..:: 502. The One With Hong Kong Day 1 ::..

it's been a month since i blogged. nothing interesting to blog, especially when u worked in the army. i feel like entering a cage every morning i go to work, with all the fence... finally waited for 25th June to come. Spent the night get myself hyped up, packed my stuff and heaved my luggage to my fren's place.

took SQ 866 and reached HK about 4pm. Quickly checked in and ready to explore. my last trip to HK was when i was in sec 3. surprisingly, it was rather easy to navigate in the streets of HK. stayed in Ramada Kowloon which was small! not much place to put our luggages... paid HKD 3500 for 7 nights. could have gotten a better hotel in my opinion.

Hence, this blog served as a tour guide to those who wanna visit HK... bookmark me!

dinner we went to canton road which was near tsim sha tsui (TST), happy valley congee and noodles. service sucks, threw a straw in front of me! but food was ok. just that their prawn dumpling nice. Canton road was opposite harbour city, biggest shopping centre in TST. should have earlier dinner and explore the shopping mall. most shopping malls close around 9-10pm.

we walked around and bumped into a dessert shop. not too bad. worth a try. if u have mango fetish or u are not allergic to mango.



fyi, read from the right.

morning we could not wake up. met my fren's fren and her sister close to 12. had lunch at one of the biggest malls in Sha Tin, New Town Plaza. It's like suntec in singapore. after lunch we went to have a hike up to see the ten thousand buddhas. if u are allergic to mosquito, you might want to give it a miss.





roads are not painted which direction the cars are travelling, so u have to look down and see this...



started to drizzle, so we dried ourselves at the museum... free entry on wed.



i cant help but pose for the camera.



cant help to look stupid either

went to the wishing tree.. or should i say the ailing tree.



cant throw our wishes, so have to hang... and there were a few aunties who were more naggy than my mum. keep asking us to buy this and that. say 'just hang no use, buy incense stick'... we pretend we dont understand cantonese.



at night, we had claypot rice. really yummy. the rice so sweet.



we cant help to get fat. dessert time again.



still not enough, we had gui ling gao. herbal jelly. it was so bitter, i think i gulped down a whole bottle of syrup just to finish the jelly. but good for my complexion, to take more gd shots, it was worth it la.



dont ask me why the cat is there. cats cannot like herbal jelly meh? maybe they use their tails to stir :X

..:: 501. The One With Lunch Break ::..

whee... today happy day cos my superior (not the female) drove the few of us to bukit panjang plaza to have cafe cartel. good break from canteen food. had so much fun talking dirty in the car. of cos they didnt expect that from me... had a close to 2 hr lunch break, away frm my boss's nagging.

tml going for red cross again. so excited. feels gd to be in command and sharing my knowledge with youths. they are more receptive than army guys.

..:: 500. The One With the 500th ::..

oh, i hit my 500th post. this week has been a peaceful week, boss on leave. got to leave office before 630pm. tue went to meet my red cross peeps... i was stunned by the 18.50 set meal but it was 1-for-1 so it wasnt that bad after all. ate snails and kept laughing at the snail juice - gravy. I had a trauma eating the bread, there were so much left. but i adored my brownie... went over to coffee club and had some peppermint tea for digestion. had great laughs for the day but the thought of going to work on wed turned me off.

while i was working on some data, i happened to see my fren's name in the database. Sam, u sign on never say... called him and chatted for so long, lots of catching up to do, hence we hit for some sushi... our other 2 buddies already had appointments. we 2 spent another mambo night eating dinner. haiz. unit life is really happening, with events and stuff, office work becomes dreadful.

shall wait for my pix to be uploaded. i guess you all might have seen the 'anything, whatever' commercials. The 'whatever' one damn hilarious. i loved the idea of randomness, buying a drink not knowing what you get, well at least you know whether it is (non)carbonated. u guys should try if you havent. i love it as much as my ipod shuffle.

no more american idol, survivor, amazing race. so bored... without reality shows.

just as i want to go out to buy lunch, it rains! damn.

yeah. i am finally a LTA and its not land transport authority.

P.S: i am quite slow to notice the meaning of 'Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir'

..:: 499. The One With Being Unlucky ::..

My laptop was ok until i brought it back home... is it due to the lack of strong firewall that i had in school? damn. no internet i felt so out of the world. my com crashed. damn it.

anyway no time to even send for repair. no time to even go back school to pay my hostel fees.

been working till 9pm everyday. rushing for project. even when i applied leave officially, got lectured by my boss for 30 mins. apparently, 'for duty, honour, country'. it was my fault la cos i should have applied under my first boss who is a nice guy and agreed that officer on attachment should enjoy their school life as much. but over here, i am supposed to see through a project. and the quote she want us to abide to... you can die but not fall sick. that is the mentality u shld have. there will never be a good time to apply for leave. i thot if i dun travel now, once i start work, it would be even harder. she thot where my core values have gone to... there is a difference between an official staff with appointment and a project officer on attachment. I just wished sometimes they can give us a breather, cut us some slack. I noe out in the real working life, there is no such thing as breather, keep up or lose it. sometimes when i get caught up in such situation, i really have suck it up.

work must always come first. if u think of taking vacation, pple will think u are not committed. when pple dun leave office for lunch and get take away instead, you are 'supposed' to follow, if not what will others think of u? got time to go eat lunch, no time to do work? working in front of the com all the time does not equate to 100% productivity.

i just feel angry that after i have worked as hard, cant i at least get some rest? I just hate it when pple second guess my intention, or worse, make it seem like i am the heartless guy... Now apply leave for school activities become so much harder. female boss is tough nut to crack.

i just came back from work and now eating my dinner... at 11pm. sleeping soon and waking up at 6am. Same shit different day... Gotta keep pushing on...

..:: 498. The One With Home Sweet Home ::..

feels great to be back home. even more so after i asked my sis to prep my bed, set up wireless so we can all surf online and play dota!

i just need to wake up and food is on the table. no need to go canteen and take away... and i get to enjoy air con. with my dad fetching me to work and back home. how great :)

Sat had volunteer time with red cross, feels good to see all my juniors. i really admire some of them. despite the work load, they still have heavy commitment in red cross. i mean u dun really get credit or recognition for conducting courses, spend your time to attend meetings and coaching secondary school cadets planning. not everyone can and willing to spend such time, all the more travelling to kembangan, such a ulu place.

had some catching up done over dinner. they give me satisfaction knowing that they are still full of passion and drive. One in particular had 'insights' that i am really impressed. he told me his rationale of doing certain things and that made me thought, 'wow, red cross had certainly mould you somebody'. some things you cant learn in school, character building and ability to become a chameleon, it's really important, esp when u are out to work.

some people might think ' i dun have to change in order to please people, they just have to accept who i am'. sometimes u dun have to change who u are, just be more sensitive and know how to handle such people. if it aint broken, dun fix it. avoid pple u cant get along? u cant do it forever though... and when relationship turns sour, it's time to deal with it.

i think i am deviating from my entry... then to think too much into people's reactions and behaviour. anyway came across a word which i am in love at first sight.

Carpe Diem
seize the day; enjoy the present, as opposed to placing all hope in the future.

i feel monday blues coming... i cant wait for school to start, make new frenz, learn new stuff and get to specialise in my fave field, HR.

travelling is really fun. with ur family, ur loved ones or even with ur frenz. cant wait for my hongkong trip in june. so many places i wanna visit and so much food i wanna eat.

P.S: it feels good to have my family watching tv with me, esp soccer cos i too lazy to drag my ass down to the cable tv in my hall recreation rm... but it gets irritating when my sis was happy that chelsea won???

..:: 497. The One With Melinda Doolittle ::..

oh man, she didnt get into that finals? shucks. ms maggie-mee hair got in? beatboxer blake got in? sianz... Maybe being too good becomes predictable. It's all gimmicks making Melinda seemed like she got the highest votes all the way and supporters may get complacent.

And i heard from my sis, renee didnt win america's next top model? damn. why my faves just dont win. let that latino gal, jaslene win. She cant have a proper accent and plus she didnt get selected in cycle 7 then came back again. She got such a 'drag queen' personality.

today thought i had a half day for cohesion day, in the end, being officers, we had cohesion...back in the office. after lunch, had a ride back to camp and continue working :( until 8pm! so fun. during lunch was even more dirty. Topics like erection, must use condom, 'encounters' with gals... were talked about over steamboat. 'steam' ah. I think the guys got cooped up at the office for too long. Shant mention here, if not you think all army guys are horny freaks.

Now i know why my pumbaa frenz always say nothing 'clean' comes out from my mouth. :X

time to slp. had dinner at 10pm while my frenz are at DXO dancing away... tonight tri-uni bash sia. too bad i got work tml. somemore going to meet a colonel... stressed.

now going to sleep. i have less than 1 hr for admin time, its worse than BMT! what the hell!

..:: 496. The One With Mambo-Crave::..

Arghz... i cant stand it! keep having craving to go mambo but tight on budget. must save after my finland trip. somemore gg hongkong soon. Today quite relax cos my fren came back so 2 people working on the project seem easier. Talk cock with another 3 captains in the office was fun! They are like the big brothers teach me tricks and bad things included. lol.

tml half-day. having cohesion day :) yeah. eat steamboat then go national museum... oO

anyway wanna talk about a show, america's next top model. ok may sound weird why i watch the show but i really hope to be involved in a events management company and get to do a runway show. Anyway this season 8, love the catfights as usual but i love Renee. She's a bitch but somehow click with her perhaps her competitiveness and the eagerness to improve and impress. here are some of her pix :) feast on the eyes



shoot a dead scene but she looks so alive with killer looks.



nude pic with ice cream and candy as theme.

but i love the other gal's pic. looks like it can be on vogue.





Shot by tyra banks. for women's magazine. love her 'flamingo' back bend pose.



for mens' magazine, she really knows how to work her figure. and her eye contact with the camera. whoo... hot!

her latest pic... aboriginal aussies theme...



I really hope she wins! this wed last episode...

time to sleep. have to wakie early tomorrow for work.

..:: 495. The One With Being a Staff Officer ::..

During cadet days, those who wish to 'slack' would opt to be a staff officer instead of being a platoon commander in an operational unit. I guess it is true when you are a NSF or it applies if you are in a unit.

It is so different when you are in mindef. There is no such thing as 8-6 work schedule. though there is no bunk but you can expect to leave the office around 9pm. Simple briefing that i attended today lasted a few hours. Still trying to think like the senior officers, all the framework and all the contingencies and that one-look-u-know-what-is-missing.

today the branch celebrated one of the senior officer's birthday. despite being his birthday, he did not request to leave early, in the end, he was the last few who went back. really admired his professionalism, i enjoyed working for the major and the captain. they are a joy to work with. it can get crazy in the office where you have a few tasks to complete in such a short time. After the briefing, the to-do list seemed to be longer.

Was glad to stay up with them till 9 cos i think we are all workaholics. i pity their wives and my future wife too. I guess those who are workaholics would love army. But at the end of the busy day, i felt really good to accomplish many things. Though there are many things i can and want to do but none will give me as much fulfillment ...

To those out there who dread NS, please dont. Enjoy the times of brotherhood and catching up, knowing more people. You can see it as connection but not a waste of time. I have seen so much hard work put in to ensure effective and efficient training. I really treasure all the chances i was given to learn and give.

After work, the senior officers 'jio' me to go to the officers' mess to have dinner, drinks and a chat. I felt weird but they sure make it a point to know me. It was great to know lots of colonels and it felt good to be recognised - 'so you are john right?' Seniors asking me to go over their dept to help them and being recognised as one of the nice engineers to work with really boost my morale.

It feels really good to get posted to different areas but you know people everywhere you go. You sure need help from others so knowing more people really helps, especially when they can help you to look out for desirable posts.

strange eh. came back late, the more i worked, the less tired i felt. i felt happy, satisfied :)

tomorrow after work got red cross meeting... hope i can last.

Quote of the day, ' I have not failed, I just found another way that did not work'

lets keep a moment of silence for Alex, and the 2 NSFs...

..:: 494. The One With Deal or No Deal ::..

The Show is exciting only when the briefcase opens. the rest of the show is like yucks. the producers are really good at wasting time by having the host walk to the phone and talking to the 'banker'... why cant they make the conversation heard over the studio? a good show if you have time to waste and love to gloat over the participant's misfortune. it is a combination of taking risk and greed thinking that 250k is so easy to get. One must really know when it is appropriate to stop, just like gambling. all the conversation between the family and the participant -_-, the no deal signs the audience were making looked spastic. and worse, the whole episode all about one guy. Boring!

my friend got good results... so happy :) yet i am nervous about mine. sure better than last sem but it is good enough? i really hope i can double specialise.

china top universities produce millions of graduates but they had a hard time finding jobs. think they will flood over Singapore soon.

just heard over the news... my fren's bf has passed on after a long struggle in coma. haiz stupid cab driver in scotts road.

..:: 493. The One With Being Sick ::..

The once-a-year throat infection is here again. Bad flu, i even had to bring a tissue box to my office. Throat hurts whenever i swallow or cough. Somemore phlegm green in colour. eeks. My nose is red from all the sneezing and tissue paper wipes. What a way to spend weekend, taking medication that causes drowsiness. so i wake up, eat and sleep. still not recovering. what to do? drank tea, ate fruits, please let me recover... tomorrow back to work again... my buddy on leave so i cannot take leave, plus my boss had to give updates to his superior, i hope he wont ask me to present :X my voice sounds terrible.

Something caught my eye:
Global MBA Ranking 2007 by Financial Times

#67- Nanyang Technological University - Nanyang Business School - Singapore
#81 - National University of Singapore - NUS Business School - Singapore

whee :) for the obvious reasons.

i miss school... :(

..:: 492. The One With Finally ::..

Finally i can smell friday coming. been a long and tiring week. strangely today i felt good. maybe i am working alone so i dun have much time to slack and feel tired.

Finally, just as i mentioned about christopher lee, his trial is finally over, but not quite yet. still must appeal -_-. 4 weeks jail good enough... still wan to lighten or worse get away with drink driving?

Flipped through the newspapers, Singapore is the 2nd most competitive country. i can feel it :)

imitation is the best form of flattery but not for one of the china's amusement park. had to close down cos they copied disneyland. suay.

oh no, david gill, chief executive of Man U 'extremely sad and disappointed' with Malaysia's hospitality... come Singapore la.

went for lunch with the big shots in my office, all the major and captains... we moved like a convoy to the canteen. the higher ranks in front, i the only 2lt at the back. lol. but it was great talking to them as we ate. but the smoke break was not as enjoyable cos i dun smoke!

having throat infection... sian. see doctor tml. sorry for all the random entries.

P.S: arghz... NBS has internship with Hewitt Associates, a HR services firm... haiz. wasted. anyway lakisha was eliminated. doolittle, hope u go to the final 2! with blake

..:: 491. The One With Promotion ::..

yeah. getting promoted in june 1. more $ and no more 2lt...

very tired from work, guess from all the travelling and today had morning PT. had to rush and take cab :(

it is strange that people actually take 'pity' of those celebrities who committed crime. just like paris hilton, instead of talking about her crime, the media talked about her being able to choose her own 'cell'. money can really do wonders, buy your own space in jail... so they provide massage?

another one is christopher lee... sounds like people should pity how much he went through for hit-and-run trial? weird.

..:: 490. The One With Monday Blues ::..

went to the office and met my boss finally. he was a very nice guy, got me a lot of stuff for me to read, even one book of his, blue ocean strategy. browsing through the files, so much terms and structures to remember. there is so much planning going on. meetings run from morning till afternoon... i am lucky not to be asked to sit in yet.

so happy my credits came in, got myself a new pair of sports shoes. my boss is really nice, keep asking me to leave early lol. i feel sad for them though cos they seemed to be single and still working OT. a lot of documents to send, meetings to attend, follow-up to do... especially when orders came down from like the chief.

my boss was like asking me to enjoy my sch life, dun stay so late in the office. If i ever need to leave early just let him know. wah, so much better than my previous boss. the sian part is i have to run in the morning... arghz. hopefully can shower, if not the office sure stink like hell.

i have 2 projects on hands :X waiting to be briefed, my slacking days are over soon :(

Working sucks. I rather study. 2 more days to payday.

..:: 489. The One With Weekends ::..

don't beat me up for this entry. working really sucks but i guess the pay sure made it up. it sucks because i need to wake up real early like 6 in order to make it in camp by 8am. This is the only job that needs you to run/gym every tue and fri at 730am. shucks this reminds me that i have to bring my uniform cover... though i have to wake up early, i guess it is good to build up fitness after a few months of inactivity. i dun grow fat, i just lose muscles and that is sad for me.

working 8-6 really shrinks my social life. going back my hostel feeling tired from the travelling and how to exercise after work? no motivation. feels so alone in the hostel, where everyone is back at home. I could go back but i have to consider spending more time travelling which tires me even more.

my saturday seems to be spent in front of my tv... watching jacky wu's variety shows and downloading shows from my school server. slept like half my day away. now resorting to watch aviva open on ch 5... the duo choong/lee match is exciting. but i dun understand why would people pay to sit all the way at the back. Maybe they are as bored as me, so there to be immersed into the atmosphere. i rather stay at home, at least can watch close-up.

cant wait for my pay to come and i have to pay for hostel and phone bills. need to save for my hk trip... i feel tired because:

1. my biological clock have not adjusted to post-exam mode?
2. the fact i have to work?
3. i have not been exercising?
4. i am feeling sick?
5. i have not been shopping?
6. i have no life?

american idol: i guess it would be a kelly-justin showdown so final 2 i hope to see melinda-blake. please dun give me lakisha (fantasia-wannabe) or jordin (diana degarmo-like), though she's young and has potential but her hair reminds me of what i was eating during exam period for supper. so predictable. melinda is different, always give masterclass performance so i dunno why people say melinda's predictable? you mean she has to suck (reads: performance-wise) in order to be interesting? she's versatile for sure.

..:: 488. The One With 1st Day at Mindef ::..

embarrassed. that pretty much summed up how i felt at the end of the day. i was almost killed by boredom and later embarrassment. first, i had to report at 8am and so i did. waited at the lounge with another guy and we practically read all the newspapers there and did nothing for the whole day. Our bosses werent in the office and the staff was busy 'fighting fire'. I am involved in something rather challenging, or rather i am assigned to a department that has very high security cos i handling documents and info that is higher than confidential which of course i cannot reveal anything here. So far i have only touched restricted and seen confidential.

I know you may think, so what's the big deal... i was the most junior officer there though. walked around the office, at least a captain, if not would be major, ltc or colonel. I am definitely going to learn more from this attachment, build connections and strangely i am working with rather high-profile officers, who were once sword(merit/honour) holders. What is worse, even the clerk there who is just a corporal is a PSC scholar o_O... so now u see how small i felt.

here comes the unpleasant part. i was coming back from lunch and there was this guard who stopped me and told me:

'sir, i have to write your name down. Your hair is too long'

i looked at him, frowned, cos i cut my hair before i came in... i pointed at my hair,

'you mean this is considered long' in a rather stern voice, almost sounding like dont mess with me.

he then claimed it was my sideburns that were too long. so a gungho corporal embarassing an officer. that is something new... not that i am throwing my weights but i was pissed cos of 2 things.

First, one of the officer with me was surprised by his action cos my sideburns were not shaved but they were not long...

Second, the 'psc' clerk told me the guard 'is like that, always so gungho, catching people'

Also, in the morning while walking with my friend into the camp, he told me a guard stopped my friend's friend for long hair. He was lucky to have his boss with him so when the guard told my friend's friend the same thing about booking him and writing a letter to his superior, his boss turned to the guard and said,

'so what you want to write to me about?'

At first i felt amused but when i experienced the 'trauma' myself, i understood why the boss acted in that way. The guard was such an ass. If you tighten security then i would say good job, but go around catching long hair which was not long in the first place... My friend's friend and I were only 2LT so i guess we are quite an easy target. I bet i go to the canteen i saw people with sideburns longer than mine.

why am i so mad? cos my boss havent even met me and the first thing he would get is the letter and it doesnt speak very well of me, right? damn pissed. now i have to explain to him on mon, hopefully he is understanding enough. To think i have to ask my boss for offs and leave for school events and personal stuff, i cannot imagine how much harder it would be. hopefully, he sees it as a trival matter, if not later he give me extras duty, that would pretty much sucked.

once you get into university, it is very hard to shave off that sideburns. Cant we keep the sideburns and be neat? Does it really affect the professional image the army is projecting? I guess i have to suck thumb and shave my sideburns like i used to do. i have to pay to eat at the canteen cos there is no cookhouse? darn. transport there already burning my pocket. i know i am earning a substantial amount but if you can save on meals, why not?

you can see my first day was not pleasant. bah.

went to catch spidey 3 with my sister. bumped into steven. admired his coloured hair and he maybe going to aust to study medicine. wish him good luck! the doctor who clubs. spidey 3 was the best i felt... though some felt otherwise. minus the audience - some guys think it was funny to laugh loudly at commercials, while one guy beside me was commenting aloud when the lin junjie's mtv-like commercial played, 'wah now play chinese mtv, cannot play trailers?' wah i felt like asking to shut the f up.

the movie full of touching moments and action scenes were great, feels like watching marvel vs capcom double duels. so noble for harry to sacrifice for his friend... even when we are desperate or in distress, we still can make the right choice. (rephrased)

like for me, i didnt punch or curse that guard :)

..:: 487. The One With Comparison ::..

talking about comparison, i am best at juxtaposing and complaining. first being a self-critic, i have the tendency to compare almost everything. i remembered in jc times, i was busy comparing life in hwa chong and in anderson, how i miss the culture, frenz, teachers in hwa chong... until my tutor told me i should stop comparing and life would be better for me...

then in army, i compare myself with my peers. i guess the competitive me made comparison a source of motivation for me. apparently, i received less bonus than my friend. I was quick to conclude that i sucked and after my one year of what-i-thought-i-did-well turned out to be a reality that smacked me hard. Now i have to force myself to think that the result is not important, what is more important is what i have achieved.

Being a human was supposed to be easy but expectations and comparisons have definitely made it harder. For me, being skinny is not what i wanted, i choose to eat a lot but i cannot help it if i cant grow fat. Girls tell me, guys look better if they are fit, i was like 'duh'. If only i have the mass to start with? 'Fat -> burn to muscles' is easy. 'Thin -> grow mass -> grow muscles' apparently is harder. Now even male singers not only have to worry about their vocals, they had to 'out-fit' others, if you have the chest, u flaunt it. if you have the abs, u show it in your album cover. it's fact of life i guess, sex sells. are these physical appearances beginning to overshadow character, ability? i guess quite a lousy example to cite cos being a celebrity, one is expected to have a whole package.

i just hate it when reports compare album sales. so what he yeow sun had sales that topped the charts and stefanie sun became 2nd? arent they both singaporeans? after all, yanzi still won best female in 金曲奖 :X

another comparison: SMU vs NTU. I have frenz in SMU who didnt really quite enjoy life there. The 'portrayed' outspoken students and the high involvement in class participation... SMU produces articulate students and stuff... they made it sound like NTU dont. i mean during interviews, if they choose articulate applicants, how hard is it for the school to train them? 12000 salary is like perhaps 1 or 2 graduates. the average could be so much lower. i am still proud of NBS, a well-known business school ... i had a fren who was conducting interviews and came across graduates applying for this finance job in her company. She screened through and mostly were (unsurprisingly) from the 3 universities. As expected SMU graduates came out to be articulate, but to my surprise, she told me when she questioned some about their knowledge and industry-related stuff, they werent as outstanding as those from NUS, NTU. I was happy to hear that but then it is what she told me, perhaps she knew i was from NBS.

dunno why i get so defensive over such stuff... anyway, going to collect my new passport and attend an exhibition. i dont like holidays :( i missed attending classes, meeting my frenz... i hate to work but i love the money.

Hongkong, here i come.

..:: 486. The One With 燕姿签唱会 yanzi autograph session ::..

it was at central mall... and crazy me went there during exam period. the session was scheduled to start at 3 but i had to be there at 1pm and i was already at the 3rd section away from the stage. i guess the die-hard fans really came in the morning. it was a bright and sunny SUN afternoon, i was amidst the crowd studying for my IT paper. i took a glance and about 1/2 was AT (ah tiongs, a term used by NTU students on people frm china) i know its really bad to give nicks but hey when u are part of the culture u just have to suck it up.

it was rather dreadful. you would expect to sit and wait, so i dont understand why the hell would a gal (sadly an AT) wear such a tight and short skirt. Of all things, she had to go sleeveless and she sat with both her legs on one side. her sweaty and sticky fleshy arm had to stick to my skin! i tried to shift away from her which proved to be 'fatal'. she got more space and decided to take picture of her friend who was beside her. Obviously she had to lean back ONTO me so her fren wouldnt have a bloody zoom up on her face. i swear i could have scissors and cut her hair. After my 1/3 (yes 2 more to go) ordeal, another AT in front was reading her sms and occasionally lean back and flip her hair. I was so glad i brought a hard cover book, it was really handy, i shifted front to block the gal and my left to block another, wah so fun -_-

when we stood up, all started to squeeze to the front. there was this AT couple beside me. The gal had went through the barricade and squeezed between me and her bf. at first i couldnt exactly see her, cos she didnt fall into my level of sight. i looked down and saw her 'playing' with her bf, teasing away. she kept nudging me and i wanted to pull her hair or chant some sutra. Why are people so insensitive, unaware of their actions? all didnt even bother to say sorry.

i was so glad i could see what was happening on the stage, poor girls. i feel sorry for u girls. i think they could only take head shots, i could actually offer them help but guess not.

ended at 5pm and wanted to sit down and rest but i guess going home to shower would be the wise choice.

btw yanzi's new album, against the light 逆光 is really nice. think her best album. i loved almost all the songs inside.

2 more days before going back to army. hopefully i get to touch ndp stuff and get free tickets. lol.

..:: 485. The One With Vacation ::..

havent blog for so long... didnt want to feel guilty cos i always spend lots of time blogging and not on studying. the moment i came back from finland, i felt like i was caught in a whirlwind. everything started piling and projects after projects...

just had my last paper. was quite relieved i didnt freak out for my accounting paper and it was rather do-able. my IT paper was quite bad, expected enterprise resource system to come out but i didnt memorise enough the features... had mental block and didnt elaborate as much. haiz. my biz law, i misread a 10m question. hopefully i can still get my A :( FM was rather easy but as usual finance not my cup of tea, expecting a B.

cant wait for new academic year to start, i wanna specialise human resource! but in the meantime, shall party. having 2 birthday parties to attend.

download tv programs in school super fast. shows like grey anatomy, CSI, ANTM, heroes, etc. i can finally pack my books. my room is so messy... really hope i can get a single room.

my hair is back to black and short :( ready to go back army.

..:: 484. The One With Adventures in Finland ::..

wanna say hi to my family... after the cny i really missed them alot... cos they are the closest people you can ever be with and they will stand by you and believe in you no matter what. that is not like some friends whom i thought are cool to hang out but stab you behind your back and spreading rumours. whatever basis they are on, i mean true friends would be concerned and wouldnt have their tongues wagging and i guess everyone is entitled to be sinful in the new year so i guess i shall forgive.

anyway thanks for those who are concerned and i am really a nice person for those who know me so appreciate that trust and i do have my career to worry about.

ok back to my adventures, before i indulge in my own world, i have to say i am pretty pissed with all the pressing matters... accounting project, fm quiz, biz law essay assignment, how come last sem i had so much tasks but i enjoyed all of them? Just checked my edveNTUre and saw the new IT project that we had to do on VISTA, a 3000-word essay???

after my trip to finland, i would appreciate singapore's 7% GST better... here 22% is crazy man. i missed the taxi rides in singapore and if i am going to stay for long, i would be bankrupt cos the food here is so ex! 1 euro is about 2 S$. so throughout the entries, go figure.

when i exited the airport, i was shocked by the temperature. -20 degrees, i have never been to a cold country let alone see snow. so my face felt like it was pressed against an iceberg. took a bus to central railway station to catch a tram back to hotel. the bus ride was 3.60 (S$ 7.20), there was just the beginning.

paid for this helsinki card which entitled you to unlimited bus and tram rides and free entry to places of interests. 50 euro for 3 days. then i went to this pizza buffet at FORUM, a local shopping centre. 7.50 euro and i just love buffets though not much variety.



then checked in at 2pm where i was desperate for internet access cos i need to send presentation to my group, but singapore time was like 8pm and i think i pissed them badly :( so sorry. i could only check in at 2pm :(



amazed by the lift, have to pull open the door, unlike singapore's automatic sliding doors. stayed in a hostel which was sufficient in its amenities plus it is cheap! so cold that i had to wear abt 5-6 layers.

day 2 started with audio city tour, where they drove us around and we just had to put on earphones... went to the senate square and saw this...



the whole lake was frozen!



went to the olympic stadium tower. climb like siao and the sight up there was worth it but freezing, my ears and nose almost dropped!





visited the national museum, it was rather big, from looking at stones, till fashion, education, etc.
i am glad i didnt have to study history in finland.



then went to a cafe where i got to try the famous napoleon cake. the filling tasted like wheat and oats but sweet with crispy crust on top. the cake itself is like 4 euros. had salmon salad for like 8 euros.



had a 3-course expensive dinner which cost about 120+ sing.
reindeer carpaccio hauhala goose liver
broiled white fish served with a lapland potato and crayfish pastry and sauce
white chocolate pastry served with cloudberry soup



took a 15 minute ferry ride from Helsinki market square to Suomenlinna, freezing cold, my nose felt like it was dropping off, especially so when i forgot my scarf.



came back in the afternoon, went to finnish parliament which was bigger than local one and i was intrigued by the electronic voting system... visited the post museum then another university museum, trying to make full use of the helsinki travel card.



took a train ride to rovanemi which is about 8 hrs. went to santa claus village which was so much fun - husky ride, snowmobile ride, photo with santa claus.







went to the igloo hotel and for the first night, i saw the northern light and stayed in a traditional snow igloo. it was super cold and i had to run around before tucking into the sleeping bag. second night, i stayed at a glass igloo where i can see the sky and stars... the staff vacuumed the snow so i can always have the perfect view...







my virgin experience in skiing and sledge rides was unforgettable... visited Tampere University of Technology... nice school, think the buildings look better than NTU but just smaller campus.

i miss Finland...

..:: 483. The One With My Best Birthday Gift ::..

eh. to be politically correct, i love all the gifts that i have received. cos somehow all were according to my taste. so thanks so much.

thanks shannen for the cute card and the vouchers to my fave esprit.
jj's mum for buying me a blue shirt from esprit.
my sis for the boxers
my sis for pizza
my mum and dad for $
samuel for the gift which i haven opened yet
and my fren for the big big cake? lol.

oh ya not forgeting those who sent their well-wishes... too many to list down but thanks alot, you guys have made my day by remembering my birthday

at about 1815, doorbell rang...



wah so big box. i was stunned but pleasantly surprised...

then i quickly opened and 'wow'



cant help but take a poser pic of it.

celebrated with my family which apparently too small to conquer the cake.



for the first time in 1 yr, i spent the most number of days at home during cny. lol.

my sister treated us to pizza :)



tml finland! cant wait. i haf a key to unlock all impossibilities :)

..:: 482. The One With I'm 21! ::..

wheeeeeee... welcome myself to the adulthood. as the accounting equation goes:

asset = liability + owner's equity.

i have increase in liability but no increase in asset. I guess in a way i have less money to give my parents cos i will most probably spend it on my other half? lol.

caught the first episode of amazing race-all stars, woke up at 9am specially to watch the live telecast. cos i am a rob-and-amber supporter. so sad john vito and jill got eliminated :( they were a great couple too. lessons learnt in this episode:

1. later flights do not mean later arrival time.
2. if unsure of the place, ask a person to drive and guide u there. do not depend on verbal directions

this yr ang pow not bad eh. maybe 21st bday plus going overseas... cny getting boring each year. cos my relatives getting lesser and lesser. last time visit cos there are senior relatives like grandma and stuff but now somehow the circle has shrunk.

cant wait to have dinner with my family. parents gonna cook and ordering pizza :P and receiving a mystery surprise gift :)

happy birthday to myself!!! :P wheeeeeeee...........

P.S: oh did u know britney spears shaved her head? now she's botak. bad hair day :X or no hair?

..:: 481. The One With Busy Day ::..

i need to collect my updated flight e-ticket, worried that they might close early. then have to collect some surprise, and i got my accounting project topic. yawnz. so sian to look at financial statements and have to derive so many things. lucky we managed to negotiate our fm quiz to only 6 chapters and it's MCQ. i have to extend my passport though it has 6 mths validity. i need to prepare my surprise. packed all my stuff and ready to go home tomorrow. need to take a cab home from school and i guess taxi fare is about 20+.

sian accounting project has peer appraisal and one of the criteria is attendance, sure mark down cos i cannot be present for meetings during the term break.

received an interesting mail from school admin:

Singapore Fashion Week 2007, to be held in October this year, wishes to appoint you as a host for their international buyers who will be coming to Singapore for The Designers Show.

Your services are required for three full days during the period of 12th to 18th October 2007. This is term time, but students who are selected will be excused from lessons.

Apart from earning pocket money of S$35 per day, you will get to play host to international guests, learn some business etiquette and protocol, and gain exposure to the fashion industry, merchandising, marketing and hospitality services. These are valuable experiences that will help you in your job search in future.

sounds interesting right?

felt lonely tonight. i wondered why...

..:: 480. The One With Outbreak ::..

hey, you might be wondering what outbreak is... I was so glad that this movie was screen during one of my lectures. i think i have mentioned about this module science or fiction - biology in popular media.

Outbreak: a movie produced in 1995, starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman (the last guy was the only one i recognised lol, if you have watched Bruce Almighty, one of the shows he starred in)

in the movie, the outbreak is caused by a fictitious strain (Motaba virus) that is similar but worse than Ebola virus. we then got to examine virus and the working environment of biosafety labs and identified the wrong terminology used in the movie for the bacteria and viruses. they did not follow the 'grammar' of scientific writing. They should use either general or scientific names. instead they use pneumococcus (general name for Streptococcus pneumoniae) and Salmonella (scientific). There was wrong classification of infectious agents into the wrong Biosafety levels.

I mean for a person who never step into a lab in my uni life, this was something interesting :) Then they mentioned haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, where internal bleeding occured and organs 'turned to mash'. Basically due to overall cell death, blood from eyes (bloody tears) and bleeding from nose. Kills in 2 or 3 days and mortality rate is 100% ...

shall not bore you with the details but in the middle of the show, the strain mutated and became airborne. very interesting show and super engaging. i bought macs and ate while the theatre was dark. lol. i love this module man :)

today valentine's day, wish everyone happy vdae :p all better get attached this year. enjoy love and being loved. not only by your parents :o saw a few frenz strangely holding hands in school, well today special i guess and i also bought my gal frenz some stuff. so malu to walk around the school with a balloon.



but afterall, i was sweet. not meh?

back to the dance floor, i mean seriously, can you imagine an old couple win the dance floor? comparing with US's So You Think You Can Dance? i mean nothing should stop them from trying but i just felt that if they are bound to be eliminated, i think all the effort they put in might just go down the drain. maybe they get the kick and sense of achievement from going thru the dance floor, that may be the case. Just find it weird, comparing the contestants of spore and US. Ours came in groups with so different genres, i mean are you going to belly dance all the way to finals? and the 'spider' couple with the lady being tossed all over, dont you find some moves kinda obscene, i was quite turned off looking at the uncle-auntie 'humping' at some moves. but still must applaud them for their courage, endurance and the moves (plus they are just frenz).

so i guess the dance floor is not really a competition for professional or aspiring dancers, it is more like some community centre dance competition with the opportunity to dance in front of national tv.

oh btw, i cant stop but giggle at the group 'jewelry', formed by three female china gals. quoted from one of the judges, 'there is something missing from your performance, the bar top'. they have no cohesiveness, dance steps that looked like what you do in clubs, really looked like seducing the ah cheks in the audience :X

did you happen to bypass cityhall? giving free hugs leh by gals. all the chee-ko-peks come back next year k :)

just realised i have to bring my accounting and financial mgt txtbook to finland. fuck. have quizzes once i touched down. happy today, i received a love postcard :) and at biz law tutorial, said something intelligent, bonus for my class participation, but more imptly, the tutor remembered me!

..:: 479. The One With Don't Feel Like Writing ::..

was watching nip|tuck. besides the gross scenes but this episode about air crash touched me. nancy (daughter) quarrelled with her mum and asked her mum to get out of her life. nancy asked her mum to take the earlier flight home instead. unfortunately, the plane crashed and her mum was scarred beyond recognition. as she was sharing her deepest thoughts and regret, her mum gasped for air. nancy held a pillow over her mum and soon she stopped breathing. i wondered whether she did that, cos she wanted to end her mum's suffering? the show ended with her going back to her apartment and in the living room, her mum emerged from the sofa.

no she was not dreaming, the rest is up to you to imagine.

the skin on my shoulders started to peel... that is what happened when you get sun burnt.

was watching victoria's secret fashion show. somehow most of the models looked alike lol. i was more interested in the themes of each 'display', the stage set-up, the music they played, the poses, the accessories that went with the 'inner beauty'

8 more days to finland! finally single-digit countdown.

..:: 478. The One With Memories ::..

was surfing through friendster and saw one of my men's profile and pix reminding me of my army days (though i am still in, now half-time). it reminds me of what drives me to join the army. the brotherhood and the capability of changing one's life. during pc (platoon comd) interview, i was able to find out what is troubling my guys and help them find source of motivation. i think i have mentioned before, but i still feel gratified by my platoon. many of whom had injuries and could actually choose to opt out for our final overseas exercise on medical grounds. However, they told me during the interview before the exercise that they wanna fight it for me, with the platoon and that would be their greatest achievement before they ord.



started on my birthday under the scorching sun at nee soon camp transit gap. under strength compared to other platoons and a few fighting fit had history of back injury so cant carry most of the stuff. they did it before midnight and as i had promised them, they could throw me into the gap since they had given me such a great teamwork as my birthday present.



this pic is taken at the end of our exercise in thailand. what you cant see, is the sweat, blood, pain, agony, injuries sustained throughout the 14 days. they were with me under the harsh weather, first day of mission, rained heavily and shivered under the chilly wind. went on to fight despite the lack of sleep. then met with river crossing at the first obstacle and we all ended up with blisters cos of soaked boots and some foot rot. then i was 'lucky' enough to got to execute a mission under my commanding officer for an ad-hoc block mission. i only got 30 mins to plan and was pretty stressed but hyped up, my sect comds instead of sleeping in the tonners came down and we had a strategic discussion and it saved a lot of time cos i did not need to explain to them again during orders.

walked 3km with blisters but in the end it was a 'thumbs up' by the CO and all would not have been possible without my platoon, small but mighty :)

i guess it was a great way for them to ord, knowing that the whole company got redcon 1 and being pc for the first time, under my great OC, i had learnt so much, not only tactics but also character building and planning skills that will bring me far. must dig out some pix to show my fellow PCs and OC. till then, ask not why i sign on, but what have you missed during your army days :)

..:: 477. The One With Being 21 ::..

mmm... my birthday is like 8 days away. being 21 is of course more than just being able to watch R21 movies. still figuring out what other stuff i can actually do when i turn 21. for one thing i know i can get my idd access. cant call my overseas friend, it is so troublesome to buy idd card. i have a few things i wanna achieve, perhaps i should list down to remind myself. For my 3 years in NTU, i hope to achieve a few things.

1. be in event comm for a national event (done, perhaps try again next year)
2. be in sub comm for at least 2/4 national events (trying out different portfolio)
3. be involved in an overseas community service project
4. be involved in grassroot commmittee (hopefully southwest? :P - to give back to the community)
5. have a public performance (dance)
6. be able to drive :(
7. complete my salsa classes
8. go for overseas exchange programme
9. move to my own house
10. go korea! honeymoon? lol

and still get good results!



visit: http://www.xphysique2007.ntusportsclub.com
it is a team event where you abseil, kayak, swim, run, climb, etc.


no further comments required, pretty obvious eh?

..:: 476. The One With Debrief ::..

oh well, pity my sis, now under a lot of pressure but hey things will be ok de :) i'll be there for u la. just give me a ring if you need help ba since i seldom at home physically.

had my surf and sweat debrief which ended with a bang. i was late :X cos mistook the time. but all the feedback and all the gratitude were given and received. successful event with loads of memories. the meeting ended with a scavenger hunt, literally. everyone dived to the pile of left-over goodie bags and 'kope' (take) whatever they wanted. some took chips, instant noodles. i took la, but thot they were not the most impt stuff. i was smarter, haha, took all the facial products and deodorants from nivea. enough for me to use for the rest of the year lo. tts how much i took :X

just some random snippets...
*how come i cant see you
*how come you talking to me in the dark

sweet dreams and i cant wait to fly to finland! 10 more days!
shall eat loads of ba kwa and pineapple tarts.

was studying biz law, reading is so tedious. sentence so long and had to decipher what they trying to bring across... like this,

Chao hick Tin JA, delivering the judgement of the court, held that 'where an allegation of fraud had been considered and adjudicated upon by a competent foreign court, the foreign judgement may be challenged on the ground of fraud only where fresh evidence has come to light which reasonable diligence on the part of the defendant would not have uncovered and the fresh evidence would have been likely to make a difference in the eventual result of the case'.

phew. adapted from SAL Annual Review 2002, my further reading on contractual law.

..:: 475. The One With Surf & Sweat 2007 ::..

whole of friday was busy running around zapping all the stuff required for the event. did until 3am and i woke up at 7am. had to rush down to pass my friend tags. so when i reached harbourfront, the cab fare was like 30 bucks.

started unloading all the 'stores' which were a lot! big boxes of goodie bag items and our own stuff like queue poles, tables, sound system, too many to mention. after what is considered warm-up, we have to re-shift all the boxes to prepare for goodie bag packing. using a supply-chain like system, we packed 1600 goodie bags in a few hours and then came transporting bags from the roads to the tent at the beach. not possible to do the goodie bag packing on the beach cos you wouldnt want the items to be stained with sand right? also no canvas big enough for us to work on...

then came setting up the individual stations... my sub comm not there so me and another female main comm had to move all the stores over to our holding area. luckily my three frenz were there to help.

then my guy friend came like 5+ where almost everything is done. so he was beside me complaining why i have asked him to come when there's nothing much to do. i was rather pissed off as i had so much to do and i already told them by evening, almost everything would have been done and he was nagging at me, saying that he should have listen to his friend not to come and stay at home to study. if you were me, how would you feel? super fed up but had to contain my anger.

during the debrief, i was called out a few times cos they needed me to do a lot of printing stuff and re-hang some banners. my frenz came over after meeting and said 'wah you got so much thing to do, i hear your name until sian'. i was like 'glad that you know, some tasks i cannot allocate to others, have to do it myself'. then luckily they offered to help, i felt a lot better.

then face paper shortage so i had to wait till they went back school to collect more stuff and papers. in the end, i completed my tasks at around 1am, went for a freaking cold shower then slept around 2+ and woke up 5am when the briefing started.

*no roll call, so sad :( but i was saving my phone battery also lar.

the event went smoothly after a bit of chaos at the start cos the participants for the first few details were late. so we were thinking whether to disqualify them or wait cos the first 2 details, no one appeared. they kept pushing us to meet the timing, but i guess it got better after that.

using the loudhailer, i was enjoying shouting and being the most 'kao pei' guy. calling for each detail to report and giving briefing that was internalised and so fast until the participants looked blank, hearing what i have rattled. so sad there were more hunks than babes over at my area... and most babes were actually from the mixed categories or lovers' challenge.

after the event, it was packing of stores again. loaded everything up again to the 4 big lorries. ended about 9 and back in school, it was unloading of stores all over again. really sian. but bo bian. i totally concuss-ed when i went back my hall. cui ~ no energy to even type and talk to my ...

friends. lol. *claps* end of surf and sweat. phew. now gotta catch up with school work. pix to upload soon. too bad nvr take a lot of personal pictures :( but have a pic of my backdrop :)



singlet back view :)

..:: 474. The One With Uber Tired ::..

i am so fucking tired. no strength to type.

disclaimer: fucking emphasises how tired i am. nothing offensive.

received a surprise email. :X read like thousand times.

..:: 473. The One With Damn Pissed ::..

wah. damn pissed and feeling FUCKED UP!

i remember asking my frenz whether they would like to join surf sweat sub com... telling them specifically you need to keep 3,4th free and i remember saying 3rd cos need to pack goodie bags and stuff. now 3 out of my 6 frenz pang seh... say they cannot make it on time for sat.

WTF??!?

firstly, i was busy the whole day running around just to get stuff printed. not easy, cos those stuff need to print are everywhere, i have to hunt for it. Mostly, i needed to do up signages and print. used up whole ream of my own paper to print. run around library to get it blown up to A3 and to student activities centre to sort out and see what i have missed out.

then my frenz kept asking me 'how tomorrow?' i got no time to think of such contingencies. fuck. somemore, tml out of my goodwill, i have to take a cab down to pass my frenz entry tags so they can get in free. most people if they missed the meeting in the morning, they would just have to pay like 2 bucks to go in. i dunno why am i trying to be a nice guy and i feel that i have been taken advantaged of. everyone is meeting at SAC tomorrow at 8am. i have to wake up early catch a cab down to deliver the tags. for fuck. i feel unjust.

and 2 frenz cant come in the morning cos they are delivering flyers for canvassing. WHAT? i mean i told u 3rd and 4th to be kept free and if you got genuine reasons like my other friend who had birthday, i still can take it. and the delivering of flyers is planned by themselves. so what does this mean?

firstly, i am not the biggest fuck so i dun get to call shots. by not appearing, my seniors will bug me and ask why my sub comms are not there... then they will question how do i choose my sub comms... dry run never come. D-1 also never come.

as for my friend with birthday, i warned her that her bdae on that day and whether she can. then she assured me 'can'... then she told me that she could only make it before 9pm. WTH? 9pm? everything set up liao, you can just come here and sleep lo.

i mean people can actually imagine all the tentages and banners and stage, etc to just appear overnight? somemore now no points system so we are already getting min number of helpers.

why is this happening to me? i hate it when i cant blame my friends nor can i take the blame totally...

just glad that some1 helping me to get frenz to substitute, but i guess it's quite late now and asking them to appear at 1045am is wishful thinking.

i'm so dead tml.

..:: 472. The One With Overloaded ::..

*it's amazing how you can speak right to my heart

sun event but so many things to be done! weekends burnt.

1. biz law tutorial (my turn to present to the class)
2. accounting tutorial
3. study for accounting test
4. communication module - write email assignment
5. comms module - prepare presentation
6. financial mgt tutorial (have to prepare cos need to present to the class)
7. do up and print signages

went to buy my winter wear... 130 bucks :( big hole in pocket. then realised have to fork out money first to print event tag cos the original guy too expensive. :(

former changi general hospital is turning into a spa-cum-resort. lol. imagine u in a jacuzzi and saw a reflection of a soldier. eeee....

*without saying a word, you could like up the dark

..:: 471. The One With Valentine ::..

from 12am, been trying to log on to the network hub connecting several laptops and also trying to tap on the weak wireless network in the canteen. then only a few people working on the registration as not everyone knew how to use the software nor what to do. some started watching video, some played CS all the way till about 5am where a few had left.

Then we started to send emails out and by 630am, we finally went back. poor me promised to help my friend print lecture notes before hand, i had to make it to the 830am lecture no matter what. so i lay on my bed for 45 mins before i got a wake up call from someone :) first thing in the morning that i heard :) perked me up to go to sch...

ok may sound like i am complaining, but towards the end, i could feel that we really want to help each other out and the team spirit was there. so i am glad i did not go back early...

debbie's birthday. with her bf. so sweet


backdrop finally out!


doing my own event tag :P


valentine day coming... what are you getting for your partner?

i mean girls who are looking forward to being pampered, be spolit should be ditched! read in a news article, a few of the NTU girls said public transport is not an option o_O gulps. so demanding, no wonder some of them are still single... there is one even worse, she wants no less than an extravagant dinner at Equinox or cable-car dining. and the statement ended 'She is currently unattached'. like duh?

a typical girl would be pleased by surprise. no need for expensive surprise. it could be composing a love poem or song and if you cant sing and you sing, hey, it's a plus point :) i know its cliché but it's from the heart, priceless. i can have all the money to buy gifts to all the girls but i dun prepare and put in effort to do something for everyone, so get the hint?

well as for guys, i guess the most important is to enjoy what he had planned, being egoistic guys, most important is to make him feel appreciated and wanted. dun play mind games la ~ dun drop hints and expect us to know what you want. if you want that kind of guy, find santa... love cannot be measured by how much he is willing to spend and dun compare your boyfriends with your friends' cos the only way to make them jealous is to show them how much you guys love each other and how simple true love can be. no need gimmicks, no need sweet talk or accessories.

of course, if surprise comes from both sides that would be good cos you cant expect guys to come up with surprise right? when we run out of ideas, you say we are boring? not romantic? sheesh...

like the old saying goes, when you are in love, you should make everyday a valentine's day.

..:: 470. The One With Cake ::..

is a big cake on 21st birthday a neceessity? come to think of it, my birthdays so far, never had birthday cake before. maybe i had but not big or special enough... i always thot 21st bdae should be a blast.

btw i woke up this morning and realised i got 20 sandfly bites on my right leg and 10 on my left. a gift from sentosa. arghz. super itchy. one stratch can hit so many spots lo...

side track...

SINGAPORE: Nanyang Technological University's Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme has been ranked the best in Singapore and third in the Asia Pacific region, according to The Financial Times (FT)'s listing of top MBAs in the world.

The programme was conferred a similar ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit in October last year.

NTU says its MBA programme has also received accolades from other well-known universities and global names, with its graduates seeing an average salary increase of 110 percent three years after graduation.

The FT listing also puts NTU's Nanyang Business School in 67th position, above well-known global names like Washington University's Olin School, the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business and Melbourne Business School of the University of Melbourne. - CNA/ir

..:: 469. The One With Dry Run ::..

was at sentosa at 830 early in the morning. yawnz. didnt sleep much and was drizzling. my subcom only 2/5 came :( haiz. disappointing. but really appreciate regina and jeremy to come. think they enjoyed themselves too. my other 2 frenz were supposed to be fake participants. lucky i got 1 substitute and another came from the main comm, if not sure kena 'gan' :(

but was quite pissed off cos i dun like to play mind games. one of the comm people was saying this to me 'eh john, today the sun very bright hor, why u in the shade?' then having pple ard him giggling, i feel awkward. what did i do wrong, or not do?

i mean sometimes i may think too much, but it's either 1. they find me slack and was hinting me to help others or 2. i was chatting with my friend who apparently was chio. i meant each of us have our own area to take care and if you are unhappy about anything just tell me straight and not say something so vague and laugh among yourselves. and for your record, i did help in the retrival of stores while more people were sitting and talking under the shelter.

another thing that always pissed me off was that somehow somewhere sure got people give me such a comment: wah john, you very skinny leh. i know it's inevitable ... but i think i had enough of that. i mean YOU think i dun wan to eat? YOU think i do nothing about my weight? YOU know how much food i buy to feed myself? How much YOU spend for food and the no of meals YOU eat? I bet i spent at least twice. it is like telling a person, wah you are very ugly leh. as if the person never bothers to do something. not trying to be mean here but sometimes i feel that they should grow really FAT and then they will appreciate that i have such a high metabolic rate and ask me how to eat and eat and not grow fat.

..:: 468. The One With Being Young ::.

was quite upset today. had a few of my frenz in my surf sweat sub comm... but later having dry run and some of them told me they 1. dun wan/dun feel like going cos nothing much to do, 2. cannot go.

i mean they have no obligation and i cant force them to go but i feel it is very hard for me... firstly if they dun go, it doesnt reflect good on me cos they are the ones i chose to be my sub comm... i also cant just tell my main comm, my sub comm cannot make it as i have told them long ago. haiz. headache...

anyway today is debbie's birthday, so wish her a happy 21st birthday, yeah not only u are older by one yr, u are older than me :X oops. went to aloha loyang, travel from west to east then back again. all for u leh. lol.

then boarded a taxi, the uncle asked me whether i am nervous about my results. i was like o_O... then i told him i am in uni. he told me 'oh i thought u jc student'... lol. first time someone told me i look that young :P happy :)

serenade with a song :)

..:: 467. The One With CSI ::..

No, mob tv does not provide CSI episodes but one of my modules did! lol. attended the lecture on forensic science techniques...

Excerpts taken from episodes: Pilot & Cool Change (Holly's case - Disc 1), Boom (Nick's arrest -Disc 4), Table Stakes (Pirahna case- Disc 4) and Justice Is Served (Porphyria case - Disc 6)

1st video: presence of maggots on a dead body so the forensic officer mentioned 'pupal stage 3 of larval metamorphosis... then we examined the facts of the metamorphosis of a housefly and concluded that he made a false statement...

also learnt DNA fingerprinting and revisited A level bio... then the 3rd video showed a clear skin epithelial cell which was not possible cos samples taken from a murderer's weapon (rope) were contaminated.

then the porphyria case - reads: legend of the vampire. that girl featured eats human parts. symptoms include skinlesions, increased hair growth on areas like forehead (werewolf)...

then went for surf sweat meeting from 7pm-3am :) was quite troubled when i saw a note passed down to my partner. apprarently i was wrong in a way to use the laptop while in the meeting (i was doing the backdrop and download better image). i would appreciate if the note was directed to me, why is there a need to pass to a senior to ask her to inform me not to use the laptop?

pissed off... wanted to vent my anger... but had to be more understanding...

..:: 466. The One With Webcam ::..

watched mobtv again and discovered that at clementi ave 2 among the heartland, there is actually a beach volleyball court. yeah, next time can go there and play.

then after which can go clementi arcade to try 'the daily scoop'. serve very nice ice cream and waffles.

hee.. today connection finally up and have webcam session. so happy. took a few snapshots can use as blackmail :X yeah. cant sleep tonite...

..:: 465. The One With Mob TV ::..

wah mob tv has become my companion... watched fact or fiction again by kym ng finding out how true some of the internet claims that were made. i was quite shocked to know that coke (they use black coloured soft drink w/o label so can be pepsi, sarsi, etc) to derust nails and coins and it really worked. when added with mentos (the sweet) the reaction was a sight to behold.

watched the arena too where students from sec sch debate over certain issues each week. first episode was on 'good looks triumph over effort' with preposition team from loyang sec sch with 3 gals vs raffles institution. very interesting to watch but really admire them for the courage to be on tv and remain calm to deliver and rebutt... in the end, loyang sec won... surprisingly... but by a small margin 2 points

then when u watch chij st nic (preposition) and mgs...first speakers were like in a catfight. motion was about ' selfish, yes we are. our youth are driven by self-centredness alone'. mgs won by huge margin... i think SNGS lost it when they blurred the line between self centered and self interest.

did registration stuff for surf sweat... everyone so into soccer in the lounge. i was the weird one who wanted to get the work done asap. went back feeling weird. but happy to be on the phone with ... hunting for an apartment... :P

..:: 464. The One With $20 ::..

Sometimes we just need to be reminded!
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked,

"Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, "What if I do this?"

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.

"Now, who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.

You are special- Don't EVER forget it.

was watching mobtv, got some stuff can intro you guys. watching hdb tai tai by kym ng and chen liping...

if you like chocolate... you can visit:

http://juliustrufflesorder.blogspot.com
http://chocabloc.biz

if you stay in sembawang, there is a restaurant at sembawang park that serve great food and dessert. classy :)

its at beaulieu house, 117 beaulieu road

..:: 463. The One With Missing ::..

-edited-

..:: 462. The One With KBox ::..

yeah i subscribed to mobtv. can catch up on all the drama and variety shows. video streaming super fast :)

today managed to change one of my tutorial class, yeah can get to see my old tutorial mates :)

today got my supplements delivered :) whey protein oO

went for my monthly retail therapy. my lucky hands picked a coupon from esprit - 18% off regular bottoms :) i bought 2 tops though. finally no need to shop alone, so miserable. then went for a surprising kbox which i longed to hear someone sing. pleasantly surprised and i beginning to like oldies :P



i withdrew from my dance routine though cos of commitment problems. always clash with meetings... but nvm, sure got other chances.

this week is full of excitement :) dun touch me on friday!

..:: 461. The One With Blood Diamond ::..

yesterday went to watch blood diamond at the cathay. saw someone familiar and she said i look different cos of the way i styled my hair... wah my clay paid off... i dun really put in effort to style my hair until i coloured my hair. gained unexpected attention :X i suddenly thought of a new resolution. i am going for lasik surgery this year! i dun wan contacts nor specs anymore. anyway its 2K plus, my july bonus can offset the costs.

anyway back to the movie, it was great :) u definitely look at diamonds in a different light.

'In america, it's called bling bling. But in africa, it's bling bang'

i thought how true...

yesterday ate quite a lot, though i was expecting dessert... staying in hall, i am always too lazy to take bus out of school to eat. need to buy new clothes, dumb bells, skype phone...

..:: 460. The One With Shack ::..

my schedule is so packed! i am having dance practices every mon, wed, thur, fri, sun. and my surf sweat meeting is on thur so had to give up one practice and meetings maybe on mon, wed. did i mention about the meeting that lasted from 7pm to 3am? prior to the meeting was writing envelopes to send to past participants frm 3-7pm. basically stayed in the same room for 12 hrs! tutorials start next week so not in the mood to do... my first ntu dance performance on wed... nervous...

mon booth decoration starting again. and mon night got dance... think also having door-to-door publicity for surf and sweat in dorms... feeling tired almost everyday.

oh ya. thursday was memorable. got a surprise gift. keep me warm in the night :) so sweet. best afternoon nap ever.

sun must go buy costumes le :(

..:: 459. The One With Lectures ::..

it was the add-drop period for ntu students, meaning you can choose to opt for modules or drop those you dont like or even change classes.

i didnt think i want to take up an elective this sem. wanna relax. in the end, my friend told me there is this elective where they watch videos and is mcq for exams. i took a look:

BS803 SCIENCE OR FICTION? - BIOLOGY IN POPULAR MEDIA

In Jurassic Park, dinosaurs are cloned from fossils. In the Matrix, human brain powers are exploited to provide "electricity" for the machines. In Jewel in the Palace, a dark political plot was planned based on a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principle. In C.S.I., a scraping from the skin helped to solve the crime. Biology has found its way into popular media, but how much of these are based on real Science, and how much are purely Fiction? The scientific authenticity of such screen work will be the focus of this course. During each session, excerpts from movies/TV serials will be shown that (supposedly) are based on biological principles. The principles will then be explained and the "Science or Fiction?" aspect of the films discussed. Multiple-choice format will be adopted for the examination.

when i saw tv shows, i was excited but when i saw jewel in the palace, i didnt hesitate to 'bid' for the module. initially there was no vancanies, then i kept refreshing and clicking to 'add'... in the end some1 dropped and i got it! so happy...

anyway, this sem modules so dry.. sian.

financial management
accounting
business law
IT
communication management fundamentals

biz law lecture was interesting... the lecturer shared with us his travelling experience and law in different countries but the tutorial has to read 8 pages of essay to do!

so caught up with work. having dance practices like 3 times a week and surf and sweat meeting like twice a week. no time for love arh! these few days felt tired and weak. maybe used to slping 12 hrs...

oh. i got my bonus. so happy. 10th each month is happy day for all guys in green. (minus navy and airforce)

..:: 458. The One With My First Dye ::..

no school today. went to camp to settle admin. then went back to school for booth manning debrief. later my shift... went to kimage with my fren to cut and colour my hair, for the first time! very happy with my hair.




sian biz law lect at 830am. can wake up anot? then accountacy lect. hopefully can stun pple :X in a good way.

..:: 457. The One With School Reopen ::..

yea... finally i can scream 'school reopens'! cant wait to see my friends in lectures and make new friends. with timetable so slack, i need to find more things to do. currently mon free, only 2-4 hours each day. dunno should i cramp to get mon, fri free? *dun hit me* all you non-business students :X

didnt do much retail therapy (some1 actually asked me what it meant? *faints). haiz, no new clothes for school... trying to save $ see finland what i can buy except nokia handphones.

this sem i could actually learn salsa! and i aiming to gym at least 3 times a week! while most of the students going school tml, i am going back camp to do outprocessing admin. how sad. and i am going to cut and colour my hair! hopefully when i go school on tue can stun people. in a gd way.

went to buy something weird in the morning. malu. lol. ok not condoms, thank you for guessing. then had quickie, i mean quick bite before going to gym. so bloody crowded. i am going to make reimbursement for my hostel fees and get 1k + richer. hopefully they give me my salary on 10 jan :X

..:: 456. The One With Song ::..

cant get this song out of my head... by dreamz fm. kinda explain my feelings... why am i so emotional? kinda weird but i feel my energy draining away faster than i want to...

Had a drive driven by your love
But when you messed around
i lost the drive i found

i thought you needed, needed someone true
but you changed your mind
or have i failed you

wish you been careful with my heart
but you tore it apart
and broke an angel's heart

i guess the truth hasnt end somehow
but i am living proof
of what love is about

it's hard holding you, loving you, losing you
it's sad to be true and be fooled by you
i dont know (i dont know)
i gotta know
should i stay or should i go

you played me on, played me like a clown
but i feel for you
even though i'm down
my heart is heavy, heavy like a rock
but i am so amused
you're still in my thoughts

it's hard holding you, loving you, losing you
it's sad to be true and be fooled by you
i dont know (i dont know)
i gotta know
should i stay or should i go

*what am i to you?*

sarah jessica parker mentioned:
'how can you be in a relationship when you are sleeping around?'



today was 'summoned' by somebody that i had to go see my boss who is a major. quoted,
'may i know where were you since yesterday? we might want to put you as missing or AWOL if you still fail to respond my call. the possible offence might affect your study and future. Cc to jaslyn'

dont you feel it's such a threatening message? i just put my hp silent and was busy with my meeting and saw this message and got stunned.

i mean since when sms have such thing like 'cc to whoever', the new 'in' thing?

after my surf sweat meeting which started at 3pm to write addresses on envelopes for past participants, the official meeting started at 7pm and ended at 3am. i had to wake up at 6am to rush to camp to see the major. while walking to camp, i was super worried what will happen to me... had to run into the camp...

lucky the officer was understanding. he requested me not to explain. lol. just gave me some advice to avoid such situation. i heaved a huge sigh of relief.

i'm really blessed to have so many people around me supporting me. like my dar who called me at 6am to wake me up in case i oversleep. so sweet to stay up till 6am to call me. also wanna thank my surf sweat fellow publicity officer, lavarne for showing me the ropes and guiding me so patiently...

then took a day off to go for pre dry run for surf sweat. something happened but shant elaborate. went there to do my part, some ran, some cycled, the rest fed mosquitoes as marshals.

..:: 455. The One With New Year ::..

harlow to all :) happy new year 2007. as usual every new year i changed my blog skin. gosh, each year seemed to pass even faster. no need to explain i love chocolate and this year i am hoping it will make me fat.

2006 started off with me taking the saf scholarship and embarking on a military life. everyone questioned my move. as far as you may think the system is screwed up or NS is a waste of time, i still feel i could do my part and be someone who can try and change the system, even though i may be a small fry. i still enjoy knowing more people and changing lives.

greatest moments of 2006:

1. being platoon comd for 30SCE delta platoon 12.
2. getting a mission to build bridge on my birthday and setting a new record with my down-strength of specialists and men.
3. my company getting redcon 1 for our etep.
4. travelled to taipei and fell in love with the place.
5. got into NTU NBS.
6. participated in sports camp by NTU sports club
7. knowing pumbaa
8. knowing tutorial frenz
9. x'mas eve dinner
10. getting reasonably good results

2007 proves to be yet another exciting year.

1. surf and sweat 2007 happening on 4 feb. i am one of the 2 publicity officers in the main comm. the comm is great with a few seniors whom i learnt a lot from.

2. going finland :P and get frostbite

3. danceworks

4. biannual dance concert by NTU-Modern Jazz Dance Club

by the way speaking of danceworks, i felt blessed to have frenz who thought of me even though i missed the 2 dance classes. one of my guy friends msged me and asked whether i am keen to join them in danceworks and even made a trip down to my area to get my copy of my IC.

this year, my batch of 86 guys are matriculating to universities. lol. and i'm their senior! really looking forward for school to start. i wanna see my frenz. need to buy clothes to wear for school :(

this year is the year of pig. got affected by sleeping disease from someone :X snoozing like at least 12 hours a day.

..:: 454. The One With New Year ::..

mmm... just wondering how would u feel if some1 cheated on you? i'm still confused whether am i keeping the hope alive? or am i just stupid to ignore the signs?

in life i guess there are not many things you can have 2nd chance. i guess i gave 2 and definitely my final one. may god give us strength to fight all odds.

anyway went to watch death note marathon and it was definitely an amazing show. didnt expect so much twist and probably one of the best movies i have watched in year 2006. besides watching, had a little something extra. i almost could not catch the show...

new year countdown was spent eating steamboat and enjoying some 'family' time. i just ate non-stop, perhaps i was bored? or maybe i was deep in thought...

i will draw up my new year resolutions soon, though people said you make to break them. lol.

is there really true love? are you loving someone without restriction? are you really letting down your guard or you are too afraid to get hurt? in life and games, you know that being too defensive will hinder you in making a step forward. Don't wait for things to happen, cos time dont wait for you. If you missed the boat, you'll regret it.