3 weeks in sg:
I'll be back from 18 May to 6 June, so meet-ups! Preferably over some singaporean food (i.e. no NYNY, fish n co and that sort of thing).
Sorry for the lack of updates (*looks at date of last post and realizes that's an understatement*) but life's been crazy. You can hear all about them when we meet up, if you guys are interested, that is. ;)
Good luck to those who are having/preparing for exams, there's a nice long break to look forward to after that. And if you need to relax, watch Slumdog Millionaire! Best movie I've watched this year (out of like... 5?). No time for reviews but suffice to say it deserves the best film oscars.
Oh yeah if anyone wants me to bring anything back from the states just let me know. ++service charge of course. =)
Ok so ciao soon then, people!
The gang would have received a similar message on Facebook but this's for all the rest who are still reading. Yeah I know I haven't blogged in ages!
Hey there! Hope everyone is doing well!
I've settled down at my school and lessons just started today. It's been pretty nice so far - the campus is really pretty (see pictures below!), the people are friendly and the food is good. It's a little cold, but we're all getting used to it.
The campus is really big and it takes me 25min to walk to class every morning! Good exercise though, coz there's a lot of ice-cream here that is cheap (sometimes free!) and good so I really need to stay in shape.
My orientation was super no fun. I didn't have an orientation group because they somehow left me out.. Then there's a lot of admin stuff to settle and the events were like all info sessions or performances, not much in the way of fun and games that you guys get to do in Singapore, even for those with OGs. The only thing that makes up for it is the excitement that comes with being in a new environment.
The past few days have been really hectic, trying to plan my schedule and add classes online. My schedule keeps changing because of all sorts of reasons and it's frustrating. But that's the US system, you can do almost any and every course you want and you plan your own academic career. ChemE major and business minor for me!
Ask me if you want my address so that you can mail me stuff! Like bah gua!
Skype me! Just search for my name (Get Skype! It's free and (really) easy!)
Email: yellowcream@gmail.com
Till next time. Ciao!
This place has turned into Shelob's lair! As you can imagine, I've been rather busy (and lazy). Flying in 10 days, and it still feels really surreal. The past weeks breezed past in a flash, and I wanted to use the time to enjoy Singapore and everything that comes with it (most so the people and the food). Blogging obviously did not feature highly in my priorities. This is probably the last post before I get my connection up and running in Ithaca, so ciao till then!
Seems just like any other day, except that I can now watch R21 movies. Yeah like it's such a big deal.
Thanks to the army buds and of course the family. =) Yesterday and today were a blast!
Now I have two black wallets, both with no coin compartment.-_- Don't they use coins in the states? LOL. Maybe I should change my wish list - remove the wallet and add in an LV coin pouch.
And my jepalang Pine Garden birthday cake - coz I was greedy and wanted to try all the different flavours. Loved the lychee martini.
The gang arh, tsk tsk. Some people even forgot sia. Nvm. Steamboat next friday, remember to turn up.
In essence, Vietnam is a remarkably beautiful country but the cultural and natural attractions have become over-commercialised, so much so that they've lost/are starting to lose their charm. A sad state of affairs, but I'm glad I visited before their unfortunate and complete demise.
Off to Vietnam tomorrow! But I'm still feeling a little groggy. Argh! And my backpack is like xx kg. Don't worry, I will survive!
Ciao in 2 weeks!
-->My wishlist is up! *shameless plug* =)
Went back to HC today on a last-minute whim. Coz I got a ride to the main road and ended up at the bus stop opposite, so I thought I might as well pop in and say 'hi' to Ms Wong. Ms Wong very popular sia, another of her student ('06 batch) appeared a few minutes after me and we started chatting. Then Weijian joined in and we talked for >1 hour.
I feel less of an ingrate now because Ms Wong really helped me a lot. All the other teachers did too, but I'm too shy to visit them alone. Wouldn't have known what to say to them. Saw Mr. Tang while I was there, exchanged a few words and it was quite awkward. Should have thanked him for his help lah. Wouldn't have survived physics without him. Thanks Mr. Tang! lol even though I know he won't be reading this.
MZ actually has a point - teachers appreciate ex-students visiting them but they don't always like to entertain such visits. They have to take time off work and think of topics - which inevitably revolves around the future plans and how-the-classmates-are-doing variety - to talk about. And usually the conversation doesn't last very long so he/she would have to find an excuse to shoo you off. Awkward. So I was somewhat glad that the junior and wj were around today.
Happy that I went back today! Anyone wants to go back HC/CHS, jio me! Won't be back for MAF this year. =(
Gonna go watch AI finals. And then Champions League finals later. Couch potato signing off.
Haven't updated in a while, not for the lack of inspiration, but time. And probably motivation.
Work has been busy, especially since next Friday would be my last day, so there are a lot of things to wrap up and hand over. The clients aren't in good shape but I think they'll survive. I'll leave the sappy conclusion till next Friday, if time permits then.
Caught two movies over the past month with the gang - "Iron Man" during aj's chalet and "Accuracy of Death" yesterday.
"Iron Man kicks off summer on a blazing high note and practically dares the competition to measure up. It's been years since a movie superhero was this fierce and this funny. All praise to acting dynamo Robert Downey Jr., who brings so much creative juice to the party that Iron Man achieves instant liftoff. " (Variety) Christian Bale (Batman) may have finally found a worthy contender who's less serious, more flamboyant, and a lot funnier. Downey also has the help of the stunning (in more ways than one) Gwyneth Paltrow. There's really no need to elaborate on the obligatorily dazzling special effects, though the script could do with a bit of editing to tighten the pace. But then, I'm just nitpicking.
"Accuracy of Death", though, really needs some 'picking up'. Those who've seen the movie should know what I mean. It goes about 3 apparently isolated acts at a leisurely, yawn-inducing pace and tries to connect them together at the end, with a modicum of success. "The middle one suffered through a whole emotional and narrative disconnect from the other two, with slow pacing and uninteresting yakuza characters to fill time", to quote an apt review.
Unlike the sense of shocking revelation in "The Sixth Sense" and "Memento", the twist at the end imparts a sense of artificialness because the connection is not well developed and it seemed more out of convenience than genuine brilliance.
The clues, or so-called threads that link the episodes together are scarce and laughable - (1)girl who becomes singer; (2)guy whose mother who abandoned him happened to be a singer; (3)old woman who happened to abandoned her son. It turns out that (1) and (3) are the same person, and (2) is their son. What a great surprise! Erm yeah. And don't get me started on the absurb plot.
But I did like the third act and its feel-good vibes. The themes of life, death, happiness and fulfilment of purpose in life are not all bad but just woefully underdeveloped. Takeshi Kaneshiro's death god is likeable and goofy, good for eye candy and some laughs but otherwise bland and uninspiring. The telepathic mongrel is more irritating than cute, and quite redundant. All in all, "Accuracy" is quite disappointing for a Japanese production.
The good thing is I got some revision in Japanese, and it feels good to be able to catch words, phrases and whole sentences here and there. I really should watch more Japanese dramas, if only Mediacorp would dump the weepy Korean dramas and screen more of them.
Vietnam backpacking trip coming up. I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time, but it's excellent prep before the big move. Ciao soon.
My favourite pic from the birthday boy's chalet! Everyone looks so happy, for I-can't-remember-what reason. =) I love these guys!
Photo courtesy of jasmine, w/o permission
In conjuction with Labour Day, here's the MV of Mayday's latest single.
五月天 - 小太陽
Incidentally, the sun these days has been anything but "small". It seems that the dreaded "summer" is here again, and I'm melting under the scorching heat. We should really be harnessing all this "free" energy. Solar is the way to go! And it's the engineers who will be doing the research and making this a reality, yeah engineers! A meaningful (albeit not so lucrative) field I might pursue in college, who knows? There are so many things I can and want to do in college! *excited*
My term of employment is ending soon, which is actually sorta a relief because I've been too distracted to start preparing for my move. And that's in 3.5 months! There's a lot of stuff to settle, and I've been ever the procrastinator. Inertia has become my middle name. NS does that kind of thing to you, the guys would know what I mean. Our brains are rusty, and Math and Science is no longer part of our consciousness. More like extra-conscious [pun intended ;)]. Which is terrible, because everyone says the engine course is tough!
I'd just try to stuff all these worries away in one corner of my shrinking brain and try to enjoy this weekend's chalet (courtesy of aj). Happy birthday, pal. Can't wait to hear you play the cheapo guitar. LOL.
One last note: go watch "The Forbidden Kingdom"! Loads of fun, excellent popcorn entertainment with great action choreography and fab cinematography. Not to forget fabulous eye candy in the form of Liu Yifei and Li Bing Bing who are totally my type - 气质型美女. =)
One word: busy! Work has been piling up, and I've been clocking 12-hour days, without any OT pay. =( The novelty is starting to wear off, I guess, and I've come to conclude that it isn't a job that yields instantaneous, immediate satisfaction - especially when your clients are not entirely appreciative. My current batch is already better than the previous, just that a lot of them are too preoccupied with other stuff, and I can't say I can't empathise. Perhaps I should just be like Melvin and leave them to their own devices. *evil grin*
I like yakking with the colleagues, and discussing stuff that we're gonna do in uni. At least I now have people to lunch with, and I've sorta graduated from micro-supervision, but I've also been given (somewhat) more work. Give and take, I see it as "job progression" and that's probably something to be happy about.
The job isn't exactly difficult but the returns are more long-term and you'd need a lot of patience and passion to sustain a career, say for 30 years. Probably not my dream kind of job, but then again, the same can be said for a lot of occupations.
___
Finally met up with the gang yesterday for a belated birthday celebration for Zebra and it was fun! But tiring as usual, because I'm perpetually sleep-deprived (thanks to chronic insomnia) and alcohol intolerant.
We watched "Definitely, Maybe" which was cool and great for valentines but I'm not too into the romance genre so it didn't do much for me. But at least it's more sophisticated than your typical rom-com fluff, so I was sufficiently engaged to not have succumbed to ZzzZz. The cast of relative unknowns (except for Rachel Weisz and Abigail Breslin) made up for the lack of star power with honest performances, and the script, though meandering and lacking in a climax, is not without its charms. At the very least, it eschews cliched dialogue that plagues many similar Hollywood offerings for sincere and heartfelt lines and manages to deliver a wholesome, feel-good experience.
After that was dinner at Holland V followed by chilling at Wala-wala. I like the mood and the vibe! Music's great as well but it was loud when the band started to play, such that a lot of the vocals was drowned out as all the instruments vied for attention - a common gripe when bands play 'live' gigs. A little more balance would have been great. And some of the song choices were pretty obscure but it's all good. They are really talented, esp. the drummer and guitarist!
I was drifting off midway after just one small glass of vodka but managed to stay awake till the end. The un-sober me is still quite good at "big fish-small fish"! *beams proudly* There wasn't any more public transport by the time we left so we walked all over trying to look for Night Rider buses but to no avail.
Did I mention Zebra was lugging along a 10+kg dumbbell - his birthday present - the entire way (with some help from the rest)? LOL. Way to go, I'm sure he'll develop a drool-worthy body pretty soon. Then he can make full use of the NUM Mr. Hamsup singlet we got him. Muaha.
Anyway we eventually decided to share a cab back to AMK/Hougang and I slept over at Zebra's place. Thanks, bro. =)
