I have somehow managed to make my end-of-year post the 299th one. How apt it is. Then I can celebrate 2009 with my 300th post for this blog! Hur hur.

In retrospect, 2008 seems to be easily summarised by one word: 乱. Be it in the social, economic or political aspects, this year is simply nothing but a mess. I doubt there is need to elaborate more; we can simply summarise the events that happened as "3F crisis": food, fuel and financial. To add on, we should not forget all the disasters that happened: cyclone in Myanmar, earthquake in Sichuan (the same time that Chelsea lost to Man Utd in Champions League), and so on. Not that there isn’t really anything good to remember this year, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2 cheena pandas that went to Muzha zoo in Taiwan (and I am cursing as I am typing this, because these 2 pandas should have moved to Taiwan 1 year ago so that I could have visited them during my ORD trip blahblah) and I got my GST offset package and all. But after thinking for so long, these are the few things that are worth mentioning about, unless you guys can enlighten me further. So I can simply say that this year is basically a pretty bad one and may 2009 be a better year. I mean it.

Sidetrack: during yesterday’s meet-up session, wong mentioned that it felt as though we just ORD not long ago. Time flies; it has certainly been a while (over a year in fact) since we stepped out of camp with our pink IC. Post-NS life has been nothing but work for me. I was exposed to 2 companies during my 6-month holiday, each being pretty renowned in its own area. Come to think of it, although time passed by very quickly, it seemed as though it was forever when I was working. I have decided that working life sucks and it felt really good when I ended work at June, although I would say that during these 6 months, I really learnt a lot of soft-skills that I probably wouldn’t have learnt elsewhere. And getting exposed to those office-politics probably wasn’t a totally bad thing, it just reminds you that one always have to be careful and tactful whenever something is done, so as not to offend the other party. I am glad that I have remembered this by heart and even during my university life now, I am applying what I have learnt while I was working as a temp staff.

Working in Recruit Express was no doubt an experience for me. Having able to work in a competitive and fast-paced environment, I was glad to be able to survive for the 3 months that I was there. The staffs are nice and friendly, and I am grateful towards my mentor Liz, who was there to assist and guide me whenever I met obstacles along the way. In addition, I have made a lot of friends with fellow temp staff and we are still meeting up after every one of us has left the company for our further studies. I am glad that everyone is alive and kicking well. Of course, credits go to my working buddy CJ; it’s really fate that we are able to work together in a corporate world after working together in HQ coy for 1 year plus.

I also gained insight through working in SMRT, though working there was pretty much a chore. Working as a temp staff but covering a perm position was certainly not easy; the amount of stress level was high and having a perm staff as your employee was definitely weird. But I still managed to survive working there for 4 months and I am glad I did as I really learnt what it is like to be a HR executive after going through various recruitment drives and handling post recruitment issues like salary issues, promotion, and resignation and termination cases. I still vaguely remember one incident that some drivers were repatriated on the day that they were terminated due to undesirable behaviour (sorry but I can’t reveal too much, it’s private and confidential). It was just so... dramatic and I could still remember my boss saying “it’s part of the job. You have to be cold-hearted sometimes and be rational.”

School started in August, and between June and then I had 2 orientation camps and I am glad I went for it, cause I made new friends with my OG (quote: zee(: says: you made new friends. XD) MAFIA and CONAN! And lots of other new friends as I joined different sub-committees in Science Club. School has been fun and interesting so far and sometimes stressful and tiring too, especially during labs and projects. But I am not complaining because I feel that I have made the right choice so far by majoring in Chemistry. The December holidays have been great so far, I completed a marathon, caught up with friends, went Malaysia, bought a new phone, highlighted by hair… changes (for the better?) and now that the hols are ending soon, it’s time to recharge and gear up for the coming semester!

Also, this year marked by 21st year in this world. It’s supposed to be a very significant year where you are supposed to have more freedom and such, but for me it’s nothing much I guess. Expect for more burdens ad more responsibilities, and probably higher expectations too especially I am the eldest son of the family and the eldest grandson for my maternal side and now that I am 21 I am expected to be able to do more things blahblah. But it’s ok, I am still handling it well, not that stressful at all. Being 21 means that friends around you turn 21 too, this meant lots of 21st-birthday parties to attend. Apart from parties there were lots of outings and meet up sessions; with my JC classmates, sec 4 classmates, army mates and also my RE temps. Busy busy busy! And I seriously spent A LOT this year as compared to the previous 20 years of my life. This is scary; I ought to spend less next year and start saving money.

This year has been nothing but eventful (good and bad, probably more bad events) but I am glad 2008’s coming to an end. I am gonna say what I am going to say last year, may 2009 be a better year for me, in terms of my work and studies and I also wish for better health for my family and friends.

Happy 2009! (in advance lah, still got 20 odd hours and I am going shopping later! WOO FINALLY)

Labels: family, friends, fun, university, work

bidding is starting soon and i am still unsure if i wanna take 5 mods or 6 mods next sem. the only thing that's probably worth noting is that the other 2 mods that i wanna take can be SUed. chances are i will probably focus on 1 mod more than the other and ensure that the other is passable enough to be SUed. i need direction!

on a brighter note, the specs + zhuang met up after ben and zhuang came back from overseas studies. and their hairs are super long la. the reason they gave was that cutting their hair overseas was much more expensive than doing so in singapore. ha ha! anyway dinner at breeks and desert and MOF are love. sadly i couldnt get my mango kakigori... :(

watching ip man tmr. booked the tix already!

ok. nothing much to update. need to sleep soon!

Labels: friends, rants

I will never ever drink coffee at 10.30pm again, unless i decide to go crazy and mug overnight for exams. Sheesh just one cup and it was enough to last me until 3am. Even after wahjong session at 2am i still couldnt sleep.. Had been tossing and turning on bed for quite a while. And i had such weird dreams!

This christmas was a boring one. The only 'memorable' incident that happened was cycling at fast coast, which wasn't really exact that memorable.. Just that immediately after we returned our bikes it started raining. So much for the weather..

2nd day of christmas was just as boring as well. So boring that i dun even know what to blog about, except that it rained the whole day again.

On a sidenote, my family visited sembawang shopping centre last night. Omg, first shopping centre without macs and kfc. And most of the shops are not open yet. But the giant there seems promising, probably will visit it another day.. Perhaps during feb..

Omg this is such a boring post. I shall continue watching my show.

[update]

there is seriously something wrong with cors i tell you! all the information is pertaining to sem 1, and SSS is missing! OMG, they better fix the system soon. otherwise we cant even bid!

[/update]

Labels: family, random

i was getting bored and started playing my guitar when i came across this song in my guitarbook. and coincidentally, it's christmas tmr! and i kinda like the lyrics, so here it is :)

陈奕迅 - 圣诞结

我住的城市从不下雪
记忆却堆满冷的感觉
思念到忘记霓虹扫过喧哗的街
把快乐赶得好远
落单的恋人最怕过节
只能独自庆祝尽量喝醉
我爱过的人没有一个留在身边
寂寞他陪我过夜
Merry Merry Christmas，
Lonely Lonely Christmas
想祝福不知该给谁
爱被我们打了死结
Lonely Lonely Christmas
Merry Merry christmas
写了卡片能寄给谁
心碎的象街上的纸屑
落单的恋人最怕过节
只能独自庆祝尽量喝醉
我爱过的人没有一个留在身边
寂寞他陪我过夜
Merry Merry Christmas
Lonely Lonely Christmas
想祝福不知该给谁
爱被我们打了死结
Lonely Lonely Christmas
Merry Merry christmas
写了卡片能寄给谁
心碎的象街上的纸屑
电话不接不要被人发现我整夜都关在房间
缓缓的响声听来象哀悼的音乐
眼眶的泪 温热冻结
望着电视里的无聊节目
躺在沙发上变成没知觉的植物
Merry Merry Christmas
Lonely Lonely Christmas
想祝福不知该给谁
爱被我们打了死结
Lonely Lonely Christmas
Merry Merry christmas
写了卡片能寄给谁
心碎的象街上的纸屑
Merry Merry Christmas
Lonely Lonely Christmas
想祝福不知该给谁
爱被我们打了死结
Lonely Lonely Christmas
Merry Merry christmas
写了卡片能寄给谁
心碎的象街上的纸屑
谁来陪我过这圣诞节

lonely lonely xmas indeed. not going out anywhere this year, just gonna stay at home and spend it with parents. besides, the weather's so good for sleeping! too lazy to go out. spent the day watching even more movies that i rented. iron, hellboy 2 and meet the spartans! love it. kianleong just reminded me that i havent watched deathrace. shld be borrowing it after xmas. and then there's harold and kumar. i only watched the one on guatamalo bay but not the white castle, that i have to watch it online cus the shop's not renting.

so a merry xmas to all in advance! enjoy your hols!

Labels: random

badminton date with SP on friday. it's like 3456789765434567897654 years ever since i have held a badminton racket (i think). ok to be exact, if i am not wrong it's almost 10 years - the last time i played was when i was in p6. ha! we played in YCK stadium, and out of the 5 courts inside, 4 were occupied by RI students who were having their training. and then me and siokhwa used the last court.

it was total embarrassment and stress during that 2 hours! i couldnt even hold my racket properly and there they were smashing all around the court. i admit i have lost like 80% of my skills during the 10 years but hey! i gained strength, and the badminton net seemed MUCH shorter now and smashing wasnt a problem at all :D and after the 2 hours, i swear my right forearm totally cramped! haha so much for trying to keep fit! :P ended the date with a meal at macs. megamcspicy rocks!

went swimming on sat (finally), didnt manage to go for a swim in rawa due to the erratic weather. in contrast, sat was good. there was sun, and after the swim i got a tan! haha hope the tan lasts, otherwise i need to go and tan myseelf further soon.

and today... i caught 2 movies! ok not exactly movies cus i rented one and watched the other online. stardust was nice, even after rewatching it a year later. and the ending song is so :DDDDDDDDDD then i watched twilight online. although some parts were draggy, i think overall not bad la! now i have to read to book, cus it seems that the book is somewhat different from the movie. i rented 300, but it seemed so... catch-no-ball. wasted my money!

Labels: friends, fun, random

We reached the island at around 10am on monday after boarding the minivan at 5.30. The boat ride was unforgettably choppy and i couldn't stand it at all. I swore my my face turned green by the time the ferry went on shore. Everyone was laughing at me :(

When we stepped onto the jetty, we were greeted with a scenery one would never see in sunny singapore. The beach was a patch of white sand, and the seas were crystal clear. Coconut trees were swaying to the rhythm of the winds and although it was raining, i could feel that it's the perfect getaway i was looking for.. After checking in, we made a short walk around the island. It seemed like the island only belonged to us (and the rawa staffs la).. How cool can that be? Sadly the rain got heavier and we couldn't explore much, so we decided to head back to our houses for a rest.

When the weather turned slightly better, we decided to try on the hammock. There's only one word to explain the feeling: heavenly! Lying on the hammock and swaying to the gentle breezes is definitely an experience never felt before.. I believe everyone still misses lying on the hammock, listening to the gentle rustlings of the waves and enjoying the cool breezes :)

Soon, night came. The food was sumptuous and filling and i totally regretted ordering spaghetti for lunch cause the set meals were fabulous! We ended the night with a short game of tabletennis before heading back to our lodgings for a htht session. The girls managed to htht till 3am, i think i fell asleep after 12 :P

Day 2 was much better than day 1. It didn't rain at all and at some times we could even see the sun! After breakfast the 6 of us went for a short hike around the island. We managed to go up to the highest accessible point (or that's what we think it is). The view from there was majestic..



Everything was perfect, well almost everything. The route up to the top was tiring, going downhill was pretty dangerous and exciting with a certain TEOZHXIN nearly killing me along the way ha.

We stopped for lunch break, and for the 2nd time in this post the food was good and I was very satisfied after every meal. After lunch, we headed to the beach and then the 3 guys went crazy; first we started digging on the sand and the result is an big jacuzzi for us to lie on and enjoy the sun.



Then we got bored and started to do stupid things. Only the guys.







Night came, and after dinner we went back to play a few hours of bridge before knocking off. The night was very cold; air conditioning was not needed yet I could freeze the whole night. I had to resort to getting back my windbreaker which i lent to zhixin hours ago. We did nothing much on third day, just taking photos and more photos and remembering the whole island that sort of belonged to the 6 of us. The journey back home was long and tiring; there was an accident somewhere in the NS highway which caused a 1-hour jam. The feeling of getting stuck in the bus with insufficient ventiliation was nothing but irritating. But eventually we managed to hit back singapore by 4. Home sweet home :)

There are many things that cannot be forgotten during this trip. One of them is of course lying on the hammock, looking at the clear sky and letting your sorrows flow away. I MISS THE HAMMOCK!

Labels: friends, fun, photos

imagine what your life will be. when you make a getaway from citylife, the neon lights and the buzzing sounds, and land yourself in a tropical island that only resides your group of friends. you spend your days outside the citylife, and instead of looking at the LCD screens you stare at the beaches and the seas. and instead of listening to the drillings and honking sounds of cars, what you get is the gentle sea breezes, the waves and the occasional rustlings of coconut leaves.

this is LIFE.

it was a pity that we went in december - due to the monsoon season we werent able to try out the sea sports such as snorkling and kayaking. but the rest of the activities were fine. i loved lying on the hammock, swinging to the rhythms of the wind, and enjoying the gentle breezes (ok not very gentle, they could be very chilling, but hey it's better than air conditioning!)



we had a short trekking session to the highest point in the island that we could reach. and it felt real good to be on top of the world, enjoying the stress-free environment. there's no one else but only you and your bunch of friends and you can scream your lungs out whenever you want to without anyone to complain (of course apart from your bunch of friends but that's out of the point).

this is THE life.

sometimes, it's really good to go on a getaway trip, especially when your life is getting a bit messed up and you want to clear your thoughts off everything. although it may sound abit escapist, but it really helped to go there and relax for 3 days without thinking of anything that was related to school life and <>.

this is one place that i will definitely want to go back again. but not in december pls. the weather is just so unpredictable. and probably when i start working and have enough cash. the whole in my wallet is getting bigger and bigger.

and i miss the hammmock! argh.

will be back to update later.

Labels: photos

i can finally use wifi on my handphone! OOH LALA
which also means i can surf facebook in school during lectures without the need to use my handphone! -beams-

G705 <3

Labels: random

my leg's much better now. though my left ankle's still abit swollen but i guessed it healed quite a lot. on monday it swelled until i couldnt see my ankle bone! ha.. think i overstrained my ankle or something. good thing that my ankle's returning to normal soon. but the aching in my leg's still there.

i have been up to nothing these few days while waiting for my legs to recover. and today i decided to play a game of treasure hunt in my storeroom. for the entire day, i have been carrying boxes and boxes out of my storeroom and looking at the contents and decide whether to throw them away or keep them for the new year. and i am shocked. i didnt know that i had CPU in my storeroom like omg. and each box is at least 8kg heavy, now that i have carried those stuffs, the 5kg dumbbells seem no kick to me totally!

i think my brother hates me. he has some essays to write for his holidays. and i took the initiative to vet through his essays to spot for any grammatical/spelling errors. and to my horror, i see my name all over the essay! there's this particular essay that talks about how this protagnist does all the bad things and blah blah and he gets punished for it. and yea, the protagnist is named "eugene" (like DUH) rarr

nothing much to update. looking forward to mahjong session tmr so that i can win big big money! OCC on sat, tuition on sat, rawa from monday to wednesday! holidays here i come!

Labels: random

jiayou to me.

perservere, i must!

Labels: random

next time, i should drink liquor first before drinking beer. the other way round, the combo is deadly. i think my bowels cannot take it, i have been going to the toilet ever since i woke up. and my ass is burning hot, think the concortion still remains undigested in my stomach.

other than that, everything was great! havent had such fun in such a long time ever since school started and our lives being revolving around lab reports and projects, although i have to admit that 5 hrs Kbox session is really very very very long. 神木与瞳 is not easy to sing, and 五月天 never fails to perk me up :D

drinking was ok, just that i felt that i didnt drink enough. i wasnt that high yet. but it's ok! the company was great and we talked all the way till around 3 before going home. ivy, get well soon! abstain from oily food for this moment!

in short, everything was wonderful, excpet that it burnt a large hole in my pocket. at this rate i will become a bankrupt by the time this holiday ends. GAR

Labels: friends, fun

i changed my blogskin! this time it looks much simpler and sleeker.

it's the 1st day of the hols.. nope i didnt go out. i became a good boy and did housework. and now i am aching all over. my arms are all sore. at least i did something good today. then i can go out and play tmr without regrets.

exams are over. now it's party time, at least for the 2 weeks. then i have to settle down and prepare for school next year. and perhaps get a job after rawa.

talking about changes changes changes. changes to my blogskin, changes to my laptop (gonna store my mod docs in my external harddrive and clear my harddrive. changes to this friday cus we gonna paint the walls. changes to my hair soooN! and i got a new guitar to start the hols. loving it.. thanks peijun!

enjoy your hols!

Labels: friends, fun

1101 was ok. go there finish paper 30 min before time and use the remaining 30 min to check my paper.

1111 was still ok, do 1 question skip 5 questions, finish paper 30 min before time and use the remaining 30 min to fill up the skipped questions.

1421 was bad. do 1 question skip 5 pages, finsih paper 1 hr before time and use the remaining 1 hr to stare in space cause you dont know how to fill up the skipped questions.

Labels: university

eugene.

twenty-one and living.

hwachong.

nuscience.

chemistry

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