just went to watch big fish at jp.
i haven't watched a movie that made me tear in a damn bloody long time, but this show really tugged at my heartstrings pretty hard, so it's not my fault.
to begin with, it's a pity i'm only halfway through the book (geez what a slow reader i am!) but from all that i've read, the movie adaptation of edward bloom's tales and adventures have been slightly tweaked a tad bit. now don't get me wrong, the movie's not unrecognisable, and i really like what tim burton's done (i like all his shows!), but there're instances when the scenes don't play out as has been read in the book (like the day edward left ashland or the girl in the river story). nonetheless the movie plays out the present (edward dying) and the past (his exaggerated tales perhaps?) quite seamlessly, melding the stories into storytelling instances by people who repeat his tale.
i honestly regretted not having read the end of the book before i entered the cinema and henceforth had no chance to do any comparison. but the end was a heartstring-tugging, warm finale of what the whole movie/ (hopefully) book seemed to be trying to get at, the reconciliation between son and father, father and son. following steadily behind the successful formulaic footsteps of finding nemo, this show (unlike nemo) charms its viewers with the tearjerking unfortunate ending (cheap stunt) that spelt out emotions of finally finding AND THEN losing a loved one. haiz, good story-telling indeed.
on a lighter note, look out for the typical asian stereotypes and all things lame that the western world makes of us yellowskins. on the secret mission into china, edward (played by ewan mcgregor) is seen busy reading an ENGLISH-to-ASIAN dictionary/translation guide on the plane. i didn't know they had combined different asian languages into one dictionary. also which the communist performance was hosted/ventriloquisted in chinese, the siamese twins first perform an english song to an obvious chinese audience (maybe they understood every bit of it) and then later in their dressing room, start conversing in cantonese, which (no surprises here) edward seems extremely fluent with. kudos to the scriptwriters for selecting an asian cast that spoke identifiable languages that made sense (quite audible in fact - the chinese mc actually says the ventriloquist deserved to be shot while the twins' bickering was distinctly hongkee cantonese). ewan mcgregor, on the other hand, sounded like a constipated clay aiken trying to speak japanese.
well enough lah, whoever reads this i say the show comes highly recommended by me, you might wanna do so AFTER reading the book though. val on the otherhand, disagrees and thinks it should be done vice versa. hmph.
bring a loved one. and more kleenex.
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Who, me, an 'uncle'?
i found this on the forum page of our nation builder press today. it strikes a cord even though i'm only 25, thats incidentally 1/2 the writer's age!! haha. its all about perception and projection! haha, so erm, i may complain i'm old and i may complain about muscle pulls and even the pathetic number of pull-ups i can now do (X2)...but deep inside, there has and will always be a peter pan in me who'll never lose his youth!!! *does a pansy dandylion dance* lalala!! cmon lah wah lan eh, lim peh where got so old man...
CONCERNS over abuse of the elderly and employer discrimination strike closer to home as I pass the half-century mark on the way to the end.
Offers of help like 'Can I help you, uncle?' and 'Have a seat, uncle' are ominous. But I'm not an uncle in the age sense and I'm not old!
I may pull a muscle when over-reaching to scratch my back or react a tad slower to step over dog poo but being old or young is relative to perception, projection and progressive life expectancy.
Anyone over 30 is over the hill to every child, just as everyone under that age is still a kid to those over 40.
When I entered Primary 1, I kept wondering why a class-mate, Christopher, had his grandmother as chaperone, unlike the rest of us with a mother in tow.
Recently, Chris clarified that, at the time, his mum was forty-ish, when mine was only 26. I am now my grand-mother's age when she died in 1961 and, to me then, she was mighty old.
I have worked with those who maintained a traditional age-orientation. Some were younger than me but dressed and behaved older, as if to project their seniority and/or frailty. They would expect deference from younger colleagues and hog lighter work.
I wouldn't mind light work but to want it because of age is insulting as, to me, 'old' begins with attitude, regardless of the number of years and whether one is able-bodied.
Would shedding a feudal age-orientation evoke a healthier regard for those stigmatised as 'aunties' and 'uncles'? And equalise the rights of those deemed 'siow mei mei' (little sister) and 'siow di di' (little brother)?
Actually, attitude and endeavour, not age, should define capability and employability. Which is better: a feckless and fidgety youngster or a wizened, assiduous and reliable person, whatever his age?
Even fast-food vending is performed by not-so-fast 'aunties' and 'uncles'. And what about Rudy Boesch, the 75-year-old grandpa who returned to contend for the million-dollar prize in Survivor All Stars after failing in an earlier series?
His being voted out again, this time at the second tribal council - probably as tribe-mates saw in him a liability in inter-tribal physical competitions - shouldn't discount his exemplary contributions and tenacity.
In the words of William Hung, the celebrated American Idol wannabe: 'I gave my best already. I have no regrets!'
Anthony Lee Mui Yu
CONCERNS over abuse of the elderly and employer discrimination strike closer to home as I pass the half-century mark on the way to the end.
Offers of help like 'Can I help you, uncle?' and 'Have a seat, uncle' are ominous. But I'm not an uncle in the age sense and I'm not old!
I may pull a muscle when over-reaching to scratch my back or react a tad slower to step over dog poo but being old or young is relative to perception, projection and progressive life expectancy.
Anyone over 30 is over the hill to every child, just as everyone under that age is still a kid to those over 40.
When I entered Primary 1, I kept wondering why a class-mate, Christopher, had his grandmother as chaperone, unlike the rest of us with a mother in tow.
Recently, Chris clarified that, at the time, his mum was forty-ish, when mine was only 26. I am now my grand-mother's age when she died in 1961 and, to me then, she was mighty old.
I have worked with those who maintained a traditional age-orientation. Some were younger than me but dressed and behaved older, as if to project their seniority and/or frailty. They would expect deference from younger colleagues and hog lighter work.
I wouldn't mind light work but to want it because of age is insulting as, to me, 'old' begins with attitude, regardless of the number of years and whether one is able-bodied.
Would shedding a feudal age-orientation evoke a healthier regard for those stigmatised as 'aunties' and 'uncles'? And equalise the rights of those deemed 'siow mei mei' (little sister) and 'siow di di' (little brother)?
Actually, attitude and endeavour, not age, should define capability and employability. Which is better: a feckless and fidgety youngster or a wizened, assiduous and reliable person, whatever his age?
Even fast-food vending is performed by not-so-fast 'aunties' and 'uncles'. And what about Rudy Boesch, the 75-year-old grandpa who returned to contend for the million-dollar prize in Survivor All Stars after failing in an earlier series?
His being voted out again, this time at the second tribal council - probably as tribe-mates saw in him a liability in inter-tribal physical competitions - shouldn't discount his exemplary contributions and tenacity.
In the words of William Hung, the celebrated American Idol wannabe: 'I gave my best already. I have no regrets!'
Anthony Lee Mui Yu
Sunday Schmunday
wow what a lazy day this sunday is. i'm so lazy i dun't even really wanna blog today. it's gotta be a day of rest.
i didn't go home this weekend, intending to fill up all my campusa forms, get started with my fyp report and do some hrm and ens research. oh the campusa people have decided to close one eye about what happened a few days ago (see gawdammit blog), so thats a relief.
its a bloody lazy day and lazy me can't think of anything else to talk about liaoz. maybe later of something.
i didn't go home this weekend, intending to fill up all my campusa forms, get started with my fyp report and do some hrm and ens research. oh the campusa people have decided to close one eye about what happened a few days ago (see gawdammit blog), so thats a relief.
its a bloody lazy day and lazy me can't think of anything else to talk about liaoz. maybe later of something.
Saturday, February 28, 2004
The Morning After
bloody dog shite. just when i was halfway through writing how fun last night was, my computer crashed on me. darn, now gotta write all over...
bloody sore throat again this morning!
okie so as i was mentioning, last night was perhaps the most fun cheonging session i've had in a long long time! and perhaps the best i've had this year. all the elements that made a cheong session damn bloody powderful were present. ALL of them.
the night didn't start off looking that way though. leon was the first to be there around 1015 while i took the mrt after dinner with val and reached around 1030. we both went to 7-11 for a beer before meeting up with mulian outside newsroom bar.
we then decided to start off without the rest, thank goodness we did. because the rest came so late (thanks to either shumei or zhiqi lah whichever). by the time we went in the music was already quite good and the place was filling up liaoz, so we shared a bottle of chivas regal and started to chill.
one of the fantastic things about last night was the music. the three of us agreed that the music they played last night was unconventional retro. thats retro music that isn't in the same medley arrangement as most mumbo jumbo compilations that alot of clubs use. which was really good because the mixes were great and alot of songs we hardly hear anymore were all aired. funnily enough the only song of significance that i DIDN'T hear last night was YMCA, which we all seemed to be waiting for. they also played alot of retro songs that were considered retro retro! haha it just means retro songs that havent been played for a long time liao. so i knew all the words (mark too!)! haha.
anyway the impunctual troupe of shumei zhiqi xiuwen desiree kelvin and mark (gasp! didn't expect him to come since i didn't bother jioing anyone) who left from hall finally arrived around midnight. by this time the three of us were quite high liaoz, so we let them take over the drinking. haha the funny thing was that i started offering everyone drinks EXCEPT to shumei and zhiqi haha citing erm their erm, poor drinking record. but hey it worked lor! neither of them were drunk!! whoopee (yet another reason why last night was so fun!)
it was so fun that we actually cheonged till newsroom bar closed! which is quite fantastic if you consider that i can't rememeber the last time i partied in a club till it closed. we were singing and dacing for almost the WHOLE TIME as compared to previous sessions when we rested when they played medleys of songs that sucked and we didn't like dancing to (i call them toilet-break medleys). haiz what a waste man, wish lichun could've been there to enjoy with us, haha (okie shall not make you so jealous anymore, but you really really would have super super loved it! *zip*). for a moment, it even brought memories back to the good old days of year one and two when i cheonged like crazy first with the 42 gang and then with my 44 buddies. geez i must be getting old...
anyway by the end of the whole thing everyone still seemed quite sober. even desiree and kelvin who don't really like retro (prefering house and techno respectively) agreed that this night was one of the better ones.
afterwhich the 8 of us (minus zhiqi) went to 179 for supper, before returning to hall.
by the time we reached hall was around 4 lidat liaoz, then leon and mark began talking outside my room and before we knew it zix and shengyong also came and join us. we ended up yakking till 530am, so crazy.
i haven't bathed since last night nor washed up since i awoke and i think i reek of alcohol now haha. even when i went to take a piss just now the alcohol smell was so strong! think i must've drank quite alot last night.
bloody sore throat again this morning!
okie so as i was mentioning, last night was perhaps the most fun cheonging session i've had in a long long time! and perhaps the best i've had this year. all the elements that made a cheong session damn bloody powderful were present. ALL of them.
the night didn't start off looking that way though. leon was the first to be there around 1015 while i took the mrt after dinner with val and reached around 1030. we both went to 7-11 for a beer before meeting up with mulian outside newsroom bar.
we then decided to start off without the rest, thank goodness we did. because the rest came so late (thanks to either shumei or zhiqi lah whichever). by the time we went in the music was already quite good and the place was filling up liaoz, so we shared a bottle of chivas regal and started to chill.
one of the fantastic things about last night was the music. the three of us agreed that the music they played last night was unconventional retro. thats retro music that isn't in the same medley arrangement as most mumbo jumbo compilations that alot of clubs use. which was really good because the mixes were great and alot of songs we hardly hear anymore were all aired. funnily enough the only song of significance that i DIDN'T hear last night was YMCA, which we all seemed to be waiting for. they also played alot of retro songs that were considered retro retro! haha it just means retro songs that havent been played for a long time liao. so i knew all the words (mark too!)! haha.
anyway the impunctual troupe of shumei zhiqi xiuwen desiree kelvin and mark (gasp! didn't expect him to come since i didn't bother jioing anyone) who left from hall finally arrived around midnight. by this time the three of us were quite high liaoz, so we let them take over the drinking. haha the funny thing was that i started offering everyone drinks EXCEPT to shumei and zhiqi haha citing erm their erm, poor drinking record. but hey it worked lor! neither of them were drunk!! whoopee (yet another reason why last night was so fun!)
it was so fun that we actually cheonged till newsroom bar closed! which is quite fantastic if you consider that i can't rememeber the last time i partied in a club till it closed. we were singing and dacing for almost the WHOLE TIME as compared to previous sessions when we rested when they played medleys of songs that sucked and we didn't like dancing to (i call them toilet-break medleys). haiz what a waste man, wish lichun could've been there to enjoy with us, haha (okie shall not make you so jealous anymore, but you really really would have super super loved it! *zip*). for a moment, it even brought memories back to the good old days of year one and two when i cheonged like crazy first with the 42 gang and then with my 44 buddies. geez i must be getting old...
anyway by the end of the whole thing everyone still seemed quite sober. even desiree and kelvin who don't really like retro (prefering house and techno respectively) agreed that this night was one of the better ones.
afterwhich the 8 of us (minus zhiqi) went to 179 for supper, before returning to hall.
by the time we reached hall was around 4 lidat liaoz, then leon and mark began talking outside my room and before we knew it zix and shengyong also came and join us. we ended up yakking till 530am, so crazy.
i haven't bathed since last night nor washed up since i awoke and i think i reek of alcohol now haha. even when i went to take a piss just now the alcohol smell was so strong! think i must've drank quite alot last night.
Friday, February 27, 2004
The Turning Of The Tide
ah, its sweet that my experiments can finally be done. there was a power outage around 4+ in the lab but noooo....even that couldn't dampen my fyp spirits. i feel slightly more relaxed now, yet there's this apprehensive side of me thats very afraid something else might happen before i finish all my experiments.
i've got an engineers and society presentation due on the 4th of april regarding biotechnology in singapore. xianz. gotta start preparing liao.
tired.
later we're probably going to mhd sultan again.
tired.
dinner with val at jurong point.
tired.
tired.
i've got an engineers and society presentation due on the 4th of april regarding biotechnology in singapore. xianz. gotta start preparing liao.
tired.
later we're probably going to mhd sultan again.
tired.
dinner with val at jurong point.
tired.
tired.
When Credit Is Due
the original title for this blog was immunity from tuberculosis, but i decided to change the title the more i continued writing about afterthoughts of what happened last night...
just back from sata, jurong east. the check up was really fast and i'm back in school within an hour. all the nurse there did was use this super kiddy ruler (it's got disney prints on it!) to measure the red spot on my lower arm where they injected on tuesday. it was quite huge i think, like had a radius of 0.5-0.6cm, which means i have the tuberculosis antibodies i think. anyway this checkup just means that my health medical has been cleared.
haven't heard from guythrie yet though (pulls sad face).
also read heigui's comments about yesterday's ih appreciation. i think he's quite right to say that the judging system this year seems extremely flawed. who the hell's the cab chairman this year man? and what're the rec and sport secretaries doing?
haiz maybe they had reasons for their choices lah but...
when heigui gets long service award for only 2 years of service AND gets only a merit award for scrabble WHILE thomas myself and mark gets the full colours AND the long service awards, there's really something wrong.
when my cab ic for scrabble/boggle hardly ever witnessed the drama and comraderie of the team during its trainings and watch the evolution of growth into what turned out into a completely different lineup in the teams than originally planned WHILE sposedly being a part of the team, and yet having to give credit where it's due, there's really something wrong.
when my cab ic for hockey didn't even watch a single game of hockey we played nor was present at any trainings AND yet had to give out the awards (at least he was gracious enough to ask me, though it was too late anyway, chai nam should've gotten something for hockey), there's really something wrong.
when i'm being interviewed for my nomination for the rec man of the year, there's really something wrong.
some people also think there's something wrong when the male softball team got the sports team of the year while getting only into the softball semifinals while the waterpolo team got the silver medal. some people also think that the scrabble/boggle team OR at least the snooker team was more deserving of the rec team of the year over the darts team. heck, some people even thought i should've gotten sportsman of the year (ha!). some people could tell that the videos were crap and there were very uneven amounts of footage accorded to the different groups of people who contributed. and most people could tell that the event as a whole was quite disorganised.
whatever the case, it does show that some people up there arn't really doing their work. there's a problem when credit is not given when they're due because it makes people wonder why they ever bothered and why they should ever bother again. in the words of a close friend, to make us go down for the ih appreciation AND THEN exhibiting such blatantly incompetent guile in their selections of the credit given is worse than a slap in the face for the many who deserved more, so much so that we'd have felt better if we didn't attend the whole thing. this whole thing doesn't bother me so much because i've gotten past that stage quite some time ago already, from the times when upper administration began to lag. but for those who've been neglected, my sympathies go out to you.
yet as much complaints that we might have, i think we've all come far enough in this chapter of our lives to realise that making noise really doesn't help a single shite. we just leave with the impressions we were left with and hope to avoid history from repeating itself (though somehow or other they always do!) in our future lives.
just back from sata, jurong east. the check up was really fast and i'm back in school within an hour. all the nurse there did was use this super kiddy ruler (it's got disney prints on it!) to measure the red spot on my lower arm where they injected on tuesday. it was quite huge i think, like had a radius of 0.5-0.6cm, which means i have the tuberculosis antibodies i think. anyway this checkup just means that my health medical has been cleared.
haven't heard from guythrie yet though (pulls sad face).
also read heigui's comments about yesterday's ih appreciation. i think he's quite right to say that the judging system this year seems extremely flawed. who the hell's the cab chairman this year man? and what're the rec and sport secretaries doing?
haiz maybe they had reasons for their choices lah but...
when heigui gets long service award for only 2 years of service AND gets only a merit award for scrabble WHILE thomas myself and mark gets the full colours AND the long service awards, there's really something wrong.
when my cab ic for scrabble/boggle hardly ever witnessed the drama and comraderie of the team during its trainings and watch the evolution of growth into what turned out into a completely different lineup in the teams than originally planned WHILE sposedly being a part of the team, and yet having to give credit where it's due, there's really something wrong.
when my cab ic for hockey didn't even watch a single game of hockey we played nor was present at any trainings AND yet had to give out the awards (at least he was gracious enough to ask me, though it was too late anyway, chai nam should've gotten something for hockey), there's really something wrong.
when i'm being interviewed for my nomination for the rec man of the year, there's really something wrong.
some people also think there's something wrong when the male softball team got the sports team of the year while getting only into the softball semifinals while the waterpolo team got the silver medal. some people also think that the scrabble/boggle team OR at least the snooker team was more deserving of the rec team of the year over the darts team. heck, some people even thought i should've gotten sportsman of the year (ha!). some people could tell that the videos were crap and there were very uneven amounts of footage accorded to the different groups of people who contributed. and most people could tell that the event as a whole was quite disorganised.
whatever the case, it does show that some people up there arn't really doing their work. there's a problem when credit is not given when they're due because it makes people wonder why they ever bothered and why they should ever bother again. in the words of a close friend, to make us go down for the ih appreciation AND THEN exhibiting such blatantly incompetent guile in their selections of the credit given is worse than a slap in the face for the many who deserved more, so much so that we'd have felt better if we didn't attend the whole thing. this whole thing doesn't bother me so much because i've gotten past that stage quite some time ago already, from the times when upper administration began to lag. but for those who've been neglected, my sympathies go out to you.
yet as much complaints that we might have, i think we've all come far enough in this chapter of our lives to realise that making noise really doesn't help a single shite. we just leave with the impressions we were left with and hope to avoid history from repeating itself (though somehow or other they always do!) in our future lives.
IH Appreciation Dinner
was at the ih appreciation dinner just now. nothing really special to crow about. food was alright (the potato wedges were good!) and there were a few lousy videos that didn't interest me much regarding the ih. the only thing noteworthy were the enormous amount certificates i got...hmm lets see...
merit award for rugby
merit award for waterpolo
half colour award for soccer
half colour award for hockey
half colour award for sepak takraw
full colour award for softball
full colour award for scrabble
full colour award for boggle
merit team for waterpolo
team of the year for softball
semi-finalist medal for softball
silver medal for waterpolo
silver medal for scrabble
gold medal for boggle
long service award for 4 years of rec
quite a hefty lot eh? but know what? the funny thing is that all these awards hardly mean anything to me. yup. its sad but true, maybe aside from the scrabble and boggle medals, everything else hardly means a thing. i think maybe its because i've become more subdued lah.
the events in hall these days arnt very impressive to be honest. i've definitely seen better days. nowadays the people organizing them look like they're just going through the motion of the obligatory events. there is little enthusiasm or drive. but then again why for possess such qualities when you don't bother whether people have fun or even turn up at all? oh hark, i do remember a time when things weren't like that. haiz.
in fact the most exciting activity of the night?
soccer in the comm-hall!!!
merit award for rugby
merit award for waterpolo
half colour award for soccer
half colour award for hockey
half colour award for sepak takraw
full colour award for softball
full colour award for scrabble
full colour award for boggle
merit team for waterpolo
team of the year for softball
semi-finalist medal for softball
silver medal for waterpolo
silver medal for scrabble
gold medal for boggle
long service award for 4 years of rec
quite a hefty lot eh? but know what? the funny thing is that all these awards hardly mean anything to me. yup. its sad but true, maybe aside from the scrabble and boggle medals, everything else hardly means a thing. i think maybe its because i've become more subdued lah.
the events in hall these days arnt very impressive to be honest. i've definitely seen better days. nowadays the people organizing them look like they're just going through the motion of the obligatory events. there is little enthusiasm or drive. but then again why for possess such qualities when you don't bother whether people have fun or even turn up at all? oh hark, i do remember a time when things weren't like that. haiz.
in fact the most exciting activity of the night?
soccer in the comm-hall!!!
Thursday, February 26, 2004
To Lick Or Not To Lick
Yet another excuse for men: oral sex is linked to cancer of the mouth. Damn!
Research by the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) in Lyon amongst 3300 persons has provided powerful evidence that oral sex can cause mouth cancer. Doctors have found a link between mouth cancer and a sexually transmitted virus named HPV16. The IARC research showed that people with mouth cancer à nd the HPV16 virus had performed oral sex three times more often that persons from the (healthy) control group... By the way: the chances of infection with HPV16-virus (hence mouth cancer) are equally shared by cunnilingus and fellatio and the biggest cause for mouth cancer remains smoking!
okie i'm really bored now. but i thought this might've been an interesting fact of the day...
incidentally i also stumbled onto this "which finding nemo character are you?" test! and guess who i am?
MARLIN!
maybe you just think small. or maybe you're just a litle too underconfident. whichever one it is, you still mean well. you try to lookout for your friends and your loved ones, but to them you may seem like a worrywart. you just need to believe in yourself, then you can begin to trust people like they trust you.
haha!!! doesn't sound very me leh. hmm.
val is a nemo!
joe is a dory!
beth is also a dory!
lichun's a nemo too!
geez, mark's another dory!
lonely me
boo hoo i'm more dory leh i feel....hmph.
Research by the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) in Lyon amongst 3300 persons has provided powerful evidence that oral sex can cause mouth cancer. Doctors have found a link between mouth cancer and a sexually transmitted virus named HPV16. The IARC research showed that people with mouth cancer à nd the HPV16 virus had performed oral sex three times more often that persons from the (healthy) control group... By the way: the chances of infection with HPV16-virus (hence mouth cancer) are equally shared by cunnilingus and fellatio and the biggest cause for mouth cancer remains smoking!
okie i'm really bored now. but i thought this might've been an interesting fact of the day...
incidentally i also stumbled onto this "which finding nemo character are you?" test! and guess who i am?
MARLIN!
maybe you just think small. or maybe you're just a litle too underconfident. whichever one it is, you still mean well. you try to lookout for your friends and your loved ones, but to them you may seem like a worrywart. you just need to believe in yourself, then you can begin to trust people like they trust you.
haha!!! doesn't sound very me leh. hmm.
val is a nemo!
joe is a dory!
beth is also a dory!
lichun's a nemo too!
geez, mark's another dory!
lonely me
boo hoo i'm more dory leh i feel....hmph.
Opinion On Relationships
beth was just asking my take on relationships and i figured i might as well share with everyone else what i replied with some fine-tuning...
erm. hmm i think they're like textbooks. we're really not very interested in them, but we need them to help us learn and experience.
and when you finish with one textbook, you will have found that you're wiser for better or worse. you only wrap the testbooks that you like while others are left to collect dust over time.
and some textbooks you can never finishing reading or you cant get enough of em!
haha. thats just a personal opinion lah. so don't shoot me for thinking things this way this moment.
erm. hmm i think they're like textbooks. we're really not very interested in them, but we need them to help us learn and experience.
and when you finish with one textbook, you will have found that you're wiser for better or worse. you only wrap the testbooks that you like while others are left to collect dust over time.
and some textbooks you can never finishing reading or you cant get enough of em!
haha. thats just a personal opinion lah. so don't shoot me for thinking things this way this moment.
Gawddammit!
crap. just when i thought the day was going fine i get a call from guythrie from aceglobal questioning why joe and mark have got the aceglobal registration forms with them. i did tell her i didn't know the registration forms weren't sposed to be distributed (honest!) but she said she told one of either mark or joe that they should not get the forms from me before paying their registration fee. apparently there's an agreement between iccp and aceglobal that the forms cannot be distributed from peer-to-peer. haiyah but it doesn't matter liao lah, what's done's been done.
so whatever it is now she says she'll email her boss to see if we're to be penalised for this and she'll let me know of his reply tommorrow. apparently iccp will not be too happy with aceglobal should they find out that their registration forms have been distributed as such and might penalise them. wah xianz. as much as i understand that the onus is upon me not to have distributed the forms i don't think they should take away my opportunity to be a camp counsellor just like that! argh. if i'm to miss campusa all cuz of this i really dunno what to do man. xianz.
dog shite.
so whatever it is now she says she'll email her boss to see if we're to be penalised for this and she'll let me know of his reply tommorrow. apparently iccp will not be too happy with aceglobal should they find out that their registration forms have been distributed as such and might penalise them. wah xianz. as much as i understand that the onus is upon me not to have distributed the forms i don't think they should take away my opportunity to be a camp counsellor just like that! argh. if i'm to miss campusa all cuz of this i really dunno what to do man. xianz.
dog shite.
Happy Tots!!
ah... the blissfulness of a smooth running system. today, i did my first proper experiment for my fyp, a zero-ing of the transducers installed in the squeeze film rig. the results were *deep breath* satisfactory. then i did the same experiment a few more times just to be sure. yeah i know its a small step. but its a small step towards bigger things in my fyp. my sup called in sick today so he's not free to come watch me perform in my solo circus, how sad.
the whole mpe concept of fyp is one of extreme solitude. there's that feeling of loneliness while doing it and when there're problems, the only people that can be turned to are the labtechs or some of the masters students, maybe for a lucky few, even their own supervisors. these people are supposedly there to help, but there's no sense of urgency in them because they have no deadlines to meet and OUR experiments and projects really arn't THEIR problem. if the project cocks up, the fyp student fails, not them. so whether they can solve any of the problems or not, really isn't right up there in their priority list. i mean they might end up solving it, but it'll take days, weeks maybe even months. and the number of channels they try to put you through is more often than not unnecessary. nope, there're no partners or group members to bond with you for better or worse in the journey that is fyp like all the other schools. it's all a one-man show. how sad that each and every graduating mpe student will travel this impressive year-long experience with no one with whom to tide the troughs and joys together.
anyway, its happy tots day!!! things arn't so bad in MY barren field of solitude. could be better, but satisfactory nonetheless. the transducers have started showing pretty accurate results of late, my software program is going good (nothing beats doing something from scratch YOURSELF), the computer hard disk didn't crash on me for the second consecutive day (that's a feat) and mr labtech-with-the-pokemon-bag (its true!) didn't bother me one bit. so i have to be appreciative of all things going my way and soak up this good feeling of accomplishment for all its worth.
*deep breath*
there. i feel much better already.
the whole mpe concept of fyp is one of extreme solitude. there's that feeling of loneliness while doing it and when there're problems, the only people that can be turned to are the labtechs or some of the masters students, maybe for a lucky few, even their own supervisors. these people are supposedly there to help, but there's no sense of urgency in them because they have no deadlines to meet and OUR experiments and projects really arn't THEIR problem. if the project cocks up, the fyp student fails, not them. so whether they can solve any of the problems or not, really isn't right up there in their priority list. i mean they might end up solving it, but it'll take days, weeks maybe even months. and the number of channels they try to put you through is more often than not unnecessary. nope, there're no partners or group members to bond with you for better or worse in the journey that is fyp like all the other schools. it's all a one-man show. how sad that each and every graduating mpe student will travel this impressive year-long experience with no one with whom to tide the troughs and joys together.
anyway, its happy tots day!!! things arn't so bad in MY barren field of solitude. could be better, but satisfactory nonetheless. the transducers have started showing pretty accurate results of late, my software program is going good (nothing beats doing something from scratch YOURSELF), the computer hard disk didn't crash on me for the second consecutive day (that's a feat) and mr labtech-with-the-pokemon-bag (its true!) didn't bother me one bit. so i have to be appreciative of all things going my way and soak up this good feeling of accomplishment for all its worth.
*deep breath*
there. i feel much better already.
F.Y.P.
the cute little poem i wrote that i was telling you about, beth.
f is for freak
y is for yuck,
p is for phooey
i'm running out of luck.
transducers ain't workin'
the wires are too long,
the hard disk is bitchin'
everything's going wrong.
deadline is 16th march
there's really not much time,
to rush this project out
i'm going outta my mind.
there's only so much i can do
complain, whine, fume, spit,
its only a short matter of time
before i'll have had enough of it!
f is for freak
y is for yuck,
p is for phooey
i'm running out of luck.
transducers ain't workin'
the wires are too long,
the hard disk is bitchin'
everything's going wrong.
deadline is 16th march
there's really not much time,
to rush this project out
i'm going outta my mind.
there's only so much i can do
complain, whine, fume, spit,
its only a short matter of time
before i'll have had enough of it!
Two Glasses Of Chardonnay And A Can of Asahi
good morning! i just managed to drag myself outta bed. like i just told val, when you got something like fyp to worry about, waking up earlier is really no problemo.went to bathe and i'm off to the dreaded fluid mechanics lab right aftr i finish with this blog.
"maybe it's just that little exhibitionist streak in all of us. or maybe it's terrible, that we're so cooped up behind our computers that blogging is the laziest and easiest way to update our friends about our lives. terrible, maybe, but terribly convenient too :P" - beth
i think its quite true. the online journal allows that bit of feel-good factor that keeps our spirits up, secretly knowing that someone might read our blog and share whatever we may be going through. maybe thats why my blogs always seem to have a nice dressed-up feel as compared to the drabby, couldn't-care-less style in my poor little black book which i write more personal stuff. how commercial.
having a sore throat this morning from too much hollering and singing during last night's cheonging session.
last night's all budget trip ended up with me spending a grand total of $29.50! its lousy budgetting considering the girls didn't spend a cent, but a cheap cheong outing nonetheless. good music flowed during premium periods here and there and i think the rest were plagued by the still-not-high-enough feeling. but for me, man i was ready once the gyrating began.
upon arrival at mhd sultan (the taxi driver was a schumacher wannabe!) from a dizzy ride, the girls went off to dbl-o to get their free drinks (cheapos!). poor leon and i had to be left in the lurch, which wasn't all that bad considering male-bonding beat being stuck in a taxi filled with yakky girls hands down. he accompanied me for a burger at the kopitiam down the road and we talked about erm...stuff. that guy is like a clam man, gotta pry and pry and pry...(kaypoh instincts acting up). that poor chap has got some issues lah but he doesn't wanna open up to the rest of us. poor guy. anyway, after the burger we both went to 7-11 to get our drinks. i got myself two servings of wine and a can of beer, quite sure that that would enough to get me sufficiently high. then we hung out outside of tivoli's watching american idol group 3 (watch for amy adams!).
the girls made an appearance after some time, i think they were trying to drink themselves silly with the freeflow (though i keep telling them freeflows always diluted) which didn't seem to work. on the other hand two servings of wine and a beer had already gotten me in a doozy...we then hopped to newsroom bar for the retro there. music was ok-kay only lah. it was afterthat when we went over to mdm wong's that the music turned good. so for the rest of the night we were either at nrb or mw trying to catch the retro sessions...
okie lah this log is getting abit long winded, more updates later. time for fyp!!!
"maybe it's just that little exhibitionist streak in all of us. or maybe it's terrible, that we're so cooped up behind our computers that blogging is the laziest and easiest way to update our friends about our lives. terrible, maybe, but terribly convenient too :P" - beth
i think its quite true. the online journal allows that bit of feel-good factor that keeps our spirits up, secretly knowing that someone might read our blog and share whatever we may be going through. maybe thats why my blogs always seem to have a nice dressed-up feel as compared to the drabby, couldn't-care-less style in my poor little black book which i write more personal stuff. how commercial.
having a sore throat this morning from too much hollering and singing during last night's cheonging session.
last night's all budget trip ended up with me spending a grand total of $29.50! its lousy budgetting considering the girls didn't spend a cent, but a cheap cheong outing nonetheless. good music flowed during premium periods here and there and i think the rest were plagued by the still-not-high-enough feeling. but for me, man i was ready once the gyrating began.
upon arrival at mhd sultan (the taxi driver was a schumacher wannabe!) from a dizzy ride, the girls went off to dbl-o to get their free drinks (cheapos!). poor leon and i had to be left in the lurch, which wasn't all that bad considering male-bonding beat being stuck in a taxi filled with yakky girls hands down. he accompanied me for a burger at the kopitiam down the road and we talked about erm...stuff. that guy is like a clam man, gotta pry and pry and pry...(kaypoh instincts acting up). that poor chap has got some issues lah but he doesn't wanna open up to the rest of us. poor guy. anyway, after the burger we both went to 7-11 to get our drinks. i got myself two servings of wine and a can of beer, quite sure that that would enough to get me sufficiently high. then we hung out outside of tivoli's watching american idol group 3 (watch for amy adams!).
the girls made an appearance after some time, i think they were trying to drink themselves silly with the freeflow (though i keep telling them freeflows always diluted) which didn't seem to work. on the other hand two servings of wine and a beer had already gotten me in a doozy...we then hopped to newsroom bar for the retro there. music was ok-kay only lah. it was afterthat when we went over to mdm wong's that the music turned good. so for the rest of the night we were either at nrb or mw trying to catch the retro sessions...
okie lah this log is getting abit long winded, more updates later. time for fyp!!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Die Die Must Try!
i received another lifeline for fyp just now. just went to see my supervisor after slogging it out in the lab for the better half of the day. he's quite satisfied with the amount of work i've put in so far, yet without any results, there's really nothing he can do to justify a better-than-pass grade.he's mapped out the time left to hand in my report liao. in fact the first draft deadline i need only to hand in my first 3 chapters of the report, while continuing with the experiments. report to be handed in only at the end of march. not too bad of a sup as long as i keep to my end of the bargain. the bloody transducers still are pms-ing on me time and time again hopefully they'll work properly tomorrow when my sup comes down to look at things. whatever it is i'll just do my utmost and hope for the bloody best lah!
eeeks, as a side note, i've gotta hand in my application forms for the campusa program by the end of the week lest i jeopardise my usa dream. the photo pictorial thingy thats required is quite a bitch and i haven't really gotten down to doing it yet. probably just end up doing the pictorial on microsoft word lah, better than nothing.
eeeks, as a side note, i've gotta hand in my application forms for the campusa program by the end of the week lest i jeopardise my usa dream. the photo pictorial thingy thats required is quite a bitch and i haven't really gotten down to doing it yet. probably just end up doing the pictorial on microsoft word lah, better than nothing.
Guess I'll Die Another Day
i have made it a point that ALL my fyp-related blogs will have the word 'die' in the title.
today's work done so far was, to put it nicely, fruitless. i'm still getting crap results and things still arn't going my way what with this breaking down, that overspilling, peeing in my pants...okie the last bit wasn't true. haiz argh argh argh. i still don't understand why the hell i got myself in this crap-of-a-mess-of-an-fyp in the first place.
its just like the analogy i told val a while ago, its like i've got this really expensive ruler that gives me wrong readings. now i know the readings are wrong because my years in academia have told me so, but the bloody ruler is too bloody expensive and takes too long to replace, so i've gotta tweak the freakin' ruler to get the right results. and until now, i've fixed the measurement unit, the accuracy of its measurement and maybe even the bloody length of the ruler, AND I STILL DUN GET GOOD RESULTS! doing lab experiments have never been THIS tough!
i specially woke up early for nothing!
and later we're gonna recalibrate all the pressure transducers all over again just because the sensitivity of the transducers have change due to some minor tweaks me made. argh. this sucks.
on a lighter note, i sure am looking forward to the cheonging session tonight man, i think i badly need it. though i'm still planning on how i can drink myself silly on a pathetic $20 budget that includes cabfare? ( 1 tiger + 1 wine + throwing self into deepest drain in mhd sltn = brief high for a good 7minutes followed by excruciating pain). and not to say the least, there's gonna be more quirky just-shows-how-lazy-these-people-are show and tell from my fav teacher, entertainer, clown, dry-drooler, secret lover and all round lovable plush toy!....my main man, dang-dang-ta-ta...*drumroll* guru aziz!!! *cymbal clash* yeah check it, check it out y'all!!! this week's highlight contest from my good man - just how much drool will have dried on the side of HIS mouth by the end of lesson!!! guess the amount and win! just sms I-LOV-MATs and win attractive prizes!
geez i'm bored. time to go back and fight my fyp war.
today's work done so far was, to put it nicely, fruitless. i'm still getting crap results and things still arn't going my way what with this breaking down, that overspilling, peeing in my pants...okie the last bit wasn't true. haiz argh argh argh. i still don't understand why the hell i got myself in this crap-of-a-mess-of-an-fyp in the first place.
its just like the analogy i told val a while ago, its like i've got this really expensive ruler that gives me wrong readings. now i know the readings are wrong because my years in academia have told me so, but the bloody ruler is too bloody expensive and takes too long to replace, so i've gotta tweak the freakin' ruler to get the right results. and until now, i've fixed the measurement unit, the accuracy of its measurement and maybe even the bloody length of the ruler, AND I STILL DUN GET GOOD RESULTS! doing lab experiments have never been THIS tough!
i specially woke up early for nothing!
and later we're gonna recalibrate all the pressure transducers all over again just because the sensitivity of the transducers have change due to some minor tweaks me made. argh. this sucks.
on a lighter note, i sure am looking forward to the cheonging session tonight man, i think i badly need it. though i'm still planning on how i can drink myself silly on a pathetic $20 budget that includes cabfare? ( 1 tiger + 1 wine + throwing self into deepest drain in mhd sltn = brief high for a good 7minutes followed by excruciating pain). and not to say the least, there's gonna be more quirky just-shows-how-lazy-these-people-are show and tell from my fav teacher, entertainer, clown, dry-drooler, secret lover and all round lovable plush toy!....my main man, dang-dang-ta-ta...*drumroll* guru aziz!!! *cymbal clash* yeah check it, check it out y'all!!! this week's highlight contest from my good man - just how much drool will have dried on the side of HIS mouth by the end of lesson!!! guess the amount and win! just sms I-LOV-MATs and win attractive prizes!
geez i'm bored. time to go back and fight my fyp war.
Just Keep Swimming!
went swimming with joe mark steven and jackson just awhile ago. swimming in the night at src pool is way fun and great exercise. gotta do it more often. it was suppsed to be a male bonding period, though i dun recall much bonding today but steven couldn't resist showing the rest of us his godzilla rise-outta-water act. its starts off with his violent bubbling underwater following which he peeks his eyes out of the water while he's got both hands on his nose like a beak and then as his head rises he tries to churn a roar which sounds damn pussy-like. its quite hilarious, really! mark still can't swim. beth, if you're reading this, remember to buy him a pair of power-puff girl arm floats next vday!
before that was nuahing my life away watching tv...val came over to watch too. beth gave her her super belated vday pressie, the book 'the five people you meet in heaven' i'll read that when she's done. currently still trying to find time to finish up joe's 'big fish'. ah, i must mention that comedy 'police and theif' is damn bloody funny. its got a wonderful cast and at long last, good scriptwriters! and mark lee is really quite funny when he speaks good english or at least tries to. i strongly recommended the show, tuesdays 8pm.
guess thats about all for tonight liaoz. shite, this blogger crap is getting quite addictive. there's this unexplainable yearn to log in entries when i'm online. argh. next stop: new and improved blogger site for me! nite!
before that was nuahing my life away watching tv...val came over to watch too. beth gave her her super belated vday pressie, the book 'the five people you meet in heaven' i'll read that when she's done. currently still trying to find time to finish up joe's 'big fish'. ah, i must mention that comedy 'police and theif' is damn bloody funny. its got a wonderful cast and at long last, good scriptwriters! and mark lee is really quite funny when he speaks good english or at least tries to. i strongly recommended the show, tuesdays 8pm.
guess thats about all for tonight liaoz. shite, this blogger crap is getting quite addictive. there's this unexplainable yearn to log in entries when i'm online. argh. next stop: new and improved blogger site for me! nite!
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Die Another Day
okie, the lab techs had to remind me like 4 times that the lab was closing. the final straw was when the most senior, balding labtech, already with a cute Pokemon (yes! uncles buy them too!) haversack slung over his shoulder, walked over with several plastic bags in tow and signalled me as if to say i really really had to go.
argh.
well i did get the hard disk up and running for a brief moment at around 430. my face was quite well-lit when that dumb machine came to life. it was then a mad rush to do the experiments i had to do but alas nothing's meant to be, even my results don't tally. boo hoo. toopid machine.
geez. i'll be off to war again tommorrow. maybe things might get better...or worse...haiz.
argh.
well i did get the hard disk up and running for a brief moment at around 430. my face was quite well-lit when that dumb machine came to life. it was then a mad rush to do the experiments i had to do but alas nothing's meant to be, even my results don't tally. boo hoo. toopid machine.
geez. i'll be off to war again tommorrow. maybe things might get better...or worse...haiz.
Dying Inside To Hold You
as if my fyp isn't giving me enough headache. just when i thought the worst was over i went to the fluids mechanics lap this afternoon and walked right into another fyp slimy eeky cunning stunt of a booby trap! dogshite. my hard disk is dying on me. yes no kidding (those dubious of my computing prowess, behold!) i even got my labtech AND (just for good measure) the comlab tech to verify that ailing piece of wreck. boo hoo!! such heartache ALL and i mean ALL my fyp work is in that dumb piece of junk!!! argh!! i could leap off a cliff right now and do several cartwheels while i'm at it. grrr....shoot. xianz. haiz.
my only hope now is that it might start up later whereby i shall attempt to back up all my files into a zip drive. but thats just a faint hope for now. the comlab tech told me the hard disk was susceptible to overloading and the main problem could've been that i had too many heavy programs in the computer. he said i should wait till evening before i try once (he did emphasize just once, "if die then try tom lor", dumb balding old bag...*fume*) argh.
why do i have to wait on this man. i really don't deserve this! i don't! well maybe a little, BUT the software trauma AND the drilling trauma would have sufficed! boo hoo. why this now?! boo freakin' hoo.
*sniff* watch this wet space.
my only hope now is that it might start up later whereby i shall attempt to back up all my files into a zip drive. but thats just a faint hope for now. the comlab tech told me the hard disk was susceptible to overloading and the main problem could've been that i had too many heavy programs in the computer. he said i should wait till evening before i try once (he did emphasize just once, "if die then try tom lor", dumb balding old bag...*fume*) argh.
why do i have to wait on this man. i really don't deserve this! i don't! well maybe a little, BUT the software trauma AND the drilling trauma would have sufficed! boo hoo. why this now?! boo freakin' hoo.
*sniff* watch this wet space.
Back From The Jab
i can't believe i actually managed to haul my lifeless self outta bed this morning at 9am to take a bus down to jurong east sata(i just realised it means singapore anti-tuberculosis association) for an immunity inspection jab. the exact same jab i tok in primary 6 which exempted me from the bcg back then, and again in sec sch. unfortunately this time round the swell seems to have subsided pretty fast, doesnt look like i got much immunities left haha. friday gotta go back there to get my results.
finally bought a pack of catfish for my bitch. it seems to be hunting everyday and its helped bring down the population of living things in my tank. mr clips died fighting with it, mr replacement turtle got chomped and its lifeless body was wedged between a couple of plants, the 3 guppies mysteriously 'disappeared', 3 africas couldnt hold out the hulk, and even the sand-hiding sam and frodo(the two sand dwelling gars) couldn't escape the bitch's hunger pangs. so there. more catfish to feed it. its grown big liaoz, and i mean big-daddy-o kinda big like 5" laioz, and helps keep the tiger barb population in check. squishie the survivor (its a cute overgrown swordtail thats been around since day one) has miraculously survived through all this. i think its happy, in fact if you stare at it closely enough it sometimes looks like its smiling.
okie i'm off to school to do my fyp now, probably post another log later on.
finally bought a pack of catfish for my bitch. it seems to be hunting everyday and its helped bring down the population of living things in my tank. mr clips died fighting with it, mr replacement turtle got chomped and its lifeless body was wedged between a couple of plants, the 3 guppies mysteriously 'disappeared', 3 africas couldnt hold out the hulk, and even the sand-hiding sam and frodo(the two sand dwelling gars) couldn't escape the bitch's hunger pangs. so there. more catfish to feed it. its grown big liaoz, and i mean big-daddy-o kinda big like 5" laioz, and helps keep the tiger barb population in check. squishie the survivor (its a cute overgrown swordtail thats been around since day one) has miraculously survived through all this. i think its happy, in fact if you stare at it closely enough it sometimes looks like its smiling.
okie i'm off to school to do my fyp now, probably post another log later on.
First Post On My New Website!
okie this'll be my final post for the day. funny that the title says first post but i've conveniently deleted the earlier rubbish. it's pretty exhausting trying to tweak the little things(hey they DO matter) and after all's said and done, there's hardly anything satifactory about tweaking them in the first place! grrr. anyway i managed to add all the links of websites i often visit..and that's really the best i can do. still no pix, no dumb comments....argh.
there isnt much to talk about for today i spose.
had what-has-now-become-a-routine lunch with joe, thomas and howren at canteen 9 (if anyone wants to join, ideally you wake at 1130 and lunch will be at 1230 same place), then walked to school where i was sposed to work on my part of my hrm project.
ended up deciding to walk joe all the way to the south spine (by golly its far i tell ya!) and go to the medical centre for my medical, but when i got there the bloody place had just closed for lunch. kie so now i know the medical centre closes between 1pm and 2pm. dog shite. so i trudged all the way back to mpe, mind you i was sweating at this point, and hid in the com lab till the medical centre opened.
so back i was at the medical centre at ard 230 to have my jabs. had one for typhoid and another for dhy-smtg-smtg and then ate some bitter liquid for polio. total cost? $65! no wonder singapore's biomed sector is reaching its $20billion market share worldwide! hooray for my contribution! afterthat my arms were really weak. i mean really weak lor. like so damn weak i wouldn't be able to erm...do erm...stuff. yeah. and the left side hurt too.
afterthat was malay. nothing much lah, brudder.
alumni meeting at 8pm. only our second one yet. but things're startin to get done liaoz. hopefully we'll see some fruit pretty soon.
meanwhile along the way i even found time to discuss and plan a cheonging trip come wednesday! ultra-budget trip! our plan is to take the mrt there then girls drink free at newsroom bar while guys go 7-11 then afterthat all go mdm wong's to cheong. great idea eh? haha got mulian chun beth and leon on board liao. oh boy i'm excited.
hmm funny that i thought there wasnt much to talk about today...hmm. anyway that should be about it lah. tom morn gotta go sata in jurong east for a tuberculosis jab (another one!) so think i better go koonz soon.
there isnt much to talk about for today i spose.
had what-has-now-become-a-routine lunch with joe, thomas and howren at canteen 9 (if anyone wants to join, ideally you wake at 1130 and lunch will be at 1230 same place), then walked to school where i was sposed to work on my part of my hrm project.
ended up deciding to walk joe all the way to the south spine (by golly its far i tell ya!) and go to the medical centre for my medical, but when i got there the bloody place had just closed for lunch. kie so now i know the medical centre closes between 1pm and 2pm. dog shite. so i trudged all the way back to mpe, mind you i was sweating at this point, and hid in the com lab till the medical centre opened.
so back i was at the medical centre at ard 230 to have my jabs. had one for typhoid and another for dhy-smtg-smtg and then ate some bitter liquid for polio. total cost? $65! no wonder singapore's biomed sector is reaching its $20billion market share worldwide! hooray for my contribution! afterthat my arms were really weak. i mean really weak lor. like so damn weak i wouldn't be able to erm...do erm...stuff. yeah. and the left side hurt too.
afterthat was malay. nothing much lah, brudder.
alumni meeting at 8pm. only our second one yet. but things're startin to get done liaoz. hopefully we'll see some fruit pretty soon.
meanwhile along the way i even found time to discuss and plan a cheonging trip come wednesday! ultra-budget trip! our plan is to take the mrt there then girls drink free at newsroom bar while guys go 7-11 then afterthat all go mdm wong's to cheong. great idea eh? haha got mulian chun beth and leon on board liao. oh boy i'm excited.
hmm funny that i thought there wasnt much to talk about today...hmm. anyway that should be about it lah. tom morn gotta go sata in jurong east for a tuberculosis jab (another one!) so think i better go koonz soon.
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