Reading-Me-Like-A-Book

Goodbye Swan and Piers

2012-02-24T21:03:00.007+08:00

i remembered when my basketball buddy was lamenting about the departure of the more senior servicemen, i was thinking there wasnt much to be upset about. if the old guy goes, it means you yourself is also closer to freedom, and that is a good thing! just look at the bright side!

but i guess it matters if me as the new 'old guy' still have more than half a year to go haha. and especially when swan and piers are such interesting people that you got to spend time with in the tiny office.

shaun is the one who helped integrate me into the office when i first arrived. hes a highly sociable creature who can make people around him feel very comfortable. unfortunately, he is really messy and unorganized. he has the habit of leaving half-drank bottles and can drinks around and messing up the office, which i often nagged him for xP. today he left a glue-stick uncapped on my table after use!

shaun probably has the worst job any admin guy in the camp can ever have. if not for his crazy personally and strange working style, he might have already sunk into depression! in his job, hes been involved in so many different things that we always tease him as the guy who knows everything (he hates this title). its a good thing hes finally able to get this giant boulder off his back.

pierson is quite the opposite of shaun. he is the up-there guy who does his job impeccably well. he doesnt know everything like shuan, but hes a master in whatever he does. he looks like someone with a serious personality and is difficult to get close to, but he is full of nonsense and he jokes a lot. i remember when i was still new to the office, he wetted a shirt of the other newcomer and put it in the freezer!

although i was closer to shaun initially, i became closer to pierson eventually, since we are nonsensical jokers (maybe partly because happen to shift my workplace closer to him as well). though he looks cool, hes like a small child around us. without my influence, he got himself hooked onto korean pop music and become a worse fanboy than me! but its thanks to his new interest that we managed to generate so much fun in the office.

like i said before, i still have more than half a year to go. the new guys are fun people as well, but the old birds will surely be missed. all the best for your futures!

When your car goes out of battery

2012-02-19T17:43:00.004+08:00

a small episode this fine morning:

this morning is like my any other sunday morning. i had my alarm timing set at 10am (having slept late as usual) but was woken up for breakfast (as usual) just before 9.

while i was still brushing my teeth, my dad who left house first called for us to bring my sisters car key down to him. i thought his remote car key has run out of battery. to my surprise, when i reached the car park, i found out my sisters key didnt work too. the car battery was flat. apparently my sis, who was the last user, forgot to turn off the headlights when she was the last to use the car last week -.-

my father called his friend who live nearby 'borrow' his lorrys battery power. he agreed, but later on called back to inform his lorry couldnt start as well because he too forgot to switch of his headlights! as his lorry is a manual vehicle (the engine is able to start when you push the vehicle), my dad and i went down to help him push-start his lorry.

after which he drove to our car park to revive our car!

sorry for the blur picture. i didnt want 2 uncles to wait for me get a good shot.

so i learnt 3 things today:

1) how to revive a vehicle

2) i actually have the strength to push a vehicle

3) a car is lighter than a lorry

happy ending.

Old Spices And The Science (and nonsenses) Behind It

2012-02-16T21:18:00.005+08:00

check out this sexy mens shampoo commercial! targeted at women xD i learnt about this old spice thingy from my friends a couple of days ago when they told me to look up the commercials. apparently this commercial caught the attention of many, such that different things related to the old spice commercial started popping out!

* due to lack of research, i cannot guarantee whatever i mention below is completely accurate ^^

this is one of the original old spice commercials (by isaiah mustafa). the interesting thing about the commercial is the instantaneous change in scenes happening in a single take. i thought computer graphics is probably heavily utilized, but it seemed otherwise from the explanation below! check out the creative production below!

(the commercial and the breakdown is sandwiched by a totally irrelevant commercial in between. but that in itself is pretty funny as well xD)

and what happened after such awesomeness?

a sesame street parody!

and many other parodies as well. some of which are pretty funny and well made! i assume the ones below are not the original.

while the original old spice guy is sexy and cool, terry crews is simply EXPLOSIVE! and he makes a strong impact too xP

the next one attracted more controversy. his version of commercial can be seen as 'awesome' or 'disgustingly spastic'. but give some credit to fabio! he kept himself in such a good shape despite his age.

what else are there? the mustafa, the original old spice guy answering questions posted to him. and he takes a dig back at fabio!

ORD Loh!

2012-02-10T20:24:00.002+08:00

... NOT!

not so early. i still have to wait till september. im only getting this back now because im going to exchange for a pink one (if you know what i mean).

hmm... a blue card holder living in singapore enjoy lesser privileges compared to the pinks. but im pretty used with being different (or special! :D). in fact, i do see some good in that... anyway, good or no good, the blues gonna turn pink come monday.

it guess this change is a very natural one. ive always seen it coming, since ive been living in singapore all my life. however, i still feel a little bad when the time for conversion finally arrived.

it could have been much worse maybe, had the people at the malaysian consular not been so nice. even though i (and everyone else) was there to betray my country of birth, they were very friendly and professional. they speak english too!

i feel it takes a lot to be working at the consular, seeing people of your nationality approach you everyday to enquire about renouncing the citizenship. i was relieved and grateful that it didnt take much trouble to obtain the letter of betrayal from them.

look forward to your adopted nationality boy! like everyone else ORD with a PINK IC!

A post dedicated to my Movie Mate

2012-02-06T19:50:00.003+08:00

my long time companion (of some sort) has left singapore for australia to study for 2 years. at this point of writing, this person should already be halfway through the flight.

throughout the years of knowing this person, our common activities together have seldom deviated from eating and watching movies. however, through the regular irregular meetings, i got know a lot of interesting things about this person.

to this person:

living in a foreign country would probably be a good and unforgettable experience, but it might not be easy. ive not tried it myself, so im not in a position to give any practical advice. the closest i have to such an overseas stint is a 7 week attachment, with a large group of friends, where food and lodging is well taken care of oO

i feel that your lifestyle in singapore and skill sets will stand you in good stead of you embark on your overseas experience. if you are able to look after your mental well-being and find means to channel any of your unhappiness, you will be fine : )

it must be difficult to be at somewhere so far away. but on the bright side, your english will probably improve there! hehe... no matter what, take good care of yourself, make the most out of your experience there and come back a better person! 안녕!

Let's Speak Korean a hundred times!

2012-01-29T20:48:00.003+08:00

lets speak korean 시잔한 지 백회가 됐다! 축하해!

phew... took me an eternity to write the sentence above... anyway, back to the original topic. it has taken me more than 2 years, but ive finally reached the hundred lesson! there were times where i was practically crawling through the lessons, but im glad i didnt stop : )

i think this is the first time that ive persisted with learning something for such a long time. i tried guitar (lacked interest, crooked finger) and japanese (lacked interest, difficult learning materials) previously but i didnt persist for very long. but having an interest in korean songs and shows really helps to sustain my learning.

although im much, much better compared to 100 lessons before, ive only been learning the tip of the ice kacang. even that isnt easy. whist continuing with the lessons, i have to constantly recap what ive covered in order not to forget. hopefully i will be able to understand much better when i reach lesson 200!

2012-01-25T20:36:00.007+08:00

as usual, chinese new year spent in malaysia. this time round, we were in such a hurry to leave that i barely had time to pack all that i need for the trip.

the immigration & checkpoints authority said the customs would be choked up through the new year, but it was okay when we drove to malaysia. the jam was there, but it wasnt unusually long.

fathers side

this years new year was a little different. for a start, the house was filled with food!

lots of choices, but only the pistachios and prawn rolls appealed to me.

of course, there is also the usual:

fresh veggies! without preservatives!

free rambutans from the 2 rambutan trees

my agile dad climbing up the tree for the rambutans

managed to snap a picture of my naughty nephew

we went to a few more places this year. en route to my mothers side, we stopped by a few place to visit my mums cousins. this was the time meeting them.

tailing my uncles car during the visiting

and my cousin tailing us

saw this place on our way. my mum said its her secondary school.

what is new year without fireworks?!! there has to be some fireworks, right? actually i dont really care :P but we did have some at home.

young naughty cousin trying to steal candies.

i also went to a newly-erected temple which was located right opposite my uncles house. went to get a divination, asking for work and studies and got a good one!

should have asked for EVERYTHING haha...

i returned yesterday, but without my parents. they decided to stay with their own siblings for a few more days, so my sis, aunt, 3 cousins and myself drove a car back on our own. it was my first time driving all the way back without having the assurance from someone who knows the way. thankfully, im able to make my way back. the traffic was surprisingly good, and that definitely helped me a lot.

the jam at the customs was also a pretty short one. but unfortunately while i was queueing at the singapore customs i was diverted to the customs for cargo trucks, which was slower. it was a good experience though. you dont get to drive through the customs for cargo trucks that often, do you?

McDinner at aunts house. end of CNY chapter!

2012-01-18T19:32:00.002+08:00

jump?

jumping...

jumped.

Unhappy Week

2012-01-12T20:02:00.003+08:00

work was nightmare-ish.

almost lost my identity card.

earpiece spoilt not long ago. backup earpiece spoilt today.

realized ive gotten the worse guard duty slots that one can ever get for this month

looking on the bright side... this weeks gonna be over!

oh... ... weekends... ...

Hangover January

2012-01-06T21:19:00.004+08:00

and so... delirious december is over. whats left is a busy january ahead of me. i have my citizenship issue to settle, ntu disruption letter to ignore, on top of my daily work at the office. 2 project deadlines closing in on me. and an sutd interview today.

i only received notification of an available interview slot the evening before yesterday. needless to say, preparation was rather hectic. just enough time to find all the documents i need, prepare my 战服 and gather my thoughts.

with time running short, i did my best to ensure i was mentally prepare and have the proper documents. i trusted that my 战服 would not fail me. and murphy struck me JUST there.

my leather shoes which i havent worn for ages, looked fine yesterday under the dim living room light. granted, the leather was peeling a bit, but it still looked okay. but to my horror, the "a bit" turned into "a lot" the moment i stepped out of the house this sunny afternoon.

i thought i only had to pretend that my shoes were perfectly alright, and make sure the interviewer wouldnt focus on them... but i was wrong - as i walked to the interview location, my usually reliable 战友 decided to go one better by deciding to detach its sole halfway. i was forced to make the painful decision ripping the sole out totally. now i have to pretend that my shoes are NEW and its sole is STILL INTACT.

r.i.p. i will never forget the countless battles we fought together.

thankfully, thing changed for the better from then onwards. the interview took place in a small room around a conference table; my shoes were thankfully out of the interviewers sight. the interviewers (a professor/provost, an associate professor and the admissions director) were really nice people and they helped me to settle down comfortably. also, i guessed my condition was good, and i had a lot to talk about.

the associate professor is a korean, and it was with him that i had a first conversation with a korean. in korean language! the conversation goes like this:

him: hello.

me: hello.

(short pause)

me: its nice meeting you

him: how do speak korean well?

me: i only can speak a little.

him: how long have you been learning korean?

me: two years?

it was a really short and simple conversation, but im still glad i managed to pull it off! the associate professor was impressed that i could understand him and commended me on my pronunciation. that really made my day : ) i made my way home continuing the pretense of having perfectly normal shoes.

icing on the cake? i found $10 on my way home xD

2011-12-24T21:33:00.003+08:00

ah... how i miss my polytechnic days... was reminded that i did a couple of videos during my polytechnic days, and i went to dig them up. simple videos using a simple program, but i put in a lot of effort to make them.

enjoy!

video on my final year project: wireless vascular doppler recorder. sounds sophisticated, eh?

1 minute promotion video of my club : )

Unpolished Gem

2011-12-17T21:38:00.005+08:00

ive been feeling lethargic ever since coming back from genting. sometimes i dont even feel like using the computer for a long time. ive also lost the mood to blog, but im writing today because i want to introduce a good book - unpolished gem, written by alice pung.

dont know who is alice pung? i didnt know either when i purchased the book. there were tons and tons of books on sale at where borders parkway used to be located. plenty of books of all genres, but upon reading the synopsis, i ended up picking this memoir of someone i never heard before.

synopsis

with a home-grown accent and an imported heritage, alice pung grew up stradding two worlds. by the time she was born, her family had already made the perilous journey from revolutionary china and the killing fields of cambodia to the new home in a prosperous australian suburb. but even as alice dives headfirst into life in the only country shes ever known, she also understands her fathers wonder at the magical workings of escalators, her grandmothers fervent blessings for the generosity of father government, and her mothers determination to toil every hour of the day and night. warm-spirited and wonderfully wise, unpolished gem is a vibrant, irreverent portrait of the foreigners fumble, the everyday successes and the bittersweet bonds that hold one small family together in a big new country.

okay, it wasnt just the synopsis alone that decided it for me. the book also included snippets of reviews from various sources, and that made the book sound very interesting.

unpolished gem is the debut work of alice pung, who is a chinese of cambodian descent. or is it a cambodian of chinese descent? anyway, besides sharing stories about her interesting childhood growing up in a traditional asian family, her book also talks about the life of her family of immigrants in australia, how they adapted but somehow still failed to fit in. in a way, her book is a voice for all the immigrants, whose stories of hardship were never made known to others.

alices style of writing is very different from john lawton, the author of riptide (my previous book). while john lawtons riptide, peppered with alien words, can be sort of burdensome to read, unpolished gem is written simply and pleasantly. in her own way, alice pung is a great storyteller. injecting humour into her somewhat difficult, heartbreaking and inspiring life story, the book is just so interesting to read. you would want to go on finding out what happens in her life.

its indeed $6 well spent ^^

to end off, heres a short video of alice pung talking about unpolished gem and the migrants story in general.

Genting Trip: As It Happened

2011-12-12T12:41:00.022+08:00

friday

20:50 - things packed and ready to go!

21:15 - we reached golden mile shopping centre, the pick-up point for the coach. the coach is schedule to leave only at 23:00, and its not even here yet, but we came early to ensure that we can all sit close to one another.

21:25 - my cousins family, who are also going with us on the trip, arrives. mum is happy because now she has someone to talk to.

22:23 - woah, i met my friend from polytechnic! he is going on a trip with his friends, but to kuala lumpur.

22:50 - we are finally settled on the coach! its my first time taking such a classy coach to malaysia. there are even in-ride entertainment systems! 출발!

23:38 - clearing the singapore customs is an absolute breeze. at this timing, it seems the customs is operating for no one but us.

23:55 - takes just a bit longer to clear the malaysia customs. time to store some energy for tomorrow! good night!

saturday

01:00 - woke up to find that we are actually doing a pit-stop at yong peng. i was impressed by the stopover place. still plenty of food available despite the hellish timing. we ate fishball noodles. for an area famous for its fishballs, the balls are just okay, but the noodle is nice.

04:30 - we are already on our way up towards genting highlands! the super-curvy roads are fogged up. visibility is rather poor. its really a test of skills to drive up. dad said before the road used to be much worse than now. if its current condition is bad enough for me, what was it used to be like before?

04:56 - gosh... it didnt know it would take so long for us to reach the top, despite having a pretty skilled driver who kept overtaking other vehicles on our way up. this place is colder than my office, and i see clouds below me!

scaled down model of genting highlands in the hotel lobby

06:16 - we could only check into our hotel at noon, and most shops/attractions arent open yet. basically all we could do is sit around and eat. and eat. and eat. so sinful...

06:38 - long queue of poeple wanting to make the genting card. possibly for gambling purpose. my mum is the one who wants to try the slots machine, but she forced me into the queue for her : (

07:35 - we are heaving a buffet breakfast. some food on offer reminds me of the breakfast onboard star cruise. and ikea.

08:45 - having stayed indoor since arriving, we finally made our way outside!

09:56 - i just lost rm10 through the slots machine. maybe because i didnt have a tinge of red on me to give me luck. i realized gambling is really not the thing for me. the slots machine is no fun, and its takes so long to get the table games going, and i didnt have the patience for that.

the best part of the casino experience? getting checked by the security not once, but twice! i must have looked young xD

11:12 - theres a group of youths putting in a hip-hop performance at the hotel lobby. no pictures to show. my mum has got the camera with her.

12:49 - we finally got to check into the hotel room! the room is quite small, but just nice for 3 (my sis, my mum and me). im contented. hotel sweet hotel ^^

excellent view from the window.

13:41 - having our lunch in the hotel room. there was no need to lunch outside, as we brought way too much food up here.

15:00 - having taken a nap, we continued exploring the place. aimlessly Oo

im pretty proud of this picture

me making my sis hold up the bridge

16:27 - i just had my first ever cable car ride! the ticket, at rm10 for a two-way trip, is great value for money.

not a camwhore, be still pretty good :P

whos taking this picture for us?!!

16:57 - the cable car brought us from the top to the middle part of the mountain. theres nothing much to do here at all, so we are already making our way back.

resting after wandering about

smile~ 30 dollars please.

this is not the longest cable car ride is southeast asia for nothing. the trip back seemed like eternity.

17:30 - my friend told me to try baskin robbins while im here, and try i did.

18:55 - just ended the tour for ripleys believe it or not. lots of fascinating stuff. its a little like paying to enter a museum, but there are some interactive attractions inside. a good experience!

the luckiest chair in the world, made with horseshoes

my mum, seemingly unfazed by the dropping books

heads and heads and heads and shoulders above the rest

19:35 - on the contrary, ripleys haunted house is TERRIBLE. my secondary school does it way better.

19:47 - late dinner at kfc. another sinful meal.

20:34 - some acrobats putting up a show for the crowd.

up goes the pottery

and the table as well

21:25 - arcade time!

the arcade was also disappointing. i have no idea how much credit the machines robbed us of. we had to constantly call for the operators because the machines are giving us problems. two thumbs down.

sunday

00:54 - back in the hotel room. my mum and sis have already turned it. and im about to do the same, after finishing my outdated version of readers digest.

08:54 - having our buffet breakfast at the same venue. having tried a variety for food the day before, im sticking to just french toast and chicken sausages today.

10:20 - theres still a little time before we have to check out from the hotel room, so we decided to go bowling. my sis and i are amateurs, while the rest are first-timers.

fit for the camera, despite this being his first time

oops... a little over the line?

more like doing hip-hop than bowling

12:15 - took me a torturous 20 minutes of lift-waiting before i finally make my way down from 23rd floor to the 1st. everyones rushing to check out at the same time.

14:28 - it rained in the morning, so the temperature outside is really low. if you exhale hard enough, you can even see your breath smoking!

after a torrid time waiting at the cold and overcrowded bus terminal, our coach finally arrives. no in-ride entertainment system this time, but it doesnt matter to me. im just going to concuss myself for most part of the trip back : )

conclusion: i was too young the first time i went to genting, so i didnt know what was the place about. i only remembered the cold weather, the hotel suite and that i was underheight for a certain water attraction. now i have a better idea about the place. didnt try the theme park though, as we only had one full day to explore, and i didnt want it to be a mad rush. maybe if there is a next time...

Top Ten Things Airlines Don't Tell You

2011-12-02T21:49:00.006+08:00

an article from away.com

10. Even Pilots Have to Pee
"Anyone who has sat near the front of the plane since 9/11 has surely noticed when the pilots are ready to take a bathroom break, or 'physiological needs' break, as the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) calls it. When nature calls we alert the flight attendants on the intercom. The attendants set up a barrier to the cockpit and give us an all-clear signal to open the door, as we don't have a separate bathroom and have to use the same one as everyone else. A few months back my fellow pilot picked up the wrong handset and accidentally asked the entire aircraft if we could 'come out and pee?'"

9. There Is Such Thing as the "Good Seats"
"If you are susceptible to motion sickness, your best bet is to sit over the wing. An airplane is like a teeter-totter. When the pilot moves the nose of the plane up or down, the seats in the extreme front and back are going to move a greater distance. And as a rule, the tail tends to move more than the front, so stay away from the rear if motion is a problem for you."

8. The Fasten Seatbelt Sign Is No Joke
"Turbulence isn't dangerous to a jet aircraft, but it is to the people in it. Past incidents of severe turbulence have slammed people into the ceiling and then dropped them to the floor, causing very serious injuries. If your flight crew tells you to be seated because of turbulence, I highly recommend you heed their warning."

7. There Are No Free Lunches
"Thanks to the airline bankruptcies starting in 2000, few U.S. domestic airlines still provide food to its crews. As pilots we are allowed to eat in the cockpit once we're at cruising altitude, but we're usually eating something from the food courts in the airport terminal: pre-prepared wrapped sandwiches, slices of pizza. Not quite the glamorous lifestyle it used to be."

6. And You Thought Filling Your Car Was Expensive
"The number-one expense for an airline is fuel, which isn't going to get any cheaper. And because the cost of gas fluctuates so much, so does the price of the flight. Your average two-engine, narrow-body aircraft burns about 15 gallons of gas per minute at cruising altitude. So you can imagine what the gas bill would be on a transcontinental flight."

5. The FAA Has a Sense of Humor, Sort of
"Airplanes follow an invisible map of highways and avenues in the sky in order to make it to their destinations. There are thousands of virtual points in the sky that pilots follow on their route, each with unique names so the air-traffic controllers can tell us where to go and how to get there. The FAA has gotten creative when naming some of these points (which must be five characters), like these over southern Florida—UFIRD, DONLD, and TRUMP over Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, or FINNS, PYRUT, and BUFIT for Florida native Jimmy Buffett. My favorites are at the Kansas City Airport, honoring its local cuisine on the arrival procedure with SPICY and BARBQ."

4. The Deal With Electronics
"Nothing has ever been proven, but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that electronics really interfere with an aircraft's flight instruments. The most likely culprits are things that transmit a signal, like a cell phone or a computer operating in Wi-Fi mode, which emits an electronic pulse or wave. But new aircrafts are being engineered for the wireless age so you should see more and more allowance of electronic devices in the future."

3. Your Co-Pilot Could be More Experienced Than You Think
"The turmoil of the airline industry over the last 20 years or so has caused many airlines to go out of business or shrink in size, thus laying off massive numbers of employees. If an airline captain loses his job at one airline and goes to another, he or she will start over as a co-pilot at entry-level pay and will be given no credit for their experience."

2. The Air Isn't Immune to Office Romances
"All the crew stays at the same hotel, but I remember a couple years ago the pilots' wives pushed for flight attendants to be at a different hotel than the pilots because they didn't want to make it easy for their husbands to cheat."

1. Crews Are Trained in More Than Just Emergency Exits
"Terrorism is a big deal nowadays. Most flight attendants and pilots are trained for those instances and taught self-defense as well as how to detect certain behaviors. Pilots are also able to sign up for a voluntary intensive program that is held at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. For one week they learn things like how to shoot a gun and disable someone carrying one. When they finish the program they're licensed to carry a gun into the cockpit with them."

Darling December

2011-12-01T19:43:00.002+08:00

Whole World, come to MAMA!

2011-11-29T22:14:00.007+08:00

this is certainly one of the biggest musical events in singapore.

a certain group in super junior sent fangirls crazy in their recent singapore concert, while their label-mates girls generation will also be performing in the full sold-out indoor stadium come december.

as if that wasnt enough. for the mnet asian music awards 2011, plenty of idols groups and music artistes made their way to our tiny island for mnet asian music awards! super junior, girls generation, 2ne1, 4minute, miss a, beast, baek ji young, seo in young... and the list goes on. not only was the yummy event graced by popular singers, it was also hosted by popular celebrities like lee byung hun, song joong ki, kim hee sun and oh ji ho.

noticeably though, kara and rainbow from dsp did not attend.

the good

2ne1 bagged one of the biggest awards of the ceremony, winning the song of the year with 'i am the best'. deservedly so, given their enterprising brand of music. i feel they could also have won it with 'ugly' and 'lonely'. they also won the best vocal performance (group) with 'lonely'. their big brothers big bang, although as impressive with their music, unfortunately only came away with the best music video award, which must be a real bummer.

in an era dominated by pop artistes, i must say baek ji young has done very well. an exceptional ballad singer into her mid-30s, she won the award for the best female singer (solo) and best original soundtrack with 'that woman', popularized by secret garden. 真是宝刀未老!

the bad

i was looking forward to the live performances, but i was left feeling disappointed. watching korean music shows on 4 korean channels every week have trained me to differentiate between live and lip-synched performances. there was a certain element of 'live' to most dance performances (the mics are still on for you to sing into), but they were heavily backed with background singing, such that it didnt really matter whether if the singers attempt to sing or not.

it is perhaps because they choose focus on the visuals instead of the vocals in front of such a big audience. i guess it can be justified, given that your singing would get drowned by the screaming fans anyway. either the sound captured on tele is terrible or the fans were terribly sporting/desperate, because all i heard on tv was the fans screaming their lungs out. plus a bit of the performance itself. it didnt matter if 99% of the fans cant understand the songs and the speeches, they were just happy to be there.

one thing for sure though, jane zhang sang live (but theres no reason for not singing a ballad live). snoop dogg and dr dre too.

the ugly

inviting snoop dogg and dr dre must have helped greatly in spicing up the atmosphere and creating awareness for the ceremony. but it wasnt pretty listening to their rap performance on-screen, as a good portion of their rap has to be censored in order to be broadcasted. so you get disrupted by pockets (or even chunks) of total silence here, there and everywhere, throughout their performance. very disturbing.

the thing that impressed me the most over the course of the whole show? sandara parks hair! simply refreshing to look at :D

seriously, how many cans of hairspray do you need to make it stay that way. full marks for visuals!

Gold A No Go

2011-11-24T21:29:00.007+08:00

i got a late notification yesterday informing me to go for a fitness test today. totally caught off guard. but it would probably make no difference even if i were told earlier xD

standing broad jump: 239cm

didnt bother about the 2nd attempt as it was enough for gold

sit-ups: 41

gold mark is 40. so i stopped when i hit it.

shuttle run: 9.6 seconds

slipped a little, but didnt matter

pull ups: 12

personal best. lol. probably the only item i have trained a little for.

as usual, it was the 2.4km run that killed me. i clocked 10 minutes and 56 seconds, which was worse than when i was a trainee. not used to sustaining a quick running pace anymore. have to buck up if i want my extra $100.

Iris

2011-11-20T19:18:00.010+08:00

there are a couple of good programmes on android that actually allows you to download dramas and shows to watch them on your phone. my sis introduced one to me, but unfortunately the china-made program has most of its show titles in chinese. there are some non-chinese shows available, but it is a little difficult finding them as most shows (even foreign ones) are named in chinese.

even so, i tried searching for some korean shows in english as chinese language is unavailable on my phone. search results shows nothing, until i keyed in 'iris'. iris is the name of a korean action drama produced in 2009. the show, which caused a big hype in both korea and japan, was available on the search function thanks to its original english name. despite its tremendous popularity, i was never interested to watch it. but since, its the only title i could find on the program that is worth watching, i gave it a go.

iris

the drama covers the existence of a secret organization called national security service (nss), so secretive that even the president doesnt know about it. the organization preempts any foreign threats and even does covert operations including the assassination of anyone that could be a threat to the countrys security. the main protagonist hyun-jun, and his buddy sa-woo, were new members recruited by the nss, and their first mission took them to hungary. upon the completion of the mission, hyun-jun was given a solo mission to assassinate a visiting north korean politician suspected to be part of an evil nuclear scheme.

hyun-jun succeeded in the mission, but was injured in the process and thus could not escape hungary without help. to his horror, instead of assisting him, the organzation ordered sa-woo to locate and silence him in order to keep this assassination a secret. angered by the betrayal, hyun-jun seeks to get back at the organization and the country that abandoned him. in the process, he finds out about a dark secret not only involving the members of nss, but also people from the north and south korean government.

i enjoyed watching iris, because it offers something different from the comedy-romance dramas that im so used to seeing. this action drama takes on a more serious note. while watching, there are three that struck me deeply, mainly:

how good the plot is - there are so many twists to the story, so you never get bored throughout.

how well technology is being leveraged - i guess its like watching the csi series (ive never watched that though). you get amazed by the technological side of things (be it real or fake) and by how the investigators think out of the box to solve the mysteries.

how scary if things are real - is this a complete work of fiction or is it based on things that actually really exist? scary if the latter is true. what we see might only be the very tip of the iceberg. what is underneath, we dont know.

99% of the drama is great, but i feel that 1% of it is so glaringly bad that it spoilt things for me. i was so intrigued by that 1%, so i took it online and found out that i wasnt alone in feeling bitter about it. still, no denying it is a good drama.

one interesting thing: while watching the show, i actually saw a mistake. a big one in fact, but one that might be easily bypassed by viewers. the mistake is even reflected on the promotional poster itself. look at it again!

if you were to be from a secret organization, would you print the name of your organization on your bulletproof vest and wear it out on missions? on his missions, the second male lead is seen wearing a vest with a big 'nss' printed right in front. his team wears a different uniform, but it too bears the organizations name.

with this show being such a big hit, the producers took the chance to produce sequels of it. a movie version of the drama was produced, with its ending slightly modified. they also produced another drama in 'athena: goddess of war', which is something like an extension of iris. iris 2 is currently in the making. thanks to iris, i have lined up athena as a show to watch some time in the future.

athena: goddess of war

Bursting Bubbles

2011-11-17T22:04:00.003+08:00

burst

batam 2d1n trip:

-mum have no interest

-dad dont fancy staying overnight

bursting

genting 2d1n trip:

-uncompromising family members

will probably burst

korea trip next year:

-probably only sis interested

why is it so hard to get everyone to go for a proper trip? not that my family is very big -.-

WASTE OF MY LEAVE :(

-----

update: genting trip still on, but dad is not going.

You Are The Apple Tower

2011-11-15T20:15:00.003+08:00

well, i mentioned about going for a movie cohesion yesterday, didnt i? i caught another movie after that on the same day! so how did both movies fare?

first up, tower heist!

tower heist

ive only heard about the movie recently, when we were planning for the cohesion. we initially wanted to watch the three musketeers, but one of the staff advised against it, naming the largely unknown cast as a reason to give it a miss (orlando bloom is in it, but he isnt even acting as one of the three musketeers!). another concern was that some of the guys might not be able to understand the plot and whatever fanciful speeches they might be using.

but nothing can go wrong with a comedy. as with a movie featuring ben stiller and eddie murphy. the movie is about a group of people associated with the tower plotting a robbery against a cocky rich man who gobbled up the pensions of all the tower employees.

as expected, it was easy to understand the movie. even though i have never read the synopsis beforehand and have missed a little of the start, i was still able to get into the story-line quickly. this movie will not be a hit, but if you are looking for 100 minutes of good laughter, it will be okay for you. you probably wouldnt be able to remember this movie two months down the road, though.

score: 3/5. pretty average.

-----

you are the apple of my eye...

...is what you have to tell the ticket officer to watch this second movie. pretty cheesy, eh?

jokes aside, this is actually a pretty good movie. i dont remember catching many chinese movies at the cinema. in fact, this is probably only my second one (not counting the jackie chan movies my dad brought me to watch when i was very young). coincidentally, my first movie, cape 7, is also a taiwan-produced movie. despite the somewhat tight budget, both these movies were warmly received by the public. i guess there are some good taiwanese directors out there who are good at producing movies that tug at your heartstrings.

you are the apple of my eye

if anyone does follow my blog, he or she would probably know i shared the music video of its theme song a few posts before this one. i knew of the movie even before the advertisements started rolling out. through listening to the theme song on radio, i found it nice enough for me to research about the song and the voice behind it. it was then that i found out the song was actually the theme song for a movie. the music video made the movie seem tasty, and that made up my mind. subsequently, many of my friends have also praised the movie on facebook.

what makes the movie appealing to so many? i think most people can relate to the movie. many while watching the movie are probably thinking, "ah... something like this happened to me too!". me included. as the main character reminisces about his bittersweet experiences as a youth, you are probably doing the same, thinking about the 'what ifs' in your life.

be informed: there is a pleasant mix of humour into the movie, but most of the funny parts contain sexual references.

score: 4.5/5. catch it if you can! really!

Cohesions!

2011-11-12T20:42:00.004+08:00

last friday (11/11/11!) was cohesion day for the headquarters staff, so no work for the day! the cohesion was held at the newater visitor centre, where we went for a guided tour and enjoyed some food. ive already been to the newater visitor centre when i was in secondary school, so it was nothing new for me.

the 'finance' people.

self study : )

the tour also allowed us to take a look at the plant itself - at the comfort of an air-conditioned walkway

the control room that looks like a zoo enclosure Oo

buffet time! and the food was simply excellent!

the event ended before noon, and we were dismissed at the venue itself. it meant we had the whole afternoon to ourselves : ) i went to the expo for a short while with my colleagues and then headed home.

it will be our branch cohesion on monday, so another day of cohesion to look forward to. we will be catching a comedy movie (tower heist).

and im probably going to have a family cohesion in december. we will be driving up to genting for a short 2d1n getaway. the only other time ive been to genting is... some 15 years ago? i dont even have much impression of that place, except that its a little cold. now im finally able to go explore!

Useless Piece of History Lesson

2011-11-09T21:15:00.003+08:00

first, check out this addictive dance!

i would have tried to learn it if i have any talent for dancing in me xD. this is a pretty old dance, choreographed for a korean dance hit in 1996. The song is titled black cat, and was sung by turbo, a hugely popular duo in the mid-90s. one of the two guys (kim jong kook) was part of turbo. casted as the regulars for running man, both of them would recreate the dance on the show from time to time (maggie, you know right?!). and i would always watch with great interest :D

nowhere seemingly as impressive as the dance itself, but the original music video is right below:

sounds strange doesnt it? no disrespect to the song, but it sounds kind of nonsensical to me. but i guess its perfectly legitimate that music like this used to be the mainstream in the mid-90s. just like how bonamana, a-cha (super junior) and lucifer (shinee) are today.

fast forward a few more years, after turbo disbanded, kim jong kook managed to enjoy immense popularity as a solo-artiste, with loveable/lovely being his most popular piece of work. his macho physique and manly talking voice doesnt quite match up with his singing voice (with some people calling it the mosquito voice), but he won many over with his singing ability.

enjoy!

Wardrobe 2.0

2011-11-04T20:08:00.005+08:00

it seems i havent been upgrading my wardrobe for some time... until recently. sis got me my first pair of grey jeans. an added option for me to match my existing tops with ^^

and theres currently a converse warehouse sale near my house (2nov-7nov), selling apparels like shoes, shirts, jeans, jackets and a tiny range of bags. other brands like lee cooper (jeans and shoes), kappa (jacket) and everlast (shoes, shirts and jackets) are also present.

i spent $20 on a pair of slim fit jeans to replace my old baggy ones, and $30 for a pair of beige-coloured shoes. im not used to spending this amount of money, but managed to convince myself its time for me to spend a little on clothes. now ive done my new year shopping!

-----

dad wants to me go back to malaysia with him. oh well... there goes my long holiday...

I want a short getaway.

2011-11-02T21:44:00.003+08:00

but it seems a little impossible this year. family couldnt agree to go on a short vacation together. mum is fussy about going overseas. dad prefers 1-day tour. me and my sis have seen great deals for short trips come and go.

dad told me to cater a few days in december for a possible short trip. he says we could go to kuala lumpur for a few days during december. possibly up to genting as well.

well, we will see how things go.

Song and Movie of the Moment

2011-10-24T20:47:00.001+08:00

2011-10-21T20:51:00.001+08:00

My Eventful Week in Summary

2011-10-16T18:23:00.012+08:00

monday - friday: work

so much information to absorb, so many things to do, yet so little time given to accomplish them. work have been eventful but... sickening. being involved in the recruits graduation parade last saturday and the units anniversary gathering yesterday meant that i qualify for my off-in-lieus on the subsequent mondays. but due to work commitments i am unable to take them yet! it is really frustrating >.< initially ive been trying to clear my remaining half-day off, and now i have two more. i hope i will be able to schedule them soon. ive been longing to enjoy a long weekend.

saturday: unit anniversary gathering

i just love going for cohesion. instead of working, you get to play. and that might earn you an off-in-lieu as well. a pity i couldnt take it on the coming monday. an additional day to relax and do nothing after my sunday 10km run would be so wonderful, but it was not meant to be.

the cohesion involved all perm-staff in the unit, and it took place at palawan beach, sentosa yesterday.

the monorail terminal at vivo city. full of yang and devoid of yin.

palawan beach

there was an attempt to create a carnival-like atmosphere, so there were some carnival stations in place. besides that, there are also competitions like soccer, volleyball and tele-match. my friends took part in the soccer competition.

the team fought well to tie the score at 2-2 during regulation time, but we lost the golden goal. still, not a bad result considering some of the players on our team barely plays the game at all. did i mention that we had a former youth international goalkeeper playing outfield? xD but he was technically very good though. i think he even scored a goal. there was no replay, so i cannot confirm.

i think there were some more activities, but i left early. went home to play basketball and got my rest in preparation for sundays run.

sunday: new balance real run

new balance real run @ changi exhibition centre

ahh... my first time joining an open 'race' like this one. it wasnt really a race for me, given my lousy physical fitness. i signed up for this event in june. even though i jogged on quite a regular basis, i never once clocked clocked up to 10km - the distance that i signed up for.

so you can see i wasnt really prepared. to make matters worse, my pacing partner was late for the event and missed the race -.-"'

me and sis in the comfortable air-conditioned holding area

2027. my race number. also the number of my dads first bike in singapore

no prize for guessing correctly which pair of shoes belongs to me.

in order to avoid the enormous crowd, i crossed the starting line only nine and a half minutes after the flag-off. there were plenty of people all around even then. i felt surprisingly good at the start, being able to run at a comfortable pace and clocking less than 6 minutes for every kilometer. that was even faster than my usual timing back at home.

it was after the coastal stretch at about 7-8km where my fitness let me down. crawling my way to the finish, i ended with a time of around 1h 05min. it bettered my targeted timing of 1h 10min, but i was a little disappointed. with slightly better fitness, i could have finished under an hour.

after the race, it was breakfast with my sis and my (invisible) pacer friend at tampines ikea.

queueing to get out of the exhibition centre. the queue is much more organized than the causeway queue.

my ikea breakfast... oops... gone. fancy some meatballs?

race pack consists of a shirt, finisher medal, gift samples, vouchers and loads of brochure

thats all folks! another long and grueling week ahead! sigh.

05/10/2011

2011-10-05T20:26:00.002+08:00

tired! have been wanting to sleep a little earlier these few days, but i guess ive been distracted by my phone. i havent been using the new phone extensively, and most of the time im using it without a sim card, but it seems im still able to do everything else besides calling/smsing.

having touched other smart phones a few times before, i have to say the samsung ace is quite user friendly. it models itself to be quite similar to the itouch/iphone, which obviously helps a great deal. some of the free android applications are pretty interesting as well. the phone doesnt lag much, and using the internet on the phone is much faster than on my itouch.

i still havent got an idea how some of the default applications work, but ive got plenty of time to figure them out. hope the gps works well, because i can really do with one.

sigh... work is pretty boring. and the workloads getting more and more. looking forward to the recruits graduation parade, as it means i will be able to work outside the office : )

안녕, New Phone...

2011-10-02T20:06:00.006+08:00

sis has been badgering me and my mum to renew our mobile phone contracts to get a new phone, as well as to switch to her corporate plan for discounts.

i didnt really wanted to change my phone, as i still have one year left in the army. if i change to a non-camera phone, then i have to stick with it for an additional year after i leave the army. non-camera models are annoyingly limited in range and boring-looking too. if i choose a camera phone, it will pretty much be a weekend phone - i wont be able to bring it into camp on weekdays.

but having being forced to make a decision, i settled on a camera phone - the samsung s5830 galaxy ace. and i got it with data plan as well, even though it will only be a weekend phone... ...

oh well, since after discount the price would still be around the same as my current plan. i didnt opt for a second sim card because would increase the monthly bill by $10.

an iphone 4 wannabe? even the interface bears a resemblance. runs on android though.

just read a few reviews on this model. i reckon its pretty much those phones that give you a bang for your bucks. nothing extraordinary, but nothing too shabby either. guess im going to need a long time to figure this phone out. not going to get much time to lay my hands on it during weekdays. besides, i totally suck at using smartphones -.-

oh yeah. my old sim card has to be replaced, so i lost almost all my existing contacts. do facebook/sms me your numbers!

How's (My) Life?

2011-09-26T20:23:00.008+08:00

im getting a little lazy with this blog haha... technically speaking, i should have more time to update this blog. but perhaps i have too much time to be distracted by other things xD

anyway, ive watched the number 1 movie on my priority list! i think it is a very funny movie, provided you dont watch both their trailers - they show you too much stuff. the atmosphere in the theatre was good though. it seems everyone enjoyed the movie.

the next high key coming my way should be the new balance 10km run. it is less than a month from now, but i havent been training properly yet. im more used to running 5km or less, and didnt bother to up the distance :x it seems highly unlikely for me to get a good timing for this one haha.

i have 10 days of leave to clear this year and i havent decided on when to take them. i hope for a short overseas trip though. wonder if that is possible.

and i also feel like doing something laid back for a day. maybe a picnic or something.

before i sign off, heres a classic piece of song to share with you guys. i have been pestering my sis to send the song to me whenever i hear it on the car radio. finally she moved her lazy fingers to drag the song into a hard disk and passed it to me.

Big Screen Temptation, Big Time

2011-09-12T20:04:00.005+08:00

how often were you tempted to watch a movie when you come across its trailer or its synopsis? not very often for me. harry potter draws me in. i guess i can count mr poppers penguin as one more, with jim carrey the attracting factor. not much really, throughout the years.

but suddenly there are three movies that i would really like to watch. better get people to go catch them with me before they are gone!

the movies that i want to watch (ranked according to priority):

1) Johnny English Reborn

forget about the trailer. forget about the synopsis. im already in the moment i heard there was a sequel to the first johnny english movie, released in 2003. i watched it during my polytechnic days along with transporter 3, when my group was supposed do a project about a film.

the first movie received some negative reviews, and even rowan atkinson (mr bean, lah!) criticized the lack of preparation and maturity on his part (he reckons a 40-something year-old english was too young). i thoroughly enjoyed the movie however, and even influenced my group to select the movie for our project xP this time round, the man himself promised a movie that is better prepared, so the more i have to catch the movie then!

for those who only know mr atkinson for his role in mr bean... ... trust me, hes even funnier when he speaks; hes a genius when it comes to churning out amusing speeches.

2) the first grader

a very strong contender for first place in my opinion. i have just as much desire to watch this movie as i have with johnny english reborn. sadly, i dont think this movie will be a big hit, even with the good ratings dished out by the local newspaper (4 out of 5 stars). not your regular blockbuster movie, this one tells an inspirational story about an 84 year-old man and his determination to learn despite his age.

3) four lions

i just feel this one is going to be interesting. the review of this movie appeared on the same edition of 'life' as the first grader, and the rating was just as good. (i think it is also a 4). the movie is about a group of muslim men who fumble along as they aspire to become full-fletched terrorists. touted to be a movie threads a fine line between humour and horror, this comedy about terrorism can be too hard for some to take.

and that uncertainty makes me rank it as it is. no offence to the british, but this being a british film make me a little more uncertain. british humour can be a little hard to understand, you know. of course unless you are talking about rowan atkinson.

How's Work?

2011-09-07T19:29:00.003+08:00

i think the time is ripe for me to talk about my work on the little island, east of singapore. i wasnt sure what was my job scope. i also wasnt sure if i would be doing what i am doing for the rest of my national service term then. but now i think i am in a better position to talk about it.

lucky, or unlucky, or very lucky, i am the few out of the 100+ sergeants chosen to work in an office environment. when i was posted to tekong, i was hoping for a 'dream job' like this. i declared interest to work in this area, but i didnt bother to attend the interviews, as an awful lot of people went to try their luck and i didnt fancy my chances.

thats where the luck comes in i guess. out of the blue, i was called up for an interview together with some others for my current department. i managed to impress sufficiently in the first interview and went on to the second/final one. two of the four who went was selected to work in the office, and i was one of them.

i was appointed the project guy in the office, which was a newly established role. therefore it took me a while to learn what exactly i have to do. basically, most of my work is done on the open office software (something very similar to microsoft office, but not so user friendly). i help to do up the presentations and reports that my boss requires. sometime i have some other ad-hoc assignments, but most are still on the computer.

there are times where i feel the heat and get all stressed up about work. but there are also times where i have nothing much to do. thats when i will read the papers, have some snacks or take a little snooze. sometimes i take up the role of personal assistant of the personal assistant of my boss, collecting newspaper, calling people up, jotting down minutes and playing with the shredding machine.

my work officially starts at 8am and ends at 5pm, but i have to wake up pretty early in the morning (5:43am to be exact) to make it in time for work. it takes me about an hour and a half to travel to work. i have to walk to the train station, take the train, transit into another train, take the shuttle bus and lastly the ferry to reach my workplace. i usually take the 5:30pm ferry out of the island, and then the shuttle bus, followed by the train and another train, and finally i walk home. i normally reach home at around 7pm.

the traveling sounds tedious. but is it worth it? a definite YES. the traveling is nothing once you get used to it. everyday, i get to have 3-4 hours to myself, which is simply wonderful. guess what? i no longer feel like a soldier. im almost a civilian, reporting to work in the morning and going home in the evening. there is so much you can do, since the night is all yours. although it seems im under-utilizing it at the moment xP

Secret Garden

2011-08-23T21:45:00.006+08:00

its seems im running out of korean variety shows to watch. in fact, the only shows that im still watching with some regularity is running man and immortal song 2 (freaking awesome show, maybe i will take about it some other time). the rest of the shows have been terminated, and there isnt any new ones that interests me at the moment.

somehow i then got started on watching the drama secret garden, and i just completed it today. was it worth the watch?

having received high viewership ratings and multiple awards in korea, theres no doubt about the popularity of the 20-episode drama. needless to say, the storyline has its appeal.

i was greatly impressed by three things. firstly, the cast is really good looking, regardless of male or female. who believes ha ji won is already 32 this year and kim sa rang is 33! Oo

secondly, as the drama is headed by a very experienced cast, the acting is convincing. in order to generate a huge fanfare, some dramas tend to accept idol stars (who are essentially singers) as part of their cast. not this one though. no disrespect to the idols, but sometimes you can really tell the difference, what extensive experience and training will bring.

lastly, the rather anti-climatic final point that impressed me is... ... the storyline itself xD

at no point is the drama dull, thanks to the clever incorporation of comedy. i would say the story between the main actor and actress might be a bit of a cliche at some parts, but the drama is still captivating thanks to a bloody good story between the second main (or supporting) actor and actress. in fact, i feel that the story of the second couple is on par or even nicer to watch than the main pairing!

in conclusion: definitely worth the watch!

Should I or should I not...

2011-08-16T20:08:00.006+08:00

... do this?

im a little tempted to learn, but still not tempted enough to start.

pros of riding

1. riding is cheaper than driving a car. you pay less for fuel, parking expenses and on gantry fees. even the fines come cheaper.

2. you can weave through traffic during peak hours or traffic jams.

3. i guess riding can be fun?

cons of riding

1. much more dangerous as compared to driving. it doesnt matter if you are careful. as long as there are reckless drivers around, you will always be in danger.

2. no go during rainy weathers.

3. your clothes will smell of car exhaust.

4. wearing the helmet flattens my hair.

i feel that it is a good skill to learn. who knows, one day i might need it. cars might get too expensive for me and the only mode of personal transport would then be a bike. if thats the case, it would be better to get a license early, since new license = expensive insurance.

even if i wont be getting a bike, from time to time maybe i can ride my dads bike for fun. xP

but then again, owning a motorcycle is getting less and less attractive. bikes nowadays are not that cheap either, thanks to the ever-rising cost of the certificates of entitlement.

so i really dont know. haha... anyone interested to learn as well?

Harry Potter and the Upcoming Series

2011-08-01T21:55:00.004+08:00

8 movies from 7 books, spanning almost 10 full years (from 2001 to 2011). i missed the sixth and seventh movie, but caught the final one on saturday. once again i was reminded of why i was bewitched by this magical movie in the first place.

the part where you-should-know-who-by-now died was so surreal to me (even though everything isnt real in the first place). ugly he might be, but i didnt really want him to die, as his death signals the end of the harry potter series. its a pity, i should have watched the sixth and seventh movie as well!

but good news! for harry potter fans who just cant get enough, not all hope is lost. although theres no official announcement as yet, i chanced across some harry potter trailers on youtube, possibly for the ninth movie. the content is a little towards the dirty side, but im going to watch it all the same. anyone with me?

i am hoping the board of film censors retain all the scenes of the movie. if they allowed sex and zen 3d to come in, surely this is okay?

The Unconventional Food Chain

2011-07-27T19:30:00.002+08:00

lion <----- grass <----- deer

im the grass.

Those were the days... ^^

2011-07-22T22:45:00.008+08:00

i was looking for one specific picture in my computer, but i was led to an album with tons of other pictures. and they brought back lots of memories!

taken 3 years, 6 months and 21 days ago, when my primary school clique was out celebrating the 19th birthday of one member

leo club committee!

the usual suspects that i hang out with during my poly days. we still keep in contact :D

my first successful attempt to park a car properly into a lot xP the picture is dated 09/08/2009. i passed my driving test on 09/09/2009. oops~ Oo

no i was not fooling around with those wires. messy it certainly is, but thats an actual working circuit!

"the use of minimum equipment list (MEL) compromises on safety - opposition". the mighty debate team.

a wonderful combination for our final year project ; )

2 from the 3-men team working tenaciously on the project. one was fiddling with a camera.

that is what happens when you get too stressed out from projects!

zhengkang the bad boy - or at least hes pretending to be

zhengkang the bad boy 2

me in fanciful 'glasses'. i cant help but admire the kind of hair i had in the past xD

gay. but the hair was much better than now

out-of-the-bed hairstyle. attempted by yours truely. literally out of the bed, not styled on purpose.

im sorry that this post eventually ended up as a post of self-admiration haha, but i cant help it! now that i am able to keep some hair on my head, perhaps i should start thinking how i want it to be like : )

Idiot's Guide to Choosing Durians

2011-07-15T23:54:00.003+08:00

- written by another idiot

its the time of the year where durians are aplenty... and being a durian lover, my dad sometimes buys lots of them back. im not very keen on eating durians, though i join him sometimes when he asks me to (think about the 'heat', the weight you are going to gain from it, and the smell that lingers in your mouth :S).

i remember when i was much, much younger, i used to follow my dad on his durian-hunting trips, and he taught me how to choose the better ones. i was too young to know then, but i had a refresher course today when he brought me durian-hunting again.

cheap durians at $1 each!

heres how to choose good (or at least passable xP) durians:

1. look at the stalk to determine the freshness of the durian. choose those that look nice! beware of broken, rotten or severely dried-up one.

2. look at the thorns. durians that have big thorns and with big spaces in between are preferred. (and i dont know why!)

3. check the exterior to see if any parts of the durian is rotted. its the inside that counts, but the outside might just tell you if the inside is rotten or not.

4. listen to see if the durian can sing! to do this check, you have to hold the durian close to your ears and shake it. if you can hear (or feel) the durian seeds moving inside, then the durian is definitely ripe!

exercise great caution when you carry out this step. this may be a little difficult for people with tender hands to carry out... i had problems handling the durian itself, let alone picking it up to shake it. it doesnt seem to affect my dad and his thick-skinned hands though.

the result: sweet and fleshy durian!

additional tip from zhengkang: i found out that red tea does wonders in removing the durian smell that lingers in your mouth! the thicker the tea, the more effective it is : )

2011-07-09T21:12:00.001+08:00

im serving the army... part-time.

Old is New

2011-07-05T21:15:00.000+08:00

from the wondergirls...

to girls generation...

and now t-ara.

was that how my mum and dad partied? xD

i like the last one the most hehe... if only im still using my old handphone, i would have put it as my ringtone : /

My Honeymoon Period

2011-06-30T22:41:00.004+08:00

its a honeymoon period for me now. this 3 weeks is probably the only time in my whole ns life where i can book out and go home at 5pm!

and on most days i get to go home earlier than that. im on a prep-course to become a tekong commander, but the course only starts next week. we are basically only helping out with the coming recruits graduation parade, and there wasnt much for us to do just yet. this weekend will be burnt though.

which explains why i had an off-in-lieu yesterday! it have been ages since i last caught a movie, and i went to catch one in jim carreys mr poppers penguins. its a cute comedy that i really enjoyed.

jim carrey is funny, and the penguins are funny, but theres more to the humour than that. i particularly like the role of kim carreys secretary (a.k.a. pippy) in the movie. she speaks slightly fast, her pitch is slightly high and most of the words in her dialogues start with the letter 'p' ("patience is a priority for this particular person"). do pay attention to her if you are watching the movie!

the penguins in the movie are adorable. but in reality, penguins are not as cute like that. i had the misfortune of riding on one the following day...

they send you to where you dont want to go!

gotta sleep early, or i will miss the penguin tomorrow : /

Another Milestone Reached

2011-06-26T21:39:00.003+08:00

the month of june is not a good one for me...

anyway, my purpose of blogging is not to lament about how bad the month was. last friday marked the end of my trainee life in army (like finally, after 7+ months!). im officially a 3rd sergeant now.

looking back, life as a trainee can a tough sometimes, but i feel that it is overall very interesting. time dont exactly fly when you are in the army, but the past 7-odd months have not been a boring experience. as a trainee, there were many phases of training to look forward to, and much of the time passed without my noticing. there were many difficult times, but ive forgotten how difficult they were, and i only remembered the good experiences.

now that im a junior commander, responsibilities are going to pour in. there will be people under my care whom i have to account to. no longer am i a trainee who is somewhat immune to mistakes and heavy responsibilities.

although im going to lose my 'privileges' as a trainee, im also very much looking forward to being a Tekong sergeant. but one thing im going to miss for sure:

fighting alongside my band of brothers. now i know what people mean when they talk about the spirit of brotherhood.

2011-06-12T21:48:00.005+08:00

me family and part of me section mates at the airport prior to departure

back from thailand! im glad the overseas exercise wasnt as scary as i had imagined it to be. definitely an eye-opening experience for me. but do i want to go back there again???heheheh...

the environment

i guess it would be pretty hard to describe this part. our bunks that we were housed in for the 3 weeks is pretty special. it is basically a loooong building, two stories high. i stayed on the first level in a bunk for 32 men. simple settings. shared bathing area. everyone was allocated a bed and a locker. it was a bit of a squeeze but it was also quite cozy at the same time. small creatures sometimes invade our bunk. we have had a tiny python, a centipede, some lizards (the centipede and lizards are all at least 15cm long) and a whole lot of insects. some of my friends had fun catching them.

even going outfield feels different. the terrain is definitely more varied that in singapore, and the sceneries are much, much better xD

higher mountains, different forms of plantations here and there... the plants tend to be more thorny, and you get to see a lot more species of insects.

traveling on the streets gives me the feeling that im in a sub-urban area in malaysia - it looks that similar. the difference? you see thai words all around instead of malay words. and you see temples instead of mosques as well.

the food

i thought i would be eating 3 weeks worth of thai food over there. however, our cookhouse prepares food just like what you get in singapore, which i find a huge relief. the camp also has i canteen where we can get to buy local delicacies. i dont have a liking tom yam soup, but i gave it a try and found it acceptable in taste. people told me that pad thai (a fried kwaytiao-like dish) is a must-try in thailand. i bought a plate but it the grounded chili in it was too spicy for me to taste anything else.

the weather

it was predicted that the weather would be much hotter than in singapore. lucky for us, temperatures didnt soar to that height. still, the difference can be felt. you can break out inperspiration even though you are doing nothing under the shade. it can be the same sometimes at night. theres also the occasional rain, usually heavy but brief.

over in thailand, daytime is relatively longer. the sun is already up at about 5 in the morning. last light comes some time after 7 in the evening, something similar to singapore.

the training

erm... training intensity is rather acceptable...

if i tell you any more, im afraid i might have to close down my blog xP

the rest and recreation!

for the end-of-exercise tour, we went to:

1. river kwai tour, to learn about how the prisoners of war were forced to construct a bloody long railway during world war two.

2. a safari, where you see animals in captivity rather than in big open areas. there was a crocodile show, featuring restless crocodiles that barely wanted to move even when the trainers forced them to.

3. a snake farm. the farm was closed at that time, so we merely went there to have lunch.

4. a small floating market. surprised to see vendors selling our local food like grass jelly drink and minced pork noodles

5. SHOPPING! im not a shopaholic, but this is seriously the best part of the tour.

i think we actually spent more time road than at the places of interest. perhaps half the time was spent watching movies on the buses, most of which were violent films Oo

whats next? i will be spending two full weeks in camp (including the coming weekend) before graduating as a third sergeant!

Crying my way to the Land of Thousand Smiles

2011-05-21T01:28:00.002+08:00

my greatest achievements in army? has to be stuffing all those things thats needed for the trip into that teeny-weeny duffle bag (yes, the duffle bag looks small to me now). it contains even more baddies than a pandoras box. despite trying my best to stuff everything i need into the duffle bag, the space just wasnt enough, and i have to transfer some of the things into my hand-carry luggage.

which brings me to my problem... despite getting a rather big hand-carry bag, i am still unable to stuff everything in! and the load is a little too heavy as well. what to do? everything seems important, and i dont know what to leave out.

ive been having a bit of mood swing lately. sometimes i feel rather down thinking about what i have to go through for the coming 3 weeks. other times i find myself being excited over trip, and i cant wait for it to be over.

i hope the experience there would be such a positive one that time would pass by quickly! 加油正康!

A post of Hurray, Haiz & LaLaLa

2011-05-14T19:40:00.000+08:00

the hurray

a long weekend awaits! i booked out in the afternoon yesterday, and have the weekend to myself. monday is an off-in-lieu, which means i do not have to go back to camp. tuesday is vesak day :D

ive been spending yesterday and the best part of today playing pokemon on my computer (its currently the hottest thing in camp. almost everyone i know who has a blackberry or htc are playing the game on their phone). will be meeting my polytechnic friends tomorrow! of course, besides having fun, i have to prepare for the trip to the land of thousand smiles as well...

the haiz

i did something wrong and i am going to be punished for it. i attribute it to 50% unluckiness and 50% carelessness. maybe a larger percentage should fall under 'carelessness', but its a combination of the two elements all the same. i will be saying bye-bye to the weekend after i return from overseas. anyway, im really thankful that the punishment did not kick in with immediate effect, or else i will be crying in camp now instead of blogging at home.

the lalala

and my song of the moment have changed again. lonely by 2ne1.

you can say 2ne1 is one of the main rivals of girls generation. they are known for their stunning visuals (a different kind from girls generation) and strong vocals.

i enjoy listening to the korean pop music. they are really catchy, and running the songs through my head helps me to distract myself from those grueling and never-ending route marches. but im always glad to hear a good ballad song. after all, this genre of songs is (probably) still my favourite. i don't for sure because ive been listening to so many pop songs as compared to ballads. but that might be because the korean music industry is just so saturated with pop songs nowadays!

I Survived the GRAND SLAM!

2011-05-08T19:24:00.005+08:00

hu-ah!

but its a bit disappointing that i have to be booking in tonight while same others have an extended day to rest after the elections. well, thats life. anyway, extra rest or not, im not really concerned. what in hanging at the back of my head is another war i have to fight this week. one that seems to be easier than the previous, but ive no confidence all the same.

anyway it will be over come wednesday!

-----

i realized lately ive been mostly blogging about really crappy things in life that is of little or no significance. therefore i changed my blog template to give it a more serious tone : D

I Saw Him Today!

2011-05-02T12:35:00.003+08:00

yes its him, filming just below my block haha... my sister also saw him around our area, filming with the local television crew. probably for a new drama with fighting scenes, since my sis said she ever heard them making a huge commotion as though theres a real fight going on.

going for a haircut this morning, i saw him and two 'gangsters' together with a small number of crew, some curious passers-by and a dog. two of the crew members were holding reflecting boards near them while someone cued, "action!"

mr li: 你用什么东西打人?!! (what did you use to hit other people?!!)

some gangster: 想知道吗? 可以啊... 我就用给你看! (want to know? no problem... i can show you!)

(some gangster pretended to aim a punch at mr li. its was a weak punch that did not reach him.)

the acting was then halted, with the director giving some pointers to the gangster giving the punch. when i came back from my haircut, they have already packed up and left.

this is not the first time the area was chosen for filming. probably a good location if you are looking for an old residential estate that doesnt attract much commotion from the public when you are filming. some time ago, our beloved "aiyoyo!" also filmed at a garbage dump quite nearby.

-----

a good sleep makes you feel better. i woke up feeling positive and even looking forward to tomorrow's war. but i know im going to get the hated feeling again once tomorrow arrives xD

Is Grand Slam a Good Thing?

2011-04-30T21:32:00.003+08:00

as quoted from wikipedia:

the term grand slam originated in contact bridge (where it contrasts with a "small slam"); specifically it is a high score winning all the tricks in a hand...

subsequently, "grand slam" has come to refer to other things; it often refers to a notable or spectacular achievement in a range of different sports and competitions.

so it is good, right?

-----

voters or non-voters, something fun to share to you : )

Riptide by John Lawton

2011-04-22T21:38:00.003+08:00

stoicism: an indifference to pleasure or pain

reprisal: a retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime

conduit: a passage which water or electric wires can pass

demarcation: the boundary of a specific area

peckish: somewhat hungry

lentil: widely cultivated eurasian annaul herb grown for its edible flattened seeds that are cooked like peas and also ground into meal for its leafy stalks that are used as fodder

the above are some of the words i learnt (and subsequently forgot) by reading the book. i like the book was written - generally easy to read and understand, with the occasional odd words thrown in to add class to the whole package.

riptide by john lawton

the story takes place in the spring of 1941, when the british were at war with the germans, and the russians on the brink of it. wolfgang stahl, a germany-based austrian spy working for the americans, suddenly disappears. US army's captain cal cormack, being the only man who had any sort of contact with stahl, was forced off to london to team up with spy-catching chief inspector stilton in a secret mission. the mission though starts to go terribly wrong, and captain cormack lands himself in boiling hot soup. saved by a righteous and clever sergeant troy from the murder squad, the two work together to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of stahl.

cheap the book might be, the story is nevertheless a good one. when buying the book, i was mulling over whether to buy riptide or another book, which if im not wrong, talks about a man investing the death or disappearance of some fish species. i chose riptide over that book because of its well-written synopsis and the good reviews given by the critics (the other book has fewer reviews, and even has a negative one among them Oo) i think i made the correct choice.

just by reading the synopsis, one may feel the story might be full of gloom and fear, with people killing or getting killed up and down, left, right and center. but im very glad it is not like that. in fact i find the book pretty well balanced in a sense that there is space for some humour, love and humanity(?). surprisingly, theres even space for some bedroom actions! that doesnt turn the book into an erotic one though.

of course, there is still a big chunk of action and suspense, which was what kept me reading. the wartime atmosphere was very well captured.

if i were to come up with a bad point about the book, it would be the sheer number of names that was mentioned. theres the political figures, the american representatives, the british cops, the family members of various characters, the odd people making the cameo appearances... there wasnt a HELL lot of them, but there was enough for you to forget whos who if you were to take a prolonged break from reading. i stopped for a week or so and that was what happened to me.

reading this book actually reminds me of harry potter; the similarities are there. like harry potter, riptide is a book of mystery. captain cormack is like harry, the guy whos always thrown at the deep end. and lord voldemort... read and you will find out : )

3 months of hell...

2011-03-25T22:57:00.003+08:00

... will officially start next week.

the first two weeks spent at the final phase of sergeant training has been quite okay. training was particularly strenuous on some days, but relaxing on most. i still like my old company more though... the people, the building and its geography...

looking at the training schedule, im not expecting things to improve. in fact, it is going to get a lot tougher. and i will be spending an unforgettable 21st birthday in thailand, in the midst of a grueling field camp : (

-----

how have army changed me so far? one thing for certain, my command of both english and mandarin language have degraded badly. i find myself having problems constructing a proper sentence using pure english or chinese. thats why i jumped at the chance to improve on my english (save chinese for later xD) when i came across a book fair at safra jurong.

bought a book titled riptide, written by john lawton, for $2.

for its price, i would say it is a great book :D its nothing like your harry potter and lord of the rings, but it has a decent enough plot that keeps you reading. the best part is, i come across many new words through reading this book. i have to standby my e-dictionary (from my itouch) beside me whenever i read the book, because there are many words i have to search for it meaning. its can be a bit of a hassle, but finding the meaning behind those aliens gives me great satisfaction : )

not writing the synopsis here as im not trying to promote the book. if you, like me, are looking for a cheap book to help pass time, you can try going to jurong safra to take a look. they dont have a gigantic collection of books there, but there are still plenty of choices to choose from, with books going as cheap as $1 or $2, and some 3 for $10.

Can't eat anymore...

2011-03-15T13:22:00.004+08:00

i never thought 8gb storage space on an itouch would be insufficient... actually its 7.08gb to be more exact. my pictures doesnt even get loaded in now. i have to start deleting more applications to make space for my songs, videos and pictures.

in case you didnt know, i was enjoying a heavenly block leave for the past 6 days, spending my time doing nothing productive at all. but 快乐的时光总是那么短暂, im dropping back to hell as of tomorrow. the training for the next 3 months is probably going to be by far my toughest since enlistment :'( hope ill pull through in one piece!

7-Hit Combo

2011-03-09T18:58:00.005+08:00

1. 28 kilometers route march overnight

2. time-wasting parade

3. denied the opportunity to shower after route march and parade

4. played around with during area inspection

5. as expected, ASLC at a maybe-not-so-friendly company

6. robin separated from batman

7. boring and time-consuming administrative work at new company

what can be worse? : )

Knock Knock!

2011-03-06T14:22:00.004+08:00

the korean idol singers may be the ones creating the korean waves that got us hooked with their pop hits, but they are not the only ones producing nice and attractive music. there are many indie bands and other singers that are well-known for producing good non-pop music, even in korea. however, as promoting idol singers and their pop music is a lucrative business, singers that specialize in other genres are often overlooked when it comes to a slot on the local music programs. subsequently, it makes it hard for people like us, who are outside of korea, to learn of such talents.

not that im complaining though xD

even though i enjoy listening to ballads, im pretty contented with listening to korean pop music. but recently, while watching a clip of an idol groups appearance on a radio program, i chanced upon a pretty good song by one of those lesser known groups, and i feel i have to share it.

my song of the moment! enjoy!

Golf-ball like car saves fuel!

2011-03-04T00:15:00.002+08:00

article taken from mycarforum.

if you thought having an ultra smooth surface that cuts through air with razor sharp efficiency, you were wrong! as surprising as it may be, the mythbusters on discovery have found out that a car with dimples like those on a golf ball actually increases fuel efficiency.

the original myth is that a car covered with dirt is more fuel efficient than a clean car because of the golf ball like dimpling effect that the dirt has on the car. however, they found out that dirt doesnt have any significant influence on the cars fuel efficiency. so as usual, they went to the extreme creating a car that actually has golf-ball like dimples on it by using clay. the standard car with the clay smeared on top without the dimples did 26mpg at a constant 65mph but after the dimples were created, the car did over 29mpg! the theory states that because of the dimples, it reduces the drag on the car thus making it more aerodynamic than say, a normal smooth shape. and it turns out to be myth - plausible.

quite amazing that they actually went out and did it. but you can imagine cars of the future looking like this just to improve a cars fuel efficiency? i dont think so but this looks amazing if you think of the principle behind it. it does look like a golf ball inspired car to the largest extent!

Have You Done Your Home 'Work'?

2011-02-27T12:03:00.008+08:00

nothing of significance to blog about. i just want to push down the previous post about chinese new year, because new year seems a long time ago.

as you might have known, i enjoy watching korean variety shows. however, staying in-camp means i can only watch the shows when i book out on weekends. those saturday book-outs plus the confinement last weekend, of course, doesnt help and now i find myself having more home 'work' to do during the weekends in order to clear my extended list of must-watch videos.

what shows am i into nowadays? besides the random ones where girls generation are featured, these are the two that i follow:

1. running man

like its name suggests, this show is mainly about 'running' and 'man', though they added female runners along the way. my favourite segment of the program is their game of hide-and-seek-cum-police-and-theif where the team of 'thieves' are supposed to complete their mission whist trying to avoid the capture by the team of 'police'. the 'police' are attached with bells on their feet to act as a warning to the 'thieves' of their arrival. certain episodes are really exciting, and watching their game of cat and mouse sometimes makes me nervous as well.

there are other game segments to the show, but thats not what im interested in :D

2. heroes

perhaps they should rename the show 'heroines' instead, because the 12 participating members (barring the hosts) are all female. though i have never watched inifinity challenge, i believe this show is something similar. the members of the shows constantly challenge themselves in different situations like producing a short movie, working in a hotel, running a restaurant etc. like most variety shows, the fun comes from the interaction between the members and the quick thinking hosts.

members of the show come from fairly different backgrounds (trot singer, idol group members, rookie actress, comedian, relatively unknown celebrities etc.) and they will come under a cruel popularity poll to decide the popular and unpopular 6.

i do watch another show in t-ara's hello baby, but i havent been watching due to lack of time :(

this is not a downright hilarious show, but it attracted me because the three canadian-korean mixed brothers (aged 4, 3 & 1) are incredibly good-looking (they are child actors/models!). yes, the show features an idol girl group, but its really the boys that had me sucked in. their innocent behaviour makes me grin stupidly at the computer screen xD

but well, as long as i dont have the mood or time, i dont watch this as it is lower down the list in terms of priority.

the good thing is, im booking out on thursday this coming week, and subsequently on wednesday!

because i end this, something to share. a funny boys over flowers parody by big bang : )

CNY 2011

2011-02-06T12:35:00.020+08:00

initially i thought i would be able to enjoy a full day slacking at home on the eve of new year, before we set off to malaysia on new years day itself. i happily set my alarm clock to 11am to ensure that i would be able to get more than 8 hours of sleep. however i was woken up at 5+ and was rushed to get ready to leave. it was just decided on the day before that we were going to leave earlier, but i wasnt informed.

already in the car waiting to leave before 6am

dum-de-dum~ north-south highway early in the morning

the first destination, as usual, was kluang (my fathers side). upon reaching, we had our breakfast at a prata shop that we always frequent whenever we return.

chapati and thosais

next activity of the day is my favourite - shopping! no way am i an avid shopper, but visiting the supermarket is the most interesting thing that you can do there.

how to pass time tip #1: prepare plenty of foodstuff

how to pass time tip #2: ipod and speakers

how to pass time tip #3: book

it has been raining very frequently in singapore, and it was worse in malaysia. as a result, the most of the veggies that my grandfather grew have been ruined.

we had to settle for veggies like this. still edible though, and taste the same :D

this trip back, our family did something that i think we have never done before. we caught a movie at the theatre together! when i was much, much younger, i used to visit the theatre every year when i return, but it was only with my dad and sis.

i remember the theatre back then was very unlike what we are used to in singapore. the theatre was huge, and it was something like an auditorium, with even 2 levels. everyone would be looking at a big screen right in front. but now they have also evolved to be like what we see over here

the movie we caught was called alls well ends well (最强喜事). movie comes with free red packets. money not included.

other random pictures:

i am an uncle because of him

my mum and my nephew

three in a row!

4 in a row!

we left kluang for muar on the second day of chinese new year to my mothers side. my sister drove us there. my dad suggested she take the wheel to help her memorize the route, and i made her do it.

its not often that i find myself at the back seat. but for this chinese new year, that was the case

dang. i cant get rid of this underline thingy... anyway, back to my long story.

food was aplenty at my mothers side. late breakfast, lunch, tea break, dinner... we were always summoned to the kitchen table to gobble down the food.

dinner.

card games are a common phenomenon during chinese new year. but no money was involved here though. partly because no one has any spare changes to play with.

the kids at my mothers side that made me an uncle

she let me carry her! cute right!

we left muar for singapore on saturday night. we could have left earlier, but thanks to a humongous jam at the entrance of the highway we couldnt leave. by the time i reached home, it was already 2am.

it has been nice to be able to stay out of camp for so long, but im somewhat disappointed that i didnt have the time and luxury to slack around, do nothing and recharge my batteries. the whole chinese new year have been about traveling.

and im going back into camp tonight!

before i go hide in my pillow and cry, im going to wish my friends a happy chinese new year. may the year 2011 be a good year for all of us!

for those with boyfriends/girlfriends, may you people have a sweet relationship...

like this two!

Holiday!

2011-02-01T23:40:00.003+08:00

super super tired! its a short week in camp this week. booked in on sunday and booked out today afternoon. but somehow i still find myself lacking some sleep.

am going to spend my chinese new year in malaysia, as usual. army makes me treasure my holidays more. this will be the first time im going to malaysia since i enlisted. i think i am going to enjoy this trip : )

off to brush my teeth, and then to bed!

No longer a recruit, now a cadet.

2011-01-23T01:20:00.003+08:00

i got posted to the specialist command school (scs), where upon completion of the course youll obtain a third sergeant rank, be handled some leadership responsibilities but still be at the bottom of the food chain.

i have expected myself to end up at scs because i didnt try to impress during my basic military training. but what i didnt expected was that quite a number of good performers ended up at scs as well. i feel that they would have become good officers if they were to make it into officer cadet school.

many from my previous company made in to scs, so familiar faces are all around. my roommates have changed however. only 1 from my previous section joined me in the new bunk. anyway, im not expecting it to be a problem mingling with the new guys : )

life in scs is more comfortable, with more time, more freedom, and less restrictions. however, im expecting trainings to be much, much tougher. hopefully i will be able to survive through the course without losing any more of my weight.

Reflections of my BMT experience

2011-01-11T19:42:00.003+08:00

POP lo... more importantly, one week of block leave! ^^

me and my mom, who came down to witness my graduation

my beloved section/bunkmates and commanders

as everybody tossed their caps in jubilation, i tossed mine too, albeit only 1 feet above my head. that saved me from the hassle of locating the cap later on. and as many (or most) people shouted "POP lo!", my heart screamed, "BLOCK LEAVE LO!".

to me, the block leave is something to be happy about, but im not sure if leaving the basic military training (BMT) phase is.

i bet my bmt experience can never get as crazy as this. the nightmare started on the first day of enlistment, where i was posted to the company everyone else was praying to avoid - 5th company. while others were given the luxury of portraying a certain level of indiscipline, we were already shouted at on the first day. punishments kicked in just one day after, and it was hell for weeks. shoutings and punishments were the norm. i remember waking up everyday feeling irritated due to the lack of sleep (5-6 hours on average). did i mention we averaged almost 1 turnout every week?

things got better after all the high key events (field camp, range, grenade etc.), when the commanders started to tone down. but relax too much and the punishments would kick in again. still, it was good life in general. i was lucky in a sense that i was in the 'welfare' platoon of the company, where punishments were kept to the minimum. sleep deprivation though, was still an issue. i remember a commander once saying, "here in 5th coy, theres nothing known as 7 hours of uninterrupted rest". true enough. ive never experienced that in 5th company.

but thinking back, it was fun being able to experience all that hell. perhaps 5th company have made me sadistic, but i feel proud about all the illegal things that we were made to do, because ultimately, we all survived through. our training seemed tough and unfair, but put us beside other companies and you will be able to see the positive difference it made.

besides shaping me into a tougher person, BMT has also affected my thinking. taking everything away from you really does help you to treasure what you have.

conquered by none!

Steamboat!

2010-12-18T20:32:00.005+08:00

had a fattening meal at home with my family! my cousin and her family came too. i enjoy such gatherings every time i book out.

and in case you are wondering how botak zhengkang looks like...

something like this ^^

What outfield does to you

2010-12-17T21:40:00.004+08:00

individual physical proficiency test (ippt) results:

1st ippt

standing broad jump: 250cm

chin-ups: 9

shuttle run: 10s

sit-ups:46

2.4km run: 11:48

after some training sessions:

2nd ippt

standing broad jump: 250cm

chin-ups: 10

shuttle run: 10s

sit-ups:47

2.4km run: 11:12

after outfield:

3rd ippt

standing broad jump: 239cm

chin-ups: 10

shuttle run: 10.2s

sit-ups:45

2.4km run: 10:49

i noticed a drop in my mass after the outfield events, coupled with a reduction in strength. hence, poorer static station performance Oo. even though i did 10 chin-ups this time as well, the last one ought to be a no-count because i kicked my way up. having problems with push ups as well.

but running around with weights during outfield seemed to have helped the 2.4km run. id never imagined that i would be able to clock a timing of under 11 minute!

hurray to food and mp3!

Halfway through this race

2010-12-05T17:40:00.002+08:00

my back and shoulders are aching, i have 2 spots of abrasion and there are some blisters on my feet. but im far from being the worst in my company. so so many of them returned from the few camp limping like zombies. i was so surprised to see how much i have shrank in term of mass just after 1 week out on the field.

its has been a case of always booking out on saturday and then booking back in on sundays so far. but we have been told that we can now look forward to friday book outs once all the high key training events end this week. fingers crossed, life after that will be more pleasant.

going back to the field again! boohoo! just hope that my equipment dont get too dirty.

Back home for a day! Or less?

2010-11-16T21:42:00.005+08:00

so dead tired! 5-6 hours a day is hard to take. are i lucky or unlucky? things hasnt been fun, but i guess im pretty used to it. at least for now haha... hope things doesnt get too bad xP

i can finally sleep all i want today! and book in again tomorrow Oo

am also detached from my past lifestyle. guess it would be difficult to continue with my hobbies.

Setting my Freedom Free & Bidding Hello to Hell

2010-11-08T19:52:00.009+08:00

no, im not so pessimistic. just a tagline i came up with : )

set my alarm clock to wake me up at 11:00, but snoozed and woke up at 11:30 instead. decided to practice going an entire day without napping but eventually succumbed to an enjoyable hour of afternoon nap. that was how i spent the last day of my civilian life.

i had initially decided to treat myself to mcdonalds for lunch, in anticipation that i might miss junk food when in camp. but i gave up the idea as i recalled just eating at mcdonalds last saturday. i dont really have the craving for junk food.

my experience in a uniform group, coupled with the tremendously long period of time i was made to wait, has more or less allowed myself to be mentally prepared for national service. just over 14 hours to go before enlistment, but still no sense of nervousness nor urgency. aint even done with the packing yet xD

i do have a worry though. my fitness have never been the best. although i have been exercising regularly during this period of time, i havent been upping the intensity. i just hope i dont die during the tough physical training sessions!!!

Making Korean Rice Cakes!

2010-11-07T20:21:00.003+08:00

decided to have something that ive always craved for before i enlist on the 9th this month - korean rice cakes!

the sauce

rice cake

basically the method of preparation is just to boil and drain the rice cakes, then add the sauce and some water. then its done! of course, its up to you if you want to include other ingredients.

tadaa~ prepared by my mum xD

i think it tasted quite good. like what ive tasted before. it makes you easily full though. definitely not to be consumed in large amounts.

have yet to eat find a chance to eat this before i enlist. i think ill find time to enjoy it once i get out!

Choosing a Right Time to Die

2010-10-28T13:36:00.003+08:00

i dont have much luck with earpieces. my earpieces, no matter cheap or expensive, never seemed to last me long. im reasonably happy with my last one though. i think it lasted for about a year. im not sure, but it definitely lasted longer than its previous 2.

anyway, the left earpiece decided to fail on tuesday, and coincidentally on wednesday, somebody dropped a brochure advertising a multimedia warehouse sale at my doorstep. the brand is sonicgear. in case you dont know, its a singapore product, made in china. the brand seems trustworthy, and the prices advertised are really cheap.

i brought a few products from the warehouse. guess how much it cost in total?

my haul of 2 earpieces and 2 mini-speakers

$20? nope...

$10? nope...

only $6! the stereo earpiece cost $2 each while the speakers were priced at $1 each.

there were plenty of other products going cheaply, like sound systems and headphones, but i didnt need those. didnt have enough cash with me anyway.

ive yet to test the products, but am going to very soon. it does really seem like a steal, doesnt it?

Hacking Assistant

2010-10-21T00:09:00.005+08:00

well, im still feeling lazy about updating my blog. but since i have time, i shall make an effort to prolong its life a little longer ^^

a large part of my last three days (including today) was 'dedicated' to 'helping' my father with his work. he said he needed help in renovating a clients condominium toilet. thus i was hired.

it was a single-bedroom condominium. i think a small apartment like this is really cool. like a hotel!

he probably only needed my help in transporting the equipment and tools. as i wasnt of much help when the actual work began. theres was no way i can handle the drilling, hacking, waterproofing etc, so i was only there to tie the loose ends. carry this, carry that, fetch this, take that away, find this, dispose of that, arrange this, clean that...

my dad in action, dismantling all the plumbing and hacking off the tiles.

while he was sweating buckets, i was dead bored. i even dozed off on a couple of occasions Oo

20-odd bags of debris. this is what you get after hacking all the wall tiles. floor tiles yet to be included.

the weight of those bags are seriously no joke. i could barely lift one off the ground. after seeing me struggle, my dad opted to carry the rest of the bags out of the toilet all by himself. it made me realize how freaking strong my dad is, even at the age of 51. if he were to push me, i think ill fly! xD

the hacking was only the beginning. there is still lots to be accomplished, like refitting the tiles and reinstalling the plumbing, but my job is done (ORD loh!)

on a different note...

i think it has been a while since i last watched a drama, but the sparks got re-ignited when a friend inadvertently (and indirectly) reminded me of a drama series (cinderella man) hibernating in my hard disk.

cinderella man: okay to miss it in my opinion

synopsis from dramawiki: a story of a rich man (lee joon hee) who switches lives with a man who looks identical to him only the difference between them is the other man is poor (oh dae san). seo yeo jin is a girl who studies at a fashion design school in paris but returns to korea after her life is turned upside down when her father dies.

i feel that dramawiki gave a truly pathetic synopsis, but im lazy to correct.

the show had pretty poor viewership ratings in korea, it was generally an okay show. in my opinion, the story began very interestingly, but faded along the way. my attention was recaptured near the ending part when the antagonists starts to antagonize xP the final episode was unimpressive though.

anyway, it was nice to see the male lead portraying two largely different characters in this show to good effect.

and surprise, surprise, ive already started on another drama. a friend who watched it repeatedly told me it was nice, so i made it a point to watch the series after it was fully uploaded.

my girlfriend is a nine-tailed fox

synopsis from dramawiki: cha dae woong accidentally releases a gumiho, a legendary fox with nine tails that eats livers of humans. when he finds out that she is a gumiho, he ends up doing crazy things to prevent the girl from eating his liver.

better synopsis this time round. short and sweet.

goodbye for now! episode 4 is waiting for me.

This blog is almost dead.

2010-10-16T23:23:00.002+08:00

reason: lazy owner.

Hello and Thank You

2010-10-01T22:34:00.003+08:00

these were my most repeated words for the past 2 days working as a flyer distributor. 1000 flyers to be given out over 2 days of 4 hour period, all while wearing a sandwich board.

wearing a sandwich board was a first time for me. i felt awkward at first, but i adjusted to it pretty quickly. who would mind the sandwich board when im paid the amount im paid? xD

my previous experiences in collecting flags definitely helped me on the job. like how to 'ambush' people and get their attention etc, they all came in handy ^^ it was an easy job overall. my partner and i finished the job an hour early on the first day. it was even faster on the second day!

the only unpleasant task i faced was trying to carry the flyers around in my sling bag. it was like lugging a brick or two with you. now im suffering from sore shoulders -.-

someone took a picture of me with the sandwich board today. he said he wanted to put me on a blog. he even asked for my name and my blog address. apparently my name is michael and i have no blog oO

Picture Update

2010-09-29T21:50:00.008+08:00

*some pictures are somehow disorientated

03/09/2010

saw a cat sleeping on top of a sheltered walkway, and that prompted me to take a picture as it reminded me of the puma logo.

but alas, that cat was facing the other way...

it was secondary school buddy gathering in the evening, and i made this out of a macdonalds receipt.

06/09/2010

i went out with my primary school, secondary school and polytechnic mates at the same time. we are all from the same faculty in polytechnic! and the china tea i ordered was humongous...

comparing the glass of chinese tea with a spoon

18/09/2010

gathering with ltc friends at a korean restaurant. this magnificent picture was taken by yours truly.

herbal chicken soup

korean pancake. first time trying. looks like an egg dish to me.

spicy rice cakes, i like~ ( : im not used to eating them this spicy though.

kimchi stew and bibimbap (石拌饭). i love bibimbap but i dont eat kimchi.

sime side dishes. bean sprouts, anchovies, fish cakes etc.

picture taken while chilling at a pub.

name of picture: three ladies who drink xD

26/09/2010

was back at malaysia with my father. picture was taken after i washed the car bling bling xD

unfortunately, the rain curse continued for me. shortly after washing, the car received two attacks of bird droppings and a heavy downpour also ruined the wash.

a de-badged hyundai, branded as inokom. basically its a hyundai assembled in malaysia.

im going to work tomorrow and the day after... as a flyer distributor wearing a sandwich board. but it pays well!

To go with the actual one or the 'actual' one?

2010-09-13T20:27:00.003+08:00

another drama down. this ones called 'you are beautiful', with a pretty interesting plot.

you are beautiful

sypnosis: the management company of the idol group A.N.JELL insisted on adding a new singer to the group as the lead vocal, tae kyungs voice was hurting. however, the new member, mi nam, had to go to the states to repair a botched eye job just before signing the contract. his agent came up with the idea of having his twin sister, mi nyu, to stand in for him and pretend that she was her brother. the two of them grew up in an orphanage and mi nyu, who was all set to become a nun, agreed to this charade as she didnt want to spoil her brothers chance of fame which would make it easier to look for their mother...

lee hong ki, jung yong hwa, park shin hye & jang guen suk as a.n.jell

pretty interesting to see idols act as idols. has to be one of the better dramas ive seen during this extended holiday. after watching the drama, the next usual step is to select the nice songs from its original soundtrack to put inside my ipod.

but this time round, the job poses a bigger challenge. the problem doesnt come from deciding which are the nice songs, but which versions of the 'nice songs' to choose. the original or the on-screen singers?

in some other dramas, it might be a no brainer to go with the original singers, but the vocals of mock idol group a.n.jell are no jokes either. jang guen suk and park shin hye are singers who can sing, while lee hong ki and jung yong hwa in reality are the main vocalist of their respective bands. a pity yong hwa was only featured in a rap because, boy, he really can sing.

wanna decide for yourself?

still

by lee hong ki (original)

by a.n.jell

without saying

by 9th street (original)

by park shin hye

by jang guen suk. this one has an MV! probably fan-made.

promise

lee hong ki (original)

by a.n.jell

9 September 2010...

2010-09-09T22:45:00.004+08:00

... is exactly one year after i got my driving license. probation plate not required anymore! but i guess ill leave the plate on the car as it is. makes a good decoration and might come in handy under certain circumstances ^^

... means theres only 2 months left to enlistment!!! time to buck up on my physical training?

... is also the day i reformatted my lousy laptop. it was full of problems... super lag, web browser refused to load, problem with uploading pictures on blogger, frequent cases of seizure... but now its as good as new!

My Chapters of YOG

2010-08-27T13:26:00.013+08:00

behold a long post.

the highlight for the month of august? has to be the youth olympic games in singapore. i was originally resigned to commemorating this once-in-a-lifetime event by watching all the actions at the comfort of my home. but a late offer for a temporary job gave me an opportunity to be part of this mega event.

instead of being in the main events, i was one of the many drafted to work for their sidekick events aimed to promote sports among the young children. my workplace was at the marina bay, where they had a carnival-like setup for children aged 5-12 to play at.

chapter 1: the environment

the schedule for the children basically goes like this:

1. children from different kindergartens and primary schools arrive

2. mass warm-up

3. proceed to the games which consist of stall games and huge inflatables

4. assemble at an indoor tent-age to meet the mascot and past olympians

5. continue with the games or return to school/home

children doing mass warm-up. most that attended were from kindergartens

one of the huge inflatables that the children got to play. there were even 2 inflated street soccer pitch!

another station for children to try. but as most of them could not fit into these huge sumo suits, this became a station for the crew and volunteers to play at xD

cant stand the hot weather? theres also indoor games loved by the young...

... and the old.

children gathered indoor to listen to the experiences of past olympians

athletes sharing their sporting experiences

lets see if i remember who they are... from left to right: slovakian who did shooting, new zealander who did windsurfing, swiss who did equestrian, and singaporean who does emceeing!

as the audiences were extremely young, there were some funny and awkward moments when the children posted questions like, 'what is your favourite colour' and 'what flavour do you like on your ice-cream'. you dont know whether to laugh or to cry!

i sneaked a photo with 2 of the athletes ^^

the guy (frank fredericks) is a sprinter while the lady (jessica scott?) took part in a team skiing/skating event. both are silver medalists.

when frank fredericks was questioned by the audience what he thinks of the recruiting of foreign sporting talents, he was strongly against it. he said that many countries had tried to buy his services, but he only believed in representing the country that he was born in.

the appearance of the biggest stars of the event... lyo and merly! many children like to pull merlys hair!

lyo loves basketball

on weekends, some performers/buskers will also turn up to hype up the atmosphere. but in fact, the weekends are pretty quiet as the schools only send their students on weekdays.

chapter 2: the work

it was our responsibility to either facilitate the games stations or lead the children around. we were coined 'technical assistants', but there wasnt really anything technical about our job. i was assigned with the enviable role of taking care of the air-conditioned tent-age. my job was to ensure that the indoor tent-age was kept neat and tidy. on occasions when the children decide to stroll in to play the games, i would also facilitate them.

due to a relatively large number of staff stationed inside the tent-age, plus the rarity of children coming in to play. it was boring to stay indoors, and i would go outdoors to where there were more activities going on.

i found it more interesting helping out at the stations outside because there were more opportunities to interact with the children (and sometimes the volunteers). the only downside is the sometimes scorching-hot weather, but whenever it gets that hot, i would go back indoors xP

while we are carrying out our duties, there would also be performers rehearsing for the night concert. click 5 came during one of the weekends, and there was even a group of cute 5/6 year-olds singing. at the point of time this picture was taken, nicholas zhang(张栋梁) was rehearsing on stage. he certainly can sing live : )

on my last day of work, i even had the opportunity to bring the kids around due to a lack of tour guides. i enjoyed interacting with some of the children, but lacked the confidence to lead a whole bunch of them. anyway, things turned out to be pretty okay.

the first group i led, taking pictures with the athletes

the second group bouncing happily on an inflatable

there were plenty of times when we had absolutely nothing to do. when that happened, we played ball!

after being accustomed to playing at this makeshift kid-sized court, i had problems adapting to the real one >.<

chapter 3: the food

contrary to the reports, the food we received were safe, generous in serving and fit for human consumption.

nasi bryani with pickles, mutton and curry chicken

pasta! just look at those prawns...

the vegetarian meal looked the tastier one on this particular day

potato, fish fillet, corn on a cob, and something which has the same taste and texture as cuttlefish balls.

3 prawns and 2 cuttlefish for a meal : D

macaroni?

this one is probably one of the worse you could get. i cannot describe the taste of the macaroni, whether its sweet, saltish, or just... starchy. but still good enough to keep you going.

and did i say we get an endless supply of coke and coke zero? on some days they even gave out small bites like oat biscuits and milo nuggets.

chapter 4: the reflection

how can watching the children have fun be considered work? it all seemed too easy and relaxed to be considered work.

this event allowed me to experience and learn a lot of things. it also set me thinking. i am always interested to see how people run their events, and working at marina bay presented me a chance to see one. had i not been working, i would also be missing the chance to meet people from such diverse backgrounds... the athlete role models, the fellow technical assistants and the volunteers, especially the much travelled austrain who had so much to share.

i am particularly impressed with international volunteers who flew themselves over to singapore to play a part in the inaugural youth olympic games. perhaps because they came with a strong purpose, they were so enthusiastic in whatever they do. some of them were very comfortable interacting with children. by following what they do, i am able to learn how to do the same : P

on the contrary, the attitude of some local volunteers were appalling. i feel that their actions reflected very poorly on the image of singapore, in front of people from so many different countries. while it was heartening to see the international volunteers giving their all for the event, it was sad to see some of the local volunteers sleeping on their job, making a fool of themselves or simply missing in action.

i understand that many of them are forced by their school to turn up, but their disinterest in the volunteering doesnt give them the license to do whatever they want. since you are already here, why not try to do a respectable job?

learn to look at the bigger picture, its not always about yourself : )

If they were real...

2010-08-26T20:28:00.001+08:00

Definitions

2010-08-11T23:22:00.004+08:00

school: a place where papa pays and son plays

life insurance: a contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die rich

nurse: a person who wakes you up to give you sleeping pills

marriage: an agreement in which a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her masters

divorce: future tense of marriage

tears: the hydraulic force by which masculine willpower is defeated by feminine waterpower

lecture: an art of transferring information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through the "minds of either"

conference: the confusion of one man multiplied by the number present

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

dictionary: a place where success comes before work

conference room: a place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on

father: a banker provided by nature

criminal: a guy no different from the rest... except he got caught

boss: someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early

politician: one who shakes your hand before election and shakes your confidence after

doctor: a person who kills your ills by the pills, and kills you by the bills

classics: books, which people praise, but do not read

smile: a curve that puts a lot of things straight

office: a place where you can relax after your strenuous home life

yawn: the only time some married men ever get to open their mouth

etc: a sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do

committee: individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together

experience: the name men give to their mistakes

atom bomb: an invention to end all inventions

philosopher: a fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead

neighbour: a person who listens to you attentively, through a wall