life after SAC was simply just a buffer time before my semester in NUS began. and in this buffer time, i went for SCAMP! and Beijing :)

scamp was really fun! i was a student once again, nonetheless new to all the environment and culture. it was also great meeting new people who are equally as blur as you, but even better to know seniors to transit you into NUS life seamlessly.

beijing was great too! now i know for myself what it really is like in China, the culture and the tradition, which is thankfully preserved with strong government support. the 8days journey couldn't be better described than the pictures and captions on facebook.

and at this present moment, i'm already two weeks into my NUS semester. Module planning was crazy, bidding for lecture slots was even crazier, ranking for tutorial slots was even more crazier, and what's more crazy than all craziness combined is being in NUS Sci Pageant itself!

Jellybean's Sci Bash was last night at Supperclub.. so much effort and time into the preparation.. dancing, photo shoots, clothes/accessories fittings, catwalk choreo training, gymming.. on top of the daily school's workload.. now that was really some serious juggling. but i must say that these efforts really paid off, in the sense that at least i didn't majorly screw up any segment.. and with the conclusion of the bash, it's just another 6 days to Sci DnD at Swissotel!

and after all this craziness, i'm going to embrace myself for a crazy school life ahead.

my retrospect; 5:20 PM



went to my first PC show on 13 Jun at Suntec. it was the last day of the fair and it was freaking crowded! main purpose there was to get a laptop for my cousin, and we only made the purchase after 8 hours of roaming. well, that was clearly not the highlight of the day because...

my computer spoilt within the next few days after the PC show. -.-

wow.

and i bought a sound card reader and a webcam for $50. for nothing.

and i missed a great new laptop deal there.

and i paid a whooping $1500 for a new laptop at challenger.

special thanks to daryl and soedar for helping out, esp with your wonderful smoking skills! :)

fml... lol

my retrospect; 8:18 PM



Date: Thurs, 10 Jun 10
Time: 0800hrs
Weather: Cloudy
Attendance: Dt, ken, nic and myself
Location: Batam Island
Event: WAKE BOARDING

apart from the sucky lunch, the trip to batam was definitely worth it! thankfully the scorching sun decided to tone down that day and we didn't get burnt real bad. and there only about 20 ppl that day, so we had more play time!
so
well, here are the results!

First to Get Past Pink Buoy: Daryl Tan
Furthest Distance: Daryl Tan, and almost tied by ken at his last attempt
Most Flat Face Falls: Undoubtly Nic!
Most Daring: Undoubtly Nic too! for accidentally flying off the ramp and landing properly at the last attempt!
Most Consistent: Me! keep falling at the same place before the ramp cos i didn't want to fly off the ramp like nic did. haha
Most Awkward Position: Ken, for squatting so much at the beginning!

looking forward to the next trip there! :)

my retrospect; 6:01 PM



well, i guess this is the end of my relief teaching stint.

i must say it was a really good experience! but what makes a good experiences are the good and bad things that happen.

there is this very unique spirit within the teachers and staff in school. i think they can be best described like a container of hair gel. you can shake it, you can stir it, but they will always still stick together. i know that's not exactly the best analogy, but what i'm trying to say here is that most are willing to help one another. and on top of that, they really thank you from the bottom of their hearts for helping them. and now, that is really unique. this kind of appreciation for a act of kindness is not something you see alot in Singapore. Let's say for instance, a cleaner approaches your table to clear your table. let's not talk about those at posh restaurants and be realistic. the cleaners at our hawker centres. how many people do you see actually thank them for their help? yes, you can say that what they are doing is merely part of their job scope. but to me, i think we need to show appreciation for someone who has fulfilled his/her responsibilities. if not, i dun think we deserve the right to complain someone who has not done her role up to expectations. we can see another daily example at the busstop. as hard as we pray for the bus to wait for us while we chase after it, do we thank the bus drivers for waiting for us when they actually do? or do we just curse and swear at them when they don't. appreciation is really very much in lack in Singapore.

the students here are well, not very much as i had expected. to begin with, i didn't even know what to expect of the student's in a girls' school. i can already feel a huge generation gap between myself and them. not simply because of the difference in the level of maturity. i mean like, my friends and i weren't like what they are when we were still students! but they are still mostly kind at heart. and that's a good thing.

and i really had a good clique of relief staff also. which really made things so much easier each day. :) really thankful for them.

but i guess i still do not like the administrative stuff.. but what to do.. and there's seriously lots of meetings.. and from what i've been seeing, most are really irrelevant. if meetings equate to higher interaction between the leaders and the staff, i think it comes at a heavy price of efficiency, especially when there is no interaction in the meetings. like there's only the "action" part of "inter-action". like a one way deal.

at the end of the day, i still want to teach. :)

my retrospect; 7:58 PM



in mathematics, we assign letters to represent different variables. this enables us to actually present what we are actually finding.

similarly, in life, we assign different names to different objects in order for us to actually name the object instead of trying to describe it with a myriad of adjectives.

so actually, are any of these real? in math, we can easily replace the variable x with another variable, let's say m. parallel, what we call a bowl by english speakers is called 碗 by chinese speakers.

so which is real?

and if this bowl breaks, do we still call it a bowl, or do we call it rubbish? did the bowl become unreal the instant it broke? but how do we even measure that "instant"?

of course, the above logic is arguably simple to understand.

physical things apart, let us look at things that we cannot see.

our thoughts, our feelings.

first feeling that most of us get after we get a cut on a finger; pain. why do we feel pain? why do we even call pain, pain? if we had assigned the word happy to the feeling pain, would i be correct to say that i'm feeling happy that i got cut?

the answer is simply no, because it the definitions of the words pain and happy are inherent in us since birth. and this is what makes us human. to be able to appreciate of the fundamental meanings of these words, and to be able to express them freely, musically, literally, verbally.

but what if all of our understanding is wrong in the first place?

most of us would have heard of this saying, "seeing is believing." there are other sayings that go "there is more than meet the eye."

once again, which is true?

scientifically, the latter definitely holds more truth. consider the entire electromagnetic spectrum. what we humans can see is merely a small fraction of what there is around us, also known as visible light. (from my rough calculation it is approximately 4%) what would we see if we can actually look out of this range? similarly, what would we hear if we could hear beyond human limitations?

does this coincide with the scientists' claim that we humans are only using less than 5% of our brain capacity?

that aside, this sets us into the motion again, is what we see and what we hear real?

the most concrete fact that i can think of are fishes. some fishes are known to be able to see infrared light, and the mackerel can see ultraviolet light. so what do these fishes see? are they able to see the corals and other marine life as we do? if they can, would they look the same as what they look to us? if they can't, does this mean that the corals that we see do not exist for these fishes?

imagine an organism that can see x-ray. like our x-ray images, would we only appear to be a moving skeleton to this very organism? would our skin and flesh appear to be non-existent to this organism as well?

so think again, what is real?

back to the discussion of the reality, or rather, the un-reality of our thoughts and our feelings.

following the example of the broken cup, if we say that anything that dies/diminish/change form is something that is not real, wouldn't that render all our thoughts and feelings unreal?

and that is true biologically too. someone once said that you would never step back the same place the same twice. simply because the next time that you step back, the constituents that make you you, fundamentally your cells, would have underwent countless cycles of growth and death and generation. so you are not the same you the previous moment.

but the fact remains that you are still you, your behaviour and characteristic and personality does not change with each death and birth of your cell. obviously we cannot say that the mind controls the above, because brain cells do die as well. so, is it really something else that is controlling us? or is this something just us.

and does this something control our thoughts and feelings?

by now, you would have probably been overwhelmed by how much unreality there is around us, and in us. if we are able to come to terms with this fact, wouldn't all our problems be solved instantaneously?

why, you may ask? all that is left to do is to change your thinking.

because there is no real solution to an unreal problem.

my retrospect; 7:59 PM



ok! update on tj duathlon!

woke at an early 5.30 to have milo and bread! i hate eating shortly after i wake up, especially if i don't see the sun. haha then cabbed down to soedar's house and set off to ECP!

saw many roadbikers, and guys wearing imba tights and shoes and gear. chen shao the informant told us that they were quite strong! hahaha and suddenly any hope of winning was lost. lol..

the race began pretty much on time.. and it was so scary! everyone was like making a mad dash forward, like competing in a 1km race. i quickly ended up into the middle of the pack even though i started right at the front with kai sheng, the legendary runner. hahaha.

shall not bore u with the details of the first leg! came back at a notable 21:55 though. so i thought that i was overly fast cos my fastest yet was just 23min. =p scared i wldnt have the energy to complete the 2nd leg of 5km.

while waiting for nicky to come back, i went around to chill with soedar when we saw a guy on mountain bike returning! which sent us into panic mode and waited for our partners' return at the transition area. turns out that guy only completed one lap instead of two. -.- lame...

so.. soedar and i saw chen shao zooming towards the final turning point first. followed by nicky and dt! nicky was pretty close to chen shao at that time.. about +1min behind only.. so when i saw daryl returning instead of nicky after chen shao, i was set into total shock. i thought that nicky had fell down, which wld kinda mean GG for us.. haha turns out that he had thigh cramp, and went into a wrong fork. and that set us back from position 2 to position 6.

and came the final run! i dunno what i was thinking, but i was just running, and running and running! my heart was pounding, my lungs were screaming, and my poor feet were burning! and i actually felt like puking while returning! shortly caught up soedar, and eventually the other runners, one by one.. damm shiok to overtake ppl =) and then i saw a lightning blue guy in front.. the legend.. hahaha.. just when i caught up with him and overtook him by abit, he decided to switch on to full gear and went on to do his famous 400m sprint.. and then.. GG.. hahahaha no energy to sprint already. =p

well, at least i came back at 20:33! fasttttt mannnn... i didn't know i could do that kind of timing! woo hoooo! jud, dun be jealous if u're reading this. hahaha. and nicky and i got our 2nd place =)

that's basically the exciting part.. disgustingly long wait for prize presentation.. and a totally lousy luckless draw -.-

oh well.. till my next run.. adidas sundown marathon team event =)

my retrospect; 10:23 PM



now that i've signed up for TJ duathlon 2010, i realised that it's been a long time since anything interesting happened.

and the inspiration of this post coincides with the previous few posts, ie. running!

anw, i suppose the most notable event in the past few months wld be my ORD, which wasn't particularly significant. and i guess the readers of this blog also know that i'm teaching, and still is, at SAC. which is why i figured that there wasn't a need to blog in the first place.

blogs, to some are a place where they can rant all they want about the world. to others, it is a place where they feel to express their deepest feelings, obscured or not. and since i do not usually have alot to say, and neither have overwhelming emotions to pour out, there was simply nothing to blog out!

and thus, i have come to a conclusion that the purpose of this blog is for me to record down significant events/incidents/thoughts that i would like to remember i years to come. =)

for now, that event would most probably be the duathlon, of which i have already began training for!

and today while talking to one of the uncles i realised one thing through our conversation. i am purpose driven!!! if i had not signed up for this event, i would not be even running in the first place! like after stopping for about 8 months..

the people at the stadium are nice too. some still remember my name, and are genuinely concerned over my weight loss. remember they last saw me 8 months ago when i was still actively running/swimming/gymming. haha. and i got good advice and encouragement too! which is good cos these 3 weeks are going to suck.

that's it for now. till my next post, ciao.

my retrospect; 9:20 PM



they say that i'm a REALIST!!! which is summed up by Planner, Facts, Heads, and Introverted.

Summary of Realists

• Loyal and steady workers who meet deadlines
• Believe in established rules and respect facts
• Think of themselves as mature, stable and conscientious
• May appear too logical or tough-minded and forget their impact on other people

hmmm... depends on what kind of situation i'm in la i guess.


Full results here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/whatamilike/index_5.shtml?personality_type=realist


and to take,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/whatamilike/index.shtml

my retrospect; 8:05 PM



end of sept! just one post to begin and conclude the month.

erm...

umm...

like nothing much happen leh...

haha got la, my birthday lor. (weird, suddenly all the leh/la/lor start coming out, not like my usual style hahah)

celebrated first with my fellow army friends. namely cocaine, chi chi, lam, and my tan. notice the coded names, just in case i breach ops sec! just joking! met up at city hall mrt on fri night(dictated by cocaine), which was a mad rush home first, and my first(and i think last) surprise was my tan, whom i wasn't expecting at all. ate hor fun at Thai Express(dictated by cocaine) which turned out to be just ok, and not enough to fill my stomach. btw, i had a bowl of dinner at home before going out. chi chi was killed by the spiciness, and god knows what happened to cocaine's phone. hahahah. fastforward 1x venti dark mocha at starbucks, shared with my tan, and fastforwarded to home, where i ate another bowl of mi fen. =X bloated. but shiok.

it was tuition first followed by 0506 mini meet up. no one's fault actually it was mini, since our class was already mini to begin with. one or two ppl missing would decrease the population by FOLDS. dt was already with nic to repair his phone/some dunno wad device. and in the end he didnt have a phone for tat night which was quite retarded. and siyao appeared. for dunno what reason, 3 guys standing together = road guide. and we debated over the definition of "过马路", to which we arrived at no conclusion. and shu appeared.

and the search for SWENSENS began. sing"old mcdonald had a farm", starting frm the quack quack part.
and a wrong turn here,
and a floor up there,
walk here ask there everywhere no where,
in the end nobody knows,
where is SWENSENS at.

that could just sum up the search for swensens. when we eventually reached there, it was like seeing heaven, better still, we sat beside the uber tempting buffet, particularly the waffles. and a staff there was nic's EC. can see her face in the fb pics! hahaha. had a baked rice, followed by the bdae cake/ice cream thingy, even though it wasnt my actual date of birth. and dunno which idiot decided to sing bdae song. haha paiseh sial. that was followed by apple and bananas crumble, and it turns out to be a treat for me! hahaha shld have ordered more man. damm! hahaha

the next item was simply unbelievable. I WENT TO A LAN/GAMING SHOP AND CHIONGED L4D for 2hours.

now that's a surprise, more like i surprise myself. lol. it was quite fun to kill shu and nic, and especially siyao. actually, it's just fun to kill siyao cos of his "eh cheebong" kind of reaction. hahahah. and i was way out of dt's expectation, since it was 2 of us VS the three of them. but it's not the kind of game u can play alone without getting bored. haha. and then it was home sleep home...

then on sunday, it was steamboat for lunch and dinner! eat until damm shiok the past few days. dunno gain how much weight sia, since i never go run/swim anymore. which reminds me of the coming nike run =X

thanks to all who remembered my bdae! =)

working wise, still busy, even though i just got my understudy. actually getting an understudy increases my workload, still need to teach him, slow down my speed. sianz. hopefully he can master the ropes in one to two months.

and i conclude that I am just freaking noob narrator while blogging. and my sister says "yup" -.-

my retrospect; 5:36 PM



yay new update! haha

1. AHM Run Results - 10km Men, Bib No. 60615
Finish Net Time - 51.19.10
Finish Net Place - 126th (2765 positions ahead!)
In Last 4km, I passed 956 runner, and 0 passed me! make me sound damm pro. i like. HAHA

Damm Cool! Can see results and race info at this link.
http://www.runpix.info/sfa09/ge.php

Lots of room for improvement too! haha

2. New Tuition Kid. Yes! money money money~

3. Singapore Flyer. Some nice scenery, and fooling around on the cabin during the ride which felt way less than 30-40mins. haha and looking downwards is abit freaky for me! makes me wonder how it would look/feel like at 10000+feet! hmmm... hope i get the chance to.

4. Weak attempt to ride nicky's road bike. but at least i managed to eventually. legs not long enuf. wth. tempting to get one, again. -.- argh.

5. Watched PONYO PONYO!!! dunno if the movie is intended to portray a drowning world, or talk about japanese legends, or just talk about a goldfish that doesn't look like a goldfish. Did you noe tat ponyo is a freaking GOLDFISH?!?!

6. Bballed! after like so many months. everyone lost touch with the exception of kenneth, lol. me dt nic managed to get some back later though, at the sheltered court, where we got owned by some sec sch kids. haha but shiok la, so long never play.

7. Ops Duty. -.- great way to end a nice weekend.

8. And the work week starts again...

my retrospect; 7:31 PM

about yourself here







Anne
Cristal
Daryl
Jeanette
John Gobok
Jollyn
Jonathan
Jolena
Judith
Kenneth
Marcus
Mr Low
Muhaina
Natalia
Nicholas
Qing Yi
Rachel
Shou Yu
Si Yao
Soedarsono