Dog year

Today's the first day of the lunar new year. if u know the kind of person i am, u would have realised i am a person quite indifferent to holidays. its just another day, its not like the sun turns purple just for today. anyway, i can't complain; after all, i get money in this festive occasion=) though i gathered i could have a bigger haul if we've went to more places. well, i dun think i would have done that, getting jetlag just from two places already.>_<

anyway, i was talking to one of my cousins today and its interesting to note that once we reach a certain age, we start reminiscing about stuff that happens while we were younger and comparing with what the next generation is going through. what started the conversation was we dint realised a female cousin of ours was, well, not getting younger. both of us still thinks she's in college when the fact is she's going to complete her university education next year! i guess thats the problem with seeing them only once a year. for some people, the change in just one year can be staggering.

anyway, it has been a boring week, nothing much happened. the next week doesnt really look too promising either. i could really do with something out of the blue.

can you see?

Well, it has been a really long while since my last entry. i hadnt been busy, just dint felt like making an entry. went for a career talk the other day. was my first time going for one; dint saw the need last semester, although there were loads of them. figured it was kinda pointless since i wasnt going to graduate this semester. anyway. went there, dressed all fine and dandy, only to realise that i could have just went in my tees and berms. there were like a hundred people, i could have just melted into the crowd. as for the presentation, it wasnt too bad but not exactly sparkling. all the same, i was kinda intrigued by what he had to offer.

i think this might be because a very good friend of mine has been with this very same company for about 3 years now, and she has been constantly telling me how wonderful its been and how much fun she's having every time i see her(well, almost everytime anyway). She's not the only one whos been egging me on as well. i was considering this management trainee thing too actually, now might be a good time for me to do some market research and check out what other offers are there now.a friend of mine working at PWC told me that it is advisable to start searching now and exploring my options since most big organisations close their employment window early.

i guess its about time i get started.

Anyway, just got a pair of Loewe specs today. its amazing how wonderful the internet can be. heard about this specs sale on a forum that i frequent on the internet, so i went down straight after lessons today to take a look. i've been wanting to change my specs for a while and this presents a perfect opportunity. anyway, its quite a healthy range they've got. i'll be going back tomorrow so maybe i just might get another pair if the mood strikes me.^_^

i'm not loving it.

well, another week has drawn to a close. and there's nothing much to show for it. Audtioned a fren's Lexus SUV the day before and i must say, the media really makes a difference irregardless of the system. We were listening to mostly hybrid SACDs; what impressed me most was this Ben Webster SACD, my friend was really amused when i thought the speakers were spoilt when the trumpeter does the saliva thingy. thats how lifelike the horns sound. the same cd made my own system sound much better than i have ever heard it before. it was a pity i couldnt listen to some concertos or overtures. would have been fantastic to hear just how precise the instruments can be.

as for the school front, all my subjects are confirmed now.now all i got to do is get to know them better than they know me. i'm amazed how absurdly simple i just made that sounded.>_<. anyway, i realised that eating in lectures is becoming a somewhat prevalent trend. this is quite fine with me actually, people can get hungry, no problems with a snack or two. what really yanks my chain is the fact that they cant keep the sounds and the smells to themselves. i know Macs are cheaper on campus, but this is getting ridiculous. i see fries and burgers everytime there is a break. and the smell permeates the whole lecture hall! Are people so rushed for time that they have to eat WHILE they are having a lecture?  or is it mastication enhances cranial activity? what are we supposed to be doing, watching an educational interative movie? do people have any idea the amount of sodium in those things?

1997

Met up with Jeremy, whom i haven't seen in a long time, today. was surprised he's gotten himself a Mazda3 GT as well, considering he was driving a heavily-modded lancer before that. quite a drastic change; i thought he would continue the boy-racer legacy and get a wrx or an evo>_<. well, its nice to see someone with the same ride. now i can slowly begin my process of poison indoctrination.^_^

anyway, now i have a dilemma with my subjects(again). had a brief talk with jeremy today and he was telling me about the time he took distributed systems. he was saying it was somewhat of a miracle he survived the subject, which is potently laced with dollops of programming stuff(i suck with the programming stuff btw). he only managed to get by due to the efforts of two of his groupmates(read: they actually knew what they were doing).

now this puts me in a quandary. i'm not exactly comfortable with DS in my timetable, but advanced data management techniques(something i am thinking of replacing DS with) isnt much better either. and it has a back to back exam date with another paper. I've only got till tomorrow to think about it. cant change subjects after that. so i guess i've got to think long and hard about this one.

on a random note, i just realised that a lot of stuff that i got way back in 1997 are still very much functional. i'm still using the same wallet, key pouch, sling bags,etc. heck, i'm still using the same bowling balls and shoes i got back then! its strange that i got them all in 1997 and not some other year. that must have been some spending for a JC student.

filling the cup of silence

well, there was only one lesson today and being the gallivanting free spirit that i am, decided to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for some CDs that i've always thought of buying. i was looking for one CD that a fren of mine had and it was a really fantastically sounding CD; its called " Jazz at the Pawnshop". the problem is, his is a double CD version and so far, i've only seen a single CD version, both in SACD as well as redbook format(i'm looking for the SACD version). i guess its my fault i was trying to find it in HMV, i guess i'll have better luck at Adelphi, or Gramaphone, as another fren suggested.

i dint return empty-handed though, got a Klass Brothers' album. wasnt too bad, kinda better than the previous Klass Brothers' disc that i got. anyway, HMV should do something about their import CD prices. a moi dix mois album costs 80 bucks and its just a normal CD! they are pushing me to seek,erm, cheaper alternatives.^^

anyway, i guess i should start revising after every lecture, the robotics lecturer was going on and on about some DH algo and its kinda hard to understand. i guess i get all the lengths and angles, but i fail to see what is the algorithm FOR. i guess i've got to work on that.

Quote of the day: Music is about the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing.

warming the house?

Went to Steven's(Ninja!waaza!) house warming today. it was at sengkeng and the place was so new that it wasnt even listed on my street directory(ok,i got an old street directory). i haven't been to the flats at sengkang and punggol in a while and now i realised they are getting more and more 'designer-like'. my friend's block has this big open air-well within the block; there's even some sort of a statue/sculpture thingy in the lift lobby! His renovation is quite tastefully done. i liked the pseudo walk-in wardrobe as well as the fake wall which is actually a front for the bomb shelter entrance. he has nice pacquet floors too, though those come with the flat as part of the government's built to order thingys.

the good thing about social gatherings like these is, sometimes, u get to meet people u haven't seen in a while. today was the first time i've seen Edvan in about a year. Edvan has the distinction of having the "bluest" wrx i've ever seen, in both sense of the word. acquaintances of ours would know what i mean^_^.he let on that his wife is now working as a teacher in Indonesia. in times like these where strife is aplenty over there, she really does have my respect. i can never imagine myself doing something like that.

anyway, wanted to submit my interim report today; only to find out that the office had already closed by the time i reached school.i guess i've got to wait till monday. i could take the time to further improve my report, its basically quite lacking in the content department. i guess i really need to write more stuff and fill up the report as much as i can. Speaking of writing, i realised i have inspired a friend of mine to sortof migrate her blog to friendster. wow. talk about the power of words^^.

quote of the day: House warming is so-called because of the heat generated by many people rubbing the walls at the same time.

Burrr...

Wow, its been really cold lately, damn weather is really getting to me. its so cold that its practically torture to walk across the hall barefooted.And the rain. its been raining almost non stop for more than a week now and this is really inconvenient. everytime i get out my stuff to wash the car, the clouds seems to form a wicked grin at me, and then proceeds to spit at the car. i can't imagine those people who commute by bike everyday. i'll never get it, how they ever manage to make it to work in this weather. judging from the met reports, it seems that this cold season is going to last for quite a while, maybe even till the chinese new year. i suppose that sucks.

Well, i still have not submit my interim report yet, and i am already a week overdue.i hope i can get it done by tomorrow. the final report is due on 13th march, exactly 2 months later. its going to be quite an uphill task to get it done then, considering my progress is kinda slow. i hope the supervisor cuts me some slack. those 730 lessons are really getting to me now, it doesnt do much for my level of concentration at these hours. And that robotics lecturer, geez. half the time i cant even make out what the heck he's saying. its strange that everyone seems to laugh but no one seems to catch what's funny when he supposedly says something witty. How bemusing.

here's something funny that i got in an email recently. i thought i might post it here as well..

Ever Wonder??

 

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is
the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes?

Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

          If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Really makes for some food for thought eh?

 

Snow wolf lake?

Just came back from Jasper's and Amelia's wedding dinner, and i must say, this is the most unusual wedding dinner i had ever attended. for starters, it was the only wedding dinner i have ever been to that deploys pyrotechnics INSIDE the dining hall. the familiar 3-tiered wedding cake as well as the champagne fountain are conspiciously missing. no yam sengs here either. too passe for this couple.

it was the first time i've actually seen such an involved bride and groom. Jasper was singing jacky cheung's hits with such emotion it almost felt like the snow.wolf.lake musical. Amelia was quite into her 'role' too. i do feel that the 'performance', replete with dancers and some fancy choreographed 'action', was quite a refreshing idea. i half-expected to find VCDs of the whole 'production' for sale outside! Suffice to say i left the place impressed and awe-struck. i really wonder how much was spent on the whole evening. it was kinda big-scale.

anyway, gotta get down to my reservist unit early tomorrow morning to answer that pesky AWOL charge. i hope everything will turn out alright.

Table of time

well, the new semester has started and already i am faced with a problem. should i take 6 subjects and try for a minor in business? or should i just play it safe and just try to settle my 3 subjects along with my FYP? i am having conflicting advice from friends and this issue has been constantly on my mind for the past two weeks. well, i made my decision today. i guess i should just stick to what i need to do and not incur any unnecessary downtime on additional subjects. it has been a while since i've last had such a relaxed schedule(come to think of it, i have NEVER had a relaxed schedule), that it would seem counter-productive if i were to spread my attention more thinly than i should.

well, needless to say, i felt an enormous sense of relief as soon as i've dropped the 3 additonal business electives. my timetable looks really empty now. it would have been a good thing, if not for the fact that some lectures begin at unusual timings. i have two days where there is a one hour lesson beginning at 1430hrs. this is all fine and good, if the next lesson din't start at 1930hrs, 4 HOURS later, ending at 2130hrs. are there no more lecture halls available in NTU that lectures have to be scheduled so late at night? Previously, the only time i will be in campus so late at night will be when the exams are nearing. now it seems i'll be nocturnal in school almost every day!

happy? new year

well ,its a new year, nothing much different from the previous one, sun's still in the same place. i still have the fyp to finish and now its getting really hot under the collar for me. the interim report is due in less than 2 weeks and i have absolutely no idea WHAT exactly i need to prepare. hahaha..

i think i am a little bit screwed now.

anyway, i got into an argument with my mother today. what better way to start the new year than with some vocal excercise, right?>_< well, it started innocently enough as an intellectual discussion but as discussions go, things always seem to get out of hand. the discussion was about religion.well, some background information is in order here. my mother and I, we have different beliefs. she has her faith and i'm basically an atheist. my underlying argument is there are always some flaws in every religion, no matter how miniscule. every  religion claims they are practicing the true path,so wat exactly is the right path to take? it really depends on the guy himself right..look at it this way, if there is such a thing as a perfect religion, then there would only be one religion in the world already, right?

thats when this became an argument. Personally i cant stand people who insist the religion they practice is 'correct' and brand other religions as pagan.i mean, its fine if u're a buddhist and some other guy is a roman catholic. but dont start bashing other people just because he doesnt think that some guy can part the sea. reasonable right? the thing with my mother is, she has this idea that everyone's a heretic and its only a matter of time before everyone 'sees the light' and converts. Or something to that effect.

well....enough to say there werent any conclusion to that discussion.

anyway, my sister is starting her first three months at JJC tomorrow. that would mean she is the third person in the family to go there,after me and my elder brother. kinda cool huh? it would be uncanny if she gets into house Jenner, cos me and my brother were both in Jenner too. it has been a while since i last went back to my alma matar. went by a few times but never really went inside and take a look around. i'm not even sure whether the teachers who taught me are still around. would be really interesting if they can recognise me. i still can remember the sight of my GP teacher, Mr Pidduck, as he struggles to get his about 1.9m frame into his classic Mini. He was such an affable man. sigh, i miss college life already.