One Life.

Just a heads up

2011-12-03T22:50:00.001+08:00

Created by: HackCollege

It's been quite some time since I've put anything here, but, life is different from how it used to be. Haven't been too diligent putting stuff here or posting my thoughts :D
Guess this'll have to do for the meantime to stem this site from inactivity.

On a brighter note, it's December (holiday month of the year)!

By Golly, Time Flies

2011-10-02T19:08:00.003+08:00

It's already October and it'll be my last book in for BMT and hopefully one the very last time I'll ever be going back to Tekong (in a while)!

Haven't really had the time these few weeks/months to do a full length post, but come one week time, there should be!

Well, till the 8th of October, see you at the Marina Bay Floating Platform!\

POP loh! :D

TEKONG!

2011-08-01T00:38:00.003+08:00

I haven't blogged much of the late, but I also haven't got the time now.

So.... before I lose my civilian-ship for the foreseeable future, a little goodbye note.

SEE YOU IN THREE WEEKS TIME! :D (Hopefully it may be earlier)

Oh, touché

2011-07-10T23:27:00.003+08:00

I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us
How we met and the sparks flew instantly.
People would say "They're the lucky ones."
I used to know my place was the spot next to you,
now I'm searchin' the room for an empty seat
'cause lately I don't even know what page you're on.
Oh, a simple complication, miscommunications lead to fall out.
So many things that I wish you knew
So many walls up, I can't break through.

Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking.
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.
I don't what to say since the twist of fate when it all broke down.
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.

Next chapter.

How'd we end up this way?
See me nervously pulling at my clothes and tryin' to look busy.
And you're doing your best to avoid me.
I'm starting to think one day I'll tell the story of us, how I was losing my mind when I saw you here.
But you held your pride like you should've held me.
Oh, I'm scared to see the ending, why are we pretending this is nothing?
I tell you I miss you but I don't know how.
I've never heard silence quite this loud.

Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking.
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.
I don't what to say since the twist of fate when it all broke down.
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.

This is looking like a contest of who can act like they care less.
But I liked it better when you were on my side.
The battle's in your hands now, but I would lay my armor down if you say you'd rather love than fight.
So many things that you wish I knew but the story of us might be ending soon.

Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking.
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.
I don't what to say since the twist of fate when it all broke down.
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.

And we're not speaking.
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah.
I don't what to say since the twist of fate 'cause we're going down.
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.

The End.

:D

2011-06-24T00:39:00.000+08:00

And we've got time on our hands

2011-06-19T23:56:00.000+08:00

I Shall Conquer Thee.

In three days, there shall be a new driver on the road! (Wait for more news then.)

Aside from that, much has transpired between my previous post and this one (but that's rhetorical, lol). For starters, my home is metamorphosing, i.e. undergoing renovation, but I liken it to the former verb/term because it looks so different everyday I return home from work.

And yes! I dragged my lazy bum to work now. Stuff relating to the said matters, I shall reserve to another post, for I am pretty much drained right now - especially after a whole days worth of helping out with the renovation - dismantling, or destroying actually, since that would be a more appropriate term, considering that the cabinet that was infested with termites most likely would only be useful again in the next life, rearranging and reshuffling furniture along with cleaning out the EXTREMELY old stuff that everyone forgot about which was sitting on the shelves and serving as a foundation for a dust carpet. That would have to have been the fun or at least highlight of the whole overdue spring cleaning campaign.

All right, I'll put a pause here for now, and update this post at another time to my liking. ;)
My way of keeping the anticipation and suspense, savvy?

And I'm not sure if you got the memo

2011-05-31T00:42:00.001+08:00

Formally/officially graduated on 27 May
So army's is next!
Work starts tomorrow!
New driver on 22! Finger's crossed

Now time to coax my very messed up body clock to bed.

For the record

2011-05-17T00:23:00.000+08:00

"Aiyah, the weather is so hot," my five-year old brother will retort whenever my mum chides him for walking about the house in his birhtday suit. He does that after his bath every time for a good ten minutes before putting on his clothes. Even on days when he has to go to school and with only half an hour to spare from the time he wakes up to when the school bus arrives (and he has to complete a number of tasks) he will display this quirky behaviour. After his shower, he will sit at the table in the buff to eat his breakfast before changing into his school uniform.

As soon as he gets home from school, he will strip out of his uniform and devour his lunch before putting on any shred of cloths. Sometimes when he is too tired, he will just lie on the living room sofa and sleep in the buff.

Occasionally, after he steps out of the bathroom, he will perform a dance with only the towel he has used to dry himself slung across his shoulders. Some of the moves are rather creative and I find his acts quite amusing. That is until he start singing. What irritates me is that he substitutes the lyrics of songs he knows, or any tune he can conjure up, with my name. The more I show annoyance, the more does it. (To date, he still does it really frequently.)

I can't quite remember when he started having this queer habit. Thank goodness, he is eight years old (at that point in time) otherwise we could have had the police knocking on our door in response to neighbours' complaints of indecent exporsure. The other fortunate thing is that our house is in a secluded corner at the end of a cul-de-sac.

In a bid to get my brother to stop his behaviour, my dad threatend to film his antics and send them to his classmates. However he just laughs it off as empty threats. He knows my dad would never do such a thing. Even when my mum said that it will be shameful should neighbours happen to glance into our house and see him in the nude, he would simply give a nonchalant shrug.

Well, I feel that my parents should not be overly concerned. SOmehow, I know that he will grow out of such quirks. Despite his lack of inhibition at home, he is surprisingly shy in public places. He will always ask to go to the fitting room to try one his clothes and would never agree to remove his shirt or pants out in the open.

On hindsight... I don't he's changed much... Although, fear not, you will no longer find a streaker when you pop over for a visit. :)

A Simple Demonstration

2011-05-07T01:07:00.002+08:00

Here's a very simple example of how adding a single word to another word will alter the meaning of one word all together...

Well, in case you didn't understand what in the blazes I just typed and it seemed like incoherent gibberish to you - fear not - for it is really gibberish. (Word + another word = Different word/meaning!)

Wisdom: (noun)
As seen in the Cambridge dictionary
the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.

Wisdom tooth: (noun)
As seen also in the Cambridge dictionary
~~one of the four teeth at the back of the jaw that are the last to grow.~~ Pain.

And today, I dropped something on my ring finger. It was fifteen kilos.

The End.

A monument to all yOUR sins

2011-04-22T00:01:00.002+08:00

Sunburst

2011-04-03T00:37:00.001+08:00

There are many ways to start off this post, ranging from sayings of "I told you so" to a more colloquial hokkein (or is it teochew?) phrase of "geh kiang"..

Session by the pool yesterday went remarkably well. In fact, I think it was good that I reckon that that the weather itself was conspiring to play a prank on me. Me donning my swimming trunks seems to be a surefire way to draw rain clouds from far corners of Singapore to converge on where ever I'm heading to. It was for this reason that I had conveniently and on hindsight, regretfully - although it is not my first, slapped on minimal amount of sunblock.

The skies were threatening to mock me for spending the afternoon outdoors when Ryan and You De showed up like sun guardians. Fast forward to today, I woke up feeling the full brunt of the sun's wrath.

That's when I look at the mirror and I realised that I wasn't only feeling horrible - my whole body feels like it's been set on fire - I looked like an aspiring makeup student's plaything whose favourite accessory is the blusher. The only saving grace was the scarce protection the sunblock that I had applied. On the thin strip across my face that covers my nose and cheeks.

My forehead, which is one of the last places which I would have expected to get sun burnt... well, how can a sunburn make your skin swell? My first thought was that I look startlingly and disturbingly - to my dismay - like a luo han yu.

Remember the forehead next time.

Of course, as much in pain I am right now, 我必须忍! Can't fuss much over it especially how it has the potential to start a whole barrage of "I told you's" from my mum :D
But hey! I learnt my lesson from past experiences - well, at least parts of it.

Can't imagine what will happen if I didn't cover part of my face with protection at all.
At least that's not as painful as the thought of wondering how I'm going to fit into my jeans tomorrow XD.

Ow.

While you're enjoying yourself,

have you forgotten?

More than words

2011-03-23T22:49:00.000+08:00

Killjoy

2011-03-23T22:48:00.000+08:00

This is one day old, but since it's nearly plastered almost every where I see it.. Imma jump on the bandwagon too - just for the heck of it (;

Msg from NYP Exams Office: Congrats for having met all requirements for graduation. Your academic transcript and conferment letter will be sent to you soon.

I just noticed it - spot the grammar error there? >:D

Although this semester's results weren't really spectacular - but, I'm counting my blessings!

Running to stand still

2011-03-20T22:54:00.001+08:00

Night Cycling - check
Wild Wild Wet - check
Fun Company - check

Have lotsa fun - check!

Finally picked up a set of monopoly deal cards for myself too and... cleared my BTT and applied for my PDL in one sitting too!

Right on track.

One day you'll get sick of
saying that everything's alright
And by then I'm sure I'll be pretending
Just like I am tonight

in His time

2011-03-13T16:46:00.001+08:00

Picked this up whilst browsing through the vast online sea.. the amount of information available on the Internet is great, ain't it?

Hence, this is entirely, absolutely, not my work at all - in any way. Just posting it here to share.

When God When
by Joyce Meyer

We all want good things to happen in our lives, but too often we want it now...not later. When it doesn't happen that way, we are tempted to ask, "When, God, when?" Most of us need to grow in the area of trusting God instead of focusing on the “when” question. If you're missing joy and peace, you're not trusting God. If your mind feels worn out all the time, you're not trusting God. The tendency to want to know about everything that's going on can be detrimental to your Christian walk. Sometimes knowing everything can be uncomfortable and can even hurt you. I spent a large part of my life being impatient, frustrated and disappointed because there were things I didn't know. God had to teach me to leave things alone and quit feeling that I needed to know everything. I finally learned to trust the One who knows all things and accept that some questions may never be answered. We prove that we trust God when we refuse to worry.

God wants us to live by discernment—revelation knowledge, not head knowledge. It's difficult to exercise discernment if you're always trying to figure out everything. But when you're willing to say, "God, I can't figure this out, so I'm going to trust You to give me revelation that will set me free," then you can be comfortable in spite of not knowing. Trusting God often requires not knowing how God is going to accomplish what needs to be done and not knowing when He will do it. We often say God is never late, but generally He isn't early either. Why? Because He uses times of waiting to stretch our faith in Him and to bring about change and growth in our lives.

WAIT WITH PATIENCE

We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting because change is a process. Many people want change, but they don't want to go through the waiting process. But the truth is, waiting is a given—we are going to wait. The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way? If we wait the wrong way, we'll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God's way, we can become patient and enjoy the wait. It takes practice, but as we let God help us in each situation, we develop patience, which is one of the most important Christian virtues. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22). It’s developed only under trial, so we must not run from difficult situations. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing (James 1:4). As we develop patience, the Bible says we finally feel completely satisfied—lacking nothing. Even our relationship with God involves progressive changes. My relationship with God is so much different now than it was in the early days of my Christian experience. It is not nearly as emotionally exciting...and yet it is better. Every change I've gone through has made me more mature, solid and well-grounded. We learn to trust God by going through many experiences that require trust. By seeing God's faithfulness over and over, we let go of trusting ourselves, and gradually we place our trust in Him. Looking at it like this, it is easy to see how timing plays an important part in learning to trust God. If He did everything we asked for immediately, we would never grow and develop. Timing and trust work side by side.

ACCEPT GOD’S TIMING

God gives us hopes and dreams for certain things to happen in our lives, but He doesn't always allow us to see the exact timing of His plan. Although frustrating, not knowing the exact timing is often what keeps us in the program. There are times when we might give up if we knew how long it was going to take, but when we accept God's timing, we can learn to live in hope and enjoy our lives while God is working on our problems. We know that God's plan for our lives is good, and when we entrust ourselves to Him, we can experience total peace and happiness. The book of Genesis tells the story of Joseph, who waited many years for the fulfillment of the dream God had given him. He was falsely accused and imprisoned before the time came for him to do what God had shown him he was to do. Exodus 13:17,18 tells us that God led the Israelites the longer, harder way on their journey to the Promised Land because He knew they were not yet ready to go in. There had to be time for their training, and they had to go through some very trying situations. They wasted a lot of time wondering about God's timing, but God never failed to take care of them and show them what He wanted them to do. The same is true in our lives. It was many years after I received my call from God in February of 1976 before I finally began to see major fulfillment of what God had called me to do. God's training period simply requires us to do what He tells us to do when He tells us to do it...without questioning or trying to figure everything out.

LEARN TO RELY ON GOD

Proverbs 16:9 says, A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. Proverbs 20:24 says, Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? When God directs our paths, He sometimes leads us in ways that don't make sense to us so we're not always going to understand everything. If we try to reason out everything, we will experience struggle, confusion and misery—but there is a better way. Proverbs 3:5,6 says, Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. This sounds so simple, yet too many people make the mistake of trying to figure everything out themselves. Most of us have spent our lives trying to take care of ourselves, but when we accept Christ as our Savior, we must learn to trust our lives to His care. When we do, we can say with the psalmist, ...I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hands...(Psalm 31:14,15). First Peter 5:5 tells us that ...God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble. Anyone who thinks they're a self-made man or woman has a rude awakening coming because Jesus said, ...apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing (John 15:5). Humility is a covering that draws the help of God into our lives to protect us. When we humble ourselves by saying, "God, I don't know what to do, but I'm trusting You," God gets in gear to help us. God won't allow us to succeed at anything unless we're leaning and relying on Him. But when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in due time, He will exalt us (see 1 Peter 5:6). "Due time" is God's time, when God knows we're ready, not when we think we're ready. The sooner we understand and accept that, the sooner God can work His plan in our lives.

FROM SEEDTIME TO HARVEST

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us: To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven. This lets us know that we all don't live in the same season at the same time. You should never be jealous of someone who is enjoying harvest while you're still in the planting season. Remember, they had to go through a season of planting just as you are. Seeing the results they are enjoying should be an encouragement to you. Understand and trust that God is doing the very best for you in your present season. Seedtime represents learning the will of God. Each time I choose God's will instead of my own, I'm planting a good seed that will eventually bring a harvest in my life. If you want to be victorious, you cannot afford to get pulled into the world's system, doing what you feel like doing. James 1:21 tells us what we should do: ...get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.

Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions. When the Word gets rooted in there and begins to change your mind, it begins to heal your emotions and turn your will away from self-will and onto doing the will of God. Living out of one's own soul is equivalent to staying in the wilderness. When my flesh is finally crucified and I get out of my soul and into doing the will of God, that's when I enter the promised land. The promised land is knowing who you are in Christ, knowing how to fellowship with Him, enjoying His presence, and having peace, contentment and joy. Between seedtime and harvest comes a time of waiting. After a seed is planted, the heat, moisture and pressure of the ground finally cause the outer hull to crack open. Then roots shoot down, digging their way through the ground. It takes time for this to happen, and it takes place underground. Above the ground, you can't tell anything is happening. That's the way our lives are. After we plant seeds of obedience, we feel like nothing is happening, but all kinds of things are happening inside where we can't see. And like the seed that finally bursts through the ground with a beautiful green shoot, our seeds of obedience finally break forth into a beautiful manifestation of God in our lives.

When harvesttime comes, the desires of your heart begin to manifest—bondages fall off of you and you see your dreams come to pass. You see your kids changing and your family getting saved. Prosperity, favor, promotion, honor, and all kinds of good things come out in the open where they can be seen. In harvesttime, more than ever before, you hear from God, you enjoy His presence, and you're led by the Spirit. Blessings begin to chase you down the street, and joy and calm delight become your normal mood. Are you tired of waiting for harvesttime in your life? Are you frustrated, crying out, "When, God, when?" Then you need to understand that God's timing is often a mystery. He doesn't do things on our timetable. Yet His Word promises that He will not be late, not one single day. But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! (Habakkuk 2:3 TLB). God causes things to happen at exactly the right time! Your job is not to figure out when, but to make up your mind that you won't give up until you cross the finish line and are living in the radical, outrageous blessings of God! The more you trust Jesus and keep your eyes focused on Him, the more life you'll have. Trusting God brings life. Believing brings rest. So stop trying to figure everything out, and let God be God in your life.

Taken entirely from: Joyce Meyer Ministries

Laus Deo

2011-03-13T16:25:00.000+08:00

Done!

Been a while since I've last finished a novel. Quite a page turner, this book makes for a really interesting read. Especially interesting for believers with the Christian references peppered throughout the book. One has to admit, Dan Brown is a good storyteller and helps open up new perspectives in the way we think about things :)

Minus the controversial stuff, The Lost Symbol makes for a good read.
My take? If you're a believer, go pick it up and read it!

Laus Deo

For the record

2011-03-11T00:55:00.004+08:00

Been bumming around for a bit... Can't say it doesn't feel really good to be free of deadlines after deadlines after so long (;

But like the proverbial saying goes.. too much of anything is bad. Not to mention incessant nagging.. :P

List of yet-to-be-accomplished stuff:

Be a bum
Be a lazy bum
Be an absolutely lazy bum
Bum till you can bum no more
( ) ( ) ... you get the idea.

And then of course there are these other list of things to do:
In no order of merit - just putting finger to keyboard when it pops into my head.

Get that driving license! - before I arrive on a island resort where everyone sports the same hairstyle, same attire, same phones, same routine... although we do get paid to stay in the chalet :D
Fine tuning guitar skills... Wait, you mean I know how to play the guitar?! Yes! Hidden talent!.. but that's at least a good few more months down the line.
Tidy drawer/table up. Anyone has a good suggestion of what to do with old lecture notes? Besides stashing them in the trash bin, because I still want them.
Regain reading habit - clear massive list of books-to-read. This includes trying to clear a 600-odd page book in a few days... No mean feat
Get in even better shape. No, I am NOT skinny, I am SLIM. Thank you very much :) Been going to gym with the peeps frequently now.
Re-learn にひんご
It's a secret..
Find a mentor - don't want to backslide. Bad enough as it is now
Refurbish this place - only about 20% done so far... :(
Become ambidextrous!
Dental checkup. Let's see... the last time I went to one was... um. Never mind. Don't ask.
For good measure, throw in finding a job/employment/being less of a bum, in here too. (;

And closing off.. here's a little something guaranteed to give you more than a few chuckles

Never Let This Go

2011-03-06T02:13:00.004+08:00

Maybe, if my heart stops beating..

It's a beautiful day..

2011-03-04T22:47:00.002+08:00

Note to self: Never trust the weather report, weather men or women (gender doesn't really matter) or their weather forecasts. Ever.

See the nice round yellow ball in the first square?

Crystal ball gazing into the future was never humankind's forte. Although that can't be blamed... Mother Nature has never been known to be predictable Probably why it's a she rather than a he, haha (;

Because of the inaccurate prophecy, I also became a victim of her temperamental weather changes. I recall waking up happy to clear blue skies with sunny weather.

All that changed when I was already waist deep in the pool..

Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No, it's a storm cloud! D:

Needless to say, my plan to soak up the sun ended up with me being literally soaked. The only saving grace was that the weather held up long enough for me to complete my workout, albeit in a rush.

Oh yeah, I learnt another thing today too (the hard way). When the warning label states: Keep away from eyes.

They mean it - Sunscreen and eyes don't go hand in hand.

If you're looking for proper eye protection from the sun, opt for sunglasses instead. Reckon the reason the whites of my eyes are looking uncharacteristically white right now is because of this. Haha!

Did everyone see that? Because I will not be doing it again.

2011-03-04T22:20:00.000+08:00

Post deleted.

2011-03-04T02:04:00.000+08:00

As seen on: College Humor

2011-03-01T23:26:00.000+08:00

I absolutely admire and adore people who can play a musical instrument
- save the recorder.
...My fingers are killing me.

&

this place is badly in need of a face lift...

well, work(s) in progress!

Tickling that funny bone

2011-02-28T23:37:00.000+08:00

oh hello!

On the great inter-web, I stumbled upon this particular nugget.
Enjoy: (personal LOL-moments highlighted yellow. Put in a few comments in blue too.)

56 worst/best analogies of high school students

(actual stuff writting in school essays)

Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.
He was as tall as a 6′3″ tree.
Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM. (Won't be surprised if this came from a banking student.)
The lamp just sat there, like an inanimate object.
McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.
He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.
Even in his last years, Grand pappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
He felt like he was being hunted down like a dog, in a place that hunts dogs, I suppose.
She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword.
She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
“Oh, Jason, take me!” she panted, her breasts heaving like a college freshman on $1-a-beer night.
It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall. Ow.
It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.
Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like “Second Tall Man.”
The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.
The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.
She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.
Her pants fit her like a glove, well, maybe more like a mitten, actually.
Fishing is like waiting for something that does not happen very often.
They were as good friends as the people on “Friends.”
Oooo, he smells bad, she thought, as bad as Calvin Klein’s Obsession would smell if it were called Enema and was made from spoiled Spamburgers instead of natural floral fragrances.
The knife was as sharp as the tone used by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) in her first several points of parliamentary procedure made to Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) in the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton.
He was as bald as one of the Three Stooges, either Curly or Larry, you know, the one who goes woo woo woo.
The sardines were packed as tight as the coach section of a 747. (In Singapore's context - think MRT trains. Rush hour.)
Her eyes were shining like two marbles that someone dropped in mucus and then held up to catch the light.
The baseball player stepped out of the box and spit like a fountain statue of a Greek god that scratches itself a lot and spits brown, rusty tobacco water and refuses to sign autographs for all the little Greek kids unless they pay him lots of drachmas.
I felt a nameless dread. Well, there probably is a long German name for it, like Geschpooklichkeit or something, but I don’t speak German. Anyway, it’s a dread that nobody knows the name for, like those little square plastic gizmos that close your bread bags. I don’t know the name for those either.
She was as unhappy as when someone puts your cake out in the rain, and all the sweet green icing flows down and then you lose the recipe, and on top of that you can’t sing worth a damn.
Her artistic sense was exquisitely refined, like someone who can tell butter from I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.
It came down the stairs looking very much like something no one had ever seen before.
Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake.
You know how in “Rocky” he prepares for the fight by punching sides of raw beef? Well, yesterday it was as cold as that meat locker he was in.
The dandelion swayed in the gentle breeze like an oscillating electric fan set on medium.
Her lips were red and full, like tubes of blood drawn by an inattentive phlebotomist.
The sunset displayed rich, spectacular hues like a .jpeg file at 10 percent cyan, 10 percent magenta, 60 percent yellow and 10 percent black.

Found from: The Lost Eyeball

Fancy writing one of these in your next essay ;)
Should be worth a few laughs... provided your teacher has got a sense of humor.

Last one out, get the lights

2011-02-25T15:11:00.001+08:00

...dary!

From this

to this

and this!

EXAMS ARE OVER! (:

and some of the crazy stuff that goes on when we're stressed out

Thank you

2011-02-24T21:42:00.003+08:00

Not actually blogging yet - but this place will become very active, very soon!

Just felt compelled to post this before it gets lost in all the furore.

Thank you for seeing me through the three years.

No, in fact, thank for being by my side all the time.

Thank you for seeing me through thick and thin.

Thank you for the up and downs.

Come what may for the the exams that have just passed,

Thank you for every gesture, big and small.

Thank you!

Legen...

...wait for it...

Speed Zone Ahead.

2011-02-18T19:30:00.001+08:00

No distractions. Just focus.

These don't really ever get old; so for those popping by for a visit:

in Yao Xin's words - clear this semester with Cat High colours (:

Let's do this.

2011-02-11T21:48:00.000+08:00

Just sent John off at the airport - manliness comes before teary eyes ;D
Although it is gonna be a little less lively now with one less church buddy (pretty much only actually) great friend, brother, neighbour in Singapore...

Pretty odd feeling visiting the airport and not passing through the departure gates but bidding someone goodbye.

If the cliched phrase - time flies - is of any use; we'll be seeing each other in no time again! Just that I'll be with a lighter head or more visible forehead, whichever way you look at it.

All the best and God bless dear friend (:

2011-02-11T21:39:00.002+08:00

Last day of lessons today; thought it would have been... different?

Wishful thinking, perhaps?
Wonder when, how I hit the off switch

Once more, with feeling

2011-02-09T17:42:00.004+08:00

With hardly less than a day of lesson left, this final semester is ending so quickly; too quickly...
Alas, all good things do come to an end :( or at least for now.

Everything is starting to go into pre-exam mode again, hardly anything new.

Cue the pre-exam blues with bodily functions all going into reluctance mode aka extreme bouts of lethargy and listlessness just when I'm about to sit down and revise. (Even the cuticles of my fingers can distract me for a good 15 minutes - and that's for each finger? Figure I might have to wear mittens just to concentrate soon!)

On hindsight, where's YOG when we really need it?!

Sneaking in a little thanksgiving here: THANKS GUYS FOR THE <3 CARD! (: Although a few of you did decide to be a little cheeky >.<
[I shall upload the monumental piece in the not so distant future.] Throw in the resolution list and wall of wishes to do after exams are cleared into mix... and you have a nice meaty update soon.

Well, not that soon soon.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go back to tending my nai-... sorry, I mean revision.

If only mugging was as simple as dividing a cake!

Speed zone ahead

2011-02-04T01:06:00.002+08:00

I have:

Been extremely busy.
so I am very sorry dear blog that I haven't been paying much attention to you:(

But at the same time:

I am so HAPPY that ALL project report submissions have been CLEARED and OUT OF THE WAY! :D and so;
to make keep this blog less than dead, but not so much really lively - yet - I am sneaking in this post.
E-Day went pretty well! Glad we managed to clear that crazy !@#$!@$!@% project quite well. Praying that I ace that module - fingers crossed - or all of our efforts would have been in vain D:
The first month of this year was even more !@#$%^&*!@#$%&%*^!#*!@^$ crazy. After prepping for O's, never thought I'd want to go through so many sleepless nights ever again, but I guess that was just wishful thinking... Really started the year off with a mind-numbing bang at that.
But, once again, YAY! It's pretty much over; save for one more presentation that I have coming Monday... and not to forget prepping for finals - real killjoy :(
so so so so so so so so so so many things to look forward to after school's out too! However, at the same time - time flies - and I'm having mixed feelings that it's ending that quickly. Barely less than a week of school left...
And just to make this post more substantial, thought I'd dig up my past year's resolutions and do a check

Quote:

Organise crazy-helluva-fun year end chalet - you guys have to let me know when your A's end though.
-Well a chalet wasn't techically possible; but I did the next best thing - Awesome party over at my house! :D
~~get GPA as close as possible to 4.0 - exams are over. Gotta wait till 17th March for this~~- Done!
get a CCA soon
- Errrr. Well, ERPP should effectively count as a viable CCA. Considering the amount of time (day & NIGHT) outside of normal lesson time that I had to put in for it. In case you're wondering what that stands for, it isn't a mispelling of ERP but Editor for ~~almost~~every Report, Project and Presentation.
get that scholarship! :)
- Unfortunately, you need a CCA to do this... and ERPP doesn't count as one.
~~reorganise/clear my desk/drawers.~~- Been there done that, but I think it's back to being messy again. Heh, comfy living in my own organised mess anyway :P
revamp my own blog
- To make myself feel less guilty of not being able to do this... - still a work in progress -
~~Reconciliation.~~- This actually went unexpectedly well! :) Literally and figuratively. And yes, if you are reading this - I completely understand and don't expect things to change.
~~get myself a xbox 360~~- DONE! :D
~~halo 3!~~- DONE-DED :D Went one step further and got nearly the entire Halo series :D
VG Live in June
- No one wanted to accompany me :(
learn how to drive (?) wonder how much of a use this'll be. Or at least for now.
- Work in progress -
return zy his clothes really soon - they're still with me, not sure if he's forgotten about them...and they won't be much use once school closes.
- Won't be of use to return them to him now though, haha
~~get 2.4 timing back on track~~- Napfa: Silver! But gotta keep training to keep that in check.
~~and since first half of year two will be in 2009, get that semester's GPA as close as possible to 4.0 again:)~~- As with above, done!
organise overseas trip for 4-5 fellas. This would be kinda ambitious though, but I'll just list it down here.
- How practical this idea is.... remains to be seen; hence, - keep in view -

Naysayers, if you don't believe me, you can refer to this post :P

Okay, after going through that list, one might realised that that's actually the list for '09!
...yeah, that's how fast time has passed, I thought I did up resolutions for last year but it was actually two years ago...!

Well, I MIGHT post up a resolution list for this year... when? I have no idea... But naturally, most of the above which I haven't completed will be carried over; so that's a start.

Right, that's quite a mouthful of a post. :)

ohyeah; wonder how many people remember what day it is today?
don't let this be another letdown/disappointment please...

especially after so so so much hope

I've had.

A-not-so-late post to start off the year

2011-01-08T21:51:00.001+08:00

2010 was brilliant. Quite surprisingly, many of the resolutions, if not all, I made last year were accomplished! That post is buried somewhere in this blog; might just dig it up to prove it sometime soon :)

Started the year off great with our annual 4-5 gathering. Had tremendous fun with the peeps; fantastic time catching up with everyone and shouting at each other over Halo Reach - the entertainment value offered by two linked Xbox 360s is priceless, haha.

Hard to believe that that was only a week ago. Waist deep into projects now, especially with deadlines looming back to back just around the corner. This being my last term also means it will just another two more months before I close the door on the another phase of my life -insert cliche phrase here- Time really flies.

Well, just as how I started year three, let's finish it just as strongly.
~~GPA 4.0; one module at a time.~~

Missed out something after ending off this post; so here's revisiting this post.
GPA 4.0; one module at a time.

Not in my own strength, but Your's.

And at the end of it all; keep me meek; humble.

2010-12-31T00:50:00.000+08:00

It's tomorrow!

One more day! :D

2010-12-18T00:51:00.000+08:00

The Oxford Dictionary's latest definition of the following words:

Cigarette : A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end
& a fool on the others.

Lecture : An art of transferring information from the notes of the
Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through the
minds of either.

Conference : The confusion of one man multiplied by the number
present.

Compromise : The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody
believes he got the biggest piece.

Tears : The hydraulic force by which masculine will-power is
defeated by feminine water power.

Conference Room : A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and
everybody disagre es later on.

Classic : A book which people praise, but do not read.

Divorce : Future tense of marriage.

Office : A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Etc. : A sign to make others believe that you know more than you
actually do.

Committee : Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to
decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience : The name men give to their mistakes.

Atom Bomb : An invention to end all inventions.

Philosopher : A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken
of when dead.

Diplomat : A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that
you actually look forward to the trip.

Father : A banker provided by nature.

Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are
early.

Doctor : A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with
his bills.

2010-12-17T00:51:00.002+08:00

Time to refuel

This Close to the Edge

2010-12-15T04:08:00.000+08:00

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Keep me burning 'til the break of day

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising
Give me joy in my heart, I pray
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising
Keep me praising 'til the break of day

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting
Give me peace in my heart, I pray
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting
Keep me resting 'til the break of day

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Give me love in my heart, keep me serving
Give me love in my heart, I pray
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving
Keep me serving 'til the break of day

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Keep me burning, burning...
Because I am so close, this close to burning out.

The Best Feeling in the World

2010-12-11T01:18:00.001+08:00

It's said that the best feeling in the world is when the person you like,
likes you back.

It's also the worst feeling in the world when that someone you like,

doesn't like you back.

Obedience in Prayer

2010-11-14T22:18:00.000+08:00

The following comes from GLCC's Voice dated 6 June 2010 (hence it is entirely not my work - only effort I put in is by transcribing it here). Been wanting to post it up here but had been sitting on it for the longest time. So... here it is :

The Bible tells us to make constant prayer and pray without ceasing as we constantly need His presence, strength and help.

Prayer is an act of obedience but more than that, it really is an act of worship if it is based on the Word of God and sincere. If you are not a praying christian today, you are likely to be a powerless christian.

Prayer is an outward expression of an inward dependence on the Almighty. For believers, it is the very expression of our faith. Remember that when we pray, it also ought to be faith-filled prayers.

"Shift the focus of your prayer. Don't spend a lot of time describing your mountain to the Lord. He knows what it is. Instead focus your attention on the Mountain Mover - the God who is full of glory, power and faithfulness. Then following his leading, begin walking in faith. And watch your mountain step aside..."

-------

Pascal's Prayer [by Dennis Fisher]

Blaise Pascal, the brilliant 17th-century intellectual, made significant contributions in the fields of science and mathematics. he established the groundwork for the development of mechanical calculators and modern hydraulic operations.

As a young man, Pascal had a profound encounter with Jesus Christ. This life-changing experience motivated him to refocus his study from science and math to theology.

Pascal wrote a remarkable prayer that can help each believer in facing the tasks of life. He prayed: "Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with Your power; and little things as though they were great, since I do them in Your name."

Pascal's supplication is profoundly scriptural. Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13) and admonishes us that "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). Pascal echoes these admonitions to depend upon God for His power and to view every act as important, since it will reflect on His glory.

The next time you face a huge task, remember that God is your strength and that prayer is power. And when you encounter a seemingly insignificant one, determine to do it with excellence to the glory of God.

Lord,

help me to do great things as though they were little,

since I do them with Your power;

and little things as though they were great,

since I do them in Your name.

Dust off.

2010-11-13T02:29:00.002+08:00

Soon.

Truth and Reconciliation

2010-09-17T12:29:00.000+08:00

Took long enough.

Too Close to the Sun

2010-09-15T01:08:00.000+08:00

Hypothetically speaking, unless the moon is doing more than just reflecting light off the sun, I can't really think of a more feasible explanation for the consecutively unbearably warm nights; especially since it's Mid-Autumn Festival now.

That aside, I've got one more addition to my toy today :D Albeit after queuing for close to two hours for it. Most likely will be using it more often from here on out, while I have the chance. Quite timely, I guess, since dad got an iPhone 4 - although, the transition from Nokia to an Apple product can be pretty painful. Trust me, I know (when you get pestered on how to use a phone that you aren't even familiar with, it becomes contagious, not limited to the synchronising conflicts and the "exclusivity" of Apple programmes.)

Additionally, I've dusted off the cobwebs on my old uniform and started -well somewhat- or restarted rather, working in what I coin as a humbling job. Just wished that the remuneration would be slightly more rewarding though - particularly since I'm living on a shoestring budget now.

Well, we've still got a good six or seven more weeks till we get back onto the frying pan, best to make good use of the time we have now. i.e. getting my workout regime back on track (horribly out of shape (again), pickup a new useful skill or two (driving might be on the cards).

One of these might be cooking too, or at least picking up better culinary skills - no laughing, it'll come in handy when you have to prepare your own meal. Hope grandmother's health improve though... praying that her bout of frail health in the past week goes away soon, and is nothing more than a passing flu bug.

Results out on the 28th!

There'll be another time

2010-09-06T02:02:00.006+08:00

04092010Y3S1

In words, that meant fourth September marking the end of Year Three, Semester One. With only just another half a year to go, time really seems to have flown - especially with the plethora of projects that all of us were swamped with. Coupled with the squashed timetable due to the YOG, I'm sure many would concur with me that the end of exams and the long awaited break (at least for the more fortunate ones among us :P but hey, we've already done our "time") are going to be simply wonderful.

But enough of "reminiscing" about the past and scrutinising the future for now, plenty of time left for that next time.

Friday saw extreme post-exam/semestral de-stressing in the form of heading out over to marina barrage for a picnic. Kite-flying/picnic/breezy weather and throw in some of the usual antics and you have a perfect formula to send you laughing in fits all through the night. Night time flying is potentially hazardous as well - just ask our homegrown aspiring Bat Flyer who our kite entangled with another kite's.

Finally got myself something that I've been wanting for a really really really long time on Friday as well. Unfortunately, there has been quite a few hiccups and its going to be quite a pain to get it rectified... :(
More on that next time too.

Just before I finish this post, in line of today's sermon, thought I'd just like to summarise it post this up as well:

Ephesians Store:
Belt of truth buckled:                €614.00
Breastplate of righteousness:   €614.50
Shoes of gospel of peace:           €615.00
Shield of faith:                            €616.00
Helmet of salvation:                    €617.00
Sword of the Spirit:                €617.50

Sub-total:                                 €3,694.00
Service charge:                      99.99% p.a. [subject to eternal compounding]

Mode of payment:                 †
Grand Total:                          000.00

He paid it all.

Exam week

2010-08-30T15:08:00.001+08:00

Let's do this

Smile

2010-08-08T14:18:00.000+08:00

For there is strength in weakness

2010-07-30T21:56:00.000+08:00

Disappointment is at an all time high, with me getting more frustrated at myself with each passing day. There's just so much to do... and I can't do everything by myself. With all these bottled up/pent up angst, cracks are already starting to appear...

I'm no superman. As ironic as it seems, I really really can't wait for the study break to come.
If possible, I would really like to be able get out of this mess as well...

Lead the way.

Lend me strength.

But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?

2010-07-19T04:02:00.000+08:00

It is now 4 am.

Bed times and daytime are going to start merging in the foreseeable future...

Projects. Projects. Projects. School is definitely going to become a second home for pretty much the rest of July.

Savvy.

But wait, it gets worse!

2010-07-17T00:43:00.001+08:00

Tests are finally out of the door, for now. Although, the fun part starts now...
Thank goodness we managed to appeal for an extension of the Investments deadline.

Sleep is really going to be a scarce commodity for the foreseeble future (the next few weeks).
Starting to crave for more comfort food and afternoon naps now too - must be body's way of compensating.

And Minato is <3. Awesome.

The Seventh Month

2010-07-04T15:08:00.000+08:00

We're now into the second half of the year.

Study break has been over for a week, albeit many of us found it pretty short :( - so it means back to school and the start of an extremely crazy and packed month ahead. With all the looming deadlines... pressure and stress just sums it all up. No wonder why they're called deadlines. So many things on my mind, so many things to do... pretty little time.

Savvy.

On a side note, Lihui shared a couple of interesting blogs on Friday, but sadly I've lost the links... gotta ask her about them again.

Because I can't do it alone,

I need Your help.

Don't blame the tools, blame the craftsman

2010-06-17T01:23:00.000+08:00

Just spent the last two day's camping over at Leon's place with the rest of the other dudes.

While it was good fun to get my hands dirty prepping the food, Ryan and I learnt it the pretty hard way that we should gloves the next time marinating anything with sambal chili. Squid is also possibly one of the most troublesome stuff to clean and prepare.

Barbecuing on the rooftop is an interesting experience, other than when you realise that you have purchased nine kilos of defunct charcoal that makes setting wet piece of tissue alight seem like child's play. Took us at least five good men and a minimum of three hours trying to coax the flames to feed our growing hunger - figure that many of us must have inhaled a good deal of ash and coal dust from the ordeal. Trust me, it was the charcoal that was horrid. Random pieces of charcoal that happened to be lying around the house ignited much faster than those we bought.

Drinks session through the night was a hilarious event as well, with Justin at the edges of his consciousness aided by some really strong alcohol and sabotaging. A pity that the entire episode of him giving self-commentary while playing Fifa was not recorded down. Rest of us who were still sober chatted through the night. Ahhh, the benefits of not being obliged to drink :)

Daybreak brought about rainy weather but news with IPP results too, although most of us were pretty much too sleepy to really worry about it at that point in time. Oh well.

At least my whole family is back now!:)

Yan can cook, so can you

2010-06-13T22:45:00.000+08:00

Just that more practice is needed.

Journal of a house custodian: Day 2

Attempted preparing my own dinner tonight. Well, on the bright side, I'm not much of a fussy eater. On the flipside, I also not know how rubberised rice tastes like. Only saving grace was that the beef stew came out wonderful.

Rule of thumb: Next time when cooking rice, More is better. Definitely much better, especially when it comes to water.

At least I didn't set the house on fire :)

Looking after yourself is actually quite fun! Except when you're tasked with doing all the household chores. But it's also great to know that you have someone to help you out with the chores - thanks, Lord, for the rain everyday! Saves me the trouble of watering the plants!:)

A dime a dozen.

2010-06-12T00:22:00.000+08:00

*blows off proverbial accumulated dust*

Well, haven't been doing good justice to this area for 134161171423412 days. Needless to say, much has happened over the pass few months.

With the term break already here, Year Three's first term passed so quickly it was very much a blur. We had assignment briefings the very first week we were allowed to rest our bottoms on the classroom chairs, followed by ICAs and project deadlines lined up back to back. This, especially over the past two weeks, included clocking in hideous bedtimes reminiscent of last semester's marketing project. But the short ordeal's (finally) over! For now.
School life has also been getting really much much more colourful lately (No thanks to all the buddies around me, haha.) Gonna use the break to recharge myself before the real fun kicks in in July. ^^

The week gone by has also seen me being approached yet again by salespeople pushing insurance products. I think I might have to spend more time in the mirror to check if I have a dollar sign stamped on my forehead. Mind you, I wasn't only hunted down once... $_$

On a side note, a bunch of us visited a classmate who was hospitalised during this week too. Good news is that she's doing better and has been discharged today.

SBM might also be finally having a prom night too! Pioneering event for the current graduating batch next year :D Yay!

2010-06-06T20:31:00.003+08:00

忍
Just one more week.

Sentosa!

2010-05-22T00:14:00.002+08:00

Fun-filled day. Check.
Eat till you cannot walk after lunch. Check.
Wonderful beach weather. Check. (Thank you for the great sunny weather!)
Play in the sand till your body starts aching. Check.
Play in the sun till you start radiating heat. Check.
Itching shoulders after leaving the sun. Check.

Sun-burnt. Check.
Think I'll only get the full effects of it tomorrow. But yay! Hopefully my tan's back.

the third sunday of may.

2010-05-16T22:41:00.000+08:00

As told during sermon today:

A girl is talking to her mum about what she heard during her Sunday's service.

Girl: Mummy, is God very big?

Mother: Why darling, of course, He is very big.

Girl: Just how big is He?

Mother: He is bigger that any building, larger than any mountain, the world, the Sun, even the universe!

Girl: But didn't the pastor today say that He lives in us?

Mother: Yes, dear, He does.

Girl: If He does, then, why isn't He sticking out?

Do people around you see Him sticking out of you?

He lives in us, so let his love shine through and touch those around you; or are you suppressing His workings in your life and simply not letting him "stick" out through you?

SCHOOLSCHOOLSCHOOLSCHOOL!

2010-05-03T19:58:00.000+08:00

First day back in school.

First day of year 3.

First day as a senior.

First day without IPP - quite a number of us are actually missing it. Me included.

First day back to seeing all the familiar faces.

First day we start the week without being in formal attire again.

And today, my right shoulder almost died.

Welcome to Year Three!

Can't smile without hurting.

2010-05-03T00:42:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of the two adjacent ulcers on my lower lip.

To summarise today's sermon in my own words:

Catholics and Protestants are all Christians.
We are all one in the body of Christ.

And it's back to school ~~tomorrow~~ later on today!

From Heaven, With Love

2010-04-29T23:17:00.000+08:00

Morning started out pretty awry.

Left home ~~a little~~ late for work. I was supposed to have been out of the house by 8.10 or 8.15 latest... but ended up on the road slightly after 8.20... Theoratically and technically speaking, it wasn't my fault but since, and especially since, someone does me a big favour every morning, I am not and will not blame anyone.

(Although, if I may add, the issue of flexi-time really does seem to run in the family.)

If anything, the rush-hour traffic from my home to the nearest MRT interchange did little to help me this morning too. Alas, I arrived at the train station only at 8.35. Doing the mental math, it usually takes a good 25 mins or more (depending on how many times the train's driver decides to test the train's breaking pads while living out his dream of an underground Formula One driver) to get to Raffles.

The icing on the cake? While I was at the entrance, the south bound train had already pulled into the station and the next train would take at least another five minutes - i.e. I was going to be awfully late.

Mentally, I was prepared to miss the train; not being directly infront of the train carriage door or at least being in line to board the train in the morning when it pulls into the station usually means you'd have to catch the next train, either because it's packed full like a can of human sardines or train doors have already closed.

However, not only did the train wait for me, there happened to be just one nice little spot for me. Of course, I was still unnerved as I was still really late. To put things in persective, in order for me to arrive at work on time, I would have to be at the train station at 8.25. I was nearing 15 mins late.

Putting my frustration aside, I just concentrated on not blaming anyone. Subconciously, I think I made a silent prayer.

Unexpectedly, the train journey took only 20 mins today.

He listened :)

2010-04-17T22:03:00.000+08:00

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Hooray, It is Saturday!

Oh Man, It's Sunday.

Bugger, It's Monday.

April's speeding by really quickly.

1, 2, 3... 4, 5, 6 and Seven!

2010-04-11T23:09:00.000+08:00

Week Seven is just two hours away from becoming history... which means it's going to be week Eight, i.e. attachment is ending and school is starting. In the past, phrases such as , "I miss schooling so much; wait till you try working" made by someone, usually (much) older than I am, were usually greeted by an eye rolling smirk.

Talk about poetic justice.

Pretty much has been happening lately, but haven't really had the drive to re-type my daily musings and experiences here. But if you're close enough to me, you won't have to come here to get updates! :)

Just want to end off with messages from Pastor Jason; The crux of Christianity isn't so much about being all holy and saint-like per se, but about God's love for humanity, who loved us so much, He sacrificed his only begotten son to save us all. And also, many of us pray to God for blessings and more blessings. Bless us with more strength, more courage, better results etc. But the key to a good prayer is one that asks God to help up understand the gifts that He has given us, for all these, He has already blessed us.

So the next time you pray, pray not for more, but pray for God to help you understand the blessings that have already been given to you; We just need insight to unlock them.

Things are looking up, oh, finally

2010-03-28T21:24:00.001+08:00

Poof! And before you know it, it's going to be Monday again.

This week passed pretty quickly and (for want of a better word) a happy-ish note. Results were out on Tuesday and I am really pleased/delighted at how it turned out. Goes without saying that I'm putting two thumbs up to Him up there :)

Thanks to that I have also (finally) cleared some baggage that I've been carrying all this while. Haven't felt this at ease in two years and it literally and figuratively feels as though a whole big weight's been lifted off my shoulders.

To compound the positive feeling, work this week was relatively a breeze too, save for the sudden influx of deals that came in over the last two days of the week that got my supervisors passing remarks, that I would have to censor if I typed them down, quietly under their breath too. :P

Ended the week with a cheery department meeting session that had colleagues poking fun at each other. I'm glad I'm in that particular department where the environments candid and friendly.

Looking forward to a short week! And not forgetting Good Friday.

through gritted teeth

2010-03-22T22:37:00.000+08:00

Here goes nothing;

Results are out tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Each and Every Step In Faith

2010-03-10T23:18:00.001+08:00

Have posted an entry in ages... Guess I'll sneak in one here.

Work has been enriching, but I can't really post anything about online, since we've been given standing orders that prohibit us from talking about it via online channels. More of a precautionary measure in case people start washing dirty linen in the public.

Pretty much has been going on, with exams over, short break[that was really darn awesome R&R if you ask me-thanks leon!:D], release of A level results and now... work. Haven't really had much time to reflect on stuff, save the precious weekends that I have. Wonder if that's a boon or a bane. Helps to occupy my head and blots out stuff that just goes in circles and circles and circles... and circles... But I'd better get started on that really long report soon, or its really going to take out the joy of looking forward to a new school term when it approaches.

Well into third week now and awesome learning points so far are:
a) Make sure when choosing a job in future, LOVE IT - because you'll be spending easily the rest of your life doing it.
b) Driving isn't necessarily always faster. Thumbs up to the morning rush hour traffic.
c) Bring packet tissue papers when eating in places crowded with office people.

Tomorrow is THURSDAY! Just take each day in stride and before we know it, it's back to school! (Considering the routine lifestyle that us interns are going through right now, I'm making a mental note here that school is actually so much more fun. Except when you have heavyweight National Exams breathing down your neck.)

Another reason

2010-02-20T00:48:00.002+08:00

...why I'd want to learn how to play the guitar!

To say that this boy is good would be doing him injustice - He is awesome...

I've got a feeling if I sang this loud enough;

2010-02-12T23:17:00.001+08:00

You'd sing it back to me!

Sing it back to me...

Exam's ARE OUT! :D

YAY, finally an awesome, awesome one week break :)

We are all witnesses

2010-01-31T16:11:00.001+08:00

From today's service:

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."

We're all witnesses, or ambassadors, if you will, in anything that we do, believe in or advocate. It doesn't matter what it is, people see what you represent from the way you carry yourself, the way you act. This is especially applicable to christian - which here I must add in, that I'm not really a good testimony.

To the christians reading this; people see our saviour's ways from the way we interact, carry ourselves. Sometimes the biggest hypocrites around are us christians, ourselves, or to quote pastor Paul, "functional atheists" - who have fallen into the devil's deception that there the spiritual world and the physical realm are separate entities - in which God washes his hands clean off the physical realm, the one where we go about our daily lives, and reigns over us only in the spiritual world. In this context, many fall into the area of Sunday only christians, who lead double lives; all holy on sunday but just like any common folk for the rest of the other days throughout the week, because "the real world is where we have to fend for ourselves as He's not helping".

However, in truth, this is just a lie that's been perpetuated for goodness knows how long and has worked out pretty well. How many of us have adopted aggressive stances with the "don't ask me for help" attitude -because if you offer an inch, people would take advantage of you and ask you for a yard. All because God, you don't know what the "real" world is like! Because God, if I don't be all pushy and bossy, people are going to climb on top of me! But it is important to know, to remember that He is always the one in control.

After all, He didn't send his only begotten son into the world to gain prestiege, honour or glory. He set him into the world to give to the poor, not to receive. In essence, it is important to remember not to be two-faced bugger that the world so loathes. Spiritual work isn't something that you have to all that saintly to do - even the simple act of getting to know the name of the school cleaner or treating the aunty or uncle who just cleared your table with respect, is.

I'll end off with how pastor Paul put it:

The Bible may be the most published; most printed book in the world, but it is also one of the least read. It is both a finished and unfinished book. The work finished by Himself and by him through the Bible may be complete. The more important book that everyone reads is ourselves. For all believers are sent forward by Him.

We, each and everyone of us, are the unfinished Bibles that represent His word, in everything that we do, say or think.

We are His witnesses.

Pre-exam Blues

2010-01-28T20:15:00.002+08:00

Today, we happened to bump into the same lady who "asked" me for money, again while walking out of school. For those unsure of whom I'm referirng too, just refer to a few posts back about a freaky incident. Fortunately or unfortunately, she asked Justin first this time and, I hope, this finally dispells the fact that I have the rich look. :)

Aside from this...

With the exams looming, my body is also starting to go into "reluctance" mode, i.e. it is starting to take afternoon naps when I'm pushing myself to revise... Although the upside is that I end up being more alert at night, I don't really think it'll be beneficial for me since all of my papers are in the morning. I'm going to have to tone down on the temper and increasingly mischievous and malevolent thoughts that accompany it... (At least, they're only thoughts and I do my best to make sure they remain thoughts. -Insert convenient sheepish innocent grin here-)

Wonder how I'm going to be able to scale the mountain of business law, marketing management and financial services notes...

Gotta clear me head and focus.

Where there's steam, there's heat.

2010-01-25T22:38:00.000+08:00

Note to self: When there's steam emitting from kitchenware cooking food, do not touch.

Read between the lines; I scalded my finger because I placed it over the exit end of my rice cooker when it was... yes... belching steam out. Ha-ha.

And it's my left index finger at that. Bugger. Hope it doesn't turn into a blister.

On a brighter note, financial services project results came back today and I'm pleased :) Couldn't have done it without everyone's combined effort, so, thank you group members! (again)

Japanese roleplay should be going well tomorrow.

In all things give Him glory first.

When it's all been said and done

2010-01-17T16:06:00.001+08:00

Today's sermon was exceptionally good and touching, especially so since I somehow felt that He wanted to talk and was talking to me through the service. I must confess that I wasn't too keen on heading to church today because I actually wanted to catch up on sleep and also because John initially hadn't booked out from camp.

Thankfully, my intent to forgo the service was never realised, since John booked out in the morning and was able to make it. Clearly, I feel, He really cares and it showed today, as I've had quite a load of questions bugging me for a couple of weeks now and has grown to be more incessant recently.

I can't remember the name of the guest pasto who preached today, or rather I don't really know how to spell it because it actually sounds feminine when I type it down (Pastor Liz? Leese?). The message struck a chord with many in the audience by the end of the service and I could see that many were teary-eyed, be it the grizzled, matured or young, macho or not. He preached about Joseph from the Book of Genesis along the theme "When it's all been said and done" and taught three important pointers or lessons that any Christian (though in my opinion, believer or not, is important for all) should learn from and apply in their lives.

1) It is not about what you remember, but what you forget.

This was about how one should not bear grudges and ready and willing to forgive and forget - no matter what the pain, the hurt or the grievance was caused, accidental or deliberate, lest the conviction of bitterness and sadness overwhelm you. He brought up an emotional recollection where he was pheasant hunting back in the US and a colleague of his accidentally shot his son. Even while bleeding, his son never blamed the colleague who misfired and forgived him. The pastor never said what happened to his son eventually, but I hope he was alright.

In this aspect, I realised that I've been practicing this to some extent - forgiving and forgetting faults that people have done towards me - although this has been made easier largely either because anyone has yet to really offend me or I just don't get offended easily. However, I've yet to do it on a particular issue, which hasn't really been causing me much peace. (I'm sure those who are better acquainted with me would know what it is I'm referring too.) I've done wrong and apologised. But at the same time, I'm not at peace most likely because, aside from me apologising, I've also been waiting to hear an apology as well. Hence, I've been holding on to this knife in my side and just opening up the wound every once in awhile. That said, it's already been so long, and I doubt I'd ever hear from you again, but perhaps it's His will in doing so. And so, like what this lesson was meant to pass on to us, instead of just apologising, I'm going to forgive as well.

2) It is not about what you achieve, but what you become.

Many people in today's world are constantly chasing ever higher achievements - this certificate and that degree with another prestigious award. However, at the end of the day, when you finally are called to return home, are people going to remember you by your achievements, or how you were as a person - your relationships with them; how you impacted them in their lives. While there is nothing wrong with setting goals, it is important to discern that building relationships with the people around you are more important and that you should not neglect them.

3) It is not about how high you climb, but how low you bow down.

Humility. He works through simple and humble things because then it shows it is not because of men's efforts that something went well, but it was because of Him. He uses the most basic of those among us, as they are the one's who would return the glory to him and are not glory seekers. This message is ever more so important in the present context when it is very easy for any one of us to easily get lost - in arrogance and self pride amidst all our successes and achievements -, thinking that we can very much rely on our own strength. And before long, forget that it is He who first blesses us. Echoing what the pastor said, "The branch that bears most fruit, is the one that bends the lowest."

And finally, the sermon was about submitting to His will and depending on Him, rather than solely on self, be it in good times or bad times, even and especially when life throws a wrench into your plans and you have no idea what is going on or what to do. It's been happening for two years, I think, and bit by bit, I'm letting him take control of my life's steering wheel and it's been improving bit by bit - slow progress/improvement is mainly because I'm acting like a backseat driver while and... you should know how backseat drivers aren't the most welcome passengers in a vehicle.

Quoting from the Book of Genesis and the way the pastor put it: Joseph never had really had it going good for him - he was betrayed by his brothers at a young age, beaten up and sold off as a slave, accused of a heinous crime he never committed and thrown into prison. Yet, even though as those around him thought and sought to do evil against him, God meant it unto good, in order to put him into a position (he later became the governor of Egypt) that would make him a saviour of many lives.

Lastly, it is also by His grace that has given me the patience and will to type out this not so short post.

And sorry, no Chinese post, yet, haha.

The Revenge of the Sith (Seriously incapacitated tired head)

2010-01-15T19:36:00.001+08:00

In each and every meaning and connotation of the phrase "TGIF", Thank Goodness It's (finally) Friday.

Haven't gone through a more hectic week than the week gone by; to summarise, try staying up on consecutive nights in this order: Staying up till 3 on Saturday, 4 on Monday and finally the coup de grâce 5.30 on Wednesday. All this while going through 20... no - to do justice to that dreadful bound horror the hideous thing came up to something close to 30 pages, proofreading, checking, editing and all that.

Of course, this task would have been a whole lot more herculean, had it not been for the help for my group members --> a big thank you! For all the effort and trouble put into the report, I seriously hope that it scores well.

But the marketing management project was just the tip of the iceberg. The real icing on the cake for Wednesday was that, not only was the project and presentation due, we also had a test on the very same day. At that juncture, I must say that starting early pay offs more than procrastination... but we all know that, anyway, don't we?

The real zombification was when I had to return home, unable to really catch much shut eye -I think I slept standing on the bus on the way home- and study for another test the next day.

And now, my body is starting to take its revenge on me. I counted two very big ulcers (which might actually stand for uber laceration causing extremely rueful suffering), but somehow, one seems to have healed after my emergency compensation nap. Hopefully. My back's aching from me slightly overstraining during yesterday's workout, however, I somehow think that this is due to my body protesting too.

Haha, anyway, that's that.

However, this week was peppered with results releases which made less of a chore to go through. Just a little while more before the exams, so I'm praying for His grace that He helps me to keep this up. At the same time, prayers for the Haiti victims as well.

owned.

2010-01-08T23:11:00.000+08:00

Projects 2
Callum 0

Marketing management ain't making it any easier for me... Today is the second consecutive night that I'm coming home from the library at 9, which also makes it the Xth time that the way back home is decorated nicely with lit lamp posts.

Next week's going to be packed week, and it'll be the second last week of school. This conversely, also means that the EXAMS are FRIGGIN' AROUND THE CORNER!.

Insert very cliched phrase of time flies really quickly here. And then after that is, of course, welcoming year three with wide open arms.

because to learn to walk, you've got to fall, once in awhile

2010-01-06T23:04:00.000+08:00

just that scrapped knees healed much more easily (:

back to sweet sunshine, warm air and... errr, reality

2009-12-28T19:56:00.000+08:00

and that means backlogged projects, lots of work, and planning for wednesday's gathering (which I still haven't really planned anything yet, hahhahaa). Okay, neckache from my flight as well as the unpacking. More updates, not-so-soon, laterish.

'Tis the season to be jolly

2009-12-19T01:26:00.001+08:00

Well, this place is gonna be quiet for a week or so.

So...

Merry Christmas in advance!

wrong place, wrong time.

2009-12-16T23:48:00.001+08:00

Today was just plain freaky.

While the dudes and I were deciding which canteen to head to for lunch, I got stopped by some random middle-aged lady in school . She approached me and started asking me for money in chinese. That's not the freaky part.

Figuring that she just wanted to change her coins for a two dollar note, I searched my wallet. This is where it just became plain whacked out. She fished into my wallet after seeing a five dollar note and started walking away. It left me stunned with a !@#$%?! moment, before I realised what she had done. Thankfully, ab sped up the process by asking me to chase after her. I managed to get my cash back, but not after she told me she wanted the money to buy food... which confounded ab and I. If you're reading this and find the whole series of events illogical, I don't blame you.

Of all people she picked me out of the whole bunch of us, lol.. Just plain freaky.

And this is another situation to add to my donation/buying-random-stuff-for-donation magnetism. The particularly annoying ones are the insurance policies or savings programmes - Got stopped thrice so far by the same insurance company but at different locations. For some reason or another, I seem to keep attracting people to ask me to pass them money for one odd cause or another. There must be a big dollar sign stamped on my forehead or something...

And no more music here from now on too, ruddy messed up imeem player.
Well, to end the post on a cheerful note; PROJECTS ARE ALMOST DONE! (at least those due before the break...)

But I can't keep on running
No, I just can't keep on running away from here...

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2009-12-15T21:51:00.000+08:00

Ten days to Christmas! It also means it's 26 more days to 2010...which also means it'll be the last year before the digit 1 becomes a very fond memory.

There're still two projects left - one which requires more painstaking effort than the other- with a few more due after the break, but that'll be next year's woes. It is also this time of the year where you see the school library filling up like there's money hidden inbetween the pages of books.

Gonna put to practice what I've learnt in Japanese lessons next week, or starting from Saturday to be more precise! So...this place might probably be quiet for a little while till next year.

Short and sweet(:

2009-12-12T18:29:00.002+08:00

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Okay, at least that's out of my system now:)

I won't boast in anything but you

2009-12-09T19:50:00.000+08:00

Today, we found out that Ryan's notebook can actually support mw2! Surmise to say, me feeling like a kid in a candy store actually showed - even the dudes could see me glowing. So what if it lags...:)

Ahhhh man, my facebook's front wall is going to get flooded these few days with all the prom pictures... Poly's should have a prom night too! Some on top of the normal graduation ceremony where everyone dresses in robes.

And, my posts are becoming increasing sporadic. They're getting infrequent and can become really short.
Like this post.

Nostalgic...

2009-12-07T20:10:00.000+08:00

Guess this works, hehe :)

Time to get busy with japanese.

Well, if it's not real, you can't hold in your hand, you can't feel with your heart...

2009-12-06T21:13:00.001+08:00

Time flies.

It seems like 09's barely started and we're into the last month of the year already. It's supposed to be one of the more joyous parts of the year (and one of my favourite months in the calendar) but I'm still feeling a little sombre/down. Guess that's what happens when 97% of your friends are partying till they drop while you're bogged down by the reality of looming project deadlines. Hard to fathom that it has already been two years (give and take) since we were all together. Well, at least my hair gets a one year grace period :P

I've been popping by Orchard Road pretty often lately and the light up is wow. Not to mention the crowd towards Ion Orchard is even more spectacular. It makes you feel you're in Europe with all the camera flashes and lighted pathways. The only thing missing is snow! If it snowed, just walking along Orchard Road would feel as though one's already overseas; somewhere else.

Running on almost nothing; but not yet empty

2009-11-26T19:49:00.000+08:00

"Common tests" or ICA period is almost over, with a two more papers for me next week. I'm quite certain that not many people are looking forward to Monday's financial services paper... and then I've got Japanese oral the very next day. Then tests are almost over!

However, I just realised that it means that its week 7 next week. That not really a big issue on it's own, but throw in the fact that a large number of projects are due on week 9... and that we have not started on a single one yet...

Week 7<---->Week 9

On a side note, someone messed me over yesterday when someone ended up having a doctor's appointment and making me scurry left, right and center just to make sure that I didn't waste the tickets I reserved for someone. Tsk. Someone... Haha.

P=F/A or ρgh

2009-11-18T21:38:00.000+08:00

It's my turn now.

I can. I will. I must.

Some position I got myself into, haha...

じゃ、またな

This time, for better.

2009-11-13T20:08:00.001+08:00

Turns out, TEP isn't so bad after all :D
Now just to keep up with the momentum.

2009-11-13T00:12:00.001+08:00

Sem 1/TEP results out later today... Hoping they're good (:

Lecture yesterday was lol. The things friends do.

2009-11-12T00:28:00.001+08:00

Dear blog,

Sorry that I've not been posting much. But this term has been pretty crazy so far. Crazy but fun - well at least we're still sitting on the mountain of projects coming soon. In the mean time, everyday brings new experiences; i.e. Melissa terrorising Chee Keng and Kang Ning in the LT with a snail, getting loads of "appreciation" for the work I "shared" in class [right, guys]. Haha.

Japanese lessons has been interesting, other than the awkward pauses when our tutor speaks a little too fast. Sort of like re-visiting primary one and learning chinese again.Mondays and Thursdays were characterised with visits to stan's house cause of the long breaks inbetween lessons (for the first few weeks at least). There, I learn't that: A) I can't sing for nutz B) There're very good reasons why I didn't join band & C) Stan's musical talent pwns all.

Well, that surmises pretty much everything. Unless you include that really interesting wiki project that we all had to do. I'm sure all who were involved would concur (;

week 2

2009-10-26T00:18:00.000+08:00

...starts in 10 hours time!

This term is gonna be busy. Heh, literally packed to the seams - you should try carrying my bag. If my left shoulder turns out larger than my right, you know why.

T-minus 5 days

2009-10-14T17:46:00.000+08:00

My new timetable is "fantastic". 4 period break or something like that on Thursdays, lol. And the last period's a 50 min lecture! : /

But, I'm going to be taking jap! Hopefully I can pick up enough of it come year end.

SIGNS

2009-10-09T17:14:00.003+08:00

Something I found/stumbled on from Mr. Heng's blog.
Found it nice...so I'm putting it up before I head off for work(;

Go ahead, just watch it:)

Dipped in Alcohol, Served with Love

2009-10-02T23:15:00.001+08:00

Well, suffice to say, I most likely won't be an alcoholic in future. :)

Considering that I turned the legal age for drinking quite some time ago, it's probably due time I tried an amount that was substantially more that a sip from a cup. Fortuanately, or unfortunately, I took more than that comfort zone of a sip on Monday during FSRC's chalet - only to find out the very next day that I'm allergic to alcohol. Guess that's why I've never really liked the bitter stuff.

Kinda sad, haha, but hey, I've never really enjoyed it. I'd rather get a tummy ache from overconsumption of soft drinks than suffer from effects of undergoing a transformation into a "merlion" that come packaged together with a head splitting hangover. But that said...there goes my choya plum wine. One of the rare wine's that I've tasted (or sipped) and liked it, haha -->Because it's sweet!

Freakishly itchy rashes all over my legs now. Argh. Even the doctor I went to see said, "Wow. Fantastic reaction." Mind you, my fingers start swelling... so my grandmother got a tad worried and chased me to get a checkup.

Never get drunk and doze off when you're with guys in the same room who are sober and have a tube of toothpaste handy. Just saying. Don't say I didn't warn you. (;

Oh yeah, this means that I'm allergic to alcohol... as odd as that may sound. [ but there're weirder but also more fatal ones like peanut allergies...so I'm counting myself lucky:) ]

Scratch that itchy itch...

Frizzled Out.

2009-09-25T16:36:00.000+08:00

Catching a broken cup is possibly one of the silliest ideas ever possible...

Today didn't really start on a good note, even though I had a more peaceful sleep last night without having to wake up earlier to worry over deadlines. It started off uneventfully enough...Get up, wash my face; morning duties etc. Up till I started to make my morning drink. I must have still been shaking off my morning daze then - I'm not really a morning person - because my cup slipped from my hand as I was moving it. It just so happened that, despite me being in my sleepy state, I was still alert enough to catch it before it hit the floor.

Brilliant save! Right?

Well, I was pretty happy that I managed to save my beloved cup that has, or had rather, served me for close to a decade already. That's until I realised the mug's handle hit my kitchen counter and broke off. And, I caught the lovely thing on the handle's side. Savvy.

I looked at the hole in my cup and then looked at my hand. Particularly my thumb. Haha, sleepyhead me was wondering how come there was a funny looking hole on it before I realised I cut myself.

Thankfully, I was alone at home - I think I started using the colourful vocabulary in the insulting version of the English Language. Mind you, it was pretty bad cut. Fortunately, I managed to find a plaster quickly and slap it over my thumb. Silly thing... bled so much it soaked through the plaster... bleah. Saved the cup from shattering but still had to throw it away while getting injured. Haha, what a Pyrrhic victory.

Haiz. Pai Chiew now.

Okay, moving along, stuff to get done during my break:

Plan year end chalet. This one need the guys' help too.
Start my own investment portfolio! Nothing spectacular, just a peanut sum.
Finish that novel that's been sitting on my desk for, errrr, three months now? Hehe.
Help my brother with his studies, while keeping my temper down. Monumental.
If my budget allows and I can bear the pain of seeing my wallet burn a hole...get something I've been wanting to get for a really really really long time (;

Well, best get to it, then.

:D

2009-09-24T22:50:00.003+08:00

Say it with me...HOLIDAYS! =D

Long overdue break is finally here and I can get some time to myself without having to rush for this deadline and that.

I'm keeping it short this post short right now, have got loads of time to post more! - so i'll keep this short and sweet.

Today's presentation saw the end of TEP, which went pretty well. Hope my feeling and the eventual results would concur with each other. (:

Got "dragged" to help out in TEP Games Day (or least I think that's what it's called) after that. Haha, alright, not dragged, since I was kind of willing anyway. Just that I couldn't really do much shouting or any shouting at all in fact - throat would probably go on strike in a few day's time if I did. The teams were really hyper though, especially the CTIC/BSC students - sporting even a customised banner.

Trained down to ION after that. Horribly messy place it is over there, lol. I shall shamelessly state that Zhong Ying and I (not only us, okay, the girls too:P) went around in endless circles before we were able to find Swensens, which was tucked away in some secluded corner...with the help of a concierge.

Bumped into quite a number of familiar faces there!:D First was Valerie who popped out from no where, lol, as we were shifting our seats by ourselves to the more comfy sofas (by ourselves-with them having me to ask for permission from the staff later...haha ). Then I spotted Sherilyn! Someone whom I've really haven't seen in a really really long time - quite surprised I could recognise her too :P Only recognised her after she walked past. Teng En from church was there too!

Played catching up with Rini, Geraldine and ZY over ice cream. Heh. Rambled about many many random things under the sun, studies, people, etc. (; Really surprising, in a good sense, how it's already been two years since we first knew each other, and even though we only spent a few months, or weeks only actually, that we're still keeping in touch with each other :) Although I was kind of the odd one out, eating with three people in school uniform and me in formal, heh. Btw, the ice cream + desserts there are woohoo. Just be sure to get there early to beat the queue.

Ran into Kristopher on the way back too, haha. Both of us were going like, "eh? ehhhhhh!" when we recognised each other.

Point to note: NEVER, EVER, BOARD A CROWDED TRAIN WITH A FULL BLADDER. It makes you seem like you're doing a jitterbug dance, if you even know what that is.

Okay. Back home quite sometime ago.

Now I'm waiting for naruto to load, wooooo.

Midnight Post

2009-09-17T00:58:00.002+08:00

Loving the Most Important Person in Your Life

I’m sure that there are lots of things that you really love. You may love your parents, your husband/wife, your girl friend/boyfriend and your children. You may love your car, your home or even your new mobile phone.

But let me ask you a question that may seem really weird, ‘do you love yourself?’ Do you love that person you see in the mirror every day? If you find that you have many things in life to be grateful for but are still not happy with, the reason may be because you have not learnt to love yourself.

In order to be HAPPY and SUCCESSFUL, you have to start by loving yourself. The reason why many people feel lousy about themselves and fail to achieve is because they don’t like who they are.

Many people think that they must first become successful before they start loving themselves and their life. In fact, the opposite is true. You must first love yourself before you can become successful. People who love and feel good abut themselves have what is called HIGH SELF-ESTEEM.

The Most Important Person In Your Life Is…

Let me give you the most important reason why you should love yourself.

Imagine that there was someone whom you have to spend the rest of your life with. You had to spend every minute of every day with this person, day in and day out. This person is the first you see when you wake up in the morning and the last person you see when you go to sleep.

This person is there on all your life’s special occasions: your birthday, Christmas, New Year, your wedding and finally, your funeral. This person is there during all of your life’s ups and downs. This person shares your sorrows and your joys.

When you are down, only this person can cheer you up. When you fall, only this person can pick you up. When you set a goal, only this person can give you the motivation and confidence to achieve it. This person will never leave you and is the only one you can truly depend on.

If you didn’t like this person, wouldn’t your life be absolutely miserable? You’d be forever stuck to a person you didn’t like. You wouldn’t be able to do anything! I am sure you can guess that this person is YOU!

YOU are the most important person in your own life.

The Power of Loving Yourself

When you really love someone, you always want the very best for him or her, right? You would do anything for them. You would make sacrifices for them and defend them if anyone speaks badly of them.

The same thing goes when you love yourself.

When you love yourself, you will want the very best for yourself. You would not accept anything less than the best for yourself. You will want the best relationships, the best career, the best partner and the best home. You will not accept being in an abusive relationship. You will not accept being stuck in a job you hate. You will not accept a mediocre life that is going nowhere.

In other words, those who love themselves dream big and set high standards for themselves. At the same time, you would be willing to work hard and make sacrifices for yourself. You will be willing to sacrifice the effort to go to the gym, to read a self-improvement book and to avoid unhealthy foods that are bad for you.

When You Like Yourself, People Will Start to Like You

When I talk about loving yourself, I am not talking about being an arrogant, egotistical braggart who looks at your self every ten minutes and boastfully says, ‘I am the greatest’. Nobody likes people like that!

In fact, people who really love themselves never boast or show off! They don’t need to. They already feel good about themselves inside.

When you like yourself, you will feel good about yourself. You will have the confidence to take on challenges, make friends and be outgoing. You will smile alot and talk positively about yourself and others. People who feel good about themselves see the good in others and give them sincere encouragement and praise.

This confidence and positive attitude will make you really charming and attractive to others. People will start to admire and respect you. People love being around positive people because it makes them feel good as well.

What Happens When You Don’t Love Yourself?

On the other hand, teens who hate themselves tend to remain unhappy and unsuccessful. When you don’t like yourself, you tend to put yourself down, think negatively of yourself and set low personal standards.

Back in secondary school, I remember asking one of my friends Stan which University he was aiming to go for. He said, ‘ I don’t want to go to the university.’ ‘With a university degree, you can get a much better job and live a more comfortable life. You can get success, respect and more money,” I said. He replied, ‘who cares?’

At the time, I couldn’t understand why Stan would not care about his own future. Later I realized it was because Stan did not like himself very much. In his mind, he did not think he deserved a great life. He believed that only other people who were better deserved such a successful life.

So, begin the journey of success and happiness by first loving yourself!

(This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book, ‘Secrets of Successful Teens’ due to be launched in July 2009)

-Adam Khoo

Something I've read from here. Loads more very very interesting articles; will post more in due time.
Credit is NOT mine, thanks, haha.

At least Tuesday was interesting... And now I'm sporting a ghost watch - all thanks to the fact that I forgot the effect of covering your body with an object while being under the sun for prolonged period of time. (;

Alright, it's late - came online just to post this :)
Project meeting tomorrow.

Savvy.

Argh, and I need to reset my body clock.... :(

2009-09-12T21:42:00.000+08:00

:)

Today was pretty fun.

I doubt Julie reads this place, but have a safe trip and graduate with honours OGL! :D

Hey, look what I found!

2009-09-12T01:10:00.001+08:00

Warning:

Please proceed only if you have a sense of humour.

Yay! Callum is in a pretty happy mood now. Turns out the reason why I've had to edit/type posts in only coded format was because I forgot to change a setting when something reverted... Although the formating's still buggy - but I can use colours easily now! :) And highlight too!

Right. Quite a silly reason to get in a cheery mood right now, but heh.

The end is near!. Showtime on Monday;)
But it's pain in the bottom projects after that. Blah... But's it's nothing to complain about. Looooooong overdue break after that. At least until sem 2 :(

If all goes well, I most likely would be in the land of the rising sun come year end. Sugoi (; (If that's how you actually spell it.) Just hope the semester wouldn't throw a wrench into those plans.

Random question: Anyone out there who is adept at sending letters? I'd like to know the rates and rough estimations for sending letters or cards for that matter - I don't think I would really want to make a special trip all the way to the post office just to weigh my letter to figure out how many stamps I should stick on an envelope - even though I do live pretty close to a post office... but that's besides the point.

Ok, I've gotta help my bro with his maths - I confess, though, I'm horribly rusty now and I'm a really lousy teacher. Seriously.

2009-09-07T20:17:00.002+08:00

It'll take effort to pull the door open.

BLOGGER. FIX THE FORMATING PROBLEM!!):

So many many many many things have been going on in the past few months that I haven't really had the time to really sit down and type out a proper post. Hah! But nope, I ain't gonna do it now, still have heckuva one million thousand thingys to sort out/settle.

I can't wait until my ICA's end, and hol's or whatever is left of it to start. Free labour and yet we don't get our due rest. Coincidentally the date of my last ICA falls on a Thursday! Uhh, okay, I don't really know what the coincidence is... but finally a time to vegetate/stone/work out/etc.

I've been a really awful procrastinator of the late too. Somehow motivation just drained out... Kinda oddd feeling being able to just sit on the sofa and stare off into blank space. Sto-ming. It's not a spelling error there, it's actually two words joined together!

Teacher's day visit/Homecoming was anything but boring. Bring out the sentimental side in a whole bunch of macho guys... ;P Nostalgic to see our alma mater, the team of wonderfully decidated teachers and the sexy green berms again. :P (It's sexy 'kay, not gay - only all boys school that has that unique signature pants that at one glance, anyone would know which school we're from;))

OHYEAH. Must plan for 4five year end mega class chalet/post a level bash/army enlistment send off/party really soon. Lot's of timing issues come year end. More about it one the class blog. soon - once msn pm shows the link, you guys know what to do.

Right, all this was typed in a span of a short 7 mins or so...? Guess I can do it, IFI put my mind to do it.

Dinner's screaming my name, and I still needa study for my test that's on this Thursday. And still prepare for that role play test too.

Savvy.

Well, all in a day's work!
CONCENTRATE.FOCUS.WORKHARD.

To remove my foot.
Most likely

Super Massive Blackhole

2009-08-29T23:04:00.006+08:00

(Blogger is getting increasingly frustrating.)

Argh. There's this big gap, hole, emptiness, or whatever you call it inside of me; that I'm feeling.
Even on hindsight, I don't know if I should have removed the plug. Now, every thing seems to just get sucked in by it and not be able fill it up.

!@#$.

Food for thought: What defines your life; what defines the way you live?

Tests, exams, papers and tests and exams and papers over again? Then, wash, rinse and repeat? Or is it the materialistic world - the fancy stuff you adorn, the tangible stuff you chase after endlessly.

What, defines you?

Irritatingly lost. Annoyingly confused.
How do you move forward if you keep looking back?!

it just eats away at you

2009-08-19T23:17:00.004+08:00

...bit by bit.

Blogger's awfully buggy now. :( Formatting's all messy.

It won't go away on it's own. I'm actually just burying it deeper, hiding it; sweeping it aside hoping that more dust will cover it. But, the underlying fact is, that it will, still, be there.

Who am I kidding? It's not going to vanish. Poof! Into thin air and yay, problem solved.
All I've been doing is creating reasons, no, excuses for myself - running away from it.

Argggh, it's like running into a wall. D'mit

unfinished business.

2009-07-26T22:00:00.000+08:00

What to type here. I don't know:(

And blogger's messed up! Now all posts have to be done in html format. :(

Lost inspiration, motivation, willpower to blog...hope it's momentarily. but lots of things have been happening of the late - some good, some not so good and some bad.

On a lighter note, the recent financial digest project went well. Went really really well - I daresay it went even better than expected, although I felt I gave it one of my worse presentations to date. Try trying to mask your nervousness which has cause a mental blank while presenting. Almost freaked out. Well, that's that. Thankful to have wonderful group members too!

And before I publish this post.
What is joy? It's:

J = Jesus
O = Others
Y = You

In other words, to have true joy which comes from within and not happiness that comes from without, serve Jesus before Others before yourself!

With this, I bid adieu till next post. Oh yeah, please tag if you're here too - Immaattentionseeker;)

:P

TGIF.

2009-07-04T00:49:00.006+08:00

You've got your foot in the door to stop it from closing.
Thank goodness it's Friday!

Cleared my first major stopover project, so I'm free... For now.
Too bad I don't get to celebrate youth day :(
Like what Quake said, apparently you age faster in tertiary education, lol.

I haven't been posting anything substantial lately. :/ Been to pre-occuppied with "stuff". Heh. Nevertheless, I found this interesting post and have decided to shameless swipe it and post it here. ;)

i wish guys could feel the pain as girls
and that people stop thinking that guys don't feel as much pain as girls
when they break up.
makes things more fair.
you can tell me
'love is unfair'
or things like that.
but this is MY blog so i'll type what i want:D
relationships are weird and confusing.
why must all relationships come with pain?
is it because
you can spell 'pain' with 'relationship'?
haha

i tried removing it
the results:
relationship - pain = reltoshi
sadly there's no such word

And Seiyee, this show's that someone reads your blog! :)

I guess what's worse is that she's pushing on it with all her might. And she's smiling.

More stuff to come.

2009-06-30T02:45:00.004+08:00

i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.
i do not like this project.

haha, but i still have to do it anyway.
look at the time now, it's 02:48. AM... and we're still behind schedule. bleah...

But thank goodness I've got a wonderful team.

2009-06-22T11:19:00.003+08:00

Ack, it's just a cough...

(but its messing up my entire exercise routine!)

(S)He's just not that into you

2009-06-22T10:51:00.004+08:00

She's just not that into you:

She starts giving you the cold shoulder.
You start getting ignored.
Likewise, she treats you like a transparent wall.
She avoids you like the plague (or swine flu).
When she sees you, her smile just abruptly fades.
She finds every opportunity not to talk to you.
She also jumps at any opportunity to kill and conversation.
Be it in reality, MSN, online or where ever.
She's always busy when you want to talk to her.
She treats you like dirt, bug or generally something disgusting you've stepped on and she doesn't give two hoots.
Whatever past relationship or friendship you had with her no longer holds any bearing - and she treats you like a casual acquaintance or possibly a stranger.
She's removed you from her msn/facebook/myspace/her life.
She just hates you for no apparent reason.

In actual fact, this list shouldn't be named she's just not that into you. It should actually be called she just hates you.
Congratulations! You've actually lost a friend as well.

It takes two hands to clap.