ATHOUSANDCROSSINGS

A Retrospective.

2011-08-06T19:39:00.007+08:00

How time flies, it has been 8 months since my last post on Blogger. Been busy with the paper chase, but today I had some time to myself to take a breather, so I decided to look back at what I had experienced in the past 1 year and 8 months.

Life hasn't been particularly smooth-sailing, there seemed to be more downs than ups, I had fallen in and out of... Kinda, my mind's fault actually. I had blamed life for putting me in my position and I had everything to complain about.

But every time I am halfway through whining and complaining, I decide to count my blessings and all the good things that happened to me that I could have missed if I hadn't been in this position.

I'm always complaining about coming to this school I'm in. I had a choice. I made a choice. And I always thought I made the wrong choice. I still don't fit in. I still feel like a square peg in a round hole, a fish out of water. But I'm not going to complain anymore, because now that I finally sat down and thought about it, it hasn't entirely been a bad experience and I have so many things to be thankful for.

I found friends, I gained new experiences, I won and lost, I learnt to cherish some friends that I never really knew I had, I learnt to push myself to my limits, I found 2 new passions, I found Chistina Perri and I learnt how to get over broken things.

While I complain about the state I'm in, I can't deny that I've found new friends from my experiences this 1 year and 8 months.

There's Wen Cong, Wan Xin, Leonard and my dearest Cross-Country team - Nathaniel, Jeevaneesh, Si Heng and Jian Hong. They are like colour pencils, filling in the white spaces and making life beautiful. Wen Cong and Wan Xin are always there to make bad days survivable. Real comic relief those two.

Thank you Wen Cong especially for being such a good friend. :D He has everything a friend should have - a 1000-megawatt smile, warmth emanating straight from his heart, wise advise to give, a ear to listen, and a hand to lend. If there ever was a Hall of Fame for friends he would be in it.

And there is Leonard who spends lunch breaks with me playing racing karts and leaving banana peels for each other to slip on.

If I had made any other choice, I wouldn't have joined the cross-country team and strengthened my friendship with Nathaniel, and forged new relationships with Jeevaneesh, Si Heng and Jian Hong. It's amazing how 5 of us with very different personalities managed to stick together to the end and achieve miracles. What miracle?

The cross-country team was pretty much in shambles when I joined them. 'Them' consisted of only three people - Jeeva, Si Heng and Jian Hong - not even enough to make a team of 4 to compete in the Nationals the next year. I was slow for much of 2010, things weren't looking good for us when we didn't get any new athletes for 2011, so there were only the 5 of us to count on and besides Jeeva, the rest of us were sub par.

Here was where I learnt to push myself to my limits, found a new passion, running and won and lost.

We did all sorts of mad things like running up hills, running in circles for as much as 12km, covering 32km in 2 training sessions every day of the week for 2 months but we survived. Through those experiences we learnt that 32km probably wasn't our limit. (:

I fell in love with running. I still run now, and I miss the times when I ran with the team. We were the epitome of camaraderie. Camaraderie - Noun: Mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together. And indeed, we spent A LOT of time together. And I loved every moment of it.

Then the Lunar New Year came and gone, and as if an air of auspiciousness swept over us, things began to look better. I was slowly getting faster, Jeeva was like a rocket and there was healthy competition between Si Heng and Jian Hong - both were fast. And Nathaniel was always there, being supportive. :)

Things got even better when new athletes joined the team. Eventually we defied the odds and came in first, we were the champs! I didn't contribute to the points, but I did get 12th place and hence 2 medals.

But the 2 medals don't mean anything compared to our friendship, the Gokul dinners, the Banana Walnut bread every morning, our photo-taking sessions and movie outings. Thank you HCX 2011.

Of course we didn't win all the time. I lost miserably at the Track and Field nationals three weeks later. It was my first time running the steeplechase and I tripped over the 5th hurdle and landed flat on my face. But I'm proud of myself for jumping on my feet and finishing the race and not choosing to throw in the towel. It was disappointing to be overtaken at the home stretch by an opponent but still, this memory is one for keeps.

HCX was probably the best thing to have happened to me. Esprit de Corps. Thank God for the experience.

Besides running, I fell deep in love with mountain biking. And it was through mountain biking I met amazing people from different walks of life. I met Arif, a financial analyst who shared a lot about life and what to expect from it with me; Gio Fabio, an Italian IT dude who helped me to ride better and painted a picture of how the world is like beyond school through our little conversations; Willhelm Prasser, VP of the APAC region at Azeti networks, a German dude who looks younger than he is and the only one among us with a carbon bike; Edward, a litigator at Bird & Bird who shared with me how it would feel like to be a father through conversations about his son. Haha! Besides these four great men, I rode with Swedes, Frenchmen and other Singaporeans. Every ride I learnt something new, whether about a country, about life, or about riding. Life is exciting on 2 wheels, there's always something new to keep me entertained.

Arif shared with me some morsels of his life and experiences that I could relate to during the drives to and fro the biking trails. He talked to me about how he saved every single cent of his NSman pay to fund his tertiary education in Canada. Because he saved every cent, he stayed out of trouble, some friends didn't understand but it did not deter him. Look at him now, he's got a career, happy family and a beautiful mountain bike. Sacrifices well worth it. I learnt from him what it meant to be down to earth and to prioritise. When I grow up I want to put my family first, just like Uncle Arif.

I'm no longer as obsessed with Taylor Swift as I used to be. Not that I had much time to obsess over a beautiful, blond, blue-eyed girl when I had 20 miles to run everyday and sleep to catch up on.

Maybe it's because I found Christina Perri.

A beautiful girl with a raw, powerful, unpolished yet beautiful (man, I used the same word twice in the same sentence) voice. I always thought tattoos uglify the body but this girl is beautiful with or without the ink. (check her out here!) Well, then again she's so much like Taylor Swift. Another girl who shot to fame because she believed and loved what she did. I remember when I was the only person I knew who listened to Taylor Swift in late '06. Can't believe it has already been 5 years. Now, I'm the only person I know who listens to Perri. Maybe she'd be world-famous in 5 years.

A few months back, I learnt to get over broken things. Because time mends old wounds. Scabs disappear but scars remain but what's important is that I'm stronger now. 经一事，长一智 that's another lesson learnt.

Looking back, it hasn't been all that bad. So many friends and so many experiences - good and bad - that I won't exchange for anything else. The A levels are creeping closer, of course I'm afraid but I know I will come out of this stronger. 船到桥头自然直。I'll just have to do what I can.

Au Revoir
yongliang

KTM Score RC 3.0 Review

2010-12-11T10:38:00.001+08:00

Just had my maiden ride off-road at the BT mountain bike trail today on my KTM, so I decided to give a review on this monster of a bike :D

First, a little bit of history of KTM Fahrrad GmbH: Motorcycle fans would know that KTM is famous for the dirt bikes they manufacture. KTM has won every Dakar Rally since 2001.

1934 Hans Trunkenpolz opens a repair workshop in Mattighofen Austria.

1951 Hans Trunkenpolz built his first motorcycle.

1953 The company is now officially known as KTM “Kronreif, Trunkenpolz, Mattighofen” After company founders Hans Trunkenpolz and Ernst Kronreif and the Austrian location: Mattighofen, where Hans Trunkenpolz began and the manufacturing plant was built.

1964 KTM starts bicycle production.

Since 1964 KTM produced and sold almost 3000000 bicycles.

KTM Bicycle Ltd. is offering a full range of bikes.

Design and Production of 150 different models: MTB, Road, Cross, City, Trekking and E-Bikes (pedelecs).

Sales and Distribution in 30 countries worldwide.

Sales of KTM bikes per year (2008): 163.000 bicycles.

Moving on to the KTM Score RC 3.0, the bike I'm riding is equipped with the following:

Fork: Rockshox Reba SL 100mm (Dual Air Spring, Blackbox Motion Control) w/ remote lockout (Poploc)
Rear Shock: DT Swiss XM 180 100mm
Headset: Ritchey Comp Press-Fit integrated
Shifters: Shimano SLX Rapidfire plus
Front Derailleur: Shimano SLX Downswing
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT
Chainset: Shimano SLX Hollowtech II 22/32/44T
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Cartridge
Chain: Shimano HG80
Front Hub: Shimano SLX Disc QR
Rear Hub: Shimano SLX Disc QR
Rims: DT Swiss X430, Aluminium
Spokes: DT Swiss revolution
Tyres: 26x2.10" Schwalbe Rocket Ron
Brakes: Shimano SLX Disc 180/160mm
Brake Levers: Shimano SLX
Handlebar: Ritchey Comp flat
Stem: Ritchey Comp
Grips: Ritchey WCS True
Saddle: Selle Italia XR Flow light
Seatpost: Ritchey Comp
Pedals: Wellgo Platform Pedals, B143

The bike weighs in at 11.9kg without pedals. Pretty light for an aluminium full suspension bike.

On The Road:

The bike felt very stiff (which is good) on the road, especially with the fork and shock locked out. I expected the bike to accelerate like a rocket, but was disappointed. But I'm blaming that on the knobby Schwalbe Rocket Rons rather than bike geometry on design.

The Reba's lockout is commendable. Despite the fork being locked out, the fork will be automatically be reactivated to soak up bumps when you hit large bumps that exceed your preset floodgate threshold. I find this function very useful especially when riding on the sides of Singapore roads. :D The plush Reba forks subtly soaked up huge bumps and reduced the fatigue in my arms. (Y)

Kudos also to the DT Swiss XM 180 rear shock. One thing I love about the lock out function of rear shocks is that they give you the option to choose between riding a full suspension bike, or a hardtail. Some shocks lock out so tightly that it performs exactly like a hardtail, but not the DT Swiss XM180. Despite it being locked out, it manages to provide a smooth ride by soaking up rough bumps, and yet allowing the bike to perform like a true hardtail most of the time. Pedal bob on the bike is minimal, likely to be due to the design of the rear suspension system which bears a similarity to the 2010 Stumpjumper Specialized FSR where the rear shock is mounted under the top-tube.

On The Trail:

As this was the bike's maiden ride off-road, I wasn't ready to attempt anything too dangerous, especially with the SLX disc brakes not fully worn in yet. Despite this, the disc brakes did their job excellently today.

Modulation was good and the brakes provided sufficient and appropriate stopping power. Gone were the days where I would either be thrown off my bike by overly strong V-brakes or where I would be screaming for help when the V-brakes refuse to work after being clogged up with mud. After this move to Disc Brakes, I'm never going back. :D

The disc brakes were kinda sensitive to the touch. It activated itself very easily, that would need some getting used to, especially when I have come from a low-end hardtail equipped with V-brakes. The handling of the KTM on the trail was very snappy (which would require time to get used to as well) as well. I attribute this to the stiff steerer and Reba SL forks and probably the well-calculated length of trail of the Score RC 3.0.

Throughout my ride today, I was very careful with my riding line as I was very worried of shredding my Rocket Rons on their first ride. I have read about unpleasant things about the paper-thin sidewalls of the Rocket Rons which were often easily cut open by sharp rocks on the trail. Even the Schwalbe website warned that the Rocket Ron was an out and out competition tire and not meant for aggressive riding. Luckily for me today, the tires held up pretty well.

However, the Rocket Ron is not a very confidence-inducing tire, especially through turns where they seem to take about half a second to fully grip the trail to carry me through the turn. I slid a few times on loose gravel as well. Not what I had expected from knobby tires like the Rocket Ron, that was disappointing. However, when riding at slightly higher speeds (above 15km/h) the Rocket Rons seem to do their job very well, latching onto rocks and allowing the bike to turn sharply and negotiate the trail very well. Maybe Schwalbe was right. The Rocket Ron is a XC racing tire, so probably it works best when ridden fast. (:

The drivetrain equipped on my Score RC 3.0 worked brilliantly as well. The Deore XT rear d, smoothly shifts the chain up and down gears even under high pedal pressure. The SLX front d guides the Shimano Hyperglide chain very smoothly as well. That must be the power and precision of Shimano, hardcore Shimano fans always talk about.

There's something about the Selle Italia XR Flow light saddle I'm uncomfortable with though. It's the kind of saddle I like to call "skeletal" The saddle is basically made up of a pair of rails, it's shell and a piece of synthetic leather covering the shell. Minimal cushioning, and that hurt, especially on the long ride home.

Thankfully the Score RC 3.0 has a good rear suspension system, otherwise I'd be in a world of hurt, looking at how bony my backside is. :/

The Verdict:

The Score RC 3.0 is real value for money at this spec and price. I believe the KTM lineup will pose a great threat to Giant Bicycles which are known for their bang for buck. Powerful, stiff ride, but probably there could be a better tire choice.

Au Revoir
yongliang

Skyline

2010-12-03T23:18:00.002+08:00

I didn't like it. And I'm advising you to save that 10 dollars for something else worth that much.

Here's the trailer:

I didn't even get to see those news scenes in the real movie. What's going on eh?
IMHO, the movie wasn't worth my 10 dollars. I didn't expect to pay that much just to watch our "band of survivors" get eaten up by metallic alien creatures one by one, and get decapitated inside the body of the giant mothership. The storyline was pretty easy to understand because....

THERE IS NO STORYLINE -.-

I shan't post any more spoilers, for the benefit of those who STILL WANT TO WATCH THIS MOVIE. Go ahead, spend that money. It won't be well-spent, sadly. ):

Please don't watch it. ):

It's about aliens.

Stealing humans from their homes.

With blue light.

And eating their brains.

Seriously.

THAT IS IT.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Messages.

2010-11-10T11:49:00.007+08:00

A penny for your thoughts

Do you remember the times when thoughts cost a penny? Well, even a dollar as The Band Perry sung in "If I Die Young" (A penny for my thoughts, oh no I’ll sell them for a dollar/They're worth so much more after I’m a goner) I don't think they cost as much these days when our thoughts are readily available on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace and on microblogging sites like Twitter and Tumblr. And I'm guilty of this too, airing my thoughts in public portals, right here on Blogger!

So, is this increasing openness a bane or a boon?

I made a recent casual comment on Facebook yesterday, "we should stop writing our feelings all over our faces, or in this modern context, all over our facebook walls. Just my 2 cents." It received a couple of likes as well as a couple of comments disagreeing with what I said. So I thought I shall delve deeper into my two-cents-worth comment.

Have you posted song lyrics in your Facebook status update, or similar? Were your really just sharing a meaningful verse, or were you trying to tell everyone how you feel and get someone to comment on it? Here's an example off my Facebook wall, "Nervously pulling at my clothes and trying to look busy/And you're doing your best to avoid me." Those are lyrics from The Story of Us by Taylor Swift. So, honestly, was I sharing just another verse from a song? No, not really, it's a subtle way of seeking attention, we all know that, don't we?

Here is another scenario. You post an interesting video, most of the time its a music video of a song that you like. But you don't post it simply because you want to share it with everyone else, do you? Here is another example off my Facebook wall again, "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPJp3wrV0OQ :D
The Corrs : What Can I Do ( Live Acoustic) HQwww.youtube.com>Good live version of their first big hit single What Can I Do (Composer- Caroline Corr, Andrea Corr, Sharon Corr, Jim Corr) I haven't slept at all in days It's been so long since we've talked And I have been here many times I just don't know what I'm doi.."
Did I post it because it sounded good? Yes it sounds good, but I don't think that is the main reason. You know it isn't the main reason too.

And other times, we decided not to use song lyrics or videos. We simply decide to post a wise proverb or a saying, or just something wise-sounding. Here is yet another example of my Facebook wall, "苟且偷生". A simple 4 Chinese characters open to everyone's interpretation. Anyway, it means to keep alive without serious ambition. So, why did I post that? It cannot simply be a random, ordinary comment right? It was meant to describe my first JC year. Okay, we digress.

Of course, there are also some times when we are completely insensitive with some comments we make. Something like this: Sigh, missed 1 mark to an A. Or: I'd rather get a B then suffer the agony of not being in the top percentile. Or even: Sigh I got 3 As. And that 1 stupid B that is half a mark from an A.

It sounds so funny as I'm typing all that, but those comments usually cut deep.

So do you see? We (ok maybe just I but I believe we all are guilty okay. haha.) publish our thoughts on public portals, depreciating the price of our thoughts (haha, this is meant to be darkly humourous), expose our vulnerable and ugly selves and allow people to read our minds like a book, in an amazingly subtle manner. But is this for the better or for worse?

Take cyber-bullying for example. Sure, I agree that punishment should be meted out to cyber bullies and they are the 21st century's latest, and soon-to-be biggest villians. But I can't help thinking that we are the ones making ourselves vulnerable. We air our thoughts publicly, thoughts that used to be private and were meant to be kept to ourselves before the advent of Facebook and other social networking sites, publishing to the world our vulnerabilities giving and cyber-bullies a chance to do their damage.

Sure, we have become more "connected", the new wave of communication technologies were supposed to form communication links around the world, bring the world closer, encourage different people to be more sensitive and understanding towards each other but how much of this has been achieved?

Regarding the point on sensitivity towards others, some of us still don't make the mark. Read this: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146169/singaporean_blogger_arrested_charged_with_racism.html

Have we achieved what we claimed? Some may have, but a significant number of us have not. The danger with posting everything we feel online, however subtly is that what we publish cannot be erased or retraced.

So, I just think that maybe we should start being more selective with what we say and publish, just like things were before. Some things are meant to be secret, some things are meant to be kept to ourselves, some things are meant to be kept mum about. Thoughts were meant to cost a penny.

And there, my 50 cents worth.

I'm guilty, are you?

Au Revoir
yongliang

Unstoppable

2010-11-07T00:44:00.004+08:00

Back from watching Unstoppable! It's a gripping movie about a runaway train, and I shan't say more to avoid spoiling the show for those who haven't watched it. I would highly recommend this movie, I was kept at the edge of my seat for most of the movie. Although the plot is simple enough and the ending was easy to guess, it was still very exciting! :D So, please go watch it if you haven't!

Anyway, the movie is loosely based on the Crazy Eights train runaway incident in Ohio in 2010, you can read more here: http://articles.cnn.com/2001-05-15/us/runaway.train.05_1_jon-hosfeld-runaway-freight-train-tank-cars?_s=PM:US

So, now you can roughly guess what the movie is about yeah? :D

Go do yourselves a favour and watch it now, it's eggciting :D You know you wanna.

Au Revoir
yongliang

Why Can't I Own A Canadian?

2010-11-03T12:17:00.002+08:00

Hilarious article which I chanced upon after Google's autofill suggested the search: Why can't I own a canadian, and it led me to the humanists of utah website which hosted the article. I guess I'm slow, because the article had been published in 2002. That aside, the article is still a funny and insightful one.

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 (Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee) by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16 (And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death). Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14 - And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

I guess nothing should be taken at face value, even religious books.

Au Revoir
yongliang

Sparks Fly

2010-11-03T11:33:00.002+08:00

After waiting for 3 years (or even 4), Sparks Fly has finally been recorded. :D

Sparks Fly
Taylor Swift

The way you move is like a full on rainstorm
And I'm a house of cards
You're the kind of reckless that should send me running
But I kinda know that I won't get far

And you stood there in front of me
Just close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see
What I was thinking of

Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes, baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea
You touch me once and it's really something
You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be
I'm on my guard with the rest of the world
But with you I know it's no good
And I could wait patiently
But I really wish you would

Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes, baby
As the lights go down
Something that'll haunt me when you're not around
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

I'll run my fingers through your hair
And watch the lights go wild
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me
It's just wrong enough to make it feel right
And lead me up the staircase
Won't you whisper soft and slow
I'm captivated by you baby like a fireworks show

Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes, baby
As the lights go down
Something that'll haunt me when you're not around
cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

Au Revoir
yongliang

what a bad year

2010-10-30T18:33:00.001+08:00

I'd rather qualify and not pick it up than to not qualify at all.

Underperformed and disappointed. Oh, screw it.

New Balance 760

2010-08-10T09:07:00.002+08:00

Been really busy for the past few months. Getting used to school, but I still don't really like it. But CCA is pretty fun. Training has been good so far. Burnt through my red NB 760, so...

New yellow/green Nb 760! hahaha.

I decided to use the same pair since they still have it and I don't see any other pair I like. The cushioning isn't too soft, which is something I like, and I guess is something to be expected from a "stability" shoe.

During the extended hiatus from blogging, many crazy stuff happened. One of them, is meeting Mr Chamkaur Dhaliwal Singh, the Singaporean national record holder for 1500m and 3000m (both set in Austrialia). :D

Mr Chamkaur

And a few days back, I chased after the Youth Olympic Flame!

A few days left before the start of the Youth Olympic Games. Feeling pretty excited. But there are still 2 hurdles to overcome, Biology and Chemistry SPA before that. So, wish me luck :/

Au Revoir

yongliang

Prozzak - How Beautiful

2010-07-04T23:25:00.000+08:00

How Beautiful
Prozzak

I know that lately I've been kinda into myself
And I let things slide just a little too much
Every once in a while I'll be telling you that I love you

I know you think I've put our precious love on the shelf
But I feel your tears and I miss your touch
Too much time has gone by and I feel like I'm ready to show you

I'll make it up to you
Oh yeah
Just listen to the words I say

How beautiful it is to love you all the time
How beautiful it is to know that you are mine
It's been so long
Since I've told you
Since you came along
You came up
It was beautiful
Sha la la la la la la la la la la

You think that maybe I've been looking somewhere else
For the love we had when the feeling was fresh
Maybe something has died and I don't have the heart to tell you

I know you know I'd never do a thing like that
Cos the love we have is much deeper than that
And my heart came alive when I started to get to know you

I'll make it up to you
Oh yeah
Just listen to the words I say

How beautiful it is to love you all the time
How beautiful it is to know that you are mine
It's been so long
Since I've told you
Since you came along
You came up
It was beautiful
Sha la la la la la la la la la la

I never wanted anybody else but you
And now I know exactly what I've gotta do
I will shout it out

How beautiful it is to love you all the time
How beautiful it is to know that you are mine
It's been so long
Since I've told you
Since you came along
You came up
It was beautiful

Beautiful to love you all the time
Beautiful to love you all the time

Au Revoir

yongliang

Prozzak - Don't Love Me That Way

2010-06-17T17:49:00.001+08:00

There you go again
Playing with my heart
Just when I've moved on
You're bringing me back to the start
Oh well can't you see I'm breaking
I've been there for the taking
Now there's just one thing I'm asking of you

Baby don't speak to me so softly
Ask me if I'm okay
Smile if you should pass my way
Try not to wear your hair so pretty
Be so bright and witty
Laugh at all the jokes I make
Cos I still think about you every day
And it still hurts me when I hear you say
You don't love me that way

It's so bittersweet
When I see you now
And every time we meet
You've got me wondering how
How I'm supposed to smile and listen
There's some new love you're kissing
When I feel so desperate for you today

Baby don't speak to me so softly
Ask me if I'm okay
Smile if you should pass my way
Try not to wear your hair so pretty
Be so bright and witty
Laugh at all the jokes I make
Cos I still think about you every day
And it still hurts me when I hear you say
You don't love me that way
Don't Love Me That Way
Prozzak

Oh can't you see I'm breaking
I've been there for the taking
Now there's just one thing I'm asking of you

Baby don't speak to me so softly
Ask me if I'm okay
Smile if you should pass my way
Try not to wear your hair so pretty
Be so bright and witty
Laugh at all the jokes I make
Cos I still think about you every day
And it still hurts me when I hear you say
You don't love me that way

Au Revoir

yongliang

Arts Feat 2010

2010-05-26T18:40:00.003+08:00

I'm feeling freaking bored now. I'm like blogging here at my class bench. I'm bored, my butt hurts and I've ran outof things to do.

I already did homework, I improved my EOM, and I played crazy taxi. Oh man, running out of options people.

And my butt hurts. really. I can't say this enough. MY BUTT HURTS.

Why do they make benches so hard? ):

Or maybe I don't have enough fat at my backside. Eat more?

Faced with difficult decisions lately. But then if I want an opportunity, sacrifices have to be made right? :/

Decisions are never easy to make, but I've made mine. I never won something in 10 years. A chance to make up for all that lost time. I'm grabbing it.

Sigh I'm really bored.

And my butt hurts.

Padding? :D

Arts Fest start soon please, please, please.

I wanna go home. I should have gone home.

Turban has come and gone to do her saikang (odd jobs).

And check out this weird piece of news I got off The Mirror UK:

Cursed Phone Number Suspended After User Deaths

Phone chiefs have suspended the mobile phone number 0888 888 888 - after every single person assigned to it died in the last 10 years.

The first owner Vladimir Grashnov - the former CEO of Bulgarian mobile phone company Mobitel which issued the number - died of cancer in 2001 aged just 48.

Despite a spotless business record there were persistent rumours that his cancer had been caused by a business rival using radioactive poisoning.

The jinxed number then passed to Bulgarian mafia boss Konstantin Dimitrov who was gunned down in 2003 by a lone assassin in the Netherlands during a trip to inspect his 500 million GBP drug smuggling empire.

Dimitrov, who died aged 31, had the mobile with him when he was shot while eating out with a beautiful model.

Russian mafia bosses - jealous of his drug smuggling operation - were said to have been behind the killing.

The phone number then passed to crooked businessman Konstantin Dishliev who was gunned down outside an Indian restaurant in Bulgaria's capital Sofia after taking over the jinxed line.

Estate agent Dishliev had secretly been running a massive cocaine trafficking operation before his assassination in 2005.

He died after 130 million GBP of the drug was intercepted by police on its way into the country from Colombia.

Since then, the number is understood to have been dormant while police maintained an open file on Dishliev's killing and his smuggling ring.

Now spooked phone bosses are said to have suspended the number for good. Callers now get a recorded message saying the phone is "outside network coverage." A Mobitel spokesman would only say: "We have no comment to make. We won't discuss individual numbers."

Funny. Cool how a mobile phone number might have done so much. :D But then again, it's the rich who can 'buy' the number, and well, it's usually the rich with many enemies, don't you think?

My butt hurts. Arts Fest still not starting. GAHHHH.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Parachute - Strange World

2010-05-16T15:23:00.001+08:00

Strange World
Parachute

Let me out
My world is spinning
And it just won't stop.
I'm so deep in it
And I've had enough.
I just can't do it again
But then you drop that bomb,
All I can hear is all these car alarms
And then I realized that I've gone too far
And now I'm slipping away, hey, hey, hey.

So keep me hanging on
Hold me down and
Stop me when I fall
And love me when it makes no sense at all
Even when I'm wrong,
Keep me hanging on
Got me living in a strange world, strange world, strange world.
Got me living in a strange world, strange world, strange world.

Shadows (swim?)
I hear them laughing
At the state I'm In
Their eyes keep staring
And they just won't quit
And they whisper your name
Over there I just close my eyes
I never sleep through all these endless nights
And when I dream it's all in black and white
And I'm just slipping away, hey, hey, hey

So keep my hanging on
Hold me down and
Stop me when I fall
And love me when it makes no sense at all
Even when I'm wrong,
Keep me hanging on.
Got me living in a strange world, strange world, strange world.
Got me living in a strange world, strange world, strange world

Au Revoir

yongliang

She Is Love

2010-05-09T17:24:00.000+08:00

Parachute
She Is Love

I've been beaten down
I've been kicked around
But she takes it all for me
And I lost my faith
In my darkest days
But she makes me want to believe
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
She is love
And she is all i need
She's all i need
Well i had my ways
And they were all in vain
And she waited patiently
It was all the same
All my pride and shame,
But she put me on my feet
They call her love, love, love, love, love
They call her love, love, love, love, love
She is love
And she is all i need
She is love
And she is all i need
She is love
And she is all i need

Au Revoir

yongliang

Religion and Ideology

2010-05-02T17:50:00.005+08:00

Hello, I back from my Sunday run :D

I believe in a Creator (:

I don't read about the Creator from a book, I just believe in the Creator. I view life as a book the Creator written. Do you remember those books where at the end of the page you have to pick a path and then flip to that page? That's what I think life is. Alright, maybe life would be a much thicker book but fundamentally, it's the same.

You see, everyday we make choices and "flip those pages". We are picking a path out of the infinite paths we could take. And every path leads you to a different ending.

I hope I'm making the right choices and flipping to the right pages so I get to a nice ending, at least don't let me end up in the tiger's mouth.

Hundreds of pages, pages, pages for words - Jason Mraz - You And I Both

I really think Singapore wouldn't be the same without MM Lee Kuan Yew. Our younger generation is politically apathetic? Maybe. But I think that scope can be wider, to include Singaporeans, most Singaporeans, almost all.

Well, that's not the point you see. Anyway, ask any person, someone the age of your grandparents, if they know who the Prime Minister is. There's a high change he or she is gonna reply "Lee Kuan Yew".

Ever since he stepped down from the position of Prime Minister, he never really left the political scene. He's perpetually, there. He's always there. Making sure things are in order, and things operate smoothly. He's magnificent, he's my idol, really.

Why is he not leaving the political scene? Well maybe he, and even I think the younger generation of leaders are not ready to take over and put on his shoes. MM Lee has left them shoes that are too big to fill, in my opinion.

I don't think he made many, or even any mistakes during his tour of duty. Well, any mistake can be forgiven or forgotten, or overlooked, or not worth looking when his achievements are far from ordinary. He transformed a sleepy fishing village to a bustling metropolitan city. Sure, it's cliche, but so what? It's true.

How about now. We see the government getting into trouble on a few occasions. Two years ago Mas Selemat, a JI detainee escaped from a high-security facility. Last year, Temasek holdings revealed a $39 billion loss. (Temasek Holdings is a sovereign wealth fund that owns and manages Singapore's direct investments). And last year as well, GIC reported losses of about $45-50 billion.

What would happen when MM Lee is no longer around?

The West often criticise Singapore as authoritarian, some call us barbaric and backward because we are not democratic and do not advocate freedom of expression. (In 1994, Australia called Singapore barbaric because we gave Michael Fay four strokes of the cane for vandalism.)

Sure, so beating people up on streets, waging wars, car jacking, vandalising public buildings with unsightly graffiti (as an amateur pencil artist and digital artist, I know what artistic graffiti is) is civilised behaviour? Convince me.

I don't see much of that behaviour in Singapore. But I see a lot of that in the West. So tell me, who are the barbaric ones?

Singapore, authoritarian? So what if we are. Maybe we are, and I'm proud of it. If we're an authoritarian country, I believe we're the only authoritarian country which has achieved such a high degree of success that is simply off the charts.

What's wrong with the Asian way of democracy? At least we don't suffer from sleepless nights, we have peaceful neighbourhoods and I get to go to school without having to worry about being kidnapped on the way there or back (although the bus is really cramped in the morning :/).

Au Revoir

yongliang

sorry for the poor vocabulary. But here's my excuse:

Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use. - Ernest Hemingway

Parachute - She

2010-04-30T21:42:00.002+08:00

Parachute
She

She has no problems with secrets
She knows how to keep them
She never felt the need to let them show
And I've had no trouble with speaking
Or trusting my instincts
But maybe this is one that I should know
But as I'm waiting in
The devil on my shoulder stares
Laughing at the one thing I can't get, it's what I need

She, she is the words that I can't find
How can the only thing that's killing me, make me feel so alive
And I couldn't speak
I couldn't breathe to save my life
All of my chances swim like sinking ships
This time it's it
I'll drown or make her mine

My vocal cords have been fighting
My mouth likes to spite me
It never says the words that come to mind
And I brought a stick to a gun fight
And I'm stuck with my tongue tied
I run, but I can't hide what's always there

She, she is the words that I can't find
How can the only thing that's killing me, make me feel so alive
And I couldn't speak
I couldn't breathe to save my life
All of my chances swim like sinking ships
This time it's it
I'll drown or make her mine

I can see these things I do
and never seem to follow through

She, she is the words that I can't find
How can the only thing that's killing me, make me feel so alive...

She, she is the words that I can't find
How can the only thing that's killing me, make me feel so alive
And I couldn't speak
I couldn't breathe to save my life
All of my chances swim like sinking ships
This time it's it
I'll drown or make her mine

She, she is the words that I can't find
How can the only thing that's killing me, make me feel so alive
And I couldn't speak
I couldn't breathe to save my life
All of my chances swim like sinking ships
This time it's it
I'll drown or make her mine

Au Revoir

yongliang

Colbie Caillat - Never Let You Go

2010-03-25T20:52:00.001+08:00

Colbie Caillat
Never Let You Go

If we find that our vision is blinded
We should slow down and maybe we will find it
Every heart just needs a little time to grow
If we go through a little bit of hard times
You should know that to fix it it'll take time
Baby hold on before we start to lose control

What can I say, what can I do
How do we change, I'm not gonna lose you

If the world stops turning
If the sun stops burning
When the cold winds starts to blow
I wanna let you know, oh I'll never let you go
When you feel like breaking
When your heart keeps waiting
When the tears begin to flow
I wanna let you know, oh I'll never let you go

Don't hide those feelings inside 'cause
If they're tucked back they could turn your heart black
How long will it take for us to let this go

We you just wait, will you let loose
Will you know, my feelings are true

If the world stops turning
If the sun stops burning
When the cold winds starts to blow
I wanna let you know, oh I'll never let you go
When you feel like breaking
When your heart keeps waiting
When the tears begin to flow
I wanna let you know, oh I'll never let you go

Baby I am standing here
Trying to get past the fear
Hoping you will let me go
Oh, I wanna let you know

If the world stops turning
If the sun stops burning
When the cold winds starts to blow
I wanna let you, oh I'll never let you go
When you feel like breaking
When your heart keeps waiting
When the tears begin to flow
I wanna let you know, oh I'll never let you go

Oh, I'll never let you go
I'll never let you go
Oh, I wanna let you know, I'll never let you go
No, I'll never let you go
Oh, I wanna let you know, I'll never let you go
No, I'll never let you go
I'm gonna let you know, I'll never let you go
I'm gonna let you know, oh I'll never let you go

Au Revoir

yongliang

Charity

2010-03-21T00:20:00.000+08:00

I had wanted to sleep early tonight, but I decided to stay up to talk about my sentiments on charity.

Reflection is mental nourishment, and thus is more important than sleep :D HAHA.

Tonight's Thong Chai Charity Night, which was organised and broadcasted by Channel 8 wasn't much of a success, in my opinion compared to charity shows in the past. When I looked at the figures close to the end of the show, I had seen that there were only 400K+ call-in donations, a far cry from previous years' 1m+ calls. I'll post the donations received as soon as they are released.

So, this reminds me of an article/essay I wrote on charity that only got a measly 22 marks. I decided to try writing it again :D

_____________________________________________________________________________

The word, “Charity” entered the English language through the French word, “Charite”, which was derived from the Latin word “Caritas”. In the twelfth century, charity indicated a state of benevolence towards the poor.

In the fifteenth century, charity was used to indicate the state of love or simple affection which was in or out of regarding one’s fellows; an occasion or body of people seeking to embody that state; the love of god, in both directions.

The fraternity was the embodiment of this ideal. In 1700, it meant an optimistic judgement about the good intentions of others; an act of benevolence towards the poor or the needy; an institution erected as a result of such an act.

In essence, the act of charity meant giving to others, with no strings attached.
However, in recent years, there has been an overwhelming trend of commercialisation in charity, which is a paradox within itself. Commercialisation and charity cannot exist together. Commercialisation involves making money and profits while charity purely involves helping the poor and needy. Therefore charities are often dubbed as non-profit organisations.

Charity has crumbled in the era of commercialism, where only money talks. There is no concern over quality, the poor, the needy, the hungry or the sick. No longer are charities non-profit-driven. A recent study commissioned by Google.org and conducted by the Centre on Philanthropy at Indiana University claims that less than a third of donations are targeted at those in need.

Where does the money go then? They go to the local telecommunication companies, the administrative charges, and to the cost of the fundraiser. Thus, the “love and simple affection” common people like us shower on the needy through donations, do not all shower upon the needy we expect to help. For example, the calls in to Thong Chai charity night were charged $0.21 of administrative charges, including GST apart from the donation itself. For the 400K calls in tonight, the administration and government coffers would have grown richer by $84,000.

Apart from the fact that not all that we donate goes to the beneficiaries, there still are other factors why I feel that the spirit of charity has been lost in this era.

Many fundraisers organised by non-profit organisations are often sponsored by large companies or even conglomerates. However, charity is definitely not the main reason behind their generous contributions. The number one reason why the sponsors would agree to fund a campaign is because of the positive media exposure they can receive if they agree to contribute to and sponsor charities and fundraisers. Big names such as Tan Chong and Sons Motor Co. sponsors NKF annually for its charity show, giving the Nissan cars they carry a large amount of publicity. A Chinese saying goes like this, “A good businessman will never make a non-profitable deal”. As such, the sponsors will never agree to sponsor the non-profit organisations if not for the profits they can earn.

Hence, until the day companies are able to contribute under the veil of anonymity, charity will remain a name in the wind.

Tax-deductible donations are another example of the profit-charity paradox. Since an act of charity is to give willingly and voluntarily without expecting return, giving a donation to a charity should be acknowledged as a form of charity. However, the introduction of tax-deductible donations has destroyed the spirit of charity and the act of giving. People no longer donate out of goodwill, they donate so as to be able to receive tax incentives and rebates. Moreover, some people feel that they rather do charity with their money, rather than to pay them as taxes to the government. As such, these forms of donations and acts of charity are not really donations or charitable acts as they are not made out of genuine goodwill, but with an underlying motive of becoming eligible for tax-deduction.

In this modern era, charity is really dead. We no longer help our unfortunate fellow human beings out of goodwill, but with motives. Our acts of charity are no longer genuine as we demand returns for every action. There is little hope for the spirit of charity to be revived, for our youth are benevolent only to earn CIP hours. The era when true charity existed, is a lost generation.

Very little change to it. I only added a few examples to make the essay not so theoretical. Because I'm tired ):

Goodnight.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Failed OG outing

2010-03-20T20:30:00.002+08:00

There, again, another failed OG outing. ):

Not gonna make a mountain out of a molehill, at least the 5 of us had fun playing pool :D We'll play snooker next time hahaha. :D

On Friday, after Health and Fitness, I met Chyan Wen to finish up some unfinished business before having lunch. After which, we went to a toy shop where I saw many many many hobby kits! :D It had been a long time since I had made a model, so I decided to browse around and find something nice to make. Sigh, the Ferrari F60 model cost $90+ way beyond my budget. So I settled with a cool looking Comanche :D

Managed to complete the set in 4 hours hahaha :D Didn't lose my touch :)

Obviously, I didn't paint the kit ): My super duper old Humbrol paint had dried up, so didn't get a chance to paint this kit. Really wanted to paint this kit because it looked really nice, but fate didn't allow me to. haha.

But I guess it already looks very cool on its own.

My spartan toolkit.

The model to be made. COMANCHE :D

Parts

The cockpit was really hard to assemble.

Little machine gun.

The smaller missile racks.

Half-assembled.

Larger missile rack

Wheels installed, it can now stand on its own 3 wheels.

Holes drilled manually for the stub wings.

Holes drilled too far apart!!

Completed 'copter. Looks cool right :D

What a beautiful mess, this is.

Oh my, school is gonna start really soon. Just had a bad haircut again, as usual ): Hope it grows back ASAP. I need to find a hairdress who can trim my hair properly!

I think school is gonna get tougher, but as the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Time for me to get going :D Tests coming up, time to be a juggler too. :D

School is nothing really, the future is the real thing.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Colbie Caillat - I Won't

2010-03-17T21:34:00.001+08:00

Colbie Caillat
I Won't

I won't do what you told me
I won't do what you said (no)
I'm not gonna stop feeling
I'm not gonna forget it
I don't wanna start over
I don't wanna pretend it
You are not my lover
Guess you're only my friend

Cause when it took my heart
It took it all
When you gave it back
I fell apart

So...

I won't do what you told me
I won't do what you said, no
I'm not gonna stop feeling
I'm not gonna forget it
I don't wanna start over
I don't wanna pretend it
You are not my lover
Guess you're only my friend
My friend
I wont...

Well, maybe you're not right for me
Maybe this is hard to see
I get lost in your beauty
And I just stop questioning
Cause when you took my heart
You took it all
When you gave it back
It fell apart

So...

I won't do what you told me
I won't do what you said, no
I'm not gonna stop feeling
I'm not gonna forget it
I don't wanna start over
I don't wanna pretend it
You are not my lover
Guess you're only my friend
Friend
I wont...

You say it's easier to burn than to build
You say it's easier to hurt than to heal
But I say you lose when you give up what you love
And I've lived my life without you long enough

So...

I won't do what you told me
I won't do what you said, no
I'm not gonna stop feeling
I'm not gonna forget it
I don't wanna start over
I don't wanna pretend it
You are not my lover
Guess you're only my friend
Friend
I wont...

No, I won't...

March Holidays

2010-03-12T23:09:00.002+08:00

YAY! :D The March holidays are finally here. This term had been an extremely eventful one. First is my move into a completely new environment. After a decade in Catholic High, I have to travel to Bukit Timah early every morning to Hwa Chong. And It's now coed :/

Then there was orientation. And then there was our classes. And then, the most detested, LESSON PROPER - which eventually led to test after test, and of course, failure after failure ):

Talking about failure, I think I totally failed today's GP test :/

"Movies today are entertaining but rarely enlightening." How far is this statement accurate. (something like that...)

This was my response:

Watching movies is a form of entertainment. It is a popular way of relieving stress and is also a popular activity for gatherings. However, apart from just providing entertainment, movies are also enlightening. In my opinion, an enlightening movie allows the audience to learn and take away something from it when they leave the theatre. Some values that can be spread include teamwork, leadership and care for others. I feel that most movies are able to affect the audience in such a way as there are morals and values to be learnt from them. Therefore, I feel that movies today are not only entertaining, but also enlightening.

An example of an enlightening movie is "Invictus" The movie is not only a form of entertainment, but it is also a form of documentation of an incredible milestone of South African history, when a rugby game reunited a nation which had been torn apart and is starting to recover from decades of racial discrimination, prejudice and apartheid. I feel that values such as teamwork, the power of unity and good leadership can be learnt from the movie. Nelson Mendela was the newly-elected president and face the challenge of reuniting a broken country. He learnt during a rugby game that the South African natives support for the visitor team, while the immigrants to South Africa would support the local team, the Springboks. He learnt that the Springboks, which is a team made up of immigrants except for 1 player, reminded the locals of apartheid and their past, thus they detested the team. Nelson Mendela decided that he had to teach his people to forgive and forget so that they can move on. He overturned a petition to dissolve the Springboks, a decision which risked his presidency. The Springboks were a weak team, however they eventually went on to win the World Cup, with everyone in the stadium cheering proudly for the Springboks. A line of Matt Damon's illustrated the idea of unity and the power of people very well, "There were not only 450,000 people in the stadium supporting us, but 6.5 million South Africans behind us." Thus, I find this movie enlightening as it perfectly illustrated the ideas of teamwork and tenacity which was displayed by the rugby players who were given the formidable task of winning the World Cup to repair their country; the importance of good leadership which was displayed by Nelson Mendela and his good foresight; and the power of a united nation which was excellently portrayed in the final scene where the entire stadium of South Africans, natives and immigrants alike cheering on their national team, the Springboks. Therefore, this shows that movies today are not only entertaining, they can be moving and enlightening as well.

Another example of an enlightening movie is "The Soloist". It showed how music could grant a schizophrenic musical genius moments of sanity and tranquility, and the healing power of friendship. Columnist for the LA Times, Steve Lopez had ran out of ideas for his column until he met Nathaniel Ayers, a musical genius he described as "the man who has the world on two strings". The power of music can be seen when Nathaniel Ayers was sane and tranquil for the moments in his confused life when he is playing. An unusual friendship between Steve and Nathaniel was formed. The movie offered a perspective of an unusual friendship - a relationship where 2 people are willing to do anything for the other - which can be seen between Steve and Nathaniel. Steve risked straining his family ties, dedicating his time to help Nathaniel Ayers recover and reintegrate and risked being beaten up during Nathaniel's moments of madness. While Nathaniel had to step out of his comfort zone and try to adapt so as to not disappoint his new and only friend's efforts. Thus, in my opinion the movie was enlightening as it showed the power of friendship and how the passion of music could help preserve the sanity of a schizophrenic genius. Therefore it shows that movies today are not only entertaining but also enlightening.

However, there are indeed movies which are purely entertaining with no educational value. An example would be "Jonas Brothers Live in Concert 3D". Since the movie was merely recorded concert footage played in stereoscopic format, there is nothing to learn from the movie and it is thus not enlightening and only serves the purpose of entertainment. Other movies such as comedies like "Duplex" only serve to provide entertainment but are not enlightening. However, since this is only a small proportion of movies being screen in cinemas today, it is unfair to say that movies today are rarely enlightening just by using the small proportion of movies as representation. Thus I feel that non-enlightening movies are rare cases and most movies are entertaining and enlightening.

In conclusion, there are movies which are not enlightening, they are movies with no educational value like Jonas Brother's Live in Concert. However since this only represents only a small proportion of movies, it is unfair to say assume that movies today are rarely enlightening. Therefore, I feel that a movie is enlightening as long as values and morals can be learnt from it. Since many movies today fit the bill, the statement "Movies today are entertaining but rarely enlightening" is not an accurate description of movies today.

something like that...

I think fail already.

):

Au Revoir

yongliang

);

2010-03-10T20:28:00.002+08:00

Oh my. Back to my failing ways again. J1 is really feeling like sec 3 all over again. In sec 3 I failed every single Physics Test, Chemistry Test and Math test there was. Always had to go for retests. and failed time after time. It's beginning all over again.

Got 5/26 for my first math lecture test. ): Sigh. Good start, good start. Then there was today's Chemistry test. I got stumped when I saw "resultant solution" and started to think which is the resultant solution. The more I thought, the more lost I became, and soon I got lost in my own thoughts. When the tutor said, "3 minutes left!", I snapped back to reality but it was too late to finish. ):

Sigh, I'm sure I'll get no more than 4 marks for Chem Test, surely. And I studied for it last night, I redid my Chemistry tutorials. Sigh, only to fail again. Back to square one. Tough road ahead! ):

And have you read about Jack Neo? What's going on with men these days. There was Tiger Woods, and now there's Jack Neo. If you can't stick to one life partner, then don't have one at all. You're wasting her time! But then again, you can say that Jack Neo's honest revelation deserves to be commended and his courage admired. However, his actions are to be condemned.

I hope I'd be a good man. haha. :D

Oh my, tough road ahead.

Is education important? Sure it is. But then how much of what we learn now are we going to be able to apply in future? I'm positive I will not be drawing graphs, circles and ellipses on graph paper. What are the chances? Don't you think what we're learning are almost completely irrelevant for our futures? Sure, polytechnics are there for students who have decided to specialise in a certain field and thus would be exposed to that field to a greater depth, thus the irrelevance of what they are learning is reduced. JCs are meant for the students who have not made their decisions or have decided to keep their options open. So we are exposed to a greater variety of subjects, but not to much depth. However, I feel that much of what we are learning is irrelevant.

What are the chances of an engineer drawing an ellipse OR A STAR on graph paper with a graphical calculator? What are the chances of a chemist diluting a reacted solution over and over again before realising he forgot how many moles of reactant he used and decides to use titration to figure out how much reactant he had using stoichiometry? Honestly? Close to zero.

Then what are we doing?

I shouldn't be complaining.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Mountains to conquer

2010-03-08T19:29:00.002+08:00

Taking time off to blog. (:

Didn't do too well for my math lecture test. Back to my failing ways. ): Math, that's one big, giant mountain to conquer. Can't the mountain just move outta my way? -.-

School is starting to get hectic. I'm starting to not know how to do work. I'm starting to become reliant on other people's work to get my own work done. Not a good start, it's only term 1.

And CCA. Now I'm having second thoughts about joining floorball. But my calculator said I should join floorball, so I guess I shall. After all, if godbro can do it, so can I. That's exactly what I told myself before the O levels, even though I was still failing badly. If I could pull it off then, I can pull it off again.

Can't be that hard, right?

yeah, I guess so.

We're given a day off tomorrow, but I've got to go back to school to attend my first floorball training. Brilliant start, brilliant start.

At this rate I'm going, can I still go cycling once a week? I should spend more time studying.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Cyber Offences

2010-03-06T13:50:00.003+08:00

Yesterday 2 seniors from my school were suspended due to "cyber offences". That led me to think, what exactly is a cyber offence? With the blogosphere booming and people becoming more and more expressive, what exactly is wrong and right to say, or type/publish in this case?

Let's say I criticise my school. Maybe I'd say the infrastructure is bad or I don't like the school building. Does that constitute a cyber offence? In my opinion, no not really. :/ As long as you say why you don't like the school building or explain why the infrastructure is bad in a logical manner, I don't think that should be classified as a cyber offence, after all blogging is a part of objective journalism. You are merely voicing out your opinion, journalising your views.

Then maybe I criticise a teacher. 'So and so' is a lousy teacher. Does that constitute to a cyber offence? This depends, really. If you say 'so and so' is a lousy teacher cos he/she is ugly, stupid or something along those lines, I would think that's a form of cyber offence. It's a personal attack, no? I think it is.

Unless, you explain. Probably her teaching style isn't suited for you. Or maybe you think she cannot control the class. Any of those reasons would make the criticism more objective, and I think it shouldn't be regarded as a cyber offence, simply because you have your right to voice objective, well-grounded, well-based opinions, which have to be true of course.

Criticising others (as in classmates, etc). Now, I think this is a sensitive area. :/ If the scenario is that you were supposed to do a project with 'so and so' but 'so and so' did not contribute anything and freeloaded off you, and then you publish a blog post saying that he totally freeloaded off you. I don't think it's a cyber offence, like seriously. I mean, he totally lazed around right? But if you call him a sloth, or something along those lines, I think you crossed the line.

Blogging is a form of journalism, so as long as you make well-grounded and well-based criticism (that has to be evidenced), I think that should keep you out of trouble. Unless, someone is making trouble for you or trying to cover up something...

Anyway, just got back from LIFE today. [: So fun haha. Today didn't do tutoring, instead I helped a kid draw and colour a picture of a violin-playing cat. Cool right? Then we made kites out of A4 paper, twigs and raffia string. And then we threw it around. So fun to be a child. Anyone wants to join CFTH and volunteer at LIFE with me? :D

Au Revoir

yongliang

Bukit Timah Conquered!

2010-02-28T19:49:00.003+08:00

Conquered Bukit Timah hill today! haha
Okay la I didn't really conquer it. Some uphills were VERY steep, had to dismount and try riding up again a few times. And some downhill sections really scared me so I went down them very very slowly, locking and sliding my rear wheel in the process. Soon I'll need a new set of tires. And I think my chain is beginning to stretch cos it now appears to be quite loose :/ And my chain is prone to derailing the wrong way after a hard drop.

Sigh, money money money.

But today was fun. hahah. Pictures [:

gnarly uphill rock garden

rustic trail

super duper steep upslope

the downhill where I fell last week. It couldn't get me this time :P

bridge

cool tunnel. I was playing with echos here.

downhill rock garden. fun [:

this is a downhill section. My bike flew off a step to become an aeroplane for half a second.

To the bright side [:

giant cliff

CRAZY UPSLOPE
crazier upslope

nearing the end!

EXIT!

pit stop [:

Au Revoir

yongliang

Lost

2010-02-26T18:55:00.003+08:00

I feel so lost now these days. I don't know why but I feel like I've been walking around aimlessly in HCI. Starting to wonder if its the school for me.

I guess one of the reasons is that everyone has begun their CCAs or are already in a CCA, except for me. Everyone seems to have their niche area. Zong Xian has dance, Voon has violin, Kai Rou has badminton and 黄城 and Leonard has Tahan.

I enjoy cycling and playing pool. I enjoy shooting too, thanks to a good experience back in NCC air, but Air Rifle doesn't want me. I love kids and helping them, that's why I volunteer at LIFE on Saturdays. I wanted to make helping children my CCA via Interact, but they didn't want me either ):. Neither of the remaining 2 is a CCA. Choose a CCA which you have a passion in, but what if there's no CCA left that feeds your passion? :/

And I guess I feel aimless also because there's no one I'm close to here in HCI. Back in Cat High, I had Wei Kit and Wei Xuan, and the PB EXCOs and the ever supportive NCC Air and 4-1. But here in HCI there's no one I can have a heart-to-heart talk to, let alone pour my heart out. ): Maybe I suffer from social anxiety disorder. :/ I really wish that my 'extroverted online' self can be my real self. There's no one to rely on here. I always felt it was better to have a small group of extremely close friends rather than a large group of acquaintances, however what am I to do when my small group of friends aren't here with me?

And the way HCI works is confusing me and to a large extent stressing me out. They have so many programmes. Science research, A*star research, Leadership programmes, buddy programmes, olympiad competitions, and everyone seems to be in them, except for me. There's a certain feeling of being left out, but I wouldn't want to be in these programmes either because they aren't my kind of thing. I like other things. So it's quite stressful, a kind of dilemma, everything seems to be done for the sake of your curriculum vitae.

And now there's this service learning thing. I have to get approval before I can proceed on my CIPs. But I've already started on my LIFE programme! Why do I have to get approval to do simple CIPs such as tutoring children LIFE? If the school needs evidence that I have actually clocked as much hours as I claimed, I can provide an endorsement letter or get them to contact the beneficiary. I'm also going to organise an outing for LIFE in June, but this service learning thing is really confusing me, because I need to get approval, again. I feel as if the school is trying to track my every move, I don't really like the feeling of being watched and followed.

But then again, like my mum said, they want to keep a record. Maybe they want to ensure that you really did the CIP so they asked for your reflections as well, to make sure you didn't do it for the sake of CIP hours. But sometimes I feel, what you learn isn't something you can simply put in words. It's more of a mentally affecting thing. Something that creeps into your head stealthily, but benefits you for the rest of your life. Maybe they're just trying to help...

But I like that kind of freedom where I am free to do what I wish without accounting to anyone... OK that sounds wrong, but I hope you get what I mean.

Sigh, I really don't enjoy school as much as I should because it's so confusing here. I miss Cat High.

Au Revoir

yongliang

I flew off my bike

2010-02-21T21:34:00.002+08:00

Instead of going to Track 15, I decided to go to Bukit Timah Mountain Bike Trail today. I set off from Bishan at 2 and arrived at 3.17. Could have reached slightly earlier if not for the drizzle and the detour into HCI boarding school (I was curious!!).

Believe me, the moment I saw the start of the bike trail I was so daunted I was contemplating to turn back. But I decided to give it a shot. It was a freaking gnarly uphill rock garden. First try, I was on my largest chain ring and smallest cog, I got stuck the moment I hit the rock garden. I turned back and adjusted my gear ratios. Second chain ring, 4th largest rear cog. Went a little higher and got stuck again. Last try, smallest chain ring, 2nd largest rear cog. Went straight up.Thought I nailed it, then I got stuck. -.- Gave up and pushed my bike right up.

Before me was a narrow dirt trail. It didn't seem much of a challenge so I heaved a sigh of relief and cycled, 15 seconds later, a VERY STEEP INCLINE FACED ME. I'm really sure it's more than 45 degrees steep. Stopped. Reversed. Switched to the smallest chain ring and 2nd largest cog and rode straight up. Did it. XD

Cycled a little further down and suddenly I couldn't see any trail before me. Stopped. Pushed, and saw a freaking steep downhill. And there were some small logs in the way. I love cycling down steps. Thinking this would be no harder than cycling down a flight of steps, down I went. I reached the foot of the slope, thinking everything was nailed and done, when I flew right off my bike. -.-

Till now, I'm not sure what exactly happened, but complacency kills. HAHA. I picked myself and my bike up and went a little further in, but decided to turn back as I was afraid that my bike might had suffered some damage.

And when I arrived home, the rear wheel gave way -.-

Dad put it back in place and I quickly went to the bike shop. The uncle again taught me a lot of things and helped service my bike.

Why I fell:
1. I forgot to lower my seat.
2. I forgot to lower my tire pressure.
3. Because I forgot to lower my seat, I didn't lean back far enough during the downhill.

Well, we have to take some knocks to learn something. HAHA. [:

I'LL CONQUER YOU, BUKIT TIMAHHHHHH.

The downhill where I flew off my bike. Got to be Superman for half a second

My left arm took much of the hit, it seems.

My left leg is surprisingly not very seriously injured. XD

Au Revoir

yongliang

LIFE

2010-02-21T00:24:00.002+08:00

Went for my first LIFE session of the year at Waterfalls Student Care centre. My task was to help a Pri 3 boy with his English homework. But after an hour, all we managed to finish was 5 questions. And I probably was the one who was doing homework. :/

I feel that I'm not well-equipped to help the children at LIFE, but I still gotta try :/ Hopefully LIFE would provide training sessions for their volunteers in future. What I feel LIFE needs are skilled volunteers, only then can the children benefit from the LIFE programme, otherwise the kids will still not be able to understand their schoolwork and would be unable to improve.

Being unskilled now, I can only cover 5 multiple choice grammar questions with a Pri 3 boy. Hopefully after gaining some experience I'll be able to do more for LIFE, otherwise at this rate, I don't think I would be of any help to the children at LIFE.

However, my experiences at LIFE is also what fuels me to pursue a career in Early Education. What I saw today only reinforces my perception on the importance of early education. Foundation is really very important. So is family environment though.

Going back next week, we'll see how it goes. We need a new game plan :/

BTW, look at the previous post, CFTH IS RECRUITING. [:

Au Revoir,
yongliang

Taylor Swift - Superstar

2010-02-20T18:03:00.001+08:00

Taylor Swift
Superstar

This is wrong but
I can't help but feel like
There ain't nothing more right babe
Misty morning comes again and I can't
Help but wish I could see your face

And I knew from the first note played I'd be breaking all my rules to see you
You smile that beautiful smile
And all the girls in the front row scream your name

So dim that spotlight, tell me things like
I can't take my eyes off of you
I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl
Who's desperately in love with you
Give me a photograph to hang on my wall
Superstar

Good morning loneliness
Comes around when I'm not dreaming about you
When my world wakes up today you'll be in another town
And I knew when I saw your face I'd be
Counting down the ways to see you
And you smile that beautiful smile
And all the girls in the front row scream your name

So dim that spotlight, tell me things like
I can't take my eyes off of you
I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl
Who's desperately in love with you
Give me a photograph to hang on my wall
Superstar

You played in bars, you play guitar
And I'm invisible and everyone knows who you are
And you'll never see, you sing me to sleep
Every night from the radio

So dim that spotlight, tell me things like
I can't take my eyes off of you
I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl
Who's desperately in love with you
Give me a photograph to hang on my wall
Superstar
Sweet, sweet superstar
Superstar

taylor can't see me ): If she'd only dim that spotlight, then maybe she could ):
haha

Au Revoir

yongliang

CFTH is recruiting

2010-02-20T17:44:00.003+08:00

Hello,

The new year has started and the new school term has begun. The LIFE programme at Beyond Social Services has officially began. CFTH is again partnering LIFE to assist them in their programmes.

There are currently 2 locations and times that are in need of volunteers.

1. Mondays - LIFE @ Whampoa
2. Saturdays - LIFE @ Waterfalls Student Care Centre, Block 51, Hoy Fatt Road.

On Mondays, the job scope will mainly involve tutoring the children as well as running small errands.

On Saturdays, the job scope is wider. It will not only involve tutoring children, you will also entertain the children and keep them occupied with fun and games to help them have an enjoyable weekend. [:

Volunteers who had volunteered for CFTH - LIFE's year end party on 27th December, I really hope you would join us again this year. If your friends are interested, please get them to contact me as well (:

Next Saturday, there will be a small-scale event at Block 51 Hoy Fatt road for the children. A few children will be performing. If you're interested in volunteering, but would like to see who you are helping, you are welcome to join us at 7pm.

Interested parties, please call me (I can't post my phone number here :/), or send me and email at either charityfromtheheart@gmx.com or optimus.interpar@hotmail.com

Don't worry, there will not be intimidating interviews because we believe that as long as you are willing to volunteer, you have the passion to help children. So don't be shy to join us. [:

Thanks
Yong Liang

Coming Home

2010-02-16T15:48:00.002+08:00

Sigh, the rest of the CT have gone to watch Valentine's Day at Shaw Lido, while I'm in a bus at the very start of a 5 hour journey home. ): I WANT TO WATCH V DAY AT THE CINEMA! Anyone wanna go with me? [:

I've got 5 hours to burn, so I'll be typing a lot of random thoughts in this blog post. [:

I just finished reading Conviction by Richard North Patterson. It was quite an interesting book, although very draggy. However, it was talking about a very realistic problem that is plaguing the judicial system, so I guess it was worth persevering to the very end of the book, to realise the novel wasn't at all a fairy tale. Interesting read, worth a try.

Spoiler Alert starts from now!

When the body of an eleven-year-old Thuy Sen is found in San Francisco Bay, the police swiftly charge Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A twelve-person jury, helped along by an incompetent lawyer for the defence, is quick to find the brothers guilty - and to sentence them both to die for their crimes.

Twelve years later, Payton is days from his execution, and overworked pro bono lawyer, Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband, Chris and stepson, Carlo, a recent Yale law graduate, become convinced not only that Rennell didn't receive a fair trial, but that he's innocent. Racing against the clock and against insurmountable legal obstacles, Teresa, Chris and Carlo desperately try to stop the execution of a dead man.

Thuy Sen was found 12 years ago to have choked on semen and similar samples of semen were found in the Price brothers' living room. Samples were also found in the trunk of a car belonging to their "business partner", Eddie Fleet. Eddie Fleet had claimed only to be the transporter, whose duty was only to transport the body to the bay, the blame was entirely pushed to the Price brothers. The Price brothers who had a money-minded Coke addict for a lawyer, quickly bought them a ticket to the death row due to numerous tactical errors during the trials. Flora Lewis had seen 2 black men pull 11 year old Thuy Sen into their home. She had identified them as Payton Price and Rennell Price, however, in reality, whom she had seen were Eddie Fleet and Rennell Price. Eddie was a pedophile who had a fetish for forced oral copulation.

12 years after the trials, Payton and Rennell were days away from execution. Payton made an eleventh hour confession, saying that the real culprit of the murder was Eddie Fleet and himself was an accessory. The Paget family battled against the egoistic judicial system as a well as time, to petition for a delay in Payton's execution, so that he would be able to testify in court to Rennell's innocence. However, the delay was denied and Payton executed. Flora Lewis had died of old age. There were no witnesses to the incident left apart from Eddie Fleet himself.

Despite the efforts of the Paget family to prove Rennell's innocence, Rennell was executed on July 22, as the courts refused a reversal of the verdict to execute Rennell simply because sparing Rennell would be to ignore and undermine the AEDPA as well as cause chaos to the entire judicial system.

In this novel, it shows that sometimes, being innocent isn't enough, which is very realistic. If the courts were to spare Rennell and grant him a retrial, the many other death row inmates will also inventively come up with "new evidence" to delay the execution, however if they did not grant Rennell a retrial, they would be executing an innocent man, which is equivalent to simple murder. However, murder was the choice the courts chose. The life of Rennell wasn't worth causing chaos to the system.

The problem of racism was also covered in the book. Cross-racial identification has been deemed as highly unreliable (this is a real truth). In the story, Flora Lewis identified Payton and Rennell, instead of Eddie and Payton. In fact, she did not even see the faces of the 2 black men clearly when the crime occurred, as she was in her home, 90 feet away from the doorstep of the Price family home. However at the line up, all she needed to do was to identify her neighbours from 10 feet and deem them as murderers.

Sad story. In the end, Rennell was executed, although he was really innocent.

That's why I don't wish to be a lawyer. I don't want to be a defendant for a criminal, because I feel that if a criminal has really committed a crime, he should be punished for him, and I would feel guilty for allowing him to scot free or escape with a lighter sentence. I wouldn't want to be a prosecutor either because I may cause an innocent to be punished, even executed.

Sigh.

I just finished my on-board meal. It's 4:24. Gah the movie started. ); sian I want to watch V Day! Someone go watch with me pls pls pls.

I donno why, but for the entire trip, it seems like EVERYWHERE is playing the songs in the Ares dance soundtrack. Like "Boom Boom Pow" and "Hotel Motel'. I think I heard everything except the "tempo has reahed critical limit". HAHA. When Hotel Motel started playing in my cousin's car, when the A-R-E-S part came, I muttered, "A-R-E-S". Hehe. [: And when the "Boom Boom Pow" part came on I can totally imagine the "try to copy my swagger" part. haha. I find that part of the lyrics and dance pretty funny, I don't know why. HAHA.

Sigh, still so far away from home. HELP. ): And there's school tomorrow lehhhhh. SCHOOL. Means I won't get my adequate rest.

This has got to be the most unlucky weekend ever. No pool, no cycling, no v.day, no V Day the movie, and then lesson proper the very next day. I'm only arriving home, like at my doorstep close to midnight. Sigh. ):

I HAVEN'T CYCLED IN A WEEK AND A HALF. ):

Do you think Taylor L will go watch V Day with me? (: I don't dare ask anyway :/

I'M HOME. I'M FINALLY HOME. IT'S 11:02 NOW!

Au Revoir

yongliang

Insights

2010-02-15T23:21:00.000+08:00

It has been a long day today, but it was pretty fruitful, I'll explain why later. [: I just returned home from my 二姑妈's home. HAHA. For the first time in 3 days, I HAD CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET! [: I managed to post 2 Facebook status updates as well as to quickly check the HCI ISP and SMB and went online for 30 seconds. Turns out that the bio online test was only supposed to be done on 2ND MARCH -.- I thought it had to be done this weekend, made me worry unduly.

Anyone going for the Nepal OCIP? [:

And for the first time in 3 days, I could receive SMSes! Suddenly received SMSes saying "Happy New Year/Happy Valentine's Day!" from everyoneee. HAHA. Cheras has bad communications infrastructure I guess. I managed to receive day-old SMSes only today when I went to 拜年 somewhere else. HAHA [:

Now for the fruitful part of today. Today, I realised the complexity of my family tree. My dad has 2 stepbrothers. I knew they were my dad's elder brothers but never knew they were his stepbrothers till today. And my paternal grandmother is my dad's biological mum, and the step mum of my dad's 2 elder brothers, and my 二姑妈 is my dad's biological sister.

We went to my dad's eldest brother's house to 拜年 today. Like my paternal grandmother, he stays alone in a one room government flat. He is already 70+ years old, has problems moving about but has kept the house spick and span. Today, when so many of us visited him; my many cousins, my grandmother, my 二姑妈 and 二姑长, my 大姑妈 and 大姑长 went to visit him he was so touched that he teared. I didn't know how to react but the entire scene moved me. When I passed him a paper bag to "拜年" and said it was for him to eat in Cantonese, he began to tear again. My uncle is a stubborn man, according to recounts from my dad and my 二姑妈。 To see him moved to tears today moved me deeply too. And when my uncle teared, my 二姑妈 teared as well. I think my uncle is a lonely man, living alone, with nothing to do to occupy himself. Although my grandmother also lives alone, she is a devout Buddhist and she - in a way - has her religion to accompany her (my grandma chants scripture 24/7, really!). On the other hand, the only thing in my uncle's house that I saw that can 'accompany' him is a portrait of his late wife.

Another thing that moved me was his determination. When we were about to leave his house, he went to his room. We all wondered what he wanted to do and then he returned with red packets. As he had difficulties walking, my 大姑妈 helped him to pass the red packets to us. Although we did not want to accept the red packets, he insisted that we have them. Although the red packet only contained RM2, his sincerity was worth more than that. I see him as a man of dignity.

The scene today at my uncles house would always hold a special place in my heart. I think it's fate's way of teaching me the meaning of Family. And I think my uncle is a brave man. [:

I suggested to my mum to go have reunion dinner at his home next year to keep him company, we'll see how it goes next year.

I guess family ties are the ties that never break. [: I experienced that today.

I want to join Fac comm. But how? :/

I'll be returning home tomorrow, and all my blog entries will be uploaded then. [:

Have fun reading!

Au Revoir

yongliang

I miss Taylor L! ):

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR [:

2010-02-14T00:00:00.000+08:00

Sunday February 14 2010 00:00

Happy New Year everyone! And Happy Valentine's Day Taylor! [: How is everyone? I'm...not so good ):

The only thing keeping me going here in Malaysia is that I'll be able to come home day after tomorrow. Every New Year, I experience and understand the saying, "No man is an island". Every Lunar New Year, I sever all connections with the outside world. I can't SMS, call, MSN, Facebook anyone. I'm serious. There's no contact with familiar persons. ): It's a depressing time each New Year. ): sigh.

And every New Year, I'm stuck here in a small shabby flat. Plus, it's a lot messier than my bedroom. (Wei Kit will know how messy is messy. haha)

Thank god for my Bento for keeping me entertained with Crazy Taxi, and the ever reflective Notepad. [: Notepad is my best friend when there is no access to Blogger.com. Reflection keeps me sane and my mind hydrated and well-nutritioned.

I started on a new book yesterday. It is titled "Conviction". The blurb of the book says that it is about 2 brothers who were convicted 15 years ago for killing a young girl. Despite numerous trials, the brothers plead not guilty, but every time the jury finds them guilty. This year, a lawyer realises that there is more to the case, together with her stepson fresh from Yale Law College, the race against the clock to prove his innocence.

Quite interesting book so far, although I'm not even done with chapter 1 yet. HAHA. I'll try to finish the book, but here in Malaysia...the sweltering heat is killing me. And, there's no time. ):

Bet you guys are enjoying yourselves right, going around house to house, lounging at home, watching a movie or 2, making full use of the long New Year weekend. While here I am stuck in Malaysia without any connection the the outside world, or more importantly CONNECTION TO THE FREAKING INTERNET!!! Sigh. I should be going out with my OG, cycling, reading, maybe revising some JC stuff, and enjoying myself. But all I'm thinking of now is coming home ):

I should be spending Valentine's Day in Singapore going out with Taylor lor. But then again I want to go out with her she also don't want to go out with me ): haha!

I wanna go home... ):

I wanna be on the next plane home!

Au Revoir

yongliang

New Year's Eve

2010-02-13T10:48:00.000+08:00

Arrived in Kuala Lumpur at around 1am last night. My 二姑妈 and my 二姑丈 picked us up at the bus terminal and brought us to my grandmother's place, a really really small government flat in Cheras.

Went to the market at Pudu with my parents just now to purchase some groceries, that are necessary for my grandma's new year prayers as well as our "reunion dinner". You know, I would rather do math the entire day than to visit that market. :/ It's a wet market, much wetter than the "wet markets" we have in Singapore at Tekka, and the small one in Bishan North. It's really really wet. Wet with mucky water [: Feel like a commando yet?

So tired ): And bored. I'm totally disconnected from the outside world, stranded in this small room. We have become very dependent on the Internet yeah?

Sigh, and I miss Taylor L.

Anyway, I believe many of you have read about the Stomp Article "I am 10cm taller than him." It's an article posted by the 'girlfriend' or even 'fiancee' of a Catholic High student. As a Catholic High alumnus, I feel..."embarrassed". The couple met on the online game, "Maple Story". They dated for a period of time and then the guy asked the girl to be his fiancee. Wow.

For now, I would like to bring your attention to an article the Telegraph Mobile published. It's called,"Valentine's Day: How do I love thee? Let me count the probabilities." A mathematics tutor at Warwick University has calculated the probability of ever finding true love.

The man, Peter Backus estimates that our chances of finding love are just 1, one, uno in 285,000. So, we have about 6 million people in Singapore including foreigners. If half of that were women there are about 3 million people. And probably 3/4 of that amount would be the amount of women that are in your suitable age range, that would make 2,250,000. Of this amount of suitable women in Singapore, only 7.8, or 8 women MAY be the one. A small number, and it's still a "may", a probability.

So...how sure is our dear Catholic High gentlemen sure he has met the one?

Fine, love is illogical, love is blind yada yada, yeah I've been through all that. -.- Who hasn't? Anyone of this age with raging hormones WOULD SURELY go through all that. (Btw, this sentence is a fallacy haha.) Correction: Most people would have gone through all that. So let's ignore the math. You are currently schooling, would that girl burden you, or assist you? Well, from the pictures I have seen on Facebook, I have good reason to believe she would be burdening our dear Cat High gentleman, or vice versa. Why? If they really knew what they were doing and the severity of the issue, they wouldn't have snapped pictures of themselves while they were still in school uniform, uploaded this Valentine's Day article on Stomp and gathered so much flak, or in geek language, get flamed.

I do know of responsible young lovers who do understand what they're doing. Their dates mean going to the library and tutoring each other. And then, they also do well in school! Or, they cut connection from each other except during the weekends and holidays, or times when they are free enough to take up this additional "subject". This kind of behaviour, I commend and applaud. But then, it's a rare case.

If they were really serious, and mature enough to well, fall in love, I think it would be done in some form of secrecy. You know, 地下情. haha. You wouldn't let the whole world know and then let gossip affect your relationship. Your young and tender relationship will probably be known to people your are really really really really EXTREMELY close with. Which means, your very inner circle of friends, and not the ENTIRE Singapore population, unless you're telling me you're very close friends with the whole of Singapore.

Sigh. Then again, it's their choice.

Standing on their side, I don't think they should be "flamed" so badly either. They are still young, still learning, and this may just yet be another learning journey arranged by fate. [:

So, let life go on, make mistakes, and fall in love this Valentine's Day. HAHA [:

Words I wish to say:

Leonard - I just realised our birthdays are exactly one month away. LOL.

Au Revoir

yongliang

maybe two is better than one. (:

On The Way

2010-02-12T21:07:00.000+08:00

Ares won the Fac dance today at HCI POP (Post Orientation Party)! I'm blogging on my coach now to Malaysia, just got past the Malaysian Customs, so I'm really actually typing all this in a notepad file, and will be transferring all of this into my blogger.com account as soon as I get access to the Internet. haha [; So cool right, I'm typing in real time, but by the time you're reading this, you're looking back into time. The next few blog posts will be the same. Cool to the max. haha.

A-A-A-Ares! We won fac dance 2010. But it came as no surprise though, if Ares wasn't gonna win, who will? [:
But really, a lot of effort have been put in to make Ares' fac dance a winning dance. Prior to all the practices and the performance today, many of us were complete dancing noobs. Honestly, I can't dance, ever since 2008's Investiture, I swore never to dance again :/ However, Ares' fance I/Cs, Hao Jie and Mabel were...pro [: hahaha. After all, they transformed us from noobs to a winning dance crew! HAHA. And then, our dance was very well choreographed. If any faculty other than Ares won today, really can cry. :/ HAHA. [:

Sigh, I love Ares. <3>

Sharon - Taylor L is a brilliant codeword [: Hope your headache is better already when you're reading this. HAHA.

Leonard - Win liao lah. [; A-A-A-Ares! woohooo. We'll win the Milo Triathlon too. I'll cycle as fast as I can and you better swim as fast as you can man. HAHA.

Signing off now. [:

Au Revoir

yongliang

It Stops Today

2010-02-04T19:26:00.001+08:00

It Stops Today
Colbie Caillat

No, no, I, I, I, I, I don't want to break when I speak
I don't want to shake while I'm standing
I don't want to crawl into another hole
I don't know what I'm hiding for
No, I, I, I, I, I don't want to fall when I stand
I don't want to have to hold your hand
I just want to be the girl I use to be when I was me and worry free
I know these burnings on my own

(Chorus)
But I can't keep on running
No I just can't keep on running away from here
I know that the only way to be is to fight my every fear
I'm not going to make it 'til I turn around and face it alone, I know
I can't just keep running, no I just can't keep on running away
So it stop today
(End of chorus)

So here I am, I'm taking my first step
Thought I was losing balance but I caught myself
I kind of like the challenge, no I don't need help
I'm going to make it past the very start
It's always been my hardest part

But I, I, I, I, I'm going to stay in control
I must admit this crutch is getting old
I am going to throw it out of my hand
I'm finally here, I understand
I know I'll get there on my own

(Chorus)
So I can't keep on running
No I just can't keep on running away from here
I know that the only way to be is fighting my every fear
I'm not going to make it 'til I turn around and face it alone, I know
That I can't keep running, no I just can't keep on running away
So it stop today
(End of chorus)

(Bridge)
You can hide from all the pain
But it will find you anyway
Yes, I know, now I know

(Chorus)
That I can't keep on running
No I jus't can't keep on running away from here
I know that the only way to be is fighting my every fear
I'm not going to make it til I turn around and face it alone, I know
That I can't just keep running, no I just can't keep on running away
So it stop today
(End of chorus)

Au Revoir

yongliang

Last Day of OG games

2010-02-02T22:50:00.002+08:00

Today's the last day of OG Games already ):

I take very very very long to warm up to new people, and when I'm almost there, it's the last day already ):

OG 31, you'll be sorely missed ):

Hope we'll be able to get together soon!

♥ OG31

Au Revoir

yongliang

Orientation

2010-01-30T11:09:00.002+08:00

School in Hwa Chong has started. I don't really feel I have fit in yet, so I still feel awkward in that big yellow/brown school.

Anyway, was really unlucky the day before school started. Went to play pool with Sam, Jiasheng, Dennis and Kenneth Low at Orchard Cineleisure. On the way, back my ezlink card malfunctioned. -.-

Like, I made it to Somerset, and came back to Bishan, then the ezlink card stopped working. I couldn't get through the 'gantry' at Bishan. I placed my card on the scanner, however the gate did not open and neither light on the scanner lit up. Even the scanner at the Passenger Service office and Ticketing office could read my card, so the SMRT staff told me my card is probably defective. GAHH.

The next day is school and my ez-link card is defective, nice one.

But my mum helped me to collect my new ez-link card yesterday. Hope this one isn't defective! HAHA. [:

Orientation was pretty fun, although I felt weird and out of place. haha. Like, I'm the only Cat High guy in the OG, and all the other guys are Hwa Chong people. :/

And now I'm having trouble picking between PCME and BCME.

I have interest in both subjects actually. Bio is the study of life, while Physics is about how things work.

However, my math is fairly weak and there is a quite a lot of math involved in Physics. On the other hand, Bio is very content-heavy and there will be a lot of things to remember. :/

And I want to take Psychology in university, all I need to get is a pass in O level Mathematics. :/

And now, Chemistry is actually the new Physics. As I scrolled down the list of Pre-reqs of the different courses in NUS, the engineering courses require Chemistry, and Bio OR Physics.

So Chemistry is now the "compulsory" Science.

So how!

Au Revoir

yongliang

Sorry for the long hiatus

2010-01-18T13:27:00.004+08:00

HELLO [:

Sorry for the post drought. HAHA. Many things have happened during the period when I was not blogging.

First, it was the release of the O level results. I never expected to do so well. During the school year, I was struggling with Mathematics, my weakest subject. As much as I wished to have 10A1s, I knew that I was not up to it and would have been easily be contented by 8 points. I was thinking of enrolling into Poly (Child Psychology and Early Education) if I could not make it into National Junior College.

As the results release date creeped closer, I got more nervous. At first, I believed I stood a chance of getting somewhere around 8a1s, maybe making into the Hall of Fame and getting 6 points. However, as the days passed, my confidence level dwindled. Hours before the release of the results, I told myself," 8 points can already. Minus 4 still can go NJ. Please, 8 points if I can't do better."

Then, after I made that silent prayer, Samuel sent me a IM on MSN.

"Eh Yong Liang, you got 9a1s!"
"Don't bluff. This kind of thing don't joke. Later I never get 9a1s I'll be very sad ok."
"REALLY! Nobel tell me one!"
"Don't know. Later see how :/"

I rushed to school after lunch and I saw my name on the notice board. [:

There was this huge sigh of relief, and I began to wonder what was my A2. I thought it must be either Combined Humanities or Higher Chinese. Worst case scenario, English. Or either Math.

I expected Combined Humanities to be the A2 because I did not manage to finish the last SBQ. I only wrote 1 sentence, which I believed was insignificant anyway. So I expected to lose at least 7 marks automatically.

I expected Higher Chinese to be the A2, simply because it's hard to score. Come on, you know it. :/

And English. Well, you never know. Shit happens.

Math is my worst subject. :/

But then, IT WAS PHYSICS. AHHHH. lol. ); Fernandez said I missed it by a whisker. But I'm contented. I never dare believe I would be able to put HCI as my first choice. [;

Thanks Mr Fernandez for being the awesome-st humanities teacher and form teacher.

Thanks Mr Lawrence Tan for marking allllll of my essays and giving me that super useful

express service. haha. And really appreciated that preparation you gave some of us at the Kovan Hostel 1 day before the O levels.

谢谢林丹文老师！你和别的老师不一样，别的老师们叫我们读报纸，读范文，但只有你真正地教了我们怎么写作文。你也让我们爱上了我们的母语。真的非常谢谢你。

Thanks Mr Denis Leong for helping me with my Mathematics. [: You were awesome.

Thanks Mr Goh for being the awesome-st Bio teacher ever. You didn't have to shout or scream or scold to get our attention, simply because your lessons were just awesome. Thanks for your practice papers and 20 years worth of tricky MCQs. Haha.

Thanks Ms Foo for helping me with my Physics. I never thought I would be confident in doing Physics questions before. I failed Physics in the whole year of Sec 3, ending that year on a low note with only 45/100. But you helped me achieve 80/100 by Prelim 3. In fact, by Prelim 1 I was already seeing an obvious improvement in my Physics. Thanks Ms Foo. Even though I got an A2, I'm already very thankful. It is already much better than the 45/100 in Sec 3! haha. [: Thanks a lot Ms Foo.

Thanks Ms Chong. My Chemistry was also very weak in sec 3. But you helped me to improve and by prelim 3, our class almost achieved an MSG of 1.0 for Chemistry. Thanks Ms Chong for your guidance.

Thanks Mr Yong for your interesting Geog lessons! As much as sometimes we don't get what you are trying to say, you somehow get that message into our heads and help us to achieve excellent results in Geography. Thanks so much Mr Yong. The guidance you gave me that week before the O levels was integral in helping me achieve my A1.

Thanks Mr Edmund Yong! Although you were not my Physics Teacher, you still helped me when you saw me at the study area doing Physics. You also gave Practice MCQs to students who were not in your class (it was Prelim 2 or 3 I believe). The support you gave me helped to improve my Physics standard. [;

Thanks Ms Thian! Even though you were not my SS teacher, you helped me mark 2 essays I done the day before the SS exam, which helped to address some mistakes and misconceptions that I still had. It also helped me feel more secure. Thanks Ms Thian.

AND THANKS TO ALL OTHER TEACHERRRRSSS AND TUTORS. [:

Apart from the O level results, the other things I have been up to is CYCLING! haha. Cycled with Sam and Wei Lun to Changi. only 6km away from our destination, Wei Lun's bike broke down. :/ And we had to push the bikes 6km to get help. That was a crazy experience.

I kinda forgot what I wanted to blog. :/ I'll blog again soon! [:

Au Revoir

yongliang

BISHAN - CHANGI Cycling Expedition [:

2010-01-06T21:21:00.003+08:00

CYCLED FROM BISHAN TO CHANGI TODAY [: Happy. haha.

I didn't reach the extreme tip of Changi, but we stopped at Changi Coast Adventure Camp. [: haha.

Pictures [:

OAL Camp and Sec 2 Camps were spent here [:

COLGATE AMBASSADORS! HAHA

PRETTY SIGHT OF THE FLYER ON THE RETURN JOURNEY.

ARGH. TAN LINE DESPITE SUNBLOCK. :/

Au Revoir

yongliang

Bishan - Kallang - Bishan cycling expdition.

2010-01-04T18:35:00.003+08:00

Just completed my cycling expedition from Bishan to Kallang and back! [:

It was supposed to be a 6-7 km ride, however we got lost somewhere in between, thanks to faded PCN labels on the ground. Sigh );

BUT STILL, WE MADE IT [; HAHA, THANKS TO OUR SUPERB ORIENTEERING SKILLS AND 2 FRIENDLY RIDERS FROM THE RSAF. HAHA.

So we made it. [; Extremely happy. And my bike got extremely dirty. haha. Had to give Wheeler a wash, before waxing him, spraying WD40 on all moving parts and axles, and apply Singer oil on all nuts and screws. Every maintenance session after each ride takes about an hour. haha. Great deal of time is spent on keeping a bike in good condition, now I know.

Pictures (;

My bike. The Wheeler Pro 09 (09 is not for 2009, it's the model number. lol)
www.wheelerworldwide.com

WEI XUAN.

haha. Eyes closed.

Somewhere between Kallang and Bishan. Nearer to Kallang. haha.

The Singapore Flyer over the horizon. But it was raining, so we had to stop for a while.

ARRIVAL AT KALLANG MRT STATION. EXPEDITION COMPLETE [:

And then we realised we were some distance away from the Kallang Riverside Park. So we decided to cycle until we reached the dead end [:

@ Kallang Riverside Park.

@ the dead end. [:

We'll be having another expedition on Wednesday.

We'll be Cycling from Bishan to Kallang to Mountbatten Road to East Coast Park to Changi Beach Park and then back.

It'll be on Wednesday and set-off time will be at 8.30am. You'll need to bring your own bike. [: And be prepared to carry your bike up overhead bridges and about other obstacles in the concrete jungle. [:

If you're up for it, tell me on MSN or send me an SMS [:

Au Revoir

yongliang

What I Wanted to Say

2010-01-02T17:59:00.002+08:00

What I Wanted to Say
Colbie Caillat

I should've done something
Again I did nothing
Watched us separate
What should I do now
Run and chase you down?
I can't hesitate

'Cause all I wanted to say was something real
All I want you to know is how I feel
All I wanted to give was my heart
But I'm stuck here at the start

It's on the tip of my tongue but I'm still afraid
Sometimes the only things words do is get in the way
Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to say
But I don't want to lose you, drive you away
Don't want to confuse you, I need you to stay
Only wish you knew what I wanted to say
Only wish you knew what I wanted to say

My hands are shaking
I'm yours for the taking
Don't you hesitate
Please just do one thing
One small sign, something
Let's jump off the edge

'Cause all I want you to say is something real
All I wanted to know is how you feel
All I want you to give is your heart
But we're stuck here at the start

It's on the tip of my tongue but I'm still afraid
Sometimes the only things words do is get in the way
Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to say
But I don't want to lose you, drive you away
Don't want to confuse you, I need you to stay
Only wish you knew what I wanted to say
Only wish you knew what I wanted to say

It's on the tip of my tongue but I'm still afraid
Sometimes the only things words do is get in the way
Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to say
But I don't want to lose you

I don't wanna lose you
No I dont wanna lose you
No I dont wanna lose you

I should've done something, I should've done something
I should've done something but I never wanted to
I should've done something, I should've done something
I should've done something but I never wanted to
(I don't want to lose you, drive you away)
I don't wanna lose you
(I only wish you knew what I wanted to say)
No I dont wanna lose you
(What I wanted to say)

I should've done something, I should've done something
I should've done something but I never wanted to
I should've done something, I should've done something
I should've done something but I never wanted to

Seductive.

2010-01-01T12:48:00.003+08:00

I think she looks very seductive in that picture. Pretty much.
OMG.
Taylor <3

Au Revoir

yongliang

PB exco lunch date.

2009-12-31T23:03:00.002+08:00

Woohoo, the PB EXCOs finally got to have lunch with Mr Teo. We ate at Manhattan Fish Market, by the way.

I was awoken by Nobel's phone call at 9 in the morning. Okay, I wasn't really asleep anymore but I couldn't pull myself out of bed. HAHA.

"Hello Yong Liang, did you read my message?"
"What message, I go read now."
"Never mind, I tell you now. Ms Thian wants to meet us for breakfast at 9am. Then after that go back school help her move things."
"Orh. Okay lor. Bye."

*looks at clock*

"IT'S 9 O CLOCK!?"

My mum already prepared breakfast, so I ate it anyway. Brushed teeth, washed my face, put on fresh clothing and out I went.

We still can't stop talking about the purple hair. It's just...weird. HAHA. And I told her how even Melissa and Xin Hui thought she was my mum. Melissa even said Ms Thian looked like me.

My "mum" has purple hair. lol.

Ms Thian gave me part of her carrot cake because she couldn't finish it. Heh. I felt like a small kid you know, eating from the small plate. HAHA. So paiseh (embarrassing).

Then Nobel and I went to help Ms Thian buy Beautex Tissues and MILO. LOL. She's going to bring that to HQ. Haha.

Then we went to school to help her move the last of her stuff. Met Ms Khoo in the staff room too. Then we told her about Ms Thian being mistaken as my mum. And then Ms Khoo said that we looked alike. Because our spectacles are both square-shaped. -.- lolness.

Then we went to Junction 8. Hehe. Played Daytona with Wei Lun and Nobel.

Lunch at Manhattan Fish Market. We actually intended to eat at Cafe Cartel, but we decided to have something different. [: The 4 of us, Nobel, WL, ZD and I shared a Fisherman's Giant Fried Platter, while Mr Teo had Grilled Norwegian King Salmon Fillet (if I remembered correctly).

Then we went to play pool at his friend's cafe. MR TEO'S POOL IS ZAI CAN. OMG.

But then the pool table didn't give us "face". The balls were stuck after we finished the 2nd game. So there's no affinity between us and the table. No third game ): Sigh.

Mr Teo drove us back to Junction 8 then left. haha, then 3 of us, WL, Nobel and I went back to the arcade. haha. (note that Zong Da left earlier).

We had a wild time playing Afterburner Climax ok. It was super funny. We wanted to complete the whole game, so we agreed to continue the game as soon as one of us "Game Over-ed". (There's a 'Continue' Screen that appears for 9 seconds as soon as your game is over)

"EHH I DIE ALREADY. QUICK TAKE OVER TAKE OVER!"
"OK OK OK . HELP ME PUT ON THE SEAT BELT! START ALREADY START ALREADY!!"

In the end. We still didn't manage to finish it ):

COS I DIED AT THE VERY START OF THE LAST STAGE. OMIGOD. SO CLOSEEEE. I crashed into the cliff because I didn't know what was going on -.- And then Wei Lun and Nobel were still getting tokens. arghhh.

Then we spent the rest of our money on a shooting game that was pretty fun. But I can't remember what game it was already. haha.

So, that's quite a fun way to end a year. haha. [:

HAPPY ALMOST NEW YEAR EVERYONE [:

Au Revoir

yongliang

I WANT TO PLAY POOOOOL.

2009-12-29T12:28:00.002+08:00

I want to play pool. ):

The holidays are almost coming to a close but I have not really been able to accomplish what I had wanted to do.

1. Learn Krav Maga. - Mr Tan promised to go with me, but then his intestinal problem relapsed so...no choice ):

2. Learn Breaststroke - My dad's working the afternoon shift. And he had this recent injury with his left eye.

3. Clean up my room - I won't say it's really neat and organised now, but I really did throw out a lot of things. I really wish to just throw out everything and reassemble my room but my mum won't let me. ):

4. Go play pool with roy, nobel or someone - STILL HAVEN'T DONE THIS YET. OMG.

5. Go run/workout every morning - CFTH kept me busy for almost the entire holidays.

6. Go cycle/rollerblade - Wei Kit got that CLT course thingy. -.- sigh.

What do I want to do now?

I don't know. :/

Au Revoir

yongliang

Reflection reflection.

2009-12-27T22:25:00.003+08:00

I'm really tired but I have to say this before I forget haha. A lot to say.

Thanks everyone who came today and helped me plan and prepare everything. [:

Thanks Wei Xuan for going shopping and planning with me.
Thanks Wesley for doing the accounting (haha) and everything. Thanks [:
Thanks Wei Kit for just being there. Haha. Thanks a lot, you're my pillar of support. I always knew I can depend on you.
Thanks Melissa for coming and pulling in more friends.
Thanks Xin Hui for coming and pulling in more friends.
Thanks Sim Yi for making dogs and swords out of balloons. Haha.
Thanks Duo Geng. Red team was awesome.
Thanks Samuel Chia for coming even though you had a basketball match to attend (although it was cancelled later). Thanks for keeping your promise HAHA. 4-1 [:
Thanks Wei Lun for coming and helping me out. Really awesome.
Thanks Yeung Kai for coming and helping me out too!
Thanks Christabel for coming and the soft toys! Thanks a lot [;
Thanks Yeo Khee for coming!
Thanks Samuel Lee for coming and keeping Wei Xuan company. haha.
Thanks Chyan Wen for coming and keeping Nobel company.
Thanks Novell for coming, WITH THE CAMERA. HAHA [:
Thanks Cheng Pau for coming and helping us out!
Thanks Qiu Le for coming. You and Yi Chan were good with the kids [:
Thanks Yi Chan for coming!
Thanks all donors for your kind donations [: Much appreciated.
And thanks Ms Thian for coming today and lending us a hand. And thanks for the donuts.

(I totally ran out of lines, but really, thanks everyone. I hope I haven't missed out anyone, but if I did, I REALLY DIDN'T MEAN IT! But really, thank you very much. [: you made this so much easier for me. [:)

Thanks station masters, I appreciated your spontaneity and flexibility. You changed the games on the spot to involve everyone and all of you made this a better experience for the children. Thank you so much.

Thanks Team I/Cs for taking good care of the children. I admire the way all of you bonded with the kids and handled the kids. Especially Samuel Chia haha, piggy-backing the kids from place to place. Thank you so much.

I would give myself 6/10 for this event or less. Because I still wasn't prepared for it. I thought the plan will run perfectly, or almost fine but a lot of glitches popped up during the planning process as well as today.

Well, the most memorable glitch was the number of children attending. I was first told it was 40-50. Even though the upper limit was 50, I felt it was safer for me to prepare 60 of everything. But 3-4 days before the event, I was told that 70 children will be attending. Flustered I was, but luckily, thanks to my dad's last minute donation and last minute shopping with mum and last minute collections from Ms Thian with Nobel, we managed to get 80 of everything. 80 was again, my "safe" estimate, just in case there was again an increase in children attending.

Alas, 85-90 children arrived (maybe more, couldn't determine. The kids just kept running around, and coming halfway through the programme)

And then I couldn't disappoint the kids. I didn't know how we did it, but we managed to produce enough presents to go around, and we managed to come up with one more prize, so that all teams receive a prize. (although the shortage of goodie bags couldn't be helped).

Thanks everyone [: You guys made this a success. Somehow, we pulled it off. [:

Talked to Nobel and Wesley over dinner today. I'm now wondering who am I really. I think I'm an arrogant, domineering and ambitious (even overly-ambitious person), who wants everything to go his way. I think I'm an authoritarian. (you can really just close your window now. I'm just using my blog as a medium where I can learn more about myself. haha)

I think I'm a person who plans in an optimistic manner. Although almost everytime as the deadline nears, my other personality kicks in and I start imagining the worst case scenarios and I start panicking and thinking of solutions. Yesterday I suddenly had transport problems. I had 8 boxes and 2 bags. My worst solution was to take 2 taxis. My best solution was to somehow find a van. Thank god for google and ebustop.com.
And, I prefer to plan 'safely'giving myself a sense of security (maybe false) by preparing 10 extra than the number I was provided. In this case, I was told 70 children and I prepared 80 bags. My worst case scenario solution was just to give everything we have left. And we did. We gave snacks, sweets, notebooks and everything I could find. :/

And the cake. -.- Couldn't do anything about it. No money and I cannot possibly ask the donor to get a bigger cake, especially since the order was already through. That, I had no solution but to cut the cake as small as possible. I couldn't provide an alternative as it wouldn't be fair if some children get the cake and some do not. (Although I often tell people life is unfair but the cake thing is really unfair. :/ And I was especially afraid the kids will cry.) Thankfully, Ms Raja told me to just give the cakes to their parents, which solved our problem.

Today = Big Mess due to the overwhelming number and my lack of preparation. I really should have just prepared for 100 people, shouldn't I? Don't panic.

And I didn't know my volunteers well enough. I should have, really should have done a more detailed briefing on what was going on on that day. But I knew I couldn't provide details simply because there was too many things I didn't know and no one could give me answers. :/ I didn't know how many people were turning up. I didn't know where I could use or cannot use until that day. And I did not know the kids well.

This event was too last minute. Half a month. 2-3 weeks.

Back to my own reflection. Apart from being arrogant, ambitious, etc. When I plan, I like to be left alone. I refined and pictured the event in my head after Wei Xuan and Wesley helped me with the first programme. I did this in the comfort of my bedroom in front of my Thinkpad. I have to do this, otherwise I cannot think. :/ I like thinking on the spot, but my problem is I cannot convert the picture in my head into words. (maybe a picture speaks a thousand words and a thousand words is far too many for me to conjure.) Thus, my idea/solution/thinking/inspiration/brainwave is worthless. And I have difficulty controlling myself and my temper when I think. (That's why I do my planning in the bedroom.) I don't like being interrupted when I'm thinking. 1. I will not be able to hear or comprehend what the person had said because I simply didn't notice him. 2. I don't like answering other people's questions when thinking. 3. I like to think with my other selves and "imaginary friends" (haha. really). And sometimes an idea, or a fresh plan disappears once I'm interrupted. My brain is my workshop. Thinking on the spot isn't the problem, but conveying my idea/plan to others is my problem. Definitely. I'm not good with words (and people) :/ I think I'm a loner.

And that's why I'm extremely clingy to Wei Kit. heh heh. [: I can't 'be myself' in front of anyone else (I realised..). I'm silent/anti-social/a loner when I'm surrounded by strangers (people I do not know). I had no idea how I survived my Japan tour without talking to anyone, but I didn't know what to say -.- Really. I'm not a social butterfly. No, I'm not even social. And that's bad. :/ I need a shrink.

But then I don't have that problem around people I am closer with. Like Wei Kit, maybe Nobel and Wei Xuan and the other PB EXCOs. That's when I am somehow able to talk crap tell stupid jokes and be lame.

Then again sometimes around people I am close with I don't talk crap tell stupid jokes and be lame. I think it's the stress thingy. Now that O level is over I think I've gone a bit cranky. Maybe.

I really need to shake off that authoritarian streak. I honestly think I am arrogant, obnoxious, calculative, authoritarian, domineering etc. And I don't like it.

Maybe it's the way I grew up. My mum always wanted me to do things myself. No way she was going to spoon feed me. So, alone, everything went the way I wanted, simply because I'm alone. I achieved what I wanted. I earned what I got. I don't think my mum is indulgent. I can beg for something, but she'll probably hint at me that she's not getting it or I'll have to get it myself.

Or maybe it's just the hardwiring of my brain.

Personality issues. I don't like it.

But I was epic fail today. That's the main point. heh.

I had more to talk about, but I'm too tired to recall. Goodnight before I type more rubbish.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Final Preparations

2009-12-26T20:04:00.002+08:00

Final preparations done today. WITH A BIG GLITCH. NO TRANSPORT! Heh, but I managed to find Megacab, so I'll have a van for tomorrow. [:

That's the amount of stuff I have to transport tomorrow :/ Plus a cake.

A peek at the goodies!

Hope I will not forget to bring anything, because I have to bring a lot of everything :/

Au Revoir

yongliang

Merry Xmas [:

2009-12-25T00:00:00.004+08:00

heh heh. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! [:

Progress has been extremely good so far with CFTH, although a glitch occured just 2 days ago. But it's already solved. [: I know I'm awesome. heh.

I've been a good boy all year, and all I wish for christmas is Taylor Swift. Really. [:

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone [: Hope all of you will share the joy as well as celebrate the occasion with your friends and family! Don't be a stranger. HAHA [:

Some pictures of the preparation for the 27th Dec event:

First, we have the collection from Catholic High School! heh.

Helped Ms Thian clear her table after collecting donations from her, (like files, paperclips, What is Success, bookmarks. haha)

See those post-it notes? Me and Nobel saw one with "Are you staying late tonight?" on it. We are still wildly guessing who was the person who wrote that. Ms Thian said it was her split personality.

All clear.

Wei Xuan and I sorting out donations from Novell and Ms Thian.

So many items!

The next collection was from Amanda at Tampines.

Dining with Wei Kit at Asian Kitchen (Citylink Mall)
L to R: Wei Kit's Lime Juice, my Avocado Smoothie.

Our 小笼包.

Nice rack...

Wei Kit sorting the books from Amanda. Wei Kit had a good peek at Amanda's childhood. HEH HEH. [:

The usable items from Amanda. (gift-able)

The un-gift-able books from Amanda. (We'll be donating them to the centre as ordinary reading material)

Everything needed for 27th Dec. [: A lot of stuff.

The stuff going into the kid's goodie bags. heh heh. a lot of stuff. [: (not in the picture are the candy canes and lollipops)

This is what I bought for Wei Kit and Amanda from Japan. Comes as a pair. Cute right. heh heh, you haven't seen what they are supposed to be able to do yet.

There's a magnet. heh heh.

Quoted from Amanda, this action/process is known as "SMOOCHING" heh heh. XD

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Au Revoir

yongliang

Stand Up Comedy

2009-12-23T14:23:00.001+08:00

U2
Stand Up Comedy

Love love love love love
Love love love love love

I got to stand up and take a step
You and I have been asleep for hours
I got to stand up
The wire is stretched
In between our two towers
Stand up in this dizzy world
Where a lovesick eye can steal the view
I’m gonna fall down if I can’t stand up
For your love

Love love love love love

Stand up, this is comedy
The DNA lotto may have left you smart
But can you stand up to beauty
Dictator of the heart
I can stand up for hope, faith, love
But while I’m getting over certainty
Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady

Oh, oh
Out from under your beds
C’mon, ye people
Stand up for your love

Love love love love love
Love love love love love

I gotta stand up to ego but my ego’s not really the enemy
It’s like a small child crossing an eight lane highway
On a voyage of discovery

Stand up to rock stars
Napolean is in high heels
Josephine, be careful
Of small men with big ideas

Oh, oh
Out from under your beds
C’mon, ye people
Stand up for your love

Love love love love love
Love love love love love

God is love
And love is evolution’s very best day

Soul rockin’ people moving on
Soul rockin’ people on and on
C’mon, ye people
We’re made of stars
C’mon, ye people
Stand up then sit down for your love

Love love love love love
Love love love love love
Love love love love love
Love love love love love

Au Revoir

yongliang

Souvenirs from Malaysia

2009-12-18T16:10:00.002+08:00

hehe. My uber cute penguin [:

New Pencil Case!

Just came home from LIFE today. Made posters with Wesley and Wei Xuan. I feel like a kid again. I had not used crayons since I was 5 years old. 11 years! We drew stickmen, bubbly letters, hills, trees, houses, stickmen and an orange sun. haha. Really fun.

But tiring too :/ Colouring is tough work. I'll take photos of the posters on Sunday and post it up again [:

Au Revoir

yongliang

Mixture

2009-12-16T10:11:00.003+08:00

While accompanying my grandma to the temple today, I did quite a bit of thinking, so I decided to put it here so I can look back in future.

First, I want to talk about why I remain agnostic. I do believe in a being, someone else up there who controls the going-ons around the world. Somehow, he/she has the power to do all that. I don't know what that being does, but I believe that being exists.

Our world. What is it, really? Maybe we're angels who paid for a tour package to come here (if so, I want a refund), we may be supernatural beings here for a human experience (borrowed from Thomas Mcaleenan). Or maybe we're part/product of a abandoned/ongoing experiment (Kindergarten - James E Gunn).

I believe that being is big-hearted. I don't think he/she'll punish me for not worshipping him/her. The being is not egoistic. All I have to do is to do good. If I'm a good person he'll/she'll reward me accordingly.

Second, I think the world will be a lot better if we were all four-year olds, really. Do you remember the time when you were four year old? Freedom. No worries. I wanted to be an artist. Others wanted to be doctors, lawyers, hawkers, drivers, teachers, everything. We all wanted to be rich, but did we really know why we wanted all that money? No, not really. We were greedy as young children, to a certain extent, but not entirely, not in a dangerous way.

If we were all four-year olds, there would be no wars. Right? (: Can you imagine a world of four-year olds? I can. Maybe there'll be no cars, no banks, no tanks, no planes, no buildings, no air-conditioning, no iPods, and definitely no government.

But we have, freedom, happiness, peace, sunrise, sunset, lush green fields to run across, tall trees to climb, beautiful clean lakes to swim in, ripe fruits to eat, animals to play with. You know? That simple kind of happiness.

At four years of age, we'll probably not be arrogant. Although as young children we would be altruistic, but we'll have the innate human ability to help each other. Real charity, real philanthropy, real benevolence. We'll share our happiness, our woes. I like that picture in my head, really.

A group of kids. Watch the sunset. Each holding a ripe apple in their hands. Slowly nibbling at it. Napping on the plains. A rabbit hops over and nudges you. It falls asleep beside you.

Balance.

Much better if we were four years old.

Third, why are there words that spell out in these ways: p-o-v-e-r-t-y, p-o-o-r, u-n-d-e-r-p-r-i-v-i-l-e-g-e-d?

That was another reason why I wished we were four-year olds. If only the world shares. While someone out there is eating caviar for breakfast, some African kid maybe trying to crawl to a shelter, while a vulture circles above him. If that someone eats less caviar, buys a sandwich with that money and gives it to that African kid, so much better.

If everyone stops and pray to their different gods for everyone else, probably so many more people will be blessed (Goo Goo Doll's Better Days: the one poor child who saved this world and there's ten million more who probably could if we all just stopped and said a prayer for them). If everyone stops to help another person, there may not ever be another unhappy day. That'll be the day Universities worldwide announce the removal of the word "unhappiness" and its synonyms from dictionaries.

Fourth, the world would be much better if we all trust each other, and everyone deserves to be trusted. Nothing much to explain here. If we all trust each other, there'll be no wars, no ponzi scheme, no recession, no depression, etc etc.

The world could be so much better. But it isn't.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Merry Swiftmas

2009-12-16T09:33:00.000+08:00

awww.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Life isn't a bed of roses

2009-12-15T21:50:00.003+08:00

You know, I hate it when the picture in my head cannot become reality. I'm dependent on my imagination, it gives me security. ):

It just didn't work out the way I thought it would.

I'm feeling excited, pissed, depressed, tired all at the same time.

Sigh.

Caritas. You know what it means?

I wish I could do something more for the kids. If only I was a rich man's son. Or, somehow I'm lucky enough to get someone to trust a small group with no prior experience. No one trusts us, really.

sigh. Life just isn't a bed of roses.

This boy will cheer me up (:

Au Revoir

yongliang

Get on your boots

2009-12-15T12:27:00.001+08:00

U2
Get on Your Boots

the future needs a big kiss
winds blow with a twist
never seen a moon like this
can you see it to?

night is falling everywhere
rockets hit the fun fair
satan loves the bombscare but he won’t scare you

sexy boots
get on your boots yeah

free me from a dark dream
candy first then ice cream(?)
all the kids are screaming but the ghosts aren’t real
here’s where you gotta be
love and community
laughter is eternity if joy is real

you don’t know how beautiful

someones left to blow it up
the wear weeds are growing up
women are the future whole of big revelations
i’ve gotta a submarine you’ve got gasoline
i don’t wanna talk about war between nations

sexy boots
get on your boots etc.

FREAKOUT

i don’t wanna talk about the wars between nations

let me in the song/sound/bonham lives
let me in the song/song/going down I don’t wanna drown meet me in the sound
let me in the song/song/song/song

Au Revoir

yongliang

I just needed to rant

2009-12-14T16:25:00.002+08:00

Things aren't going exactly smoothly. In June, I pictured CFTH volunteering at children's homes, making children happy, planning activities for the children, looking for sponsors to help us with our fundraiser, and organising the fundraiser. Until November I still was confident that we can make it work, despite this being our very first time. I was so sure we were gonna succeed. Not now.

Although Sivana and Lingling have agreed to help with the planning, they'll be leaving CFTH after the 27th Dec event so I'll have 2 members gone.

Keziah has to leave because she'll be very busy in January because of her DPA.

Adrian has decided to leave permanently.

And I don't know if Dong Lum and E Yang are still willing to contribute. Even if they are, they have their A levels next year to take care of.

On the slightly brighter side, Robo has decided to stick with me all the way (thanks robo [:), he'll be volunteering with me at LIFE. So, I've got 2 (incl. me) real permanent members.

I don't even know if I can pull of the 27th Dec event, much less the tentative June 2010 fundraiser.

I like turning dreams into reality, but now it's starting to feel like I'm turning this dream into a complete nightmare :/

Faith.

Au Revoir

yongliang

M'sia Trip

2009-12-13T23:08:00.002+08:00

Back from a 3 day Malaysia trip to visit my grandmother. Super tired. I was half-dazed for most of the trip thanks to the drowsiness inducing runny nose medication. Yawn.

Didn't expect to buy anything from the trip, but in the end mum bought me a Quiksilver neoprene pencil case, a penguin soft toy which is super cute and 3l 370ml worth of Tropicana Twister orange juice. (:

Today's return trip home was quite eventful. First, Transtar screwed up our boarding procedure and we were directed to the wrong bus. :/ Realised we were on the wrong bus when there were 2 people assigned to the same seat. Afterwards, it turned out that we weren't the only ones with that ticketing problem. Big boo-boo for Transtar. Then, for dinner we had Nasi Goreng on the bus. I had to force down that spicy rice down. I loathe spicy food. My tummy still feels weird. :/

There was a long queue at the customs today. A looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong row of buses. Really long. During the trip to Malaysia, when I used the automated immigration clearance thingy, the scanner couldn't read my fingerprint properly. But it worked this time [: woohoo.

That's bout it.

Au Revoir

yongliang

No one can say you can't

2009-12-09T17:50:00.002+08:00

When someone tells you that you can't do something,

Look around,

Consider all options,

Then GO for it!
You've gotta stick your neck out,

Use all your skills and positive attitude.

BE CREATIVE!

In the end you will succeed, and prove them wrong.

Nothing is impossible if your heart is willing and your attitude is positive.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Frisbee (:

2009-12-09T14:11:00.002+08:00

Back from frisbee! Looks like we're having class frisbee every month. We should really keep this up so we can stay in touch. [; It'd be a pity if we forget each other haha.

Played a little basketball with Jiasheng, Alan, Wei Xuan and Sam. T.T I suck at basketball.

Sigh, couldn't join the rest of the class for LAN. (I've got a strict mum ]:)

On the bright side, Kit's sleeping over...

Can't wait for class dinner. And I'm starting to feel jittery. O level results coming out in probably less than 40 days.

Au Revoir

yongliang

CFTH

2009-12-08T23:35:00.003+08:00

I've been talking about CFTH, so I thought it'd be apt to write a post on how CFTH works.

CFTH is split into 2 parts. We have the volunteers, and we have the planners. The planners are made up of permanent members. Currently, we have myself, and Adrian as planners. (Dong Lum and E Yang's current commitment status is TBC).

We have 2 kinds of volunteers. We have the ad hoc volunteers who sign up for one event only (so they are not obligated to have any other commitments with us). The other group would be the long term volunteers who are willing to sign up with us and join our mission, however are unwilling to do the planning. We would contact the long-term volunteers when a new event comes up. Currently, as of now we have Wesley Lee who is an ad hoc volunteer for our event on 27th December. There are 2 other tentative ad hoc volunteers. There are 0 long-term volunteers as of now.

(: Feel free to contact me if you wish to join us.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Appeal for Volunteers

2009-12-08T16:54:00.000+08:00

Hello all,

I am heading a small youth group called Charity from the Heart. I'm now working with Beyond Social Services currently to help young children (Primary School). Currently, I am helping LIFE (Learning is Fun and Exciting), which is a programme/'school' under Beyond Social Services to organise a party on the 27th of December. Hence, I'm in need of volunteers. I need volunteers whether ad hoc or long term to help me with this event.

- I need people to help me plan this event.
- I need people to volunteer for the event. (10-15 volunteers)

If you wish to contribute but you are unable to volunteer, you may prepare a Christmas gift for the children. We need 50 gifts (such as yo-yos, balls, some stationary, other toys).

In June/July 2010, I will be helping Beyond Social Services plan their annual fund-raising event, Streetwise Run 2010. Hence, I will need more permanent members for Charity from The Heart [CFTH].

Please contact me for more information. You may send an email to optimus.interpar@hotmail.c

om or charityfromtheheart@gmx.com

You will also be doing me a great favour if you are willing to spread this message to your friends who may be interested in joining CFTH.

More information on LIFE and Beyond Social Services can be found here: http://www.beyond.org.sg/ and http://www.beyond.org.sg/children.html

Thank You

Au Revoir

yongliang

Tristan Prettyman - Hello

2009-12-06T20:10:00.001+08:00

Tristan Prettyman
Hello

Hello
I've had you on my mind
For hours there's no doubt
And there's no use wasting time

And hello
How could I ever feel this way
With so much left to say
And so much on my mind

I know there's no use for
Trying harder I got to
Gage and barter to get out

'Cause baby you start and then you stop
And my heart beats big before it drops
And I don't know what's to do

Uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh
Sit back
Let me love grow good for you

And hello
My god you're beautiful
It's true, everyday I stumble
Getting caught up on you

And now I
I never been so amused
There ain't nothing left to prove
I ain't got nothing to lose

'Cause baby, I've been lightly drinking
And a little bit too heavy on the thinking
And won't you tell me something good

'Cause baby you start and then you stop
And my heart beats big before it drops
And I don't know what's to do

Uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh
Sit back and let my love grow good for you
I sit back and let my love grow good for you

So baby, baby whatcha waiting
Whatcha waiting
Whatcha waiting for

Whatcha waiting
Baby whatcha waiting for

Tell me baby oh
Whatcha waiting for
Yeah, oh, yeah so baby

Whatcha waiting, waiting
Whatcha waiting for
So my baby, baby whatcha waiting for

Tell me baby oh
Whatcha waiting for
Yeah, oh, yeah 'cause baby

I've been lightly drinking
And a little bit too heavy on the thinking
And won't you tell me something good

'Cause baby you start and then you stop
And my heart beats big before it drops
And I don't know what's to do

Uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh
Sit back and let my love grow good for you
Yeah, I sit back and let my love grow good for you
Uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh uh uh, uh

Au Revoir

yongliang

Japan Trip photos

2009-12-03T17:11:00.001+08:00

To reduce my hassle, I've uploaded the photos on FACEBOOK :D

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105390&id=635894648&l=4b89754edd
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105488&id=635894648&l=a1f50b5078

Au Revoir

yongliang

back (:

2009-11-29T12:52:00.002+08:00

BACK FROM JAPAN :D

I'll upload all the pictures in the next post. For now, enjoy my favourite song from the U2 no line on the horizon album. :D

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight

She's a rainbow and she loves the peaceful life
Knows I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
There's a part of me in the chaos that's quiet
And there's a part of you that wants me to riot

Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
Every sweet tooth needs just a little hit
Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot
How can you stand next to the truth and not see it
Oh, a change of heart comes slow

It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
Do you believe me or are you doubting
We're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight

Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that won't listen to your boys and girls
'Cause the sweetest melody is the one we haven't heard
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear
The right to appear ridiculous is something I hold dear
Oh, but a change of heart comes slow

It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
Listen for me, I'll be shouting
We're gonna make it all the way to the light
But you know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight

Baby, baby, baby
I know I'm not alone
Baby, baby, baby
I know I'm not alone

Oh oh oh

It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
Listen for me, I'll be shouting
Shouting to the darkness
Squeeze out sparks of light

You know we're gonna go crazy
You know we'll go crazy
You know we'll go crazy if we don't go crazy tonight

Oh, slowly now
Oh, be slow

Au Revoir

yongliang

Japan Trip day 4

2009-11-26T22:36:00.005+08:00

Wooohooo. Very happy today. Managed to see Mount Fuji, as well as to go up Mount Fuji. Extremely lucky. Mount Fuji is as elusive as a geisha. As beautiful as a geisha as well. So PRETTY. :D

Went for a cruise on a volcanic lake on a pirate ship. A novel idea, but it gets pretty boring. :/ Nothing much to see.

We also managed to go up Mount Hakone to see the sulfur springs. There was a pungent smell of Hydrogen sulfide in the air when we arrived. The vegetation there were deformed! Very interesting.

And the last place on the itinerary was a red light district in Tokyo. The surprising thing was that there were more gigolos than prostitutes. Japan is really a "changing society". Very freaked out :/ Pretty boys.

I just have to upload some photos of Mount Fuji! :D

at station 5

(This picture was taken on the bus)

Visiting the fish market tomorrow :D

By the way, a friend of mine opened a blogshop @ www.hotwhale.blogspot.com ladies who are interested in intricate and elegant designs may visit it. (:

Au Revoir

yongliang

Japan Day 2, 3

2009-11-25T22:18:00.002+08:00

Hello! :D

Didn't blog yesterday too tired. Anyway, there's nothing much to talk about actually. Over today and yesterday, we have visited quite a few temples. So it is getting that little bit boring. However, the scenery is out of this world, no doubt.

I'll be visiting Mount Fuji tomorrow. The tour guide has informed us that the chances of Mount Fuji 'appearing' will be between 30% to 50%, depending on the weather tomorrow. And each year, there are only about 40 days where Mount Fuji would be in full view. Hopefully tomorrow would be on of those 40 days :D wahaha

I'll post the pictures of the entire trip when I get back, the photo upload is really slow as a snail!

(:

Au Revoir

yongliang

Japan Day 1

2009-11-23T20:17:00.001+08:00

First day in Japan! :D

Landed in Japan at 5.30 am, with a running tap. It was really cold here and Kansai. My first destination was the Nara deer park. Got to see some deer. :D Even saw a pirate deer (it had one blind eye ):)

Blind Deer

Behind the deer park was the Todaji Temple, it houses the largest bronze Buddha structure in Japan. Cool right. LOL. Even the main gate was super big. The compounds was burnt down a couple of times, including the Buddha statues, among the numerous other statues. The current Todaji temple (restored) is only 3/4s the size of the original temple. And still, it's really big. OMG.

Our next destination was the Osaka Castle! There was this deep moat. The water level had dropped from the original centuries ago because a bomb landed in the moat during the World War, causing the bottom of the moat to be deepened. There was even a dry moat! The castle walls were also once burnt down (some suicide thingy).

The time capsule will be opened in the year 6970

The castle itself, from the outside seems to be only 5 stories high, however there are actually 8 stories inside! (the additional hidden levels can be used to house the calvary and other soldiers). Sadly, we weren't able to enter the castle. [oops, for some reason, the photos refuse to be uploaded)

Lunch was served at a restaurant within the compounds. Cold bento and Udon noodles :D

After lunch, we went to Shinsaibashi :D Didn't do much there though, just walked up and down. wahahaha.

Next stop waas Kobe's Chinatown.:D quite interesting. Chinese food, yet advertised, promoted and sold in a very Japanese manner. (: Ate a stick of crispy cuttlefish balls. hahahaha. :D

ROOSTER :D

Our last destination was Kobe harbour. At the harbour, we could see a couple of ferries and the Kobe Tower in the background. (according to the tour guide, there is a tower in every region of Japan. e.g Kyoto Tower, Kobe Tower, Tokyo Tower) Dinner was served in a restaurant in the shopping centre at the harbour. Bought fruit and jelly beans after dinner from the super market :D

[photos refuse to be uploaded again. :/]

Tonight, I'm staying in Hotel Keihan, which is right next to the Universal Studios theme park. I would be visiting Universal Studios tomorrow :D That's all for today. Byeeee. :D

Au Revoir

yongliang

Japan!

2009-11-22T12:17:00.000+08:00

I'm leaving for Japan tonight! (:

So I'll be away for about...a week. I'll be able to access the internet in Tokyo, so I'd be able to do a bit of blogging then, I'm not sure if i'll get any connection in the other parts of Japan, so I'll try my best to blog while I'm there. (:

Been to the temple this morning. 1. thank gods for blessing me during the O level period. 2. ask for blessings and a safe passage to and fro Japan. 3. ask god to help Wei Kit and his latest new.."adventure" (:

Leaving tonight. Not that really excited, but quite excited anyway. hahaha. :D

Blog more tml evening in Japan! (i'll try)

Au Revoir

yongliang

2012

2009-11-18T22:56:00.002+08:00

SPOILER ALERT PEOPLE!

What would you be doing if it was your last day? Alright, technically, the movie 2012 didn't really have a last day as many people managed to live another day. So the world didn't really end.

The movie had dark humour, numerous touching scenes and heroic scenes, a few morals/lessons to learn and think about, some extremely exciting scenes and an interesting plot. Gripping movie, keeps you stuck to your seat.

One of the scenes I liked was when Yuri said, "start engine" and the Bentley's ignition was turn on. Haha. Really funny. And the other one was when Doc Adrian and the daughter of the US President, Laura was about to kiss, and the PA went, "Doctor Adrian, to the bridge please". How many lucky men get to date the daughter of a President!! HAHA.

My favourite character was the Russian Pilot, Sasha. haha. So 帅. lol. Quite heroic also, got everyone out of the plane while he secured their exit. The producers were sadistic. I thought Sasha was going to survive when the Antonov stopped at the edge of the cliff. In the end, the Antonov slid off. EVIL!

Next favourite character would be the Doctor Adrian. Like his emotional speech near the end. Good movie, you have to watch it.

But I noticed there were at least 2 borrowed scenes/ideas.

The movie itself was basically a "rip-off", modernised version of Noah's Ark. Oh, there actually are 3 arks. The arks housed animals, so that the Earth could be repopulated. And the idea of the massive flood can also be found in the story of Noah's ark. And that sunset scene at the end, it could be compared with the rainbow at the end of the flood in Noah's Ark.

The 3 arks

Next, the idea of the "suicide mission" Jackson Curtis had to do was a copy of a scene in the 2007 film, Flood, where an engineer bypassed the system in the Thames Barrier to open the flood gates to allow the water to flow out. As for 2012, Jackson Curtis had to fix the hydraulics and allow the gate to close. And the main difference is that Jackson did not die.

Still, it's really nice. (: But it's a pity to watch in the show, and relate to reality; how the world would only calm down, stop fighting, pray when the world is going to end. Humanity returns when we are about to die. How ironic.

Stop fighting? Make love, not war. (:

Au Revoir

yongliang

MADLY

2009-11-17T23:05:00.000+08:00

Tristan Prettyman
Madly

I'm not surprised that you still call
I'm not surprised
I'm more surprised that I don't answer
Pick up the phone to call you back
Pick up the phone to call you back
Ain't it funny how things work out like that

'Cause the time that it takes to open my eyes
Is the time that it took me to realize

Madly madly madly
Tell that you need me
Show me im the only and thats all I need to know
Madly madly madly
Well if you really love me
When you see me leaving
Baby just let me go

Well I've been good, no ive been great
You say you're in a better place
And honestly I'm happy for ya.
But theres a tone in my voice that gives away my selfish choice
Could my heart beat any faster?

'Cause the time that it takes to pass me by
Is the time that it took me to realize

Madly madly madly
Tell me that you need me
Show me I'm the only and thats all I need to know.
Madly madly madly
Well if you really love me
When you see me leaving baby
Just let me go

We give it up, try to find what was with us all the time
Gotta lose some things if you're ever gonna get on by
And who was wrong?
Who was right?
Always end up in a fight
I thought I won, but now I find....

Madly madly madly
If you really love me, when you see me leaving
Just let me go
Madly madly madly
Well tell me that you need me
Show me I'm the only and that's all I need to know know know know
Madly madly madly
If you really love me, when you see me leaving
Baby just let it go no
Madly madly madly
Tell me that you love me
when you see me leaving, just let me go.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Grad Nite 09

2009-11-17T00:26:00.002+08:00

NOT ENOUGH FOOD! LOL.

That was the main problem, otherwise it was quite fun. hahaha. :D
TOON YANG SHOULD BE MAMBO KING!

I don't really know what to say, so I'll just dump the pictures here :D

Kenneth Low and I

TOON YANG!

OH NO. TIMOTHY SUFERING A RELAPSE.

Sir Kit's Spiky Hair

Au Revoir

yongliang

P.S: TIRED!

It's over, finally.

2009-11-13T17:11:00.002+08:00

WOOOOHOOOO IT'S FINALLY OVER :D :D :D

After a long hiatus, I'm back. :D

O levels had been crappy. Ups and downs. But finally, it's over. 10 years of Catholic High, it all ends tonight. (today morning at 9am, actually.) :D

But be ready to embrace the holidays :D Going out with the twin tomorrow. Then every weekday morning, I'm going running with Warren. :D Sounds like great fun. Probably going to Yishun SAFRA for pool to. Roy, wanna come? :D

21st Nov, going to Japan :D. Actually I didn't really want to go for a holiday, but last year when my mum went on a tour to Japan, they went to a temple to ask for blessings for my O levels. So now that O levels is over, it's a form of respect to go thanks the gods. So need to go back to Japan, haha! :D

After the holiday, December would start. By then, A levels over. So CFTH will officially start its planning then. Can't wait. :D We're gonna get shirts ready. I'll post some designs here (or the official CFTH website as soon as its up), please patronise :D

Woots. O levels finally over already. It's time to thank my classmates for the 2 years of fun they have given me. :D

1. Wei Kun - Thanks for being no.1 in class. much appreciated. LOL (: haha.
2. Samuel Chia! - although you're spastic, you're great fun. hahah :D and very smart too. (:
3. Roy Goh Mei Mei - Thanks for pool :D. You're like the only one in class that plays pool with me. Thanks! And thanks for all the advice for math. Appreciate it.
4. Kenneth Low not so low - OMG! CHINESE BUDDY :D <3 thanks for sitting beside me during Chinese. hahaha. And so cool, we got A2 for English in prelim 2 together. haha. Hopefully this time O levels we get A1. :D
5. Kenneth Tay - The guy that attends math with me. Thanks for making math less painful. :D
6. Bryan Lee - The guy on my left. Although you're really quiet, thanks for being quiet. Otherwise, I'd not be able to concentrate in class. :D
7. Ji En - Thanks for the hospitality when we go to the hospital to see Mr Tan for English Lessons!
8. Dennis Lee - The second best erhu player in Singapore! woohoo. You need to upgrade your computer. haha :D
9. Lim Zi Hao - Yo tall guy. Thanks for being my ladder and piggy-backing me anytime I want you to. :D
10. Loo Leong Shuen - Woohoo rock on dude. LOL. you brought much fun and laughter to our class, expecially that day after graduation ceremony. The mass head banging as a class was epic.
11. Wei Yi - Zai kia. Thanks for the zai-ness. :d
12. ID TUN! - Gay horse. :p haha. Thanks for everything la. From sec 1 to 4. You, Lewis and Toon were great fun. Never hated you all, seriously. <3
13. AHH MOOOOO - Eh, I visit you in Malaysia next year during new year. I promise. Keep in touch.
14. Me <--- Thanks for being awesome. HAHA.
15. Ng Jeng Haur. I still remember you taught me to do our first physics worksheet. Thanks man Bryan Jeffery Ng Jeng Haur. EEE. (:
16. Jun Ching - ka ching. Sounds like money. woohoo. thanks for going for all the remedial lessons with me. And thanks for calling me that day for Chinese remedial. Otherwise I would have missed it entirely :D (but i was still 1 hour late. haha :p)
17. Alan - Thanks for being an awesome chairman. That's from the bottom of my heart.
18. Bentley - Yo. (: I donno what to say. haha. but, great fun. haha. :D
19. Kenneth Ong - We were really joking when we calling you a croc. But thanks for being so sporting and playing along with us. (: You made school great fun.
20. Toon - :D The last minute basketball player who helped our class! :D haha. Thanks toon for being awesome fun. (:
21. Soh Wei Xuan - ROBOCOP <3 My favourite robot. haha. Sits on my right. the maths/physics/geog pro. :D if i know you'd become that zai, I wouldn't have given you advice for English and Humans. and Bio too. haha. :D joking. Thanks for sitting beside me and being my punchbag once in a while. Everyone who sits on my right always suffers the same fate. Don't believe you go ask Gary Lai. I train his left arm, that's why now his taekwondo so zai. I'm his coach.
22. Lewis - Along with tim and toon, thanks for being awesome fun. seriously. <3
23. Wei Lun. - :D PB EXCOs. Will never forget that time we took Nobel's handphone and spilt the beans on him. Haha. :D together ,we're invincible. Also, thanks for printing all the SS and Hist notes for the class at the last minute. :D
24. Tan Yi Fan - Ok, although we don't really condone your actions, you injected life into mundane school life, so thanks! :D you were fun sometimes anyway.
25. Tan Yong Hwee - Looks like you and I are the only NCC AIR top 5 not going for CLT course. haha. for that thanks. :D thanks for helping me along too. :D
26. Tay Zhen Wei - The Malaysian scholar with godlike English. Thanks for everything. (:
27. Chen Rong - the covert mugger. Thanks for all the help u given me with homework etc. :D
28. Teh Wei Jie - We all like your afro, you know it. :D haha. Do you need a new LV wallet? :D
29. Teo Wei Xian - yo wei xian. :D haha. I'll always remember you for the handphone with the spoilt buttons. haha. :D
30. Melvyn Yee - you and jiasheng are meant to be. haha. :D Both og you brought much laughter to the class hahaha. (I remember the time at Sakura restaurant, me and Wei Xuan tried to make a heart shape with out hands and then enclose Jia Sheng's and Melvyn's faces together so we could take a photo of it! haha.)
31. Yee Jia Sheng - haha. Don't remove your specs. ever. Ok? HAHA. :D Thanks for being so zai and pulling our class aggregate above the rainbow sky! :d
32. Yu Ruofan. - The silent killer. you should be a submarine commander when you grow up, or an assassin. haha. (: You were fun to be with even though you were really quiet throughout the year. :D Thanks for being a sport and joining all the class activities we had. :D

Thanks all 31 of you <3 you guys were great fun. :D

Au Revoir

yongliang

Dreams

2009-10-23T17:26:00.001+08:00

Dreams

To me, dreams are just dreams, while goals are dreams with a deadline. Dreams only exist in our heads, it is something we think about, we imagine or we hope for. Sometimes we dream of an ideal world, thus it can only be a dream. At other times we dream of our successes, however if we do not put our dreams to actions, our dreams will remain as dreams.

I grew up with many dreams. When I was younger, my dream was to invent a medicine or some mystical potion that would allow me and my family to live forever. I feared death when I was younger and did not want to leave my grandmother – or my grandmother to leave me. I was afraid that when I get reincarnated I will have different parents, or be born in a worse background and environment. Thus I dreamed of being able to live forever so none of that would happen. This dream is a dream that can only exist in my head, something I can hope for but it will never materialize. This is also an example of how our fears can cause us to dream of the impossible. My fear of death and being parted from my family was what drove me to dream, though the dream will never come true.

When I was in Primary School, I dreamt of being the top student in school. However, I was not even close to the top hundred students in the cohort. In the end, that dream remained a dream. That was because I did not set a deadline for that dream. It did not become a goal. As it did not become a goal, there was nothing to thrust me forward to achieve my goals and fulfill my dreams. Thus, this dream could only remain as a fleeting memory in my head and never materialize. This is also an example of daydreaming. Without setting targets and deadlines to assist me in achieving my dreams, I will never get there, because that dream is merely a sandcastle in the air that does not exist. Thus, it is important to transform dreams into goals by setting realistic targets and deadlines to assist us to achieve them. Deadlines pressure us to put in more effort to complete each target on time. Target by target, step by step, we will be closer to achieving our goals and fulfilling our dreams.

Now in Secondary School, I finally have transformed two of my dreams into goals.
The first dream is to do well – and hopefully achieve 10A1s – in these O level examinations. This dream stayed as a dream until I was in Secondary Four, when I eventually woke up from my deep sleep to realize that I had to transform the dream into a goal. I set targets and deadlines for myself and made sure I completed my quota of revision each day. Eventually by the third school-based preliminary examinations, I saw the seeds that I have sown bear fruit. Although there is still room for improvement, I believe that I am a step closer to achieving my goal and fulfilling my dream.

My other dream is to help as many needy children in the world as possible. I know very well that I am lucky to be born in Singapore where natural disasters are obsolete and to a family that has no problems making ends meet. Thus, I feel that it is important to count my blessings and not take these blessings for granted. In order to thank the Universe for blessings me, I wish to help others who are not as fortunate. To achieve my dreams, I have again set myself targets and deadlines. My first step would be to help the needy children in Singapore, before rendering my helping hand over the oceans. I will try my best to raise the awareness of the presence of needy children in Singapore and obtain as much help for them as possible. After raising the awareness, hopefully there would be more people who will be willing to volunteer or help the children. Then, I wish to set up a children’s mission to shelter and educate the needy children so as to help them escape the underachievement trap as well as the poverty cycle. Although this is a big dream, and a large goal to be achieved, I feel that if I do not dream big, there is no use in dreaming; my dreams should not only benefit myself, but also others.

In conclusion, our dreams are nothing unless we decide to metamorphosise them into goals. Setting goals help us to achieve our dreams by telling us that it needs to be completed as soon as possible. Apart from that, what we dream of is also very important. There is no point dreaming of things that will not exist or will not be able to be achieved. It is more important to dream realistically and pragmatically, dream dreams that would benefit others and then transform them into goals and achieve them. Dreams are just dreams, but goals are dreams with deadlines waiting to be achieved. Dream big.

Au Revoir

yongliang

2 weeks left

2009-10-14T21:19:00.002+08:00

Omigosh. There's about 12 days left before the start of the O levels. OMG.

Really nervous. I feel pretty prepared, yet not prepared at all! How?

Anyway, I did an essay today. I thought it wasn't really good .On second thought, I decided to put it up here and see what you guys think about it.

Here goes...

Marriage

Marriage is a union between between individuals that creates kinship. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually wedlock. In my opinion, marriage is; and should be a beautiful intertwining of fates. It is supposed to cross the lives of two people, sometimes very different people. It is also supposed to last for eternity. Some people view marriages as a burden, while others find it as a lifelong commitment that brings them joy and laughter. But what brings two people together?

Scientific research has shown that opposites do attract. Recent findings published by the University of Parana, Brazil reported that people with diverse major histocompatibility complexes were more likely to choose each other as mates than those whose MHCs were similar, and that this was likely to be an evolutionary strategy to ensure healthy reproduction. This shows that biologically, humans have been “engineered” to be attracted to opposites of themselves. Therefore opposite personalities may be attracted to each other and eventually marry.

However, statistically, marriages between people who are more alike in attitudes tend to last longer. A report published in the journal, Personality and Individual Differences showed that people choose partners who were similar to themselves in terms of agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness. Thus, there was strong evidence that in the psychological point of view, marriages last longer when two similar people are married to each other. However Sanjay Srivastava, a psychologist at the University of Oregon offered an explanation for the phenomenon; perhaps the longer the couples stay together, the more they grow alike. In my opinion, people are not finding an opposite, or a like pole. We are all looking for a balance. No couple is made up of two people who are completely alike or different. I believe that couples who are fated to meet and marry are supposed to provide a balance. Humans are not born perfect, thus I believe that perfection is achieved when we marry the love of our lives. Husband and wife have to complement each other. Thus I believe that Fate brings two people together to fill up the empty half of each others’ lives.

It has also been said that there is no need for a reason to love someone. If a marriage is a phase in love, it probably does not have a reason either. Sometimes, all that is needed for a couple to get together is an opportunity. An example is the marriage between British actor Michael Caine and British model and actress, Shakira Baksh. Caine first saw Shakira in an advertisement for Maxwell House Coffee on television. The advertisement had been shot in Brazil and Caine was so struck by Shakira that he was prepared to fly there and meet her. With a little investigation, he realised that she lived only a few kilometres away from him. Eventually, they got married. They have already been married for 36 years. Thus, this example shows that sometimes, relationships between a couple may be sparked by a sudden impulse and such marriages; contrary to popular belief, can actually last – in this case 36 years. Thus, Fate still plays a part in bringing two people together, by providing the opportunity for two people to discover more about each other and in the end marry each other.

In conclusion, I feel that there are many different reasons why two people are attracted to each other and eventually marry. However, I believe that all these reasons are offshoots of one main root reason. Fate brings people – sometimes different, sometimes the same – together. In some couples, no matter how different they are – different religions, different races, different beliefs – they still manage to keep their relationship alive and continue running the marathon of marriage. In other couples, they seem to have telepathic minds and know what their other half is thinking without conversation. And in some couples, although they might have never met before, when they eventually do meet, they feel as if they have known each other for decades. Thus, I believe that Fate is the puppeteer of the emotion we call love and marriages are fated.

It's pretty short, compared to my typical essays. But Mr Tan warned me that writing really long essays may not be a good thing. And I had written a concise essay on "What do you enjoy most after school" (or something along that line) and I achieved a decent score (definitely above 22). So I guess, it's not really the length that matters. :D

Second thing on the agenda today. It's a piece of good news. TAYLOR SWIFT HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR 6 AMAs! (You're getting hotter by the day babe.) ♥

Nominations:

• Favorite Female Artist – Country
• Favorite Album – Country
• Favorite Female Artist – Pop
• Favorite Album – Pop
• Adult Contemporary Music
• Artist of the Year

:D

Au Revoir

yongliang

Uncle Tony's 60th Birthday

2009-10-10T23:30:00.002+08:00

Just returned from dinner at Peach Garden @ Novena. It's a really nice place, and the service was good. The manager and the waitress that served us were very very very polite, and both of them had a good sense of humour. Really liked the experience there.

Went for dinner there to celebrate my uncle's 60th birthday. 7 course meal! One of the funniest parts of the meal was when the waitress was preparing the cake.

waitress: how many candles do I put on the cake?
Mum: erm, just put all the candles that you find in the plastic bag.
waitress: but there are 6 candles!
Mum: yeah, put all 6.
waitress: HE'S 60 ALREADY!?

haha really funny. Then that waitress cracked quite a few jokes with out family and went along with all the other jokes we were cracking. So, it was quite lively and fun. haha.

All in all, I really enjoyed today evening. haha. Really fun. And there was really good service at the Peach Garden. Would definitely go back there again, or so I think. haha.

And kudos to the Manager, Darren and the waitress that attended to us, Lee Lim Kiang; for their good sense of humour and service!

Pictures!

BIRTHDAY BOY. LOL

High class peanut. That's fine dining for you. haha :) It must be some 100 year old Tibetan Himalayan Peanut.

See! Even the Prawn Cracker is so high class.

寿桃!

PEKING DUCK. pecking duck. haha

Double-boiled Shark Bone soup. I'm not really an advocate of eating sharks (I feel guilty everytime I have to drink sharks' fin soup), but this was really good. :/

The red ink is part of the line, " Happy 60th Birthday"

Au Revoir

yongliang

Actually...

2009-09-28T16:40:00.002+08:00

looks like i didn't do as well as i thought compared to the rest of the cohort. :/

sigh.

Au Revoir

yongliang

I'm not going down without a fight.

2009-09-26T00:48:00.003+08:00

FISTS IN THE AIR I'M NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT~ - Katy Perry - Fingerprints.

Got one month left to make it work and fight for my 6 points and 10A1s. Things are looking better and it looks more achievable now. Really.

Although raw results wise, I am quite disappointed with my Biology and Chemistry, but they have both seen improvement from last term.

The biggest jump was in my 2 mathematics subjects. A pity my additional mathematics failed to hit the 85 mark hurdle to achieve the much coveted A1 grade. by 2 marks. Sigh.

Otherwise, I think I have scooped in a healthy helping of A1s this term. I just hope either of my humanities subjects reaps in an A1 so I'll get 7 points this term, a very healthy grade indeed.

Forget about the prelims now and cast my sights on the final and most important examination this year. The O levels. 1 month more to ensure that a decade of education paid off. 1 chance!!

Really hope to do well now, although I'm still not sure how I am going to use this 1 month of time. I've got to cover quite a bit of ground for my weaker subjects such as the arts/humanities subjects, and I have to maintain my new strong subjects, as well as regain my footing in my favourite, more comfortable subjects. So much to do, so difficult to balance, so little time.

The last thing I need now is a distraction. Focus.

It's my life, and I'm not sitting by the sidelines watching it pass me by - Katy Perry - Fingerprints

I'm not gonna watch my A1s pass me by. I'm gonna grab them tightly, all if possible

Au Revoir

yongliang

O levels are coming. For real.

2009-09-23T21:48:00.002+08:00

Prelim 3 is finally over. :D

O levels are coming D:

Please give me <8 this term

And give me <7 for O levels!

I really really really want to go to NJC. Please!

):

Au Revoir

yongliang

Tell Me Why

2009-09-19T10:30:00.002+08:00

Taylor Swift
Tell Me Why

I took a chance, I took a shot
And you might think I'm bulletproof but I'm not
You took a swing, I took it hard
And down here from the ground, I see who you are

I'm sick and tired of your attitude
I'm feeling like I don't know you
You tell me that you love me then you cut me down

And I need you like a heartbeat
But you know you got a mean streak
Makes me run for cover when you're around

And here's to you and your temper
Yes, I remember what you said last night
And I know that you see what you're doing to me
Tell me, why?

You could write a book on how
To ruin someone's perfect day
Well, I get so confused and frustrated
Forget what I'm trying to say, oh

I'm sick and tired of your reasons
I got no one to believe in
You tell me that you want me, then push me around

And I need you like a heartbeat
But you know you got a mean streak
Makes me run for cover when you're around

Here's to you and your temper
Yes, I remember what you said last night
And I know that you see what you're doing to me
Tell me, why?

Why do you have to make me feel small
So you can feel whole inside?
Why do you have to put down my dreams
So you're the only thing on my mind?

I'm sick and tired of your attitude
I'm feeling like I don't know you
You tell me that you want me then cut me down

I'm sick and tired of your reasons
I've got no one to believe in
You ask me for my love then you push me around

Here's to you and your temper
Yes, I remember what you said last night
And I know that you see what you're doing to me
Tell me, why? Why? Tell me, why?

I take a step back, let you go
I told you I'm not bulletproof
Now you know

Somehow, after the Kanye West incident, whever I hear this song, it's as if she's singing it to Kanye West. LOLs. (especially the highlighted parts). If Beyonce sang the "And down here from the ground, I see who you are" part, it'd fit perfectly. (Because Beyonce was at her seat and was shocked when she saw Kanye West made a mess of himself on stage)

Kanye's antics belong to the circus. (Maybe Spear's Circus was written for him, after all Kanye did the same thing to her once too at the 2007 VMAs)

Au Revoir

yongliang

Ponder

2009-09-15T14:43:00.002+08:00

I watched Frontline on Channel 8 immediately after I came home just now. The episode's theme was "Extraordinary Volunteers". The episode was about 3 volunteers, one who had suffered a mild stroke, another who had suffered physical disfigurement, and the last one who is about to lose her hands and legs.

I only managed to watch the section about the lady who was about to lose her hands and legs. The sight was unbearable. Her hands and feet have turned charcoal black. She cannot move them, and they look hard as stone to me. Even the nails were black. Right before she admitted herself in the hospital, all she complained of was back pain. And mind you, SHE WALKED to the hospital herself. That was how healthy she was. But after she entered the hospital, she never had the chance to walk again.

She was an active volunteer before she was diagnosed with this weird disease (I have no idea what she had contracted, I think they said diabetes? But I don't think diabetes will turn out like that.. :/ Her appendages weren't rotting. They just turned charoal-black. Not at all like the colour of rotting flesh). So this led me to think, she was so charitable and willing to give, but why should such an unfortunate thing happen to her.

The first thing I thought of was Karma. Maybe she did something really bad and this was retribution. But then, even if she really did a really bad thing, after doing all these years of charity and service to the unfortunate and needy, she should have cleared her "CWO" already. No? So, I didn't think it was Karma, it just didn't fit.

Next, I thought, my religious friends often tell me of a purpose in life. So I thought, maybe there is a purpose why The One decided to 'give' her the disease. But I thought again, what purpose is there? Lead people to think that even though you are charitable, it does not mean you will come to a good end?

Then I thought. But what is purpose? What purpose is there of having this purpose? Why should there be purpose if everything is going to end the same way, anyway? Some may argue that The One 'gave' her the disease so that she can inspire others, because even though she no longer is able to use her hands and legs, she still is staying strong and being the pillar of support for her family, so her purpose is to inspire others; even if you are old and sickly, you still can support others. But what purpose is there to have this purpose to inspire others?

Everything is going to come to an end anyway. So what if she spreads that idea to millions of people. Those people will die anyway. In what way will that idea improve the end? The end is still going to remain the same no matter what you do. So what purpose is there to have purpose? Just as the character in Anton Checkhov's Ward No.6 , Andrey Yefimitch said, " "Prisons and madhouses there will not be, and truth, as you have just expressed it, will triumph; but the reality of things, you know, will not change, the laws of nature will still remain the same. People will suffer pain, grow old, and die just as they do now. However magnificent a dawn lighted up your life, you would yet in the end be nailed up in a coffin and thrown into a hole." It is a complete cycle, but what is the purpose behind the cycle? To die? We do so much, only to die?

"However magnificent a dawn lighted up your life, you would yet in the end be nailed up in a coffin and thrown into a hole."

Then I think, so why are we doing what we are doing now when all road leads to Rome?
The laws of nature will still remain unchanged. No matter what we do, it will all come to closure, so why the effort and hardship and suffering?

One day, everything will return to the soil. The soil may even cease to exist. Everything we longed or owned will vanish and disappear. So why long or own them in the first place?

Then, why are we here anyway? Who are we?

It's quite amazing how I have been living for nearly two decades and still do not know who I am and what life means exactly.

Au Revoir

yongliang

However magnificent a dawn lighted up your life, you would yet in the end be nailed up in a coffin and thrown into a hole.

I miss my lovers.

2009-09-12T02:27:00.003+08:00

Wallau, all your fault la Silvana.

Miss my 3 lovers. ): Sigh. Has been a long time since I played with one of those. Soon, they'd be preparing for this year's shooting competition. Last year we missed out by 2 points (Grrr), please get into the finals this year. Eh, show that my training didn't go to waste. :D

I wonder how the shooting team's doing. Toh Hong, Jacob, Ken, Dong Hong, Kai Rong, Nick wee, Kian How, Wei Jie...

Bringing them to SAFRA was really fun. haha. :D Jamming the rifles on purpose, firing at more difficult targets like fig.15, and the other weird looking ones. From those thin as a twig, to those as big as a window. haha. :D

My personal favourite? Nothing beats the canadian bull. :D haha.
And next, will be Snap. Whatever target it is, as long as it is snap, it's fun. Even more fun when you have to do an IA. haha. My 2 second IA drill. :D

And I learnt that I don't like small arms. Apart from the .22s I love those.
Big calibres are messy. Small slugs in the head ricochet like pinballs.

I wish I get to play with an AWM one day, and clean it too. (:
Cleaning your own firearm gives it a sense of closeness. You know, like the way those swordsmen use they blood to mold their swords. Yup. I like those stories where they say that if your sword carries your blood, it will protect you. Haha, wonder if it'd work if I clean my wife everyday.

Sigh. Gone are the heydays. Here are the O levels.

Au Revoir

yongliang

HOT NEWS

2009-09-06T16:32:00.003+08:00

WOAH HOT NEWS HOT NEWS HOT NEWS HOT NEWS!!!

Straight off the oven! Okayy, not really, but almost there.

The Re-release of Taylor's sophomore album, Fearless will have SIX NEW SONGS. :D Woots. Feels totally unreal.

I have new music coming out! What's that you say? We just put out Fearless last year? I know! We're not putting out a whole new album. We're re-releasing Fearless with SIX new songs added. I'm so excited for you to hear this new music, see the new pictures, and watch the 50 million hours of bonus content - Taylor Swift

Well, she didn't really mean 50 million hours, but well, almost there. :D

Au Revoir

yongliang

JBL FTW

2009-09-04T20:54:00.001+08:00

Mum and Dad got me that :D
And I'll soon have my touch that will go along with it :D

They said it cost a bomb. I'm not that very surprised, considering it's JBL. haha. :D

Woohoo JBL speakers FTW.

But my parents could have gotten a cheaper option: Creative Inspire. Those rock too.

THANKS :D anyway.

Au Revoir

yongliang

Better Day

2009-09-04T15:17:00.001+08:00

Goo Goo Dolls
Better Days

And you asked me what I want this year
and I try to make this kind and clear
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
'cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
and designer love and empty things
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words and sing out loud
'cause everyone is forgiven now
'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I need some place simple where we could live
and something only you can give
and that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
and the one poor child who saved this world
and there's ten million more who probably could
if we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

So take these words and sing out loud
'cause everyone is forgiven now
'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

I wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

So take these words and sing out loud
'cause everyone is forgiven now
'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

'cause tonight's the night the world begins again

Au Revoir

yongliang