Caramel latte?

http://www.indochine.com.sg/events/Foosball_Challenge/

Check it out. Once again, our brief moment of fame on the internet. =)

Woke up to PE’s phone call about 12+. Thought of sleeping early last night, ended up sleeping at 3+. Tsk tsk tsk. Owells. =)

Gave mum a good back and shoulder massage as she was complaining of aches and stiffness and talked to her about World Cup throughout the good twenty minutes session. Arms ache a little after the session but guess it was worth the effort. I like this kinda mother-son bonding sessions.

Headed down to Orchard to meet up with PE and Hoon. Met them at the underpass to Shaw house. Made a U-turn and went back to Republic and had lunch.

I think it’s quite a waste to have fruit juices. As compared to having the fruit itself, fruit juices are more expensive, we waste a plastic cup, and it doesn’t really ALL the fibre the actual fruit provides.

Anyway, went down to Paragon to check on some stuff. Managed to find the shop, all thanks to Hoon’s sharp eyes. Thought she looked absolutely tired today. Must have been the late nights and sleeping on the sofas. Tsk tsk. Got to know about that Masterpiece thingy. Farni man.

Went walking round Taka and got what we were looking for. Was the ‘male model’ for the day. At that point of time, I thought all of us were either blur or too tired, that we actually forgot to check the price and just decided to get that piece. Thank goodness it’s not too expensive.

Went up to Starbucks at Wisma. Had the choco-chip frappe and shared some pasta with them. Ling joined us not long after. She got us some gifts from her trip to Redang and I’ve got an extra bookmark from her. Thanks Ling! Very thoughtful of you.

Got to know that Otti would be dropping by town to meet her friend. Got her the caramel latte she was ‘dying for’. Pity she wanted it cold. Owells. Walked down to Wheellock and sat down for a while.

Got a call from Hoon and somehow they insisted on coming down to Wheellock to get the stuff instead. Wonder why. Pfffft.…! They left after getting the stuff and we talked for a while.

Rushed back Wisma to meet the rest of them. Was supposed to be back in 5mins but dragged a little. Apologies! Haha. Ling snapped her slippers and had to get one at Charles and Keith. Took a photo of them in the ‘showcase’. Thought they looked funny. Like some models. And no Ling, I won’t have any karma. I don’t want my slippers to snap. I like them a lot. =p

And finally after much persuasion, Ling got her ears pierced. I’m sorry that I’ve got to lie (again!) to give you sufficient courage to get her ears pierced. Hehe. I know you would appreciate it in time to come. =) Anyway, don’t blame me only. The rest are all part of the plan! Haha.

The sales lady clipped the side of her hair up before swabbing her lobes with alcohol swabs. Everyone agreed that she should clip up her hair cause it makes her look really different. Just maybe she should try. The piercing service at that shop was different from the one PE went. It’s using a clip/puncture thingy and both holes were clipped at the same time. Surprisingly she didn’t scream or yell or tear or cry as the holes were made. Though she looked kinda traumatized after the entire thing.

But still, she looks different now. Can HIAO le right? =)

Went searching for my accessories bag but couldn’t find it anywhere. Shall try my luck somewhere else. Had dinner at Anatolia with PE and Ber and took a bus back with Ber. Tricked her into letting me ‘smell’ her hand and did something absolutely gruesome. Haha. Oops. Mischievous me.

Gave Eric his long waited tuition as I came back home. Didn’t felt really good towards the end of the day. Started having weird pains over the left chest. Sighs. Hope it goes away soon.

Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Amen.

Short day

Slept like a log till the afternoon today. Stayed up till quite ‘early’ into the ‘night’.

Oh! Brazil won. And hence if I’ve really betted, I would have won ten bucks!!! YAaay!

Now, as for the next match, Argentina and Germany, I think I would bet on a Germany win! The odds are $2.15 per dollar placed. So I’m let’s say if I bet another hundred, and I win, I’ll be winning $115 plus $10(previous earnings), and that makes me $125 richer. If not, I’ll be $90 poorer. Hehe. We shall see again!

Spent the afternoon cleaning up the house and mopping the floor.

Tried composing something on the guitar, which I think didn’t turn out too good after all. Just perhaps I should spend more time and effort unto it. Urgh.

Met up with Ding for dinner. Was looking around Life bookshop before she came. Felt like getting books again but am seriously broke. Sighs. SOo much I wanna read but I don’t have the capability to. Feeling so helpless in a way. *shrugs*

Got a ‘surprise’ from Ding – a little Hello Kitty candy thingy. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten candies. Thought it tasted quite unique. Thanks!

Went down Bkt Timah opposite Beauty World to have dinner. Had porridge and 5 other dishes. Pot tofu, spicy chicken, eggs, kalian and kang kong (Kang kong somehow reminded us of Weihong. Haha). Didn’t want to have sweet potato in my porridge. Think it tastes weird. =)

Had quite a tough time finishing the food. But it was a good meal after all. Summed up to a bill of approx. $20+. Considering the fact that it was air-conditioned and the portion could probably feed another person or two, it’s worth it. =)

Thought that it was the end of dinner, but was promptly ‘invited’ for a drink at the prate place. We had a Horlick Dinosaur and Milo Godzilla. Had a little chat on our history and also her little ‘crush’ on ER-HEM!! He’s ugly and he’s irritating but somehow he’s just so attractive. Sounds huh? But he’s always been so attractive. No doubt about it.

Didn’t know that both he and I are ‘perfect’ in their eyes. Perhaps we’ve always been so nice and ‘angelic’ and we don’t show our ‘devlish’ side. But in anyway, I hope this impression doesn’t change. =) makes us look good. and yeah I know Ding, I suck. =p

Took a bus back and didn’t have time to do any adjustments to the file. Sent it half an hour late. Felt damn bad. Thought it seemed a little crappy and could have put in a little more effort. Urgh. No sincerity.

Ling’s gonna pierce her ears tomorrow. How cool is that? Haha. =) Shall sleep soon. Eyes are shutting once again.

--

"give what you can, it may be better than what you think"

Rich or poor

Money doesn’t make the world go round; love does.

I am not a rich person and I don’t come from a rich family.

I don’t desire to be a millionaire in the future who runs a MNC.

I love a simple life and I believe that it is beautiful.

Yes I don’t deny the fact that life revolves round the notes ladders; but I wanna live it my way.

Because this is my life and it is my choice. Rich or poor, come what may.

Off to camp

Time now is 1230hrs and I’m supposed to meet PE at 1315hours for lunch. This time I shall NOT be late. Period. =)

Going for the ‘camp-cum-chalet’ at Changi. Hope it’ll be a good experience. Thinking of it, I’m having second thoughts about going for it. But since my name’s already there, let’s make the best out of it. Yeaps.

Drove mum down to GYPS yesterday afternoon to pick up Eric and went for lunch at the coffee shop together. I think the businesses of the coffee shop and shop houses along that stretch thrives on the students from the school around there. The entire place was swarmed with little kids clad in blue uniform. Especially the 7-11. Many boys were there buying all those pokemon or don’t know what trading cards. Kinda waste of money. Sigh. Boys will forever be boys I guess. =)

Had tuition with Celest after lunch. Finished our Physics revision and moved on to Chemistry’s “metal”. I can still remember how Ms Cheong used this funny sentence to help us remember the reactivity series. It’s rather awkward but definitely useful.

“Pop singer can make any zombie in town lose his cool…+ silver and gold”

That’s supposed to represent:

Potassium (K)
Sodium (Na)
Calcium (Ca)
Magnesium (Mg)
Zinc (Zn)
Iron (Fe)
Tin (Sn)
Lead (Pb)
Hydrogen (H)
Copper (Cu)
Silver (Ag)
Gold (Au)

Cool huh? Haha.

It didn’t take her long to remember the sentence, but mixed up C as carbon (which is a non-metal) and the symbols for silver and gold.

Decided to ps Mark and Neo towards the end of tuition. Was supposed to go back school to have dinner and play some games. But didn’t have the luxury of personal transport and felt extremely lazy. And thus, met up with Ber at TPY for dinner. Headed down to Lido and caught Silent Hill.

Went into the theatre 10mins early, and we were the first to be there. People started to pack in not long after. All of a sudden the lights suddenly went off and there was this sudden shriek from everyone. 2 seconds later it came on again. I was like, “Wow. Nice way to start a thriller movie.”

The movie started promptly after some commercials. Spent the first quarter of the movie smsing. Sorry if I disturbed you Ber. Anyway, I shan’t elaborate on the movie itself, but I don’t think it’s worth the money to catch it. That’s my personal opinion though. It’s not scary, it’s not that exciting, and it’s full of blood, gore and disgusting looking creatures that would most likely haunt people with the most vivid kind of imaginations.

Went off to Republic and had dinner right after. Had the same old scissors rice thingy AGAIN. And there was this plate of black, disgusting looking the stall owner introduced to us. Decided to give it a go. It tasted a little too sweet, a little too salty, and a little funny. Apart from that, it’s alright. Right Ber? =)

Had a long talk about “life”. Maybe I was too persistent to make my point. I’m sorry that I made you upset or something. Hope that the Gelato made you feel better! =)

And yeah, I finally got to try and Choc chip Gelato. Nice.

Oh, before I forgot, if I really better on the match between Portugal and Holland, I would have lost a hundred bucks. Now, supposedly I want to recoup all my losses tonight, I would bet for a Brazil win against Ghana. The odds from Singapore Pools are $1.22. Just to recoup my losses the previous time, I would need to bet $500 on a Brazil win. IF I win, I’ll be having a net gain of $10. If not, I’ll be suffering a total loss of $600.

Let’s see if what the outcome is this time. =)

Came back home and had a short chat with her. Am glad that she’s having fun and doing fine. Pity she’s not into “keeping in contact”. Sad.

Off I go now. Just nice to make it in time. =)

It's 2 am!

Somehow I feel so lazy today, as in, I feel real sleepy throughout the day. But here I am, all hyped up and all set for the match at 3am. Holland against Portugal. Who will win? My guess? DRAW. =)

Anyway, I think betting isn’t a really good thing to do. Like they say, “the house always wins”. So, after checking out the odds at singaporepools.com, the odds for a draw for the match will bring me $2.95 if I bet a dollar on it. Now, say if I’m feeling rich and I am “betting” a hundred dollars (which I obviously don’t have) on it right now, let’s see if I am going to win $195 (that’s the amount I get after deducting off the initial hundred bucks I spent for the bet), or I lose a hundred. Haha. Let’s see!

Drove the van down to church again today. Had to speed a lil’ as I was running late. First time driving it at like, 90+100km/hr. I know it’s dangerous and thank God that nothing happened to me. Couldn’t really concentrate on the sermon today, thus spent the time reading the Bible throughout. Sigh. Guess I wasn’t settled down enough. Should try and reach church early next time round. Think this bad habit of being late MUST change.

Picked Neo up at 7-11 and drove into the school. Gymed and had games of foosball. 2 rounds of race to 50. Insane. Waited for him to complete his little ‘task’ and had to keep PE waiting. Apologies!

Finally picked her up at around 11+ and drove back to park the van at the car park, just in case mum got mad for being out with the van the entire day. Walked over to the 24hr Kopithiam and had Bar Chor Mee. Initially she only had drinks for supper. But guess my bowl of noodles was just toooo tempting to resist. =)

It’s already 2am now. Took me an hour to finish this entry. Haha. Too many distractions I guess. Oops.

Check this out too! Photos from last night! Haha.

http://www.mkop.com.sg/Photo/Jun06/FoosballChallenge/Photo.html

Good night everyone. Have a great week ahead!

And Ottilia, I’ll be waiting for your treat and eat-out! Thanks sweetie! =)

Fooooosball

Let’s see. What was going on yesterday…

As of any usual Saturday, woke at 10+ and dang I was going to be late for tuition again. Grabbed the stuff, threw some clothes on, and rushed off to Phyllis’. Bought Yan his McSpicy plain meal and took a bus down. Bus ride was treacherous as it kept bumping up and down along the way, especially along Paya Lebar. Tried taking a nap but, owells.

Was half an hour late (again) and started the tuition immediately. Marked the graphs question done by Yan, and was rather pleased with his effort put into the 3 graphs. Neat, tidy, precise and most of all, they were all correct. No fray lines, all axis were labeled, all points were marked with a small cross, all those nifty gritty stuff I told him before were all done correctly.

Moved one chapter ahead of his school - Mensuration. Shouldn’t be much of a problem I guess.

Then did revisions for the EMS with Phyllis. Thought that she’s quite alright with the topic and thus ending the tuition half an hour early. Will be moving onto magnetism next week. Waited for her to get ready, and headed down to TPY together. Accompanied her to get the ‘square’ earrings she wanted at one of the accessories shop. Her mum threw the previous pair away cause she though that it was some “wire which fell out from somewhere”. Met a couple of her church friends before saying goodbye.

Took a bus down to Orchard and wandered around. Went to the bookstores to check out some books. Thought of getting the Beach Road by Patterson. Guess I’ll have to wait for my next tuition fee to come in. Shall keep it on my “want to buy, but cannot buy” shopping list. Sigh.

I got interviewed by a funny guy about entrepreneurship and job opportunities at the train station. He just ORDed not long ago and was working part-time, waiting for Uni to start too. Neo was interviewed too.

Remembering one of his questions, do you think $1500 is enough to set up a family in Singapore. And ya, I think so. Apparently, he gave me a surprised face, as though he wasn’t expecting a ‘no’. I guess, it very much depends on one’s lifestyle and living condition? If one doesn’t ask for much, $1500 should be sufficient to get by. There ARE families out there surviving with a 3digit income. Why not? Maybe 1.5k for them would be a blessing. No, 1.5 would definitely be a blessing for them.

This made me think of how blessed some of us are. There are people, 21 year olds like us living in comfortable apartments or terraces, and they get “allowance” from their parents. Many get like, 20bucks a day? Which sums up to $600 a month. Now, remember that this person doesn’t have to contribute any of his 600bucks to the comfortable lodging that he enjoys, the dinner he has every night, or even the clothes that puts on.

Back to those families out there. Maybe they earn a bit more. Say a couple of hundreds more. 800bucks? Family of 3. They’ve got to survive on 800bucks, paying bills, food, lodging, public transport, education, healthcare, etc.

It doesn’t take an idiot to realise how blessed we are. The fact that you have a computer or laptop at home to read this entry right now tells you that you ARE actually luckier than the many others out there. That computer you have right now will take those people out there maybe half a year or maybe even more time to save up for.

Well, anyway it is just a thought. Not preaching about anything. Hope you can think about it too. =)

Met up with Jolene and friend Ottilia at Wisma. Had dinner at the Food Republic. My 2nd time there. Had the same thing again as it had the shortest queue amongst all. Thought Jol looked sweet. And certainly much better than she was in no. 4. Alright, I know this probably is the thousandth time saying this. But, ya. You looked good. =)

Went Nude for our little competition. Faizal and Alan came too. So glad that they did. It was wild! We had drinks and had fun. Pinky tasted like strawberry milk the beer was good. 7-up was a waste of money at 7bucks. (Thank goodness we had complimentary coupons for that) We were like the “most happening” bunch of people our there. Even the Power98.0 DJ (I can’t remember her name. Oops!) had to compliment on our enthusiasm.

Managed to get to the quarter-finals of the foosball competition. Pity we were leading 4-0 but lost 5-4 in the race to 5 competition. What a waste. But all in all, it was fun certainly an eye opener. Got stunned by the girl whose shots I was trying to defend. Those shots were simply… Urgh. Let’s just say that I couldn’t even see the ball. That was how fast it was. Only managed to block a couple of them by sheer luck. Dang.

Photographers were all around taking photos for us. Thought I was kinda fun, but wonder where on earth those photos will go. Took some with Alan’s cannot-make-it 5pixel camera.

Played some foosball again with Okkar and some a couple at the other table. We were practically making more noise than the actual competition. It was kinda dark and the pink ball actually looked purple (maybe because of the dim blue light). But the all the shouting made it real exciting nonetheless.

Contemplated to stay back to catch the 11pm match between Sweden and Germany. Too bad Neo wasn’t too on for it, and off we went. Had to shout to get Otti’s attention just outside the train station. Kinda embarrassing. *smiles*

Bought some durian home for mum and dad and caught the 1st half of the match together.

Heading of to church in a while. Hope it doesn’t rain when I get there. =)

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Happy bday to Ling

It’s going to be a long entry tonight as it has been a long, orgasmic day.

Was supposed to wake up at 7.30am and get ready for Celest’s tuition at 9.30am, but I ended up waking only at 8.30am. Did a little tornado in the house, dumped the stuff I needed into the bag. Funny thing was that it totally slipped my mind to bring a towel, but actually remembered to bring along that physics solution I was working on the previous night, which I was rather positive that I would forget to bring.

Listerine works wonders when especially when you’re rushing for time. It takes only 15 seconds to make your breathe smell like a 5minute-thoroughly brushed one. Rushed off to the bus stop and was making estimations in my head seeing if I would be late, and thought that I would actually make it on time if all the transports came promptly. True enough, the buses came just nicely, and I even had time to drop by the shop-houses to grab something to eat.

Spent 15 minutes explaining the physics question to her. It was about the conservation of energy, you know, where “Energy cannot be created nor can it be destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another”. A really interesting topic (and easy too) during the O’s; an absolute killer at the A’s. Just that this question has got some discrepancies that was overlooked by the setter and some time had to be spent to explain them appropriately. Basically he/she was setting the question, banking on the fact that the students would not take resistance and all the negative forces and work done into consideration. Not a very good question to have during the exams I would say. Scares the crap out of students.

Her mum was really nice and offered to put my breakfast into a bowl. Felt kinda paiseh when she offered her help. She made coffee too. Black. Nice. =)

Got her to accompany me down to the condo gym. Did some quick lifts and went off to the showers, not wanting to be late to meet PE and Ling. It was then I realised that I totally forgot my towel, and had to flick and squeeze and shake the water off after the shower. Threw the clothes on, hoping that it’ll dry real soon.

True enough, the sun was scorching as I stepped out and it dried in no time.

Met up with PE at Bishan. Was reading the Malay text book and got to know that “akan datang” means “coming soon”. Finally I get to know the meaning of that phrase. Haha. And so PE came and we went off to AMK to meet up with SL to get the stuff for tonight’s steam boat. Was fooling around at NTUC, and Ling actually mistook some cleansing solution for her gas canister. Funny. Got our food and a bottle of Barcadi Rum, with blackcurrent and lime has our mixers. Didn’t get to drink the lime one though. Wonder where was it. hmmm..

Met up with Ber and thought she looked like a yoga/pilates master by the way she dressed. Went off for lunch at the nearby coffee shop, and brought the stuff back to Ling’s place. Took a walk back to my place with PE and had a change of clothes before heading out to J8. Saw Sling sticking her tongue out at me on our way in. Tried printing the photo at the photo shop at the basement but they didn’t offer instant developing, so off we went to the printing shop near the blocks, keeping our fingers crossed that they would have available services. I had a tall glass of Oreo cookie ice-cream at Cartel after the printing (which turned out better than we thought) and she had a chocolate one. Can’t remember the actual name but it had all the chocolate bits and fudge and cracker kinda thingy. Mine was a Oreo ice cream with Oreo cookies layered in between and topped of with a cookie and a cherry. Heavens. I think I’ve fallen in love with the ice creams and I bet I would be getting another one the next time I head there. It’s just pure sinful indulgence.

Took a bus back to my block to meet up with Alv and Hoon. Saw Hoon turning the curb, driving into the car park, and was sure that she saw us too. But yet, she didn’t stop and “want a ride?” but drove ALL the way in. We were like… WTH, how nice. =) Oops! No offence though.

Brought all the stuff up and checked out the chocolate Hoon made for Ling. Thought it was a magnificent effort put in and it really smelled like Carbury’s. Envy envy. Shall learn how to make chocolates one day. =)

And the most exciting part of the day was about to start – the preparation of steamboat at Ling’s place. 4 of us went up to Ling’s and started our preparations. Think Wati was kinda stunned when she saw us ‘invading’ into her territory. Some started unpacking, some started clearing the table. Soon, the food preparation started and the girls were cutting the food when Alv and I cooked the brinjal and the omelet. Got the scare of our lives when the girls screamed – all because a piece of tofu they were cutting dropped into the sink. It was like, huhhhhh.. Bet Wati was really tempted to rush out of the bathroom, wrapped in her towel and chase us out of her kitchen.

People started turning up at the door when dinner was getting ready. Yuzhong and Huibing arrived, Ling and YK followed not long after. Oaks and Jerry came in half way through the dinner. Thought that the food might not enough, and so Hoon and Alv went off the get more food and ice. Took them quite a while to return back, wondering what on earth they were doing. Well, I guess that’s for them to know, for us to find out huh? =)

Thought that Barcardi was rather tasteless, and would prefer Vodka over it. Think my face didn’t turn too red this time round. Did it? Anyway, had to walk back home to get Jerry’s disc. And how lucky was I, to actually step (and nearly slip) on some dumb dog’s shit at the void deck. Totally gross. Anyway, thanks Ber! For walking with me. *smiles*

Got back with the Sunburst and got the birthday girl to sing us her audition song for us, and in return, we sang her the birthday song. All was well and peaceful till PE and I (Karma or not, I know I’m doing it! haha!) gave a surprise facial to our dearest Ling. Bet her face is now all smooth and white and protein enriched. Ain’t it? =) Now now, who’s next in the line? Anyway Ling, welcome to the club jointly set up by the 21s. Cheers!

The night ended off with goodnights and hugs, and not to forget Hoon’s oh-so fast and furious zipping on the roads back home. I thought that the bend you maneuvered was rather hypertensive. I felt like I was in some F1 race or something. =)

All in all, a happy (belated) birthday to Siewling. All the best once again. And don’t worry too much about the audition. Results doesn’t matter. It’s the experience that counts.

Good night people. Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Our lives

Dreamt of something weird and someone I totally didn’t expect I would dream of this morning. Woke up with question marks popping right above me. Like, “Huh?? What was that all about??”

Anyway, I’m finally done with packing my room! Took me 2 whole days and it looks so neat right now and, dang am I proud of it. *smirks* Will have to vacuum the place once I get the vacuum bags. This IS time, this room is the neatest I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Too bad I’m not a constant “cleaning” kind of person. More like, I’ll clean it when I can find time and have the urge to. Not rational, but impulsive. Guess that’s just so me. Owells. Will try to keep this up though.

Thinking of going Ikea to get some stuff to decorate the room. How about a funky clock from Molecule too? Haha. Anticipation! Anyone free for shopping? =)

Cycled down to YCk swimming complex for a swim with Ling and YK. Really didn’t want to go and be a mega thousand watt light bulb. Guess Ling have got VERY good persuasion skills. I wonder why…

Felt like I was totally extra and totally bright throughout. We talked more than we swam and got to know that she actually WANTS to get her ears pierced, just that she’s afraid of the pain.

Waddled for a while and not long after, she was feeling cold and we decided to call it a day. Was guessing with YK, wondering how long she’ll take to take a shower. Thinking that she would take quite a while, and that they’re not going anywhere else after that, I took my leave and cycled back to Bishan Park and went to the workout stations and did some exercises.

Chatted with Jol and got to know about someone creating a little problem back in school. Knew that he was a little off during that stint working with him; but didn’t expect he was actually doing it till this extent. But perhaps he’s got problems of his own, shan’t conclude nor comment. All the best to him anyway.

Good luck for your audition tomorrow! See you guys in a while. =)

--

Was listening to some songs, and came across “Our Lives” by The Calling. I like their songs – guitar friendly, catchy, and rather meaningful. Particularly this one. Especially of what has happened these 2 days, I ponder how many years I am granted.

Our Lives

Is this love, tonight?
When everyone’s dreaming, of a better life?
In this world divided by fear,
We got to believe that,
There’s a reason we’re here.
There’s a reason we’re here.

’cause this are the days worth livin’
These are the years we’re given.
And these are the moments,
These are the times,
Let’s make the best out of our lives.

See the truth all around.
Our faith can be broken.
And our hands can be bound.
But open our hearts,
And fill up the emptiness.
With nothing to stop us,
Is it not worth the risk?
Is it not worth the risk?

’cause this are the days worth livin’
These are the years we’re given.
And these are the moments,
These are the times,
Let’s make the best out of our lives.

Even if hope was shattered,
I know it wouldn’t matter.
’cause this are the days worth livin’
These are the years we’re given.
And these are the moments,
These are the times,
Let’s make the best out of our lives.

We can't go on,
Thinking it's wrong to speak our minds.
I've gotta let out what's inside.

Is it love tonight?
When everyone’s dreaming,
Can we get it right?
Can we get it right?

’cause this are the days worth livin’
These are the years we’re given.
And these are the moments,
These are the times,
Let’s make the best out of our lives.

Freedom

The days of this life are short and evil, full of sorrow and misery, where a person is stained with many sins, ensnared by many passions, bound by many dears, swollen buy many cares, distracted by many curiosities, entangled by many vanities, surrounded by many mistakes, weakened by many efforts, weighed down by temptations, sapped by pleasures, tormented by wants.

When will there be an end to all these? When shall I be freed from this wretched slavery? When shall I be truly free, without anything standing in my way, with no inner confusion and conflict? When shall I find a solid peace – peace calm and secure; peace inside and out, peace firm in every way?

When shall I be with you in your kingdom?

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

--

I pray for you my friend.

Back to school

Alright man! Heats are leading the series 3-2. Cocky people won’t get far. And I think Dallas is cocky. So all the way shall the Heats go. Haha. =)

--

Once again, I was late to meet up Neo. Went back to the school to see some old friends. Heard Enjun talked about Will and Laska-man and also the problems that he’s facing because of the incident last Friday. Poor guy. But think it’s just some miscommunication and it will be sorted out without much hassle.

Went down to the audit and saw the new trainees. There were people from Brunei, Thailand and also the much hated people in white and blue. Still remember them causing much trouble for us few batches back. It was certainly tough managing them. Urgh.

Had lunch up at the canteen with Mark. The ‘canteen aunty’ doesn’t seem to change after all these time. “Lai, xiao di, chao fan shao de yao bu yao?” Always the same thing over and over again. Wonder why didn’t the Muslim stall open today.

Went into the mess after lunch and saw Jolene. Passed her the cards and gleefully, she opened it and read right in front of me. Think she got a bit touched and it kinda made her went nutty for a moment. =) Thanks for the “semi-hug”. Hope your laogong didn’t see. Oops!

The foosball game after that was rather insane. Won straight matches with Neo as my partner. Even Johnny and Lim couldn’t really handle us. We were just firing from all cylinders. Foo! Hope that it’ll be like that during this Saturday’s competition at Wisma Indochine. Haha. Hoping to see Mark and Jolene there too. Need some morale support.

Crapped with Mark back at level 7 before driving out for dinner at the eatery just outside the school. Think they serve one of the best Hor Fun’s in Singapore. Maybe can try bringing people there to try. =)

Took a ride down to Punggol train station and took a train down to DG. Somehow, Punggol station reminded me of the Umbrella Corporation of the Resident Evil movie. It’s quiet, secluded, no signs of life-forms. Basically – dead. Just a random thought though. Maybe it’ll get livelier when the constructions are done.

And as though being late runs in my blood, I was late and had to make Ber wait for like, 20mins. Sorry…..! =) Showed me the painted FRENCH PLAQUE. Think it was a good effort seeing that it was quite well done and it was evenly painted. Good good! Accompanied her to dinner. Horlicks and pineapple rice. How nice. =)

Got the box and pens at Popular and also the towel (finally!) at Take. Called Hoon and checked if she wanted to meet up. Too bad Ber was too lazy to go back to Bishan, and so ended up back home.

Went though English and Math with Eric. And I’ve become too tired to go through his homework right now. Shall do it tomorrow.

I think the World Cup is screwing up my bio clock. Thank goodness I’m not studying right now. If not I’m bound to turn into a panda real soon.

It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow. Pray that it’s not dengue that she’s suffering. Pray pray pray.

Shopping & Eating

It’s Sunday and the day started off with a call from Celest saying that she’s having a fever, and that the tuition has to postpone again. So that left me with an empty slot to fill in before the Father’s Day celebration dinner in the evening.

As though it were all planned, Mic called and asked if I was free to go shopping with him in the afternoon. What a pleasant surprise. That meant that I didn’t have to think of something to keep myself busy.

And so off to Orchard we went. Dropped by Cartel to make a reservation for tonight, but was told that they don’t take reservations on weekends and public holidays. Made a mental note to be there earlier later in the evening, to get seats before dad and mum come.

Went off the Heerens and checked out watches and bags. Showed him to the boxers shop too. Think he’s too shy to get it though. Sigh. An old man like him getting shy about getting underwear. Like huh? Was wondering if his mum is still getting his undies for him. Oops! Shall ask him the next time I see him. Haha.

Taka was next and we had Gelato. This time I tried the yoggi yoghurt. Think it’s one of the better ones and I think it’s also healthier? Yoghurt duh! Belgium chocolate rocks too. Think next time I wanna try the mint choc. Looked really tempting.

Dropped by Stadium and wondered if we should get the Wilson basketball. But decided against it cause his girlfriend (wife-to-be) will be bringing one back from China. Shall wait till July then.

He got this $89.90 shirt from Zara that looked quite good on him. Think it’s a little too costly though. Was telling him that I got a U2 shirt couple of days back which was only half-priced of his and then I turned broke. Sigh. =)

Before leaving Taka on the escalator, he realised that he left his car keys and handphone back in the Zara changing room. Should have taken a picture of his stunned face – priceless. Zoomed back and retrieved his belongings and came back with a trickle of perspiration down his forehead. Absent mindedness sucks.

Then off the Ikea we went and he got his stuff to decorate his room. Got a ride back to Orchard and met up with Ber. Walked around looking for her gifts. Saw the FRENCH PLAQUE (whatever la har! Plaque, plate, slate… doesn’t matter la…) she bought for him. Got myself a stack of mini prayer cards too. Walked to Heerens again and got the t shirt she was looking for. The sales girl who helped us out was really tall. As tall as myself! 175. Woah. Somehow she reminded me of Weiqi, who’s even taller than myself. Model legs. =)

Parted at around 6.30pm and rushed down to Cartel to queue up before mum and dad came at 7. Got separated seats, but were just next to each other. Not that bad. Taught Eric how to cut the bread and where to get all the butter and sauces. In no time, he looked like he was at home, getting all the sauces and drink refills and bread.

Orders came promptly, apart from mum’s Hawaiian pork chops, which somehow made her really pissed off. Apparently the staff people had a little mix up. Think the food doesn’t really suit mum’s appetite. Too oily. Shall bring them to try something else next time.

On the whole, it was a rather pleasant Father’s day dinner. The Cartel staff apologized for their little misunderstanding and gave us a $5 dollar voucher. Was telling mum that they were “not that bad la”. And also saw Ling and Tian’s family. Haha. What a coincidence. Talked to Ling and got to know about her little accident. =) no worries la! It’s all over. Hope that nothing happens within these few weeks.

Came back home and caught the 1st half of Japan against Croatia while waiting for Ding to come. Said she would turn up at 9 but waited for like 15mins before deciding to take a shower. And guess what, horror of horrors, she called while I was in the shower, saying that she was down at my block. Quickly flossed my teeth and changed and opened the door for her.

Took the van keys and gave her a lift. Drove down to Chomps for supper as she wanted beancurd with glutinous rice balls. Had the bean curd, wings and fried tofu. Was the first time I tried the tofu thingy, and thought that it’s not too bad perhaps one of the healthier foods sold at chomps.

Supper was fun in a way, seeing all the funny things she does. It’s just so her. Cute in a way. Drove back to her place and kindly reminded her to bring her bag back home. Didn’t really want to her laundry for her. =p

It’s been quite a while since I’ve piggy backed anyone. Everyone was staring but guess it was fun in a way. Were you THAT full? Hahas. Anyway, please bath ASAP. It’s not a chore really. You ought to bath. =)

Saturday saturday

Oh my goodness. It’s already 15 minutes past midnight. Now how do I say this in Malay… hmmm… pukul dua-belas lima belas petang. I think so.

Waiting for Meiding to come back to Bishan. Left her stuff over at my place. Think I shall be a nice guy and give her a lift home later.

Time flew by really fast at Bryan’s today. Did the graphs and made him went through some algebraic manipulation revisions. One and a half hour just zipped past really quickly. His dad decided that we should have the lesson outside at the dining area instead of Phyllis’s room. Says he can concentrate better. Well, so be it I guess. Was indifferent about it.

Gave Phyllis a ride down to TPY. She was meeting her friends for an arts project. It was this sculpture trail thingy at Raffles Place area. Think it is the same as the one we did when we were in secondary one or two, when Ms Chin made us follow a trail, looking for sculptures and do researches on them. I think I did the trail with someone… I don’t really remember who… hmmm…

Came back home and chatted with cussie online for a while. Nasty girl wants me to get her a Tiff & co. ring. Well, I’ll think about it. I don’t think it’s THAT affordable right? Still I think your bf should get it for you. I shan’t fight with him. =p

Got a call from Guanghui and went out playing basketball. Thought I could play until 5, just nice to pick Meiding up, but turned out that she arrived almost 20mins earlier. Had to end my game prematurely and drove her back to my place for her to take a shower. Left my place in about 20mins time and gave her a lift down to the campfire place.

I couldn’t make it for the campfire tonight as mum made something special for dinner, and being a nice boy, stayed home and finish dinner and watched TV with her.

Bringing dad out for Japanese tomorrow to celebrate Daddy's day. Think mum’s footing the bill though. Haha.

And oh PE, I didn’t play the guitar for your birthday because you had your celebrations at a CHALET, and there were plentiful of people? Thought that I didn’t wanted to… you know? Make a fool out of myself. =) This time round, it’s a BIT different. *smiles* Or to save the conflict, maybe we’ll just brush that idea aside? It was just a thought anyway. =)

Just got a message from Meiding saying that she’s not coming to get her bag. Dang! Owells.

I think Singnet is having some problems. People using it seem to be logging in and out of MSN like nobody’s business.

I hope the honey was sweet enough (and the bottle really stink). Good night everyone. It’s Sunday!

Shopping shopping

OMG!! Argentina won S&M by SIX freaking goals! What the heck. So glad that I caught that match. A total CLASSIC. =)

--

I am feeling so apologetic as I type this entry because I think today is the uncountable time I am late. I am so so sorry that I made you wait for half an hour. I really hope that hot milo made you feel better ya? =) Apologies!

It is yet another shopping day at PS with Ber. Walked around the plaza looking for the 21 items she wants to get her YZ’s 21st birthday. How cool is it to receive 21 items for your birthday?

Well, I love my birthday gifts nonetheless. Sunburst was really what I had in mind for my 21st. Thanks again guys. Just maybe I should bring it down coming Friday to play HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Ling as a form of appreciation? =)

The winter shop was our first stop and first thing we noticed when we stepped into it, was that the air conditioning must have been on full blast to create this “cold” atmosphere. The staff there were all wearing at least 3 layers, with the outer most a piece of their own product. Then we wandered around and went into Molecule. I think they sell really funky stuff and their clocks are totally awesome. Shall the day when I have my own apartment come, I am so sure I will drop by here to do some shopping.

Walked down towards Orchard area and went to Centrepoint. She got a box and card at the shop and I got something for Jee. Then went to Robinson’s where she got a cash clip. Thought that the clip was rather classy but just perhaps that it might get scratched easily. Just an opinion though. Maybe he is more careful with his things unlike me. =)

Then down to Heeren’s we went. By then, my knee was yelling for a break but on we went as time was running out for her. She got a pair of boxers for YZ (And for me too! Thanks. It’s cute!), and couldn’t decide on which pair of slippers to get. In the end, she dismissed the notion of getting slippers as there were too many to choose from yet apparently nothing caught her eye.

Whilst we were on our way to Taka next, a teenage girl in her 15-16s came up to us to do a quick “shopping survey”.

“So which shopping centre do you like most? Taka, Heeren’s, Centrepoint or Tangs?”

“Heerens?”

“Okay. Do you have any credit cards such as … or debit cards?”

“No we don’t?”

“So you two are attached?”

“Well, hmmm… He’s not attached but I am?”

“We’re not together.”

Stunned for 2 secs and with a blur look, “So you 2 are not together?”

“Ya we’re not.”

“Okay, thank you very much.”

And off she went, and there we were laughing our heads off as we walked away. She didn’t even complete the survey and we figured that it was probably a survey for couples. Hilarious. =)

And so we got to Taka and were looking at the towels. Spent at least 15mins choosing the right towel to get and ended up leaving empty handed as the nice towels were all over-the-budget.

Thereafter, we met up with Hoon for Starbucks. Had the usual green tea blended and a potato salad and Hoon had her usual mango frappe. Was it mango or peach? Anyway, bitched about Danny boy’s ambitions of Ber and of course not to forget, things that made the red faced even redder. =)

Took a bus back home and packed dinner for mum and Eric. Watched the World Cup and witnessed the thrashing match between Argentina and S&M with mum.

Tuition in the noon tomorrow and campfire in the evening. Hope things get fun. =)

And I don’t think I would be going for the orchestra this coming Sunday. Just realised that it is Papa’s day this coming Sunday. Dang. No picnic in the park. Oops. =)

Long nights

The world cup fever’s leaving many people tired and worn out during day time – and I’m one of those suffering from this contagious fever. The 1st match starting from 9pm, second at 12am and there’s a last match that starts real early, like 2 or 3am?

Catching this fever has made me really groggy in the day and superbly awake pass midnight.

Luckily I was rather sober and awake whilst giving tuition to Phyllis and Yan yesterday. Went through Phyllis’s physic’s paper and thought she did quite well. Especially for her short answer questions. Did the TYS for ‘Lens’ with her soon after, and that was then I realised that I have totally forgotten the uses for each type of lens. The distance of the object from the lens would create a different kind of image, either real or virtual, enlarged, etc. And I had to keep referring to the text book when going through the answers. Signs of aging and the soccer fever. BAH.

Then came Yan. I was rather pleased that he at least managed half of the linear graph questions I gave him. Went through the rest with him and thought him more about the quadratic kind of graphs. Hope I have made it simple enough for him to understand. Went playing basketball at his condo basketball court, and then went for dinner at Koufu. Showed him the Hard Gay thing too! Dang he laughed his head off. And he couldn’t stop doing that ‘say say say’ thing after that. Oops. Bad influence.

After our dinner, we went down to SAFRA to pool, to ‘celebrate’ his birthday. Played 3 games and I thought we took a hell long time to complete the games as I missed shots that I would usually make. Guess it was the influence from the fever. But we had fun though. Taught him the trick shot thingy I learnt from Neo back in school.

And so I came back home, read my James Patterson book and watched Spain against Ukraine. Got superbly awake when it passed midnight and I caught some movies on HBO before sleeping at around 2+. And I only woke at 10am today, when I dragged myself out of the bed to get ready. Didn’t want to be late, but turned out I was early and our dear Ling was late. Figure that she was dolling up or something and took a while. =)

First thing I had to do when I got on the car was to fix that basket that had a malfunctioning handle. Wonder what on earth they did to it. Poor basket. It didn’t take us long to get to NUH, and by the time we saw her and chatted for a while, she had to be wheeled into the OT.

Went for lunch at the food court while waiting, and saw 6 ex-trainees. They were sending a patient to the hospital. Was thinking what kind of patient needs 6 medics to send. Must have been a really serious case, or just perhaps that person is one big shot. And after lunch we went back to the waiting room and chatted a while and then came the topic of Ling’s ‘purple wedding’. I think it would be quite a sight if the wedding was entirely purple. The flowers, the tables, culinary, the gown and… ya, the groom wearing a purple tux. No doubt this would go into the Guiness Book of Records for “world’s 1st mono coloured wedding” or “world’s 1st purple themed wedding”. And she even wants her guests to be dressed in purple. Sheesh.

Went back to the ward and talked to her. We were rather surprised that her anesthetic wore off so quickly. As she told us about the gas mask the docs gave her and she knocked out, I thought that the aesthetician gave her Entonox with a reduced dosage of anesthetics. Just a guess though. Saw the nurse taking her BP and saw that her BP was a little bit low. But guess it’s just a normal post-surgery symptom. Talked to her for about 20mins and we tried to coax her to sleep, but to no avail. She complained of hunger and the 2 blankets didn’t seem enough to keep her warm. Wonder if he stole the blankets from the empty beds beside her.

Just thank God that it wasn’t anything serious and the entire operation went smoothly. =)

Got a ride from Hoon back to Bishan and met up with Ber after that. Went up to the gift shop where she got the puzzle thing for YZ.

It’s this shop, where they’ll make a puzzle out of whatever photo you give them. An A4 sized one is $19.90, and the frame costs around $36. But the frame is optional though. I’ve yet to find a frame for the one Jess did for me. It’s still lying on my table till this day. Guess I’m just pure lazy.

Went walking around and got a new shirt from U2. I think I like the shirts there and I got a white one this time. Thought it looked nice and it cost me 43bucks. Thought it was on 30% discount, but little did I know, the price shown on the price tag was already discounted. Ouch.

We had Macs and chatted at Coffee Bean before she left to meet Danny boy and I left for the court.

Tuition and shopping’s up tomorrow. Can I keep myself awake?

--

I am having the weirdest dreams lately. They say that you dream of what you see and think in the day. So what does this mean? I’m still thinking? I’m still seeing? What is it? Why even dreams haunt me like that. Why do I have to wake with an ache in my chest and a tear in my eye? Why do I miss you so much? Why?

Life is beautiful. Isn’t it? Shan’t put any thought on that. I guess that’s another question that’s about to be left unanswered for a very long time.

God bless all.

Waraku FOOOOOOOO!

I’m so glad that I chose to skip Malay lessons today to join them for dinner today. Went celebrating Ivan’s birthday at Waraku, Marina Square. The food was nice, and the gang simply went crazy this time round. The crows flew each time Ivan spoke, and it got colder when Lt Heng tried to sing. And there was Alan doing that “say say say” and FOOOOOOOOOOO thing. And I was surprised that Lt Laura turned up too. Good to see her. She looks so much better in plain clothes. Oops. =)

It was really nice of Ivan to settle the bill halfway through the dinner. A really nice gesture, but guess we can’t possibly get an ORDed personnel to fork out 300bucks for 14people’s dinner.

Went Swensen’s and had a choc chip ice cream cake. Funny when Ivan told the waitress to cut 14 pieces, but she came back with 15. Guess it was destined for the last piece to go onto his face. And who else but Enjun had the honour of doing it. Too bad we didn’t have a camera and pity Neo and Markus couldn’t make it and we flirted with the idea of calling Mark to disturb. Poor WOS. Haha.

Have to read up on the lesson notes myself again, but having no regrets.

Had tuition earlier in the day at Celest’s and my throat and ulcers killed me. Having 4 hours of tuition tomorrow. Wonder how I am going to survive.

Should I go for this Sunday’s orchestra?

--

Echoes of memories that won’t return… I wanna pull my brains out…

Lazy Sunday

It was a really wet Sunday. The skies were dark; the air smelled like fresh grass and the gentle platter of the rain on the windows somehow sounded soothing and really enticed me to continue slumbering under my nice and warm blankets.

But sheesh. It was already 12noon when I checked my phone. Dang. Was supposed to be at Ber’s place at 12plus, and there I was, still feeling like a flubber jelly in bed, hoping that it was still 12midnight. Dragged myself up, put on my glasses and headed straight for a hot shower. It felt just great.

Took a bus down to J8 and got the chocolate milk that she wanted. The queue took quite a while to clear as most people at the super mart seemed as though they were shopping for a week’s (or maybe 2) groceries.

Headed to the train station next and headed down to Farrer Park. Got a call from Ber saying that it was raining heavily down at Farrer. Being a nice pal, she kindly brought an umbrella down to the station.

She’s working part time for this calling-card company, basically just doing some Q&A kind of thing. It’s funny when some of them actually asks funny questions and we can actually make a real joke out of it.

Chatted with ALL the 5 of them online. It’s been a really long time since the 6 of us were all online talking together. Finally settled on the date for Siewling’s birthday celebrations. 23rd ya? Hope that we don’t have to change it again. Nonetheless, the 21s are gonna make it a really special birthday for the 20s. Right me 21s? Haha. Shall mastermind something really nasty this time round. Just perhaps the “rolling down Mt Faber” sounds like a totally grotesque but good idea. We’ll need a big box Hoon!

Got to know this website from Ber’s friend.

Pandora.com

It’s a fabulous music website that plays you songs you would most probably like. Though it can’t play the exact song that you ask for (because of obvious legislative reasons), it plays songs of the similar genre, and it sounds real good too! Check it out peeps.

Stayed for dinner and caught X men 2 on the tele. And soon after, Carina and Furnise arrived for the mahjong session. Ended at 2+ in the morning and took a cab back with Furnise. Got home just in time to catch Portugal against Angola.

Back to my nice bed at 5am. The day ends at where it started off. How nice. =)

And oh, before I forget, happy birthday to Jee! I guess you enjoyed the zoo trip despite the rain? Well, think you got my sms ya? Yups. God bless you! =)

Gonna check my leg after this. It’s really bothering me now. Sigh.

And I need a job real soon. I’m broke. Very much broke.

Friday & Saturday happenings

It’s already Sunday! How nice these 2 days have been. NBA match was great, and so was the Fifa world cup. Witnessed a opening match with a goal glut of 6. Heard the commentator said that usually the opening matches are low scoring, and mostly boring. But the match between hosts Germany and Costa Rica proved otherwise.

Games aside, tuition on Friday was one of a kind. Went through the chemistry paper and realised that she’s rather weak in acids, bases and salt, and the periodic table. It took me quite a while to recall the difference between a base and an alkali. We spent most of the time revising the reactions of acids and alkalis. Next week I would be going through the “most-difficult-to-explain topic” – preparation of salts.

Funny thing happened half way through the session was that smoke suddenly came out of her rubbish chute. She thought it was fire and asked me to check it out. How smart. Trying to be the “hero”, I walked bravely towards the chute and gently felt the metal chute, checking if it was hot. I didn’t get scalded or burnt after touching it, and so the moment of truth came. Took a deep breath and held it as I opened up the chute, bracing myself for burning flames which might pour out at the same time. What came out weren’t flames but just MORE smoke. And I realised that this smoke ain’t black nor sooty. It was white had a really stinging smell to it.

Quickly, I shut it back and went out of the kitchen, shutting the door behind me.

“It’s pesticide.” I said.

“Really meh?? Can check again?”

“YES it’s pesticide. And I’m NOT gonna go back in there to get suffocated…”

Yups. There were smoking the insects in the rubbish chutes. That’s the first time ever I’ve seen that being done. Just perhaps they should have informed the residents about the smoking before they started doing it to prevent unnecessary alarm and panic.

Met up with Ber to do some shopping at Orchard. Checked out the prices of watches and I think the one at Fossil is not bad. =) I’m sorry the “SOB” thingy as I really thought you were kidding around, and thanks for the boxers! I didn’t know what to tell my mum when she saw it. I was like… errr….. ya.. Haha. And oh, this year’s Christmas’s gonna be SOOO good. Right Ber? =)

Had dinner at the Food Republic. It was our first time there and there were so much to choose from. We finally settled for the scissors rice 2 person set meal. 4 dishes, rice and soup. She even wanted Char Siew Bao but resisted the temptation to buy it before we finished our food because we might not be able to stuff any more after the rice. True enough, there weren’t any more space for Baos.

Food Republic is a place with really good food. Almost all the stalls have got newspaper cuttings that show excellent food reviews and also photos of famous people eating the stalls. It’s well decorated and gives this “I feel like eating” kind of feeling. There were even drink and Dian Xin sellers pushing carts around the area, giving us this 60s-70s kind of feeling. Generally a good place for meals, just perhaps it might be a bit too congested when the crowd starts to come in at rush hours.

Woke up early this morning and met Weihong to pass him the logistics file and the key press key. Went back home and slept for another hour. Woke at 10 and prepared for tuition at Phyllis’. Thought that I should leave early because they’ve shifted down to Paya Lebar and I might need more time to orientate myself round the area. Bought Macs for them. It’s funny why they don’t wanna have lettuce and mayo in their spicy chicken. Picky kids. Tsk tsk tsk. It wasn’t that tough to get to their place, just that Phyllis might have given me bit of wrong information. There were TWO Singtel buildings on the way there. Shall I drop at the first one, I would most likely have to trek for half an hour to her place. Thank goodness I didn’t. =)

The place’s called “Le crescendo” and it’s really near the Ubi driving centre. It’s a new condo with rather lavish interior designs of the lobby and outdoor areas. The apartment had a good over view of the surroundings and the furnishing was kept simple. Just a down point I felt was that it might be a little bit too small for my liking. Heard from dad saying once that condos nowadays are “shrinking” in size and they are “not worth the money”. Well, maybe they don’t mind living in a cozy place and enjoy the benefits of having a gym, tennis courts, swimming pools, etc. at the condo.

Went down to the court and played for a while. Or rather, quite a while. Overlooked the time and was late to meet Ling for dinner. Turned out I was 45mins late and the chicken rice stall at Far East closed when we got there. My apologies!!! *smiles* End up we had “chicken rice” at Anatolia. Did some catching up and crapped a lil’ about that gay incident. Ya thanks Ling, like you said, I’m charming and attractive. But apparently, I charm and attract the WRONG type of people. Like aunties and xiao mei mei’s and… GUYS. Think I need an extreme makeover. Haha. =)

Took a bus down to my place to catch England against Paraguay. Quite an interesting match with an own goaled scored by the Paraguayans early in the match. Match ended with one nil and we both agreed that the Paraguayan keeper was fantastic that match.

Borrowed dad’s car and wanted to drive her home but somehow, a craving for brinjal dawned upon her. And so we drove down to Balestier for supper. Called Ber to join us, but she wasn’t feeling really well. So, being reeeeeeeeeeally nice friends, we bought the food up to her place. The food was nice, and I thought that the porridge somehow tasted nice and more ‘aromatic’. But two of them simply dismissed it and insists that it’s just ‘normal porridge’. Owells. What to do? They had flu. Must be. =p

Sent Ling back soon after and here I am, blogging away at 2am in the morning. Still contemplating if I should go for morning or afternoon service. I’m feeling sleepy now. I need to decide soon. Till then, good night to all. Have a great Sunday ahead. It’ll be good. =)

Friday & Saturday happenings

It’s already Sunday! How nice these 2 days have been. NBA match was great, and so was the Fifa world cup. Witnessed a opening match with a goal glut of 6. Heard the commentator said that usually the opening matches are low scoring, and mostly boring. But the match between hosts Germany and Costa Rica proved otherwise.

Games aside, tuition on Friday was one of a kind. Went through the chemistry paper and realised that she’s rather weak in acids, bases and salt, and the periodic table. It took me quite a while to recall the difference between a base and an alkali. We spent most of the time revising the reactions of acids and alkalis. Next week I would be going through the “most-difficult-to-explain topic” – preparation of salts.

Funny thing happened half way through the session was that smoke suddenly came out of her rubbish chute. She thought it was fire and asked me to check it out. How smart. Trying to be the “hero”, I walked bravely towards the chute and gently felt the metal chute, checking if it was hot. I didn’t get scalded or burnt after touching it, and so the moment of truth came. Took a deep breath and held it as I opened up the chute, bracing myself for burning flames which might pour out at the same time. What came out weren’t flames but just MORE smoke. And I realised that this smoke ain’t black nor sooty. It was white had a really stinging smell to it.

Quickly, I shut it back and went out of the kitchen, shutting the door behind me.

“It’s pesticide.” I said.

“Really meh?? Can check again?”

“YES it’s pesticide. And I’m NOT gonna go back in there to get suffocated…”

Yups. There were smoking the insects in the rubbish chutes. That’s the first time ever I’ve seen that being done. Just perhaps they should have informed the residents about the smoking before they started doing it to prevent unnecessary alarm and panic.

Met up with Ber to do some shopping at Orchard. Checked out the prices of watches and I think the one at Fossil is not bad. =) I’m sorry the “SOB” thingy as I really thought you were kidding around, and thanks for the boxers! I didn’t know what to tell my mum when she saw it. I was like… errr….. ya.. Haha. And oh, this year’s Christmas’s gonna be SOOO good. Right Ber? =)

Had dinner at the Food Republic. It was our first time there and there were so much to choose from. We finally settled for the scissors rice 2 person set meal. 4 dishes, rice and soup. She even wanted Char Siew Bao but resisted the temptation to buy it before we finished our food because we might not be able to stuff any more after the rice. True enough, there weren’t any more space for Baos.

Food Republic is a place with really good food. Almost all the stalls have got newspaper cuttings that show excellent food reviews and also photos of famous people eating the stalls. It’s well decorated and gives this “I feel like eating” kind of feeling. There were even drink and Dian Xin sellers pushing carts around the area, giving us this 60s-70s kind of feeling. Generally a good place for meals, just perhaps it might be a bit too congested when the crowd starts to come in at rush hours.

Woke up early this morning and met Weihong to pass him the logistics file and the key press key. Went back home and slept for another hour. Woke at 10 and prepared for tuition at Phyllis’. Thought that I should leave early because they’ve shifted down to Paya Lebar and I might need more time to orientate myself round the area. Bought Macs for them. It’s funny why they don’t wanna have lettuce and mayo in their spicy chicken. Picky kids. Tsk tsk tsk. It wasn’t that tough to get to their place, just that Phyllis might have given me bit of wrong information. There were TWO Singtel buildings on the way there. Shall I drop at the first one, I would most likely have to trek for half an hour to her place. Thank goodness I didn’t. =)

The place’s called “Le crescendo” and it’s really near the Ubi driving centre. It’s a new condo with rather lavish interior designs of the lobby and outdoor areas. The apartment had a good over view of the surroundings and the furnishing was kept simple. Just a down point I felt was that it might be a little bit too small for my liking. Heard from dad saying once that condos nowadays are “shrinking” in size and they are “not worth the money”. Well, maybe they don’t mind living in a cozy place and enjoy the benefits of having a gym, tennis courts, swimming pools, etc. at the condo.

Went down to the court and played for a while. Or rather, quite a while. Overlooked the time and was late to meet Ling for dinner. Turned out I was 45mins late and the chicken rice stall at Far East closed when we got there. My apologies!!! *smiles* End up we had “chicken rice” at Anatolia. Did some catching up and crapped a lil’ about that gay incident. Ya thanks Ling, like you said, I’m charming and attractive. But apparently, I charm and attract the WRONG type of people. Like aunties and xiao mei mei’s and… GUYS. Think I need an extreme makeover. Haha. =)

Took a bus down to my place to catch England against Paraguay. Quite an interesting match with an own goaled scored by the Paraguayans early in the match. Match ended with one nil and we both agreed that the Paraguayan keeper was fantastic that match.

Borrowed dad’s car and wanted to drive her home but somehow, a craving for brinjal dawned upon her. And so we drove down to Balestier for supper. Called Ber to join us, but she wasn’t feeling really well. So, being reeeeeeeeeeally nice friends, we bought the food up to her place. The food was nice, and I thought that the porridge somehow tasted nice and more ‘aromatic’. But two of them simply dismissed it and insists that it’s just ‘normal porridge’. Owells. What to do? They had flu. Must be. =p

Sent Ling back soon after and here I am, blogging away at 2am in the morning. Still contemplating if I should go for morning or afternoon service. I’m feeling sleepy now. I need to decide soon. Till then, good night to all. Have a great Sunday ahead. It’ll be good. =)

Just be Friends

Sometimes I wonder why is that the friends that we have around us will forever be ‘friends’ and never leave our side, but rather people closer to you like, spouses or lovers, when separated, they never look each other up?

Are words like, “Let’s keep in touch” and “See you around” just a formality, or do they really mean it?

Is it a culture that we have? Or is it a mental barrier? Or are there any other reasons? I don’t think I’m here to analyse anything. It’s just a thought. Isn’t it weird?

Right. People out there might be wondering what provoked this thought.

The truth is, that’s what I see happening to the people around me. After breaking up with someone dear to them, I seldom see them keeping in contact with that person anymore. Especially those my age, probably we’re naïve and perhaps dumb, relationships are usually taken too seriously, and that the friendship that they used to share before it developed into “relationships” disintegrates when things don’t go smoothly for the “relationship”.

I mean, why can’t they just be friends like how it was before? Is it too difficult because of certain issues that “cannot be explained”? In that case, ain’t it a waste? Not only you’ve lost someone dear to you, but going along with that might be a friend who can probably accompany you through the rest of your life, as a really close and understanding someone who can always be there to lend a helping hand or a listening ear?

Perhaps I’m skeptical. Maybe I’m saying this because I’m not THAT attractive who can possibly have all the girls down the street faint for me, and I don’t give a bother on how many girls I break up with because I know the next one is just round the darn corner. Or perhaps I value friendship a little bit more than the many people out there.

Who cares? Fact is, if you think that, that person is not “the one”, and then just maybe we shouldn’t “try things out”. Why take a chance between short term “thrill” and long term “companionship”? Why not just, be FRIENDS. I think that’ll be good.

Anyway, went out with Belinda yesterday. And I was late for 30mins! Oops. Haha. Walked down to Suntec and checked out B&J ice cream and realised that we would rather spend the money at CBeans. We shared a pure chocolate and a cranberry cake. On a budget. But it was nice.

Walked around and headed down to Marina. We tried out nail polishes on my right thumb. It’s still a little golden by the way. =P Checked out some perfume and cologne. They were REALLY expensive. Maybe will get someone to get it from the DFS next time.

Then we went shooting dinosaurs at the arcades. It’s this Jurassic park shooting game where gamers will sit in this car-like machine and start shooting the crap out of the cold blooded lizards. The last time I played this… hmmm… Long way back. Haha. Saw the 2 players “push-push” game that we once played at Marina Bay during the army open house. It’s when players are required to out-wit and out-muscle each other by pushing this swerving “handle” against each other. The memories are still vivid. It seemed like yesterday. =)

Mr YZ didn’t want to have dinner with Ber, so accompanied her to dinner. She had Ban Mian and I had a plate of fruits. And I seriously doubt that the Ban Mian girl is flirting. Maybe it’s just her way of talking. You know? Anyway, I think Qiulian has monopolized the entire ban mian industry in Singapore. Everywhere you go, you see them. It first started off at Bishan S11 near J8. That was the very first stall, back in my primary school days. And now, it’s EVERYWHERE. Even our famous airport has it. Wonder how much they earn by selling it. $2.50 in coffee shops and hawkers. $3.50 at food courts and air conditioned eateries. Just how much do they earn… hmmmmmmmmmmm.

I think pineapple is nice. But it’s hard to prepare at home. You need a really well sharpened knife to skin it.

Took a bus back home and did some reading. Had a little tiff back home but it’s all resolved. Thank God! =)

Decided to be a good boy and stayed home the entire day. I took the liberty to iron ALL the shirts in the cupboard, and spent 2 hours to complete the feat. I think I ironed at LEAST 20-25 pieces of clothing and I used up 1 litre of water (for spraying). Am proud of myself. *pat on back*

It’s the NBA finals tomorrow morning and the World Cup at night. Tuition with Celest in the afternoon. Gonna see her exam papers. Wonder what went wrong for her exams. It’s gonna be a long day. =)

6, 6, 6.

Tried posting this up last night but blogger.com had a problem logging into blogger.com. So here it is.

--

I wanted to post this blog up couple of hours back but was running late for supper. Hence I’m posting it now. Supper was really crappy with the 2 of them. Drove down to Owen’s to pick Ber up then drove up to Yishun to meet Hoon. We had iced tea, iced milk tea, and Ber’s hot milo. Pity Alv and PE couldn’t make it.

Oh, can we celebrate Ling’s birthday on this Sunday? Ya? Most of us cannot make it this Saturday. Any strong objections?

It’s the 6th day of the 6th month of the 6th year of the 2nd century. Anno Domino 2006. Well, it sure is funny that there are crazy people around the globe saying this day is ‘Dooms day’ or the Devil’s day or whatsoever. The fact that it’s 666 doesn’t mean much anyway. Many perceive that 666 is the Devil’s number, or number of the Beast.

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six. - Rev 13:16-18

Well, apparently many scholars believe that 666 is the code number for the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Cæsar Augustus Germanicus. Long name I know.

Apparently he was known to be quite an insane ruler. Quoting from historian Suetonis,

“Although at first Nero's acts of wantonness, lust, extravagance, avarice and cruelty were gradual, some thought that they might be dismissed as senslessness of youth. However even then their nature was such that no one doubted that they were defects of his character and not due to his time of life.”

I’m not a decoder or a historian or what not, but I’m pretty sure that this 666 is definitely NOT the Devil’s number. It’s a wrong perception. So let’s all be the minority who knows the fact and be a little bit smarter from this moment onwards. =)

Malay lessons tonight were fun - in a way. Remembering the numbers in sequence is easy, but saying a 7 digit number impromptu is no easy feat. It’s not surprising that some of them get their tongues tied and twisted.

Imagine this-

9,999,999
English: Nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine.
Malay: Sembilan rebu sembilan ratus sembilan puluh sembilan rebu, sembilan ratus, sembilan puluh sembilan.

Had a talk with Jeremy on the phone. Gonna accompany him to NSC tomorrow. Somehow I have this strong urge to persuade him to go for MDC. Will try and talk to him and encourage him about it. I don’t see what’s so bad and unglam about it. I think it’s a rather good opportunity to expand his musical knowledge during this 2 years. I feel that it doesn’t matter what other people think about this posting, but rather if he could make the best out of it and learn as much as he can. That’s what’s more important.

--

I’m so blessed to have wonderful people around me. Thank you Lord. =)

"Hello, may I get to know you?"

It’s been a really happening day today- filled with fun, fun, fun, and disgust. Just got back home 5mins back and I’m waiting for my green tea to cool down a little as I type today’s entry.

The day started off really early in the morning, at around 7.30am. The alarm of my handphone went off and I went back to sleep after shutting it. Then dad woke me up at 8 and I had to rush and get ready for the medical checkup at NTU medical centre.

Got a ride from dad and dropped off at block S2 of the South Spine block of NTU. I walked around the area for around 10mins to locate the medical centre. The entire campus is really big and spacious. Kinda empty too. Perhaps it’s the holiday period. Wonder how it would be like in 2 months time?

The usual tests were performed - weight and height, visual acuity, urine, and a brief physical checkup. Just one thing I noticed was that the nurses and doctors don’t have a habit of using gloves. Even for the urine test. It somehow irked me but I guess each organization has got its own practices and cultures.

Took a bus down to Jurong point to have my chest x-ray taken. The time taken from me stepping into the clinic, till the time I left the clinic with my x ray taken was only a mere 3 minutes. I was expecting a ten minutes registration, half an hour wait, five minutes wait x-ray and another fifteen minutes waiting for the results. I am certainly pleased with the efficiency of the clinic. =)

Then, left Jurong point and headed down to Orchard, and I had the MOST bizarre and terrifying encounter of my entire life so far. Went Borders to check out of James Patterson’s new book – School’s Out Forever. It’s a sequel to Maximum Ride which I’ve read couple of months back. Was thinking of getting it but it came only in hardcovers which cost around 25bucks. and so I went down Kino to check out for the normal paperbacks. But apparently Kino doesn’t even sell the book, and so I walked around the building to kill time as I waited for Jee.

Just as I was taking the escalator down to B2 from B1, I saw this guy staring up at me from downstairs. He was wearing a blue long shirt, looking prim and proper. He kept staring and staring. But it didn’t occur to me that something was amiss. Perhaps he was just thinking of something or maybe he was actually looking at someone or something else.

Little did I realise, he started walking around with me. stalking to be exact. A cold chill ran down my spine and I was thinking, what the heck does this guy want. And so I thought of a plan to shrug him off. Went to get ice cream at the basement level (Rum & Raisins’ totally rock by the way), and after getting it, I took off and walked really quickly to the train station to meet up with Jee. I thought I had lost him, only to realise that he got the SAME ice cream and came running after me!

Sensing something was wrong, I kept me cool. Thousands of possibilities went through my head. And my worst fears were affirmed when he actually confronted me near the link way between Taka and Wisma.

“Hello, can I get to know you?” he asked.

WHAT THE HELL!!! At that moment, I really felt like laughing, and also totally felt like punching that gay in his gut so hard that he would go home crying in his bed under his Sponge Bob blankets.

“What? No!” was my reply.

“Oh, sorry.”

What the heck! I turned and walked toward the train station. Inside me, I was laughing my heads off, but I kept serious because I knew he was still following me. Thank goodness Jee was there on time. If not, I think he might actually follow me ALL the way home or something. Sick! And I seriously don’t think I look in anyway gayish at all. Hell.

Oh, thanks Jee. For helping me get out of this mess. =) I think you had a good laugh too.

Went to Far East Subs for lunch and talked about Uni stuff and internships, as I tried to get that bad experience over me.

Anyway, I think it’s cool to go for interns at year 1. The experience and the lesser work load as compared to year 2. You’re really lucky to be on internship. Hope you’re enjoying it anyway. =)

Came back home at around 3 plus. Tried taking a nap because I was so tired and my eyes really felt like shutting. But the sun looked too nice and it somehow lured me out of home onto the basketball court. Played with the same guys again and this time round, I can run and jump a little. Did another miraculous 3 pointer today, but it didn’t felt as good as the previous one the other day.

After ball, Mic jioed me for dinner. Went Chomps and we had Fried kway teow, oyster omelet, bar chor mee, carrot cake and sugar cane. Sinful I know. But once in a while won’t hurt right? Haha. It’s funny to sit in his car and hear him complain about other drivers on the road. In particular, he complained about this ‘uncle’ who was driving an Integra, saying that the car doesn’t suit him, and that he’s driving it too slowly and choking the traffic. Well, guess that’s Mic.

Headed down to AMK for pool. Had 8 games and I won only 3 of them? Out of the 5 matches I lost to him, one was when I scored the black accidentally, 2 was when I screwed the white into the holes at the very last minute. But we had fun nonetheless. And I got to know that he’s getting married next month. Best wishes to him. May God bless his marriage and his newly formed family!

But in anyway, that means I gotta find more money! Sighs.

It’s been a really fun, and weird day. But I love it. And I am pretty sure I’ll kick their asses if they were to ask me questions like that again. Disgusting freaks. YUCK.

World Cup’s round the corner and the NBA Finals is right this week! Get ready your popcorns and your cokes! =)

Post WTC 2006

WTC 2006.
Picture 'perfect' by Peeping Tom (a.k.a Shelly). Guess what was I doing.
Looking idiotic.
Fun at the campfire.
All smiles!

And so the camp is over. Though it was only 2 days, I think most of us had fun. I’m sure the committee and the boys have managed to get to know each other more. Subramaniam, Jaryl Seto, Jonathan, Wei Hwa, Pin Kwee, Hari, Gary and not to forget Frank. Remembering their names was initially difficult, but right now, I don’t think I can ever forget their faces.

Things were definitely smooth sailing. Even before the camp. Problems that I foresaw happened, and problems that I didn’t propped up too. Especially Kaiwen sprained his ankle, giving Alvin and I quite a big headache for the night hike. But I sure am glad that no one was seriously injured throughout the camp.

But whatever it is, I’m glad that everyone had fun. Even though it might not have been a ‘traditional’ camp, the fact that the boys left the school gate with a smile simply erased the mental and physical strain sustained throughout the camp.

Big thanks to everyone involved in the camp one way or another. Events like the sumptuous dinner, the recce of the night trail, the morning PT, the problem Frank has in pronouncing my name, the reasons the boys give for breaking their eggs, the many jokes we have throughout the camp, the only one hour of sleep, the peeping tom with the camera (you know who you are!), and people crying to me through the phone all of the sudden (you really scared the daylights out of me), and many other things, are memories I’ll keep in me for a very long time. It’s been a good 2 days working together. Hope to see you soon.

And Jinling, I still don’t understand why you call Alvin ‘guava’ and me ‘vancent’. I’m glad that you’re ‘missing the fun already’. =)

Had a long talk with Hoon after the camp. I’m glad that we share the same sentiments. And perhaps I might just join you. Just perhaps. The passion might have been killed like you said.

Slept like a log when I came back home. Had to ps Michael for supper. Was too late and he sounded like he wanted to head down to Orchard. Fell asleep on the sofa watching NBA. And hooray! Miami went through. Down shall Dallas go!

Woke up only in the mid-afternoon and drove mum’s van down to church. Bought dinner back home and packed up my room. The trophies are not so dusty now and I’ve finally hung the plaques up. Saw the A3 sized photo of us again and got stunned for a moment. Think that would go up into the cupboard too. =)

I’ve got a Medical checkup first thing in the morning tomorrow at NTU. Thank goodness dad’s going to give me a ride. If not, I would most probably have to wake at 6.30am. deprivation of sleep ain’t a really nice thing to go through.

Brother wants to go to Sentosa tomorrow and I wonder if I should go with him. I want to bring him, but the fact that going all the way down south kinda puts me off. Maybe I’ll think of something else.

Once again, thank you and goodnight, WTC 2006