The WC so far...

"This world cup has turned out like WW2! The French surrendered early, the
USA arrive last min and we are left to fight the bloody Germans !""

-Quote from an English fan

Slick gaming monster

My purchase from the PC show. At long last fulfilled my schoolboy's dream of owning a gaming monster with my own pay. Gonna eat peanuts till the next month though. Might as well...maybe grab a bottle of beer, some peanuts and camp in front of my laptop watching the World Cup or fragging some zombies. :)

Espana no!!!!

World Cup has begun. Watched in horror as I saw my favourite team, Spain lose to Switzerland. I'm not exactly a soccer fanatic. In fact I don't really know the names of the various players in the team but the reason why I support Spain this time (supported the Germans in 2006 cos well...their colours were kinda cool and their team jersey sold well last time :p) would probably have to go way back to 2008 when I saw them win in the EuroCup 2008. That was even made significant because I watched them take on their opponents over TV in a hostel at Luxembourg and more importantly, because I WAS in Spain when they lifted the trophy! Was chilling in a small bar in quiet Corduba with YS on a Sunday when it all happened and boy the atmosphere was great! We even got free drinks from the bar owner! Good times good times back then...but now well...not exactly too sure. Like what people always say "the ball is round, anything can happen." We shall see what awaits...

The soccer fans cum owners of the bar we were at...free drinks from them :)

The moment when Spain won in EuroCup 2008 (from the TV)

Crazy crazy rain

Did a site visit on Wednesday and of all the days to do a site visit, it had to be the very morning where the skies seemed to have fallen. It did not help matters when the sites involved were drains and canals and all I saw was the ferocity of the rain and stormwater gushing through the waterways. Well...Orchard Road sure had it real bad.....

Don't drive your vehicle like a tank!!

Some rant here cos I got involved in a slight accident for the first time since I have been driving. No injuries luckily and to be honest, damage to property was minor. Very minor in fact. Just some scratches to the back bumper of my vehicle while the vehicle that banged into mine came out virtually unscathed.

Should I have been really pissed since it was just a minor accident/incident? Well, 2 reasons actually. One due to the ludicrous circumstances that the incident happened and two, the offending culprit was a SUV.

Scenario: At the traffic junction waiting for the lights to turn green. Green lights come on and everyone's starting to move off and BAM! Next thing I know my car ass got hit. Now, if we were travelling on the highway I might understand that perhaps you would have tailgated my sweet ass and did not stop in time but since we were all stopped by our dear red light and were therefore stationary before moving off....either it means you were dreaming away or you think your huge SUV can run down my small ass car like a friggin tank or simply put, cos the way you drive your SUV is like a friggin tank.

Which brings me to my "often observed but perhaps you might say biased" perception that somehow people who drive SUVs / luxury sedans all drive it like some friggin tank. They are huge, look mean and look ready to plow through anything that stands in the way. Ok maybe too exaggerated but my small vehicle is definitely fresh meat on the grinder for these guys. And did I ever mention that I hate these people who also drive their SUV so slowly like a friggin tank and always hogging the right lane? Right lane's for the fast movers so bugger off, seriously!

The Egyptian Museum

And speaking of matric cards and museums, the Egyptian exhibition at the Singapore National Museum: Quest for Immortality is worth an afternoon to head down to. Photos were allowed to be taken without flash for the exhibition though I thought it was kinda odd to take photos of sarcophagus and jars with embalmed organs in them. Regardless, this blog has all the photos. Now I'm pumped to go Egypt!! Who's with me?!?! Rawrr!!!!

Toyota troubles

With Toyota recalling their cars, it's kinda scary thinking of all those potential problems since I have been driving the affected models. The Prius in USA and the Corolla here. And both have seemingly different problems too! One with the brake and accelerators and another with the steering? Gosh! I was pretty impressed with the Prius for its fuel economy as well as the smooth running engine and I did not have any problems with the accelerator. And thankfully so, as I recalled zooming past 70 miles per hour on the winding mountain roads of Tahoe on a snowy night.

And now there's word on the Corolla being messed up too? Well it did sorta mess up for me this CNY. The front latch securing the bottom plate to the front bumper came loose and that resulted in this bottom plate being dragged along the road as the car was moving. Had to stop at the side of the expressway to emergency black-tape the plate back up. Yep you heard me....black-tape...the same kind we use to secure unwanted loose ends for our packs in the army. Upon closer inspection of the latch, saw that it was made of rubber?!? Wow....seems like Toyota really cutting corners this time...

News on possible Corolla recall...can I get a new car?


I say...let's stick it up to Toyota! (Pic of the Prius I drove in the US)

Jan 2010 randoms

Just some quick updates so far...can't believe January 2010 is gone in a blink.

Anw I would never have imagined that I would be staring at more P&IDs again, just like I did in my previous internship company. Just that this time, alot of things make more practical and $$ sense instead of mindless digging up of info for the process engineers. Oh and how to forget dear Prof Uddin? I'm looking back at his cyclones all over again! There's this weird irony I tell ya....whatever I did for Design 2 and anyhow whack the previous time has somehow turned around and is applicable....for some magical and unexplainable reason...

Ramblings aside, recently returned to TCHS (Hwa Chong JC actually...but I can still never get used to the term HCI) for a visit. Again never would have imagined I would return to my school for work purposes. 8 years ago when I left, I didn't think I would come back in this way...

Regardless it was amusing how this time I was scrutinising classrooms and labs and positioning when I did not really give a damn when I was a student. Timber wood and acrylite glass on the HCI building patterning? Wow...never knew that.. The bio labs look exactly the same when I left college, right from the benches and down to the microscopes positioning and the same auntie lab technician. Regrettably, the arch and open space linking TCHS and the JC where me and my pal used to work till the wee hours on the 木工 under the 道具組 for the annual 黃城夜韵 (or in general the place where everyone seems to paint their banners for orientation and leave it overnight) will now be gone and replaced by more classrooms.

Ah...good yet bittersweet memories....working till late, talking cock, toiling hard labour with nails and wood, skipping lessons, balancing schoolwork with CCA and 木工 side-job...

I wonder if we would say the same about our working lives another 8 years down the road....

2009 out! 2010 in!

This will be my last post for 2009 cos I will be going away for awhile. And what a hectic year it has been. Looking back, the first half of the year was a crazy jolt back from a honey-moon period of 2008 to more lectures, FYP, design and RT. And with that completed, it marks an end to about 2 decades of schooling life and a step into working life. Huge change right there. Though at times I am unsure about my identity and my role in the events to come, hopefully I would have the strength to face whatever challenges that may come. Taking this long break to let my mind wander for a bit...

I wonder what awaits in 2010...

Regardless, here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See ya all next year!

Body Awareness

Body Worlds is an intriguing exhibition. Well, perhaps because the idea of seeing dead people up close is intriguing. Dead people? Hmm...maybe the term medical cadavers would be more respectful. For the uninformed, Body Worlds is this travelling exhibition of preserved human and body parts...somehow the list has somewhat expanded and they have on display preserved animal parts too.

Some interesting new bits I saw and learnt at the Science Centre today...something they did not teach us during biology lessons:

1) New word called plastination. It's the technique they use for preservation. Basically suck out the water and fats and replace with plastics then harden. Then they can manipulate and position the bodies at will.

2) We have all heard that smoking is unhealthy and numerous ads always seem to scare people by showing grotesque images of blackened lungs. Well this fact is even more reinforced in Body Worlds. Even after plastination, the blackened lungs stand out so prominently. Labels on the exhibit description never fail to point out the fact that the deceased is a smoker. Oh and it seems Santa Claus is a smoker too! (Blackened lungs for the cadaver riding the reindeer sleigh exhibit)

3) Drinking too much alcohol also leads to black spots in the liver. It's called cirrhosis and basically fucks up the liver, leaving behind those blackish dots. Time to cut down on the drinking...

4) The effect of haemorrhage and dementia in the brain looks pretty disturbing. Blood filling spaces in the brain for haemorrhage and the brain becomes more spongy and loose with the onset of dementia.

5) Blood vessels and capillaries when isolated and made into an exhibit looks very much like...floss! Yep...think pork floss on your favourite Breadtalk pork floss bun. Well, make that a blood floss bun then. (I will never look at a pork floss bun the same way again...)

6) Formaldehyde stinks.....real bad.

7) Very certain the cadavers were ang mohs. Larger body mass and those blue eyes staring back.

8) Muscles-wise we aren't that much different from giraffes or horses or a reindeer. Just that maybe certain muscle sets are more pronounced in one species compared to the other.

9) I have a normal blood pressure! 123/82 as compared to the 120/80 norm. Let's keep it that way! Hope I don't have that much LDL (aka bad cholesterol) in me though.

10) Squids and other weird deep sea creatures creep the shit out of me. There's a preserved squid at the exhibition. Freaky...give me a plate of calamari and I would gladly devour it...just don't dangle the live thing in front of me. They seriously look like some kinda parasitic alien from a sci-fi movie.

11) There's a magnetic resonance imaging technique that shows the act of sexual intercourse in MR images. A friend of mine said it was kinky but I don't think there was anything kinky about it. It sure was informative though. Perfect material for the parents explaining the birds and bees to their children. And it sure was funny trying to hear them explain to the children on the spot. In fact, I hear there was supposed to be an exhibit where the cadavers were displayed in a sex position. However, it was not available for this exhibition. How disappointing! Anw from the imaging, it seemed to be hinting to me that perhaps the doggy position would be more suitable for me as compared to the missionary. Hmmmm... :p

Crow shit on the Fri 13th

The canteen at my workplace...ah...mixed feelings on it. Though it has rather decent western food and duck rice and in general, passable food quality and affordable prices, I think the hygiene is alot left to be desired. No, it certainly does not help that crows will perform shitting parades high up on the ceilings or do a kamikaze zoom fly-by. And perhaps today since it's Fri the 13th, I seem to have been bombarded by 2 landing bombs which narrowly missed me. One went splat on the floor and the other on my table. The last straw came when crow feathers started dropping down, an amazing feat as I really wonder just wtf the crows were up to above me.

Add in the crazy rain that has been pouring non-stop since this month, the skies have fallen on our heads truly!

Drive...whee!

Totally glad that nowadays I have more chances to use the car as I am driving to work almost everyday. That should help make up for the lack of driving opportunities for the past 4 years since I got my licence. Still reluctant to drive unless necessary though...still firmly believe in taking the public transport especially to town or walking 3 bus stops home from the MRT station...bloody expensive to maintain a car these days and I'm the one repaying the loan. (Must constantly remind myself not to drive the way I did in the GTA games though...)

GTA driving

Sept updates thus far

Back on cyberspace after a break from the internet and numerous exchanges with the darn telco service to fight for the rights to a new modem. Ain't pretty and lasted for a good 3 weeks. Totally convinced that there's some sorta conspiracy involved in tweaking of phone lines and compatability issues with other brands of modems / routers.

"Hence always use the modem we assign to you!" claimed the service operator. You hear that, Linksys, Belkin and D-Link?!?

Moving along, now in the realm of working space, totally sinking in the working crowd lifestyle. Seems kinda mono except for some of the weekly gatherings with various ppl etc etc...well but even that can get a bit.....mono cos the polite thing is to ask "how's work?" And hence a whole re-ietration of "where you do, what you do, how you do" to everyone on the table.

So that's why we need some random shit and sometimes some of the weird stuff that happens around us to talk abt. Take the Ris Low case...every gathering I go everyone talks about her. Or the NUS dude that has premature ejac or some shit and got charged for harassment for leaving stains on some gal in the bus? Oh and did I mention witnessing 2 grown up adults fighting in the MRT station near the tracks (ala Street Fighter style) after a long day of work somehow perks me up? Just figuring who's gonna fall into the tracks next (KO!!!!)...and what about almost getting stuck in the lift in my own block? Man....can't help but feel thoroughly amused that the lights went out and the door got half jammed so I squeezed and smashed my way out.

Growing more and more cynical and taking glee in such sadism and randomness as it comes along....(patiently awaits the second half of season 13 of South Park to start airing so as to feed my dose of wackiness!)

Internet died on me again...

Frustrated that my router keeps getting messed up at home. Sucky internet connection. Using the connection in office for the past week or so...shhh! Would have somehow considered going back to school to use the wireless service but after getting my card denied at 6pm back in E2 when I went to the com lab to print stuff (ya my printer died on me too), it's time I realised my matric card is of no use le!!! Well of course other than the occasional passing off as a student when getting student deals or student movie tickets.

And 6 years on...

How odd...I swore 6 years ago I would never ever have the need to even step close to that very traffic crossing where I narrowly threw my life away. Yet here I was on one morning, I was back at the very same spot in that god forsaken place. Still ever thankful and bloody lucky that I got out of that accident miraculously unscathed.

FYPee well and truly over!

The title says it all. I am well and truly done with NUS as I came out of the office after a very informal presentation, or a discussion more like it over my FYP project. And I was bloody relieved that it has all ended.

So to celebrate the end of FYPee, headed down to the newly opened Ion Orchard and pigged my way there. Must say there's really alot of good food around. From large sized takopachi balls to yummy ice cream desserts (mango snow tiramisu anyone?) and sampling Royce chocs, it was a crazy day of indulgence.

Stopped over at Watami first but was disappointed that the Wagyu beef and the Yakult dessert drinks were not ready for serving to the public yet. Had our fill of crab and scallop croquettes, roasted squid and garlic rice in a stone pot. Shiokness.

Hopped over to Itacho Sushi to try some of the sushi which were supposedly air flown in from Japan, but disappointed again as they weren't ready. Sampled the fatty tuna (6 bucks for one!!) and Japanese seabass (3.80 for this one). Makes a mental note to come back again for the fairy shrimp, wagyu, eel, japanese mackerel the next time when they are ready.

FYPee submitted!!!!

A huge satisfaction gained by handing in my FYP report finally. Just another presentation to go and I'm done, done with NUS!!

I'm back!!!!!! Thoughts of Vietnam and Japan..

A fabulous grad trip to 2 places: Vietnam and Japan. Honestly both trips were borne out of randomness. Vietnam because of a random mention of backpacking somewhere in SE Asia by a friend (ok...it did not turn out to be a backpacking experience but a guided tour with random ppl instead, nevertheless it was awesome all the same) and also because of a very unconfirmed FYP schedule in the summer sem. As for Japan, I turned down going to Japan at first due to that same unconfirmed schedule, only to have my decision reversed by a very tempting 500 bucks NWA air ticket and approval from my PG. Throw in a swine flu outbreak that erupted before the weekend when I was set to go to Japan and it's a load of "happenings" that took place in preparation for this grad trip. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I saw it through all the way.

Will be a bit of time b4 I actually blog about these places, so I'm just gonna list some memorable experiences about these places:

Vietnam
1) Random ppl on the tour who were really fun to be around with. And it's even more fabulous cos we had Vietnamese friends to take us around. Incredibly informative session when asking about the sights and the language barrier was broken down with the help of these friends. I'm pretty sure the girls did not mind when it came to bargaining!

2) The crazy weaving traffic of motor-cycles. A bit unsettling sitting in the front seat of the van and having to see vehicles coming head-on directly. Over in Vietnam, motorcycle is king! Oh and persistent horning too!

3) Short stools. Vietnamese sit on stools when they eat, and most do so by the roadside. So it's unsurprising to see office ladies, common folk and ppl from all walks of life sitting on this small stool, camping by the roadside eating. I was totally not used to sitting on the stool at all...need to stretch my legs abit. :p
Joining the masses of Vietnamese eating just by the roadside near this cross-junction is an experience by itself.

4) And speaking of eating: Pho (pronounced fur) is their noodles of choice here. Beef pho is kinda like the Vietnamese staple diet. Throw in snail pho. Hmmm...nice though it has a bit of an acquired taste to it. Mix in sticky rice, spring rolls with a different kinda sauce and Vietnamese desserts. Mmmmm...yummy!

5) Museums in Hanoi are a must cos it's the one way to be informed of the history and various ethnic minorities in Vietnam, which adds to the culture experience. A water puppet show is a must for this cultural experience.

6) Halong Bay. Top attraction. Nuff said. With an endless sea and countless limestone formations that dot the horizons, sailing through here on a junk boat means the feeling of getting lost at sea and getting to see an ever-changing landscape. Spend the night staring into the stars and it's like a night show with the stars appearing, shimmering and getting hidden behind the clouds. Swimming and kayaking here also tops it.

Japan
1) I always feel if you can navigate around the subway system in Tokyo, then you are very much able to conquer the rest of the subway systems in the world. And conquer we did, and survive the subway rush-hour too at times. But on the whole, I was rather pleased that we did not get too "hor lan". If all else fails, I find that 比手画脚 helps a heck lot here. you just have to think of creative ways to do it. (Sashimi madness at the Tsukiji market, trying to tell them I want to "da bao" or takeaway, punching in numbers into calculators, waving and pointing etc etc)

2) When 比手画脚 fails, have you ever had the feeling of getting "Lost in Translation"? I'm pretty sure everyone who comes to Japan would surely experience it at least once. And this is one of the more memorable experiences that would make it into my OMFG travel entry. Suffice to say, it was a pretty messed up day cos it was a simple form of miscommunication.

What happened was that we accidentally refunded this Suica card which was an EZ-link card and also used to store luggages. Our original intention was not to refund the card but to actually top up 500 yen into it, so I picked the calculator, pressed 0 to signal that the card had no value, den I pressed 500 yen to show that I wanted to top up an amount of 500 yen. Sounds simple? Apparently, the station attendant was so enlightened that he took our empty card, and refunded us 500 yen for the card! Now we have no card to retrieve our luggages and when we tried to explain to him that we wanted the card back, he kept flashing his "X" sign posture with a "dame ni" meaning "cannot!!!"

What happened next was a series of events leading to us leaving and entering the station multiple times until i think the officer there see us until sian liaoz, getting a lady to write a message in Japanese to communicate our intentions, and waiting for the very nice locker uncle to help us. We screwed their locker system btw...

The whole thing took 2 hours, screwed our plans for the day a little, so I officially term it the day we got SUICA-ed. Yet I was totally thoroughly amused about the whole experience though I was pretty sure my companions were pissed!

3) Rain rain go away! Half of the trip was rainy, though it happened more towards the end of the trip. So that means not getting the chance to see Mt Fuji and Owakudani in Hakone cos it was too cloudy and windy. Think that was very much the most bummer of all.

4) Nevertheless, thanks to the rain, the mood for onsen or hot spring was even more fulfilling. Imagine spending the day just nua-ing in a ryokan and soaking in the hot springs. Shiok!

5) Food! Japanese food = oishi! Fresh, cutely packaged, there's always something different in the corner. And the food here is not as MSG-laden compared to the Jap food in SG. A 60 bucks sashimi and sushi set in Tsukiji Market is one of the freshest you can get in the world. It's totally worth it, even if I got man-handled by the Jap auntie tending to the store when she was trying to get me to queue.

6) The accomodation in Tokyo (K House) was totally reminiscent of those in Europe. Budget backpacker hostel style that was very comfortable and not too expensive. Kyoto accomodation (Budget Inn) was very surprising as it was cheap and resembled a mini-ryokan, with services to try out the kimono for the girls. And of course, to top it all, a night at a ryokan.

7) Neon lights, the human traffic, huge LCD screens. It ain't Japan if you don't spend a night being immersed in the crowded streets in Japan. The weird, the cute, the fashion in Shibuya, the cosplay in Harajuku, the manga, the maids cosplay, the various schoolgirl manga content that seriously stems upon borderline pornography in Akihabara. Ya know what I mean....it's just Japan.

8) Peace and zen at Kyoto. Temples and shrines to fill our time. Fortunately we visited a few and the main interesting ones so that we were not templed / temple-fied / templed-fried out at the end of the trip. Plus: I have an incredibly gd lot at Kiyomizu temple. Er..from the god of love and "good matches"?!? Totally unexpected. Anw, geishas, maikos and a load of other Japanese cultural performances completes the Jap culture experience. Kyoto makes it up there as one of my favourites in Japan.

Off for grad trip!!

My blog's gonna get a little quiet for a while as I embark on my grad trip to Vietnam and then Japan (fingers seriously crossed for Japan due to swine flu outbreak). So here's wishing all my friends a rollin' smokin' gd time with your grad trips and I suppose I will see most of you next month with plenty of stories to share! Cheers!

My exams are over!!!

It's over. I can't quite believe it yet. The last exam paper taken in NUS, which probably marks the end of my undergraduate days. Although I'm not quite done with NUS yet as there's still a FYP to go, but that will be promptly settled and will keep me occupied until at least July. But beyond that, for the first time, feeling kinda lost continuity-wise. The world out there is vast and I'm not quite sure where I am headed or what lies ahead.

Sometimes also think our batch is quite suay. Graduating in a bad economic climate + swine flu? 2009 is certainly a year to remember.