Looking back.

Its Pondering Time again, this time with the occasional munching of chips.

I've been looking back at my own past.

On the 29th Oct 1985, I was born. My name was given to me by my Aunt.
Kaiwei - Victorious and Impressive thats what it means.

Being the only child with both parents working, I was always under the care of my Maternal grandparents. Although I didnt take their surname, they still showered me with tons of tender loving care. Being the only grandson for 15 years was kind of a luxury!

I started my kindergarten at the local PAP kindergarten. I was topping my class until I was about Primary 4. After that I slowly went on a decline! Haha. I was also a Model student back in Hong Dao Primary, claiming 2 Model student of the year awards!

Took my PSLE and gotten an aggregate of 241, got into Ang Mo Kio Secondary School.
Wasnt a very sociable person I must say, was afraid of talking to girls up till about Sec 3. (And I've been in a mix school for like 8 years by then. If you dont count kindergarten.) Didnt play sports, cant kick a soccer ball or bounce a basketball for nuts sake. The only thing I was good at was badminton, sadly I've still retained my standard at it. (Its not good, I didnt improve.) I was all along an average student then, being consistently in the 29th-40th position in class.

The climax came during the 1st semester in Sec 2. I was last in class. Never had I occupied that position, I was so down and deflated. Somehow I managed to push myself beyond that, by the end of the year I was 21st in class. I still got to the "worst" sec 3 express class.

I didnt do quite well in Secondary 3 - 4 as well. I had a consistent B3 to A1 grades for most of my subjects, apart from A-maths which is usually an F. I gave up on it, I was absent for it during the O's. Gotten a prelim results of 20, I went to YJ for my 1st 3 months of JC life. Met this bunch of wonderful people that is from my orientation group, Aeneas. And of course not forgetting my wonderful Na! Life in YJ was full of adventure and excitment! I didnt attend school more than 1 month, most of the time I skipped school with 3 other people. Haha. Played pool, played pool and played more pool. =/ That year, my grandfather died from cancer.

After getting back the O's result, I headed to SRJC to carry on the rest of my JC life. Life there was okay, I've got this bunch of wonderful classmates and friends. Somehow by some weird stroke of luck, I became the President of IT Club, although I only joined the Club because my friend pulled me in. Wasnt that good in man management then, but I would still say I didnt do quite badly. Still had the same problem with Maths C, never passed it throughout J1. I promoted to J2 with grades like D,E,F.

Had changes made to our teachers. From 2 HODs, we were given 2 Subject heads. I didnt like Alex Lum, but Kwek was not too bad. Mr Kwek showed alot of patience in teaching the few of us that were CMI in maths. And with the introduction of Statistics, I've managed to pull off an AO pass in the Mid Year Exams. At prelims I've gotten an E for Maths and finally in the A's, I've gotten a B for it. So it was the end of JC.

Ended up in army as a chao recruit. Spent my first 4 months in Foxtrot Coy, Plt4. Didnt really keep in contact with friends I've made then. Was pretty excited that I managed to pass my IPPT at the end of it. Because I didnt pass it since P4. Haha.

Time to go beyond a recruit, I managed to make my way to OCS, a place which changed my life tremendously. A place where camaraderie was at its best. A place where guys, really bond together. Learnt alot from each other and from our instructors. At this place "The Gang" was forged. A really wonderful phase of my life.

Commissioned, went to 6SIR. Had a totally different perspective of life then. I finally saw people of different walks of life. I had to earn their respect and fast. Because my upper studys were gone in 24hours and my PS, Liao is only a week older than me in the Plt. I've changed some lives, and the feeling is great. Although this feeling didnt last long, it still made me a better man. Committed an error and life falls apart. "The Gang" further strengthened. ORDed.

Got a temp job at John Little. Had my first ever working experience. So happy that I can put that in my Resume. Learnt to handle tough customers and see the ugly side of many Singaporean shoppers.

GOT ADDICTED TO World Of Warcraft! Which is not a good thing.

Entered NUS, kind of loss there on the first day, but luckily I saw Zhongwei. Ever since, I've stuck to him like bees to honey for my first semester. My class was a wonderful lot. Friendly and nice. Became 21, time to grow up and worry about my future. Because I worry, I decided to change to Arts (Econs). I believe this is a great change, and it better be...

So now, its time for me to go do some revision for my coming test....

Signing off.

Kai.

Fancy a good argument?

Once again I've stolen something from Ed's blog.

Best of all I love the straightforward and frank type of people
who fall into the third category and engage people in meaningful
conversations. I never shy away from a good argument and I love to
observe the viewpoints of others, accepting and finding flaws in my own and
learning in the process. Many people have opinions and its only when you express
them can you make a change and difference to what we do, who we are and
ultimately where we are going.

Vexillum (http://www.edkieu.com/blog/) (Retrieved on 31/03/07)

Personally I wouldnt want to go into an argument with Edgar, good or bad. Why?

Because you cannot win! Save your efforts. Haha.

Finally.......

I've finally completed my 2nd Philosophy paper. Sending in a draft tmr.
After many days of pondering and thinking, I hope I've made sense of my paper. But after reading for so many times, I do not seem to find it VERY Philosophical.

But I am suppose to apply Mill's fundamental principle to real life events. Hmm, I'm confused.

If I've confused myself, lets hope my tutor will enlighten me soon enough.


And now.

Time to enjoy a good night rest.

Home networking.

I've just set up my home network.

And I'm loving it.

DBS IB Secure.

If any of you reading my blog happen to have a DBS Internet Banking Acct, and have the DBS IB Secure device, please take extreme care of it.

Mine dropped on the floor from table height and the result? - The LCD cracked.

There is a replacement charge of $20/- exclusive of GST.

But look on the bright side, the customer service officer was friendly and polite. And thats the first time I've encountered a male cust. service officer.

But oh well.

And I found and terminated the mosquito that was sucking my blood. But not before getting myself another 7 more bites..

What Irony.

"Ding Donggg..." my doorbell rang.

I opened the door and saw a man from the National Environment Agency.

He claimed he was here to check for possible breeding spots for mosquitoes and asked if I had any problems with mosquitoes at home. And told me of a Dengue case in my neighbourhood.

So I brought him around and he was quite pleased with the result.

Just as I was leading him out of the house, I felt an itch at my thigh and now that I'm touching/scratching my thigh, I realised it was a mosquito bite. =/

Smurfs are COMMUNISTS!

Smurfs. the cute blue creatures that sing cute songs are actually commies!

Check it out:
http://www.iamlost.com/features/smurfs/commies.shtml

Power Naps.

And the winner is MIDDAY SNOOZE!

Corporate culture has it wrong:
When you snooze, you win!

A daytime doze is a stress buster and heart protector. Just 30 minutes midday, three times a week, is all you need. Middle-aged working men who did just that cut their risk of a fatal heart attack and other heart problems by a whopping 37 percent.

Although the study focused on working men, women would probably benefit as well. Naps are a great stress reducer. You've heard how stress can damage your health, but how it causes heart disease remains unclear. Blame the stress hormones that course through

Roll over to enlarge your veins when you are under pressure. Researchers think these hormones may damage organs, glands, and blood vessels. Or bad influence could be at fault, because stress can drive you to unhealthy behaviors like smoking, overeating, and skipping your workout. What is clear about stress: Pressure-cooker jobs increase your chances of accumulating risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. So for sweet dreams and a more relaxed (and happier) you, do as the Spaniards do -- take a siesta! Can't nap on the job? Catch some midday ZZZs on the weekend. Just be sure to set an alarm clock -- sleep too long and you'll have trouble sticking to your regular bedtime.


Sleeping is good.
But how to get yourself to sleep?

4 steps taken off the RealAge.com website


1.
Get on a schedule. Your body clock runs best when you’re on a regular sleep schedule, like a baby. Aim to get up at the same time every day -- whether you have a full day of work or a full day of cartoons. On the weekends, try to rise within one hour of the time you get up during the week.
2.
Change your temperature. The ideal setting for sleep is a cool, dark room. If you’re having trouble sleeping, try removing a layer of clothing (like socks) or lowering the thermostat.
3.
At night, eat foods that contain melatonin -- a substance that helps regulate the body clock. That means oats, sweet corn, or rice. Or try a complex carbohydrate that has serotonin, like vegetables or whole-grain pasta. You can also go with the classic remedy: skim milk. Of course, you know to avoid stimulants like caffeine and exercise near bedtime. And try to avoid eating within 3 hours of going to bed.
4.
Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex. It is best to take work materials, computers, and televisions out of the sleeping environment.

Now why sleep is good?

PS. All data posted for this post has been taken wholesale from www.realage.com

L.E.O

To Lead.
To Excel.
To Overcome.

Something that has been drilled deeply inside me.

Regardless of what I've lost, I know I cannot regain lost land.

I'll have to lead my way out of this wilderness.
Excel in my studies, and hopefully through this excellence path a wonderful route to retirement.
I know I can overcome this.

When theres a will theres a way.
When theres no way, bash your way out.

Although it seems weird to pep talk myself, I know with all the people behind me, I can even move Everest.

Colours to my life.

http://www.paulgoldinresearch.com/cg/

You are tending to pursue your objectives with concentrated intensity and it would seem that whatever obstacles may come into your path, you will stick to your guns and will not allow yourself to be deflected from your purpose. You are striving to achieve recognition and what is more - you deserve it.

You are feeling very vulnerable at this time. Nothing seems to be going in the right direction - business wise, private-life wise, everything. You need some emotional security and an environment which could possibly provide fewer problems, but the way you are feeling you can't be bothered even to make the effort.

Being emotionally inhibited you have no alternative at this time but to be a 'watcher' rather than a 'doer'. At this time you feel as if you are being forced to compromise and stand back. But this is not the true you. Deep down there is that warm 'open' you which is awaiting the moment to burst forth - maybe like the chrysalis which will soon become the butterfly.

You are frustrated and stressed. You appreciate the finer things in life but at all times you appear to stay aloof, critical of everything and everyone about you. You will not be carried away by your emotions and you refuse to trust anyone or any situation unless genuineness and integrity can be absolutely vouched for. Therefore, you keep a strict and watchful control on your feelings as you must know exactly where you stand at all times. You demand complete sincerity as a protection against your own tendency to be too trusting.

You really would like to be completely uninhibited - to let your hair down - but you are held back by your sense of logic and rationalilty, since you realise that by simple stupidity you could lose everything - whatever that may be.

Pain

I am closing my eyes, sitting on the bed.
As I slowly let my mind wander, I start to ponder.
What is it I want, what are all these for?
Why do I feel this way, why do I weep to sleep?
Why the undue stress for my desire to ace?

While my mind slips into this wilderness,
I embrace this feeling with the aches on my body.
Shuddering in pain, my mind ceased to think,
Instead it questions my very existence.

No one knows what pain it brings,
Besides the convoy of pain himself.
He who brings pain, feels the pain.
Nothing I say can turn back time,
All I seek is a phoenix's cry.
To give back life to this body of mine.

I've thought I've outgrown it,
I've thought I've casted it aside.
But it still bugs me, day and night.
Clearly I have failed the task,
The mission to bring me back my life.

Book.

This just occurred to me.
I am going to compile all those Papers that I've written and those that are going to be written and make them into a book!

I actually wanted to say something about what I feel towards the wage raise of top civil servants. But I'm pretty afraid I'll step on the wrong side of the OB marker. So it will just remain in my mind.

My First Philosophy Paper

I've just gotten back my Philosophy Paper, and the grade is not bad.

For your reading pleasure.

The topic was something about defending Euthyphro's decision to prosecute his own father for causing the death of their dependent.

In the passage, Euthyphro indicts his father on the charges of murder of a dependent of their family whom is guilty of the murder of one of their household slaves. Euthyphro argues that it is being pious and holy to prosecute his own father for crimes he committed and he being a prophet knows it best. There are several approaches to attempt this question. Euthyphro is obviously not in the best of relationship with his father and perhaps that is one of the reasons why he has chosen to indict his father, however for purposes of this paper we could consider other arguments, which actually shows that his views are actually very valid and applicable in the real world.

Being an established prophet himself, Euthyphro has an image to maintain. How can he supposedly the bridge between men and gods have a father who is both unholy and guilty of a hideous crime of murder? Furthermore, in the “Euthyphro” Euthyphro has claimed that “Socrates – there wouldn’t be any difference between Euthyphro and the man on the street – if I did not have accurate knowledge of all such things.” (P.11) Clearly Euthyphro here is stating that he have absolute clarity with the definitions of holiness. With his expertise in the study of holiness and piousness, Euthyphro himself feels that there is a need for him to set the standards to the masses and to educate them on what is holy and the right thing to do. He also feels that he is obliged to answer to the public for the crimes that his father has committed. And by displaying justice in the form of prosecuting his own father for murder he feels that he has answered to the masses and also he is setting the standards for the correct thing to do so that the future generations could follow. Taking this argument into the real world, we could use an illustration of a policeman who knows his father committed a crime. Would it be the right thing to do for the policeman to turn in his father? Or is it pious for the policeman to keep mum about the incident and let his father go scot-free? The answer is pretty straightforward here, the policeman must remain professional and perform his duties to the best of his ability and thus he should turn in his father for the greater good of mankind. Therefore the same goes for Euthyphro as well, he being an established priest in Athens must be the role model for the people in his time and place to follow and look up upon.

Another striking point is that, Justice is supposed to be blind. It should be impersonal and not personal. As what Euthyphro says “One should only consider whether the killer acted justly or not; prosecute even a killer who shares your hearth and home. You are just as polluted if you intentionally remain under the same roof with a person like that, instead of purifying both yourself and him by bringing charges” (P. 10) The point Euthyphro is making here is that whoever the person is, he must be punished if he commits a crime. If you do not turn the person in, you are just as sinned as the person who commits the crime. As the Chinese saying goes, if the emperor commits a crime, he is entitled to the same punishments as a commoner. This is very true and in the current context you could even be charged with the harboring of criminals and obstruction of the proceedings of the law. How would you feel if someone related to a being of significant political power here in Singapore murdered your loved ones and yet uses his power to prevent the prosecution of his relative? Therefore the point Euthyphro makes here is very ethical and applicable to the current society. He cannot harbor his father and prevent justice from being done to the dead man by standing by his father for his crimes.

A question I would like to raise here is that, what is the link between filial piety and piousness? Filial piety is a subset of piousness; that filial piety is a derivation from piousness. So how can it be holy and pious for Euthyphro to prosecute his own father such that by doing so, he is disregarding the filial piety aspects of being pious? Since by its definition, filial piety is the love and respect of one’s parents and ancestors. It is therefore certain that by prosecuting his father, Euthyphro is not displaying any form of filial piety towards his father. However, the crux of this argument is not just about being filial pious, but being pious in the bigger picture. What Euthyphro had done there was in his own views upholding justice and doing what he ought to do, his father did commit the crimes and if he were to display signs of filial piousness by siding with his father, wouldn’t Euthyphro be acting against what was deemed as holy and what was the supposed right thing to do? As I said before, he being an established prophet must uphold righteousness whatever the case and in this situation the actions of his father which led to the death of another murderer. To neglect this and allow his father to be acquitted isn’t it more impious? It could also be seen that since Euthyphro is empowered with numerous religious knowledge, his prosecution of his father could also be a method by which he could use to atone for his father’s sins. By which he understands that his father has sinned but this is not obvious to his father and as the son, he believed that he ought to help him atone for his crimes by prosecuting him. If this were true, wouldn’t Euthyphro’s action be founded upon by filial piousness as well? Imagine a situation whereby a defense lawyer fighting the case for a serial murderer who was in the end acquitted due to the outstanding ability of the lawyer. By helping someone who has sinned to escape punishment hasn’t the lawyer done something impious?

Another question here is that whether Euthyphro’s father even commit a murder in the first place? What happened here is that when Euthyphro’s father found out that the deceased had murdered a slave of the family, he bounded him and seek advice from a religious adviser. While bounded, the murderer was deprived of food and water and was dead before the messenger could return. In this case, Euthyphro’s father did not explicitly kill the deceased; it was actually negligence on his part that led to his death. Therefore the charge on his father should not even be for murder, the most it warrant was a charge for manslaughter. Also, on (P.10) “…even if he had completely murdered him, the dead man, being a murderer, doesn’t deserve a second thought.” Euthyphro’s relatives believed that there wasn’t anything wrong with even murdering the man since he was himself a murderer. However, their argument here is very wrong, if anyone could just take up sword and kill someone in the name of upholding justice and righteousness, wouldn’t there be a lot of super heroes coming out from nowhere. And wouldn’t those who kill justly ultimately also be a murderer? And this would cause a vicious cycle as such - whereby B kills A and C kills B because B is a murderer of A and D kills C because C is the murderer of B. This could go on forever if this act is deemed just, but this is ridiculous, as no one should be allowed to murder anyone just because he or she is being just. We should always leave such matters to the authorities and thereby even though the relatives claimed that Euthyphro’s father acted justly and the deceased was not worth the trouble. The father’s actions did indeed cause the death of the man. Although the charge for murder could be too strong since it was negligence which resulted in the death, Euthyphro’s father is still guilty in causing the death.

In conclusion, Euthyphro’s action is justifiable because his father did commit an offence that led to the death of their dependent. Euthyphro on the other hand, was a prophet of his time and he felt obliged to educate the masses on the matter of piousness and what was more appropriate than prosecuting his own father to show that he is impartial and that justice is blind. Such that anyone who commits and offence must be duly punished.

The Matrix and Philosophy

http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/phi.html


A topic that is recently discussed in my Philosophy lectures/tutorials.

Moral skeptism:

Let A be we are in the Matrix
Let B be we have a pair of hands.

Hypothesis 1: I do not know not A (I dont know I'm not in the matrix)
Hypothesis 2: If I do not know not A, I do not know B. (If I dont know that I'm not in the matrix, I dont know that I have 2 hands)

Conclusion: I dont know that I have a pair of hands.

Think about it.

Baaaad

This is bad.

The plan was to wake up at 8, go to the stadium and do a timed 2.4, but I slept till 11!

Next, wanted to practice my stats for tuesday's test, read my econs txtbk to prep for tomorrow's lecture.

But up till now, I'm not even done with a chapter of stats.

And I'm always on and off the bed. =/

And my darn headache is still not subsiding.

Panopticon

Today I came across this word twice, during my Nation-building and Sociology tutorials.

Panopticon.


This is essentially talking about the blue prints of a type of prison.


Below is a simple illustration:
Legend:
Red Cube in the middle: Place where the prison warden will be stationed.
Blue Cubes surrounding the circle: The cells where the inmates will be in.

The idea is that, the wardens can see what the inmates are doing but the inmates cannot see the wardens.
This idea has been emphasized alot to the inmates. What actually happens here, is that this so called Panopticon casts a "Panoptic gaze" upon the inmates. What it means by a Panoptic gaze is that, the wardens are not actually present, all that could be present is maybe a helmet or something, but the idea that they are constantly being watched has been so internalized with them, that they believe that they are watched and will tend to behave.

This concept is also applied by the CCTV, in fact most security guards don't really pay attention to the consoles. Potential robbers, thieves are stalled by the fact that they believe these CCTV will catch them in action and thus, will provide evidence for their capture/prosecution, thus they are deterred from possible crimes.

Luke's 3 Faces of Power

I saw this today during my Sociology Lecture on Power, Politics and the State.

Simply put, the 3 faces of power are:

1. Who makes decisions?
2. Who sets agenda?
3. Who benefits?

Not much reason to post this, but since there is Luke in it, so I was trying to analyse if I Lead and Follow me has anything to do with this 3 faces.

1. Who makes the decisions? -> Luke
2. Who sets the agenda? -> Theres no agenda, just follow Luke DOWNNN.
3. Who benefits? -> Erm....

PS. No offence luke. Haha.. I was just bored.

As stated in Wiki:

Lukes's most famous academic theory is that of the 'Three faces
of power'. This theory claims that governments have three ways in which they
control people: decision-making power, non decision-making power and ideological
power. Decision-making power is the most public of the three faces and is the
manner in which governments want to be seen: the power of governments to make
policy decisions after widespread consultation with opposition parties and the
wider public. Non decision-making power is the power that governments have to
control the agenda in debates and make certain issues (such as the possible
merits of Communism in the United States) unacceptable for discussion in
moderate public forums. The third and most important face of power is
ideological power, which is the power to influence people's wishes and thoughts
and make them want things opposed to what would benefit them, such as women
supporting a patriarchical society.

Dreams

Ok, I was at my 199th post. So I'm dying to get to the 200th post. Thats why I am blogging prematurely!!

I've been remembering my dreams ALOT recently. I had been rembering all my dreams for like almost 2 months. Some of them even carry on from where we left off a few days back. It almost seem like I was watching a tv serial. It can be pretty scary sometimes.

These dreams are rather down to earth and highly possible to happen, while there are some much more absurd dreams.

In one of the dreams, I was conferred the title "Royal Defenders of PIGS". Apparently for fighting for the rights of pigs.

Didnt have much sweet dreams but had a fair share of nightmares that always ended with me waking up in sweat, going to the toilet to pee at about 5am in the morning. =/

One of my most recent "dream tv serial" is about me being in some Special Ops Force either with the army or police or I was a mole for the HK triads. The setting felt so much like Infernal Affairs, in the first 2 episodes there was nothing special, but during the 3rd one, I remembered myself picking up the pistol (I couldnt see what model it was.) and as it appeared before me, there was a misfire and I shot my foot. And my partner said, "See, tell you to put to safe you don't believe."

And I woke up, to go to the toilet to pee.

How much more stupid can it get? Haha.

However I do wonder if dreams mean anything at all...

Happy 200th post!

Cherish Time

I am currently listening to Yes 93.3Fm.

Its a segment by Bukoh Mary, and she said a very interesting story.

One day, an old man was seated at a clinic looking very impatient. After awhile he walked up towards the reception and said to the nurse, "My appointment is supposed to be at 3pm and it is already 4pm now. I cannot wait any longer, please rescheduel another appointment for me. Thank you."

Seated near the reception, 2 middle age women were gossipping about him, they said "He must at least be 80 years old, what else can he be busy with?"

The old man turn towards them, smiled and said, "I'm 88 this year, thats why I cannot waste any time. Every minute, every second is very precious to me."

So the moral of this story is, cherish time. As time waits for no man.

As the Chinese Saying goes, “一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴”。- Time is precious as gold, but regardless of how much gold you have, you cannot buy back lost time,

PS. This story was said out in Mandarin, if my translation fail to bring out the moral of the story, I'm sorry.

Depressed??

While I was surfing the net for information for my Sociology Paper on the topic :"Job opportunities, pay not the same for women." This is essentially a new article from the Sunday Times 11th March 2007 by Serene Goh.

I came across this interesting quote from Association of Women for Action & Research (AWARE) :

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. Its a whole different way of thinking.

Tuesday Night.

Lights, camera, ACTION...!

Its been quite awhile since I last watch a movie.
Its one of the main forms of entertainment a Singaporean can get nowadays. But sadly, I don't even have time or the money for it. Ok, I'm not that broke, but I'm just becoming a spendthrift recently. You never know what is going to happen next. There is no longer that form of job security at the rate globalisation is going now. If I strictly spend on just transport and my meals in school. I'll probably spend less than $200 a month. But if you add my phone bills, insuranceS, all the misc stuff. Thats not cheap, considering that I'm not working. (Although I'm procrastinating, I've yet to make a serious effort in looking for a PT job. Serves me right, in my opinion.)

But thats beside the point, the point I want to make today is regarding the movie. Haha.

Watched Pursuit of Happyness with Na at Causeway point. I think it is a fantastic show, I wasn't so particular about the draggy front part. What touched me is spirit Chris (Will Smith) portrayed in the film. Maybe now that I'm studying Sociology, I'm much more attracted to issues faced by society. What this film tells us is basically the American Dream. The dream to be somebody, to be successful. But yet, its never easy. Chris, invested tonnes of money in some high density scanner thing (Advance X-ray machine) but they dont sell well because Docs think they are a luxury good. He lost his wife, couldn't pay the rent of his apartment, got evicted from his 2nd apartment, got his car towed because of illegal parking, and when he sold all his scanner, whatever money he had was almost all taken away from all the fines which he owed. He became homeless. Seeked shelter from religious groups etc. But he never gave up. Fought for an internship in a renown broker firm. And eventually he succeeded amidst all the trouble and hardship he and his son had to go through.

This apparently is based on a true story. And it is definately something inspirational to me.

America may be a world superpower. A rich capitalist nation, but its proportion of people living on handouts and those homeless are very high. Income inequality is very prevalent there as well. Is there a way to reduce such problems? Are they homeless because they are lazy? Or it is this American Dream Pie is just a fantasy? Meritocracy is a fraud in the first place? There is no such thing as a level ground? The rich will always have the edge? What about those who fall from grace?

Look at Singapore, are there any homeless people here? Or is it we do not notice them? Or we choose to not notice them? Are we a truly Meritocratic society? Is upward mobility possible? Are we REALLY able to move up the class ladder? Does hardwork even lead to rewards? Or are we just part of a machine that keeps moving and even when we are worn out, we can always be replaced with another spare part? I'm not so sure about anything anymore.

Furthermore, Will Smith's son, who plays his son in the film is damn cute la. Haha. I think he is cut out for the same industry as his dad.

Beach

The sun, the sea, the breeze. (Not forgetting the bikini babes. Opps) What more can you ask for when you go to the beach? Haha.

Went to east coast park today with Na. Its been a really long time since I set foot upon the place. I think the last time I went there was before I taken back my pink IC. So its has been almost a year since I returned to the wonderful place. Much has changed since my last visit, alot of construction going on on the roads and pavilions. Furthermore, there seems to be an influx of people at the beach. When we were going to go up to the breakwater, we saw a lot of tents. This was almost like a BMT fieldcamp with HEAPS of basha apart from the bright colours and the presence of women.

Not forgetting the "promise", we finally went blading. Yep, I lost my "virginity" to blading today. While I was standing up after putting on the blades - My mind was filled with thoughts of regret, fear and embarrassement. I just couldn't stand still without my blades moving away from me. For almost a million times, I was trying to prevent myself from doing a split. Since Na isn't a very good blader herself, she couldn't teach me much. Thus I struggled for quite a while before a middle aged man signalled me over to him. (I guessed he see me blade he almost vomitted blood thats why he decided to spare himself the eye sore. Haha) Using my every ounce of energy, I eventually "rolled" to him. He started telling me my mistakes, and taught me the right way to move on the blades. After about 1.5hrs of practise which includes falling, breaking fall, ramming into the railings, preventing the countless number of splits and alot of encouragement from my coach, I am proud to say that, I can blade to a slight extent! (Meaning, I can move slowly in a straight line without falling too much. ) I didn't get the man's name but found out that he stays in Bedok, and has been coming to ECP everyday after he got out of job while chatting with him. But seriously, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have progressed so much. But I got a feeling he is a army guy because he asked me to "Hentak kaki" with my blades. =/
But nonetheless, he rocks.

Now I am lobstered.

Its also time now to go do my readings. (7 more to go.)

Randomness at its best.

I've been studying alot about the importance of data set and distributions to be of random nature in statistics. But today I experienced another form of randomness.

For no particular reason,
I went to Cityhall.
Walked to Peninsula Shopping Centre,
Bought a Manchester United Jersey at Champion.
Headed home.

Although I've always wanted to buy a Man Utd Jersey, but this is awfully too random.

Bewilderment

Something I've always felt bewildered by.

Why is there a NTU poster for their College of Engineering at the NUS Engineering Busstop. =/

Oh well.

I'm very happy with my Econs Midterm results. MUAHAHAHA

Tired.

I've seriously no idea what has gotten into me. I'm so easily tired recently. I admit I don't sleep for more than 6hours, but I really shouldn't be feeling so damn exhausted. Oh well, I'll just have to keep up the coffee intake I guess.

Today is tutorial day again. Seriously, I'm never going to make the same mistakes again of putting all the heavy tutorials all on the same day. This is madness. The level of concentration is strongly negatively correlated to amount of time in school. By the last tutorial, I am just a corpse that talk.

I've gotten back my Nation-building test paper. I am pleasantly suprised that I've gotten a B+ for it, considering that I felt I totally blundered it after the test itself. I didn't even have time to finish and I had almost of quarter more to go, if I had finished it I might smell an A or A-. But overall I'm pretty pleased.

2 more midterms to go and 2 more papers to write before the finals and of course that means before the long deserved break from school.

Tomorrow is a free day. Regardless of the weather, I need to go running. If not, my previous training will definately go down the drain.

Sweetness of Success

No matter how ugly the way success came, it still taste sweet.

Courtesy of ESPN Soccernet.com

Taking a break...

Finally my mouse is free from her exams and I can meet up with her. The day was spent quite hurriedly. Met her at 3pm and we went to town, where she collected her ring which she sent for "repairs". Before buying her the MAC lipgloss which I was suppose to buy for her a while back.

I bought a pairs of Americaya shoes from the sales at the Taka square at B2. And she bought a belt and a pair of Charles and Keith shoes.

Headed to Bugis Junction after that and we decided to take neoprints. Its has really been awhile since we'd taken any neoprints. I find that the recent neoprints taken arent too glamourous. Maybe I'm getting older and I can pose as well, or I'm turning uglier. Maybe I'll soon turn into Ugly Bobby. Certainly hope its the former. Because for a totally vain me to admit I'm turning ugly, its the end.

Had our dinner at Phin's Steakhouse, it was'nt as good as I expected. Not likely to revisit the place.

Wanted to watch movie, but due to lack of shows which we wanted to watch, we settled for Coffeeing at Taka Coffeebean while I was reading my Nation building readings for the upcoming tutorial.

Following which we headed home, and I saw my ex classmate Eric (Star Chef contestant) along the way.

As I was walking past the Kopitiam on my way home, I heard the people shouted GOALLLL and so I stood there before the TV watching my favourite team celebrate their victory.

Now I'm trying to do statistics but I'm not exactly in the mood.

Giggs

Wow I'm impressed.

"Giggs will become only the second Red Devil in history -- after Sir Bobby Charlton -- to reach the 700 landmark, with all the indications the Welshman will eventually surpass his illustrious predecessor's club best 759. " - From Soccernet.com

Hail the Welsh Wizard!!

Meet ups.

Long day today. Left for school at 830am and came back home at 2300hrs.

First up was Econs lecture. Finally started on Macroeconomics. Its really been awhile since I read anything relating to Macroecons. But at least I kind of recalled what I learnt last time.

All my breaks today were spent on revising for my Econs test in the evening.

After my lunch break, I headed to my Statistics lecture and after that had an early dinner with Hein Hin and Kim Wei. Before heading to the central Lib to revise for my test.

Test wasnt too tough for me and I managed to finish early and left the LT early.

Then I headed back, to meet with Waiho and Aik Sheng, for a prata supper at Casuarina and did come catching up with them. Its pleasant to meet up with old friends. We should do that more often.

Anniversary

Happy 4 Years Anniversary Dear.
Love you.

Thanks for
Being there for me all these while.
Standing by me and along side me.
Giving me a chance to be there for you.
Loving me,
Letting me love you.

010303
010304
010305
010306
010307

PS. Its suppose to be posted on 3/1/07 00:00. I don't get why it cannot be displayed and its not even in my March Archives.

My post is now showing again. =/

test

Startled.

I was startled awake by the ringing of my handphone.
It was a lady from Standard Chartered. Probably wanting to ask me to sign up for some investment plan etc.

However before she could say much, I interrupted her saying that I am a student so as not to waste her time talking to me.

Her reply was something I did not expected. Usually when I get calls like this, when I replied that I am a student, be it Prudential, AIA or some companies which I have forgotten. All I get is "Okay, byebye.... tooott.... tooottt.....".

This lady was much different. She said, "Oh, Its okay. Happy New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai. Enjoy your day. Byebye."

Maybe the service sector in Singapore has some hope after all.

Normality of Disability

Something interesting I read from my Soci Text.

They have taken this from a Sci-Fi writer H.G. Wells's short story - "The Country of the Blind."
It reversed the old saying that "in the country of the blind, the one eye man is king."

A man who survived an avalanche found himself landed on the outskirts of a village whose members are all blind due to a disease that struck them 14 generations ago. To the survivor, he felt that because he could see he is their "Heaven-sent King and Master." Contrary to this, his sight has in actual fact caused him inconvenience. The natives' sense of hearing and touch are much more developed than his and they have designed their community for the benefits of their own people who cannot see. Where the hosts move gracefully, the "Master" stumbles and fall. Where the "Master" rants about seeing, the hosts thinks he is mad and out of touch with the reality.


Doesnt this make blind perfectly normal and being blessed with the ability to see a disability?

Think about it.

Society

I recall something my tutor Mr Gui Kai Chong said during my first Sociology tutorial. A Phd student himself specializing as a Conflict Theorist, he said that the study of sociology has made him a much sadder person.

At this point in time as I am reading my textbooks and readings, I finally understand how he feels. There are so many issues faced by our society, but yet these issues may seem very common and easily understandable. Its sad seeing all the ugly side of this industralisation even though the fruits of this labour would ultimately be a higher standard of living which is actually the root of many of the problems faced by us today.

These problems such as rising inequality, falling infertility etc are very easy to understand, but they are extremely difficult and almost impossible to counter upon.

Will this eventually result in the end of the human race?

Ought a son prosecute a father?

Went to open a UOB Campus account today. The queue was quite bad especially for the service counters. I was attracted to the Campus acct because of its relative higher interest rates as compared to other savings/current account at 0.75% Pa. But thinking of it now, I dont even have 10k and even at 10k, it only generates $75.00 Pa. So its NOT exactly that great. But the good thing is that, I got my very first Cheque book and also, its free to maintain. (At least while I am still at NUS.)

Was on my way home and I realised that recently there is a hike in the number of pet owners in my block. Especially dog owners, but with the increment of dog owners, comes the rise in the amount of dog poop all over the place. I can almost use this chinese phrase to describe my void deck. "满地黄金" Aka gold all over the floor. Maybe its time to reeducate pet owners that the void deck is a shared commodity for all HDB flat residents, I am sure you don't want me to pee just right outside your front door. I really pity the cleaners who have to clear up the mess everyday.

"Ought a son prosecute a father?"

This is probably the topic I will be attempting for my Philosophy paper. I'll be required to defend Euthyphro's ethical point of view in prosecuting his father for murder.

Mouse is having her Business stats paper tomorrow, so good luck mouse! Love ya.

A summary of my CNY.

Finally I can take a break from the hectic visiting, host playing and eating to take some time to blog. Lunar New Year has always been a festival in which I love to dread and dread to love. Although the thoughts of receiving Ang Baos really is enticing, I dont normally like socialising with all my relatives especially those distant ones.

On the contrary, I dont hate socialising with relatives because they hound at me by asking me about why my girlfriend is not around, when am I getting married etc. I just find that we dont really have a common conversational topic and sometimes there is this duration of silence which creates an extremely awkward atmostphere by my standards. Maybe its because I lack the conversational skills or I am just a loner.

This year, it was rather different. I kind of changed, although I still do not like socialising with them, I was extremely chatty. I could talk about anything under the sun, talk to everyone and anyone. So I am still quite happy with my overall performance. And of course I am also quite happy with the Ang Baos' progress. Haha.

Ok, a little bit of what happened over the past few days. On the eve of CNY, we went over to Leng Ern Shi Temple where my maternal grandfather's tablet and ashes were housed to pay our respects. Following which, it was preparing and helping my grandma with the dinner at night. As usual it was the steamboat and alot of fried food which my grandma fried. Not forgetting the Lao Hei(Yu Sheng, Raw Fish). Nothing really special happened actually, its just an annual event accompanied with some wine and bacardi except that my little cousins likes to serve "Mouse in a pot" & "Curled Centipede Soup" with his toy. They brought a mini lion dance head over as well, and they were playing around. It reminded me of the past whereby I was the one playing with the lion head. Time really flies. After that was glueing my butt to the chair and watching tv. Watched the count down and played AOE 3 for awhile because I didnt want to sleep too early because I wanted to Shou Shui.

On the first day, I dug out from bed by my mum to AWAIT the royal highness my uncle's arrival to our house at 7.45am. (Pun intended) Mummy said he would come around 9. But eventually he arrived at 11.15am. All the time wasted yawning on the sofa. Haha, after that I went over to my maternal grandma's house, had lunch and headed to my paternal grandma's house. Who is still as forgetful as ever and keeps repeating things at least 5 to 6 times, before asking all over again. (What I mean is that she just keeps on going.) She did however said something which made an impact. Which was asking why Na didnt followed me to her house. So I promised her that I would bring her to visit her. Following which I went my grand aunty's place which will be the last time I visit them at that house because they sold their semi and will be moving out soon. Just realised their eldest daughter is a Phd in Philosophy. I think I can get some help from her, haha but then again, she is lecturing in Ireland. That was the last stop for the day.

On the 2nd day, the first thing on my agenda was to go to Na's house. Was sitting around her house for quite awhile and even had my lunch there. And to fufil my paternal grandma's wishes, I brought Na to visit her. Its actually the first time I went there without my parents. Well, we arent exactly close because of certain conflicts that happened between her and my mum over my folks' early years of marriage. I am exceptionally close to the relatives of my mum's side is because I was looked after by my maternal grandparents, and I was the first grandchild and the only grandchild for 15years in the family. Even though I didnt take their surname I was extremely doted upon. After visiting my paternal grandmother, we went to Na's paternal grandparents' house who were much older then my grandmothers. It wasnt the first time I went there, but its definately the first time I went over on CNY and they were quite happy about it it seems. Then we went over to my maternal grandmother's house where we had dinner there. After that Na went over to my place for awhile before I sent her home.

On the 3rd day, I went downstairs and had breakfast with my grandma, mummy, uncle and aunty. After that I went to pray at the neighbourhood temple. Next was just stoning around and waiting for my paternal(grandma, uncle, aunty, cousin, her husband & my nephew.) to come over. This is a really once in a year thing for me. I hasnt seen my cousin for like 3 to 4 years. Same as my nephew, the first time I was him was when he was a toddler and the 2nd time was today and he is already 4 years old. He is just so cute, I simply love his lashes. All girls would die to have his eye lashes. They are so long and they curl so nicely that they look like fakes. Haha. Well luckily he takes after my cousin who is actually rather pretty. If he looks more like his dad, he wouldnt be so dashing. (Opps.) But time really flies, she is already 31, and my other cousin is 26 and he is getting engage in a couple of years. But then again, I hasnt seen him in like erm, more than 5 years. Wonder how he is getting along. Everyone of my relatives from my father's side say I am damn smart, capable and surely will "Tan Dua Lui" (Earn big bucks) just because I am in University. Sometimes I wonder if it is the environment that causes this because I never thought that I was born smarter than the rest. No one from my pat. side made it beyond secondary school. While both my father and mother have qualifications less than secondary 2, I made it to NUS. Is this upward mobility? Maybe because, my parents dont gamble, dont binge drink and dont smoke unlike my paternal side. I dont pick up the bad habits, and of course the person who has played the most part in guiding me and helping me is my Aunty Wendy. She is the source of inspiration and pride for the family. With just O level qualifications, she slogged for 13 years in the then SBS, and received a study award by the company to attend a diploma course and after which she moved on to the then ESMACO which sponsored her for a Degree course. And she eventually rose to became a director in PREMAS a subsidiary of CAPITALAND.

So I must say, I do attribute my success so far as part of her efforts in nurturing me. Thanks Aunty Wendy.

By the way, I still dont have the inspiration to write my Philo Paper.
Troubled.

Updates

Hmm, ok time for a little update when my mind is slightly clearer.

This had been a rather busy week with 2 tests and 3 tutorial assignments. Scored 24/30 for my stats test. Wasnt quite satisfied because it was such an easy test. But hey, its better than below 24.

Well, I saw a disgusting sight as I was going off on wednesday night after my Nation-Building test. A "puddle" of spit was what I saw on the stairs just outside LT11, I used puddle because I dont know what describes spit. Never would I have expected to see something like that in NUS. But we do have people of all kinds in campus.

Thursday was my off day and I met up with Na at yishun to do some work and revision at the Starbucks there. Our new money saving scheme is to buy a Venti Ice blend and share while we occupy their table for more than 3hours. Haha. It wasnt a very productive day I must say because both of us were not quite able to keep composed and concentrate on our own work.

Today was pretty normal until stats lecture. I saw someone familar wearing a red t-shirt, red sneakers, and carrying a red crumpler bag walking into the LT. It was Melvin aka mother. I never expected to see him in NUS, (just like how I never would have expected to see Frank) apparently he was bored because he just came back to Singapore so he decided to crash his friend's lecture which is also my lecture.

Well, I am actually at my wits end with regards to what to blog, so I think I shall end here and go pack my room abit before my mum screams at me again.

This could be the last update before CNY, so I wish all of you a Happy Lunar New Year! May you all be blessed with good health, all the best in your endeavors. And of course, lots and lots of ang baos!!

Haha

Burnt.

Physically exhausted.
Mentally drained.
Fuel burnt out.

Thats what you can describe how I am feeling now.

I regret putting 4 arts tutorial on the same day. Because by murphy's law, your test will always be on the day when you have 4 tutorials straight.

At the end of the day I was so confused and bloated with facts, concepts and information.

My brain gave up.

As I was thinking of how to answer the question of the Nation-building test, the concept of price discrimination came to my mind when I was clearly looking for why electing Sir Stamford Raffles as the founder of modern Singapore was the "proper use of history".

This is ridiculous.

Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day. The day whereby everyone in love wants to spend it with their loved ones but yet also the very day that most single dread.

I am lucky to have someone to spend it with me, but does it really matter? Or rather, does this one day really matter that much?

Does the bouquet of roses on February 14 outweigh the bouquet of roses in terms of "thought" or"love"? All I know is that it outweighs in terms of cash.

Why do we need a valentine's day? Is it everyone is this damn society is just so busy that they need to have a specific day to be romantic to their lover? That 1 day out of 365 to give roses to? I'd like to say, Valentine's day is a sham. Its a business plot to promote consumerism and to inflate prices of candies, plushies, roses, dinners.

Why dedicate that one day to make your loved ones feel special? Make your loved ones feel special everyday.

I would want to be able to make my loved ones feel special everyday, but exceptionally special on this day. But then again, this is never easy.

But thats besides the point. Despite claiming all these to be a sham and etc. I'd like to say I am a willing victim to this plot.

Luck

Talk about being unlucky.

The bus driver jammed the brakes, I didnt fall. But after I alighted I realised I cannot walk without feeling a piercing pain at my lower back. I think I just defied the newton's law and thus I now have to pay the price.

Oh well, Stats test was alright. Not that tough, but before I can relax and take a breather, tomorrow is yet another busy day with a Nation building test schedueled from 6 to 7.30. So it brings my grand total of time being spent in school to (10-1, 2-7.30) almost 10hrs on a valentine's day. Haha.

Go go Power Ranger!


Sorry mouse.

Closing....

Ahh... My eyes... They are on the verge of closing.........

I still need to practise my stats questions for my test tomorrow...

Musssttt abstain from coffeeeee.

Must not fall asleepppp......

How do you learn?

If you already know something, there is no need for you to learn it again; If you do not know it, you cannot learn it since you wouldn't know what to look for.

=)

Went studying at the new mc cafe opposite Amk Library with Na. Not exactly a very conducive to do some serious revision if you were to ask me. Too much noise and weirdos around. Still prefer the coffee from Starbucks/Coffee Bean/Pacific Cafe.

Have been jogging/crunching/pumping/curling quite consistently recently, guess I am almost back to 65% of my best fitness level after dropping to about -100% over the past months.

Biomedical.

Was reading Ed's blog regarding Prof Lee Wei Ling's rebuttal. Which prompted me to visit the
url he provided: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/170703.asp

The Paragraph below is my personal favourite taken from the above article.

"Lt-Gen Lim goes on to ask: "Why must it be that Singaporeans cannot be world-beaters?" My answer to that is: Singaporeans can be world-beaters — if Singapore has the appropriate research strategy and concentrates effort and resources on the areas where we have a competitive advantage. The Singapore Olympic Council seems to understand this simple concept which escapes the highly intellectual officials determining the direction of Singapore's research strategy."

I must say I really admire how she throws them off the hook regarding those biomedical research issues.

This time again...

Its this time of the day again.
I've got so many things to do on hand, but yet I am facing my laptop screen typing furiously away on the keyboard. I just have no drive to push myself forward.

2 tests coming up next week together with 5 tutorials and I am not even 20% prepared. I am so tired, I can sleep for 2 days. Dont know whats making me so tired. Guess I am not as tough as before. Coffee seems so enticing at this point in time, but I would rather not depend on it so much since I already drank coffee for more than 17 years already.

Today Na's mum came over to bring me the new year goodies that I ordered from them. Thanks Aunty( although you will never read this.) After that I went to meet Na and her classmates for lunch at Pizza Hut. Lunch express, we ordered the group set 1 regular pan and another regular stuffed crust. Was quite satisfied with the meal and it did subdue my cravings for pizza.

After my statistics tutorial on tuesday, I stayed back in school for dinner since no one is at home. And I saw Aaron Soh there, so we had our dinner together and did a little bit of catching up. A Chem major with the intention of minoring in physics. Despite us not being close, we managed to talk for almost an hour. I was pretty much impressed with my social skills that day. Probably one of my more sociable days in school.

Jack was saying about going on a backpacking trip during the 3months break after sem 2. I must admit, this is seriously enticing and I've always wanted to go backpacking. But there are certain things holding me back. Dont have to think too much, its just the most essential thing. Money. I haven't been working since my John Little Stint and that time when I was helping out with my Aunt when she was starting out on her business. Doesnt seem very appropriate for me to go on a holiday by digging out my savings. Furthermore, I've kind of planned to work my ass off during the 3 months, to earn some cold hard cash to finance my cravings over the next few months. Since I was prompted about money issue again, I cannot help but think about trying to give tuition. I know I am qualified to teach, but I doubt my ability to do so, I dont want to because of my selfishness, cause those poor students to suffer. We all know what it is like to have a bad tutor. And from my experience, I know that sometimes my explanation isnt all that wonderful, and sometimes its pretty confusing. But some people said this to me, " You wont know if you dont try, who knows, maybe you just need more exposure and practise to teach well?" Maybe I should start flipping classfieds/logging on to jobsdb again. It might even be a warmup for being an A'level Economics teacher. haha

But for now, prepare for tests and tutorials.

For You.

We are you and I.
Never you nor I.
Two heads are better than one,
Two hearts forever as one.

With fire burning in my eyes,
I set ablaze your passionate eyes.
Never fear the irksome darkness,
For I shall harness all goodness.

Lonely no more you will walk,
For I shall shelter you with hope.
Beautiful you are as bright as the stars,
Loving you so true as a baby's cry.

Seduction Style?

Days like this.

Sometimes I just feel like dropping everything and just spend a day like this everyday.

After school, I met Na at bugis, since I arrived 45mins before the arranged time, I went walking around, in search of Chong Qing Steam Boat. After which I went snooping around Bugis Junction. Went to the toilet and it immediately reminded of the SAF smoking point, all the cubicles were locked and the smell of cigrattes was overpowering. They should install smoke detectors.

Thats beside the point. We had dinner at the food court and Na finally appeased her craving for stone rice (aka Bi Bib Bab). After snooping around Bugis more, she bought me a bag! Leathery backpack to be exact. After which we headed for starbucks for some coffee. Its nice that since we had a super early dinner, we managed to have cushion seats over at starbucks and the best part was that there is a powerpoint for my laptop. First time I logged on to wireless@SG and it is definately great to have such services provided. =) Sipping my coffee, looking at the people around there, listening to people chatting away, smelling the aroma over at the counter where they are making the coffee while posting on the IVLE forum. That is a chore that didnt seem that much of a chore. We seldom spend more than 1.5hrs at a cafe, and this time round, we'd out done ourselves by spending more than 2 hours there. After which we went over to "Ji De Chi" for dessert. I was brought to the place by Zhichao, still remember that time when Eric, Zhichao, Tingyi, Kuang Sheng, Eng Seng and me went there after steamboating at Chong Qing. Kind of missing them as well. When can I see them again?

After reaching Yishun, while I was about to board 853 at the interchange, I saw Chia Siang Cai. One of platoon 8's man. He's into catering and assisting the "Tou Shou" (Chef) with the cooking. Its heartwarming to see them mature, and much more serious in their take on life now. While chatting on the bus, he said something like "Sor Hui Jin Xiong Diong" (Living expenses is pretty high - in hokkien). Now isnt like the past where he could do odd jobs, vendor pirated vcds, be a runner and earn his keep. Now he must work hard to pay for alot of things. Thinking about myself, I dont have to worry about money, my family is financing my education, after graduation I will find a job which will probably pay more than what he is earning now. Some of us are just having it easier, while some arent so lucky.

In this society which emphasizes on meritocracy, its not easy to survive if you dont have a relatively competitive education level.

PS. Sorry if this post sounds incoherent, but I am having a splitting headache. I dont have the capacity to think through my sentences very thoroughly.

47th.

Happy 47th Month Dear.

Almost 4 years have past since that day at Waterfront.

Having you is one of the most beautiful things that happened to me.

Love ya.

My first attempt at tutorial marathon.

Well, good news. I survived 7hrs of tutorials today.

2hours of Nation building,
1hour of Philosophy
1hour lunch break
2hours Sociology
2hours Economics

Nothing really spectacular happened during tutorial actually, just the normal tutorials it seemed.

But I realised 1 thing, I tend to stammer when I do self-introduction, but of course after a few attempts today, it got better towards the end.

Really doubt my choices of modules this semester, Philo and Soci seems too hard to fathom. I feel so intimidated when I was at the tutorial classes. When it comes to discussions and presenting our viewpoints, I really had "POINTS" while the rest could almost come out with speeches. Not just that, I feel stupid. But looking on the bright side, my understanding for both modules improved trememdously.

The only thing I had more confidence were perhaps Nation building and economics, especially the latter.

While I was on the way home I saw Jack on the bus and we commuted together on the train or until he alighted at admiraty for tuition while I headed to Yio Chu Kang.

But Something interesting happened today.

While I was having my lunch at the temp canteen by LT11, a decently dressed and not bad looking girl came up to me and asked, "Hi, I'm really hungry. Can I have some of your food?" I wasnt quite expecting that question since its more likely for people to ask if that seat was taken. But shaking off the astonishment, I replied, "Yeah sure, if you want some." Then, she seemed rather taken aback and replied, "Heh, No I am just doing an experiment." Seriously, I was thinking to myself, if it were someone else asking me that question, would my answer be the same? But then again, that reply I gave isnt the best answer I suppose,

I could have said:

A) HELL No, get lost you freak.
B)Yeah sure, if you want some.
C)Errrr, you sure you want to eat my saliva? I got germs leh...
D)Why not let me buy you lunch instead?

But it just occurred to me if that person who asked was a man, or rather a very much less than decent looking girl or a kid, or an elderly. Would my answer be different? I know for sure I would choose B or D when it comes to kids or an elderly. But a grown up man/ a not so good looking girl..... I am clueless. Perhaps time will tell.

What would you have said/done?

Philosophical Questions.

Ultimate Wisdom?

To achieve ultimate wisdom is to know your ignorance.


"Examining" your life.

Is the unexamined life worth living?

Something new.

I didnt know when the referee points to the spot and calls for a penalty. Players of the team that conceded the penalty could actually walk off the pitch to express their unhappiness.

JUSTIFIED

The left and the right edges are both even.

When it is good: Justified text makes a clean, figural shape on the page.
Its efficient use of space makes it the norm for newspapers and books of continuous text.

When it is evil: Ugly gaps can occur as text is forced into lines of even measure.

A typographical sophist might add that the most sophisticated systems do not opt for this sort of perfect justice. Letting little things exceed the margins can make the margins appear neater. Perhaps its better to appear, than to be, just.




Interesting viewpoint huh?


Sophist - any of a class of professional teachers in ancient Greece who gave instruction in various fields, as in general culture, rhetoric, politics, or disputation.


*Note: I took this almost wholesale from my Philo text.

Male Promiscuity

Why are men generally more likely to have more sex partners compared to their female counterparts?

According to some evolutionary psychologist, (Not refering to you Buddy). As each time a man ejaculates, he produces hundred of millions of sperms. Whereas a woman only releases one egg per month. So inorder to maximise the chances to reproduce their genes, men will try their best to impregnate AS MANY women as possible while women will want to have a mate who will protect her and help her nurse their offsprings.

Well, what a great excuse for us men to use to defend ourselves!!

But dont get too excited because their theory is not only absurd, its proven to be totally wrong.

According to the figures, men who have more than one sex partner are those who have partners of the same gender. Thus they will never be able to impregnate any men which contradicts the evo. pyschologists theory.

And furthermore, men tend to be egoistic and will exaggerate the number of partners they have to show that they are fit and almighty inorder to save some pride.

Socrates to Meno.

... virtue turns out to be neither innate nor earned. It is something that comes to those who possess it as a free gift from the gods - with understanding not included...


"And with those men eat, and drink, and with them go about, and please those whose power is great. For it is from the good that you will learn good; if you mingle with wicked men you will lose even what wit you possess......
....
....
Never would come from good father evil son, for he would be persuaded by wise words. But by teaching you will never make an evil man good." - Theognis. Greek Poet.
(Contradicting himself in his own poem.)


So how is virtue taught or passed down? Are there any teachers of virtue?

Is it knowledge or is it just true opinion?

Birds.

Well, for the third time in my life.

I've had bird droppings dropping onto my right forearm.

Once during primary one, another time during primary two. Both of which was during the national anthem.

Now, the third time came outside AMK Hub, while I was waiting to cross the road.

Attention to MALE toilet users.

I've always found this seriously irritating and irresponsible.



I dont know what is so difficult to either lift up the toilet seat after you are done with your big business.


Or lift the seat up before you let loose your firing squad. Does using that additional ounce of strength to lift up the seat cause you to crumble to your knees? Or do you need to conserve every bit of energy to urinate?


Or do you think that with the marksman badge back from the army days, you could aim your member well and pee properly into the hole?


If everyone be more considerate, the world would be a much better place to be in.

What lies ahead?

With prior promises to myself that I will move on and not drag on the past, I could not help but wonder what lies ahead for me.

When I decided to choose engineering over economics in the past, it was for the obvious. The better job prospects was what that enticed me to accept that offer. Not just that, family influence was also a major factor leading to the decision. What I neglected was the fact that my mathematical foundation was definately not up to mark, in fact I was lucky to even get a B for my A Levels. As I struggled to catch up with the curriculum back in semester one, I regretted making the choice of choosing engineering over economics. Therefore I made up my mind to transfer to Arts Majoring in Economics. This time round, I will NOT settle for being a mediocre student. Being Average is NOT an option.

I've drafted out many plans, ranging from what modules/electives to take, which minor to take, savings plans, to workout plans and more. But as the saying goes, the first casualty in a battle is always the plan. Despite the saying, I still decided to follow my plan as a guide line.

Frankly speaking, I am a person who really cares more about my future career as compared to whether I like the course. I wont say I am money minded but I think I am more of a down to earth person. What I desire is merely a family of my own, a decent career and leading a relatively comfortable life with my loved ones, most importantly to make sure my loved ones dont suffer.

As I searched through classifieds after classifieds, career options from the banks, Economic Development Board and even the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The future seems so interesting, colourful and yet bleak. I just wonder if I am ever going to be good enough to be employed with the top economic bodies.


Decisions had been made,
Paths had been chosen.
Journeys have to be walked,
Obstacles will be cleared.

If you want something badly,
You got to do it YOURSELF.
Why settle for second best,
When you can be the first?

Students? Who are they?

Student's Special
Now students have more reasons to chill out @ Melvados after school!
Simply flash your student pass and you enjoy a 1-for-1 deal for every Flavour Coffee, Ice Blends & Fizzies! Bring your friends along, give them a treat!

Besides that, enjoy a 10% discount for every set meal you purchase

* promotion valid for primary, secondary & junior college students only.

So Tetiary students arent exactly students?


So what are students???


Definition of Students

From Wiki:
In its widest use, "student" is used for any school or class attendee. In many countries, the word "student" or a cognate equivalent (e.g., French "étudiant") is reserved for higher education or university students; persons attending classes in primary or secondary schools are typically called pupils.

From Dictionary.com:
One who is enrolled or attends classes at a school, college, or university.

From Merriam-Webster Online:
: one who studies : an attentive and systematic observer

Utter Confusion

For those of you familar with the IVLE, take a look at this.



Every tutor supposed to have 1 site. =/
Although its making sense of society, I dont think this is making sense.

A bus ride home on a rainy sunday night.

After a sumptuous dinner with my family at the chinese restaurant in YCK GRC, I sent Na back to Yishun. After that, I boarded a bus from Yishun interchange and was seated infront of 2 girls who are waiting for their O level results.

Not that I was eavesdropping on them, but they were talking like nobody's business. A part of their conversation caught my attention. They were talking about going to the Zoo, and school excursions.

It just reminded me on how much I loved going on excursions back in the primary and secondary school days. I was always so excited that I was going on an excursion, be it to the Zoo, Science centre, Discovery centre, Haw Par Villa or even sentosa. The night before I would specially pack something extra such as tidbits, candies so that I could share with my friends on the way there, sometimes I would even pack in a handheld electric fan and a cap. We will always not fail to grab a bite at the fast food chain at those places as well. Sometimes I wished I'd never grow up, always living in the past as a child. Or I'd wish that nothing has ever changed, if only life was as simple as what it was when i was a teenager.

Sadly it isnt. Life goes on, time waits for no man. Regardless on how you want to remain back in the past, the world still revolves with or without you.

Its time to move on.

Ed: there wont be any unsuspecting person who 'kena' it because its outside my door and i dont have a corridor. Yea I informed the HDB already, but even though I told them about the leaking ceiling in my kitchen, and they DID come and inspect it and assured us that it would be fixed. It has been a year since the previous inspection. But water is still dripping from my ceiling =).

Saturday Night...

I just finish drinking 十全大捕汤 thanks to my grandma.

Today was supposed to be a gathering with the gang. But in the end due to alot of unforseen circumstances, it ended up with only Frank, Jack and I. So we went on as planned and went for dinner at Chomp Chomp. Its really been a while since I been there and I still like their stingray, kang kong and their huge mug of sugar cane juice.

After that we went to Junction 8 and watched Death Note 2... Although it wasnt my preferred movie, but hey Misa is so kawaii. Makes me want to study intro to japanese studies and japanese language next sem. LOL.

After that we all headed home.

Tired..

BUt prior to all these, I finished most of my readings for next week! =)

Ceiling...

This is what I see on my ceiling when I step out of my house.
If it rains anymore, soon the ceiling in my kitchen will suffer the same fate also.

Lunch...

Wtf... My IE just closed by itself...

Ok, I didnt have to go to school, so i decided to cook spaghetti aglio olio with spicy chicken breast. So I went to AMK Hub to buy the ingredients at NTUC Xtra.

The Ntuc was pretty big and I find it a little bit confusing, but nonetheless I bought what I needed - Boneless chicken breast, a packet of spaghetti, a bottle of crushed red pepper, a bottle of crushed parsley, 1 fresh lemon.

So I headed home to prepare my meal.

Sadly it did not turn out as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Its because I was too generous with the lemon juice which I squeezed from the lemon making my spaghetti very sour. It tasted more like pickled noodles.
But look on the bright side, the chicken tasted just fine.

So true.

.... By the fact of his living he contributes, however minutely, to the shaping of this society and to the course of its history, even as he is made by society and by its historical push and shove.....

-Taken from my Sociology course pack.

The thing is seen because somebody sees it OR the person sees it because the thing is seen?

Sociology.

Another lecture with someone I know. This time its Bojun. Haha...

1 more interesting thing was that I saw Frankie doodle doo in school! He claimed he wanted to buy books haha.

But now that i checked the IVLE class roster, Stats and Econs probably dont have anyone I know.

I just bought my Philosophy text, and as I read it I realised that I couldnt stop reading! Its pretty interesting. If anyone here interested in taking the module as a GEM, its avaliable.
Reason and Persuasion GEM1004

Template

A brand new start calls for a brand new template!

School

These are my modules for this semester.

• PH1101E Reason & Persuasion
• EC1101E Introduction to Economic Analysis
• SC1101E Making Sense of Society
• SSA2204 Nation-Building in Singapore
• ST1131 Introduction to Statistics

My day in the first day of school was good!

As I reached school eariler then my lecture time, I met Vivien as I was trying hard to log in to CORS to bid for my final module at one of the benches.
Then as I made my way to LT11, I met Jack outside the LT.

What more can I ask for when there are people I know in both the lectures that I attended today! Kaiquan in Nation-Building and Weequan in Reason and Persuasion.

Furthermore, I had a game of badminton with A13, 2006 although it was just Edwin and Waiteng since most of them had left or didnt go for the game.

I wonder if I would have such luck as to meet more familar faces in my other lectures.

First sat of the new year.

Today is the first saturday of 2007. Na and I brought my mum and grandma to orchard. Mummy wanted to eat Toastbox again, therefore we had our lunch at Republic food court. So she finally had her chance again. After which we went walking around, shopping... She got a top at topshop. I got a shirt at G2000 for abt $35. After alot of walking and my dear poor mouse had problems with her new shoe. It seems abit small and even though she had bitten it before wearing it, it bit her back!

After resting here and there, walking to Far East to look for a bag for my mummy, I brought them to Sushi Teh for dinner since granny and mummy was craving for Jap food. Thanks to mousey who tried to help me make a reservation but, apparently they didnt allow reservations. Although they had cravings for Jap, they didnt seem to like Jap food alot. The irony.. Towards the end my grandma wanted to foot the bill and we engaged in an exciting game of pushing the money. (Its a family tradition.) The whole thing lasted for about 5mins before I threatened her that I will get angry and stop visiting her. But I think that didnt do the trick, but mummy and na managed to convince her to let me pay as I went on ahead to foot the bill at the cashier. After that, we headed home.

Mummy and Grandma

Addition to NY resolution.

Ok, additions to my New Year Resolutions.

Cooking.

• To improve on my preparation of cream sauce for pasta. (Which is to make it less gooey.)
• And of course since I love Spaghetti Aglio Olio, I must master how to cook it.
• Improve on my rosti, hopefully it doesnt become a potato pancake again.

Perhaps these all fall under "improve on my cooking".

Mods.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Modules that are not successfully allocated in this bidding round
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Module Code : MKT1003

Module Title: Principles Of Marketing

Reason : Out-bidded

WTF. The last bidding before school starts and i still need 1 more module.

Oh well, I need to bid on monday... @#$%^&*()(^%$#@#$%^&*()

Personality Test

My Personality

Neuroticism	35
Extraversion	43
Openness To Experience	32
Agreeableness	68
Conscientiousness	72

You are neither a subdued loner nor a jovial chatterbox. You enjoy time with others but also time alone. Stressful and frustrating situations can sometimes be upsetting to you, but you are often able to get over these feelings and cope with these situations. As a practical person you like to think in plain and simple terms. Others describe you as down-to-earth, practical, and conservative. You have a strong interest in others' needs and well-being. You are pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative. You set clear goals and pursue them with determination. People regard you as reliable and hard-working.

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report chocolate uggs, Ugg Boots and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware MySpace Surveys

Look what I found at Giant in Vivocity.

Not exactly a place I would want to be in despite it being a PARADISE no matter how much a VALUE buy it is.

Anniversary

Happy 4 Years Anniversary Dear.

Love you.

Thanks for

Being there for me all these while.

Standing by me and along side me.

Giving me a chance to be there for you.

Loving me,

Letting me love you.

010303

010304

010305

010306

010307

A recap of the previous year.

Ah, yes finally managed to convince myself to do some blogging about the major events in 2006.

Looking back, it was indeed a very exciting and heart aching year for me.

Losing Grip

Still grieving over the wonderful birthday present SAF gave me on 28th Oct 2005. Since then moved to HQ Company and became an assessor, coordinators in countless POI exercises and Outfield Exercises in ROC. And ending it with a bang after assessing Echo and Foxtrot's final company deployment exercise as they became operational. Not a date I would love to remember, but I think it should be 21st jan 2006. Few days prior to my 1 year anniversary with the shoulder pad putting on evening. As much as I wanted it to last longer, I cant. Not much stories to tell my childrens, grandchildrens apart from there is no free lunch in this world. On the 21st, I was told by Daryl Hoo that the news came into effect from 8th jan 2006. So up till now I am still wondering, they didnt let me know then because I was involved in their ex, and they needed me? I am sure in such a small and advance, letters take at most 2 days to reach a location within the country and email arrives in like seconds after u press send. It just made it worse by keeping the news, no integrity doesnt mean no professionalism. After being part of a major event in the battalion, you get this shit that you are being used. That day ended slowly, after the news, I went to Bravo smoking point and lighted a cig with my comrades of TD. Not that I really enjoy smoking, in fact I hated smokers. The only reason I even put a stick in my mouth is to make myself more approchable by my men. Which worked wonders actually. Of course, offering them is a + point. That day, was different. I never felt so alone despite having at least 5 people at the smoking point. I havent suffered such a terrible fall in my life until then. Never before have I lost something so dear to me which I took for granted all along.

The rest of my life in unit werent even worth mentioning.

Had 4 wisdom teeth extracted paid for by the SAF.

ORD.

At last, I was out of the place where memories of pain and agony will always stay embeded deep in my mind. As much as I wanted out, memories of joy, friendship and enjoyment too surfaced once in awhile of the place where I call my second home. A place that once housed those of my comrades in arms, brothers, and as what my buddy said, those who will always be labeled as "Army Friends". Friends that I will never forget.

Holiday.

Chiang Mai trip with my family was not bad, visited the Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai where my aunt earned her diploma in Thai Massage which she now teaches in Singapore. It was a good move to loosen up after so much things happening to me.

John Little

Right after I ORDed, I managed to find a job at John Little working as a Temp sales associate. My first official job which was quite a good experience. It made me see the ugly side of many singaporeans. And made me much more polite when I deal with sales person when I go out shopping now. However ugly my countrymen are, there are still some of them that never cease to make me smile and make me enjoy my job and do my work dutifully and professionally without complains.

WoW

Yes World of Warcraft, a crazily fun game that is maddening addictive. Once you raid, you cant stop! After spending hours raiding Molten Core, Zul Grubb, Black Wing Lair, AQ 20/40 with Rathor my druid and getting 7/8 pieces of Tier 2 and 6/8 of Tier 1. Leveled a rogue alternate to Level 60 to farm for my expenses for raiding, I decided to hang up the gloves. Too much time spent on WoW, too little time spent on every other thing. Despite the friends made in the game, I do find having to rush to a 5pm SG time raid to join the Australians in my guild is not worth it, since I dont really get prior spots unless I happen to be online. WoWing has too much at stakes, my results in school, relations with my family and friends, and most importantly relations with my mouse. WoW has created a tension that is quite serious.

License

Yep, I finally got the driving license I always wanted. Now for the hard part, the car.

NUS

No doubts, this is certainly one of the best things that happened to me. Knowing that my application into one of the finest education institutes in Singapore is approved, I am proud and happy. Although I was struggling throughout the whole semester, my results werent too shabby much to my amazement. B+, B, B-, B-, C+. And the success of my application for a course transfer to FASS is another good news.

21st Birthdays

Lots of birthdays attended and celebrated.
Celebrated mine as well, the gang celebrated with me as well. Not to mention the present my family doctor gave me! Amoxcillin Capsule in a bag with the label printing the date : 29/10/2006.

Mouse

Of course, my dear Sheena, yet another new nickname for the year after evolving from deerdeer to piggo to piggysaur, piggosaurus, snuppy, snup, mouse. Many thanks to you for standing by me all along regardless of what was happening. All the best in your school work, continue to strive for the top, believe in yourself because I believe in you. I definately hope that you prove those meanies wrong and throw the shit back at their own faces. Love you!

These are mainly the more important things which happened to me along the way in the year 2006. I definately hope for a much better 2007 and no doubts about me doing my best in everything I can.

I can make it happen, I made too many things happen already, I can still do it.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to all.

Happy Birthday Buddy!
Thanks for the dinner dude, hope u like ur presents!

To my mouse, sorry I wasnt able to accompany you today.