A Journey Towards My Own Destiny

Wonders of 39...

2007-02-04T23:07:00.000+08:00

So much has happen over the past 2 months...

I have also shifted my blog to a shared one with someone who has the same favourite number as me... =)

Here it is: http://3square.memorycapture.net

George Bush in Town...

2006-11-19T17:04:00.000+08:00

Is actually quite amazing to see the President of the United States speaking right in front of you.

Engaging Asia...

"NO" to North Korea to go nuclear...

One of the last good-byes...

SM Goh is present to grace the event too...

Venture Kampuchea 2006 - 25 Sept to 26 Sept (Non-human)

2006-10-26T02:11:00.000+08:00

Ah Ma's House

Purple Coil?

Sunset...

A different perspective...

Delicious dinner...

Coconut for our frens - And all remembered there was Singapore Idol Finals...

The Army Leaf...

Venture Kampuchea 2006 - 25 Sept to 26 Sept (People)

2006-10-26T01:52:00.000+08:00

The Boat Ride to Pulau Ubin...

Discussion Session...

Water Parade...

The VK Team (Excluding Me)

The VK Team (Excluding Amelia) - We need a tripod...

Night falls in Ubin...

Turning around...

BYE!

S2006 - 21 Sept 2006

2006-10-23T22:51:00.000+08:00

Rex's Inspiring Speech at SMU (This is also where I met someone who have the same favourite numbers and the rationale for choosing these numbers are the same as me... Amazing!)

Farewell - We will meet soon enough...

S2006 - 20 Sept 2006

2006-10-23T22:38:00.000+08:00

S2006 - 19 Sept 2006 (Opening Ceremony)

2006-10-04T23:54:00.000+08:00

Random Shots

The Singapore Sling...

Awesome x 1

Awesome x 2

Awesome x 3

Rex indeed had a great time...

Wonderful people...

S2006 - 18 Sept 2006

2006-09-30T22:28:00.000+08:00

S2006 - 17 Sept 2006

2006-09-30T10:38:00.000+08:00

Breakfast @ Fong Seng

Protest in Suntec City...

Big Placards...

Our agenda for education...

Ling hard at work...

Before the start of the seminar...

The Panel - Second from right is the Finance Minister from Liberia...

Panel for the next session in CSO

Esplanade from the highest building in Singapore...

Awesome...

A top view of Suntec City...

Discussion over ice-cream before heading back...

S2006 - 16 Sept 2006

2006-09-23T09:30:00.000+08:00

At Cavenagh Bridge

A Shot with Rex

Rex toying with snake!

Rena toying with snake!

Borith, my room mate in Eusoff suite...

Launch of the World Development Report 2006

Ling and Me

Zongyin & KC

Time for desserts...

Engaging World Bank Country Manager and WB Staff Economist with regards to WDR 2006

Youth Dialogue Series Discussion in Progress

Contemplation...

Dinner @ Swensens II

Dinner @ Swensens III

Dinner @ Swensens IV

Hmmz...What do you want?

What duh BIG calculator... - Mustafa

S2006 - 15 Sept 2006

2006-09-22T17:02:00.000+08:00

Lunch at NYDC, Suntec

In the Central Library, NUS

Borith from Cambodia... =)

S2006 - 14 Sept 2006

2006-09-22T16:51:00.000+08:00

The newly renovated Terminal 2 at Singapore Changi Airport

All the hostels in NUS should be like this...

Rex's first Egg Cheese Prata

The first 2 delegates to arrive: Rena (Japan) and my buddy Rex (Papua New Guinea)

World Bank organises Open Space Dialogue for youths to air their views

2006-09-10T10:48:00.000+08:00

Speak up and be heard: this is what some youths have done at the "Open Space Dialogue" organised in Singapore by the World Bank.

It is part of a series of similar discussions held all over the world that will help in the organisation's policy-making.

It was a call to get them to put their thoughts on paper as well as speaking on matters close to their hearts and many did.

Their views touched on issues like education, voluntarism, the sex trade and the impact of globalisation on Singapore's identity.

Yu Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, said: "The youths through this dialogue also understand that we are not alone, globalisation is an in thing and globalisation bring in opportunities, and also challenges, we should prepare our youths."

The session gave them a chance to interact with participants from other countries.

While many liked the open discussion, others had their doubts.

Sai Chavali, Participant, said: "This set up is really helpful for us because it brings out all kinds of creativity, because there is no set agenda, someone to say you have to do this, and do this, you set the agenda and you do it."

Wee Yeong Wei, Participant, said: "I am sure it would be considered, but I am not sure if they will seriously think about the issues we raised today."

But the organisers assure that these views will be presented to senior officials who are attending the IMF/World Bank meetings.

Peter L Stephens, Singapore Representative of the World Bank, said: "We will make sure at this meeting, as we've done in countless other meetings in other countries, that the outcome of this is brought to the attention of those who can make decisions. If they don't make decisions, it's at their peril because the young people who are here are the ones who vote, they are the ones who make decisions about employment and leading the IMF, the World Bank and Singapore in the years to come."

The World Bank says one aim of the youth dialogue is to canvas views and implement them. - CNA/ch

Transformation of Garden City into Flower City

2006-09-07T22:37:00.000+08:00

If you drop by the Suntec-marina area, you will be amazed at how Singapore have transformed from merely a Garden City to a Flower City... I thought I was back in Roma Street Parkland in Brisbane where the sub-tropical flowers bloom... They are even huge plots of sunflowers along the road in front of the Art Museum... It will be nice if these flowers are able to sustain itself through the erratic weather of Singapore... It will even be better if efforts are expended to keep all these greeneries and flowers intact even after the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. This should be the way it should go; it will be disappointing to any delegate when they return in a couple of months to realise that all those flowers vanish into thin air, leaving behind just green bushes...

The news just feature on how IMF-World Bank assisted Cambodia in tackling the lack of potable water in Cambodia... Perhaps this is where social entrepreneurship can be explored to arrive at possible solutions to resolve these problems... Shall have the opportunity to see for myself during the YEP trip to Cambodia in December. And I shall see what are some of the social entrepreneurship opportunities that can be picked up and transfer them back to Social Enterprise Forum 2007...

Tribute to Steve Irwin

2006-09-05T01:11:00.000+08:00

Had a long day today at International Exchange Day, lecture and tuition... Something struck my eyes when I saw so many "turtles" on my friends' msn nicks... Check with Galvin and realised that Steve Irwin has passed away...

===================================================================

Australian 'crocodile hunter' Steve Irwin killed by stingray

SYDNEY : World-renowned Australian "crocodile hunter" and television environmentalist Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray Monday on the famed Great Barrier Reef, police said.

The iconic Irwin, 44, known for his enthusiastic handling of even the deadliest of wildlife, was killed when a stingray barb punctured his chest during the filming of an underwater documentary off the coast of the northeastern Australian state of Queensland.

"It is believed that Mr Irwin collapsed after being stung by a stingray at Batt Reef off Port Douglas at about 11:00 am (0100 GMT). He had been filming a documentary," a statement from the Queensland Police Service said.

"After being stung by a stingray, his crew called for medical treatment and the Queensland medical helicopter responded, however Mr Irwin had died," the statement added.

Stingrays have several sharp and highly toxic barbs on their tails that they use to defend themselves when they feel threatened.

"(They) are also like a bayonet, like a bayonet on a rifle," Australian wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said. "If it hits any vital organs it's as deadly as a bayonet."

Ambulance service officials said Irwin had suffered a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and he was immediately pronounced dead.

Police said the larger-than-life Irwin's family had been informed of his death. Irwin was married to US-born Terri Irwin and the couple had two children aged eight and three. Irwin's widow was informed of his death while hiking in Tasmania, police said.

The garrulous animal-lover's rallying cry of "crikey" when faced with a crocodile, snake or ferocious-looking spider, made him an Australian icon across the world.

His "Crocodile Hunter" show, in which the tousle-haired adventurer appeared in his trademark khaki shorts and shirt, was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown around the world on the Discovery cable network ever since.

His outspoken persona became so popular that he won a cameo role in a Hollywood movie, "Dr Dolittle 2," starring US comic actor Eddie Murphy.

Irwin, who was born in the southern Australian city of Melbourne, was raised in Queensland by parents who owned small reptile park that he would eventually take over.

The young Irwin became a crocodile trapper, ridding residential areas of their reptilian threats for a fee.

Irwin's fearless approach to the animal kingdom however provoked international outrage when he involved his infant son in one of his
death-defying antics.

In early 2004, he fed a four-metre (13-foot) crocodile with one hand while clutching his baby son Bob in the other during a show at his Australia Zoo reptile park on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland state.

But Irwin was unrepentant when confronted about the incident in an interview. "What I would do differently is I would make sure there were no cameras around," he said.

"I will continue to educate my children and the children of the world so they don't go into the water with crocs."

Australia immediately mourned the loss of one of its best-known sons, with shocked radio listeners and television viewers calling in to express their grief and disbelief.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his family at Irwin's zoo on his official Christmas card last year, praised Irwin, who has appeared in public service announcements and worldwide events aimed at promoting Australian tourism.

"The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," a spokesman said.

And Queensland's Tourism Minister Margaret Keech summed up Australia's reaction to Irwin's sudden death.

"He's done so much for Australia and he'll be missed by the entire world," she told Sky television. - AFP /dt
===================================================================

Heading to Cambodia...

2006-09-03T01:58:00.000+08:00

It is confirmed... I will be heading down to Cambodia for the Youth Expedition Program (YEP) in december... =)

Click here more information on the expedition which another group of students have embarked on 2 years ago...

http://scholars.nus.edu.sg/student_work/global_programme/vk2004/index.html

(Click on the photo link in the site; they have really interesting shots in it)

The 2 Winners...

2006-09-03T01:48:00.000+08:00

The 2 winners for the NIRAS essay competition are out: the first prize goes to someone from New Zealand while the second goes to someone from India. Coincidentally, they are both pursuing their PhDs in Stanford University. Click here to read more about them:

http://www.niras.com/News/Press_releases/essay.aspx

I learnt a lot in the process of writing the final essay for this competition... Wanna arrive at a photographic essay book with my thoughts someday... And also a book on my perspective on life... =)

Off to South Africa...

2006-08-30T01:31:00.000+08:00

Wow, a week gone?

2006-08-27T20:08:00.000+08:00

The past week has been busy but nevertheless fruitful...

Tuesday was spent with JM and FS for a post-bdae celebration for JM... We caught the "The Ant Bully" and I felt nostalgic about my childhood suddenly. Still remember the days when I will use my Lego sets to build up a maze to store ants in them... I will feed them with sugar and also sweet oranges... Obviously mum does not approve it and I have to shift the whole maze out of my home... Every morning, I will go check on them if they are still fine... Till one day, I realised it was gone!!! It was taken away by the garbage collector!!! I got so sad and mad that my parents tried to chase the truck but to no avail... Click here to read more about this movie: The Ant Bully

Wednesday's night was spent in NUS Guild House for a farewell dinner for Kenneth (flown off onFriday night) and Jason who will be heading down to Europe for their exchange stint. Apart from them, it was like a farewell dinner for N and C (absent) who were leaving IRO as staffs... Like what Samanta says: it was like a SA (Student Associates) Unity gathering...haz... A question here: Will you pay 5k for a lifetime membership for NUS Guild House (both on campus and also in Suntec City)? haahaaz...

Thursday was spent with my fellow SoCians who have graduated at ktv... Great to see them again after so long...

Met up with JQ on saturday and he's hoping I will bring someone along... but I din..haha

Time for dinner...

The 7th Month...

2006-08-20T19:45:00.000+08:00

It seems that lunar 7th month is a time when the conditions of the old and frial seem to deteriorate for the worst. While some survive, others do not... If I look around my estate, it seems that this is so true when u see wakes sprouting up. My uncle did not win the battle either and was called home to the Lord (he's a christian) 3 days ago.

Went for the wake last night; cousin ling who was standing beside me told me his dad left peacefully. The whole family was at his bedside when he passed on... At the age of 78, he left behind 19 bubbly grandchildren... 4 of which just flew back from Aussieland 2 nights ago...

Time to get ready to go for the last day of the wake. Ciaoz

Thank you!

2006-08-16T01:17:00.000+08:00

Thank you Nic and ZY too! =)

Week 0...

2006-08-16T00:54:00.000+08:00

The previous week has been busy prior to the commencement of a new academic year... Met up with Eric, gotten some stuff from IKEA, preparation for FYP, attended Toni's bdae, CSS carnival etc etc etc... Rag day was held last week too; and it was the first time I ever attended one as a student in NUS... -)Here are some of the photos:

Read NUS write-up for the Rag Day here: Rag Day 2006

The Door

2006-08-15T01:09:00.000+08:00

Had an interesting and fulfilling week for the past one week... Will share soon... Meanwhile, check this out...

http://thedoor.fyi.sg/info.htm

National Day Parade 2006

2006-08-11T01:37:00.000+08:00

Feeling Patriotic?

2006-08-07T00:04:00.000+08:00

Lunch was with Ziwei who has been teaching mathematics at NJC for the past 2.5 years... If any of his students is reading this post, I need to tell you that you have gotten yourself one of the best math teachers around... Apart from passion, he is totally dedicated to teach his students well... He said that his priority will always be his students, the rest can wait... We need to have more of such teachers around and some who are only joining the profession for stable monetary returns...

Headed down to Istana Open House thereafter ... For those visiting istana any time soon, be forewarn that the distance from the gate to the main Istana building is NOT short... Here are some drawings from our young and jovial kids...

Think I should start to utilise my DH domain space soon to house my photographs...haha

ORDed!

2006-08-05T00:23:00.000+08:00

Haz... finally see my pink IC after 89 days. It had been a long day which commences with buying food back for my campmates and encik... After going through all the necessary administrative procedures, I finally get to hold my pink IC again... However, I guess the degree of euphoria was greater when I disrupted 3 years ago...

Did some shopping in town before having dinner with Luke, JC and SQ... Had a good laugh over coffee on the interesting things that had happened in camp during 3 years ago and also anecdotes from our lives...

Time to pack up the mess in my room... -)

South African Pictures

2006-08-02T20:43:00.000+08:00

This post is specially for Enick, Lin Jing and Luke who will be heading down to South Africa for overseas exercise in South Africa end of this month... Photos are taken by Chee Meng who have went South Africa a few months back... -).

Refreshing 9 hours of Sleep!

2006-08-02T00:26:00.000+08:00

Woke up feeling very refresh this morning. It was quite sometime ago that I have had 9 hours of sleep. Past few days had been fruitful...

Thursday: Met up with aussie friends in town and had a fun time catching up... Thanks for Jolene for getting me the S.H.E pictorial book from China. Is really nice of her to remember... Marketplace at Raffles Shopping Centre is now opened with Piper's Pies - Authentic Aussie Pies... And Glenn said they have "Shepherd Pie" which was my nightmare, especially so when it is Michael who prepare it... And I had to haf it for dinner the first day and also LAST night in Aussie... How lucky can I get?

Friday: Met my cousin YL at Suntec for dinner but I ended up waiting for her hours which I spend running errands for her, bought a blazer which was on 50% disocunt and had my most expensive haircut ever for 20 bucks... I wanted to walked over to CityLink for the swift 10 bucks cut but I was too lethargic as I was still waiting to have dinner with her... Saw a sign outside Kimarie that is 20 bucks for Men's cut and decided to go for it... It was a good experience as they actually shampoo and blow your hair dry before and after the cut... =). Finally at 9PM, I dad dinner thereafter at Indinne with my cousin and karen sister

Saturday: Spent on graduation photography with ZY... It was tiring but I am veri satisfied with majority of the shots... Met up with HH thereafter and we all headed to watch Lake House... My dream house resemble it and there is only one place in Singapore which resemble it... But is kind of beyond my financial capability at the moment... But I do have the aussie version of it at Apollo Bay, here it is: The Ocean House!

Sunday: Recuperation Day...

Monday: Finally had a dinner with JM and FS ever since the holidays started...

Tuesday: Went over to god-sister house to take a look at the scrapbooks she had done up... They were beautiful but I think it is an expensive hobby... Thanks for the cardigan and bottle... I like them a lot... -)

Oh yeap, will be attending the IMF event in September... Amu and Sha will be going too... -) Pretty interested in the World Development Report 2007 which will be launched then too... Think I have taken up some interests in developmental issues after writing the NIRAS essay... -)

Time whizzes past...

2006-07-26T00:51:00.000+08:00

In slightly less than a year, I will have graduated... =)

Ran into Ms Tan S.H (Now, Mrs Leong) together with Mr Leong at Clementi. For Commonwealthians, just some updates for all of you: Our school premise is going to shift to somewhere near Teban Gardens. In addition, there will be a fun and food fair at CSS on 13 August 2006 (Sunday). For those interested, please contact me via HP or email at qihong39@yahoo.com.sg. Afterwhich I will refer you to Ms Tan. Don't think i will make it that day as it is a special day for me.

8 years ago, Ms Tan was still Ms Tan... 8 years later, apart from having to address her as Mrs Leong, she already have 2 kids! Is scary how things can move after graduation... Brrr...

Meanwhile, I have submitted my resume for an IMF-related event. Will keep all of you updated.

CiaozZz +)

Decided not to be a Guinea Pig...

2006-07-23T01:45:00.000+08:00

After taking into a number of reasons, I have decided not to go for the operations:

1.) I do not want a stiffer left hand
2.) I may not be able to play the piano/keyboard as fluently as before (for the few
songs which I know)
3.) I will have difficulty brushing my teeth since I can only effectively use my left
hand to brush my teeth albeit the fact that my right hand is the master hand.
4.) The entire consultantion made me feel like I am a medical research subject. One specialist called out to his counterpart and said "You need to look at this, this will excite you".

I was made to wait till they cleared all the patients for the morning clinic before they whizzed me off to a diagnostic imaging room where they said they have a new machine which does dynamic X-ray. I was pretty amazed by the state of technological advancement actually. As you rotate your hand, you will see the movement in X-ray format on the computer screen. Each movement can be recorded as a movie clip and be saved into a thumbdrive which can be uploaded to the database... Btw, X-rays are now taken and forwarded to the doctors' account in soft copies... Immense saving of resources...

They are going to cut half a tendon from somewhere on my wrist... drill 1-2 holes somewhere and make a 'tie-back'. Sounds like making wiring 'tie-backs' in Signals...

No, I shall not go... I have even imagine what I will do if I turn back at the 11th hour if I back out from the operations... I will push the anasthetist mask onto the face of the guy who is gg administering the anasthesia on me and run out... =)

Session with Anil Chitrakar

2006-07-19T00:28:00.000+08:00

Finally got the interim site for SE Forum up and running (after days of figuring out Mambo, an opensource Content Management System to no avail). I decided to extract the main pages and put them in static pages instead... And yeap, it is done with updated information on the upcoming events... Meanwhile, I have to think of the content management for the website as the designer will be revamping the entire site for SE Forum 2007 soon...

The interim site can be accessed at: www.seforum.sg

School Commencing soon...

2006-07-18T00:59:00.000+08:00

It was not too long ago that I have attended my friends' convocations and now it is time for a brand new academic year to commence again... Frankly, I am going to miss many of those who have graduated... Wanted to meet some of them during term time for coffee or a meal; but it seems that something will cropped up (either myself or the other party) and the meeting has to be postphoned indefinitely, till the convocation...

Met up with the freshies and some of the councillors for a movie at The Picturehouse at new Cathay on Sunday night... Even though the movie title "Thank You for Smoking" sounds kind of crappy... It turned out to be a pretty good show... =) Glad to see the freshies and councillors bondings rather well together... Btw, I am half a DECADE older than the female freshies... Reality strikes manz...hahaz

Been busy with the updating of the interim website for Social Entrepreneurship Forum... Got personal stuff to be settled too... Time is definitely not enough for now... All I can do now is to prioritise... Less than 3 weeks to ORD! =)

Future Generation...

2006-07-14T00:01:00.000+08:00

I just love the kids... =)

Completion of Mindsweeper (The 2nd Time)

2006-07-12T01:09:00.000+08:00

This is LUCK... haz...

SoC Commencement Ceremony

2006-07-12T00:53:00.000+08:00

Do you know who will receive thunderous round of applause for a commencement ceremony?

It is NOT the arrival of the guest of honours... Neither is it the arrival of the presiding officer and the academics with "The Triumph March" playing in the background...

NOpe, it is also not after a rousing speech by the valedictorian for the ceremony...

It is only when the last person in the queue is presented with the degree scroll when the applause climax... -) And yea, there will be loud cheers as well... -)

(*Others photos will be up another day... Will be going for the commencement ceremonies on Thursday before I get down to sort out the photographs*). Long day ahead tomorrow in camp due to exercise... Ciaoz...

I am going to miss my friends who have just graduated for the following 2 semesters...

Convocation Continued...

2006-07-11T00:23:00.000+08:00

Haz... This is qiyen who has gotten first class honors and is also the recipient of the Lim Tay Boh Memorial Award - Lim Tay Boh Medal (Gold)!!! Congratulations once again! Time really flies and we have been neighbours for approximately 16 years! Hazzz

SP Revelation & Finale Night for CAC Camp

2006-07-09T18:03:00.000+08:00

On the same day, it was the day when the freshies will be able to see their SP (Secret Pal) in person finally... It was also the 'tekaning' session for the guys... Well, they did to perform if they want to whizz off the girls from Group 1 for dinner at Cosy Bay... =)

After all the dance competition and prizes presentation ceremony... We headed for KBox at Cineleisure for KTV till 6am... 5 survived through the KTV 'knock-out' session... Most fell asleep... My bed at home beakons after that... -)

First Commencement Ceremony @ NUS

2006-07-09T17:54:00.000+08:00

06 July 06 was the first day of commencement... In the light of the VVIPs who are attending the ceremony, which includes: MM Lee Kuan Yew and wife, PM Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Ho Ching and also the Ex-premier of China, Li Lan Qing, no one was allowed to enter the UCC waiting area. I only managed to go in when the VVIPs left...

Took photos with Terence, Xingyu, Hong Ee and Andrew after the usp group photo they took somewhere near the robing room... It will be one more year before I will be able to done the graduation robe... Time really flies... 3 years have since passed... =)

CAC Fright Nite...

2006-07-05T00:45:00.000+08:00

Today is the second day of the camp & it is also when the Fright Night is held... Majority of the people were of unfamiliar faces... Some went back on the first day of camp... Jennifer, Plene, Alvin and I were the only seniors from group 1... Since Alvin is a councillor and is a "ghost" at the rooftop station, that leave 3 of us to tag along with our freshies... In the light I had to book in tomorrow, I left earlier... and I went for only one station with my partner... As we were the last pair, yet additional pair of the group to go in... the "ghosts" thought they are done with this group... While we were anticipating to be "frightened" by some unexpected scream or "ghosts"... What we saw at the end of the station was a bunch of "ghosts" chatting at the end of the rooftop channel... We had a really good laugh up there...

Time to retire to bed... Will be back for the camp on Thursday... =) There are 6 rounds to run tomorrow morning... Arghz...

The past one week...

2006-07-02T23:01:00.000+08:00

It was a week of meeting up...

(27 June 06)
Met Px for dinner and it has been 1.5 years since we met... The last time i saw her was before I went to Aussie for exchange. It was the first time i drank decafinated coffee and yeap, it works, I was able to sleep pleasantly that night... =)

(28 June 06)
Had dinner at my friend's place and had a good chat with another friend of hers... Chatted about school life, financial careers etc... At this point in time, it seems to me that the quality of life will plummet once you enter the adrenalin-pumping world of finance...

(29 June 06)
Met elder god-sister, M for dinner at Holland Village... Got updated about a friend in KL... Hope all is well for her, really...

(30 June 06)
We had CO Parade in the morning... Afterwhich, we headed down to Gombak Hill for the annual ADSD (Air Defence System Division) Uphill Run... All the competitive runs were in the afternoon and all these culminate in the final mass run up the hill... The BG spoke, prizes were given, buffet dinner was served... In a bid to integrate the operational capabilities, ADSD has been changed to ADOC, that is Air Defence and Operations Command... The event ended with performance by the SAF Music & Drama Company and the transfer of the fire to the symbolic ADOC torch... =)

And yea... ONE MORE MONTH TO ORD... =)

Ithaca

2006-07-02T14:15:00.000+08:00

Ithaca
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

Paul Coelho...

2006-06-27T00:26:00.000+08:00

I am simply amazed by how Paul Coelho writes about the mystery of life... I have finished 2 of his books, namely: (1) Veronika Decides to Die and (2) By River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept... I shall let the sypnosis do the talking... =)

Veronika Decides to Die

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything — youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, she takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. But she does — at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

By River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept

[A Fable About Opening Your Heart to Miracles]

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept tells of Pilar, a frustrated scholar looking for some greater meaning in the endless cycle of her days. When a childhood friend contacts her, she is surprised to learn that her former playmate is now a charismatic spiritual leader, someone revered as a miracle worker. She is even more astonished when he reveals that Pilar has always been his great love.

Confused by this sudden opportunity for a new chance at life, Pilar gradually comes to realise that the man she loves is being called upon to choose between her and his spiritual calling. As the suffering lovers travel through sacred sites in the French Pyrenees, the difficult choice they face offers a startling revelation about the divine and the redemptive power of love. Full of warmth and wisdom, joy and unexpected sorrow, their story is a magical celebration of the endless possibilities that life has to offer, and a fable about opening your heart to miracles.

A poetic story that reflects the depth of love and life

Rarely does an adolescent love reach its full potential. What happens when, after eleven years, two lovers come together again? Pilar has become an independent and strong woman. Her childhood friend has become a handsome spiritual leader. She has learned to bury her feelings, while he has turned to religion as a refuge from his inner conflicts.

Together they embark on a journey that is initially fraught with difficulties, as blame and resentment resurface after years of being hidden. But by the River Piedra, in a small village in the French Pyrenees, they discuss many of life's big questions ad reevaluate their own special relationship.

After 11 years, two people who once loved each other come together again to embark on a journey that is initially fraught with difficulties, as blame and resentment resurface after years of blame and resentment resurface after years of being hidden. But by the River Piedra, in a small village in the French Pyrenees, they discuss many of life's big questions and re-evaluate their own special relationship in this poetic and transcendent story that reflects the mysteries of love and life.

Kosmos from SPAIN!

2006-06-27T00:05:00.000+08:00

Managed to catch the Kosmos performance at the closing ceremony of Singapore Arts Festival outside Lot 1 last night... Here's a few "clearer" pictures, I am afraid the nicer ones are in videos formats... It is always not easy to take night photos with minimum fuzziness... Flash is forbidden lest the performers will be distracted and lose their balance... I can only describe the wold performace in one word: SPECTACULAR! The entire team was hauled up in the metallic sphere by a crane... At some point in time, they were performing death-defying stunts at a height which is tallers than the condominium at the back drop....

Yea, it was a good attempt to bring arts to the heartlanders... But it will be quite sometime before the maturity of the arts scene in Singapore will match up to those on the international arena... But with the immense resources directed to invite award-winning performers to perform in Singapore... Perhaps it is time to invest more in our own local arts... We need to have our very own Singaporeans hanging up there in the metallic sphere!!!

Confluence 2006

2006-06-17T22:38:00.000+08:00

Confluence 2006 - the inaugural Ministerial dialogue session & corporate networking fair held at the Raffles City Convention Centre Swissotel on Saturday 19 August 2006 is a jointly organized cross-Atlantic event for Singaporeans studying all over the world.

The highlight of the event will be the keynote address by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean followed by a Question & Answer session where the audience will be able to engage the members of a panel consisting of several prominent Singaporeans in meaningful and constructive debate on national issues concerning young Singaporeans such as ourselves.

Concurrently, there will be an all-day corporate career and networking fair where numerous multi-nationals and organizations from the private and public sector will be in attendance. The networking session will be an excellent opportunity for students to mingle and find out more about the various career opportunities available from the organizations. Representatives from various fields including sectors such as law, banking, engineering, management consultancy, accounting and the civil service, will be on hand to interact with the students.

During the networking session after the Q & A session, a buffet will be served at the reception where all attendees are welcome.

So people, sign up for the conference!

Ending of the Mulling Period...

2006-06-17T11:27:00.000+08:00

It was 10 days ago that I received a email from Mille, Area manager for communication from NIRAS... It goes:

Dear Ryan,

This week, we had a meeting of the panel of judges and I had hoped
for a decision then, but alas or hurrah, your essays provoked a lot of
discussion. I hope to get a final decision this week and will let each of
you know the moment I have it confirmed!
...

Next 10 days was a "mulling period"... The decisive email finally came last night (which is Denmark's afternoon) and informed me that I was not one of the two winners of the essay competition... Some excerpts of the email are:

...

All the essays were of a very high standard and it was very difficult to make a decision. That also explains the prolonged period before we could contact you again. The judges spent a lot of time discussing the essays. All of them were thought provoking and that is certainly meant as a compliment!

...
Let me thank you for your professional and personal efforts and your enthusiasm. It has been a rewarding experience to read your thoughts on the future and your very different approaches...

There was a tint of disappointment definitely, even more so when sacrifices were made to complete the essay by the deadline... But I felt more of relieved coz I do not need to live in the anticipation of "unknown" anymore... It has been really unproductive for the past 10 days... If the clock would have reversed back to last December when the competition was launched in universities all over the world, I would still have taken part and put in my utmost effort to complete the abstract and the final essay... Despite not being one of the 2 winners, I have learnt a lot in the process of writing this essay... I have learnt that information overload is undesirable and to excel, one have to be like a laser and focus on your niche area... I have even played with an idea of publishing a book which give a pictorial perspective of life... That is using photographs I have taken and relaying the lessons of life through my them... I will email Thomas L. Friedman, author of "The World is Flat" and provide him with my perspective of a future global knowledge society... After connecting the "dots" back to its sources, there is always a reason why things happens... =)

I sent a email back to Mille, expressing my gratitude for her help rendered throughout the entire writing process and also mention when I go Denmark one of these days, I will love to visit "The Little Mermaid" and of course NIRAS Consulting firm... And yea, she replied and said NIRAS will be sending us a copy of the NIRAS 50th anniversary publication which will have all the 10 finalist essay published sent to us when they are ready... =)

我们的天空

2006-06-15T23:09:00.000+08:00

You should be able to redeem this "dan qu" which comes along with i-weekly soon... One can also hear this song on FM 93.3...

Shiyu is one whom I have seen to persistently pursue his dreams... And I am really glad that he is fighting for what he believes in... With his talent in place, nothing can stop him...

Annalakshmi (Delayed)

2006-06-15T23:05:00.000+08:00

Good Food accompanied by nice indian art...

Marina City Park (Delayed)

2006-06-15T22:39:00.000+08:00

Look... There can be rainbow even without rain! If you are the rainmaker, rain can even be pumped up from the ground level! Haz...

Is the World Cup Season...

2006-06-11T01:16:00.000+08:00

It is the season when most guys all over the world will be glued to the TV... Watching 32 teams pit their soccer skills on the international stage... I am not a passionate soccer fan but I do feel there is a lot to learn from the game of soccer...

Lesson 1: There is no short cuts to any where worth going, each and every player (including substitutes) in each of the 32 teams have put in their fair share of determination and hard work to stand on the international stage for soccer...

Lesson 2: Injuries and accusations (you get yellow cards from a seemingly harmless act) are inevitable as you work towards your destiny.

Lesson 3: Law of polarity is always at work. When one team wins, its supporter will cheer while the opponents will jeer.

Lesson 4: Fair Play. No matter what you do, always be graceful towards your opponents.

Slept almost the whole of today... Time to get some work done tomorrow...

Ciaoz.

Changing Landscape..

2006-06-06T23:17:00.000+08:00

Went to Marina City Park over the weekend with XXX... Went across the entire Benjamin Sheares Bridge... Nothing changes much except that I can see constructions going on some distance away... The 8 statues are still there; and it has already been there for more than a decade... But the real eyesore is that a "line of trees" which camouflague the park away from the main road is gone... And yea, Bus 400 do go to the end of Marina City Park... We saw a Mediacorp filming some kids program there... A couple was smooching not far away and I think they are definitely not part of the tv shoot...haz... The rainbow across the lake made my day... (Note: Not pics as I have lend my card reader away; will be back soon...)

Dinner was at Annalakshmi which advocates "Eat What You Like, Pay As You Wish"... To LJ who do not believe that such a place exist, I will bring you down one day... Meanwhile, you can visit its official website at : http://www.annalakshmi.com.sg

I had a tiring past few day... Is time to retire to bed to prepare myself for the squadron run in the morning tomorrow... Ciaoz...

The Power of Words...

2006-05-31T23:32:00.000+08:00

The words you used everyday have a great impact on our lives... We use words to influence, persuade, convince people... Some words are encouraging and positive while other sapped the energy straight out of you. Perhaps that's the reasons why most religions believe in the power of prayers...

Till now, I think Dr Emoto's work is one of the most amazing researches I have seen... I was first introduced to him by my cousin who brought me along for a seminar last July. All in all, Dr Emoto has discovered that the words you speak, write affect the structure of the water crystals... Water collected from a amicable site and one from a war-torn area give rise to a beautiful symmetrical crystal while the latter is assymetrical and "burst". It is also interesting to note that "Thank you" in different languages give rise to different beautiful crystals... Amazing... If you wrap a piece of paper with a positive and negative words over 2 transparent bottles respectively... you get differing crystals too...

Heard that Dr Emoto is in the process of publishing a book in collaboration with the United Nations with the pictures of the water crystals... These books will be distributed to the children in the third world countries... to bring hope and serenity to those who are less fortunate in this world. One can explore his official site at: www.hado.net

Humanity

Peace

Amazing Grace

Check out the rest of the pictures at:

http://www.hado.net/water_crystals2.html

http://www.hado.net/gallery.html

When the Rain Falls...

2006-05-28T15:25:00.000+08:00

The downpour began soon after I boarded the bus back from Esplanade... I heaved a sigh of relief that KC and I did not stayed on for the Runway Cycling at Paya Lebar Airbase... Runway Cycling is a national event whereby Singaporeans (mainly SAF/RSAF personnels and cycling/skating enthusiasts) gathers and cycle or skate on the runway at the airbase... There is this Endurance Challenge which one will be recognize for finishing a 30km or 45 km route... As we have made not prior booking for the bikes, we have to walk... But instead of walking the entire route, we walked out of the airbase.... hazzz...

Results was released on Friday and did pretty fine. -) Finally finished reading "The Da Vinci Code" and is time to watch the movie... =) This is my last "EXTENDED" holidays before I graduated next year... There is a need to compress time and finish up the TASKS I have meted out...

I just love the smell of the air after a heavy rain... Refreshing and clean... =)

Embrace the waves...

2006-05-23T23:50:00.000+08:00

Bondi Beach, Sydney

Been doing transcriptions and finishing up Da Vinci Code...

Gonna run early in the morning... Ciaoz...

Seeds of Dreams

2006-05-21T18:28:00.000+08:00

One has quited her job to pursue her dream of a NGO... And she is seeing light now is the government has placed much emphasis on recycling from recent news reports...

One is a budding singer... look out for him in June...

Many have sow seeds of dream in their lives... but not many have actually found the catalysts to spark off the infinite chain of possibilities...

Brief Reflection...

2006-05-18T23:45:00.000+08:00

Thought through some stuff just now despite the uncomfortable sore throat...

Relook at some of my priorities...

Sort some matters...

Felt more aligned now...

But please, let the sore throat go away...

Catching up...

2006-05-14T14:38:00.000+08:00

Wednesday
Been catching up with some friends over the week... Met HP and E at Clementi for a singing session at KBox... HP has graduated for one year and E just had her HYP presentation... And I have one more year to go...haz... HP drove us home... Albeit her company is not an MNC, she does have the privilege of having a car solely to herself... I was suppose to be home fast but an accident which involve 3-4 vehicles occur at the junction at Ten-mile junction & we got caught in the trafiic jam for at least 20 minutes...

Thursday
Bought a Sennheiser headset and a mike from Sim Lim square before heading down to Marina Square... Met CL for dinner and we were both amazed at how fast time has flew... From a freshie in year 1 to the year 3... Gonna treasure the last year in NUS...

Saturday
Brought parents for dinner at Marina Square at the "La Mian Xiao Long Bao" restaurant... It was my first time in my life that I brought my parents out for dinner... I feel a sense of liberation coz I realise that I actually need to summon a considerable amount of courage to do so...haha... I wish I have a younger or older sister someone... girls are usually more expressive and more vocal I guess...

Sunday
Packing some stuff up and booking in in the evening as there is exercise from tonight to wednesday...

Till then... =)

Ambidexterity

2006-05-14T01:38:00.000+08:00

Most of us will do most the our everyday tasks with our dominant hand... In the light that the right hemisphere of the brain control the left side of the body (and the converse is true), most of us will tend to "overwork" one side of the brain without realising that he/she is still left with the other side of the brain to leverage on ...

I started to play around with the idea of ambidexterity (I don't know this word then...) when I was in primary school... Result: I can only brush my teeth using my left hand albeit the fact that I am a right-hander... I tried using my right hand to brush sometimes but it was painful as the brush kept hitting the gum awkwardly... Perhaps it was this everyday ritual of using left hand (which trigger the right side of the brain which controls creativity and emotions) that spur the interest in fine and abstract arts in me... I always wish I had some formal training in the technicalities in fine arts but never had the chance too... But I did a piece of work while I was studying for my 'O' levels 8 years ago... And here it is...

Learning to own your space...

2006-05-14T00:19:00.000+08:00

Read this article on Straits Times on 25 April 06... In the light that I do not have an online ST account, the excerpt below are all typed out word for word (I only choose the more salient parts, the whole article is kinda of long... haz) It should struck a chord in most of us...

" ... My son is 13, and at St Andrew's College in Christchurch, New Zealand. As part of the programme for new students, his tutorial group had its turn to spend five days at the school's own Castle Hill Outdoor Centre where the website says, "students can experience success or failure in a positive atmosphere".

... When my son returned home. he gushed:"I was the map man because others weren't keen. I volunteered. I only got lost once. We drank water straight from a stream. And we slept in a cave one night in the bush, under the stars. We were well away from the roads. Daddy, there were so many stars!"

The sense of wonder was clear; as, too, the fact the experience had made a deep impression on him.

And the question I was asked by some of my Singapore friends? "Was this an enrichment activity"

Which made me stop and think because "enrichment activity" is a phrase that has a certain flavour. It suggests something like a "bolt-on extra" or, even, a luxury. As if to say there is school and there is teaching, and then, if we have time, there may be enrichment. And when something is extra tehn, by definition, it does not carry the same value as what belongs in the mainstream. It is not the stuff of real life.

And so I ask, what counts in the process of learning? What makes a difference to a young person? How do you get someone to the point at which they see their own abilities in a different light - the point at which they 'see' someone bigger inside themselves; the point at which they get a better responsiblity for their own growth?

For one thing, it often does not happen in the classroom, and I say this having paid for many years to work in classrooms.

The activities that make a difference in people's lives seem to have certain common denominators to them. They involve the learner owning the moment, and having to make decisions and take on new responsiblities and take risks.

And the result of these activities is that the learner who returns to his 'everyday life' on a Monday morning is not the same person who left the previous week. He has grown.

... ... How can anyone appreciate anything like this if they have no internal 'vocubulary' of experiences to match it with; if they have never had to find the resources within themselves to face their own unexpected challenges? Others people can tell you what happened to them but, in order to understand, you have to have your own stock of moments you have lived through. You cannot appreciate what you cannot understand... "

Start accumulating your unique moments today... they are the essential ingredients to develop a wholesome being... They are the ones who will leverage on his/her strengths and work to improve his/her weaknesses... They will leave a legacy...

Destiny

2006-05-12T11:10:00.002+08:00

Munich
[Taken by Qicong in Switzerland]

Destiny is not a matter of chance,
It is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for,
It is a thing to be achieved.

~ William Jennings Bryan ~

Waiting for the final judgement

2006-05-11T00:14:00.000+08:00

Adapted from: http://www.niras.com/News/News_archive/judgement.aspx

On the 4th April, the panel of judges of our international essay competition received the 10 essays.
In the coming months, they will be evaluating the essays and decide which to take the 1st and 2nd prize. The 1st price is 16,000 € and the second price is 8,000 €. The decision will be made in the beginning of June, and the revelation is to take place at NIRAS’ anniversary reception on the 31st August.

A total of 126 enthusiastic essayists from 37 different countries participated in our international essay competition. They all wrote an abstract for their essay, describing their views on a future global knowledge society. The average level of the abstracts was very high, and we highly appreciate the many different and fascinating opinions and visions brought forward by the competitors. Therefore, it was an almost unfair task having to pick out only 10 essayists for the second and final phase of the competition.

Though it was very hard, we succeeded to pick out 10 exciting abstracts, all characterized by depicting the future global knowledge society in an innovative and fresh way based on in depth considerations and exciting conclusions. The essays are now in the hands of the judges, and it is with great expectation that we are looking forward to the 31st August where the winner of NIRAS’ essay competition will be unveiled and the 10 essays publicized.

Shall plant the next seed soon...

This is for real...

2006-05-07T23:46:00.000+08:00

CAMERA SHY
Not in pictures: Cindy, Glenn, Chee Meng, Ryan (The group photo is totally blurred - waiting for the version from SL's camera)

This is for real - I will be reporting back to camp in 7 hours time... Almost googled on "How to fold smart 4" till YM teach me over msn... Had a reunion with the friends made in Aussie last night... Wonderful time catching up with one another lives... And we have the company of the top Ngee Ann Poly student... congrats to SL!

Met JQ for dinner just now and we were discussing how worried we were over the release of the examination of the election results last night... Both of us do not embrace one-party rule and so do many of my peers... There need to be an opposition in the parliament...A good one... BTW, "abalone porridge" and "lift-upgrading" don't work for some opposition dominated constituencies. That kind of intangible loyalty cannot be replace with tangible benefits. It is far deeper than that...

If SDP ever win the Bukit Panjang constituency; I think I will shift out of this estate immediately... Undoubtedly, PAP has faced intense competition in some GRCs; especially in Aljunied where they only win by a small margin... The results is out - it is time to "close up the ranks" and get on with building a better home again... It doesn't matter who you have voted for; it is now for us to assess how the performance of the various parties within the next five years. With all the lift-upgrading completed within the next 5 years, perhaps we are going to get "horizontal" lifts which will stop at every apartment in the next election?

And for now, is time for Gomez to clear up the mess... he should have taken a sampan instead of walking straight into our world-class changi airport to fly off to Sweden immediately after the release of election results...

Voting Day...

2006-05-06T15:13:00.000+08:00

I almost got to vote till I realised that my side of the estate is segregated out to another constituency... This means that Bukit Panjang Plaza and Bukit Panjang Primary School is not part of the Bukit Panjang voting boundary at all... Being doing some packing and will be off for aussie outing later... Ciaoz...

Fruitful 2 days...

2006-05-05T01:17:00.000+08:00

I was thinking through my 9-year life plan while heading towards town... Is not easy but not impossible... Need a significant amount of effort... -) But nothing in this world comes without effort... That's where the commitment and stamina is required see us through certain stages in our life which seems insurmountable... As my CS4253
project leader says: THE SKY IS ALWAYS DARKER BEFORE DAWN... haha... And it is also with this belief that our project rises from rock bottom right to the top... Just as crisis management is of paramount importance in projects; I believe it is even more important in our personal lives... Always have contingency plans to prepare for the unexpected...

Wednesday was spent meeting up with a secondary school friend whom I have not met for 2-3 years... He is graduating and will be heading on to KPMG to further his career. We caught MI3 - and yea, this is what I call IMPOSSIBLE... The outcome of the show is too good to be true...aha... If it was not a movie, I believe some characters would have died earlier in the show..ha...

Thurdays was spent in IRO and had a celebratory dinner with my cs4253 project group mates... Food at the Myanmar restaurant was great... Proceed on to Marina Square for drinks where our camera-shy leader was snapped with shots all the way...

Got to retire to bed... Got to go down to IRO to finish some tasks tomorrow...

Ciaoz...

89 days in Green...

2006-05-03T11:27:00.000+08:00

Called up CPC in the morning to confirm my resumption of National Service... It has been approved... +) Yea! That will mean I will be 'FREE' from NS after I graduate next year... Looks like I need to give the Lee Shiu Summer Program a miss... Work from IRO has started coming in with the manager calling me in the morning... Seems like more busy than term time...

Heading down to town now... Ciaoz...

至尊红颜

2006-05-03T00:47:00.000+08:00

This is trailer of the latest prime time Channel 8 show... The show focus on the conflicts, love and hatred which arises from a restaurant business empire which spans 3 generations... A significant proportion of this production is shot in Sydney... =)

I was telling my friend today: we should save up enough $$$ to purchase some properties in Aussie and rent them out to students... =) I think it will be a lucrative business given that so many students heads over to Aussie to study annually... And of course, I will reserve a room for my own lodging when I travel to Aussie... =). Is a perfect merger of business and fun!

Commencement of Holidays...

2006-05-03T00:25:00.000+08:00

Finally, I am done with my final 2 papers today! One started from 9am to 11am and the next one was from 1pm to 3pm...

And yea, can get down to do things that I always wanted to do and unfinished tasks pushed back till down... They span from setting up some stuff, a new design for the blog, a picture blog (someone suggested it) and right down to the finer things in life, that is, to pour out the sand I have collected from Bondi Beach, Gold Coast, Fraser Island to air them a little... To finishing the scrapebook for my Aussie trip... To visit "Fords Motor" which is the site where the Japanese surrender for World War II along Bukit Timah (FYI, I will go to the strange and bizarre places to take photos; I visited at least 5 cemeteries in Aussie for photography)... And many other stuffs that I wanna do...

Meanwhile, I am still waiting for the official email for resumption of my national service next monday... Else, it is possible that I may apply for the month-long Lee Shiu Summer Program which will bring me to Hong Kong and China in July. And yea, not forgetting my work at IRO and to do field work for my FYP too...

My right hand is still aching from the papers today as I type this entry...

Is time to rest and to meet an old friend of mine tomorrow!!! And yea, rest my hand too...

Fish Leong & Pin Guan

2006-04-26T21:22:00.000+08:00

明明很爱你

1.) Saw discovery channel filming down the busy hour scene at the traffic light near Paragon...

2.) It is JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Day today...

3.) The lines on my palm says I am a "traveller who will return home" & it also says that I am a "nature-lover". (Quite true eh, at least from the photographs I uploaded here...haz)

Serenity

2006-04-24T02:10:00.000+08:00

Sunrise at Apollo Bay along Great Ocean Road

[As we soak the essence of the sunrise, it is critical to note that it will only last us for that day. We need to learn to cast aside work for the day when the sunset arrive to rejunevate for the next day...]

The Never Ending Highway to Outback...

[Treasure Life journey, you don't know where it will end. Ironically, some people don't even see any road in front of them...]

"Children Beggars" @ Barossa Valley

[Only when you are a child, you can live in your wildest imagination without the baggage of reality. If we want to bridge dreams to reality, there is a need for a child to live in each of our hearts... ]

Family Day @ Barossa Valley [Wine Festival - Btw, South Aussie is the state of festivals!]

[I don't see such a scene much in Singapore... humpzzz...]

Need to get a digital watch tomorrow so that I can gauge my time allocation for Tuesday and Wednesday paper... Meeting Eunice and Amu at Causeway Point tomorrow to do some revision before my first paper on Tuesday... And yea, I am going to finish up my National Service this holidays... =)

Time to be a child and read some totally unacademic stuff before tucking myself in bed... NitezZz...

Sydney...

2006-04-22T02:50:00.000+08:00

I've got about 12 DVDs of photographs (combined with my friends' camera)... Not all were featured in the collages which I have made... Decided to put some here... There are so many photos worth taking a reminiscing... 4 of out of the zillions inside them...=)

A Rainy Perspective of Opera House from our cruise

Embracing the Opera House

The Renowned Three Sisters @ Blue Mountains

BLUE Mountains

Marina City Park...

2006-04-21T02:01:00.000+08:00

With the development of the Integrated Resort(IR) and a slated 3-parks linkage, the serenity at Marina City park will be gone in a couple of years...

It was about 10 years ago that FS,KJ and I went on a little adventure to find the 8 Chinese statues of Confucius, Hua Mu Lan, Guan Yu, Zheng He, Yue Fei, Qu Yuan and another two... It was for a higher chinese group project... We could have have done a simple project on some chinese festivals but curious as we were, we decided to embark on this adventure to find these 8 statues... We got lost and almost gave up; gave Zhang Lao Shi a call and she said she has not been there before, but it was mentioned in the papers... Haz...Best... So it was akin to a treasure hunt for us...

The park was freaking big, there was a huge playground there, with monkey nets, flying fox (at least 30 metres between the 2 ends), swings... As we walk through the pathways and past the lakes, we are still unsure we are in the right direction... But we know the 8 statues were somewhere in the park... But there was no maps to guide us... So we walk and walk... Till we spotted a grey figurine at one end of the park, we knew we have found it... It was a feeling of euphoria... We were tired but still we have to copy the transcriptions of the statues (digital cameras were not popular then...)onto our note books... That was my first encounter with this park...

Throughout my JC, National Service, Uni days, I will still drop by this park occasionally to seek that serenity, usually alone but sometime with a friend... If I remember correctly, we had a 4s1 class outing there before... The last time I was last year before I left for Australia for my exchange... Managed to dig out one photo with me inside for the trip last yr... I need to go back soon... I am so emotionally attached to it... Soon, it will be brimming with life and people... Serenity dispelled forever...

UROP Concluded...

2006-04-19T00:25:00.000+08:00

Finally, urop has been concluded after evaluation from Dr Danny Poo and Dr Caisy Hung... Presentation got a little noisy when YY started her presentation on the other side of the room too... Got stumped on some questions but have tried my best to justify certain issues... But when some suggestions and comments are given, I accepted them readily... =) Finally concluded it after 2 months plus on the PILE of journals...

Perhaps some of you have read this article before, but it is definitely worth a second read, especially for Singaporeans...

Paved with Good Intentions - By Colin Goh & Joycelyn Woo

Practised some causal loops with LT at SoC just now... Slowly, I am getting the trick of drawing such loops... =)

Just added a few more things to do to my "To-Do" list for the holidays... Looking forward to it... And yea, I have pretty much set on going back to finish up my National Service during this long holidays... And begin to loop for opportunities to win the bet I had with HP... 7 more months... -)

Hold Eternity in Your Hand...

2006-04-16T18:20:00.000+08:00

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
~William Blake~
[Photograph taken at Fraser Island: World's Largest Sand Island, Queensland]

16 More Days

2006-04-16T12:53:00.000+08:00

16 more days and I will be off the academic stuff for at least 3 months... =)

Cousin YL was here yesterday to print her business-related stuff... Had a nice home-cooked lunched with her together with mum... Chatted with her about her work and also future intentions... I feel pretty much liberated with the major papers behind me... Left with a A1 urop poster and it will be preparation for exams...

Making plans for my holidays - both work and leisure... still waiting for reply from some agencies... shall just wait and see how it goes...

Need to finish up the poster by today so that I can print it in SoC tomorrow... =)

I still have my dreams in perspective... -)

For my Consulting Groupmates...

2006-04-13T22:09:00.000+08:00

For my CS4253 group mate... Got this off my friend's blog whose boyfriend is a consultant... haha

Woohoo...

2006-04-12T01:15:00.000+08:00

Had our entrepreneurial marketing presentation not long along... And yea, Eunice did a fantastic job convincing the 5 external judges and we got a "Congratulations" from the "Simon Crowe" amongst the judges... Sometimes, one really need to tread on a different path to make the difference... Thank to Eunice's fragment of imagination that we arrive at our idea of I-Bank - a Social Enterprise... =)

Left a few more stuff before I can open up 2 textbooks which are effectively unopened till now... haha...

Btw, I was a good boy today and went for my CS2301 lecture... And guess what, the last lecture was last week... Bestest... So much for my diligence to attend the final lecture...

Temporal Shifts...

2006-04-09T12:42:00.000+08:00

Temporal shifts is one of the topic i broached on in urop report... It refer to the injecting of "disruptive" elements in your workplace to actually give your employees a sense of "new found time"... Drawing from this conecpt to our life, I think it works the same too... Sometimes, you just need to divorce from reality for a while... Indulge in your imagination.... even if is just a fragment of your imagination... it works wonder and puts you on track to your life again... =)

urop finally done... haha... In exchange for my 2 copies of 60 pages report, I got a big A1 poster for my poster presentation... And I became a major obstacle on the bus...

The Future, Global Knowledge Society...

2006-04-04T13:54:00.000+08:00

Finally, it is out at 6 am this morning... =) My piece may not be the best among the other 9 contestants, but I think I have internalise the topic with reference to my theoretical framework to the best of my ability within the limited amount of time this semester has for me... =)

The Future, Global Knowledge Society - What is it Really?

Now... urop all the way...

Belief in Time

2006-04-01T08:49:00.000+08:00

It is time when you realise that you have not enough time to compress time effectively... In any case, I have a 6 hours advantage... =)

Am I way too optimistic?

I have to when time is simply not enough... haz...

Seeking Serenity in Chaos

2006-03-19T09:26:00.000+08:00

[A really short entry...]

Yea. I got a lot to do. I will get stress if I take on everything simultaneously... Everytime that "stress" emotion arises, I remind myself again, you will only get unproductive if you are stress... Discard that feeling and concentrate... Push on...

=)

2006-03-12T01:39:00.000+08:00

Finally I got to get in touch with someone again... after so long... =) We had a great time catching up...=) I truly believe in something now: if you really want something to happen, you have to put in sufficient effort and most probably you will be closer to that 'goal'. If you don't ever try, you will never be close to the goal at all...

Attended GENUS (NUS Guitar Emsemble) concert at University Cultural Centre (UCC) just now together with Galvin to support our friend JQ... It was a good concert and I witnessed some amusing idiosyncrasies of the conductor and an alumni conductor... Pretty entertaining I must say...haha...

Writing is like playing the orchestra... all the instruments need to falls in play at the right time at a comfortable tempo... Shall keep that in mind for the rest of this month at least... I need the power of orchestration now...

Wave of calmness...=)

2006-03-06T20:28:00.000+08:00

Chatted with M this morning over MSN... She is sure enjoying herself in the states... And yea, she did not forget about helping me search for my primary school teacher whom I have lost contact with. Hopefully, she will be able to find it once she get hold of the phone directory... =)

I have been working on the UROP appendices (summarise 24 journal articles till now.... haha). Being brainstorming and structuring my niras essay too... I just want to enjoy the process and do not want to put excessive stress on myself... The right amount will do...=)

Deep breathe...

Where the BLOODY hell are you???

2006-02-26T01:15:00.000+08:00

Yea... This is Australia's latest advertising campaign tag line:

So where the bloody hell are you???

My Answer: I am stuck in Singapore, at least for the next 3 months to finish up unfinished matters...

View the cool promotional video here: WhereTheBloodyHellAreYou.Com

Sunset @ Southbank: Taken recently by fren's fren who live on the 26th storey in a city apartment

Why can't I be in Aussie to view the sunset... ?

Coz I am bloody hell stuck in Singapore!!!

Focus...

2006-02-23T23:05:00.000+08:00

Swim... Swim... Swim...

Finally had FS's belated birthday dinner at Indinne with JM on Tuesday... Quite rare nowadays that three of us can actually gather and have a meal together... Each of us has our own commitments... Caught Brokeback Mountains thereafter... Yea.. 3 guys watching this show together; rest assured we are all straight......

Yesterday went KTV with QC and JQ... Had a great time singing... haz...

Now... is time to focus... and priortise... aahaha... I am currently swimming in God-Knows-How-Many journals.... Will not be drowned and the shore is on the horizon... Just that it is a bit far away...

A Toast to Life...

2006-02-17T20:20:00.000+08:00

A Toast to myself...

A Toast to my family...

A Toast to my friends...

A Toast to Life which encompasses all...

MD has left for aussie for her masters... Bon Voyage... Met my primary school friend who was also there to send MD off... And yea to our realisation, we have know each other for about 15 years... how time flies... As we pursue our dreams, goals or indulgences, we must always remember our friends who have surely, in one way or another, added to the cocktail of who we are today... A Toast to them...

Therapeutic Music...

2006-02-14T01:53:00.000+08:00

Currently listening to Kitaro's "Thinking of You"... The kind of emotions that I get from immersing myself in the music is slightly different each time... I get a different interpretation of the music each time I listen to it. Very often, I will have this image that I am in this wide ocean on a little boat, surrounded with magnificent gorges... Sometimes I am alone, sometimes with someone, enjoying the calmness of the surrounding... Birds chirping and water streaming gently... The sun is not hot; it just cast a tangerine tone to your skin... That is when I communicate with myself... That is when you get to speak to yourself objectively... That is the right time to ask yourself if you are still on the right track...

I am still in control... yes I am... =)

Mini Celebration @ Tao Restaurant

2006-02-11T23:39:00.000+08:00

It was a long awaited dinner... A mini-celebration dinner for our CS3214 group... It was supposed to be held last year but everyone is so busy... And yea, we finally gathered and had our fill at Tao Restaurant at Paradiz Centre,where the Head Quarters of Singapore Pools is. Each of us chipped in 5 bucks, with 5 of us, we collected 25 bucks and had a shot at our luck... We started planning for our millionaires' lives during dinner... YY said we should each take a cab separately to go home... Well, if you really win... You can hire a helicopter to go home!!! I told D that if he did not see me in school on Monday, he will know that I must have won the Toto and have flew to some exotic countries... The truth is: I will be back on Monday to school...haha... Anyway below are the part of the food that we ate... +)

Clearer direction for UROP

2006-02-09T13:21:00.000+08:00

Yea... Finally get a clearer direction for UROP... But lots of work need to be done... Have no choice to be positive and calm coz any negativity will inhibit my progress...

Analogy of Research

2006-02-08T20:46:00.000+08:00

Initial Stage: You are a fish living in the deep blue ocean... You search for directions but bang into coral reefs sometimes. Your wound heals but it will not be long before you bang into another reef... Sometimes the sharks chases you but you manage to elude them somehow...

Second Stage: Someone throws a a help line down...

Third Stage: You struggled a little but managed to grab hold of the line...

Fourth Stage: And guess what... That line is freaking extending from a FISHING ROD!!!

First seed of 2006 bore a little fruit... =)

2006-02-04T13:15:00.000+08:00

If you back track a little to the first entry in January 2006, you would have realise that I have planted my first seed, my first resolution... By some stroke of luck, it has now bore some fruit for me... =)

My essay abstracts is of the 10 abstracts that have went on to phase 2 of the competition. WIsh me luck. =)

All the abstracts can be viewed here: NIRAS Abstracts

"Free Photography"

2006-02-01T19:47:00.000+08:00

Hi peps, you really need to watch this... I wonder what will Singaporeans do if they conduct this "free photography" service in Singapore... haha

>> Free Photography Video (Let it load completely before watching...)

Need some good rest now... =)

Doggie Year...

2006-01-30T21:51:00.000+08:00

Yesh! It is the year of doggies now... MY year... =) Just got back from Malaysia not long ago... For just 2 days 1 night, I have acquired for myself 6 mossie bites... Hope the mosquitoes die from overfeeding... For the week leading up to chinese new year, I have been occupied with cleaning up of my room, clearing doubts for my UROP, work at IRO etcetc... Heard from LX that NUS will be hosting the Harvard Project for Asian & International Relations (HPAIR) for 2006. Preparations are on the way and I guess I will be helping out one way or another as I am in the America section in IRO... During the conversation, LX said, "See Ryan, you can participate in HPAIR, something you will not get if you go NOC". Frankly, I am glad that I did not apply for the program now due to some personal reasons... But I guess LX & some managers must have thought I have wanted to apply for it badly... haz...

Here are some photos of my nephews & nieces.... +)

Saluting Dr William Tan

2006-01-25T01:26:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, I was at the NUS Centennial Challenge Dinner which was an evening to honour some extraordinary achievements by NUS sportsmen and sportswomen. Undoubtedly, the highlight was on the Everest Team who summited Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. Lots of personal sacrifices were involved to train for this expedition and the Everest team does risk their lives as they embark on their Everest quest. Known from Chee Meng that the ratio of survival for everest climbers is 1 death for every 7 who reach the peak. In addition, there is a kind of agreement that among all everest climbers that their bodies will be thrown into the clavices of Everest in the event they did not survive in the process of climbing. All in all, this is to avoidthe possible low morale that future climbers may be faced with if they were to stumble upon dead corpses while climbing Mt Everest... Last but not least, a visa climb Mt Everest is about USD$10k per person...

NUS Alumni, Dr William is phenomenal... You definitely need to google to read more about him... Apart from exceling academically, he overcome all odds that comes along with polio and went for numerous international marathons to raise funds for charity and educational causes... I was in awe of his passion and achievements. As I was the video presentation which highlights the marathons he has participated... A thought came to my mind:

To win a race, it is not a matter of the strength of your legs...
Your arms can be as strong as your legs if you really want them to...

So folks, we have both healthy legs and arms, but have we really make a differences in others people lives using what we are endowed with? (I am not asking you to run a marathon; think of it as a analogy...)Or are we oblivious of the fact and have taken many things for granted...

A fast-paced day...

2006-01-18T22:50:00.000+08:00

Everything was gone in a flash today... One lecture in the morning followed by settling of some administration stuffs... Thanks to Clara for the calenders... Lunch was with Chee Meng who passed me a nice bookmark from Si Chuan... He has been meeting all the NUS pple, one each day...haha... Was introduced to Yen Kai, the only undergraduate team member in the NUS Everest Team... A nice guy indeed... Anyway, he's one of the bosses of the BuyBackAsia, so do support this service... =) Went back SoC for meeting & started printing notes and journals thereafter... Went over to arts to have tea break with JQ before heading back to SoC where I bumped into KL from medicine... I have not seen her for approximately 1 years plus I think... Good to see her around... Is one of those days you keep meeting people till you lose track of time...

Just check the Niras website ...

86 abstracts from 28 countries

Young students, their professors, and professionals in private companies have submitted their first bid on how they see a future, global knowledge society.

NIRAS is very pleased with the enthusiasm shown by so many people around the world.

It is obvious that visionary thoughts and a keen interest in our common future occupy many of us. We have received contributions from Australia (2), Bolivia (3), Bulgaria (1), China (6), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (3), Egypt (2), Finland (7), Georgia (1), Ghana (1), Hong Kong (1), Hungary (1), India (7), Indonesia (5), Latvia (1), Nepal (1), Norway (1), Pakistan (2), Russia (1), Singapore (22), Slovakia (1), South Africa (1), Sweden (1), Thailand (4), United Arab Emirates (1), Ukraine (1), United Kingdom (1), and USA (7). [The numbers in brackets indicate the number of abstracts].

We will now screen and select 10 of the abstracts for the second phase of the competition. It will not be an easy task with the many interesting and thought provoking ideas and viewpoints.

The 10 essayists will be publicised on February 1. All participants will get a personal e-mail or letter from NIRAS stating whether they have moved on or not.

If you realised, the entries from Singapore is the only double-digit among all the country... Amazing...

What's your passion in Life?

2006-01-18T00:04:00.000+08:00

It was the first lesson on entrepreneurial marketing and each of us were asked to give a brief introduction of ourselves and also speak to the class about our dreams and passion...

One girl (*Dressed in bright pink*) goes like this: Actually I do not have much ambition in life... Just get a rich man and marry...

Along came this SMU exchange student (who was already on exchange last semester in another country) says: ... I am here to see for myself how SMU students are really different...

Interesting... As I my project group of 8 shifted to the night class for this module; I will be ending school at 9PM every Tuesday... Haz, is okie... I have company to go home with me; else anyone in PGP willing to spare some space on the floor for me in the light that I have lessons at 9AM the next morning?

Change Quotient?

2006-01-14T11:43:00.000+08:00

Changes are part and parcel of everyone's lives... Some people handle them well but other not as well. So how do I rate myself? I would say that I will score different in coping changes in various aspect of my life. How about you? Have you every started evaluating your Change Quotient (CQ) in one way or another? If not, it is time to do so as it will empower you to be more aware of your inner self...

Rain has finally stopped yesterday (Friday, the thirteen!). Past two days has been spent hoping around in school from one place to another to settle stuffs. UROP has been changed from a case study to a status review of Enterprise Systems now... So what does that means for me? It simply means that I have to complete my 50 pages report and poster in a matter of 2 months. It also means I will have tonnes of journals to read too... But the only consolation is that the case study has become my honours year project. I guess I have learnt to look on the positive side of things and is defintely not complaining about this change... As I have told Dr Pan, on thing about research is that we need to cope with uncertainties and respond effectively to changes... And yea, the chance for me has arrived... ahaha...

Visited XX's new house which is still under renovation in CCK... Gave him comments on which room I would choose if I were him. After which, we proceeded to town where I have gotten myself a pair of sneakers. Watched some dance performances at Takashimaya where the semi-finals of Funkamania was held... Some of the teams were really good as their dance moves are really executed with high degree of precision and deftness. All the best to those teams which made it to the finals... which will be held later in the day... Yea... one day after semi-final! Apart from a test of the dance performance, it will be a test of the team's determination and stamina to pull through the whole show successfully... Good luck!

Raining for 3 more days...

2006-01-10T12:52:00.000+08:00

It was reported in Straits Times that the rain will go on for 3 more days! The monsoon period is this month... But come to think of it, Singapore is fortunate to be shielded off disastrous rainfall and snowfall that had fallen in other part of Asia with some hitting -43 degrees in China. Is just 3 more days...

My table is neater now but I am surrounded by clutters around my swirling chair... I thought I have thrown away quite a lot of stuff... Anyway, it was great meeting Wong in NUS yesterday and he will be going back to the states to do his Masters after his internship at a architect firm. He was in NUS to do some recceing for 2 buildings in Medicine faculty coz they are going to be rebuilt!

Okiez... Shall continue packing and prepare a list of doubts to clear when I meet Dr Pan tomorrow.

Endless Plains - I have finally see for myself something I only get to see in Geography textbooks

Excitement brewing...

2006-01-10T00:54:00.000+08:00

I am pretty excited about the prospects of 2006... Lot of possiblities and things to take on... But that will called for discipline and determination to do the little things which I detest to get to what I want to... It is time to plant seeds again... They are cause for excitement and hope... Everyone need to do that else life will be dragging you along instead if you living it... The feeling is back again... after so many years... =)

P/S: Planting seeds is not going around making babies okie... This note is for a few of my friends who think otherwise... (You know who you are... hahaz)

JY, please reply my email... okie? Just want to find out how you are doing now...

A rainy day...

2006-01-08T16:42:00.000+08:00

Last night was the lighting-up ceremony of the lightings in Chinatown... I had planned to go down to take some photographs but it was pouring... As I was a little down on a flu too, I decided to give it a miss... Haz... It is a nice feeling to be at home on a rainy day... Let the rain wash away all the taints outside... =) Received the postcard from Winston yesterday and I must say his cursive is too artistic that I can't comprehend some words... =) Thank anyway & will ask you for the 'translation' when you are back from Aussie land. Apart from a visit to the dentist and a hot Milo at the Macdonalds in Beauty World, I was home all the while to recuperate fully from the flu... Much better today. +)

Tomorrow is supposedly the first day of school but I do not have any lesson. However, I will still be heading towards IRO in the morning to continue with some tasks. Room is in a mess right now and I will clear it up later... There are certain goals and commitments to be achieved in 2006... I have to be more disciplined and work towards them... =) But still there are still mundane stuffs which needs to be settled before everything gets running smoothly. Past few days have been rather lethargic due to the flu, now that I have recovered, I will make every effort to work towards some of the dreams and goals I have set for myself...

Got to meet my UROPS supervisor, Dr Pan on Wednesday to discuss how I should proceed on for my case study as there is some delay on the company side. As I need to hand in my 10k words report in March, there is really a need to see what can be done to circumvent the some of the difficulties which we are encountering right now. Need to prepare myself for the meeting later...

Tonight will be the first charity show of 2006, hopefully people will still be philanthrophic after the NKF saga. Here are some pictures during the rehearsal of one of the key performance tonight: the walking of the monk around Republic Plaza at its edge... And now the weather is bad and I wonder the show will still go on... But Chee Meng said that the monk is steady one... hahaz... Here are the pictures from Chee Meng who will be one of the strong dudes pulling on the ropes attached to the monk tonight...

Do you have a phobia of height? It is just 280metres... Suddenly I remembered the 38 storeys - high "Giant Drop" & "Tower of Terror" at Dreamworld in Aussie... The height is not that much of a concern coz everything happens so fast; however, it feels like lightyears when you are dangling up there while waiting for lever to be pull and plunge right down...

有机- Organic Love

2006-01-07T22:42:00.000+08:00

Organic love... what is it really? Divorces, affairs, betrayal are common in today's society... Maybe we should start seeking our very own organic love... =) A deep yet simple song by Malaysian Idol, Daniel Lee in the second season of the competition.

More information can be found here: http://www.boxup.cc/gb/music/album/2005/11/album6542.htm

Many thanks to Defoe who helped me find the song... =)

有机 - Organic Love

曲：张觉隆 | 词：陈信延

要如何洁身而退爱一个人几宗罪
离婚外遇劈腿爱情太污秽

谁的一个吻污染谁的嘴
谁依然像初生一样完美
谁能留下纯净眼泪

哪里去寻找有机的爱多爱一会也不受伤害
就让心底的花留住最初样子自然的盛开

哪里去寻找有机的爱多爱一会也不受伤害
就让心底的爱倾泻不必灌溉与生俱来

爱过的无言以对分一次手更可悲
临别还要对嘴虚伪的慈悲

流浪尘世中爱与恨流转
出淤泥却非要一尘不染
是否想得太过简单

哪里去寻找有机的爱多爱一会也不受伤害
就让心底的花留住最初样子自然的盛开

哪里去寻找有机的爱多爱一会也不受伤害
就让心底的爱倾泻不必灌溉与生俱来

哪里去寻找有机的爱多爱一会也不受伤害
就让心底的花留住最初样子灿烂的盛开

哪里去寻找有机的爱多爱一会有益而无害
仿佛心底纯真如昔那个小孩活过来我期待

8AM...

2006-01-05T07:58:00.000+08:00

It has been a long time since I woke up so early... Just had porridge for breakfast and will be off to International Relations Office soon... I was thinking maybe I should try to wake up earlier so that I have more hours in the day; but that will mean that I will have to sleep earlier... Have to be disciplined to do that...

I shall read the bible of case study by Robert Yin on the bus later.... 0 chapters of UROPS written till now as the bulk of the time has been spent on churning out about 100 pages of transcriptions from the introductory meeting and Proof of Concept (POC) session... And there are more meetings to go... haha...

I shall have a great day ahead! Shall get changed now... Seeya!