will continue to be this socially confident and rather loud individual. I guess today was a rather great step for me working towards this ideal."

Hm.. haven't really made much progress on this thingy since, but I guess I am more confident as compared to last year la. Haha.. Alright, realised this wasn't really a very good post, but guess it'll have to do. (: Will try to post more soon! =D

Relationships

2008-02-26T23:45:00.002+08:00

Written in my diary on 18th February. I know that's like more than a week ago, but oh well...

"Have lots of things to write... shall talk about a very eventful and fruitful last week first.

Went for my second (including the Orientation one) Fac Dance Session on Monday! Learnt quite a bit, which was really good, haha... [Edit: Finished learning Fac Dance with some help from Karlton and a half an hour session with the Dance I/C! (:]

Then went shopping on Tuesday and Wednesday for Valentine's Day. Had lots of fun checking out cool gifts, for my friends. Of course, Valentine's Day itself was a decent success....

Anyway, facing some relationship woes recently. Sounds damn retarded, but what the heck. A friend is jio-ing a girl I have/had (not sure which :/ ) a crush on. [Edit: The very fact that I'm still unsure whether I still have a crush on her or not sounds DAMN retarded -.- But now I'm quite sure I've gotten over her] The usual dilemma, except this is the first time happening to me. Being the pacifist by nature, I've decided to stand aside and watch. Haha... It's just a stupid crush, and I probably have super-low chances with the girl anyway, so ..... Oh wait, I probably have super-low chances with just about ANY girl now.. [Edit: Dang.. sounds quite self-deprecating] Haha... Alright, anyway I wish both of them the best and hope my bloody hormones will stop screwing with my emotions soon (: [Edit: Always blame hormones when you get these problems! (: ]

Still haven't decided whether or not to try (keyword here is try) to get a relationship in college. Pros would be someone close to talk/play with, someone to comfort you, someone to share stuff with... Cons would be deprovement in studies (though not necessarily). After all, whoever said that being in a relationship means you must neglect your studies for the girl? Is it a must to like go out everyday when you have a relationship? I think what's most important is an understanding between the two; a mutual trust/bond that does not diminish with a lack of contact (ie not meeting each other for a day) [Edit: I must say that communication is still the key, though. Communicating =/= meeting up. Especially when both are busy or something] An understanding that being together should not screw each other's lives up.

Undeniably, a relationship is something special with that special someone, but isn't it just unreasonable if you have to put her as your number 1 priority 24/7? [Edit: Though I guess you should be concerned and she should be somewhere in your mind quite frequently] I believe both parties have to understand each other and be able to compromise: something that many people seem incapable of doing.

Also, I believe spending money is not all that important in a relationship. Of course, dates and all are rather mandatory, but something like a romantic evening stroll on the beach beats watching a movie, anytime, anywhere (unless it's a romantic/emo movie that either a: gives inspiration for the development of your relationship or b: causes her to start crying on your shoulder :p ) [Edit: That is not to say that spending money isn't good. It goes some way in showing some sincerity.] Furthermore, words and actions can actually be better than gifts for conveying your love. A word of encouragement when she's down, or a moment of support when she needs it the most can be better than some lavish gift. [Edit: Quite obvious. Like Duh. But oh well...]

Finally, I believe that looks aren't all that important in a relationship. Of course, eye candy is nice to look at, and having a hot girl has perks like ability to show-off to your friends, turn heads in shopping malls, etc. But for me, the main thing in a relationship is still emotional/spiritual satisfaction. Therefore, any girl with average/slightly above-average looks is good enough for me. XD After all, for me, a relationship is about sharing your laughter, your tears, your happiness, etc. with that special someone. It's about having someone to be there when you're down, and it's about being there yourself, with an umbrella in hand and a shoulder to spare when she's in a shower of depression. It's about feeling that special, good feeling, a warm, fuzzy feeling that if you wrap yourself up ion this feeling, you will be protected from all harms and dangers in the world, and the two of you will be able to conquer anything and everything (most probably false, but nonetheless a wonderful feeling), a feeling of peacefulness and calmness... a feeling that may be called Love.

To be able to sit at the beach and chat with the person for a few hours without ever feeling the need/urge to be more intimate than holding hands/kissing. To be able to chat about everything/anything... To be able to reach a plateau of understanding where love can be transmitted without physical touch, or to an even greater extent, without words.

To quote a paragraph from a fanfiction that a read [Edit: Yes, I read fanfictions. What's worse, I read some smutty/romantic fanfictions -.-"]:

"But love is like the sea: tranquil and tremendous; calm and raging; serene and stormy; deep and shallow; warm and calm; beautiful and terrible; desired and feared. It changes according to weather. Or your perception of this natural force; how familiar you are with its blue liquid weight. The first encounter is always marked with awe at the unknown and excitement at its discovery. Then, as time passes, you face its peace; and its wrath. Either gliding gracefully on its serene surface or fighting in the raging waves. It's up to you whether you fall in its deep abyss forever or survive the storm. And as the old sailor, you learn to love it, accept it until you become familiar with it and the excitement is gone. Then another feeling develops: respect. Respect for the bond you share and the experiences you've been through while travelling on its waters. Nothing strikes you as strange anymore. You have no fear of the unknown, because it is all familiar and expected. The peacefulness and the storms; the shallow and deep waters. You feel secure and safe in its embrace even at its darkest moments."

To me, a relationship is about all these, and more. Anyway, I think I've been reading too many sappy romances and need to get a grip on reality.. But it's such a wonderful ideal/dream, that I think I"ll continue dreaming until reality brings me crashing down. Love is so beautiful (at least what I think love is) that I'll believe in it, [Edit: until the day my love is fulfilled, or] until the day my heart gets shattered such that no amount of loving [Edit: and time] can heal it.

Ok, I sound like a retard now. Anyway, this is something that I'd very much like to believe in, until proven otherwise. I guess this did not really address the "should I get a relationship" issue, but it did help me get a lot of stuff off my chest. A lot of stuff that I've been meaning to write for ages."

Ok.. reading through again and again, I begin to feel damn self-conscious la. How will my readers take this? Am I opening up my thoughts/feelings too much? (regardless, I'm still posting this) Gah.. And yes, I've been revealed as a romantic (not in the sense that I'm romantic, but that I believe in romantic notions). Haha... As usual, waiting for all your comments on the tagboard, and if you do feel strongly with/against my post, please talk to me on msn about this! (: It's a nice topic to talk about.. (I think I sound despo..lol)

Valentine's Day

2008-02-19T22:38:00.002+08:00

This was written on 14th or 15th February. Can't remember exactly when.

"Gave out at least 15 individual presents today, and only received like 5 or 6. Among them include Yang Xuan's chocolates + letter, Gwen's chocolate + letter, Kevin's Ferrero Rocher + card, Valerie's personalised stirrer, Gloria's letter + chocolates and Niang's personalised cookies. That's of course not including Angel and Mortal, which I'm sure most people received presents for too.

Anyway, to give or not to give was a major headache over the last few days, but after giving the gifts, it seemed like a really trivia matter! Just give to friends la! What's wrong? Haha.. to think I was so worried...

Was quite jealous of the girls la (especially Niang). They all get so many presents! (Niang had like 3 big bags) But I guess it is Valentine's Day, so girls should get more presents. One key reason was that girls give girls more than they give guys, and guys also give girls more than they give guys. Except for me la, I gave almost equal! After all, I still treasure my friendships with my guy friends! [Edit: One difference was that I gave girls who were relatively not as close as my guy friends la.. but then again, it's Valentine's Day]

Was just kinda afraid that some people may not appreciate the effort and time that I spent on the origami. Oh well, I guess as long as I have touched one person, it will be worthwhile! (:

Looking forward to an even more fun Valentine's Day next year! (:"

Myself

2008-02-19T22:06:00.002+08:00

Written in my diary on 12th February. Know I'm damn lag, but oh well.. here goes:

"Went shopping at Vivocity today. Bought a few random gifts for people for Valentine's Day. Hope they will appreciate the gifts. (:

But, once again, I was thinking very hard about whether or not I should give gifts to some people. That is, until someone gave me some good advice. "Don't care so much about what people think!" Haha.. this is really good advice, especially for me.

For myself, I tend to be a tad insecure, and always worry about what others will think of me. "Will they think I'm insensitive?", "Will they think I'm extra?", etc. Somehow, I feel that I am shaped by what I think people think of me (which may not be what they actually think). [Edit: This can actually be seen in a lot of my blog posts where I write what I think people would like to read rather than what I actually want to write] Often, I have wished for the powers of mind-reading, just so I can find out what people think of me.....

But, why care so much about what others think? I should be myself, my own individual. Me, myself, I. A unique individual. Sounds like a great ideal to work towards. Yet, undeniably, I believe I will still be affected by stuff like fashion trends and all. That is something that is very much part of my mentality, so I don't think I can get rid of it so easily.

However, I shall strive to be more of myself. Of course, what others think is still important, but what I think is the most important of all! Glad that I've managed to gain some enlightenment with regards to this. And all from a few lines in a MSN convo! Thanks! (:"

Ok that's it. Going to post more posts today, so it's gonna be quite messy. Hope people have fun reading! (:

Reflections

2008-02-11T23:08:00.000+08:00

The following was written in my diary on 11th Feb 08 in super-messy handwriting (was writing on my bed). I have done little or no editing to it, and i think from now on, quite a few of my posts will be like this...

"Hmm.. today has caused me to think about lots of things and my emotions are quite confused right now.. Hmm..

Firstly, I started off being very sure that I will give Valentine's Day gifts to many people. However, after chatting with some people online, my thoughts have changed. Should I really be so extra and go give gifts to so many people (some who will not return gifts to me), or should I just give to a few close friends, or screw 14th Feb and treat it like I have for the past 16 years (with indifference)? I guess I will definitely give to some people like Mogie, ZK, Alvin, but should I give to girls? They may like get the wrong message -.-" or think i'm despo (which I'm not) or something. Also, should I give something nice but ex.? Something I made myself? Something that many people are already giving (chocs, flowers)? [Edit: Kk i've decided to give gifts to some of my closer friends. Total number should be about 20 or so... I hope it's a nice enough present!]

Reflectingi s a very important human process. It helps us to learn from our mistakes, consolidate our thoughts, and look forward to a new tomorrow. I have always reflected a lot (on the bus, on my bed just before sleeping), but I have never penned my thoughts down. Have always wanted to blog on many issues like love, looks, BGRs, friends, etc., but have always been too lazy to do so. Hopefully, penning my thoughts down like this will get me to post on my blog, seeinga s the post is already written.

Lying on my bed and thinking about stuff just before sleeping has always yielded many great ideas. Unfortunately, I tend to forget many of them, seeing as they were garnered from a semi-conscious, semi-dreamlike state. Thus, starting from today, I have decided to place a notebook and pen at my bedside, so I can pen down my thoughts and great ideas that I happen to have. XD It can also act as a hardcopy diary (as it is now), to be transferred to my blog at a later stage. Somehow, I think I may think better writing on paper as compared to typing on a keyboard. My thoughts just seem to flow better this way (even though typing is much faster).

Anyway, back to the confused emotions thingy. One major issue I've faced ever since coming to college is my relationships with girls. Like I said in a previous post, it would be ideal if I could keep all relationships purely platonic. Problem is, it can be very hard to do so. Somehow, if I have a crush (yes, stupid infatuations! It'd be great to get over them quickly!) on someone, I sometimes feel awkward talking to that person, which obviously limits interaction and the development of any type of relationship at all.

Thankfully, I find it rather easy to talk to girls that I do not have a crush on, and am actually on a rather friendly basis with some of them already. Much as I would love to, I shall not name names here, lest people get the wrong idea or something. In fact, it actually seems easier to have romantic developments with friends that I know are nice, than with some crush. [Edit: ok i know this sentence sounds DAMN weird and has bad choice of words, but.. hope you guys get my point] (assuming that I have the capabilities to develop romantically with someone in the first place. And sad to say, I think that's one huge erroneous assumption. For now, at least) Yea I'll admit it, most of my crushes are based on looks (i'm talking mostly about the face here), so it's actually quite useless to try to 'jio' them, cause even if I succeed (that's one HUGE 'if' here), it will probably be a relationship that will fizzle out fast. So anyway, I will try to approach girls form the same angle and try to act normal/be myself. [Edit: What i mean is i'll try to treat all girls as normal friends]

Which reminds me of the Lifehouse lyrics from Make Me Over:
I'm losing myself just to find a place in your mind. Your mind.
I'm changing myself just to stand alone in your eyes. Your eyes.

Wonder if I'm losing/changing myself.

Anyway, second major issue: high school friends. Recently, I've been quite out of touch with some of them, especially during all the niaoing of my now rather famous quote (will not repeat here due to ...embarrassment). Hmm anyway, still okay with Mogie and Alvin, but quite out of touch with ZK. Bleargh ): In fact, I only found out today that he has been keeping a blog since Dec '07, which is like wtf. I consider him one of my best friends and I didn't know about it! T.T To be honest, I haven't really been chatting with him since school really started and I guess I kinda regret it too (gah! too much chatting with girls, for one). I suppose I will talk to him more form now on. Zzz.. can't bear to lose a damn good friend of around 6 years! Yes, it's been 6 years already, since we shared a room for our Beijing trip... [Edit: Kk talked to ZK today. Hm.. guess we'll like go gym/train soccer together... Haha.. see how la =D]

Next and final thing (this is like the 6th page of my notebook, so ending soon. Must sleep too!). This is not really a major or emotional issue, but just feel like writing about it. Athena Fac Dance! I've skipped all the dance sessions except the very first one (during orientation), and I regret it now. Everyone was like dancing their fac dance rather nicely on Wed (after CNY celebrations), and I don't even know my dance! At OG outing yesterday, I got Karlton (cool, ex-NCC, currently in BBoy and Hip Hop) to teach me till end of second song. Still can't really remember it, though. At least I have already put down a commitment towards it, and I will be sure to be able to dance the whole dance well before the Fac Dance Competition! With a mix of push motivation from my friends, advice and tips from Karlton, active participation during the fac dance sessions, adn the New Behaviour Generator and Memory Supercharger (pretty sure these two can work here), I shall do it! Also, on a happy note, I got someone to go fac dance with me! (: Yay! [Edit: Went fac dance session today. Learnt a lot of moves, but still cant dance as fast as the music. Much practice needed!]

Hmm.. somehow penning my thoughts have helped me to calm downa nd somewhat recognize my inner peace. I don't really feel confused now. (: and I'm glad I've finally written down some of the things that I've been wanting to write for a long time.

Liverpool

2008-02-10T23:24:00.000+08:00

Another short post.

I don't care what people say. LIVERPOOL WILL BEAT CHELSEA! That will be so! Don't care! They can score without Torres! Gerrard for meng lead! (:

Jiayou, Liverpool! Beat Chelsea, and show the rest of the world why we're the Greatest Club on Earth! XD

Chinese New Year

2008-02-08T12:47:00.000+08:00

Here's wishing all my readers A VERY HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! (: Have fun, people! Collect more hongbaos, eat more goodies, win more money! (:

Zoink! Boink!

2008-01-20T01:13:00.000+08:00

Ok.. the title is totally random. I dun even know how I thought of it.. Lol.. Hehe.

Hm.. lets see.. I'm flying off for Netherlands next Saturday! Woots!~ That's a trip I've been looking forward to for close to 2 years already, so I hope that it'll be one COOL and FUN trip! Haha... I hope I dun screw up too much during the GA sessions and that I'll be sociable and make some friends! Even though they most probably won't be lasting friendships at least I'll have some people to talk to during conference time. Hm.. That reminds me.. I kinda almost forgot all about my resos, and I still havent visited THIMUN forums. Dang..

But in any case, it's my first trip to EUROPE! Yay! Damn excited. I hope it snows la. I havent seen snow before... please snow..please snow..please snow... Hehe.. And it's also going to be my longest flight so far! 13hours on a plane! I'm seriously going to get cramps or something la.. Hmm.. I hope the in-flight entertainment is good. No matter how much I sleep during lectures I won't be able to sleep for 13 hours man..

Oh ya.. talking about sleeping during lectures, I've slept through almost all my lectures during the past week. In fact, it's almost becoming a well-known fact among my CT liao.. Just 1 week and they know I sleep a lot.. bleaargh.. Haha and I haven't done ANY homework of any kind (except the online Physics test which i got 3/3, without reading the notes.. zai or not?) I hope I dun lag too far behind. But ok la, the sciences so far mostly only revision, maths got like 2 new formulas and econs is totally new (duh!). And got econs test on Friday! Wah lao eh.. so fast got test already... Guess I'll have to study on Thursday night.. Zzz...

Oh ya.. I nid to go shopping for CNY and for my trip! Anyone wants to go w/ me? Pleaaase? Shopping alone very sian one leh.. and whoever it is can give me some fashion tips/advice too.. Hehe XD

Hm.. let's talk about gals. So far Im trying to maintain a purely platonic relationship w/ the girls I've been talking to. After all, I'm not exactly the most desirable guy around, and there really isn't much point trying to jio girls la.. Haha.. dun have the financial capability to support a girlfriend now.. Lol... Then here comes the experience-first love debate. Some say that to have a fulfilling relationship when you meet your true love (if such a thing exists), you should have some dating experiences, kissing experiences, etc. However, some say that if that person is your true love (once again, a debatable subject), then she'll fall in love w/ u.. Hehe.. How? I dunno leh.. Guess I'm really quite undecided regarding these kinds of questions, but I suppose I tend to WANT to believe the romantic notions more, even though my practical side will want me to THINK that these are not possible.. Hm..

Eh.. I think all these serious stuff is going to put some people off, so I shall end of with a joke. Take note: the joke isn't exactly clean, so people who are easily offended should read no further (even though we all know that warnings like these will just entice people like YOU, yes YOU w/ your perverted mind, to read further)

I've warned you!

2 sperms were swimming inside a woman's body.

Sperm 1: OMG I'm tired! How long more to the uterus?
Sperm 2: Uterus? We're just past the esophagus!

Ok.. dun blame me if you were offended (esp. gals). I've warned you! (: I'm actually damn CLEAN one la. I just saw this on the net and thought it was quite nice. haha (:

Improvement

2008-01-15T20:48:00.000+08:00

Today I played court again. Still quite shitty, but got improvement from yesterday, and I made some rather important interventions (yay!). I only took like 3-4 shots throughout the day, with none on target ): But I have no fears. If I play everyday, I'm sure I'll continue improving! ^^ After all, i think the paraliminal has given me more confidence so I don't really feel very worried that I'm lousier than other ppl now, cos I know that I have the potential to overtake them, and that this potential will be realised. (:

Guess I must thank Junnies for training me during the hols, giving me some very great advice, introducing paraliminals to me, and also giving some semblance of moral encouragement. Haha. He's a nice guy =D

Hm.. I think I feel more socially comfortable now. Haha. It's like I'm probably less shy, and I start talking to a lot more people Yay ^^

Oh ya I've decided to maintain a relatively low profile in my CT first. Find out how muggerish my class is then I'll decide how much I'll mug. Most likely I'll try to do what I did last year too. Meaning do some homework, study for tests 1 or 2 days before. Some lecturer said that if you're really confident and are smart then you can still do last-minute studying, so I guess I'll try that first. At least for the first class test or something. If I fail horribly then I guess that'll be a wake-up call.. Haha If I'm really doing badly I'll have to get someone to tutor me liao... Hmmm..

Hm.. what else do I have to say? Looks like this whole post has been about me me and me. Hm... But i dun really have anything to say about any other things. Oh ya, I think we should try to be less emo lor. As in if you're in a emo mood dun try to get even more emo or what. Try to think about happy things and listen to happy music. I think something like Pokemon works great. (jk lol) Haha.. but seriously la. Emo-ing (however much inevitable) will kill brain cells one lor.. then will become more retarded. So must try to remain happy as much as possible ^^ Yay

Taxi Issue

2008-01-13T23:30:00.000+08:00

Guess what? I dun really have anything to say about this issue. Just want to bring some attention to LC's blog where there's a pretty huge ongoing discussion about the recent fare hike. Hmm.. what i want to say is mostly already there la. I agree with LC in that taxi drivers also have to work hard to earn some income, and daoing taxis just to make a point is seriously quite cruel. Kinda. I mean if you already take taxis regularly, just continue doing so lor. It's not like the drivers want the fare hike right?

Going home late after OG outing after campfire on Friday (yes, we had supper after Friday, which lasted until abt 1am. how's that for OG bonding?), i had to take a cab home and started chatting with the taxi uncle (which i don't normally do. shows hw sociable i've become) and he sounded quite sad w/ the fare hike. So i guess, a shoutout to ppl: DON'T DAO TAXIS MORE THAN BEFORE! ^^

Er.. oh ya. My CT was damn dao on first day. It's like stone 5 minutes for every comment. But we improved quite a bit on thursday and friday, seeing as we had to prep. for our item and flag. Hehe hope it continues improving! (: Got some cool people in my CT, and I hope to know more about the enigmatic ppl like the uber-huge cat high bballer otherwise known as Ah Bao and the Indian A*Star scholar Sayam (sp?)

Hehe.. our CT got 7 nationalities. Singaporean, PRC, Taiwanese, Hongkonger, Indonesian, Indian, Malaysian... LOL Seriously.. But I suppose we can still unite as ONE CT!! Whoots!~ Yay

Had another OG outing today. Wah lao our OG seriously siao one la. We've been going out after school everyday since the first Friday of the school term. Oh well... but I do hope the rest of the OG who have not been as active can also join us in our activities. Yay.

Oh and I played court today. Played like shit la. Nevermind.. cos I like 3-4 weeks never touch the ball liao, so a dip in standard is to be expected. I'm sure within th e week I'll be able to play at a decent standard. ^^

Also recently adopted Junnies' fruity breakfast thingy. I guess it ain't really bad, and I have noticed higher energy levels for the morning. Yay.

JC

2008-01-12T02:30:00.000+08:00

WhooO!~ Four years of High School and finally I'm in college. Frankly, wasn't really looking forward to it during the hols. As in obviously it'll be a new experience, so of course got part looking forward to it, but part kinda apprehensive. Guess I shouldn't have worried la.. haha

JC is fun lor! At least Orientation is! ^^ My OG was (and still is) DAMN ZAI~ Whoooo!!~ First day we were all quite dao, but then second day onwards we started interacting more w/ each other, and our first outing on the night of the third day was kinda retarded, but at least we got to know one and other better.

Honestly, I didn't expect my OG to be so zai. Cos there're like a few "cool" guys, and they seem like the kind to dao all these kinda group activities and all that, but that didn't turn out to be the case. Of course they dun really appear uber enthu, but at least they participate and nvr really complain. Haha.. our OG is really cool!

And for some reason, in JC, high school people start doing A LOT of things that they definitely wouldn't do in high school. Seriously. Can you imagine someone trying to get a whole level of high school people to cheer for Hwa Chong? Or to dance? Lol. I guess the addition of girls is the difference... the school culture is really different.. haha (:

And making new friends is damn cool! Don't know why, but I suddenly become more "sociable" after entering JC. It's like everyday dun mind talking to ppl, or just say some stuff to random ppl in school lol. Then go home also feel like chatting with people instead of playing com. Haha.. Dunno if it's JC, or could be the self-esteem supercharger that i got! Woots! I wonder if you talk more if you have higher self-esteem... I guess so, right?

Argh ok anyway I'll be posting on my OG's blog too.. hope it can survive for more than 1 year. Yeah! OG 29 FOREVER!!

(Shit I feel damn bad not talking about my CT, but i guess i can say something about that next time)

Starting a New Year

2008-01-03T20:31:00.000+08:00

Ok I found this two tips about closing the previous year and how to start the new year in a positive manner! It goes like this:

"Any day can be a Symbolic day to start afresh. So why not the New
Year when the whole collective consciousness of the Universe works
for you. When most human beings think that something nice is going
to happen with them, then the collective consciousness is in rising
upward direction. So all one has to do is ride this.

So here are two powerful techniques for a great year around:

1. Closing the past year: Before you open to the New Year one
has to close the Past. Technically speaking the past does not exist
except in the mind. But as it exists in Mind it can be playing
havoc because your Future can be created with this Past. Generally
events, which are negative, register more in human beings minds than
the positive. So in the year gone by there may have been many
incidents, which did not work in your favor. It could have been a
loss in terms of money, time or effort, it can be relationship
issues, it can be health, it can be loss of job, it can be loss in
stock markets or the so many incidents that human beings have to
face. These incidents have happened and are over but you may be
still carrying the memories of pain, frustration or any other
feeling in your mind. When such feelings exist you are fighting with
yourself, life around and the situation. You also create a tendency
unconsciously that you will keep attracting similar incidents in the
Future that actually you don't want. The truth is: Whatever your
inner mind keeps thinking will happen. To ensure that your Future is
joyful then these memories have to be erased. Like in a black or
white board, you erase what is written to write new and fresh.

This exercise is best done in the evenings or night where the energy
is of "Closing". Take a notebook and review the complete year from
the recent events to the past events especially those, which you
have not been able to accept. It is better to take each incident
separately. Keep writing your feelings of the events as it comes.
So from your mind you are getting the painful memories to the book.
Please be honest with yourself. Write the feelings as it comes.
Don't analyze or judge the feelings. Simply you are throwing the
clutter from your mind out. As you write you might experience
feelings of pain, grief, sadness etc. These are beautiful
expressions so just allow it to flow out, do not control. Once you
have written down the feelings of each incident, you will feel
lightness as though you have got rid of a huge burden or block. It
is important to remember that every incident that happens in our
life is "good for us". Every incident is " Whole complete and
perfect". Only one has to learn what is the incident is teaching to
us. So pick up the learning to go ahead in life. For eg. You lost
money in Business means that your awareness of Money and certain
aspects of Business should increase.

Once you have written down as many incidents as possible. Take the
book, remove each page and meditatively burn it. Symbolically you
are getting rid of such incidents from your life forever. You are
disassociating with your own past thereby creating a future that can
be fresh and new. As you burn each page just think that you are
erasing this from your mind too. After this sit in silence for few
minutes, then take a good fresh bath, and change to a new clothes.
This is like saying to god or a greater power or to your own self,
Yes, Now I am now ready.

2 Opening Up to the New Year:

a) This Exercise is best done in the Mornings when the whole
Energy of the Universe is Opening to the new possibilities.
b) Take a fresh bath, wear new clothes and be ready within the
opening up for a bright new year ahead.
c) Sit in a clam and comfortable place that is clean and full
of positive energy.
d) Light a lamp or candle symbolizing brightness and light in
your life.
e) Light a good incense stick to spread the fragrance enhancing
your mind.
f) You can keep a meditative music on as you do this exercise.
g) Take a small effort to create a beautiful space for doing
this exercise so that you get best results all through the year.
h) Do anything like keeping gods photograph, or gurus
photograph to enhance the space and your energy.
i) Be creative to create an uplifting atmosphere that is most
essential.
j) We have done this exercise a number of times in our Money
Workshops over these years with best surprising results. So this
simple technique is fully proven and it works wonders.
k) Take a new pen or your lucky pen and a new notebook.
l) On the first page you can draw an "Om" or "Swastik" powerful
symbols, which will create auspiciousness in your life.
m) Write the date 31 of December 2008, which is the end of the
coming year.
n) Then write, "Thank you Universe, or Thank you God" for all
beautiful events to unfold this year. It is great to "Thank" in
advance thereby enforcing your faith.
o) Now you are going to write a letter to your dearest friend
or well wisher, so write Dear________ ___
p) The most important part of this exercise is to describe all
your desires, events as though it has happened. Means you are
writing this remember from 31st of December 2008. In the Present
Moment you are choosing to create a whole new year.
q) Once you start writing just let go, do not think if it is
possible not possible, keep looking at every aspect of life like
material things, money flow, work or business, family and
relationships, places you going to visit, sports or hobbies, new
learning, new ventures, marriage, love, children, health and
whatever is meaningful to you. Just allow your desires to flow from
your mind to the paper. Have powerful Intentions of looking at life
from a grand perspective, getting into leading a life first class.
Think a little beyond and think Big. Keep on writing till your inner
voice allows you to do it. You can take an hour, two hours or more.
Get into the full joyfulness and positive feelings as though the
events have taken place. Be relaxed and playful, like a child
creating something beautiful.
r) Let me give a small example: As of now, you do not own your
car but have a desire to buy one. So when you do this exercise you
will write, now I have this wonderful Zen car, blue in colour (be
specific) and I have toured so many wonderful places along with
family and friends. Everyday I am enjoying the pleasure of going to
work in my own car……
s) Pour all your energy while writing your desires. Now you
are "Opening Up" to the New Year the way you want.
t) Just keep this diary or notebook and watch through out the
year whatever you wrote will happen in an amazingly perfect manner.
Whenever this happens just have thankfulness and register that you
created this event in your mind first and then it happened in
reality.

Wishing a year full of joy, bliss, profits and a wonderful Money
Flow for you and your family."

Yep that's it. Basically it sounds something like Law of Attraction, visualisation, blah blah. Haha, sounds quite useful. I'll probably get round to do it this weekends.

Oh, and Jumpstart was fun today! Hope to go out with my OG tmrw nite! (:

Reliance

2007-11-29T22:22:00.000+08:00

Woaah... My computer almost couldn't start up just now, and I was getting serious worried. Questions like "Will it work?" and "What will happen to my data! (All those downloaded stuff)" ran through my head. But thankfully, as you can probably observe from this blog post, my computer finally managed to run properly after giving it about 45mins rest.

Other than learning that computers (like humans) probably need rest too, I also somewhat realized that we're kinda over-reliant on our computers and our digital stuff. We use them on such a common basis that we almost take them for granted. Handphones, MP3 players, Computers, etc., most of us use most of these everyday. One nice question would be: what would happen if all these break down?

We have become so reliant on these devices that we'll find ourselves quite helpless without them. Ok, so maybe we can survive for like 2-3 days, but can you imagine a whole week without checking your email? A whole week without sending/receiving smses? A whole week without msn/dota/blogging/etc.? Ok maybe you can imagine it, but I doubt it would be a pleasant image.
Hm.. so perhaps we should all take a moment to reflect on how we would survive if one day, we find our devices not operating as well (if at all) as we want them to, or if the internet crashes or something. Shrugg.... I suppose we could go back to the good ol' days of boardgames and outdoor activities. And phones and radio. (:

Piano Genius

2007-11-27T23:43:00.000+08:00

Brilliant at Bach and Beethoven
Christopher Toh
christophertoh@mediacorp.com.sg
What: My Brilliant Brain
When: Tonight at 9pm
Where: National Geographic Channel (StarHub Channel 11)

Like any eight-year-old, Marc Yu likes to play pranks, kid around with his friends and toy with his mobile phone.
.
He also likes to crack jokes.
.
"Actually, I am a professional wrestler and street fighter," he deadpanned when we first meet.
.
Then he broke into a toothy grin.
.
But put him behind a piano and he's transformed as, eyes closed, he plays piano concertos by the likes of Beethoven or Bach with the ease of a professional more than twice his age.
.
You see, unlike most other eight-year-olds, Yu is a musical prodigy.
.
He's also one of a select few — one in 10,000 — who have perfect pitch. He can instantly sing any musical note and get it right the first time. And he's also a whiz kid in academia — he was learning high school mathematics by the time he was seven.
.
Yu was recently in town with his mother, Chloe, to promote a three-part TV series called My Brilliant Brain, which looks at people we deem "geniuses".
.
Yu appears in the first episode, which airs tonight on the National Geographic Channel. The episode explores whether or not extraordinary abilities like Yu's are genetic or whether they can be learned.
.
His gift was discovered by his mother when, at age two, he learnt how to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano, without any help, after he heard the song being sung. By the time he was three, he was playing Beethoven.
.
His mother, who is from Macau, single-handedly raised and home-schooled him. Born in the United States, Yu started formal musical training at three at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, where he lives. He flies regularly to Shanghai, China, where he spends one week each month for extra lessons.
.
His days are mostly spent practising the piano or doing his homework.
.
"It depends on how much I feel like practising, but usually I practise five to eight hours and I do my school work in between," he explained.
.
He also plays the cello, but has since given that up to concentrate on his piano playing, said his mother.
.
"He doesn't watch TV or play computer games," she added. "We do have a TV and a DVD player, but that's only to watch selected concerts and performances."
.
Of course, it makes you wonder if all this — the adulation, the touring, the fame — isn't detracting from his right to behave as a child.
.
According to mum Chloe, "He doesn't really care. To him (life is) only the piano."
.
"I don't think I miss out on anything, because I travel and I meet a lot of people," said Yu. "When I am back in LA, I have a lot of time to play with my friends at the park or at the house because I'm home-schooled.
.
"I think my friends think they are missing out," he added.
.
So, what does the future hold for Yu? If all goes as planned, he'll be joining his idol, the pianist Lang Lang, at Carnegie Hall in 2009.
.
"But that isn't happening yet," he said. "So, I'll just concentrate on other stuff.
.
"But next year, I'll be playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London," he added gleefully.
.
He's not short on ambition either. His wish is that his hands "grow bigger so that I can play all the major concertos".
.
His recent big achievement was that his fingers can now reach one keyboard octave, but he still needs special extenders to reach the pedals on the piano.
.
"I also want to learn more complicated pieces. And I also want to play with all the major orchestras — such as the New York Philharmonic or the Berliner Philharmoniker — and I also want to play at the most famous concert halls," he said.
.
But don't expect him to do crossover music — like pop or jazz — any time soon. Right now, he just wants to play the classics.
.
"Already there's 300 years of classical music to learn. But when I'm 301, maybe I'll play pop music."

Undeniably, this guy is talented. Perfect pitch - definitely talent. While pitch can be trained, having it naturally is obviously a talent. Part of your DNA that can't be altered (with present technology), and well, part of your good (or bad) fortune. Playing Mary Had a Little Lamb on the piano without help - definitely talent as well. Though this ability is aided somewhat by his perfect pitch, it is undoubted that you need to possess certain amounts of talent (read: genetic luck) to be able to play a musical instrument without prior training.

He has these talents, but are they enough to make him what he is today: a musical prodigy?

Well, he does put in hard work. A LOT of hard work. He says "usually I practice five to eight hours". I read that statement and I was like what. the. heck. Seriously. This guy is.. very hardworking. The most I've ever spent on studying in a day was 7-8 hours, and that was a day before my Biology exams in Secondary 3. I can't begin to imagine doing that for everyday in my life. Ok, so he enjoys playing the piano, but still..... You have to admit that he puts in a lot of effort to get to where he is today.

Yet, contrary to what some people may think about hard work being all there is to succeeding, I think that talent counts as well. It gives people an extra edge, an advantage, a foothold, over people without the talent. If I practice as much as this guy here (5-8 hours daily), I probably won't be his standard at his age. Why? Well, I lack the perfect pitch for one. I may well have to spend much more time training my pitching. So, if I practice for perhaps, 2 more hours each day, I may be able to excel this guy. Thus, I present the opinion that greater amounts of hard work may eventually excel talent, but if the talented guy trains as much as the non-talented people, then the talented guy is bound to be better.

So, I suppose, for non-talented people, we just have to hope that the talented ones slack, and we'll have to put in our own hard work to make up for our lack of talent. Then again, I believe that each and every one of us have our specific areas of talent, and if we focus on our niche area, we can eventually succeed without having to put in as much effort if we were to focus on an area that we're not talented in.

For myself, I like the piano. It is a very nice instrument, very versatile, and fully capable of expressing a whole symphony of emotions. Yet, I kinda believe that my talent doesn't lie there, but this doesn't stop me from playing the piano. I just play the piano on a casual basis, and my "goal" is just to play songs that I like, and I do not aim to excel any other people at all. Instead, I will choose to develop in another area where my talent lies. However, the problem is that I still do not know where my talent is, so I still have to continue searching......

On a final note, don't you think that this guy's a bit of a no-lifer? 5-8 hours of piano and homework everyday.... And he plays only classical. Wow. Jazz is actually a very hard genre to master, as its rhythms and syncopations are not easily grasped. He really is missing out a lot by not playing other genres, and not playing any computer games (!) or watching any movies (just concerts). Seriously. No Life!

Of course, I could be thinking this way just cause I'm jealous...

Cynical Quote

2007-11-26T23:14:00.000+08:00

Found this nice and funny quote.

"The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble." -Ellen DeGeneres

Haha (:

Screwed Blog

2007-11-21T23:58:00.000+08:00

Okok, it doesnt take a genius to discover this, but my blog is fucked up. To put it in Alfian Sa'at's (sp?) words, "fucked up" means dysfunctional, so yeah. Apparently only random people visit my blog and I don't have regular readers at all. This is probably due to the boring posts of poor quality that appear once very 2-3weeks, which isn't very frequent.

Shrugg. I guess there ARE a few ways that I can do to improve readership. One is to post stupid shits, then people will come here and laugh. The other is to post controversial shits, then people will come here to flame. Then I can TRY to post serious stuff like LC, but probably fail. Er... or I can just continue my style, like now. And have no readers. Dang

Ok, I dunno why I'm so concerned about readers. But after all, the objective of a blog is to let the world in general (more like your friends, but whatever), hear from you. Be it your feelings, thoughts, opinions, etc. Er.. ok so the point is if there are no readers, there is no point for me to pen my thoughts in this webspace, and I'm probably better off saving my text in some personal diary or something.

Ok, I suppose the main problem is still the content. Hm.. Actually I have quite a few topics that I want to talk about, but I always never do so due in part to my laziness, and in part to my lack of confidence that I will be able to pull off a good post and cover the topic adequately. But then again, I suppose things are learnt from trying, and nobody is a master the first time he/she does something. In fact, reports have shown that practicing a skill for 1000 hours makes you good at it. Haha.. I guess that's sort of a target for my soccer.

In any case, this problem is really stupid and shitty. I guess I'll go post a nice next post, then go on shameless tactics to draw readership, ie. announce so on my personal message on MSN, shamelessly tell people on MSN to visit my blog, er.. go tag on people's blogs. Yeah... Here's to my success! *toasts myself* (:

P.S. Here's a shoutout to people looking for good music. There's a finnish band called Nightwish out there (yes, not so famous in Singapore) that has GOOD music. They combine a full symphony, a choir, your usual metal band assembly (keyboard, electric guitar, drums), and great vocals. Ok so the lead female vocal got replaced, but I think the current vocalist is not bad too! They basically produce powerful music, but there is quite a lot of variety to it too. Their most recent album is Dark Passion Play, which apparently isn't as good as their previous album Once (according to online reviews and such), but worth hearing as well.

To sum that up in one sentence, just think Evanesence, only better. Much much better.

Ok that's 2 sentences, but wtf. Enjoy your hols! (:

Tears

2007-11-11T21:49:00.000+08:00

Never thought this would happen, but I almost cried while watching an anime. o.O I was watching Kanon (2006), and those who have watched it would know that it is a rather sad anime. Awww.. Haha guess I really am quite emotional at times, which I suppose isn't really a bad thing. Kanon was a really good anime. The OP and ED are nice, the graphics is better than average with very well-drawn characters. The plot is also great, even though it can be a tad confusing at times. I guess the only bad point is that it is harem-ish, but oh well.. shrugg. I guess after all, it is a Kyoto Anim. anime, so it cant be that bad! Haha. Looking forward to watching Clannad......

Hmm.. A week and a half into soccer training, I think I've improved! Passing, shooting and overall body fitness have improved. I guess at least my holidays are rather productive, what with THIMUN meetings thrown in as well.

So.. nothing really much to say now. Guess I'll post something when I feel like it.

Soccer!

2007-11-01T00:23:00.000+08:00

Today, I decided not to work during the holidays, so I can train soccer! Training with me will be our coach, Junnies, and ZK! Clement will come sometimes too! It wasn't really a very hard decision to make, but I had been thinking about working to earn money, so as to satisfy my material needs. Of course, the thing about material wants is that once one is satisfied, you go on wanting more and more, and it is hard to be materially satisfied (for me anyway). But the thing I want most now is a new (and good) computer, which can be bought with my parents' money (yay!), so I suppose a job isn't that urgent.

Of course, other than money, a job can give me valuable working experience, like learning to be hardworking, patience, learn the value of money, etc. So shrugg.

But in truth, the decision was a rather easy one to make. Working and making money can be achieved after I graduate from university. In fact, I predict that most of my adult life would be doing exactly that. However, playing in a soccer team can only be realistically realised in the next two years of my life (I don't want to pursue soccer as a career option). Thus, it is obvious that if I want to get better in soccer and play more soccer, the time is NOW.

Let's see, I first started playing soccer in Primary 4, when I first entered Cat High. Being influenced by people like Cedric (surprise surprise) and Michael, I became a soccer fan. First started as a goalkeeper due to me being better with my hands (Basketball CCA in P3), but it wasn't very exciting, so I opted for the more exhilarating and fulfilling role of striker. To be truthful, I probably wasn't very skillful, and my main trait was probably my faster than average sprint speed. Shrugg.

In Sec 1 and 2, I used to play street soccer during recess almost everyday. People I play with are from my class, including Fabian, Junnies, Walter, Ee Shawn, Mark(?), Zhijie (?). It was generally quite fun, and I flitted from goalkeeper to striker, but I think that I was probably the best goalkeeper out of the bunch of us (Mark probably improved lots by now).

So now, with a 2-year hiatus from soccer, apart from rare chances during PE, I have decided to pursue soccer as an interest once again! Hooray! (: Of course, it isn't going to be easy (then again, nothing is), since the soccer team is already currently super-competitive, and they have tons of good players, and I haven't played for very long, and all that. But I believe that I can improve by quite a lot during these 2 months of holidays, and I shall strive to make that happen! :D

Thus, my first training session starts tomorrow. Here's to myself, looking forward to a fulfilling holiday of soccer, and to joining the soccer team in the near future! (: (wish me luck, people!)

4 Years....

2007-10-26T00:06:00.000+08:00

Today was iSpark Nite. Also our last few days in Hwa Chong Institution (High School). Our last few days with our classes. Our last few days with our friends...

It didn't seem that long ago when I first stepped into HCI (then Chinese High) for Orientation and for the first day of school. I remember really looking forward to studying in such a good school. Making friends in class was slightly hard, as people tended to stick to their primary school mates. But our great teachers in Sec 1 (Cheng, Leefy, etc.) did help. I remember us spamming RLF2 on the school com (and got caught by Ms Letchmi), and getting rather despised by the other teachers that don't teach us (due to relatively lousy results and rather poor discipline). And our end of year MSG was really shit. Haha.

Still remember the Mark bullying incidents. Stomping on his poster. Niaoing him everyday. Stuff... Taking away nasi lemak from the canteen everyday just to spam more RLF2... Laughing with our teachers.. hahaha

Sec 2 was seriously one of the most fun years. Everyday was fun day. Relatively stress-free, we spam computer games almost every minute of our lives. Maplestory, Super Smash Brothers, Counterstrike, DotA, blah blah blah. In school, at home, every thing was com games. Lol.

Our Sec 2 camp was really pwnage. Before that, our class was like split into 3 cliques. Pisang, Lim Peh and Ah Sohs. Lol. But the camp was serious bonding time, and after that we were one class. If I recall correctly, our Term 2 MSG improved like siao from our Term 1 MSG. Then we were all in class, HEE HEE HEE ing w/ Cheng. Laughing at how we finally pwned both 2N and 2O haha.

From then on, our class never looked back. Full attendance for EoTA, full attendance for June Hols Chalet (when we had a super-meng super-nice biking experience at Pulau Ubin), almost full attendance for Dec Hols Chalet. We even (rather unexpectedly) topped the level rankings as NO. 1 CLASS IN THE YEAR! YEAHH! That was seriously the best class. Ever. Haha.

Then came Sec 3. Starting out I didn't really liked my class (to be honest). We were sort of the "rojak" class, and the class where most of the not-so-meng people go to. Our results were mega-fail, and class bonding wasn't exactly great. Everyone (more or less) kept to their respective Sec 2 classes.

But somehow, there was some change this year. We got more meng. More class activities (bonding, stuff). And now I sorta like my class too. Probably not as much as 2M, but good enough.

Well, what can I say? These 4 years were definitely great. Brilliant. Astounding. Memorable.

I'll post a separate post on my emotions and all that. This is just a recount, I suppose. Haha.

Perth

2007-10-15T22:36:00.000+08:00

Ok. Just came back from Perth this afternoon at about 1pm. I must say that though it was a very short trip (from Thursday until today, which is about 4-5 days), it was rather enjoyable (no thanks to 5-hour transit at Brunei Airport and shitty accommodation).

I shan't bore people and do a detailed recount of what we did, but I'll just highlight some stuff that I observed along the trip. Firstly, the Australians are weird. They have like non-existent night life o.O. Their shopping mall closes at 5pm, and the only shops left open are eateries and the cinema. Contrast that to Singapore where shopping malls open up to like 9-10pm, or even 11-12pm! Walking around the streets at like 7pm felt like walking around Singapore at 11pm. Traffic is sparse, and there are practically no pedestrians. I seriously wonder what they do when the sun sets!

Hm.. in any case, since we didn't have anything to do at night, we went to watch 2 movies. The first was Superbad, which was rather aptly named. Not that it was really bad, but it holds no literary value. It's damn good for some retarded, hearty laughs, but serious movie-goers would find it superbad. Basically, it talks about 2 high school students going around trying to buy alcohol for 2 girls in an attempt to get laid. Yep. Vulgar language, sexual references, the lot.

The second movie we watched was Stardust. It opened in US in mid-August, Australia in mid-September, and is opening in Singapore in end-October. Wtf. Oh wells. It is adapted from a novel from Neil Gaiman, who is one of my favourite authors (for now at least). Having read the novel and some good reviews on rottentomatoes.com, I had certain expectations of the movie. I must say that I was not disappointed.

Though the director did add in quite a bit of stuff, they were tasteful additions to make the story more suited for the big-screen, dropping some stuff that can only be gleamed by reading the book. It was really adapted well for the cinema, so that there was a climax and all, unlike the anti-climax conclusion in the novel. In any case, the actors were not bad, the soundtrack was fantastic, and the romance done brilliantly. People who haven't watched it should definitely go watch when it opens in Singapore! (:

Hm.. of course our main objective in going to Perth was to compete in the Australian Finals of the Future Problem Solving Program. We did better than last year, clinching two silvers (last year was one bronze), but were still disappointed with ourselves. Considering our opponents were not as good as last year's opponents, we thought we could win the gold and get a trip to Michigan, USA, for the International Finals. Apparently not. Hopes were running high in our team until the bombshell dropped. Oh wells. Most likely this would be our last time taking part in this competition. I guess we're kinda sian of this competition already, and there will be more opportunities opened up to us in College, right?

Oh yeah. Throughout the trip, our school team was sort of split up into mainers and geppers, with the mainers following Mr Paul Ho and the geppers following Mr Kevin Cheng (who is one of my favourite teachers in school). It was really sort of inevitable, I guess. It's really like a manifestation of what happens in school. Of course, we do talk to each other and stuff, but we're not really close enough. Haiz. At least the divide between geppers and mainers will be gone in College, whereby a new divide of HP (Humanities Program) and non-HP will rise up. *shrug*

On the last day, we went to some nice photoshoot locations and had a few good photos. Once I receive them from my various friends I will post a few up on this blog. So look out for it! ^^

Short Post

2007-09-16T22:27:00.001+08:00

Went on Alvin's blog (http://shadowazure.livejournal.com/) and found this career matchmaking survey thing. My results:

1. Hydrologist / Hydrogeologist
2. Operations Research Analyst
3. Special Effects Technician
4. Website Designer
5. Mathematician
6. Set Desginer
7. Makeup Artist
8. Environmental Consultant
9. Costume Designer
10. Computer Programmer

Which is kinda.. o.O especially makeup artist, set designer and costume designer. Woaah. I suppose the rest are decent, if not very high-profile.. Haha! No matter what, I still want to make money! But as Warren Buffet said something about not choosing a job for the money, but because you like it. Then, if you're good at it, the money will come in. I suppose that is sort of true, but mostly only applies to the top jobs. I mean, I don't see how much a cleaner can get promoted even if he's super good at it.

Nothing much to say now.. Just wish I had a better hairstyle, and a more active social life. Haizz..

Subject/Career Choices

2007-09-13T23:19:00.000+08:00

Holy..! Today while I was going home, I almost got knocked down by a car! This is how it went. It was green light, so I just dashed across, then the car turning in, and the driver didn't see me. Luckily I had super-fast reflexes and managed to stop in time, or I would have been roadkill!

Nah.. I was really checking out this Cedars' girl behind me, then I didn't noticed that I had reached the road and kept on walking. Luckily my head swiveled to the front in time and I stopped just before stepping onto the road. Phew! (: Oh, but the Cedar's girl quite hot!

During assembly, we had this Professor Hang guy from NUS come and speak to us about the great prospects of going into Engineering during University. He listed quite a few examples and statistics to show that many of the top earners in Singapore were actually engineers (in fact, out of the top 24 earners, exactly half of them have engineering degrees). Thus, he was, more or less, trying to get us to go into Engineering.

However, one main flaw in his argument is that he did not take into account the fact that most people of that generation (that is our parents' generation) took up Engineering in University. Thus, the huge percentage of them being top earners might just be due to the sheer number of people who had engineering degrees, as compared to engineering really helping people to earn lots of money.

So I asked ZK if he was convinced, and whether he would take up engineering. He said he would consider his passion (which is roughly my own thoughts). Then when I asked him what he liked, he said "I don't really like anything, but I don't really dislike anything either". I have more or less the same thoughts.

Going into research as a biologist, chemist or physicist, would require tons of hard work, and may yield totally no results at all. People can research and research for decades and not come up with anything (as they lack a good research idea). So I wonder if I have the ability to come up with a good research idea, and whether I can succeed in this career. With success would come fame and money, but failure would really be very very bad.

Going into engineering and then somehow going into R&D or Service Industry and becoming CEO, would also require hard work (like everything else). Yet, failure in this case would be less worse off, as the starting pay for a decent engineer shouldn't be too low. Furthermore, there are many companies in the world, so more opportunities to become CEO. And, when compared to being a researcher, there are only so little really brilliant research ideas in the world. Looking into history, so few great scientists compared to so many successful CEOs.

Also, being a CEO would reap greater financial rewards, though being a scientist can benefit mankind greatly. Other career options, for me, include going into business or finance. Entrepreneur, accountant, etc. An accountant is needed in almost every company, and I suppose job opportunities are available almost everywhere. However, it would be quite hard to climb to the very top as an accountant (or at least I think so).

Being an entrepreneur, and wanting to succeed, would require a really good business idea. How many good business ideas are there left to be thought of? Infinite. Yet, how many people can think of even one? Very few. Yet, success would, once again, reap great financial rewards.

So, I'm still rather undecided. For next year, I will definitely be taking H2 Maths and Chem, and KI if possible (that is if I pass the entrance test). If I don't pass, I'll take Econs. As for the last science, should it be Physics or Biology? Physics would pave the way for an Engineering course in University, and Biology would be more for medicine, research, etc.? But eventually, I suppose, A-levels don't really matter that much as to what course you take in University. After all, Maths and Chem are the two important ones.

Furthermore, many people don't go into the career that their University degree leads them to. So.. how to choose? Hm... a tough choice. Ah.. if anybody has any good advice, please come and tell me! (:

Ok, so this was a (relatively) long blog post. Hopefully, this can be considered a post which "ACTUALLY has depth". -.-"

The Dips in Life

2007-09-11T23:57:00.000+08:00

Bugger and blast. It's been about a week since my last blog post, and only one person has tagged! Where have my blog readers gone to? Noooo! Come back and I promise all of you cookies! <3!! Jking..

Anyway, that wasn't the "dips in life" I was referring to. I was more of referring to where you invite a few friends (preferably of the opposite gender), and go dipping in the pool dressed in skimpy clothing that leaves little (or nothing at all) to the imagination. Of course, the time spent dipping in the pool should also be kept at a minimum, to allow for more time spent on the deck chair, observing, admiring and appreciating the wonderful bumps (and humps) of life. Okay, I'm digressing.

Anyway, today, I received my results of my Japanese Prelims. I'm pleased to say that after an improvement of 10+% from my previous two tests this year, I ....passed...nearly. (Which means to say I'm actually not pleased at all). But this shows that I have improved, and am probably on track to better results in my O Levels. Of course, I was rather dissatisfied with a non-pass grade, and shall henceforth devote more time and effort to the studying of the wonderfully cheem Japanese language. Wowwee!! I shall set a realistic target of about B4 for my O Levels, and while some my point to Junnies' Blog (which is available at http://uzumakinaruto.wordpress.com), where he improved from a C6 to A1 for maths, I must say that Japanese is probably harder. And that my Japanese foundation is really weak. Oh well, I suppose, with some amount of hard work, I should be able to do it.

Oh wells, in any case, I hope that more people start reading my blog! ^^

Untitled

2007-09-03T23:02:00.000+08:00

I know the title of this blog post is really lame but I really have nothing to put as the title for this totally random post so... here goes!

Let's see.. I've taken a 2 month hiatus from blogging - throughout which I had many things to blog about, but somehow just didn't. *Shrug* Let's see.. it's been a busy 2 months for me, with certainly many events that happened. I won CHAOS with my team, almost went into tears due to the departure of my piano teacher of 2 years, passed out from NPCC (passed out =/= faint), got a rather high MSG (2nd time breaking 2 - first time being Term 1), joined the guitar sabbatical, and now it's the HOLIDAYS! Three Cheers! (:

Since I didn't blog about any of the previous events listed above, I shall not delve into that now. So.. thinking about it, I don't really have anything to blog about now.. Hm..

Oh right, it's the holidays, 1 day down, a few more to go! So far I've re-watched FFVII: AC, played a bit of DotA, played a bit of FM07, played a bit of FFVII, read a few books of MAR (a manga), nothing else! Whoopee! I suppose I'll start work tomorrow! (:

This holidays, I'll enjoy myself! A one week break, vacation, rest, period of tranquility, interlude, relaxation, peace, etc. etc. Yay! One whole week! After that, it's full steam ahead to the exams! I guess this will be my first year studying for all the exams, arrgh! Grr...

On another note, I've been selected to go for the FPS National Finals in Perth and THIMUN in the Hague! Woohoo! Apart from burning a significant hole in my parents' pockets, I'm sure these two events will widen my exposure and er.. let me see many many things! However, to participate in both, I may have to work during the holidays, so if any readers have any job opportunities, please inform me! ^^

Ehh okay nothing much to talk about now. Let me end this off with a joke:

Just joking! (okay that is not funny, but oh well) Hehe

Oh yea, I just bought Good Omens, jointly authored by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I cant wait to read it! I cant wait to watch Stardust too! ^^

Fun Work

2007-07-10T20:33:00.000+08:00

Ok, today is one big step twoards un-procrastination for me. Today, as I was walking home, I told myself that I will NOT succumb to the evil temptations of DotA! For one fine day, I will do all the work that I need to do! Yes, including playing the piano, doing CHAOS, do NPCC stuff, do my backlog of homework. And for some reason, instead of feeling a sense of dread, I felt energized and ready to take these challenges head on! Haiiya!

Reaching home, I even managed to keep self-disciplined enough to do some exercising (something which I have not done since NAPFA)! Hooray for me! I played the piano for 30mins, and am currently doing CHAOS and NPCC. Whoooo! Yes, I will do all my work today, sleep earlier, and wake up tomorrow brimming full of energy, ready to tackle a whole new day full of promise and hope! With the light of self-discipline in my heart, I will strike down all homework in my path!

Yes, I can sense I am becoming more self-disciplined and less procrastinating! This will help greatly all that I have to do! Of course, I BIG BIG problem is that I have NO IDEA how to start on my HRP CPK, which means 50% of my IH grade is screewed. Like upside down, inside out. I need the literary brains of YQ, Jang or JonLee. Pfft.

Yea, and I went to some Tanjong Pagar GRC Celebrations thing on Saturday, which is actually CosFest (a place with cosplayers)! It was actually quite cool, seeing many anime characters in real-life. Of course, being real life makes them many times uglier than the actual anime characters, but some cosplayers are actually not bad! The Yachiru, older Sasuke and female ANBU come to mind.. hehe...

However, some MAJOR turn-offs are those crossdressers who crossdress from male to female. I was looking hard for a Lacus Clyne cosplayer, and when I found one, the person turned around and I was like ZOMGBBQWTFHAX. She/He/It was a guy! Like >.<"!!! And there was this Haruhi team performing on stage, dancing the Hare Hare Yukai dance to the tune of Lucky Star's OP, and the team consisted of a male Haruhi, a male Yuki, a fat female Mikuru! What did I say about major turn-offs? And so below, I attach some pictures from CosFest (a first for my blog!). Don't worry, none of the pictures have me inside so you won't be...err..turned off. (no male crossdressers either!)

This is the elder Sasuke. Not bad right? (thats a girl, btw)

Female ANBU! She looks hot! Wonder what she looks like without the face covering.... (the mask is behind her head, btw)

Some rather chio-looking girl. No idea who she's cosplaying, but I think it's some Inuyasha character.

Darth Vader with a legion of storm troopers. Best costume award, cause they look most like the actual characters they are cosplaying! (:

Some random girl holding the Zangetsu (some big sword from Bleach)

Haruhi! (not the male one) This one looks tons better than the male crossdresser. Trust me.

Alright, that's about all the main highlights. Anime/Manga purists will probably flame, but since it was a new experience (seeing cosplayers) I thought I would just share with everyone/anyone who bothers to read my blog. Those interested, there is another cosplay event this coming Sunday at downtown east, so if you're going, tell me!

Three Cheers for Sweet Life!

2007-07-03T23:02:00.000+08:00

Hooray for me! It happened again! 4 times in less than 2 months! Lets see how many more times I will have to spend up to an hour reformatting my computer before I get a new one. Haha.

Ok screw, this week is coming along very badly. HRP (Lina Yong refuses to give an extension), CHAOS, Quiz Competition (shit i'm like the underperforming member), Annual Chronicles (already have to face pissed-off seniors and Tancw). Haiz. Everything is crashing around my (not pointy) rounded ears.

I think coffee really helps to keep me awake. Drank a can of coffee at 4:30, and managed to last through 3.5 hours of Japanese lessons without so much as dozing off! Can't say the lesson wasn't fruitful! Yay!

Ok, it IS time I have procrastinated enough. Time to work. For some reason, some weird weird reason, when I have to work, I actually sort of anticipate the work, looking forward to doing and completing it. The problem is motivating myself to actually start working. Procrastination has officially gained the Number One Spot on my weaknesses list. Once again, any good remedies?

Harry Potter coming out on the 21st. Okay I suppose its not bad as a "fun" read, as in you read it for leisure and all, without actually provoking any thoughts of any kind. But it certainly does not warrant the spawn of many books that "predict" what will happen in the last book, and definitely does not justify how one of these books made it to the top of New York Times Bestsellers for a few weeks. Seriously, the hype over this overrated series is too much. Harry Potter has really became too long and convoluted, and as my cousin aptly put it, "Harry Potter is a story of 1 book deliberately lengthened to fill 7". Oh well, I just want to get the last book and read it through to the end. Find out how it ends, and the search begins for more fulfilling reads. Sandman and Quicksilver come easily to mind.

Ok, I suppose that's all for this random post. Wish me good luck for the week ahead, and keep tuned for more posts. I already have in mind a few posts to post.

School Starts Again (sigh)

2007-06-22T22:58:00.000+08:00

Most of you should be familiar with this. The dreading sense that school is starting once again. A month of fun and games is over, and we're back into the hell-hole where work dominates. *sigh*

My com crashed again. I think it should be hardware problems, but my dad says its due to virus. Excuse me, but its the third time my com has crashed in one and a half months, while for the previous 1 and a half year it had been functioning fine. I had been visiting the same old sites, with upgraded protection, and this still happens. Maybe after my com crashes for the 5th time he'll see that its a hardware problem and get me a new com! ^^

I got a haircut again. The hairdresser gave me a spiky style, so I have to style my hair if I want to look slightly better.. Oh wells, hope there has been at least an improvement...

Hm.. work wise, I'm still lagging quite a lot, and Tancw has recently threatened to demote me I if I do not complete certain tasks.. Oh wells..

Haiz.. K that wasn't a post that had any meaning, or any useful thought at all. Just wanted to get it all off my chest.

Wii (Wheee)

2007-06-10T22:40:00.000+08:00

Yes! After more than a year of waiting, I finally get to try the Wii!! And with the games that I wanted to play!

The Wii is indeed, wonderful! It lives up to its formal name, totally revolutionising the way console games are played. No longer do you just press up down left right and tap some buttons. Now, you get to experience the real thing itself.

Drive a car? Use the Wii-mote as a steering wheel, tilting it to the left when you when you want to turn left, and vice versa! Playing tennis? Swing the Wii-mote like a real tennis bat! Play a game of boxing? Hold the Wii-mote and nunchunk in your right and left hands respectively, and punch away!

Thus, what we can see now, is that no longer do players sit down on their sofas and punch away on keys, with specific keys for specific moves like lob, swerve shot, etc. Now, we have players standing up and swinging their arms around like in the real game, and everything is controlled by the movement of the controller! No longer do you need to check the controls of a game. Just pick up the Wii-mote and swing away!

The first game that I played was Mario Party 8, which is this Carnival-themed game that plays like a board game, with multitudes of mini-games that utilises the movement of the Wii-mote. With clear crisp graphics and cute characters (Boo, the ghost thingy, is cute!! =D). Playing with my 2 cousins, it really was great fun!

Next, I tried out Wii Sports, the free game that comes bundled with the console. It offers a variety of 5 sports, namely Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing. Here, holding the Wii-mote, you really feel like you're playing the game in real life! Even the speed that you swing the Wii-mote gets taken into account! The faster you swing it, the faster the ball that you pitch in baseball! Playing Wii Sports really made it very different from other console games.

The next game was the one I most eagerly anticipated. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Besides providing much better graphics than the previous LoZ instalments, TP also has intuitive controls and great gameplay! The way you swing the Wii-mote around to swing your sword on screen is simply fantastic! Besides, TP also introduced some new and pretty cool items, and the concept of the Twilight Zone is simply brilliant! Not to mention the many possibilities that Link in wolf form opens up!

Yes, the Wii is THAT fantastic! You should go and watch some trailers now, or watch some videos of people playing. Seeing them move the controllers around really makes you want to rush over to the nearest gaming store and grab one.

Thank God my cousin bought a Wii! Now I shall go back to TP! (:

Holidays

2007-06-08T23:27:00.000+08:00

Argh.. 2 weeks into the holidays, and I haven't accomplished much in the way of work. Dang.

And during term time, I was like, push everything to the holidays. HRP, Science Project, HW, ACE, packing my table, -.-" ZZZ, not a single completed!!

Dang, gotta start working harder, and I still have to plan for retreat! =O

Oh wells, at least I'm going to my cousin's house soon, and he has a Wii! Time to try out how sexy Nintendo's new console is! (:

Financial Intelligence

2007-05-30T23:08:00.000+08:00

Today, I went for the Smart Money Board Game Competition organised by Nanyang JC. First impression was that the JC actually looked pretty good! There was this cool circular building and the campus was rather big. Too bad they have sucky scores. Oh well.

Next, hmm I guess the whole thing was just osorta a revision on some financial concepts I have learnt in Robert T. Kiyosaki's wonderful book Rich Dad Poor Dad. (Yes, that book that Guan Yu wrote notes in!!) So, for those readers who have not had the time, oppurtunity, etc. to read this book, I shall now do a short summary of some of the more important concepts.

1. Let Money Work for you. That is, you should accumulate items in your passive income instead of your active income. As the name suggests, active income is the money you get when you work (be it main job, part-time job, etc.). However, passive income is money you get even when you don't work actively (ie rental payment, dividends, royalty, etc.). So you should get stuff like stocks, real estate, etc., and slack your ass off while the money works for you.

2. Buy assets, not liabilities! Assets are things that earn money for you. Examples include real estate (ie houses that you put up for rent, etc.), stocks, bonds. Liabilities are things that take money away from you. Contrary to popular belief, many people's houses and cars are actually liabilities instead of assets, as people have to pay monthly installments for them. Thus, get assets!

3. Don't spend! Money spent on various expenses like iPod, Plasma TVs, may be money well spent in your opinion, but it really is not! Instead, perhaps you could use that money to invest, and from your investment's rewards, buy the item that you want!

Err.. I can't really think of anymore, but these concepts are really cool and important for everyone's future life. Thus, I highly recommend Rich Dad Poor Dad, together with the accompanying board game, either Smart Money or Cashflow (which was designed by Robert T. Kiyosaki himself).

So, go get 'em! (:

"The only thing I like about rich people is their money" Nancy Astor (First Woman to serve in British House of Commons)

The Perfect Boy

2007-05-27T01:43:00.000+08:00

"Nobody is perfect". Everyone knows that line. Everyone repeats it after they have done something that wasn't perfect. Everyone says it at least once, and some will add "I am nobody".

However, in the past few years, I have found someone that I always thought to be perfect: Jeremy Ang. Yes. This guy has the brains, the looks, a good personality, money, is physically fit, has many friends, etc. Seriously, it does seem that Jeremy has everything that anyone would ever want. 2nd in level, a charming and friendly personality, rather rich family, a rather hot bod, very popular, etc. I mean, Jon Lee sorta lack slightly in the personality, hot bod and rich bit, and YQ lacks in the rich and hot bod bits too. Everyone else, well, most likely they fall short in at least one or two categories.

For me, let's see. Smart, not very, IQ of 130+ and thereabouts. Looks, nope. Personality, more or less okay. Money, definitely no. Hot bod, NO. Popular, no. Wow. Just look at the comparison.

I have actually thought about this on more than one occasion, and even if people say "Do not compare with others", "Everyone is special", yadda yadda, it is still hard not to compare. After all, Jeremy seems to have it all. Life just seems to be unfair. How can somebody have it all, and not lose anything?

Well, the past 2 days have somewhat changed my perspective on this. I sense this tiredness and sianzness in Jeremy that I have not really seen before. I talked with Jasper a bit, and found out that perhaps Jeremy wasn't doing a very good job (in the eyes of TanCW) as the ExCo chair, and he may have doubts about himself too. It perhaps is his own insecurity, that he is not good enough (which is absurd), and that someone is better than him. Or it could be due to his too high expectations of himself.

Well, nonetheless, whichever it is, I can see that perhaps Jeremy is not as happy as he should be in theory. For one, he is too frigging busy. Listing down his commitments could probably fill up more than 3 A4 pages. Yet, as always, he probably has high expectations of himself and wants himself to exceed in all these areas. Yes, perhaps its all these busyness.

So, I can see that actually, I am not that worse off. Granted, he has stuff I don't. Yet, I think I am probably happier than him (sorta). I am sorta happy with my present life right now, and I guess we really should appreciate what we have. Haha. (:

Procrastination

2007-05-27T01:28:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a bad day at NPCC. Not that it wasn't fun. Yes, granted, the water bombs were fun, the basketball was fun, the soccer was fun, but the lecturing we got afterwards was just ... so...

Bad.

Not that I didn't deserved it. I probably did. Every single bit of it. How many times have I delayed NP work, and pushed it to the back of my priorities? During the lecture (conducted jointly by our dear TanCW and ChiaYW) I was reminded of the fact that I have barely 2 months left in the ExCo, and have naught but the Training Logbook as an achievement. Ouch. Looks like I have done nothing for close to 10 months.

Of course, I can leave things as they are. As it is, I can probably pass out with my position as Head of Publications Department intact. (hopefully) But a position without meaning, is meaningless. I must do something to prove that I fully deserved this post. I must show that I am a capable Head of Publications Department. I do not want to go to JC with regrets about all the undone work. The time to act is now.

It is time to shed off my bad habit of procrastination. It is time I stopped getting over-tempted by DotA, etc. (once or twice a day is okay I guess, since it's the holidays). It is time for action. Yes, having procrastinated much for the past year, I see now that there are many many things left undone. The list goes on. Science Project, HRP, Council stuff, NP stuff, etc. Things that I have not put my best in, due to procrastination and a lack of time in the end: CHAOS, FPS, HRP Lit Review, etc.

Procrastination is probably one of the worst habits I have. It delays my work, makes me go enjoy myself, and at the end of everyday, I lament the lack of work accomplished. I tell myself, every night, before I go to sleep "I will start doing more work tomorrow!". And as the saying so aptly put, "Tomorrow never comes".

I know that many share the same problem as me, but some to a lesser degree, some to a worse degree. Anyone out there with a good method to get rid of procrastination? Usually when I feel the pressure of the impending deadlines, I will start working and work my ass off late into the night. Yet, the work done is of lower quality than I would have liked. How do I get myself to start working earlier?

It is something I have yet to find out.

Lame Poem

2007-04-12T20:51:00.000+08:00

Thousands of enemies
Millions of foes
Stand between
My fortress and me

I look at them
Stare hard in their eyes
Watch their sneers
I charged

Arrows showered upon me
My shield protects me
Blows rained down on me
My sword safeguards me

Yet no matter my skill
The torrent of enemies never stop
The monsoon of attacks
Leave me many wounds

My shield falters
Momentarily
My legs sting
My heart stops

The onslaught never stops
Yet I prevail on
I entered the HDB void deck
And lowered my shield
My umbrella

Yes super lame.
People like Mark,
Please don't flame.

Can't believe I just said that. Oh well, anyway I was walking through the rain today, after third lang. So the rain pwned me, and I felt really annoyed. And irritated. And pissed. Somehow I just got this urge to write this poem thingy. So yea. Obviously compared to all the other poems written by people around me (the trinity, keeen, phang, random people), this poem is as good fucking bullshit. But oh well. Maybe I'll try for CAP next year!!!

Yea right. Me dreaming again.

Ok this post seems damn disjointed. -.-" Apologies.

Good luck for all your tests! (:

"I gotta work out. I keep saying it all the time. I keep saying I gotta start working out. It's been about two months since I've worked out. And I just don't have the time. Which uh..is odd. Because I have the time to go out to dinner. And uh..and watch tv. And get a bone density test. And uh.. try to figure out what my phone number spells in words." Ellen DeGeneres

P.S. Luckily the above didn't happen to me! (: I'm happy to say I have been exercising rather frequently, and now I can do 3 pull-ups! Hooray for me!

Chinese New Year!

2007-02-18T22:04:00.000+08:00

To everyone reading this blog: HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! Hope you all get to stuff yourselves with ba gua, pineapple tarts, love letters, etc., get lots of hongbaos, win big money on card games, and HAVE FUN!!

Chinese New Year, time to have fun and games! A time to take a break off our busy hectic schedules, and do nothing but visit relatives for three whole days! A time to get money just by walking around and saying four words: "Xin Nian Kuai Le!" A time to catch up on old relatives and talk with them. Yay!

Of course, the above is not totally true, even though I'm sure all of us wish it to be. In fact, Chinese New Year actually represents a rather significant increase in homework for all us students out there. For me, I don't actually get to spend my hongbao money, as they all go into my savings bank account, adding to a nice-looking but useless (for now) amount of money.

However, all that aside, I did have a rather fun first day of the Chinese New Year! Watched some lame movies, played more of the DS (have I said how FUN it is?), played some Yu-Gi-Oh! (O.o), collected like 10+ hongbaos and ate lots of new year goodies! Haha, even my new hairstyle got complimented ^^! And I also like my new year clothing (kudos to John here, hee)! All in all, the day was fun, and I hope all of your days were fun too!

OK, this post is really retarded and really lame. Yay! Three cheers for (not sweet revenge) Chinese New Year!

Class 4M

2007-02-15T23:24:00.000+08:00

Class 4M, a bunch of misfits, made up of SMRP, BSP and NSP (no special programme) people. Class 4M, lowest in class MSG out of the 3 iSpark classes of the same level. Class 4M, condemned to the toilet block, destined never to study in the glorious halls of the national monument. Class 4M, written off the book by many, considered the failure class.

Yet, I believe our class still has hope. Yes, the wonderful thing called hope. The thing left at the bottom of Pandora's box, the light at the end of the tunnel, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We, 4M, as a class, still has hope to do well in academics, and bond together as a class. I definetely do not wish to end 2 years of being in a class together without any fond memories of my class, or any sense of a class spirit. Yes, last year, I would say that all these are impossible.

But times have changed. Already, we can see improvement in various aspects of the class. The design for the class painting has been pencilled out, some people have took the initiative to buy an air freshener for our class, and there are plans to buy sweets for the whole class. These were all unheard of, and unthought of last year, but this year, we see people actively taking charge of some initiatives.

In fact, sometimes, I can see people (other than Charlton) actually taking responsiblity for the cleanliness of the class, and actively doing their duty to mantain the cleanliness of our learning environment. I also see more people talking together, and the environment during lessons somehow feels better. I no longer feel dead individuals connected just by their physical bodies, but perhaps, certain sparks of a whole class together.

While it may not be realistic to hope for a class MSG of below 1.5, let us set an aim for the whole class. We should aim for at least a MSG of 2 or below, so that technically, everyone would be able to choose their preferred subjects in the College. After all, none of us want to be studying some stupid subject that we don't even like for 2 years. (Ok this sounds like IHC -.-)

Also, I feel that we should have some EoTAs to actually promote the class spirit and ensure bonding among the various individuals in the class. It can range from something simple like bowling, KBox, LAN, to big events like Chalets and BBQs (rather unlikely, but whatever). This responsibility is traditionally given to the Welfare Secretary, who has been doing nothing but taking attendance during PE, but I hope that more active members of the CMC (cough money-collector cough) can take up the initiative and perhaps organise something? The March holidays are coming up and this may provide a small oppurtunity for us to have fun as a class before more madness piles up.

Yet, as always, there are always people who are just not interested, or who are purely anti-social. This is a major problem, and I think all of us (members of the class, that is) should try to persuade these people to join us in these activities and have fun!

Yes okay, by now everyone reading this would have been sniggering and thought "Omg I can't believe Kanzy actually believes this will work out!", but I actually do! We have one last chance, one last year together as a class, and I hope we can make it a memorable one. After all, did 2M start bonding not only in our second year together, and did we not become the best class in the whole level, as well as a super-bonded class?

Let's work hard, and strive to make this dream possible, amongst the madness that we are experiencing.

On a side note, ZOMGWTFBBQHAXWAFFLESAUCE!!! So much homework for CNY holidays!!!

"If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair." Samuel Johnson

You Are a Visionary Soul

You are a curious person, always in a state of awareness.
Connected to all things spiritual, you are very connected to your soul.
You are wise and bright: able to reason and be reasonable.
Occasionally, you get quite depressed and have dark feelings.

You have great vision and can be very insightful.
In fact, you are often profound in a way that surprises yourself.
Visionary souls like you can be the best type of friend.
You are intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, and a good healer.

Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Train! Train! Train!

2007-01-29T22:20:00.000+08:00

Ok. So over the past few days I have found that I am severely lacking in physical fitness. One would think that having a BMI of around 15 would be a major advantage when doing pull-ups. Apparently not. Despite being like 10kg underweight, I still failed pull-ups magnificently during PE on Friday. In the end, I think it was my technique that failed, because after doing 75 push-ups, I still managed to do 1 pull-up by using some weird technique that involes moving the hips.

Oh well, at least I didn't take the failure badly. Thanks to my resilient self, I told myself that I will train hard over the next few months and achieve good results for NAPFA. So I developed a daily training regime which I intend to follow strictly to (despite procrastinating about it since Secondary 2 ><"). So here it goes:

During recess:
1. Do a few pull-ups
2. Do 20 push-ups
3. Do a few more pull-ups

Before showering at home:
1. 15 wide push-ups
2. 20 sit-ups
3. 15 narrow push-ups
4. 20 crunches
5. 15 wide push-ups
6. 20 sit-ups
7. Do some weights with my dumbbell
8. Do 30 handgrips per hand

So the only thing left is running. I intend to go MacRitchie to run every Sunday at around 9am or earlier (you know, the 4km route that we run for cross-country). Anyway, I hope Alvin can come and run with me! If not, then perhaps I'll get the people who live nearby i.e. Keeen, YQ, Jerome, Jeremy, Cedric, etc. Hehe.. running alone is quite sian.. I hope someone will come!

Ya, so this is what I have planned, despite some people (ie ZK) constantly assuring me that push-ups don't really help pull-ups, but whatever. At least it improves the overall fitness and condition of the body. Haha. Yes this is a totally retarded and non-enlightening post, as people have complained about how retarded the previous one was too. Oh well, guess I can't expect much. After all, I don't have talent in writing unlike some shen english people like LC or Keeen. Or some not-so-shen but still provide good entries Legod. -.-"

"Exercise alone provides psychological and physical benefits. However, if you also adopt a strategy that engages your mind while you exercise, you can get a whole host of psychological benefits fairly quickly" James Rippe

You Are Sunset

Even though you still may be young, you already feel like you've accomplished a lot in life.
And you feel free to pave your own path now, and you're not even sure where it will take you.
Maybe you'll pursue higher education in a subject you enjoy - or travel the world for a few years.
Either way, you approach life with a relaxed, open attitude. And that will take you far!

What Time Of Day Are You?

Crescendo!

2007-01-17T22:38:00.000+08:00

Crescendo: The gradual increase of volume. Usually used in instrumental music, a well-performed crescendo can have a powerful effect. Imagine transforming from the sound of ants tiptoeing to the sounds of a piledriver. That can really keep the audience at the edge of their seats and stir a reaction out of them. That was what happened.

There was a music performing group that was very famous and popular, and they were called the Highly Sophisticated Chords. They decided to hold a concert named Crescendo, in the Honourable Choir Institution, and they named the concert thus to represent the growing appreciation for the group worldwide.

From a month leading up to the concert, the group worked hard. They had to steele themselves away from temptations like chalets, video games, movies, etc. and poured immense effort into the making of the concert. They sent out invitations to many other musical institutions worldwide, and it redefined invitation. The invitation was simply amazing.

The group worked harder and harder as the concert neared, and they even stayed up to 11pm to rehearse and finalise the details of their concert. Their work in the wee hours of the morning led to them dozing off at inopportune moments (ie. when their mentor Tony Christopher Washington was explaining how their expenditure graph was a SIN, COS they really spent too much), which led to many displeasured individuals. The group felt the pressure to be role-models, and worked doubly hard to pull off their concert to justify the amount of time spent on it.

Finally, the sacred day arrived. 17th January 2007, the day of reckoning for the Highly Sophisticated Chords arrived. They panicked on the day, as even though they had stayed in the institution up to 11pm the previous day, there were still things undone. They squeezed in practices whenever there was time, and one particular member, KANu Zach Yeats, managed to sleep through all the lectures on that day. Some of them (Kanu Zach Yeats included) had to quickly learn some dance moves, and impress the audience so much, that they will Remember the Name (of the group).

As the time for the concert neared, the Highly Sophisticated Chords geared up for the performance, and was dressed impressively in formal attire. Each and everyone of them looked like they were dressed for a wedding. At the reception, each attending musical group was given an iPod GiGa in appreciation for their attendance, and an innovative and unique programme booklet. In this fashion, the concert started.

First on the programme list was performances by other smaller musical groups. They were affliliated to the Highly Sophisticated Chords, and thus were allowed to perform, but were largely unimportant, unsophisticated and underperformed. Next, the Highly Sophisticated Chords finally started their first performance, aided slightly by select members of the affliliated groups. The performance was both a lights and sound show, evoking great emotions from the audience by stimulating both their audio and visual senses through Explosive effects.

Next was largely boring, but rather important procedures. However, the Highly Sophisticated Chords made up for the boringness by a convincing pledge (to give better concerts), and their next peformance. It was a mix of Wushu, a band and a dancing group. Despite having rehearsed only on the day itself, the performance was of such ingenuity and excellence that it ellicited much applause and many cheers from the audience. Some dance moves were so impressive (performed in part by Kanu Zach Yeats), that the audience almost stood up and cheered.

Then came an emotional performance, with emotional music and nostalgic photographs, with the Highly Sophisticated Chords going around, asking the audience:"Do I Make You Proud?" The whole of the group sang together, showing the audience what it meant to be united and One. All in all, the audience were all duly impressed by the amazing performances.

After the official ending of Crescendo, the audience was treated to some light refreshments, and a free tour of the Honourable Choir Institution. Kanu Zach Yeats volunteered to lead the representatives (a total of 9) from the Synchronized Choir of the Girls' Sonics (another prestigious music performing group), and brought them around the place, showcasing the significant landmarks and buildings. Kanu Zach Yeats knew 2 of the representatives (one of them was Namoi Press), as they had met before during the 12th Strategic Learning Conference.

So, they all went for an enjoyable tour around the Institution, and had fun catching up with each other, while Kanu Zach Yeats was also trying to talk to the other representatives. They ended the tour by a cafe near the pool, where they sat down and talked for a while. In the end, they said their respective goodbyes, and left.

All in all, Crescendo was a successful concert! It was definetely a crescendo, with many of the audience reaching a high at the end. It certainly improved the image and reputation of the Highly Sophisticated Chords and Honourable Choir Institution among the other musical groups.

Haircut x Shopping x New Look

2006-11-29T20:06:00.000+08:00

Hehex.. Went shopping with John yesterday. That was the first time I went serious shopping with a friend =O. Yeah, sad, I know. Anyway, I got a haircut at this saloon at Far East Plaza (incidentally my first time in a saloon), and when the person was washing my hair it was damn shuang. Its something close to a head massage.. but yeah, working in a saloon is something I won't really consider, considering you have to muck around in other people's hair. Anyway, the guy cut my hair and taught me how to style it. Right now I'm still learning, but it comes with experience.. I guess sooner or later I'll get it =D

Anyway, thanks to budget constrains, I could only afford the $22 haircut, and not the "super pwnage awsome mega" $30 haircut. Whatever. I'm not willing to spend so much just on a haircut! D=

Then I got 3 tops at $45, and they looked rather nice too! I guess they were good buys.. Hehe. But couldn't find a nice berm though. Anyone has any good suggestions tell me hor!

Anyway, the above brings me to the main point of my post. Yea, those rambling was just preamble to my main point. My point is, is it really that important to look good? Yea, looking good is always good (pardon the pun), but is it really necessary to go to such pains (monetary) and use up so much time just for appearances? Apparently, I thought so, which resulted in me spending around $60 on that alone.

Yea sure, looks can get you girls. But can it really sustain a relationship? A relationship based on looks alone is a relationship with a lifespan as long as that of a fruitfly. If you say that, yea, we get along well too, and I also have a good character (ie charm, etc.). Then wouldn't your charm, personality, etc. alone be able to get you a girl? A girl who rejects you outright because you look bad is a girl not worth having anyway.

(Edit: The above was typed out in November. The below was typed out today)

Yea, and even with the recent Arena debate about looks, I am still not convinced that looks actually helps you to succeed more than effort does. Really, I can't even find one of our ministers that look good. Steve Jobs doesn't look good. Neither does Bill Gates. I don't think Larry Page and Sergey Brin look good. No, really, it's more of talent and effort.

So anyway, after that, I somewhat talked with Mogie about it a bit. I quote him "Your hair is not that important. It only affects the first 10 minutes (of you getting to know each other)", to which I somewhat agree. After all, looks mainly only affect the first impression, unless you are really so ugly that it is an eyesore to even look at you (which Mark isn't even, much less most of us).

Updates: Nope. The haircut didn't do much for me. I guess my hair is somewhat easier to style now, but since I didn't shorten that time I have to cut it shorter now, which will probably affect the "shape" of my hair. Argh, whatever. I'll just stick to $8 saloons next time unless I get a windfall or something. So, I guess I just have to see how I look when I wear my new clothes during CNY.

"Fashion is the science of appearances, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be" Michel de Montaigne

You Have Low Self Esteem 32% of the Time

Generally, you feel pretty darn great about who you are, even when you mess up or fail.
Occasionally, a huge setback will make you question yourself, but you pick yourself up quickly.

How is Your Self Esteem?

Woes of Mugging

2006-10-08T20:21:00.000+08:00

Whee learning from LC. Storytelling FTW.

Once, there was a boy who was exempted from National Service. Naturally, he was delighted, and he spent those 2 years doing nothing but playing computer games. However, due to certain special circumstances, he had to join the army. So, together with a friend, he went to the "Bishan Library" Army Camp, to train himself.

It was shit. He never realised that training in the army could be so bad. He used to be laughing at people who had to go for NS, and now he regretted it. He realised that NS was hell. Despite taking a year off to eat, and another year off to read, he almost went insane. He and his friend were wishing plauges onto the others in the camp, cheering on kids wearing a spiderman t-shirt, leaning on fences to see if they would fall. It was one hell of an experience. He learnt shitloads about transpiration in plants and antrioventricular valves in hearts, which is shit useful in life. In total, they spent about 10 years in the army camp, going home feeling like shit.

Did he want to go there again? No, he didn't. What? There's a test tomorrow, and he's not fully prepared yet? Damn test. So in the end he went home, hoping to train for another 1-2 hours.

Okay, that was boring like hell and probably only Keeen understood it, but wtf. Mugging seriously pwns, especially if it's 8 hours straight. =O Now I understand why people were going crazy last week. To all who I niaoed about having to take exams, I sincerely apologise about that. Sorry. The guy is now going off to train for another hour.

"It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated" Alec Bourne

You Are Somewhat Honest

You do tend to tell the truth a lot
But you also stretch the truth on occasion
You figure a little lie isn't a big deal
As long as it doesn't hurt anyone too much!

How Honest Are You?

Casual Gaming

2006-10-02T22:36:00.000+08:00

Ok. This is a concept many hardcore gamers find hard to accept, that there are people out there who play only for fun! Gasp... I can see many people trying to say that if you just play for fun then might as well not play. Well, that's not true. The fundamental reason why there are even games in this world, is that people want fun. If you just want to win, perhaps joining CAL or whatever would be better for you.

Fact is, games give people an oppurtunity to destress after a hetic day of work and stress. We can laugh about the mistakes that each of us make, rofl at the opponent, try out funky builds, play -wtf, whatever. These all help contribute to some of the fun level in games. Seriously, it is not necessary to go around saying "OMG SnY on Abbadon! What is the world coming to?" or saying "What is the point in using Razor? It has the same role as Viper.", or even "-wtf is random win". Why the hell do you care about what other people get for their heroes? Why can't people try new builds? Must we all adhere to the standard CAL builds? Why can't we choose heroes just because we like them, and not because it is the best for its role? Why do we even care about who wins, as long as everyone gets fun out of it?

Of course, there are some games when the nature is more competitive, like when we are playing against another consortium or school, then I say go ahead with your CAL hero lineups and Marktionary item builds. However, it is not necessary for every game that we play to be this competitive in nature. If you want every game you play to be competitive, then like I said, just go join a league or clan or something.

Also, pros should be more helpful towards the not-so-pros. Of course, people like Mogie, ZK and Junnies have always been great help in DotA, explaining about different builds, etc. etc. ,but some other "pros" start harping on the ignorance of us not-so-pros, and go around repeating questions that were asked 3 weeks ago. If you do not want to help, fine, but do you have to go around and start annoying people by repeating questions asked by us? Was that piece of information not told to you by someone else? Did you find out all these bits and pieces all by yourself? I very much doubt so, and even with all this knowledge, I hardly (if ever) see you perform up to par with the 3 mentioned above. Is knowledge everything? Apparently not so in DotA.

Generally, I feel that the DotA community in 2M05 is rather good, just that some individuals are making comments that are really pissing people off. Perhaps next time you make a comment, ask yourself if it is worth making at all.

Good Luck with your exams. Have Fun with DotA.

"Experience teaches only the teachable" Aldous Huxley

You Are 52% Happy

You're definitely a happy person, even though you have your down moments.
You tend to get the most out of life, though there's always some more happiness to be squeezed.

How Happy Are You?

Pictionary

2006-09-27T22:16:00.000+08:00

Isn't it wonderful? Two crappy posts and my taggy gets spammed by a loser. Damn. Oh well, more crap's on the way I guess, and you all will be treated to a daily serving of crap. That is until my blogging skills actually see a great improvement. Not the kind of zomg t3h ant can swim kind of great, but the Great Wall of China kind of great. So, that's gonna be quite hard, but I'm learning, hehex. (: I guess reading good blogs (look left for 2 of these) does help, and getting advice from good writers and good blog readers help too! Of course, all the support and comments (no matter how critical) from all my friends and blog readers (actually I think they are the same) help me to improve too! That's why this post is currently not as formal (I hope) as the previous two posts, and my style (I pray) is more obvious. I guess I was trying a bit too hard. >< Haiz, they should have a "How to Blog Well" Sabbatical. Hmm.. maybe Junnies and LC can approach a teacher (maybe Cheng?) and become trainers. That would be cool.

So, most of you would be wondering:"What has all these have to do with the topic?" Actually, nothing! Tricksy worhx. Hehex. So, yea, Pictionary is a cool and fun game right? Judging by the shouting and laughter going on I could see that most of you guys enjoyed it. Ha, told you it was fun liao. =D Pictionary is not only a platform for people to show off their wonderful artistic talents, it also trains creativity (new ways of representing words), and teamwork (your teammates have to understand what you're doing). In fact, I sometimes feel that these kind of more "traditional" games may actually bond people more than computer games.

Currently, most of us (that includes you reading the blog) play DotA, which is.. okay I think I don't need to explain. Anyway, it is true that DotA requires teamwork, understanding, blah blah, but more often than not, we often end up quarelling not only with the opposite team, but also amongst our teammates. People argue over builds, which lanes they should go, when they should have jumped, people feeding, the list just goes on. This may actually deprove (don't think there's such a word, but wth) relationships with our friends. For example, I don't play DotA well, and in school some of the pros (like Junnies), and some of the not-so-pros (like Mark), take the oppurtunity to niao me and I feel hurt. T_T

However, when I went for the Term 3 EoTA (sadly only alvin, mogie, mingyang and i went), I had a lot of fun, despite playing only "children" games like Aeroplane Chess (fei ji qi) and Monopoly. I can't really describe it, but it's just very fun, laughing along with your friends while enjoying these seemingly simple yet ultra fun games. It's just like how a few of us had so much fun playing Pokemon Monopoly during our June Class Chalet last year. Playing these games do not really create arguments (unless you want to start arguing about who gets which counter), as it mostly is about luck, not much skill, so everyone's equal! In fact, research has shown that 27% of youths in England spend as much time playing board games as computer games! (Research has also proven that 80% of all statistics are made up on the spot =P)

Thus, I feel that perhaps we should spend less time playing DotA, and after the exams, make full use of the facilities provided in the Student's Lounge, and go there and play games like Monopoly, Pictionary, Chess (for some), Aeroplane Chess, Risk, etc. Perhaps these would actually bond us better than DotA.

Looking forward to playing Pictionary with all of you after school tomorrow! (Maybe just 30mins-1hr?)

"Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway." Elbert Hubbard

You Will Die at Age 73

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live...
And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

Exemptions (:

2006-09-26T19:59:00.000+08:00

As the hot topic in school nowadays, I (as someone who's hot) will of course have to touch on it. For 3M2006, there are 6 (or 5) subjects which are possible to get exemptions for. These are English Language, Higher Chinese, Integrated Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology (for some). In this post, I shall analyse and evaluate the exemptions for these subjects. A note though, as I got exemption for Maths, Chem and Physics, I will of course be slightly bious in my post.

Firstly, I will have to split the subjects into two main categories: muggable and non-muggable. I think the categories speak for themselves, and the muggable subjects are Maths, Chem, Physics and Biology, while the non-muggale subjects are English and Chinese. Some may feel that Maths may not exactly be very muggable, but first and foremost you must know the formulas, identities, definitions, simple graphs, etc. and these are definitely muggable. The sciences are definitely muggable, most questions requiring pure regurgitation (like a toilet bowl) of notes, with some application questions that require thinking (guess some people can't do that). The languages, unless you want to read the dictionary, 'nuff said.

English
Getting the exemption for English is automatic bragging rights. 2 out of 28? Definitely a rarity. This subject is one of the hardest to get exempted for, since the tests themselves are rather difficult, non-muggable, and the teacher has a policy of not exempting many. The examination for English is split into two days, so that means you get to stay home for two more days! Bad thing: the others don't have to mug for this as well. No extra perks and previleges too.

Chinese
Getting exempted for non-BSP Chinese is very rare too: 1 out of 20. BSP Chinese is 2 out of 8 (not surprising, considering you have LC and Jin Yu). Getting exempted means you do not have to sit for the super rigorous 2hr exam paper which is hell. Seriously, 2 open-ended compres, 2 mcq compres, 1 summary and 1 cloze in 2hrs compared to 1 open-ended compre and 1 summary in 1hr 45mins for English. Chinese ftw. It's also the longest examination: 2hr + 2hr = Wtf. Bad thing is the others don't have to mug for this as well. Same as English, no extra perks, except your examinations end earlier.

Maths
Exemption for maths is not really that good. It's a 2hr 30mins paper which should not be too difficult as long as you know the concepts, and can apply them. However, you probably will get the other maths periods off ("self-studying" in the library, which means Calvin and Hobbes for me), so that is quite nice. You also do not need to sit for the paper that Mr Tan set, which may be quite difficult, if it is the standard of the first assignment (unlikely, but oh well).

Chemistry
Exemption for chemistry is rather nice, as Ms Letchmi has promised the paper to be a killer. Ok, so maybe if you get a bullet proof vest and kevlar helmet you may survive, but I'd rather not take the chances. The topics tested have the potential to turn into really difficult questions, and Ming Yang springing up new topcis (Lewis' Acid? Wtf?) which he says will be tested, does not help at all. No perks, but you don't need to mug for one of the more mugging intensive subjects.

Physics
The mugging for this subject is not too intensive (compared to Chemistry), but you still need to know the definitions, formulas, etc. With some basic mathematical sense, you should ace the calculations questions. Those who find this a problem can just practice more, as practice does make perfect (okay maybe close to perfect), you know? Probably the best perks though. 2 periods of lounging in Inner Space, lying on the sofa, hugging the porcupine with the nice fur, lying on the cushions, listening to music, while Mr Tan can be heard trying to explain things to the class. Managed to finish English compre and catch some sleep.. ahhhh.. Bliss.

Biology
The MOST mugging intensive subject, which is why I really want to get exempted for this. 14 topics, which should take about 30mins to study each. Add some practice, and you get about 10hours of pure mugging. Haiz. The mugging for english+chinese+(any other subject) isn't even this much. Damn it. That's 10hrs of FFVII or OoT gone. So for those (only one in 3M) who got exempted, you just got another 10hrs of DotA. However, the exam is probably pure regurgitation, so if you mugged well, should not be a problem.

So that's all for the individual subjects. I shall now touch a bit on subject combinations. Double Language: Your exams end 3 days earlier, which is brilliant. However, you get 1 block of super intensive exams in the middle, namely maths and the 3 sciences. Triple Science: No one got this, though a few of us got pretty close. It's quite cool, as you don't really need to mug for the other subjects, and you get this block of rest in the middle. Full exemption: 1 word. Bitchass! Grrr. Those who get this have no life to speak of, or are part of The Trinity (a realm of people FAR and WAY above us humans).

Okay, so maybe this post may have been rather depressing for some, but well, need to balance the previous informal post by being a total bitch. Muhahahaaaaaaa-- Argh argh cough cough *being strangled by some people*

"Everyone has a right to a university degree in America, even if it's in Hamburger Technology." Clive James.

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you.
People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do.

Your best soda match: Root Beer

Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

Fillal Piety

2006-09-25T20:31:00.000+08:00

Okay, I shall start with talking about fillal piety, which I suppose is a subject close to our hearts. Let's see how I do. These days, it is getting more and more expensive to get a good education for your child. The school fees themselves may be cheap (in a government school), amounting to less than $50 a month, but throw in the tuition fees, piano lessons, overseas exchange programmes, getting a good education does not seem so cheap anymore.

The fact is, parents want their children to succeed in life, and to prepare their children for life, they send them to school for education. However, the education provided in school is apparently not enough, and here comes the tuition, piano, ballet, dance, etc. All these for various reasons: appreciate the arts, gain an extra skill, spend time properly, etc. These in themselves cause somewhat of a burden to many parents, and yet they continue to commit huge amounts of money to their children, hoping that they will lead a better life.

Yet, many parents have forgotten to think about their own retirement, assuming that their children will definetely take care of them when they have established their own career. Well, many parents thought wrong. We can see lots of articles in the news about how children who have struck it rich abandoned their children, ending up in squabbles, pushing of responsiblities from one child to another, and finally the parent(s) sueing the children. Some may even just get sent to the Old Folks' Home and suffer in silence.

Sitting in Conference Room 2, faced with the huge amounts of money needed to finance my trips to Melbourne and Netherlands, I thought about all this. Yes, no doubt, my parents, just like Keeen's parents, just like anybody's parents, will pay these amounts of money just to further their children's education, let them learn more, let them experience more. I am grateful to my parents for this moral and financial support, and will treasure my oppurtunities. However, in 30 years' time, will I still remember that my parents paid $4000 to let me go overseas? Will I remember all the hard work they put in, just to maybe see us get into University? Will I remember all the love, tender care, unwavering support that they have given me all these years?

I hope I will. And so should you.

"A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary." Dorothy C. Fisher

You Belong in Spring

Optimistic, lively, and almost always happy with the world...
You can truly appreciate the blooming nature of spring.
Whether you're planting flowers or dyeing Easter eggs, spring is definitely your season!

What Season Are You?

Introductory Post

2006-09-24T23:08:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone! Welcome to the new and (hopefully) improved blog of Kanzy! Basically, this post will cover what I expect from this blog, and what you (as a reader) can expect too. First, I shall touch on the title: Nayru's Wisdom. Nayru is the Goddess of Wisdom in the Legend of Zelda games, so I am hoping that through this blog maybe we will get one step closer to becoming wiser. Just one teeny weeny little step. Through some wise (or not so wise) posts from me, some open discussion in the tagboard, blah di blah di. Lol.

Ok, I hope that through this blog I will be able to convey some of my thoughts and reflections to my friends, or just about anyone, really. I have somewhat realised that reflections are important, if we are to learn from each of our experiences, then we must reflect. To reflect: what you have done right, what went wrong, what to do in the future, learning points, etc. Yes, its a boring and tiresome chore, but maybe in something like a blog it will be more interesting, for both you and I. I'll try to find a nice and simple blogskin because I don't really like this blogskin that much. Don't worry, it won't be some lameshit with weird cursors and vague links. Oh yes, I'm hoping for at least 5 people to read and tag my blog regularly (once every two days).

So, as a reader, what can you gain from my blog? Well, I won't promise you enlightenment. You can gain an alternate viewpoint (though that's not saying much, considering how many of these there are nowadays), learn something (hopefully), get yourself thinking, and perhaps, be entertained. Somewhere a mix between LC's serious posts, Junnies' egoistic ones, and more interesting (once again, hopefully), than the other blogs out there. I shall not bore you with some "my blog is unique shit", so yea, this will have to do I guess.

Okay, so looking back, most (if not all) of this post was seriously shit and probably boring like hell. >< Let's hope things will improve as I continue to blog. So, please comment, and continue to check back.

"Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable." Brenda Ueland