a sign of change?

metamorphisis. i like that. i know what you're talking about Shirlyn and i'm glad to read that you and Mary had a good time in Tioman; for me, i gotta come out of my cocoon. i've been spending too much time with myself and not with others. anyway, i cut my hair (literally though my dad decided to "fix" it up a bit afterwards) so here's me:



this was taken via the lovely LG Shine procurred through a new family mobile contract. lol, Mary i remember you were trying to decide between your current phone and the Shine. it's too sexy. haha.



anyway, we'll see how things go. i gotta get free of my head. the next two weeks, i'm gonna write a 15page research paper on the recently signed Intellectual Property Protection Act which looks like more of the same battle between content providers and tech providers. i've a corporate finance test next monday and i think i should do well (how'd you find yours, Mary?). i've a business proposal to submit by next thursday plus a few short chapter summaries. there's also that corporate finance project that is due sometime but no info so not thinking about it. haha. finally, there's the 2 day class that i have to take, world-view leadership, happening on the 24-25th. dunno how that'll go. we'll see.

hopefully, i'll check the blogs more often. then start responding to emails again. and go on from there.

Oops

Ehehe, haven't looked at this blog in a while. Actually, haven't been reading blogs much at all. Things have been fine since I arrived in the US. Somewhat busy. Making friends and all. Getting email addresses. Meeting pretty babes. If I was wont to repeat jokes, I'd write about a girl I met in the library that I fell hopelessly in love with but I used that one while I was in Australia. Haha.

At any rate, life's looking up. APU's looking to be better and better. Did you know that Bryan Clay, the decathlon gold medalist is APU alumni and trains at APU pretty much daily? Or that my course is AACSB accredited, something only about 312 Business Schools in the world have, a list that includes Harvard and Wharton? Fascinating.

The people are looking to be great people and I think that's a fabulous thing given that environment was the main reason I chose APU. Anyway, 2 days of orientation done, should be settling my registration by tomorrow.

Great Evenings

Wow, two great evenings in a row. Yesterday night, I had a really great time with my choir friends at Hanabi; great company plus I ate like a pig. Hehehe. All that training with the people in HRMC paid off. Cleaning up Din Tai Fung orders has shown me the path to how to stuff myself thoroughly. Hahaha.

Tonight, I had a great time with Liling. Laksa at Toastbox plus foot reflexology plus random shopping. Fun! Haha! She's wonderful to be around. A great end to a trying day at work.

I really thank God for the beautiful people He's placed in my life and for teaching me how to appreciate and to love them more and more. Life with You is truly better, Your ways and Your love I really cannot do without.

Good Day

today was a good day at work. tiring and in some ways blur but good. was almost late for work -- went to bed 2:30am and struggled to get out of bed. hehe. was still in time though i missed breakfast.. which was ok because lunch was bak kut teh! woot! good stuff. God is good. hehe.

anyway, ran about with a packet of pocky because i couldn't get myself to say no effectively and firmly enough. but it was alright. i mean, i usually don't snack but i went around giving pocky to kids who'd finished their lunch and haha, i'd say the lunch went pretty well. they were going crazy over it. haha.

homework time was pretty amazing even when i had to take the class solo.. can't remember why but i was alone. then i just told everyone that they can talk BUT if i can identify the voice, that person gets IT time reduced. good tactic but execution can be better. the idea is to really bring down the hammer on the first person to exceed the line, even by a bit, but i was too focused on helping some of the kids with their homework and.. yeah. i'm not sure where or when it started but i just don't notice the background noise when i'm concentrating. end result -- a lot of names on the board but hey, it was amazingly quiet compared to the usual chaos. hehe.

gretel also gave me a fairly loud *complete* sentence today. something along the lines of "timothy doesn't want to give yvette's brush back" plus a few more words i didn't catch. wow. she must really care about yvette to speak like that. i mean, it was audible. i wasn't specifically listening for it and i could still catch her meaning. wow. i mean, it's like jenny volume. soft, shy, but clear within a small radius. i feel really blessed and honored, really, thinking about it. one of my fellow teachers hasn't even heard her speak before and i've already gotten plenty of talk-time. mostly from making her read homework questions together with me but also some of the fun times when she forgets that i'm a "teacher". hehe. her throat-clearing can also be surprisingly loud. as in, whoa, gretel can make such a loud noise?! i have a vague suspicion that she's doing it on purpose. hehe.

caleb almost cried on me today yet in the end, he did his work. it was tricky but i felt i handled it well. i gave him a choice to do some of his work and get some playtime in later or just sit beside me while i help gretel with her homework. it was really give and take. i think i got conned by his school bus argument but given how emotional he was feeling, it's entirely possible he forgot his dad was picking him up. anyway, he went from, i don't know how to do, don't know to do, can never learn how to do to just needing to confirm his answers with me. i consider that a great success even if he only did 1 question without any input from me.

and speaking of helping. wah. gretel almost defeated me but for the grace of God. she is... one tough cookie. from 4:50pm till 5:55pm, she did a grand total of 2 math questions. ouch. most of the time was spent just her doing her sway. wow. what endurance. i thank God for yvette -- i have a strong suspicion that it was her argument that she was willing to sacrifice her playtime to be beside gretel, her constant encouragement for gretel to be willing to learn and to do.. ok, i'm convinced it was yvette that got gretel to finally do the question. i mean, it took her about all of 20 seconds to write out the working and the answer for the question. she must really, really hate doing math. she's likes english and chinese though. something to take note of. =)

and yeah, i was ready to give up at 6pm. it's torture for both gretel and i to just sit there, me intermittantly trying to teach her, encourage her, blah blah blah and her for the most part, doing her silent sway with roving eyes. oh she has pretty eyes by the way. i noticed after i cajoled her into more eye contact. hehe. yeah, i feel really blessed that she would still feel comfortable around me -- we've had more than one of these "torture sessions" before.

also had a good chat with ling lao shi. i had a feeling she really knew her stuff and now i know for sure she really knows her stuff. got a few tips, few insights, and some encouragement. what teachers really need is ai xing and nai xing and she says i have both. good stuff. =)

if you haven't gathered by now, i adore these kids even though they can really manage to both irritate and wear me down. thank God for giving me such a good training environment. i've got lots of improvement to go, but i've improved a lot.

EODM - End of Month Debrief

heh, end of the month.. end of the day debrief. still remember 2WO Lim going through the massive stacks of EODDs for alpha battery. i have to say that out of the different non-commissioned officers in 18da, i respect him the most.

anyway, the symposium is over. i got... very busy. somehow i was held accountable for the stage, registration, and technical aspects plus some of the signage. messy that was. at any rate, i'm told i did a good job and they did kinda look sincere as they said it so i'm just going to leave it at that and plop this symposium onto my resume. whatever happened, it was a good learning experience.

oh and Romi was a cool guy. stay calm. be cool. things are all good. haha, picked up a few control room tricks from the technician. he does concerts, gigs, and equipment rentals too and one thing i like which he mentioned is bringing backup music -- if the customer's cd isn't mastered (volume normalized, etc) properly, then he'll just use his own. no need to go all crazy over a small issue -- in the end, it's the ambiance and flow that counts, not the exact music used.

and i must thank God for bringing me through. i had been falling sick for weeks and the week of the symposium i was really hitting the rocks. maybe cuz i wasn't doing a lot of telemarketing anymore and correspondingly drinking less water. whatever the case, i'm glad that the crash came on earlier this week. wow. earlier this week.

wow. the symposium really felt like it was ages and ages ago. must have been a really long week and in a way, it was. i'm getting better with the kids now, being more firm and all.

on other fronts, PCM is getting better. getting closer too. choir will be throwing me a farewell dinner 7th of August. looking forward to that. will also have to look for a venue since they're leaving it up to me. haha!

this blog post is starting to really wander so i'm just going to bring it to a close with two things. first are two lines from the last song i'm singing with the choir before i leave, Wherever You Are - "but the will of God won't lead you / where the grace of God can't keep you". they're so nice, they let me pick the song. haha.

the second is a video of Michael Jackson performing Man in the Mirror. the lyrics have been on my mind for sometime, especially the part "that's why i'm starting with me". starting. not if it's to be, it's up to me but if it's to be, it starts with me. i like that. i really do.

Symposium

wow.. i keep saying that life's been plodding along but i hadn't quite realized that it's been so long since i last posted on this blog. erm.. lemme see, life is ok. busy these days since the symposium on protecting your child against the cyber menace 24:7 is just next saturday. i'd been roped in to do telemarketing.. then it transitioned to include being in charge of the registration team on the day itself.. and then it became i'd be the hands-off ic instead and focus on getting the tech-team to be ready since the original dudes won't be back in time to recce the place. i really hope we get to set up the night before or at least before 9am. 9am gives us 30 minutes to get every bit of IT and sound up and running and tested, including integrating the speakers presentations in. oh well, should be fun.

on other news, avita's anniversary is doing black light theatre instead of dance. a little disappointing and surprising at the same time. blt is a blast from the past. it's been 8 years or so since i last did it.. but haha, muscle memory still seems to kicking about.

and on other notes, i'm contemplating purchasing a contemporary bag. one of those sideslung ones. been browsing about, converse seems to have a nice one. i suppose it's appropriate to show the briefcase that i'm planning on getting:

you can take a closer look at it here: ShopMarriott Minimalist Briefcase

whaddya think? liked it after spending quite a bit of time browsing through different briefcases online. i like clean lines and simplicity. haha.

Life

Life is once more plodding along. Telemarketing in the morning. Childcare in the afternoon. Nights are random. After watching Kung Fu Panda with Ziliang and The Incredible Hulk by myself, I've decided to implement a new habit which is a movie every weekend. Current plan is Hancock tomorrow night 8pm. Next week is still undecided. Anyone who wants to go watch a movie together can just sms me. It'll be guaranteed that I'll be watching *something*.

Started reading up Boundaries again. Will lend if others are interested, will finish it if no one is. Still going through You were Born Rich. Let Go and Let God is making more sense now. I'll be moving on soon.

And just as an aside, before I leave, I'd like Gretel to become comfortable enough to not mind-blank the moment I go near. Maybe even hold a conversation. Haha. We'll see.

Keep whistling "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin. Trying not to in class. Haha. Whistling not allowed.

Just three things really: a hymn, a verse, and an email

1. Hymn

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!

~ William and Gloria Gaither

2. Verse

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

3. Email
Don't give up, because He did not

One day, I decided to quit...
I quit my job, my relationship, and my spirituality.
I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
'God', I asked, 'Can you give me one good reason not to quit?'
His answer surprised me...

'Look around', He said. 'Do you see the fern and the bamboo?'
'Yes', I replied.

'When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor.

Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year, the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed.

But I did not quit on the bamboo', He said.

'In year three, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit.

In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit', He said.

'Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just 6 months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle', He said.

He asked me, 'Did you know, my child, that all this time that you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?'

'I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others', He said.

'The bamboo had a different Purpose from the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.

Your time will come', God said to me.

'You will rise high'
'How high should I rise?' I asked.
'How high will the bamboo rise?' He asked in return.
'As high as it can?' I questioned.
'Yes.' He said, 'Give me glory by rising as high as you can.'

I left the forest and brought back this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.

Never, Never, Never Give up.

For the Christians, Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,

Tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Rick Warren Interviewed by Larry King

i did say i'd be going to sleep soon and indeed i have to. i got started reading a transcript of Rick Warren being interviewed by Larry King and well, i very much respect Rick Warren and ended up reading all ten pages worth of the interview. i recommend it for reading as well.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/22/lkl.01.html

and on that note, i'm going to look up my Purpose-Driven Life (hopefully it's in Singapore) and start reading it again. =)

edit: oops, linkie without text..

just plodding along

mm.. yet another update to just keep plodding along, keep in the habit of posting to this blog. mmm.. started a new book, You Were Born Rich, recommended by my mentor and thus far finding it really thought-provoking. i've never gone through a book so slowly and thoroughly before, save those journal articles that require a check in the dictionary every few words or so. amazing stuff. i'm not done yet, but i'd recommend the book to anyone.

on other fronts, i've picked up a job in a daycare centre; should be good. i like kids. =)

on other other news, i did a good job on my solo in choir today. happy. =)

Where in Heaven is Mozart?

wow, it seems every time i visit youtube, something fascinating and inspiring pops up. this one is of a family that decided to take a leap of faith and tour the world, letting their daughter experience the world in a way i definitely wish to let mine own future children experience.


explanation: the girl's nickname is Mozart, the music is by Pachelbel.

miaarose

ran into this singer, Maria Antonia Sampaio Rosa aka Mia Rose, on youtube. inspired really. first is a music video, second a message to her fans.

murder on the dance floor

for some reason, this tune popped back into my mind. it's really catchy and stems from my days in AIESEC. every one danced to this tune. haha! at any rate, the tune's one thing, but this video is a whole different story. it's funny!

Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder On The
Uploaded by hakim93200

i keep thinking i've posted this somewhere but i can't quite remember where...

dawn of war 2!

woah! a peek at gamespot.com revealed that Dawn of War 2 is in the works! a few pretty pictures to boot! this would all be very exciting except that i'm no longer a hardcore gamer.. heck, i'm barely a casual gamer now. haha, nevertheless, i still find the Warhammer 40k universe to be exciting... kinda. all that blood and gore gets old after a while. real life is getting more and more interesting. haha!

anyway, it's been a few days since i updated. in the meantime, i've gotten my US visa, discovered that the person i was cracking jokes with on monday was actually a SIA pilot getting his aircrew pass (turns out Canadian aircrew need to get these if they're based somewhere other than Canada), read a wonderful book called "Instant Millionaire", met a few interesting people, gained a few leads on employment, tried out a free session with a personal trainer, and discovered that i've improved my IPPT 2.4km timing by at least 30 seconds.

the most interesting thing this week would be getting short-changed by Recruit Express -- they sent me down to Kallang for an interview even though I can't commit to the minimum time required by the employer. now the interesting part was that while getting rejected took all of 1 minute, the boss and i proceeded to have an conversation 140 minutes long! haha! cool guy. i really would have enjoyed working with him, i like his style. funny how i went looking for a job and went away with a business contact and possible future business collaboration.

mm.. and that's about it. my laptop's battery levels are low so i'm signing off but if you want details, just ask away.

gonna get me visa soon!

yippee, went to the US embassy today or rather i should term it Fortress USA, cuz it really looks like one of those old school castles with a more oriental bent but all stone. learned a few things:

1. the delays of the earlier time slots ripple downwards -- though i was supposed to start queuing up at 10am, i only got to do so at 10:15am. it would seem that picking the earliest time slot would lead to fewer delays.

2. don't arrive too early. you'll just have to wait until your appointed time anyway and if there are delays.. well.

3. it's a sprint! you can start queuing up for your time slot only after the guard calls it out and you've got around 6+ people at the same time; so just be aware and ready. hehe, i bagged 2nd spot for my line -- the first guy was really quick, like an old hand. haha. and yes, it matters. processing at the front may be relatively quick but the timings are gonna pile up once you start the application process proper -- i waited about an hour+ after i got in.

at any rate, the whole thing went smoothly and i should be able to pick up my passport with its newly minted visa on wednesday afternoon. yipee!

mm.. other news.. sleepy, had to take a nap in the afternoon. and managed to turn off my alarm clock without knowing it. then i cleaned up my room. it was.. not clean. so i'm unpacked and it's looking good. now to try and nab a decent night's sleep so i can have an early start tomorrow. =)

itsa mario!

or "i need to come up with better random titles day"

ok, another update.

1. I've officially moved to Ang Mo Kio as of today. Thanks go out to Wei Jie and Yi Po for helping me lug stuff around yesterday and to Karen and her husband for giving me a hand and a lift today.
2. I've successfully handed over the unit to the tenant's agent. Successfully in that the unit was presentable when they came in to look it over and inventory the stuff. Glad that one went down smoothly. Interesting to see how they go about it. As I myself would have done, the other agent went about photographing the unit. Nothing like evidence to show that no funny business happened under her tenants stay.
3. I've found an even better place to do my internet stuff. Thanks to whoever, I think it was Yingyu, mentioned that McDonald's is a good spot. 24 hours sounds good to me. My CCK McDonald's had neither 24 hours nor internet.
4. Called my mum and sis today after a long break. Well, 1 week feels like a long time. Feels good. Something I needed to do.
5. New place is not bad. Friendly owners. Cute daughter. And in a very weird twist of events, yes Feng, even though you don't know the existence of this blog, it seems that your "lonely daughter of owner" scenario can finally occur. Well, not really. She's 3 years old. It's funny hearing her shout out "koko". As mentioned, cute kid.

mm.. not much more to write. so signing off.

update

haha.. have to remind myself to post every now and then. hmm.. lemme see. visa interview postponed to june 2. still not feeling so well. have a tendency to conk out at weird times.. like today. 5-9pm. oh, and today my voice didn't function so well. wonder if it was the bread i had for breakfast or the chips i've had the past few days. or the fact that i'm not well. heh.

the song "Crucified with Christ" was passed out today in choir. i like that song, sang it in the choir in Perth. find the lyrics meaningful. lovely alto solos. =)

mm.. oh and Mary's bday photos were out. got a few funny ones. hehehe. i note that she didn't tag herself though. oi! how can you be listed as only having one photo when you've got a whole album? =P

speaking of photos, i was going through an old box and found a bunch of really old photos. i mean, old. i get to see my parents before either my brother and i were born. then i get to see us as babies and toddlers till about 8 years old or so. haha, funny. some i remember, some i really don't. i looked cute then. hahaha. when i smiled anyway.

oh and new resolution: having thought about it, lol is a really lousy word. one, it's an acronym and saying it out loud really doesn't sound like anything. two, over-used. haha, really over-used. haha is a much better expression. hehehe.

update

just another update:

- i'm living and breathing.
- i've ended my maxonline subscription when the contract ended yesterday. no more internet at home.
- i've discovered that if i get up from bed before 7am, i'm going to have to eat 4 meals.. minimum. that or walk around hungry.
- i've reaffirmed to myself the fact that when my muscles are sore, the best cure is to exercise them some more while doing more stretching. important note is to not overdo the exercise part.
- i broke the bottom of my sesame seed spread bottle. i'm wondering if the contents can still stay fresh if i leave it in the fridge.

solitaire rulez!

haha, read a funny article about solitaire: Solitaire-y Confinement

on other news, i suppose i'll just update people on how i am. i'm not feeling so well these few days; on friday i began to feel a bit cold and weak with an occasional cough. at the moment, i'm still not feeling so good but i'm alright so don't worry. i'll call if i need help. =)

as for ippt, i didn't do as well as expected for a variety of reasons, not feeling well included, scoring only an incentive pass but it did cement my belief that my fitness level is currently at silver. after all, despite everything, i missed silver by only 1 chin-up and 9 seconds on the track. i believe i'm still on track for getting gold by august. happy training days ahead. haha. =)

oh and for those who don't know why i suddenly scheduled an ippt -- i need an exit permit for my visa interview and i just found out i needed to clock one before i could apply for my exit permit.. hehehe.

Edit: I just got my exit permit! Woot! Thank God. I was worried that I'd be one of those randomly selected to submit documentary proof -- that particular process takes up to 7 days which means I may have had to reschedule my visa interview. Phew! That was the last major document I had to procure. Now for the interview. =D

new place

haha, i'm so happy. i thought the process of looking for a temporary place to stay would be drawn out but turns out.. the first place i visited was great! the price was right, $600 for a nicely sized common room + a/c + utilities; location to food and transport can't quite compare to my current place of course but at 4 bus stops to the mrt, it's already looking much much better than where i stayed during NS. =)

all in all, it was good. after i discussed it with my dad, he felt it was good. i signed. woot! so to all those who actually care, as on june 1 i'll be at Blk 110 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. happy dayz. now just to find a job. haha.

cheng xing's birthday

a bunch of my NS friends celebrated Cheng Xing's birthday today. it was a pretty fun time. even if the schedule... ran late. haha. we were at Jack's Place, food was decent. highlight was when they brought out the cake. i mean, whoa. that they put the candles and give plates and everything was good but.. playing the happy birthday song and congratulating Cheng Xing. wow. i think he was quite stunned. haha! mm.. cake was good. mango! =D

fastforwarding the evening, it was all good. =) now to go to bed. got a busy day tomorrow and an early one at that.

funny personality test

read in a friends blog about this test http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx and just had to try it out.

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

The seriousness of your love:

You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

haha, you who read, decide for yourself how accurate these things are. what i will say is that due to it's unusualness, it's probably more accurate than these tests usually are for me -- i didn't analyze the options this time around. haha. ok, i'll admit that by the end of it, i was already getting an impression of how they were going to assess me so maybe things got a bit modified. i feel it's a bit short though, and was expecting at least a dozen more questions (redundancy is key to removing outliers and assuring overall accuracy).

oesophagogastroduodenoscopy

word for the day: oesophagogastroduodenoscopy

things you find when you look through old emails. haha. the person who underwent it recovered nicely so it's all good. not that i went to check up what the term actually means. hahaha. who says my blog is educational? =P

anyway, another late start today for some reason. oh. slept late. haha. got up at 8am. can't remember what time i slept. vague feeling it was around 2am. ah well. body clock's slowed down it seems.. during NS, i woke up 7am pretty much regardless. now it's 7:30am. mmmm.. must sleep more. haha.

met a friend today. that was a meet-up that got delayed.. by a few months. haha, it's all good. my brother asked me to give her a hug on his behalf.. even learned what a side hug entailed. haha, in the end i chickened out. surprised really, about how hard it was for me to even articulate that he wanted me to hug her. something's wrong here...

[cue lots of joking about getting free hugs from females that i won't actually say out since i think it's about a surefire way to never get hugged again. hehehe.]

mm.. finally finished.. and emailed my essay! wooot! that's a load right off my mind. now to focus on getting my student visa, finding a job, and a place to stay till i leave. in that order.

Mother's Day and the Global Day of Prayer

ooh, it's been a good day today. goooood day.

lemme see, how did it start? oh. woke up late. doh! 8 hours of sleep.. but the previous night was ~2 hours so it's kinda understandable. mm.. today was my choir's turn to sing and i'd say it went alright. i like singing. especially for God. =)

then came a happy surprise. since i had no pink shirts and pink was the dresscode colour, i borrowed a shirt from Edmund. it fit very nicely. then he gave it to me. wooot! i like the shirt! go go us polo! you're the best, Edmund!

so what else. mm.. decent roast chicken rice. choir rehearsal. then went home for a short nap (ok, i ended up just lying in bed) before going for the Global Day of Prayer at Singapore Indoor Stadium. that one was good. felt God's presence. the events of the past few weeks and to an extent past few months have been coming together in a strange yet wonderful way. God made us in His image and well, my interactions with people have been helping me understand my relationship with Him better. i'm so glad i went. actually forgot about it and then when they were mentioning it, i was like oh oh! i gotta go. hehe. ok, so i didn't actually say it like that but you get the picture.

mm.. then to finish up the day, i got invited to join a pastoral care ministry (PCM) group this wednesday. it's something i needed to do for many different reasons but have put off / forgotten since i had a lot on my mind. then yesterday, i sat down and made myself write out a complete draft of my dean's fellows program application essay. took a huge load off my mind. but still God pre-empted me and got me invited. haha. i *would* have gotten around to joining one... ok, it'd probably end up dragging for a few more weeks for lots of dumb reasons.

gave my own mum a ring for mother's day. happy. =)

genting highlands pt 2

alrighty. i'm home from genting highlands. 3 days. had fun though not really the way you'd expect. haha. anyway, first off, here's undying proof that i was in genting.



haha, pretty prosaic. nothing special going on. and here are the clouds that Yingyu requested. haha. i've got two more pics but they're low-res like the others so not much to see, unfortunately.



here you see me a few moments before i fall off. actually this is the point where everyone falls off. haha. at least all of us wall-climbing noobs. there was a girl who stopped halfway but she seemed to be the exception. falling off unexpectedly wasn't too bad at any rate.



one of the highlights has to be the Gems of the World exhibit cuz i'm me. i like looking at all the interesting stuff. new fave colour: pink calcite. dang, never saw such a soft colour before and in a stone no less. there were a lot interesting shapes and i wanted to take photos (forbidden) as they'd make for wonderful vistas with a little bit of imagination and a lot of expansion. the star of the exhibit was this green 3-tonne orb.. it glows in the dark. whoa! looked cool. texture within was nifty too. i think i know what i'll collect as a hobby. hehe.

overall impressions of the place... ok with reservations. if you've limited exposure to theme parks then it's fine. the rides and entertainment spots are ok for a regional destination and the prices reflect this too. however two main criticisms: 1. food tastes bad even while reflecting the higher prices expected at an entertainment destination 2. poor service impressions on the staff. not everyone but just enough to be turned off. hehe, starbucks service was good as usual.

verdict: it's a gambling spot with just enough to entertain the wives and kids... for a day maybe two. more and you'll find sipping coffee and tea at starbucks an appealing idea. haha. to be fair, if we were actually interested in the theme park rides, it'd open up more options but even then..

genting highlands

so my dad arrived in singapore yesterday and we went about, watched a movie (Forbidden Kingdom -- a real mixed bag, perhaps i'll write about it sometime), then we decided that we should go for a trip to Genting Highlands. should be fun. relaxing. i'd never been there too.

so here i am, late at night.. ok, not that late. i'm in Starbucks, sipping my Chamomile Blend tea, trying to stay awake until we can give my mum and sis a ring. blogging. yarss.. so what happened today.

i had two games of bowling with my dad. it's been a really long time since i last bowled (last time was during the first radar battery outing.. whenever that was) but i felt i did fairly reasonably. netted 2 spares and 1 strike each game but failed to capitalize on them -- i got scores of 98 and 97 respectively. i find that my aim goes off when i get excited / nervous / whatever and that if i clear my mind, ball goes quite straight. kinda like what happens to my golf swing. haha. i'm going to really train my golfing skills (more accurately, the lack of them) during my study in the US. can anyone say public golf course? :)

i tried rock-climbing for the first time. fun. tiring. i like it. gives purpose to all that upper-body strength building. especially chin-ups. didn't finish the one go i made today -- i dropped after i couldn't quite figure out a way to proceed. i asked one of the guys and he told me that the next step was to reach up 1-handed. given that i couldn't find any higher footholds, that would mean a 1-handed chinup, maybe boosted with a jump (it's about half a body length above my head.. or so it seemed from my vantage point). i'm going to try that tomorrow. i admit, the thought scares me, to suddenly lose control and fall, but hey, no guts no glory. if i do it right, i might be propelling my body upwards completely free of the wall before grabbing that sole handhold and setting my feet right. heh. i half expect to fall off. oh yeah, falling off is quite the experience. i did voluntarily it but boy, freaky. haha.

then i tried my hand at archery. it was a recurve bow. fun. but my arms were really tired by then. haha, i spent too much time at the wall. so 12 shots. most went way awry. but by the end, i was getting the hang of it, landed 3 arrows on the inner circle. ok, so the target board was just a few meters away and the inner circle was quite big.. my arms were tired! haha. doesn't matter. i kept making the mistake of keeping the bow drawn though -- it saps the strength from your arms really quickly.

i guess the highlight would be the earlier starbucks session (wherein i discovered i could get free wireless internet access) and i just chatted with my dad. i like the small things. people often mistake the "big kill" as what they should look forward to but each time, the kill has to get bigger to derive the same level of satisfaction. the "small kill" is really what keeps the world turning. i got that from "The Ethos Effect", a deep and really interesting (in my opinion anyway) book by L. E. Modesitt, Jr, one of my favorite authors. anyway, talked about life plans.. i think i now have a clearer picture of what to do and what to focus on. still too early to say much, but looking good.

oh, and i forgot to take photos. haha. tomorrow.

solitaire

over the past weeks i have spent much time at this form of art called klondike solitaire, 1 card vegas scoring to be exact. i have finally reached the first milestone of 1000 games. this is my story.



heh. pompous. i like it.

upsey-daisy

i guess i just had to comment that this was a day of ups and downs.

1. woke up around 7:30 - feeling about right. body clock still good to go.
2. received news that i wouldn't be able to meet my friend for dinner - disappointed.
3. had a good session in the gym - feel good. feels like i'm getting somewhere.
4. got out of the house late - on it's own, not a good thing but since i was checking to see if i should do anything for the day.. alright.
5. went to visit the central lending library - basement is awesome. first time. think the layout is sweet.
6. wasted time reading magazine - admittedly i'd been out of the gaming news loop for a bit but nevertheless... no good.
7. managed to put in study time despite not being in the mood for it - good. must have the mental discipline. not very efficient but hey, it's about keeping the momentum.
8. wandered about raffles plaza's basement - good stuff. place looks pretty nifty now with lots more restaurants and shops. certain spots have really nice ambiance.
9. made myself eat dinner despite no appetite - good. must keep eating. must not go underweight. much work was spent gaining those few pounds. lol.
10. slacked about instead of sleeping - not so good. but i had much on my mind so kinda excusable.
11. won poker tournament - yay! not that it means much. and it generally means i'm too pumped to sleep easily. so up and down. summarizes my day really. heh.

i20

yay! my i-20 is on the way. now to apply for a new passport and order more transcripts from Australia. haha, this should be fun.

on other news, just won a 20-player poker tournament online. feel pumped. especially since i really wasn't expecting to win, being a small stack beside two massive stacks. somehow, somehow. haha, guess the balanced player won -- one was way way too shy (read: afraid to risk his/her chips even with decent hands) and the other was a tad too aggressive, almost to the point of being a calling station.

ooh, stayed up beyond my bed-time. guess i was hoping to see some of the old crowd online.

free rice

Free Rice. Supposedly some generous dude who wants people to improve their vocab as well as help world hunger is sponsoring this vocab testing / game-ish website. i first saw my sister playing it. personally i think it's funny. feels closer to a gameshow thing than a test. mostly because i make a lot of educated guesses, haha. using intuition, feel, and breaking down words into their components and guessing meanings with reference to the component

for example:

diluent means:
mischief
casket
thinner
senility

which do you think the word means? i've never seen the word before but i pretty confidently guessed it (and got it right). haha. fun fun. kinda. getting a kick out of guessing for some reason. hehe. anyway, my top score is 41, why not see what you get?

Update

hmm... not much to say. been sleepy these days. not too sure why but most likely it's because i've been studying. studying makes me sleepy. and hungry. lol. for some strange reason my metabolism always goes up when i study. not much to say so let's just share what happens in a typical day for me:

~7:30am - my body clock wakes me up. i'll usually be groggy.

~7:30 - 8:30++ - i do my quiet time. depending on how groggy or distracted i am, it may take longer or shorter. i read one chapter (currently in Matthew), ponder, then go online to read it in The Message translation, ponder a bit more, then read the online commentaries for the chapter.

~8:50 - ~9:30 - i go to the gym. i run on the treadmill. today, i tried to test how fast i could go on the 2.4km run (i've received the sms reminder to do ippt) and i didn't do so well. lol. 13:44. heh, it's not as bad as it seems. i'm still confident of getting a silver should i be on the actual track. the thing is, i've found myself changing.. less masochistic. lol. just a few months ago, i'd just have kept going top flight and end up woozy for the day, perhaps longer. now, i decided to slow it down.

anyhow, i've been counting the days and doing a bit of calculations. right now, i can reliably run at 8kph for about 2+ km. to get gold on the ippt, i need to go at 15kph for the distance so i'll be increasing my speed by 1kph per week and hopefully before i leave, i can grab gold. and $400. hehe. cash for doing what i'd probably have done anyway sounds good.

i do weights as well, going for balanced strength mostly. oh and reconditioning for the chin-ups. lol.

~9:30 - ~11:15 - this is kinda like the twilight zone. i'm not too sure where the time goes. sometimes i stay in the gym longer. sometimes i'm doing housework. sometimes i get abducted by little green men. ooooh, the nasty buggers. lol. anyhow, it's supposed to be mainly wash-up, planning, and housework. i think i'll try timing it.. but not tomorrow. i'm planning tomorrow to be housework day. hehe.

~11:15 - ~11:45 - brunch. dang, i get really hungry. and come to think of it, i'm eating too long after my exercise. mm.. must do something about this.

~11:45 - dinner - study in the library. usually. sometimes i wander about like lost geese for a while. like today. was wondering where to go since Mark wasn't feeling well and i was meeting someone in Redhill for dinner. today i settled on Jurong East Library. which i used to love but now i prefer Woodlands. hehe. current progress on my corporate finance (management accounting) book is that i'm done with 7/17 chapters. it's really a crash course. lol. i'm enjoying it even while i mutter obscenities about whoever edited the book (Corporate Finance Demystified). hehe. nothing major, just that the self-testing sections of the book haven't been updated very well (inconsistencies).

dinner - knockout - after dinner, things become very random. sometimes i accompany a friend shopping. sometimes i go celebrate a friends birthday. sometimes i meet friends. sometimes i just go home and knock out. lol.

sooo.. pretty boring, huh? anyway, next goal is to start waking up 6am so that i actually have a separate breakfast and lunch plus i prefer that timing for my body clock given how much i front-load my day.

just moving along

today marks day 3 in singapore. met a friend today (it was high coincidence that we both planned to go to Woodlands Library, that this fact was mentioned, and even higher coincidence that he brought his finance book and notes) and happily looked through his notes. good stuff. it's the third day that i've started reading up on accounting and it's looking great so far. if i had capitalism 2 on hand, i'd probably have loaded it up and written all sorts of tables for it. lol.

on other news, slept at 8:30 last night and woke up at 4am. today, it's looking to be sleeping before 10pm. hopefully that'll land me near my ideal time slot of waking up at 6am.

and on a final note, read an interesting article on protein and fitness. seems like my habit of exercising before breakfast may have serendipitously been right on the money. haha.

Singapore

ahh.. i'm back, the familiar sounds of singlish floating in the air. hehehe. did some housework in the morning, visited a friend for lunch, fell asleep 3:30pm. lol. i'd been working to sleep earlier before i flew over and it kinda shows -- 3:30pm = 12:30am in LA. i woke up 10pm+ to the sounds of MSN since i didn't turn my computer off before i zonked out.

anyway it's good to be back even if it's just for a few months. the plane trip was alright, watched only 2 movies this time, Chariots of Fire which i thought was great (winner of 4 oscars including best picture), but then i'm a bit biased since i hold Eric Liddell as a role model. the other was Stormriders which was disappointing.. and long. very long. as i'd guessed while watching, (i just checked) it's based on a comic and while yes, remaining faithful to the source is important, the plot meandered. yes. meandered. when the introductory scenes take up a significant chunk (felt like 15 or more min), i had a bad feeling. they should have either split it into two or more films or throw out some of the subplots. i think the only part i really liked was the opening scene with the swords all over the place, it has a very dark / punk feel. very cool. reminds of FFX though this movie is much older.

oh wait. there was a third. and that was irritating too. Beowolf. bah! turns out it's CG although very photo-realistic. that's not the low point though. it meanders as well. like it can't quite decide whether it's a drama or an action monster-killing flick. and i'm slightly irritated that Angelina Jolie gets protrayed as the seductive demon. her image in that respect is rather over-used in my opinion.

the TV shows i watched were cool though, the coolest being "Dragons Den" which is a panel of 5 top British venture capitalists and people go to them, making a pitch to raise funds for their company in exchange for equity. i find it really fascinating and educational. a must-see. :D

well, if you like that stuff. haha. the other was "Ad Factors: The Creatives", on the advertising process when working with an external firm. i knew advertising was important but until the numbers show up.. ack. can't find a source to confirm my fuzzy memory but if memory serves, the successful campaign for a middling soda manufacturer brought its sales from around 1m to 100m+. or was it 10m+? argh! whatever the case, big numbers. hehe. =D

and the last show was about Cadbury breaking into Wrigley's grip on the gum market in Britain. the interesting part was the approach, Cadbury going for the "new" experience which is to be expected, while Wrigley's went for more of the old stuff which also is to be expected but which i also feel to not be a very smart ploy. i think they should have gone for a double-pronged counter-attack, i.e. more of the old to retain the existing base, and new stuff to grab more of the expanding market or at the very least, muddle up Cadbury's advertising blitz. but ah well. i'm no expert. at the latest, Cadbury's been busy carving out market share from Wrigley's but there're plenty of factors at work, not least the fact that Cadbury has deep enough pockets to keep up a sustained campaign.

it was a long post so i'll condense it: plane trip long, watched a few things, Chariots of Fire good, Storm Riders bad, Dragon's Den must be watched. =D

all's well

anyway, just an update as i realized i've eh.. forgotten to blog for quite a while. things are alright, been accepted into Azusa Pacific University for the MBA - International Business program, normal intake which means i save both time and money. maximum two years study. just as well since i've been pretty antsy for a while now.

on other good news, i've been recommended for the Dean's Fellows Program which sounds pretty nifty. "will receive free textbooks during the program, and the opportunity to work with research faculty and attend academic conferences. This is a competitive program, accepting fewer than 5% of applicants." not sure how that will go but being recommended sounds good to me.

and before i forget, i've passed my driving test. made more mistakes this time as i hadn't been driving much lately and i used a different car but hey, things went well. 5 minor mistakes for better or worse. hehe. admittedly, i was kinda happy-go-lucky about the test half expecting something to occur such as emergency vehicles coming up right behind me (response being to immediately find a place to pull over) or the lights to go dead again. but nothing happened. hehe. so i passed.

finally, i'm arriving in Singapore on the 16th, early in the morning, and staying for i dunno how long. a few months probably. i'll see how it goes, priority being to settle my student visa to the US.

driving test: fail!

haha, i just failed my driving test. it's not that funny but i just gotta laugh; you see, the mistake i made is a very rare one -- halfway through the test, the power to the signal lights went out. eep! dangerous! haha, couldn't remember what to do (treat the intersection as having 4-way stop signs) and went right through. dangerous maneuver! fail! the examiner said everything else was fine -- if the power outage didn't happen, i'd have passed. so yeah, just gotta laugh. who'd have expected it? my first power outage experience.. on my driving test. haha. c'est la vie, c'est la vie.

texas hold'em

i was playing texas hold'em online, with virtual money not real ones so while i gain experience on mechanics, it's a bit harder to gain experience on the real thing - the psychology. i did learn a few lessons though.

one: patience does pay off. i held my hands and went to town when i had good ones. i not only outlasted a few of the stars but for a few brief moments, was the chip leader.

two: patience and fortitude does not beat skill. there was a player on my table who from a few observations, i could tell was a better player than i was. his cash reserves fluctuated far more than mine did but he rose much faster as well. it seemed like he had a lot of good hands but i felt it was also because he was better at bluffing and calling bluffs. myself, as of now, i can tell roughly if a player is reckless or conservative but not much beyond that.

three: emotions really do play a part and must be controlled. while playing online leaves things impersonal for most part, you could still feel the emotions. when i became chip leader over a few others in a dramatic fashion (i lured them in), i knew that for at least the next few turns, they'd be trying to take me out anyway they can.. even if their hands aren't so good. knowing this, i managed to make a profit. haha. of course, later on, my streak ended when i hardheadedly went all-in even though the chance of winning wasn't that great -- my judgement was still clouded by the fact that i almost.. almost took him out (i was 1 card from taking him out when the river card gave him a double. doh!) and that the failure let him double up on me.

four: know when to stop. i was playing it with the mindframe of a poker tournament player and wanted to practice my head-to-head skills. but still.. reaching $6k+ from $200.. if i wasn't so heady with my winning streak, i might have decided to stop, fake money or not. i mean, imagine what the feeling would be like if it was *real* money. $6k just like that. would you stop? it's like the "deal or no deal" show.. if you're on a streak, would you stop? i guess this is when knowing why you went in becomes critical -- the emotions do get.. a bit strong. very dangerous especially if you're on the losing end of things.

anyhow, that was a lot of words. i'm curious about mahjong as well but as it is, texas hold'em poker seems pretty cool. espn and other sports channels cover poker tournaments and its just so cool watching them go at it.

i suppose this is the part where i make a disclaimer: i'm ok with responsbile gambling since i think it gives things a bit of flavour BUT i'm hesitant about institutionalized gambling. on one hand, i think it's unfair to deprive everyone of something because of some people.. on the other hand, that some people seem to be a fairly large percentage (yes, yes, impressions are not equal to facts and statistics) and the effect on their lives and the lives of others.. really, i don't know. as for actually banning gambling.. that has enough qualifications for a post of it's own. haha.

GMAT

yay! i took my GMAT today, the remaining deciding factor for my MBA application.. and i scored my dream score. exactly. i got 42 for Verbal, 49 for Quantitative, with a final score of 750! that's 98th percentile! i just have to thank God. i don't know what else to say. my studies had a two-week hiatus and last night, i scored 730 on the practice test. didn't sleep well, cough getting worse.. and a better score.

Thank You God.

i happy.

speed

i finally went on the freeway today, going about 60-65mph (96-105kph), and i learned something. you get used to the speed. at first, my body was telling me, hey, fast, fast. then, things normalized. all of which is pretty run of the mill.

it was when i got *off* the freeway that i noticed that i had adjusted to the freeway speed. i used to be able to tell when i was going about 35-40mph (56-64kph) but after the freeway, until the instructor told me to slow down, i didn't notice i had been accelerating up to 45mph already. ooh.. come to think of it though, i went through this cycle when i moved out of the residential districts (25mph / 40kph) to the highways (35-40 mph). had to adjust then as well.

ah well. "It's not the speed that kills. It's the sudden stop." hehe. applies to much of our lives i would think.

much ado about nothing

just watched a play, adapted from Shakespeare into a more contemporary setting, 19th century California. pretty interesting stuff. the director was Tony Plana, from Ugly Betty (i don't watch). there was singing, dancing, and all the lovely stuff about theatre. and of the Shakespeare i've read, i've like Much Ado About Nothing the best.. mostly because it's silly and the only non-tragedy. heh. where else do you get quotes like:

If it prove so, then loving goes by haps:
Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.

haha, lovely. anyway, it was by the East LA Classic Theatre, with quite the social bent, encouraging kids to pursue their dreams, the importance of education. the company seems to be quite the stepping stone for young (and old) actors to get their career started. earn their membership to the Actor's Equity Association, get contracts and agents, then from there to the Screen Actors Guild and so on. a pretty good night all in all.

just a quickie

mm.. word association.. quickie makes me think of quiche.. and how you pronounce it. haha. anyway, just a short update. things are still same old same old. taking driving lessons, getting better at the whole biz. the test is supposed to be pretty straightforward at any rate. plus it's fun. such a lovely orderly place. haha.

prepping for GMAT, the date's set for March 12, 2pm. dun dun dun. the reckoning. oh well, i'll see how that goes.

on other other news, gmail isn't working well for some reason.. and my spam count is increasing. hehe. ah well. bound to happen when i use that address for everything.

and finally, i've caught up with my episodes of d. gray-man, which is a pretty good anime, explores interesting themes. though i'm getting worried it's going to get sucked into that power-tripping cycle where the focus goes into how uber everything and everyone is ala dragonball rather than character and theme development.

i've gotten curious over ghost in a shell and started looking at that. seems great. shaping up to be quite the serious anime plus anything that was an inspiration for the matrix has got to be cool (apparently the Wachowski brothers showed the ghost in a shell movie to Joel Silver to give him an idea of the style they wanted for the matrix. how cool is that?).

and that's all for tonight. this is your blogger, joe, signing off.

Tutoring

I just found out that the dad of the kid I was tutoring is a phd holder. a little shocked, yes. but it makes so much sense now.. why he was so scary. haha! i feel quite honoured that he liked me. i think. i hope he does. i just got him to write me a reference letter. that i won't see. and i only found this out because i forgot to send him my details for the letter.

i'll just go bite my nails in the corner now. haha. paranoid. did i forget something *again*? hmm.. go hide better. hehehe.

Keep Walking

I'd been impressed with Johnnie Walker's Keep Walking ad campaigns from my very first glimpse. Minimalist and meaningful. Wish I took photos given that I haven't had much luck finding any online from LA or Perth. At any rate, googling saw a different, and inspiring like the others, advertisement by Johnnie Walker.

What does it mean to look good?

There's a show called How to Look Good Naked that's rather interesting. It's like self-image therapy for women. Essentially, a woman is selected per episode, talks about how she doesn't look good then the host shows her that she is indeed is beautiful and that it's her perception that's flawed.

I haven't seen much of it, only one episode, but it seems like the right step forward. You can check out this review for more information.

If anything, the trend seems to be slowly going back to the more natural look, i.e. less photoshop, more realism (a very good thing). The first sign of this that I saw was the Dove Evolution ad which was part of the Campaign for Real Beauty. Good? :)

Criminal Bungler?

I was just going through the Singapore Penal Code (don't ask me why) and I came across this rather funny section. Funny, in that weird warped sense that you can only obtain after having skimmed all sorts of punishable crimes and rather depressing situations (this is the last section of the Penal Code):

ATTEMPTS TO COMMIT OFFENCES

Punishment for attempting to commit offences.
511. —(1) Subject to subsection (2), whoever attempts to commit an offence punishable by this Code or by any other written law with imprisonment or fine or with a combination of such punishments, or attempts to cause such an offence to be committed, and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence, shall, where no express provision is made by this Code or by such other written law, as the case may be, for the punishment of such attempt, be punished with such punishment as is provided for the offence.

(2) The longest term of imprisonment that may be imposed under subsection (1) shall not exceed —

(a) 15 years where such attempt is in relation to an offence punishable with imprisonment for life; or

(b) one-half of the longest term provided for the offence in any other case.

Illustrations
(a) A makes an attempt to steal some jewels by breaking open a box, and finds after so opening the box that there is no jewel in it. He has done an act towards the commission of theft, and therefore is guilty under this section.

(b) A makes an attempt to pick the pocket of Z by thrusting his hand into Z’s pocket. A fails in the attempt in consequence of Z’s having nothing in his pocket. A is guilty under this section.

So the criminal bungler, i.e. he bungles his crime, is let off lighter than the criminal burgler. hehe. hrm. i should stop playing with words.

on other notes, Singapore seems like a really good place for women to live in, just looking at the law. which just makes this article, Workplace Sexual Harassment in Singapore: The Legal Challenge all the more confusing. anyhoo, I'm tired. gonna find piece together all the loopholes i've... erm, never found. yes. i'm sleeping. hehehehe.

Cute Quote

i was trying to find a quote i vaguely remember about how loving a queen is tricky since she may want to be treated as a woman, flung over your shoulders, etc. but at other times, she wants to be treated as a queen and if the man gets it wrong either way...

i thought at first it was about Queen Victoria but belatedly i realized it's Thom Merrilin speaking about loving Queen Morgase from the Wheel of Time series. At any rate, while i was randomly googling i found a really cute quote.

Does he leave the mobile off? Tick.
Does he smell good? Tick.
Good grip on the English language? Tick.
Self absorbed? Ciao.
Does he have buck teeth? True Lerve.

Posted by: Suzi on August 16, 2006 12:42 PM

http://blogs.theage.com.au/lifestyle/allmenareliars/archives/2006/08/how_much_do_you.html?page=3#comments

first practical driving lesson!

yayz! i just got off from my first 2 hours of driving in suburban america and the verdict is.. it's great! so orderly! no people randomly jostling here and there! rules are followed. it's wonderful! weee! driving auto also makes it much easier. i'll contemplate manual after i get more experience in. haha. i happy.

*note: all this happiness only makes sense if you know my personality and have heard me describe my experiences learning to drive in the Philippines. haha!

anyhoo, my instructor has the calmest drone ever. he can easily take on all those meditation tape dudes. haha, of course, after 10 years (i asked) i'm pretty sure he's got his system done pat. calm down the kanchiong spider, don't let him crash. hehehe. today is shaping up to be a great day, getting study in plus a great lesson. :)

Actors doing Music

i was wondering what to post then my friend passed me a link... if you've watched action movies in the past, you'd know the guy in this music video. SINGING. i was caught off-guard by this one. haha.



then again, almost anything is better than David "Don't Hassle the Hoff" Hasselhoff's music. then again, it was pretty catchy. here i'll post it. haha.



lol, maybe the world will one day be like Hong Kong and all the actors/actresses sing and vice versa.

i passed my written test!

yay! i passed the written test for my driver's license. now for the bigger written test, the GMAT. haha. i'd take a shot of my learner's permit but i'll do it sometime later. i'm gonna have to put a slot into my planner for "blogging". hehe.

i'm forgetful but i've got lots of stuff to do so i've been looking into goal-setting software. the one with a free trial had some promising looking bubble mapping system but no room for SMART goals! and i couldn't put priorities in! and it was a demo for the premium product! ekh.

i think the one without the demo is better but it's for businesses and not only too much functionality for me but too expensive for my needs (USD$95 per user per year). haha. so i'm now using a spreadsheet and i've slotted in a goal for writing my own goal-setting software since a spreadsheet is just too darn clunky. lol.

Edit: eh, i realized that this is a very vague post. haha, i'll add some concrete references in tomorrow. it be late now and i be sleepy. hehe.

Chinatown

Today I went down to Chinatown for the first time and boy, it exceeded my expectations by far. They started late by about 45 minutes but boy, when they started... let's just say, I started with taking a few pictures then I soon went to trying to take movies. Of course taking movies one handed above eye level without support does end up a little... unviewable. Haha, I'll see what can be done. As a teaser, I've cut a little scene out.



Haha, nothing too special in this day where the very best can be easily viewed online but pretty intense in person. I like to let a little wonder brighten my day. :)

For those interested in video editing, here's what I did:

1. A Lot of Googling.
2. To cut out a particular scene: Download AviCutty
3. To encode the scene to a decent size: Download VirtualDub
4. To get a nice compression codec I went for Xvid

And wah lah. At any rate, these are links to the download page so they might not last very long but you can just google the name anyhow. Second, the steps will take a bit of figuring out but shouldn't be too hard. If it is or I'm just plain unclear just post comments and I'll edit accordingly. Haha.

At any rate, that's that for now. I sleepy. Long day. :D

P.S. It seems I have trouble with blogspot's direct video upload.. ah well. manual google video upload then... which is taking a long while. Anyhow, if you see this page before google video is settled, do mention if the video's working. It might just be my machine since the video works for previews.

P.S.S. Aren't all these addendums just annoying? Anyway, google video is up. Enjoy. :)

The Place Around Me

anyways, i've finally walked outside of the house to go get some lunch. not too far, forgot to time (take that cpt jack), but it didn't feel much farther than what i walked in perth. it was a pleasant walk. saw a nice house:


i like the wood theme. there was a house in perth i saw with a japanese bent that i really liked. this reminded me of that. hehe. and then on with the big archways!


hehe, traipsing around, i've yet to see a freehold home in singapore that screams big. then again, i think i haven't been around enough. hehe. so finally, i got to the place. this is me espying it from afar.


in hindsight, it's a lousy shot. trees blocked too much. ah well. but there's a lot of cars. the car culture thing is something i have to get used to. cars are not a luxury here as they are in singapore -- they are a necessity. ratio's around 1.8 persons : 1 car. perth's about the same though the total population is smaller so the gridlock problems aren't as significant as they are here. on the other hand, it makes mega stores a lot more workable than in singapore. good boot space. :) anyhoo, here's my lunch.


makes me think of my $2 vegetable rice really except it cost about 2.5 times as much. of course it tasted better and the portions are pretty big and i get soup. hehe. ah well, i'm learning to cook dumplings now. i'll take pictures when i finally get them decent. lol.

Driving

Ah, it's been a while since I last updated so here it is. At this very moment, I'm preparing for the California driver's license written test.
The book isn't very long and once you've been a passenger long enough, it seems all very familiar but the US is a very different driving environment from Singapore and the Philippines for that matter so I mustn't get complacent. Hehe. At any rate, the registering for the license (and test) went pretty smoothly. Simple building, interesting people, and about 1 hour++ and I was done. This is me bored in the waiting room.
But an hour isn't bad for government services so that's that. What else? I finally went to my school but I forgot to bring the camera so no pictures. My brother and I were talking to the International Student Services people (he did a stint there so he knew them) and later to the vice dean of the Business School. The good news is that I get to go through normal graduate admissions without bridging or transferring. It'll save a year or so even if I have to go in on probation or take a few supplementary units. I'll be preparing for my GMAT soon. Hehe.

Oh and I can't leave without posting random pictures. We were at the 99c store and I came across a few tools that reminded me so much of NS. I think my platoon sergeant would have loved to see these with all his talk of signing 1206 forms.

pictures!

okie dokie. here's a picture of my family. hehe, i got a little wild with the camera and my siblings said i was acting like an FOB (fresh out of the boonies, i.e. hillybilly). at any rate, this restaurant was Sam Woo something and this branch tanked. their meat was fine but their fish... but i digress.


lol. the only picture i'm posting from the restaurant i didn't take. at any rate, this is my sister playing her cello. she plays the piano too and pretty well; i'll get some photos of that sometime.


then since i'm starting to get irritating with the camera, here's me posing with my mom. haha.


this is my brother. he took this shot of himself and i'm just leeching it from the camera. hehe.


and this is the outside of the house. with me posing. gee.. how come i haven't posted anything i've personally shot? cuz i'll be killed if i post the ones i took. lol. but here's some of the more random ones that i took... of bunnies!


these are the two bunnies that run about outside of the cage and they are fat. fat. must slip meta tablets into their diet. hehehehe. they're cute though. and fat makes them cuddly. =)


not that they let me touch them. well, i can't tell if this bunny is more adventurous or just plain greedy. i hold out my hand and it'll nibble even if my hand's empty. lol. i've managed to pet it while bribing it with food but it's gotten suspicious. hehe. runs away more now. the other one is just plain shy. ah well.


anyhow, those are all the pictures for now. my life is pretty boring (read: stay home) so not that many photo ops but will try for more. run around with my brothers camera. haha. ooh.. don't have a photo of my dad. will get that in soon.