感謝する

I have much to be thankful for over this few days.

Most obviously, the first would be that the MOE SM3 camp went off today, and nothing major cropped up... for a while.

OK, must explain a bit. See, I personally don't think I did a very good job on it, since I would have definitely preferred to have had more prep time, as well as have everything totally settled, so that I can act all nonchalant about it during the actual running, since I would have known that everything was in place.

This time, however, it was a little different. Cos first, we only got the go-ahead from MOE in mid-November, which if you are a uni student, is not exactly the freest time to do an external camp project (read: project datelines.. or is it deadlines?). So it didn't start off with a bang. And then, at the end of November, that's when exams start, so it's also not a good time to do more than just a bit of planning. (Oh, btw, I did ok for the exams. Nothing great. But I passed!).

And then December was kinda busy. Like I had quite some stuff to do. So by the time I came back from Telunas, I had like 6 days (which coincidentally, is how long V is staying in HK) to try and complete the camp program. I mean I had the rough framework up by the 12th, I think, but it wasn't complete. Like, it wasn't complete enough for me to be able to let things go.

Then I fell sick. Was pretty bad on the 26th, slightly better on the 27th. And that was when I felt that quite possibly, I would have to ensure the camp would be able to run without me, as I might not even be there.

I believe at that point, when I was like kinda dead-ish, God decided to step in with all His power to help complete the camp prep. I mean, we were praying and all, but that was probably when I and all the other comm members really turned it over to Him to make things work.

And He did.

So today, there were no major problems in the morning. I mean, I went to a doc to get medicine, and by the time I got down to Palawan, all the camp helpers were there, and C had given them the final briefing, and they were all praying, and R and L were setting up the group logistics. The campers came about half-an-hour later, led by Ri, SK, G and WX. I mean, the fact that we suddenly received replies from people volunteering in the few days between 24th Dec and 27th shows God's provision already.

And you know how I know God was really involved? Well, this was the first SM3 camp I've attended as a uni student that was like brilliantly sunny. Ok, it was more like scorchingly sunny, and I bet I've got a bad sunburn, just that it hasn't reached my nerves or something, but yeah. I mean, it was a nice sunny day for all of us to run around and play games. 1st time in 3 years. So most of the peeps had fun, playing games like Hunter, Fire, Earthquake:



And the balloon stepping game, though I must say I was rather disappointed at the quality of those &@#*^@$ balloons, as a bout 2/3rds of them popped or let out air the disgusting things. No fault to L, but to those lousy QC people who aren't doing their jobs:



And also many other games that were either taken from last year's camp (which the students enjoyed previously), or which I pilfered from various Open Sundays. (Thanks guys, for the piracy lawsuits I know you're not going to level against me).

So all the games went ok. No one got heat exhaustion, no one drowned, only two minor injuries, and at about 5pm, when we sent them all off to shower and get ready to go for dinner, we all were able to take a well-deserved break from work:



Or, at least, they were able to play a bit. I was kinda zoned, and somewhere during the course of the day, I lost my voice, and acquired Gary Busey's.

So everything was going more-or-less according to plan.

C was able to catch frisbees:



Everyone was having a grand time:



The sun was, er, shining brightly behind some clouds...



That was when disaster struck. Due to a matter of miscommunication between yours truly and MOE, there would be no buses to bring all the students from Sentosa to Marina for their dinner.

Now, having served as an MTO for 1-and-a-half years, this is arguably one of the worst scenarios that you face. You screw up, and 200 people are left stranded without buses. It's even worse than having to come up with WITS suggestions in 5 minutes. Worse even than realizing that you failed 2.4 by 2 seconds. It's really.... badong (hahaha).

So that was when we had to scramble. And so R and me finally came to the conclusion that 'boh pian, must give the SM3 students a crash course in Singapore Public Transport 101', and told them to take bus out, then MRT, and then bus to the dinner spot.

Fortunately, again, when we told the group leaders the bad news, it was only 5.30 pm, so there was more than enough time for scrambling. And though some groups reached later than the projected 7.30 time (even after we changed time to accommodate for slower movement), at least all of them got to the end point, and I heard from R that they had a satisfactory time over there.

So for this camp, things I can be thankful for are:
1. That most of the program ran smoothly.
2. That even the major hiccups were quashed.
3. That the weather was really good the whole day.
4. That there were enough volunteers who came down.
5. For a comm that supported me all the way, even though quite a bit of the problems that were last minute were caused by me. haha.

So on the way out, I could afford to take a bit more of a breather, and I managed to get this shot:



Which just about helps to remind us of God's sovereignty.

Oh and I finally remembered what I wanted to write about: Christmas Cards! Received some this year, some from expected people (including one via blogpost), some from unexpected people, but all gratefully accepted and cherished. haha. Yeah. Some are really nice, especially one that is like attached to a quadrilateral portion of processed wood pulp meant to help remove remains from around the main orifice wherein normal people put their daily sustenance.

Ok, enough nonsense for one night.

Cheerio

Astrum

Two things to write about now.

First, I must tell the story of the stargazing incident at Telunas, as promised. It all happened when I was walking about near the conference room at the so-named place, and bumped into A and E, who were hanging about there. Thanks to some general knowledge on astronomy, and the fact that I had taken Understanding the Universe just last sem, I could talk a bit about it with E, who knows basic astronomy as well, and A, who doesn't know much about it.

E: Do you see that? That's Orion's belt.
A: Where? Where?
E: There, can't you see. There are these 3 stars in a row. That's Orion's belt.
A: Oh. Ok.
Me: Yeah, and you see four points around it?
A: Where?
E: It's there. Just surrounding the belt.
Me: Yeah. Like a trapezium sort of shape thingy.
A: Oh ok. Yeah.
Me: That's the constellation of Orion. And you see the belt, if you align it, you can see it points to a bright star. That star is Sirius. It's the brightest in the sky.
A: Ah...
E: Isn't it Polaris that's the brightest?
Me: Nah, don't think so. Polaris just stays in one place. But you can also use Orion to help find Polaris. I think. I mean, I know you can use the Big Dipper.
E: Yeah. Oh, and you see that?
A: What?
E: That one hanging there in the sky that's a bit reddish, and doesn't blink. That's Mars. You know it's a planet cos it doesn't blink.
A: Oh...
Me: Yeah. Sometimes in the morning, also can see Venus. Very bright, doesn't blink too. That's why it's called the Morning Star.
E: Yeah.
A: OK.
E: Eh, then how you know if there are black holes?
Me: They can see it cos got radiation.
E: *quibble over astronomy*
Me: *quibble over astronomy*
A: *Just continues looking at stars*
Me: Oh, wait, you see that one over there?
A: Where where?
Me: That one, blinking, moving quite fast?
A: Where... oh yeah.
Me: That's a plane.
A: Oei! *hits me*
E: Hahaha.

Here's a photo of the three astronomer-wannabes. Our amateurish nature can be seen in that we are looking for stars in the middle of the day under a roof.



Second thing is to give thanks to God, who has, despite my ineptitude and physical disability, has chosen to be merciful, and help to make sure that most of the things that are crucial for the MOE camp are being settled. Like really fast. So though it is rather rushed, God has decided to help us rush faster. And has blessed me with friends at IFG who are helping to make it happen.

Ok. That's it. I've got this nagging feeling at the back of my head that I have more stuff to write about, whether it's about Telunas, or Christmas Day, or other events in December, but the headache's in the way. Bother.

Cheerio

December

By a rather fortunate coincidence, December in English is same as December in Latin, hence the 'English' title. I think it's cos it was imported from Latin. But that is just an aside point of absolutely no consequence to this post, apart from it being it's name.

December is almost over, rather quickly too I might add. Wasn't too long ago when I was complaining about having to study for JLPT (which was on the 2nd of December). So here's a rundown of what went on, and what's going on.

After NUS exams (ended 1st December) and JLPT, I was rather free. So first thing I did was to go and crash the Youth camp (Faithfool) that took place from 3rd~7th December. Brother was camp commandant, and must say he and his comm did a pretty good job, what with the rather short planning time they had. Lotsa pictures, lotsa videos, but I don't have them with me, since I only appeared every now and then. A few disturbances, but that's to be expected. Truly, God made a way for them, and blessed the lives of the youths who attended the camp.

Next major event was the Christmas in the Community. It was really cool. There was like publicity and stuff, and even though I wasn't quite as involved as last year, when I was drafted into the band as the bassist, I did help out a little bit... this time, it was to help Uncle H and E give out mikes during the performance. Was great. The Hokkien song done by Js was really funny and groovy, and some of the other performances by some residents of Woodlands was just awesome. The youth dance team from church also showed that all their hard work paid off. And about half the guys in the Youth Min fell in love with a certain young lady who sang accompaniment to her brother on stage.

Went for a spot of shopping with V on the 18th. To get Christmas stuff. Shopping is a tiring business. Shopping in a crowded place is even more tiring. But at least, I managed to find quite a bit of stuff that I could use. Ate some sort of glorified mee goreng for lunch at the basement of Takashimaya. Wasn't that great, though V said J like adored the stuff or something. I think the donuts were a lot better.

After that was the (at that point) eagerly awaited Telunas trip. Those that went the previous year wanted to get back again, and those that were first-timers wanted to see what was so great about the place. Some pictures below, some from me and others from F.

Must admit that it was pretty different from last round. Firstly, there were more people, but less of my kakis who were there. Secondly, it wasn't a completely relax camp, but there was some structured stuff. Thirdly, it wasn't quite as sunny as the previous time, and fourthly, P.J. gave us a healthy dose of his tekan on the third morning.



This here is the example of the tekan that P.J. gave to us. Doesn't seem too bad right? But this is after we had run about 2km (approximated by brother) in sand, along with numerous times we had to do push-ups and sit-ups. My fitness was totally shot through prior to this trip, and I almost died. If you look closely at the picture, you can see me. I think I should be that wimpy one who's leg is collapsing.

The scenery was still amazing despite the relative bad weather. Like this one, which was taken on the third day when the sun finally decided to come out:



This was on the first day. One of the few nice non-sunny pictures I have:



Strangely enough, if you turned 90 degrees to the right, you would have seen this:



And finally, I must admit that ever since I started watching Miyazaki films, I have started to appreciate clouds more and more:



For other pictures, please take a peek at Farand's photo link.

After getting back on the 22nd, had to start doing both PRC camp planning, and writing Christmas cards for important people. Good thing I started earlier on both, but the PRC camp thing may run into some snags. It's like in a couple days time, and we're not fully ready. Managed to finish most of the cards for my CG people by the morning of the 25th though.

Sister got baptized on the 23rd. Woots! It may not have any sort of 'spiritual impact', since it is merely an ordinance, not like a charm or whatever, but it is still something the Lord called us to do, and is a public declaration of our faith.

Had had a mum-side family gathering on the evening of the eve, had lots of food and stuff. Oh and cousin MW is going to OCS. Haha... the poor sod's over there already...

Then it was Christmas! Went for Christmas service in the morning, so full that some of us ended up standing. Scrambled to write a few more cards before the whole thing ended. Then went for lunch at Uncle KC's. As always, he went all the way with food this time. After that, I toddled off to J-8 to go say hi to YL, then went down to town to join many others having an outing

So now all that is over already. Many nice pictures, much nice food, and many friendships renewed. But now is PRC camp planning time, and I'll just need to trust God to work His miracles, because darned if I'm able to do anything.

So yeah, pray for PRC camp, hope that the planning goes ok, and ask that I can recover from an irritating sore throat in time. I probably got it from S at the camp lor. Oh, and I cut my toe on a barnacle. Those devious little creatures are like the most evil things in the oceans of Telunas. (The bugs are also just as bad). Bled pretty bad, but good thing Auntie S was on site to apply first aid.

OK, that's about all I've got. Kinda losing coherence again, maybe write more stuff on Telunas next time. Must remember to talk about the stargazing incident. haha.

Cheerio

Donum

If there has been one constant in my life so far, it is that every year, without fail, NUS gives me a birthday present in the form of an exam paper. For the past two years, it was Japanese. Today, I got a history paper. Thank you NUS.

I also received a birthday (cup)cake from the VCF+A people from my history class. And got a card from D. My (cup)cake did not have a candle, but it did have a lighter. Which is something at least. Thanks

Also got many sms-es. So nice. One of the best ones was from J. She wrote like an essay or something. Probably had to pay for 3 sms-es. And SK's one about having a bathday was pretty cool too. haha.

So now I'm at 3/4+1 papers. Have just got to prep for Asian-American History on Saturday (they should like give me an A because of heritage) and JLPT on Sunday, which I have yet to study. Tough.

During two of the past 3 tests, however, I must tell of how God provided for me. Like on my test on Monday at Eusoff Hall, I was pretty nervous before it. I mean, that's quite unlike me, since usually I'm not nervous, or at least, I am able to hide the emotion so well that I can't feel it. But I was nervous while going for my Pre-modern Japan test. Despite my sudden attack of anxiousness, I actually managed to get quite a lot to write. Whether the answers will be correct is besides the point: I think God gave me a hand.

And for today's Religion paper, somewhere between question 2 and 3, I started to feel really sleepy. And I almost started kooning. But I distinctly heard some on say my name, like "Hey 'niel" or something like that, which is what my dad calls me sometimes. And I stayed awake for the rest of the paper. Like wow.

Ok. that's about it. Just that yesterday was F's birthday, tmr will be E and R, and day after will be W. So many in so few. Oh, and happy birthday K! (He has the same birthday as me, though he claims he's born earlier because of time zone differences).

On a side note, the Bucks are like 7-5. Unfortunately, this was after they just lost to the 76ers. Still, it's pretty good for a team that would've been the bottom of the NBA last season if the Celtics and Grizzlies hadn't put in even more effort to be the last. But you know what's even cooler that the Bucks being 7-5? It's that Brett Favre's got the Packers at 10-1.

Cheerio!

Meditatio

Now near the end of Year 3 Semester 1 in NUS. Quite possibly the last of my semester 1s here, though I would like to go for honors, then this will (duh!) be the 2nd last of my semester 1s.

Thankfully, I have gotten one of my major essays out of the way since Prof T always like gives us a choice of topics, and if you take the earliest one, you finish it midway through the sem. Can't say I'm proud of my result for that, but it could've been a whole lot worse.

The bigger problem now, is having to sit and think up Prof D's think-piece, which is something like an essay you write that talks about an essay you won't be writing. Quite naturally, this can be exceedingly distressing for me, since I find it hard enough trying to do a normal essay with normal questions, much less one that requires me to think of something to write about something that I'm thinking of writing. So I have gotten myself distracted while listening to Carl Orjje play the works of Miyazaki Hayao, and trying to remember that apart from this think-piece, I also have a Physics test on Tuesday, and must answer Prof T's tutorial by then as well. Haiz.

In other news, however, the Bucks have finally won their first basketball game of the season, at the Bradley Center, with Michael Redd scoring a game-high, and more importantly, with Yi Jianlian playing the way all Bucks fans are hoping he would play when he was drafted in August. Oh and the Packers are still 6-1. I mean like how cool is that?

Ok back to work now.

Cheerio

Noctivagus

Got the opportunity to drive the Odyssey for the first time today. This time, when I got into the driver's seat, Dad couldn't bug me to get out of it.

A little different from the smaller Honda sedans I drove at the driving school, definitely felt heavier.

No, I didn't crash, or scratch the paint on the car, or end up straddling the road divider.

'Twas fun.

Cheerio

Ventulus

Today was the culmination of almost two years of learning at the driving center. Well, ok, not exactly two years. More like two months with 1 year 10 in between.

See I wanted to get my driver's license in 2005 before I went to uni, since I had a bit of free time. But driving everyday for two weeks makes driving lessons incredibly boring, and I was rather upset when I realized that to take the advanced theory test, I had to go for lessons and take a mock test before I was allowed to sit for the test.

So I just stopped taking 'em, and procrastinated until recently, when I cleared my advanced theory in June or July this year.

Went for lessons yesterday, and stalled twice. Nothing much to worry about.

And today was the test.

Blue sky overhead
Seeing the roads of my joy
Complements the breeze

D, 'tis a reference

Cheerio

Avis

So just the other day (I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday), I was sitting at the edge of the Deck (hur hur) trying to do some readings or what not. (If it was Tuesday, I was trying my best to finish off my essay [which incidentally, was due the next day] while still trying to maintain my unflappable exterior. Thanks to God, I actually managed to do both)

So yeah, I was sitting there, when suddenly H bounces up to me, and says:

H: Hey! What you doing?
Me: Pre-modern Japan essay.
H: Oh! That's the one I'm not doing anymore.
Me: Yeah, that's the one where you abandoned me.
H: Eh sorry lah...
Me: Heh
H: Anyway, I got a joke to say to you
Me: Erm, ok
H: What do you do if someone throws a chicken at you?
Me: Eh?
H: Come on come on...
Me: (After thinking for a while to see what's the sort of joke-ish answer she wanted) Er, you duck?
H: (Wrinkles her nose at me) Eh, you heard it before ar?
Me: No, I just made a wild guess.
H: So what happens if I ask someone, but they don't know the answer?
Me: Is this some more joke?
H: Yes, quick answer.
Me: (trying to act nonchalant) Aiya don't know lah
H: (trying to suppress her smile at getting one up on me) You suan (swan) the person!

This was when G, who was sitting nearby decided to chime in

G: Haiya, H, can you stop acting like a silly goose?
H: Oei what
Me: Yeah. Stop making such foul (fowl) jokes.

That totally cracked H up. Sometimes, I amaze myself.

Naturally, all this talk about birds also reminded me of a certain friend of mine who once mixed up the names of a small Australian parrot and a fried potato patty. J, if you're reading this, EAT A TAO SA PAU!

On another note, just on Friday, I heard this exchange in my Religion class between D and M.

D:(some talk which I didn't hear)
M: (some talk which I didn't hear either)
D: But Dong{1} is north!
M: No, Dong{1} is east!
D: No! Dong{1} Nan{2} Si{1} Bei{3}, North south east west! (points at the four cardinal points)
M: No, Dong{1} Nan{2} Si{1} Bei{3} (points at the four cardinal points in a different order)
D: No! Hey! (calls friend) Back me up here. It's Dong{1} Nan{2} Si{1} Bei{3} (points at the four cardinal points in a NSEW manner) right?
D's friend: Erm, I think so
M: No what, it's Dong{1} Nan{2} Si{1} Bei{3} (points at the four cardinal points in a ESWN manner)
Me: D, Dong{1} is east. Why do you think Tokyo is called Dong{1}jing{1} in Chinese?

So anyway, this argument goes on and on, until finally, I say

Me: Aiya, Dong{1} is east lah. Dong{1} Nan{2} Si{1} Bei{3} (I point at the cardinal points in a ESWN manner) Chinese and Western style is different. Don't believe me, can ask O. His Chinese is better than mine.
O: (Doesn't say anything, but his slow grin makes D realize that M and me may have been right after all) (Btw, O is Australian. Like angmoh)
D: Really ar?
M: Wah, this is the first time I heard an AC boy (referring to himself, not me. I'm not AC. *shudder*) is better in Chinese than an RV girl

Cheerio

Aegis

I believe I have this remarkable ability to be able to cover my emotions to a certain degree. It is like, I can keep my face neutral, or smirk, or smile as if nothing happened. Basically, I can prevent myself from showing extreme emotions.

Naturally, this can be a very useful skill, since it prevents people from knowing what I'm really thinking all the time. So you won't know if I'm excited, or upset, or whatever. Of course, it can also be bad sometimes, since it prevents people from knowing what I'm really thinking all the time. So you won't know if I'm excited, or upset, or whatever.

The point I'm bringing up here is that even though I may show only 3 emotions on a regular basis (laughing, stoning, or neutral), I can safely assure you that I do experience the same range of emotion that other more expressive people feel.

And while we're on this subject, I must say that I most certainly do not appreciate doors being slammed/closed/pushed shut in my face. In fact, in case you didn't know, I find it somewhat rude. Especially if my face happens to be about an inch away from the door. I mean, it's one thing if I was being a exceedingly irritating for the past half an hour or so. In such a case, I would think that would be justified. It's a totally different matter, however, if I had spent 15 minutes of my study time trying to help you solve a technical problem you encountered, and I was going back to give you a piece of information that you might have needed to know. I mean, yeah, your talk/program/whatever may be more important than me, but the least you could do is be polite right? Right?

Ok, on to other things. So anyway, today Kairos went down to Merchant Court for a spot of food, thanks to the generosity of Uncle P who very kindly treated us to it. Food was great, but I somehow didn't feel quite so hungry, so I didn't eat a lot. Heh. It helps when you're trying to lose weight, to not eat too much. It was nice to have some time of chilling out with your peers, and being able to relax. Yup.

3 tests (or is it 4?) coming up next week... help...

Cheerio

Enuntio

Just as a short side note, before I forget, my dad was at Covenant having some conference over the past weekend or so, and he heard this joke from one of the speakers there:

There was a guy, who had a really nice dog, called Maze. The dog was obedient and loyal, but had one major failing: it liked to eat the grass on his front lawn, leaving large, unsightly bare patches all over the yard. To protect his lawn, he usually kept the dog in the house or in the shed when he wasn't around to ensure that his lawn remained beautiful.

Then, he went on a long holiday. When he got back, the grass was overgrown, and the roof was leaking. So he grabbed his tool bag and clambered on to the roof to go and fix the hole. After he had patched up the hole, he was starting to climb down when he lost his balance and slipped. He managed to grab onto the roof before he fell off, but in the process, dropped his wrench into the long grass beneath him.

Cursing his own clumsiness, he lowered himself to the ground, and started searching for his missing tool. But try as he might, he just couldn't find the wrench. So he miserably went back into the house.

The next morning, he woke up, and when he went out onto the patio, he realized that his dog Maze had managed to get out of the house in the middle of the night, and had left large bare patches all over the field again. He was about to go and scold his wayward dog again, when he noticed a silvery glint in one of the patches. He ran over, and picked up the wrench he had lost the day before.

Then he said,

"A grazing Maze
How sweet a hound,
That saved a wrench for me."

Hahahahahaha!

Cheerio

Inovo

Just to let people know, the new IFG blog is up. Link has been updated, only one post so far, will update further as more events are set up.

Cheerio

Verbum

As I mentioned earlier, I've discovered that I really like many of the Studio Ghibli shows. Strangely enough, however, I have also found that I rather like some of those that are shoujo. I mean like Nausicaa and Castle in the Sky are really good, but I also enjoyed watching like Ocean Waves and Whisper of the Heart.

So anyway, I got a little obsessed with getting music from those movies, so I toddled off to HMV like last Wednesday to go and browse about. By the way, they have some sort of sale, and many of the anime feature film DVDs are going at around SGD20. But anyway. As expected, most of the OSTs were like SGD60 apiece, since they were Japanese imports. But then I spotted what appeared to be a collection of Studio Ghibli music. And it was priced at SGD20! So I happily bought it before going back to listen to E's talk on terrorism.

When I went home however, I discovered that I was too impetuous. This was when I wanted to load the tracks into Starlight Express II that I realized the artiste was the Carl Orjje Piano Ensemble. Which meant it was all instrumental, while I had been hoping for the actual music from the shows. That put a bit of a dent into my joyous mood, until I started listening, cos the music is really nice. And I'm like almost addicted to it now. Haha.

Ok, and I have a marvelous quote from my friend Z during CG last week. She was talking about her lecture mate (or lecturer? Not too sure) in a Mathematics class.

"He's like so clever can? He can calculate pi. I can only eat pie!"

It totally cracked the lot of us up.

Cheerio

Pretium

Today, PJ + wife held another BGR talk.

In it, something caught my eye. No, not the cute girl sitting in front. It was the price of getting married.

IT'S A WHOPPING $60,000!!!!

Almost makes you not want to get married. Or to like get married somewhere else where you don't need to pay out the annual GDP of a small 3rd-world country so that you can satisfy the ideals of some relatives and friends, and a whole bunch of people you don't even know but whom your parents are obligated to invite.

Can you imagine how much stuff you could buy with $60,000?

Haha.

Cheerio

Aequatio

So life goes on as per normal these past few weeks. Have kinda transited back into school life, just that I'll need to get use to the waking up early again, and try to psyche myself to try to work instead of coming home and playing the 'Box all day long.

Well, first up is the thanksgiving: that I managed to get all my modules, and that both ISO and Welcome Tea went through mostly without hitches. God has really been
watching out for us and providing for us in that we have enough of whatever we need, and then some. Like food. And space. And people. And also for the guys in my CG (in church) who are being very regular in attendance, though I must admit sometimes, their maturity leaves much to be desired...

So anyway, this post will be all about balance. Yes. It's a bit like the Yin-Yang thing, or to mangle Newton's 3rd Law, 'For every thing, there's an equal and opposite thing.' Let me give you the examples.

First up would be some anime I bought last month. I was in Suntec City (I can't remember for what), and while going through, I stopped at Blue Max to take a peek at some anime. They, however, didn't have any that I really wanted, so I toddled off to Discs Station, which was nearby, and sells more Chinese-y stuff. And I found out that they were having a sale! As in, usually I can't be bothered to go 'sale-chasing' like most Singaporeans do (OK, so I'm not Singaporean, but that's beside the point), but this sale was really good. So anyway, I managed to get 2 sets of VCDs at SGD14.95, and 1 box set of DVDs at SGD30.00, which needless to say, is pretty darn cheap. Then I happily ran home. Or went to whatever it was that I was looking for in the first place.

So when I got back, I quickly took out my VCDs first to watch, cos it was a basketball one, called Dear Boys. Well, the animation wasn't fantastic, in fact, I would say that it's worse than the Slamdunk anime, but I could have lived with that if it hadn't been the fact that THE SUBTITLES WERE IN CHINESE!!! And if that wasn't enough, THE CHINESE WAS THE FAN TI ZHI VARIANT!!! (Meaning I couldn't really read it lah [not that I could read jian ti zhi very well, but I probably would have an easier time]). Bummer.

But but but but, the DVD box set I got? Now this is the fun bit. It's a collection of Studio Ghibli films. There are like 14 films on 5 DVDs. And they are absolutely fantastic. If I had to recommend anime films, I would recommend these. (Especially since I own them and that would make me feel much better heh). Here's a picture:



Yes. I have only watched about half my shows there, but so far, they are quite good, whether its the storyline, or the characters, or just the land in which the stories took place.

OK, now on to number two. I am sure that if you were in Singapore, you would have watched the National Day Parade, either at Marina Bay, or on the telly, or something. Well, the great thing about that was that the marching contingents were really good. The commandos were good, the navy SEALs were good, and even the Air Force contingent made less mistakes than they normally did. Additionally, this time the Navy got to show off a bit more of their hardware, since previously, they only had those military ducktour boats, which are more army than navy anyway, and the rigid-hull inflatables.

The bad thing, was that we were 'treated' to a really ridiculous, arty-farty performance with some kind of neo-pagan deity dressed in red and running about on rollerblades who was like the the personification of some kind of spirit while his minions worshiped golden calves. I mean come on, surely they could have done something better than show us that. Like some history stuff, or a performance that everyone could enjoy, not just those who splash paint randomly on canvas and see art in their expressionistic departure from artistic norms. Bah. I certainly didn't like that bit. I fell asleep.

Now the 3rd thing that happened was today. Haha. I'm really happy. Like 本当に幸せになるの。You see, I went to Central at Clarke Quay to go check out Yamakawa Super, since that was like supposed to be a sort of Japanese minimart there. And well, it was ok, if a bit sad, but I didn't manage to get what I was looking for. Then my friend D smsed why don't I go over to Liang Court and check out Meidiya over there. So off I went, and there I found like so much fun stuff! Like this:



僕の大好きな飲み物:三ツ矢サイダー！！

And I also found this:



僕も大好きな飴：三ツ矢サイダー飴！！　本当にうれしいね！！

But, tonight, when I got home, I turned on the telly to Channel 8 to watch the 7pm drama. I mean, usually I don't, but I had started to watch because the evil people in the show were really evil, and I wanted to see them get like their just rewards and all, and to see how all the good guys triumph. But nooooooo.. those morons at Mediacorp just had to reveal today that instead of a single 30-serial, they had a double 30-serial, with the next one coming who knows when, probably in a pathetic bid to raise their viewership ratings. I mean give me a break! I'm wasting my time watching that miserable, exaggerated excuse of a show, and you tell me now that you actually have a part 2?! I was trying my best not to unleash some choice army words at those cretins at Mediacorp.

All I can say is that it better not be trilogy of 30-parters. Bah.

Cheerio

Anaticulae

So S was complaining to me earlier on today. See, he had gone for his reservist ICT, and he had just gone through the combat shoot at the range, where he missed out on getting his $200 bonus by a single shot.

"One bullet!" he was saying. "That stupid duck!"

Yes, it is a little known fact that the SAF uses ducks for target practice. I mean, the pop-up targets are useful for practice and all, but for the real training, we need to use ducks to simulate the random movements that would usually happen during actual combat.

So what happens during the test is that there will be some guys down at the butt end of the range who will release like 6 ducks at a go, and each of the troopers have to pop one duck each. This is why Singapore still maintains a couple of duck farms in the LCK area. It's government funded for shooting practice. After the whole range is over, they'll go and collect the ducks that are still in large enough pieces, and eat them for dinner. The rest of the remains are left at the range to attract other small scavenger birds. This is to allow the NCOs, officers, and people who want to improve their shooting to engage smaller targets that are harder to hit.

So quite naturally, a common misconception during inter-national army training is when a Singaporean soldier screams "DUCK!!" at his section mates. He isn't telling them to hit the dirt and watch out for incoming fire; rather, he's telling them that he's spotted a live target and telling them to shoot it, as well as warning them of the possibility of more enemies in the immediate vicinity.

So anyway, S was complaining, because he's not eligible for the IPPT, so the only way, as he puts it, to get back his taxpayer's money, is to score in the range. But he missed it by a single shot. Poor S.



Went through VCF's FOC a couple of weeks back. Made some new friends, even though my group was kinda depleted cos there were seniors who were working, and there were freshmen who needed to do admin stuff. But generally, the camp was really well done, and I certainly did not feel there were any major hiccups, except maybe SP's rope during the tug-of-war that broke just about every time we played and which ended up a third shorter due to the number of knots that had to be used to conect it back. The other great thing is that once again, the committee felt that group cheers were unnecessary, which is definitely a major plus in my book. Co-leader D was really quite fun to be with. He gave us like Church History 101 in 45 mins.

The speaker was pretty good too. The theme of the camp was of our Foundation of Christ, and he also reminded us of our Unity in Christ, and encouraged us to be Foolish for Christ. I can't really remember everything, but think these 3 points are really easy to remember, and useful for application.

Other than that, nothing much else happened. Helped in some matric stuff, as well as IFG things, had ISO, and passed my advanced theory test. Oh and I managed to get my 3 history pre-allocated modules, so that's one less worry.

Yup, that's about it. Maybe update again soon, if I get inspiration.

Cheerio!

P.S. If you really believed that whole thing about the ducks, I've really got nothing to say.

Valeas

When a whole bunch of my friends graduated last year, it didn't seem like a very big thing, from my perspective. I mean, it's not like they weren't close friends or anything; after all I did get to know some of them really well, especially my ALLO buddy Ad (who regularly steals food from others and who's greeting is now well known to arts people). But this year, after I went down to the UCC to say hi to some of the graduating peeps (today), it seemed so much different. Like it's a whole new beginning for them, to finally finish their university studies, and to start their working life, but at the same time, I can almost sense as if a whole generation of my friends left school.

It's really curious, because the feeling I got today was the sort I felt like after leaving OCS, or after I graduated from Sec. School. Except this time, I'm not the one graduating. And I'm guessing it's because I guess I have in the two years I've been at NUS, I have grown really close to this particular batch of seniors. And also I guess cos about half these people are also my age.

And I know for certain I will really miss them. People like my ex-CGL MS; when I first met her, I thought she was a Chinese exchange student, and who usually gets teased by us, who has made famous phrases like, "Wat!", "Laugh laugh", and "I'm gonna strangle you by the neck!".

Or Sh, who is smart enough to get first class honors, but whom we all watch to see if she trips over herself.

Like Wi, of whom I shall always remember the rides to school in the morning during exam time, and our hare-brained attempts to catch the Great Central Library Rush on video.

And whenever I'm in the library or at the green tables, there's C who will always come and say hi by clapping me on the shoulder.

Like Ad, who was the one who psyched (psychoed) me into joining CF.

Of P, who did her very best to push my proficiency of Japanese up just before my oral tests.

And of YF, whom I met in JC cos we both kept on failing our Chinese, and I regularly run into on campus.

Of course, there are so many more whom I have gotten to know (like Es, Ev, HS, SD, R, T, Ch, Eu, Be, J, eh really got alot, sorry if missed you out hor), and who will not be coming back to school next semester, and I definitely don't have the space (or time, since FOC is tmr and I haven't packed) to list all of them out. And I really regret not being able to see all of them one last time before they finally leave NUS. But I guess it's sufficient to say that I will remember you (at least, I'll do my best to), and that in Singapore, it's almost a given that I'll bump into you sooner or later.

Farewell friends



Kaoz.. so emo sia... almost as if this was an orbituary or something. Biang eh, show so much emotion, must be getting old...

Oh, and I thought this would be a good representation of F, since she has become a dino:



Haha. She wanted to bish me after that. Oh well

Recessus

Have finally managed to cast off the shackles of laziness, apathy, and too much work, and now am able to add another post, which has some pictures, and promises to be a tad long.

So anyway, I was embroiled in the church retreat planning committee for quite a while prior to June. It wasn't overly difficult. Or at least, it wasn't quite as bad as what I thought it would be like. Then again, maybe it's because PS and A did a heck of a lot of work on it. (Though admittedly, sometimes PS does too much work on it, esp cos me and F have already done a sufficiently acceptable job). A few last minute changes nearly sent PS through the roof, but he didn't get a stroke or anything, so that's ok.

Handled the transport side, which wasn't too hard, except that it's a whole lot harder to control church people than like army guys. Had to be a little flexible, esp with regard to the buses on the return trip.

6th-9th June: Church Retreat. The retreat itself wasn't too bad. The place was ok lah, here's a photo of the place:



Here's a picture of the place from the room on the other side:



Of course, some of the peeps thought that the food wasn't that great. I mean, it was edible, but nothing really fantastic. Rev G was pretty good, both at the pulpit and on the guitar. Almost every thign went by without a hitch, kudos to the hotel staff, F and PS who was almost permanently on the verge of a stroke. Maybe only the final night event was not quite as interesting as we hoped it would've been. But thank God that it went well, and that most people had a good time, got to relax, and found a bit of time to connect with Him again. Without Him, it would've probably collapsed a long time ago.

Sub-point to note: I managed to crack my phone cover a second time. So now it has almost symmetrical markings on the face.

As mentioned before, the return trip to church was a bit of a hassle, cos we returned a bit late, and I had to scrap the nice arrangements I had made wrt bus seating and just stuff as many people as I could onto the buses as they came. It worked out, in that no one got left behind; additionally, the last bus was half empty cos I think I stuffed too many people up the first few... haha...

Service on Sunday was ok. Had more or less recovered by then, and it was good to be able to just attend service and know that I did not have to do anything after it. Supposed to have CG outing to Queenstown, but had to stay back to help the floorball comp, since I had already agreed to it before that. After that, I had to quickly rush down to City Hall to pick up T's birthday present, since she was gonna be leaving the next morning for Thailand. Was a little zoned after that, but well.

Monday was a fun day. I met lots of people. Started with me going out early in the morning to see J's Thai team off. J actually got caught in a traffic jam, so good thing he planned ahead. After that, lefft with JH westwards, though JH got off at Eunos to repair his graphics card (found out later that he couldn't), and then proceeded on to Gombak. Paid a short visit to Su cos she was sick from the retreat or something, then wanted to update my account at BBDC, since I had changed my citizenship, but forgot to bring my passport and student pass card. Bummer. Followed that by finding Su and C and E around Gombak for lunch, then left with C bound towards Bishan.

Bought some stuff at Bishan, and tried to burn a bit more time, but couldn't really do it very well, then headed over to AMK hub to explore a little. Ended up sitting in the basement stoning, as is my wont when I've got nothing to do, and saw P walk past. Later, after I linked up with Sh, we ran into her again, and said hi. Finished off that trip with ice cream, and then gave Sh her birthday present, then went off to find Mum and Dad.

Oh, and got me new phone. The afore-mentioned phone which I cracked was getting wonky again, and my parents told me might as well pick up a new one. So I went down to Compass Point, and ran into my good friend KW from army at the M1 shop there. Anyway, this is my new phone:



It's got like almost as many functions as a computer. And it's pretty chim. Pretty big intelligence requirement jump from my previous phone. But the great thing about it is that I can use it in Japan! haha woot.

So next day, I went down to the airport again, cos this time, Ji's family was going to Thailand. After saying bye and all, went with JH (who came again), Jo and V for lunch in T2. It wasn't very great, and suffice to say that on that particular day, this slogan:



Was not very true. Especially the second half. うまいじゃないよ。。ちょっとまずいと思う。

Wednesday was when I did this:



No, 'tis not an egg tart. 'Tis me first attempt at cheesecake. And so far, no one has gotten any stomachaches yet, so methinks it's ok.

Yeah, that about summed up my week. Went down to the airport (yet again!) this time to send Ad's team off. Kinda zoned now cos not 'nuff sleep, maybe I'll go rectify that problem...

Cheerio

何をする？

Was reading this article in My Utmost For His Highest, and it kinda struck me.

After all, we just meet day after day, week after week for Church/CG/fun stuff/outings etc, but is that all we're here for.

What did Jesus die for us for?

What have you done in return?

Fictum

Today I was kinda happy, because I managed to find a very nice dvd at HMV and got it at $30. Think it's a classic show, first saw it in Japan with Uncle L and family, and I believe that it had a great deal of influence on many of later movies. If I'm not wrong, it was made in '80s. I even bothered to take a picture of it, so as to show you all this wonderful masterpiece:



Haha. So anyway, I went down to town today because I was supposed to be having a meeting with C and HS and Y and a lady from Nav called J. Which was ok. Went to Soup Spoon for lunch, then almost fell asleep during the meeting... Good thing C was there to provide relevant input. Well, after the meeting, we went shopping. OK, more accurately, C and HS went shopping. C said she deserved it because she got deprived for a whole semester.

So after she got her track pants, and got a dress or something from M)Phosis (or is it M(phosis)? I'm not sure which side bracket it is), we went to this place to get ice cream. And it was here, that I got cheated. See, when I went to Japan, and went to the Karaoke places and stuff, there is this drink called melon soda, which is a nice green color and has a maraschino cherry on top. Really nice stuff, even though most of my team-mates think it's way too sweet. Anyway, it's a little hard to find it in Singapore. (I guess the closest is F&N Fruitade, but even that's hard to find now).

So I was pleasantly surprised when the menu in that Japanese restaurant had a picture of a melon soda with ice cream. Naturally, I ordered that. This is what it looked like:



When it came, I offered it to HS first, and then after she had a sip, I passed it to C. Then HS asked me, "Are you sure it's melon soda?"

I certainly thought so, but C also remarked that it tasted more like some syrupy thing, but definitely not melon. Not beliving them, I took a sip myself. To my horror, they were right! It didn't taste like melon soda at all, even though it looked like it. It tasted more like... blueberry!

I'm like WTH?! It's a fake-o melon soda! I was cheated!

Bummer.

Ice cream was nice though.

Cheerio

Completum

And now my 2nd year as a university student has come to an end.

OK, so it really ended on the 2nd of May at 3pm when I walked out off my seat and started talking with K about the Japanese exam that just finished. It wasn't quite as hard as I thought, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing, and unlike what M confidently stated, 経済and 政治did not come out in the kanji section of the paper.

And unlike the previous time, I was not quite so free as to be able to post things in the middle of the exam studying time. More like I couldn't spare the creative juices to think up of how to write a post. That is not to say, however, that I did not engage in some mindless, random entertainment during the study period. It can be clearly evidenced by this picture, where GY and me balanced 4 M&Ms between two other candy-biscuit-chocolate thingies (I forgot what they're called).



Didn't really get a lot of time to rest after that. I mean, I went out to buy a game, and stayed up late, but on Thursday, I went with F and PS to Batam for a recce for the church retreat. The place was ok, but we did see a place that PS remarked looked suspiciously like the Bridge on the River Kwai.



Next day, I went down to school to play basketball with L and friends, where I both found out that my basketball skills had seriously detiorated (not that I had much to begin with, but yeah), and that even playing under cloud cover can get you a serious case of sunburn. Had basketball again in the afternoon, and at night went for night cycling with the peeps from VCF. It was really quite fun, though I very nearly fell asleep while being R's V-com. Had to buy coffee to attempt to stay awake.

Sat and Sun had to play for worship. Was really quite zoned out cos of lack of sleep, so am really qutie grateful to God that I didn't like fall asleep during service.

Monday was games day plus FG plus AGM for VCF. Would've gotten sunburnt again except I was already sunburnt, so I didn't get quite so badly burned as some others I knew. Oh and after the AGM was the first time where suggesting to go to Jalan Kayu for supper was actually a viable option, cos there were enough people who stayed nearby who were eager to go. Except for C lah, he stays in Clementi, but came up all the way for prata anyway.

Spent Tuesday baking some cookies, bringing Grandma to SGH for checkup, rushing back to finish the cookies, and then go on down to 3rd place for yet another VCF event. Was kinda tired, so was a little bummed there. But eventually, it was ok. Wednesday I just stayed at home.

Thursday was going to JB day. Organized by A, for some VCF people, we all went across the Causeway to do shopping. Or at least, we all went across the Causeway. The shopping bit might not have quite been done by the collective 'we'. Sort of the 1st time I went there just to do a spot of shopping and staying in Malaysia for less than a day. Oh and also one of the few times there was someone else (in the form of LJ) who was forced to go to the 'All Passports' line instead of the 'Singapore passports' one.

Oh, and this is really old news, but the Mavs got knocked out in the 1st round. Which I felt was a bit of a bummer, since I would've thought that they could have actually won the NBA championships. Oh well.

And finally, couple more photos. Like this one, which was taken by my titchy little Ixus 55. I like the way it can have that sort of 'bowl' effect. Cool huh.



Yup. Just another one of those sunset shots that I was able to get from the balcony. Naturally, Dad was shooting using his massive EOS 500 thingy to shoot. Oh well. Just like fire in the sky.



Cheerio

Memorium

In memory of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

命の灯
狂気に切られ
早すぎて

They were sparks of life
But madness snuffed the light out
It was too early

May God be with you.

Commilitium

The fact that I'm posting so many posts in so few days means, for one, that at least my creative abilities have not totally depreciated. Haha. It could have also meant that I was freer, since my last two major essays were handed up last Friday, but that's not true as I've got a test later on at about 6 pm and I've also got a short report to write up for me language module.

Anyway, we had fellowship training today. It wasn't really quite 'training', since it was basically a panel on singlehood presented by P and J and hosted by Y, and it was more entertaining than informative, since as Y put it, "You all know most of this stuff already anyway."

After the event, we all were just mingling about, and then W came up to me and we started talking, and he mentioned that we didn't have to be part of the SDU anymore, we could be SUD (Single Unwanted Dudes). I upped him one by suggesting we could be SLUGs (Single, Lonely, Unwanted Guys, small 's' since plural). K wanted to go the extra bit and replace 'Guys' with something that started with 'T' instead, but we immediately vetoed him on the spot.

Oh, and the senior students like prepared lots of little cards with a little varnished M&M on it as like their going away gift, since this was their final FT. This is what it looked like:



I was really touched lah, since it obviously took quite a bit of time to prepare it, and it should be made known that senior year isn't exactly the senang-est time in uni life. And many of the seniors wrote a little note inside, though not all of them were represented. (Like MS didn't write inside, but I think it's cos she was preparing for the FT itself, and not because I tricked her into eating chocolate without nuts, biscuits or rum last week.)

Oh, and just to take a poll (not that I'm anal about it or anything. I really do appreciate this little card), but should it be 'a M&M' or 'an M&M'?



Regardless of whatever it should be, whether 'a M&M' of 'an M&M', or even if they made a mistake and called it a Smartie, I really do feel blessed by knowing the year 4s who continued to work hard in both their academic life as well as in campus ministry, and for providing guidance, leadership, and friendship. God bless guys.

Oh and before I forget, thanks D for trying to help make me feel better on Monday night.

And while we are on the subject of fellowship, this here is the picture of the Guyros guys who went to catch 300 a while ago. Yeah. All of us, except the blurry guy at the left side of the photo. He's an unknown passerby.



Cheerio!

Demissum

Played a bit of basketball today, then went for dinner with Grandparents. Grandma's birthday celebration.

Just received some news from A over MSN about some stuff, and I dunno, just kinda made me feel a little down, and it's got quite a bit to do with me. Cos like, it's one thing when it happens because you've done your best, but it's another thing when you know you haven't. Even if this final result is for the best.

I guess listening to sad jazz music doesn't do very much to help dissipate the feeling.

Happy April Fools' Day.

Cheerio

Signum

So once again, it takes me a long time to post a new post. As per the title, such a lack of input means that I've been busy.

Or that I've been lazy.

Or both.

Essentially, that means that my lack of entries could mean anything... which makes this whole post up to here rather moot. Oh well.

But I was really busy. As in, I was never like swamped with work or anything, but there were just assignments that kept on coming, so there was no real stopping time. (OK, I confess I made my own relax time, and then ended up having to rush my essays.) Anyway, the last of my essays has just been submitted, so I actually have a short lax period now. Until the realization that I've got one more Japanese review, and Japanese homework, and an upcoming History test, and another History tutorial, and a Japanese oral test a couple of weeks from now.

Wait a minute... That means I don't really have a lax time, which makes the post up to here moot as well. Bummer.

Anyway, talking of Japanese, a sure sign that I've spent too much time doing Japanese is when I'm reading my Chinese manga, and I try to convert the people's names back into the Japanese pronunciation. Naturally, a further sign is when I can actually get the Hiragana correct. Haha.

Just to sidetrack a bit, I wish to thank God for sustaining me through the essays, and for helping me keep awake, my mind relatively conscious, last night while I was trying to finish off my final essay. I had had a mental block in the afternoon, but at night, I believe God helped me make things clearer. And also to mum for helping me make some powerful coffee. And also thanks to D and JS who sms-ed me at like 12 and 2 respectively. It helped. Heh.

On to more frivolous stuff! I must show a couple of pictures I took:



Haha... This bridge must be really old to have to mention things like cattle and horses... welcome to Singapore's colonial past!



I don't know about you, but I find this sign really hilarious. I mean, it looks almost comical. It's hard to imagine that this is to warn NUS students to not walk under the gantry when the gantry's up...cos we NUS students study so hard sometimes we don't know where we are going, then walk under carpark gantries. haha.

Finally, a new riddle from good friend G.
Q: When the red ship and the brown ship crashed, what happened to the survivors?
A: They got marooned.

Hahaha... Marooned, get it? Like maroon... ok nevermind.

Cheerio

Sanctus

Well, after another really long break, I've finally decided to come back. Especially since I've now got something to post about.

First, in relation to the title, is that I have found the lyrics to one of my all time favourite songs. It's in Latin, and it's actually used more by the RC church, but even though I'm Protestant, I must admit some of those Latin RC songs are really powerful, which is not terribly surprising, since we both worship the same God. It is called the Sanctus, by the way, but the song of the same name I listen to is by Eden's Bridge, a Celtic worship band:

Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus
Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus
Dominus dominus Deus Sabaoth
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua

Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna
Hosanna Hosanna in excelsis.

Ok, so when you read it, it doesn't sound as powerful as the music. But trust me, if you have the chance to listen to it, it really is a moving piece.



Q: Do you think this picture was taken before the students came in the morning, or after they've left in the evening? (Don't think about the angle of the sunlight. NUS students have an unfair advantage when it comes to that)

A: It's actually in the morning. Thought it looked like the calm before the (exam) storm. Then again, it could also be the quietness after everyone's left. Oh well.

I like this picture. I took it in the morning in the SMC when I was there early in the morning. I'm supposed to be there for QT, but only recently did it pick up again. I neglected that bit of my life a bit too much. Thank God at least, that I've started to move back to doing it regularly.

Moving on, today, I met Smurf online. His nick was like [SheEp] - Clouds are breaking, heaven's come to earth... and we had a sort of conversation, and then there was this bit we talked about some poetry. (after we talked about Fuzz). Anyway, it went something like this:

Me: Hey you know, your nickname reminds me of another line somewhere.
S: Oh really? Which one?
Me: God's in His heaven, all's right with the world.
S: Oh. ok. Mine's actually a line from a song.
Me: Oh. Mine's from a poem.
S: Who's? ....yours?
Me: No. My poetry generally tends to be more crappy.

After which I provided him with an example of my literary skills, coming up with a poem in 2 minutes:

A can be rather reserved
He's been blessed by the One above
Though not really blue,
So I don't have a clue
How he got his nickname of smurf.

Following which he threatened me with death by strangulation, as is his wont.

Final point in this entry is a spot of humor, which I came across when reading the afore-mentioned Fuzz's site. Please click here. And I'm not referring to the Worms half of the article.

Yeah well, that's about it. I think I was supposed to write about some more stuff, but it's kinda late, and I kinda lost track of what it was I wanted to write.

God Bless, all

Cheerio

Frigus

2 interesting things that happened on Friday that I forgot to write about, and both happened on the bus to school:

1) In the mornings, I usually take the NEL to Harborfront station, then take 10 to Kent Ridge terminal. At any rate, on Friday morning, when I went up to the upper deck, I noticed it was particularly cold. This was the 2nd time I had to put on my jacket in the bus. But I never realized just how cold it was until I took a deep breath, and spotted some movement in front of my mouth. I was somewhat incredulous, but when I tried again, it was there again. It was so cold that my breath was frosting! Albeit not as much as when we were in Japan on that rainy day we went to Urawa, but hey! I saw my breath frosting in Singapore! That was something!

2) The cold air led to my 2nd point of interest. Since the air was so cold, I initially could not sleep. So I tried extra hard. Eventually, I did manage to fall asleep by slouching down in my chair and leaning against the glass and the back of the chair. Then the cold took hold again and I sort of went into hibernation of something, cos usually I wake up when the bus hits the first bump when it turns into the terminal, but this time, I only woke up after the bus hit the 2nd bump, which was when the uncle dude was going to park the bus. So I quickly had to scramble out and ran across the parking lot. ha. What fun.

Other fun things were like getting to speak to P after a long while, and the first cluster gathering on Wed which was both fun and exciting. Ha.

Cheerio

Elementum

I was sitting in front of my laptop, with the night wind blowing in through the window, and I thought to myself: 'How cool it would be to control the elements (you know, like controlling the wind, or fire etc)', then I had the sort of image of you know, something like this:



Just as that happened, since I appear to have the dubious ability to converse with myself, my lame alter ego popped out and thought: 'If it were me, I would choose potassium (K) and zinc (Zn).'



Oh well. If you were in a foul mood, and you read this, and you got a laugh, or stopped to curse my infernal ridiculousness, at least it took your mind off (for about 2 seconds) whatever was bugging you in the first place, innit?

Haha.

Cheerio