wow there are so many dance talents living in the halls. haha maybe i'm kind of overrating them, but wells many people who can dance on stage are place at a much higher dance value wrt myself so are worthy of praise. sherman got tickets (all were complimentary) from his pharm good friend so we went and mmm it was enjoyable. many good-looking people to see haha. many good-looking moves to watch. it's amazing that people my age or a few years older can choreograph entire dances and some were really artistic or entertaining! and we were given good seats!
yay it's so nice living at kuok - 5minutes and i'm back from a performance liao. it was pretty long. 19 dances, about 2hours excluding the intermission. and the flow of the whole show was really smooth. ohh i was kind of overwhelmed seeing so many well-dressed people. hmm there are so many good-looking people around!
oh ya Kai Yun and I went to PGP for lunch and we didn't want to wait for the bus coz we just missed one and on Public Holidays the shuttle bus comes once every half hour so we decided to walk there (from Kuok). Wah it turned out to be a mini adventure haha. coz we tried to take a shortcut by going behind S5 (Chemistry block) from the side of LT21. We climbed up the slope and found out that we couldn't go further up from there (it was too steep) and so we went down from the other side at the back and it turned out to be a dead end! There was a door but it was like never used. At the top on the other side was Level 1 of the Raffles Museum but since today's Good Friday I deduced that it's closed so we didn't try that route.
Then Kai Yun noted that the window of the Chem lab was open and there was someone inside so she suggested climbing up in there through the window. Omg. If not for her I won't have done such a thing. (coz I'm too paiseh to ask the person in the lab for permission.) But since she didn't want to go the same way back again I decided to support her suggestion. But there was a big plastic pipe that we had to use as a step up onto a ledge (over a metre off the ground) before stretching over another metre up to the bottom of the window.
Kai Yun went first and initially she was quite worried that the plastic pipe would give way under her weight. But okay la she's only a tiny bit heavier than me and I thought it should be able to support a weight like ours. So after some reassuring she went up. We were kind of opposite in that the part she found easy (getting up in through the window from the ledge) I had found difficult and even needed her to give me a pull from the inside (she being a dancer and me being an inflexible person) ; and the part she found intimidating (moving across the ledge about a metre after stepping on the plastic pipe to get to the opened part of the sliding window) I had found okay.
haha so that was our mini adventure. the person in the lab didn't really care about us at all. and it seemed like this kind of thing (having people climbing in thru the window) happened quite often to him that he didn't bother. haha I find it so hilarious. After we left the lab through the door (and I realised it was my CM1121 Organic Chem lab) Kai Yun told me that when she asked him for permission to get in (after she got onto the ledge) he said she could enter through the door. hahaa so funny! Like we are two silly people wanting to submit lab report but didn't know the existence of doors and so decided to enter the lab through the window from the back of the building. lol...
mmm at PGP we ordered from Astons Express. I've been to the Foodgle's Hub a few times but never tried that stall. This time I decided to try since it's quite a big portion I wanted to stuff myself with some nice food since we were going running in the evening. (but it turned out to be a bad decision coz our stomach got burning and so we walked back from Kent Ridge Park after running there). And wow it's really yummy! I had the Spicy Grilled Chicken Spaghetti that came with soup and garlic toast. Everything was so tasty! yayyy I like very tasty food :) and it was soooo filling. Worth the price ($5.70).
Kai Yun was wondering what's Pasta Salad so I was telling her about it and that the one at The Sandwich Shop where I worked before tasted very good. Astons' service staff overheard and said theirs was good too so I casually replied that we don't get to try it (or something like that - I can't remember my exact words). I wasn't even serious at all (I'm my full of crap self when hanging out with Kai Yun) but the service staff offered to let us try!
geez next time when I go there I would be so paiseh! :S oh well hope he doesn't remember!
oh ya about Kent Ridge Park. It's such a nice place - quiet, elevated, scenic view. Made me feel nice and peaceful I would have liked to hang around longer if not for lack of time and especially the mosquitoes! Ugh I'm such a frequent target for mosquitoes :( anyway when we were walking back I thought I would like to explore Singapore on foot. (But definitely not when it's hot la. hm Kai Yun suggested night cycling - maybe I can do it with CSS since Weicong had brought it up earlier this sem.) There are so many places I haven't seen. But then having good company is important. hmm hope I can go exploring during the coming three-month break. Apart from doing one special sem module and handling my 2CCAs and other usual stuffs.
Wahhh 12:02am liaoss. poof!
edited to add (9.29am): oh ya. and we strode back to kuok from the bus-stop opposite in heavy rain after our lunch coz Kaiyun couldn't run with her slippers and there was some reaction coming from the packed bus-stop of people who just got off the same shuttle bus as us. (I realised at night that they were going for the matinée session of Dance Uncensored. At that time I was telling Kaiyun that it was so weird suddenly so many people going back to Kuok/Raffles Hall. haha silly me).
I'm thankful for my mother, my family, my friends, you, and myself. Feelings are hard to put into words. But it doesn't mean they are not present.
yea, despite how much I see a need for self-improvement, I'm thankful for myself and all that has happened to me in the past 21 years. And I'm thankful to everyone close to me for making me feel this way.
I think I never really used that word, because I never really felt it (or more accurately - I never really recognised the feeling), but now I do. I love my mother, my family, my friends, you, and myself. And I'm thankful to you for bringing out this feeling in me. It got lost somewhere along the way when I was growing up, I think. Though I don't know how this happened. And I ended up never using the word since I don't lie.. Wells, I think it could be that my priorities were gotten wrong - I had placed work as utmost important. No longer so.
Finally now I see so much meaning in life (yea before this recognisation I never really saw meaning in life..)
ahh these thoughts come so slowly to me, it's already 933am. time to leave for badminton soon.. ohh yar, reminds me, I love to exercise too, and I love to eat. Wheeeee. So glad :)
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings.
Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work.
Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen, with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other.
What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time.
Let me tell you about it.
I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.
He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom".
I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."
He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities."
And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic.
The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime."
"Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.
"I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles.
I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."
I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast.
This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container.
I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones......
"It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop when he finished.
Even the show's moderator didn't have anything to say for a few moments.
I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.
"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.
"Oh, nothing special," I said.
"It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
"fenellaaaa think of something soon!" "youth is slipping awayyyyy"
quoting pam from our chat last night. she was telling me that "maybe u can stop beating yourself up about having a little less things to do man. instead try getting yourself to do something that u reallllly always wanted to do. cuz u know what they say--- we are only young once".
What is it that I really want to do? Mainly I know that I want to be happy. But I don't really know what I want to do.. Then I asked Pam what is it that she always wanted to do and she replied that if she had the money and time, she wants to continue learning jap. That's so nice. To have a simple wish that's quite fulfill-able. Tho of course the current issue is that she doesn't have both.
Before this I was complaining why don't I work as hard as jc and before and she said, "maybe u dont have to work as hard? have u ever thought about that?" which I found thought-provoking. Is that really the case? That maybe I don't have to work as hard? If so how much should I work?
Last quote "sometimes we give ourselves a hard time without realising that it's kinda... unnecessary". And I whined that it comes too naturally.. which was what led to the advice in the first para.
hmmm. a nagging issue now is studying. I think I need to tell myself that I want a first class honours degree before I would start studying as hard as I did for jc and before. BUT. I haven't convinced myself that I want first class honours.. Furthermore my grades for sem1 weren't even worthy enough for second upper... so if I want first I would really have to work hard from now on for the next 3+years.. and this studying issue is linked to everything else in my life! Due to opportunity costs of course..
Currently I keep doing things apart from studying.. Like now I have a test tomorrow which I'm unprepared yet yesterday evening/night I spent 2hours chatting with a Chinese friend to help him improve his spoken English. (This latest commitment I've only just taken up last week). I was also going around doing stuff for my CSS bazaar.. it's quite disappointing we have a team of 10 assigned to get vendors yet so far only 5 vendors have been signed and 3 were by me. I could actually find more but because of the progress of the others which seems to imply to me a lack of effort, I don't feel like trying harder. And furthermore people close to me come telling me that I should work less hard and give myself more priority.. wellss it's really easy for me to be made use of by others.. and problem is I am a willing party! (I like to help people whom I don't mind helping). arghh wo siao de.. keep giving myself internal conflicts..
They ordered Pizza Hut (Chicken Supreme, Garlic Bread n Wings) to Kuok and just nice someone else entered when they were coming in so I received them at the level 5 lobby. They went like "surprise!" and I only realised awhile later that they brought food. haha. wols me. Initially ZhengLan was just messaging that they wanted to see how Kuok's like coz they never visited before.
Then YuenTeng even prepared a little "scroll" and handed to me with both hands saying congras that I've graduated from childhood. haha so interesting!
We chatted all the way till ZhengLan suddenly exclaimed its 11! wah I didn't even realise that. It was so fun chatting with them. ZhengLan is so funny! with all her natural reactions that are rather dramatic. heez. Really makes me laugh.
Wow we talked about such a wide range of topics. From the current us (as in what each of us is doing now) to Malaysia politics (both of them are M'sians) to Edison scandal to ideal guy to old times. Yar! I want to have SiewHui ZhengLan and me meet up to chat about our sec1 sec2 days! I was telling ZhengLan about the letters I found during the hols that the two of them wrote to me. and she doesn't remember about them at all! which is same as me! hehe. So hope that SiewHui remembers. geez. mmm. yay meet-ups are nice :)
wheeee ran from school to outside for the 1st time!
Today was the first time we ran starting from campus! It was so interesting to explore new places :) We didn't really know where we were going at first though Kaiyun wanted to run to Vivocity. We ended up running to near the sea customs and she was joking that we didn't bring passport. Then we took another route back and passed Haw Par Villa! I was surprised it hadn't been torn down. Kaiyun recognised that it was the right way for Vivo and that the next time we could take that turning instead of going all the way down. But then again if not for that we wouldn't have gotten to see the cool machines at the port (or whatever that place is), sliding like curtains. We breathed in a lot of bad air though.
Then there was also quite a few interesting buildings on the way back that I wouldn't have observed if I had passed by on a bus. There was some Norwegian Seaman place, an Inn, a few churches, a mosque that had green metal planks as walls, a halfway house.. that's what I can remember now. Yar, kind of felt like I entered another time period of Singapore when I saw the Norwegian Seaman place haha.
Ohh towards the end I felt like sleeping! Then I thought I understood what people meant when they wanted a bed at the finish line, haha. But then again maybe it's just lazy me.. I took an afternoon nap that dragged from 20minutes to over an hour and if not for the pre-planned run I would have continued sleeping! And I finally understood how Kaiyun felt when sometimes I reached her place and she told me she didn't feel like running.
Mmm it's so important to have someone to do things together with.
okie, ZhengLan and YuenTeng are coming over soon to see see and then have dinner. poof~
I just popped by Laura's "new blog" (got the link from her old blog). Actually the latest post there was more than a year ago.. Anyway.. yar I'm not concentrating yet again...
Laura was wondering why she's in med despite her other interests.. and someone commented that each person has different and numerous interests, and recommended her to stick with her choice, making the best out of it "while still indulging in other parts of life".. that's the same advice I got... Now that there's 'concrete proof' that I'm not alone and that Laura considers the same issues as I do - also about managing family/friends and work, erms haha I wanted to say how I feel but I just realised I don't know how I feel. - no longer alone?
Anyway.... fiinnnneeeee. wanted to indulge in blogging but okayyy i shall get to studying... sheeesshhhh
im so sad that i feel so unmotivated when im alone...... why can i no longer study for my own good on my own for goodness sake....... why do i keep thinking about other stuffssss when i get to study and yet worry about my studies when im doing other stuffsssss....
the same thing that happened during reading week last sem is back...... why....
edited to add: i switched off my handphone an hour or two ago (i've never done this eversince i entered nus...) - trying to shut myself from external interruptions to allow myself to focus on studying.. yet now it seems like im just trying to hide
further edited to add (2.33pm): i feel like uninstalling msn... i keep distracting myself it's so irritating.....
im so bored. so bored... of this whole issue of my life...
Although for the big organisation, things get complicated, I like it that everyone involved does their best and are pro-active in making things work. I felt so much more help-less in the small society which in my opinion lacks initiative though I like the family-ness..
hmm. I think this is something interesting to blog about. tho I'm really tired now. Would have gone to bed if not that I had just put my clothes to wash... gotta wait 50minutes for the wash and then go up to transfer the clothes to the dryer for another 20minutes.. My plan of sleeping by midnight is dashed yet again. oh well. off topic again!
okayy.. hmm how to start. Okay. (By the way this is what I remember of what my mom has told me, hope there isn't any significant untrue stuff.) Both my parents have been working ever since I was a baby. So for the first couple of years I was taken care of by a nanny. Then I went to nursery and kindergarten at NTUC Childcare Centre at Kim Keat Ave which is near where both sides of my grands used to stay. During my pre-primary years I was taken care of by both my maternal grandparents and my paternal grandma - they actually stayed on the same floor of this block (blk 195 to be exact) that's really big as in we had to pass I think more than 10 units to get from one grand's place to the other. I can't remember exactly whether there were one or two right-angled corners to turn.
Anyway I used to have dreams about doing weird stuffs on that block. Like jumping over the railings to getting from one flight of stairs to the next (going down the stairs), being chased by bad guys. Oh, also dreams near that block. Like rushing across the long bridge that's across the expressway right next to that block - I was being chased by skeletons and pirates and the bridge was made of planks and I was supposed to get to a hiding room at that block. Oh another dream was me being chased by some batman person near my own home at Potong Pasir. Aiya I always had scary dreams. There were many more. But then again I'm off topic! okay shall just describe a few more that I can remember now. There's one that's on a block of my imagination that has a lift that's I can never get to the floor that I want to - it's really scary, furthermore this was a recurring dream. And another one was me dropping off a cruise ship into the sea I felt like being drowned. And another one falling from somewhere high but I was hugging on to something so I didn't feel that scared. Hmms some have become such vague memories I can't even come up with one sentence to describe them. Oh another was me dragging a gigantic bean bag and then it felt like an extremely heavy burden pressing on me. okayyy enough of long-ago-dreams.
gosh I digressed so much. hmm so back to pre-primary. yar so I would go home in the evening and on weekends my parents or just my mom would bring me out. I can't remember where but according to photos we visited haw par villa and gardens. hmm I didn't really grow up with my brother coz he was taken care of almost entirely by my maternal grandparents and only moved home when he entered secondary school (ie. I was already in primary 2). What I remember of us was playing games - he had nintendo and play station. tho i had fun playing those games, most of what I remember of us was him bullying me. like he would press the cushion sofa on me and beat me and I was crying already but no one came to my rescue. then even up to secondary sch (as in for me) he still bullied me once in awhile just to irritate me like whip my hair from the back with his hands or with something else.
hmm. since my parents were working, I got my own set of house keys at about primary 3 if I didn't remember wrongly from what my mom and I discussed when I brought up this issue a few years back. my maternal grandma used to bring me to school when I was in the afternoon shift. (yar back then primary schools had afternoon shift and morning shift unlike now where all's morning). Then when I started taking school bus (I don't remember when this started tho) I was entirely on my own. In primary 5 the day before end-of-year zuo wen exam we moved to Sembawang and there after it was a school life of long travelling for me on MRT trains n buses.
Once in Primary6 on bus 135 from Ang Mo Kio interchange (the old non-aircon interchange was at where AMK Hub is now) to Cedar Primary I overshot on the bus all the way to Aljunied. Then in Sec2 on bus 170 from NYGH to Kranji MRT I overshot all the way to almost reaching the customs.
[omg I had such a filling dinner yet I'm munching on bread now.. zhen shi zui ba yang...]
hmm okay about learning. people usually have parents sending them for tuitions but I was the weird kid who asked my mom to let me go for some tuition class I think coz my friend told me it was fun and yups it was really fun. haha i went there not so much for improving my academics. we had prizes regularly - stickers and i forgot what else. it only lasted from p4 to p5 tho and i had to stop going when we moved home. the tutor was really nice and our birthdays were celebrated (i remember coz there are photos heez). Apart from that I was very much on my own.
Wells I always listened to teachers more than my parents. So like okay teacher say what I do what. Whereas if I had my own decisions for what I want to do (more significant starting from sec sch), I would hold to my stand against what my parents say. haha of course I don't do really "bad" (- duh) heez.
About holidays overseas. My parents and I would travel every year since I was a toddler. Until I entered sec sch when I didn't want to go overseas coz I didn't want to miss any band practices so for the whole 4 years of sec sch I didn't go overseas at all. Kind of crazy but oh wells, I am not a holiday-lover anyway so it was alright for me.
aiya zoned off to do CSS work.. and laundry.. zzzzzzz. gosh 2am liaos. sickeningly slow poke. no more blogging..
Last dinner @ Teahouse at China Square (operations ceasing tmr) + CSS IV to ICES
lala, got this collage idea from adeline~ it's a really good idea i think. ooo the photos are taken with my new cam - so can take before the food gets eaten since it's fast enough (usually I use my handphone camera getting to camera mode and taking photos take so long the food would already be somewhat eaten or getting cold :S hehe). wells most of the items we (as in mom n i) have already tried during our previous 2visits. so special mention goes to the fried rice that my bro picked. it's really pretty (can't tell from the tiny photo la) and the rice grains are individual (as in whatever people say is good fried rice). ohh i didn't take a few items coz they got eaten before i reacted heez.
mmm in the morning CSS went to ICES which is on Jurong Island. there were supposed to be 31 of us but ended up with only 24.. oh well 7 ppl kindly donated their $5 each.
wah i kinda had to bao ka liao for this event lorz - contacting ICES (lead given by marketing secretary Kaeshan tho) to arrange the whole thing including transport, making announcements (during our CSS workshops n during organic chem lect break to an unappreciative crowd of students who were talking away) to invite ppl to join, handling registration, collecting payment n issuing receipt, getting extra info from all the participants due to new security requirements by JI (and having to handle troublesome ppl), sending reminder to all participants for the visit, taking count during the visit and ushering them up the bus (many a time ppl don't behave like i think they should, but oh well some other times i don't behave like i think i should either haha), collating feedback at the end of the visit, sending them the group photo due to request.
at S@S events these stuffs would be broken down and handled by more than a handful ppl and things seem so much more sophisticated(/complicated?) and challenging. wells. difference between a big organisation and a small society. anyway, it was pretty good that the main coordinator from ICES mentioned about having another visit next year :) they are really good hosts and from the feedback the participants liked the visit in general. of course as with everything there's always room for improvement. for me too! i got laughed at/ suan-ed a few times today :S oh well. hmms it's like actually my first ever event that im incharge of. definitely lots to develop and improve~
hahah just viewed a video (that TeckKuan just sent to me, taken on my bday) of ShuJun asking WeiZhe stuff - so funny! Mmm the photos from TeckKuan, WeiZhe and SinHui's cams say so much about my bday - really grateful to them! :)
Yay CSS (HianTwan, BoonTiong, MingSoon, WeiCong, Yuki, Jinhong, Edward, KaiShih and me) played badminton this morning and it felt so good! I think it's especially because of my running that I have this energetic feeling. Oh and maybe because I caught up on sleep - a full 8hours! and it's not unhealthy timing, I like it that I got to sleep by midnight.
Wheeeeee. Hopefully BoonTiong saying it will become a regular Saturday morning game will hold true! Booo my FST group ended up with just once the first week of this sem lorrrr :(
HianTwan's really quite good; he has been playing. BoonTiong and WeiCong were quite good too, just that they hadn't been playing for long so kind of rusty haha. And Yuki's front-of-the-court returns (haha my inadequate description :S) were really good! It turned out she was trained abit on that during high school for a competition. haha, hidden skills found!
Terpsichore '08 - 00:59 @ UCC Dance Studio by NUS Dance Synergy
Heard this song at the Dance Synergy Performance last night and liked it! The main singer's voice is so clear! :) And the dances were really impressive - the first 2 pieces in particular! According to Kaiyun those were the alumni. They were so expressive - facial and bodily. Okay here goes the lyrics. As with all other songs - can be found on youtube.
Now Those Days AreGone - Bucks Fizz
Thinking, long ago when we were young and free Love happened easily and dreams never died Life sung a pretty song, now those days are gone
Crying, finding comfort in the friends we knew Now it’s just me and you trying alone We used to get along (we used to) now those days are gone
Playing with words when there’s nothing much to say Searching to find what we lost along the way Could it be one day our feelings changed I hope we see it through ‘cause I just can’t stand the thought Of life without you
Dreaming, whispers echo on the summer wind Back where the love begins, when nights were so warm With stars we could wish upon, now those days are gone
We had a chance but we lost it all somehow Broken the spell and our dreams lie heavy now Could it be some day our feelings changed I hope we see it though ‘cause I just can’t stand the thought Of life without you
Thinking, long ago when we were young and free Love happened suddenly and we couldn’t see Where we were going wrong, now those days are gone.
I had my first Life Skills Group session today, and it was mentioned that deep breathing, ie. using the diaphragm to breathe has physiological effects on us and helps us to calm down. Hmms. Maybe this explains why band people and choir people (and whichever other CCA that trains us in using the diaphragm to breathe) seldom get fiery?? haha, me and another of my weird theories.
Another thing's that there was a bird in my toilet just now!
Eeeks! But luckily, because it was there, I didn't go bathe at that time when I wanted to. Then a few minutes later, RIIINNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!!! It was fire drill! Luckily man! Otherwise I would have been caught bathing halfway and that would be sooooooooooo paiseh coz last time during the briefing they said that happened to a girl just some time back and the whole block had to wait for her to be done and go down :S.
Today we ran for the 6th time so far. The pace was pretty good thanks to Kaiyun who made us start slow, such that halfway through I was still feeling good. Our timing increased though, to 37minutes for 5km, probably coz we went kind of too slow haha, plus a week without running. Haven't stuck to our twice a week plan due to schedule clashes. Well well. We really want to run all the way till December!
Oh ya, had lunch at Foodgle Hub at PGPR. Hmm I think it's better than the other canteens in NUS! (Oh well, it's a foodcourt not a canteen? Whatever the classification..) Plenty of variety, but the prices are higher than at the canteens. And every stall (okay according to the recently sent out issue of The Pineapple - FST annual e-magazine - there are 10 stalls and 2 carts) seems to offer food I would want to eat, unlike other canteens like Biz canteen where it seems like none of the stalls really appeal to me.. geez. Today I tried the Naan! Yay that I got to eat that. I like it but it's quite rare, so I was glad they sold it there - freshly baked (is that the right word?) upon order :) Oh I like chappati too and was glad too when I found at the beginning of sem1 that it's sold at Arts Canteen. Oh ya, and Foodgle Hub is opened by a recent FST graduate! Just opened end of last year. So pro.
i'm very touched by everyone who showed their care!
I'm like such a fortunate little girladult (haiyo..) I feel I have to be nicer to all these people. hmmmm. yupyup.
gonna upload photos of my birthday thingy onto facebook tonight after FST CNY celebration. err actually it's supposed to start now (as in 5pm) - the Yusheng Decoration Competition. But the year1s are not taking part so I guess I shouldn't be there that early or I would be so bored.
hmms about my birthday thingy yesterday. wells. I've to admit I wasn't entirely happy happy coz yar it's just not me to be in such an event (felt paiseh and awkward :S), especially to be a host and having to ensure everyone's having a good time. but I'm glad I celebrated my 21st with friends from Cedar Primary to Nanyang 2/2 and 4/10 and clarinet juniors to NJ to IRAS to FST. coz some friends did mention (in my guestbook / via sms reply) that they enjoyed themselves and the chance to catch up with friends and yayy that's one of my main aims of holding this.
oh this morning was S@S event (Start-It: From Ground Zero) at Bishan Library, so I had to rush all the way from Aranda Country Club to Bishan. Felt pretty tired but it was quite beneficial. Learnt some stuff from the speakers, and got approached by a boss whom I met at a previous event. Initially he looked familiar. And he asked me about some guy. But I didn't look who he was referring to! Turned out that it was an ex-Events Team Director whom I knew by his English name and the boss was using his Chinese name so the confusion. Oh well. And then coincidentally when I was leaving another person was leaving too and previously from the boss I got to know that she's also from FST so I spoke to her. And found out she's a Year 3. So qiao!
oh I forgot to mention. wah ended up none of my 4 good friends came at all! but I fully understand la. Wells if they don't value academics so highly we wouldn't have clicked I guess. haha.
and wheee we are going karaoke-ing again this saturday! we as in some Cedar ppl. hope this time there'll be a few more people. whoops. I just realised since today's sat it's more accurate to say next saturday haha.
okok. can't blog moreee already late enough I think I should get going~ it's already 5.36pm
Kai Yun and I ran 5km in 35minutes! Yay good progress. And I noticed I was breathing through my nose today! (Don't know when this started la, but I remember that the first time we ran I was breathing through my mouth - ie. panting like a dog. heez.) But today I felt more tired than on Saturday while Kai Yun felt better! So Kai Yun said we have different running styles (these weren't her words and I forgot what liaos but I remember this was what she meant). Then I said that's good! We can help each other improvement like that :)
Have Read
'04 year-end holidays (highest number of books read in a long time)
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (gd read)
-Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot (fun read)
-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (must read - inspirational)
-Slab Rat by Ted Heller (full of office politics and R21 stuff - not for kids)
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (makes u want to finish it)
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks (simple but meaningful)
-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (can identify with)
-The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (romantic love story with too much R21 stuff)
-Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (even more R21. ugh)
-The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
-Unstrung Heroes by Franz Lidz (autobiography about his four uncles and father)
-The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (very unique POV of an autistic boy)
-The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (love the breadth of the plot, one of my favourites)
-Wild Orchids by Jude Deveraux (alternating between two first persons' view - unique, but don't like e plot)
-Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (philosophy tb in a story; gets abit dry though plot saved)
-forgot what i read...-
-Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan (story of an urban planner)
-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (impressive intelligence with bits of great humour)
-Just between Us by Cathy Kelly (thickest bk i've ever read-600+pg, too long for me but not bad)
ha, started a few bks but didn't enjoy them enough to read more.
'06
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel (novel based on true story; a lot to learn from the book - animals, religions,
survival, appreciation of simplicity; marvelous descriptions of both the tangible and the intangible,
such that I could feel their realness; bits of very enjoyable humour; a must read)
-The Complete Analects of Confucius, Volume 1 - Asiapac Comic Series (some good teachings.
didn't read everything though)
-The Parable of the Pipeline by Burke Hedges (lent to me by Shujun; like she said, its a short version
of Rich Dad Poor Dad - good financial tips)
-The Alchemist by Paul Coelho (simple story with deep meaning)
-Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(hai, doesn't seem to be working for me - cos im not applying..)
-haven't been updating from Jun'06 to Jul'07-
'07
-Take a Chance by Sarah Webb (very interesting twist towards the end)
'08
-A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer (very saddening. made me realise how significant family is in how a child behaves)
-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden (refreshing book with many pics)
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Rui Zafon (amazing how people can think of so much plot to pack into one book, wld b a gd tv series)
-The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the story is interesting but i think the ending cld hv been better written)
-This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes (a bit thought-provoking on relationships but i didnt like e abrupt ending)
-Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (gd knowledge but partly qte repetitive)
-For One More Day by Mitch Albom
-The C Words by Mark Mason (made me keep wanting to read on. light & funny)
Reading
Waiting for chance to get hold of
The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Gotai Fumanzoku or An Unsatisfactory Body (Translated into English as No One's Perfect) by Hirotada Otatake
Self-note:
extra a/c @ imagestation - fenellading Tip for my future business =D
give employees reasonably high pay to keep them- otherwise they are unlikely to stay loyal.
treat employees not according to how well they treat me but how conscientious they are at work
(of course, musn't expect them to only do work throughout the entire working hours -
give some breathing space too, we are humans, not machines) Movies watched(listing started on 6jan08)
in cinema from VCD/DVD
1Sep07: "Hairspray" w Teck Kuan, Guo Hua & Sin Hui
14Sep07: "Ratatouille" w mom & extended family
28Dec07: "The Pianist" w Jus & Pam (heartbreaking but good lessons; i recommend!)
2Jan08: "I Am Legend" w Sherman (scary! but good acting; thought provoking; i recommend!)
5-6Jan08: "A Good Year" alone (excellent show! i like the acting; funny; good lessons; touches my heart; i recommend!)
11Jan08: "Le Grand Chef" w Weiling, Jing Ting & Irene (good! funny, very touching, :) nice; watch if like humour+meaning+food)
7Feb08 (CNY 初一): "Ah Long Pte Ltd" w parents (pretty hilarious - but u gotta understand dialects, some teary parts. wells typical of jack neo movies but with diff content)
11Mar08: "The Leap Year" w Sherman (so sweet! :) and apart from couple relationship it touches the theme of mother-daughter and best friends too)
6Jun08: "P.S. I Love You" w Sherman (don't know if its coz we watched it on laptop, coz it didn't impress me as much as it did for him in cinema)
8Jun08: "The Forbidden Kingdom" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (ums..guess i'm really not into kungfu)
8Jun08: "What Happens in Vegas" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (simple,relaxing show)
7Jul08: "我和狗狗的10个约定" w Sherman, his ma & sisters (very simple,touching but actually not my type of show)
10Jul08: "Before Sunrise" w Sherman" (hmm maybe watchg on laptop really affects appreciatn of movies..)
