Convocation 2008

Memories...

 

 http://widget-8f.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf

 

 

 

Play

Did you play Lego when you were young?

 

I did. Piecing seemingly unrelated blocks together to form a police station, an airport, a castle, a hospital etc etc. When I was older, I played with Jigsaw Puzzle. Piecing pieces together to form a picture of a Water Bearer, an ocean etc. In uni, I played with Gundam, piecing small parts together to form a Gundam model.

 

After I graduated...

 

I played with an Aircraft Simulator (well, sort of...). Modifying and writing pieces of codes and join them together to form a software module, then integrating my modules with other software modules from my colleagues to form the software for the Simulator, and finally link the software and the hardware together to form a complete Aircraft Simulator (for others to play).

 

The best part is, I get paid (a little) for it. Haha!

 

Hmmm... of course I don't only play with the Aircraft Simulator. I am playing with a hell lot of other things, eg. Pokemon Pearl. I LOVE to play! 

 

When is the last time you play? =)

 

  <<< My fav Pokemon - Psyduck =P 

 

Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

I saw this at Shirong's blog. I LOVE it! Maybe you will like it too. =)

 

 

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97. Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...
I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh,
nevermind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself
and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by
chewing bubblegum.
The real toubles in life are apt to be things that never
crossed your worried mind;
the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts.
Don't put up with people who are reckless with your's.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're
ahead, sometimes you're behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults.
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives;
some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll divorce at 40.
Maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it... it's the greatest instrument
you'll ever own.

Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines they will only make you feel UGLY.

CHORUS
Brother and sister together we'll make it through.
Someday your spirit will take you and guide you there.
I know you've been hurting, but I've been waiting to be there for you.
And I'll be there just helping you out whenever I can.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they might be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they're your best link to your
past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should
hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the
older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths. Prices will rise,
Politicians will philander, you too will get old.
And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse;
but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly
parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

CHORUS

Everybody's free. Everybody's free.

 

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If you love it, and you are a Star War fan, you HAVE to listen to...

 

"Everybody Free to Be a Jedi Is" (hahahahaha!)

 

http://www.yodajeff.com/multimedia/sounds/nonvideo/everybodys-free.mp3

 

(Right click and save as if it doesn't play when you click on it.)

 

Movie reviews

RED CLIFF (Warning: Spoilers)

 

 

 

The Good

- Tony Leung and Takeshi (Woo!)

 

- The Ba Gua Zhen fighting scene

 

- Whenever Tony Leung and Takeshi appears

 

- Humourous lines

 

 

The Not So Good

-Zhaoyun's heroic saving Liu Bei's child scene.

 

(Why is it not so good?

1. The Zhaoyun looks too old. 

2. It has little to do with the Battle of Red Cliff - not to the point, making the film unnecessarily long.

3. The scene has been depicted much better in Three Kingdom - Resurrection of Dragon by Andy Lau.)

 

 

- Zhangfei fight enemy soldiers alone and weaponless in Ba Gua Zhen scene.

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. It is one thing to fight through the enemies alone when one is behind the enemy line, eg. Zhaoyun save A-Dou. But it is another thing for one to fight through the enemies alone when the enemies is behind one's line. And it was the pinnacle of stupidity for one to fight empty-handed in this kind of situation, no matter how 'invincible' the person is. What is the director trying to show???

 

I suspect John Woo played too much Dynasty Warrior...

 

2. Zhangfei was famous for wielding the Snake Spear. Why the hell did he want to fight empty handed?)

 

 

- The 10 mins Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang playing gu zhen scene.

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. I personally love most kinds of art form, including Chinese Music.

 

(In fact, the next time if I have a chance to write a script for a play, I planned to have a scene in which the actor will write a very meaningful poem about The Importance of Having Peace in Life in Chinese Calligraphy before live audience for a full 30 minutes.)

 

However, it just happens that I am not prepared to appreciate chinese music for that long in an action war film, after work.

 

2. The Zhou Yu here seems too nice to Zhuge Liang compared to what is depicted in the novel. There is nothing wrong... I am just not too used to it. Haha!)

 

 

- Lord of the Rings' never-ending army scene

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. Erm... it is not bad la... but it is not good either... Ever since Lord of the Rings, every single films and even TV shows with an army in it will use the same computer graphics to achieve the never-ending effect. It shows serious lack of creativity... and makes it looks like Chinese version of Lord of the Rings.

 

I understand that John Woo is trying hard to make it an epic la... But he tried too hard.)

 

 

- After an agonising 2.5 hours, only 2,000 out of Cao Cao's 800,000 men was defeated - that was less than 0.3% of Cao Cao's army! 

 

(Why is it not so good?

 

1. It is a little unproportional for a 2-episode movie. One may wonder maybe they should just watch the 2nd episode. Afterall it is where 99.7% of the action is.

 

2. I felt cheated. Haha!)

 

 

Conclusion

 

We can obviously seen from the movie that the director originally meant Red Cliff to be a Block Buster Lord-of-the-Ring-like Epic movie with lots of big casts. However, perhaps due to budget constraint, or perhaps due to alot of big stars fly aeroplane, in the end only Tony Leung and Takeshi were left.

 

And the story is scripted in such a way that a lot of the plot were focus on secondary actors - Zhaoyun, Guanyu, Zhangfei, Liu Bei (who are those actors anw???), Xiaoqiao and Sun Shang Xiang (WTH has Sun Shang Xiang gotta do with Red Cliff?????). As a result, Tony Leung and Takeshi cannot really shine in the movie.

 

As a Block Buster Epic film, Red Cliff, having so many Not-So-Good points, has failed completely. Instead it became a 'B' grade movie that is a tad too longwinded. Even though it is still an average 'B' grade movie, I am very disappointed that it isn't the 'A' grade Epic that it should have been. 

 

...Perhaps those big stars quit after reading the script?

 

 

Hancock (no spoilers)

 

 

In stark contrast compared to Red Cliff, Hancock is only 1.5 hours long. I went to watch with ZERO knowledge of it and its plot except that it was acted by Will Smith, one of my favourite actors. What I got was one surprise after another. Halfway through, the plot twisted in such a way that leave me absolutely flabbagasted. Though the ending is a Ten-Years-Series cliche ending, I left the cinema satisfied and happy.

 

Hmmm for those who don't know anything about Hancock's story (like me last time), if you want to know, I shall give a one sentence sypnosis that will reveal the first surprise (at least for me) below. Read on if you want to know:

 

 

Hancock (Will Smith) is a powerful superhero that had saved lifes and done a lot of good deeds. However, THE PUBLIC HATES HIM.  Why? What will he becomes? Where did he come from?

 

 

Very highly recommended. An 'A' grade action movie. 

 

Comics, Animaes and Games.

Currently reading... YU-GI-OH!

 

Currently playing... YU-GI-OH too!

 

It may seems childish, but when a story contains elements of 'Card Game', 'Technology', 'Magic' and a very smart main character... with dark side somemore... I will become a sucker for it. Finally found something for my PSP to do, and also some excitement in my otherwise uneventful life. Haha!

 

 

I am an addict for intellectual stimulations... *sniff sniff* What is next after Yu-Gi-Oh? Hmmm... Pokemon?? I love cute animals too. Haha! Going to exchange my PSP for DS soon!

 

 

Btw if you love intellectual stimulation... and a story containing elements of 'What Future is Like' (realistically), 'Action', 'Solution to World Peace', 'Prediction', 'Philosophy', 'Cool Graphics', watch Gundam 00! Very strongly recommended! It captured the essence of the classic story, The Foundation by Issac Asimov; applied it to modern fuel shortage and polical problems; then adapted it to classic Gundam's 'STOP ALL WARS' theme; and lastly give it the coolest graphics I have ever seen in animation series. One of the few futuristic intellectual animations with depth besides Ghost in the Shell.

 

Gundam 00. 

 

 

199 or 179 faster?

If you want to go Boon Lay Interchange from Canteen A, which bus, 199 or 179, will reach there first?

 

Being Hall 11 resident for 4 years, the number of times I went home from Canteen A can be calculate with 2 hands. Hence pardon me for my ignorance despite being an ex-NTU student. I guess most of NTU students also don't give this matter much thought though. However, now that with no exams and homework in my mind when I'm going home, I had a little extra mental capacity to do a little experiment with my colleagues.

 

Basically how we did the experiment is very simple. The two buses coincidentally arrived at the same time. So the 2 groups of us each boarded the 2 different buses and sent a sms to each other the moment we reached the interchange.  

 

 

Anwz here is the result:

 

179 is faster... by 3 minutes.

 

So, given that frequency of 179 is higher than 199, you should normally take 179. However, if you are good at running, you can station at the overhead bridge and rush to board whichever bus that arrive first, since both 179 and 199 take about the same time to reach the interchange.

 

 

~ Another friendly NTU survival tip from fengyanfengyu.

 

 

Drivers I dislike

I always get very bad tempered when I drive. Cos I always encounter drivers whom I dislike alot. Basically they are divided into 2 types:

 

 

A) They drive at below 80 km/h on the Center Lane (lane 2) on a Three-Lane 90km/h Speed Limit Expressway, maintain a 100-cars-length safety distance, and are in front of me (need not be directly in front).

 

B) They drive at below 90 km/h on the Overtaking Lane (lane 1) on a Three-Lane 90km/h Speed Limit Expressway, maintain a 100-cars-length safety distance, and are in front of me (need not be directly in front).

 

 

Type A drivers, for goodness sake, don't think you are safer just because you drive slooowwww. Not only you are slowing down the entire traffic, actually it is also very dangerous when you drive slow in the middle of the road.

 

You may be rammed by irritated drivers behind you.

 

 

Type B drivers, please try to understand what is the meaning of 'Overtaking' as in 'Overtaking Lane'. If you don't, please check dictionary. Don't try to occupy moral high ground by forcibly making all the drivers behind you drive at below speed limit.

 

You may be rammed by irritated drivers behind you, too.

 

 

Musings

Short + Sweet Singapore 2008 Gala Final is DAMN good !

 

Imagine a man who walked into a incredibly posh restaurant with an extremely friendly waiter that provide suicide services. Why did he want to die?

 

Imagine a guy in formal kept staring at an old building in front (and oblivious) of a female shoe polisher. What is the guy thinking about? What will the shoe polisher do?

 

Imagine your girlfriend want you to LOVE her by HURTING (raping) her. Can you do it?

 

Imagine you are a talented composer in love with and loved by 2 women, one as peaceful as the Sea, one as blissful as the Sky. How will you choose?

 

Imagine you are an Indian contruction worker in love with Chinese office girl and in need of money. Will you kiss her, steal her money... or both?

 

Imagine while you are sitting on a bench in a park, a woman flirts with you by acting while dressing as a muslim, catholic, 15 years old student, prositude, mechanic. How will you react?

 

Imagine that you are a balloon in a birthday party. What is the meaning of your existence?

 

Imagine you were once a great cook but now you suffer a stroke and can't move and talk properly and wheelchair-ridden. Your daughter fed you sweet potato porriage everyday and you want to eat Sesame Oil Chicken badly. What will u do?

 

Imagine you were jailed for 3 years for a mistake your friend made. You were released and you saw your friend again. Will you take revenge?

 

Imagine you were a mentally crazy old woman in an old folks home.

 

 

10 powerful stories, 10 windows to different lifes, sorted in order of how I ranked them. Let see how accurate I am once the results are out.

 

Oh btw, after watching 10 short plays in one shot, I analysed my choice of the best and worst shows:

 

 

The last 2 are the last 2 because they are not funny.

 

The top 3 are the top 3 because of they are the funniest. All things (acting, creativity, shock factor, twist, depth, mystery etc) equal or even roughly equal, shows with the best humour are better.

 

When the plays are equally funny, stories with a tint of darkness and slightly twisted (a bit crazy) are the best. 

 

 

I wonder if anyone will agree with me?? Hmmm... 

 

P.S. I checked the names of the actors in the play that I ranked first. One of them, Daniel Jenkins, is one of the professional actors who acted in Pillowman, my favourite play.  

 

  

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Next time my passport expires, I noe wad to do... (No need renew, LOL!)

 

 

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一位有五年工作经验的同事对我说了这一段话：

 

 

“你是新人，工作态度非常重要, 一定要学会怎样做工。Hmmm 要不然，你可以走另一条路，就是...

 

...一定要学会怎样做人。"

 

 

Haha!

 

虽然，我不是很会做工，但是我跟不会做人。看来我还是老老实实的学做工算了。

 

你们如果会做人的话，还是会做人比较轻松。=)

 

 

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I always prefered writing to talking. I LOVE writing letters. We used to exchanged letters wth Angels, Mortals and friends during JC days. Til now, I still kept the all the letters I received.

 

Stacked together, they are about 3cm thick.

 

Now, there ain't anymore friends for me to write to. But I am still writing, this time writing to computers. Surprisingly, they will respond! Most of the time with messages like:

 

"Cpp1.exe - 65 error(s), 1 warning(s)"

 

 

#$&*$%#&*^$*&^%!!!

 

But I still prefer writing to talking. =)

 

P.S. These particular 65 errors can be solved easily by putting a semicolon at the right place. Comps are much less complex than human... sometimes.

 

 

NTU Food Guide - last update 12/8/08

Funny that I never did this before during my 4 years in NTU. Only until when I started working in NTU then I started searching around for good food together with colleagues during lunch time. I guess this is the fundamental difference between students and working class -

 

When asked, "Why do you study?", people reply, "Exams lor."

 

When asked, "Why do you work?", people reply, "Eat lor."

 

Different priorities in difference stages of life. LOL!

 

Anwz over the past 3 weeks the bunch of us had been going to different canteens in NTU. I will hereby attempt to compile a list of best, good, bad, worst and special food in NTU. Note that the compiling process is still on going, to check back for updates now and then. Also, any recommendations are HIGHLY welcomed. I will personally go and investigate before I publish the results. Haha! Also, any Disagreements or Confirmations of the food reviews here are also welcomed.

 

Here is the half completed guide:

 

 

  

====  NTU  FOOD  GUIDE  ====

~ Students need to eat good food , too! ~

 

(For locations of the different eateries in NTU, click here. )

 

 

UPDATES

 

12/8/08

 

Canteen 9: "Do not eat 凉皮. I repeat, DO NOT eat 凉皮, it is tasteless! You can try tomato egg soup noodle though. The soup taste not bad. Not fantastic, but I guess it is one of the specialities of Canteen 9 (other than its ice blended)."  ~iw

 

18/7/08

 

Canteen 1: "Canteen 1's Western not bad." (Pending investigation) ~Yanli

 

Canteen 2: "Canteen 2's Beef Stall's tomato fried egg noodle  番茄煎蛋面 also quite good!" (Pending investigation) ~Yanli

 

Canteen 2: "Canteen 2's Beef Stall's Fish Slice soup dammmmnnnn chui! The meat is old and not 'sweet', while the soup is totally tasteless. DO NOT BUY! In fact, it is highly recommended that you do NOT try any soup base items there, eg soup beehoon, soup mee etc. Just try the Hong Men Niu Rou. It is the BEST!  " ~iw

 

The Palette Western Food Cafe: "Price around the same as Quad ($5+), enviroment slightly better than Quad (in terms of tables, and you can GUARANTEE find a seat there), food slightly lousier than Quad (average only), and it only sell western if I am not wrong. Conclusion: If Quad no seats, come here. Haha!" ~iw

 

 

15/7/08

 

Canteen 9: "Canteen 9's 凉皮 not bad." ~Shea Li (凉皮 is a China dish... it is a kind of Kway Tiao. Pending investigation.)

 

 

12/7/08

 

Executive Cafe: "I personally think that Executive Cafe is not as bad as Max says. Well it is not fantastic, certainly not cheap, but it is fairly decent. If you had a sudden craving for dim sum and is feeling rich, feel free to eat at the cafe. We spent $17 per person, quite filling. Btw, I think they don't charge GST and service charge. What you see is what you get. (I'm not sure cos this meal is paid for by my boss, hee.)" ~iw 

 

 

8/7/08 

 

NIE Canteen: Western food standard (grill fish) dropped alot, alot... =( ~iw

 

Canteen 16: "Condemned. Tables too small, zi cha (ku3 gua1 niu2 rou4 rice) not good." (pending investigation) ~Shea Li

 

Canteen 16: "Indian food (zha chai rice) not bad." (pending investigation) ~Jiang Feng

 

 

3/7/08

 

Canteen 1: "Can 1 has the worst Teh Bing" (pending investigation) ~Singying

 

Canteen A:  "I made the mistake of eating spaghetti at a pizza place, namely Canadian Pizza. Never make that mistake." ~iw

 

 

1/7/08

 

Canteen A:  "I like the Vegetarian Stall's daily specials, especially Fish Slice Bee Hoon, Vegetarian Prawn Noodle Soup and Laksa. The Kway Chup not so good." ~Miaoting (vegetarian)

 

Canteen 4: "The Black Pepper Fish from the Zi Char is REALLY REALLY nice! The sauce is quite special and the favour went into the meat of the fish, which is very tender. Must try!" ~ iw

 

 

30/6/08

 

Executive Cafe: "the Executive Cafe is not good at all! overprice for its little substance..please do not eat there unless u have the money n wanna try out how unfilling the food is..." ~Max

 

 

27/6/08 

 

Coffee Club Express: "The Scone there is damn nice!" ~Apple  (Erm... I don't know what is 'Scone' la... so anyone can try le then tell me?? Haha!)

 

Canteen 1: "Can 1 i think porridge really not bad.. lol!"  (pending investigation) ~Singying

 

Canteen 4: "The Black Pepper Fish from the Zi Char is REALLY nice!" (pending investigation) ~ Apple

 

 

26/6/08

 

Canteen A: "Tried the Indonesian Stall grill chicken & fish fillet set today. Not fantasitic... but well, not bad either. Something different la, can try." ~iw 

 

Canteen A: "The BBQ Drumstick Rice not bad. (pending investigation) "~KC

 

 

25/6/08

 

Canteen A: "The Indonesian Stall grill chicken not bad." (pending investigation) ~Max

 

NIE Canteen: "The Chicken Rice and Western there not bad." (pending investigation) ~Jiahong

 

Canteen 2: "The name of the dessert stall is called '夏日霜' ". ~Max  

 

Canteen 11: "Ah!! I suddenly remember! The 面线 from stall 1 damn good! "~iw

 

Canteen 12: "The Jumbo Sausage meal consist of one gigantic sausage and on normal size sausage, with melted cheese on top and the rest of the plate filled with fries. Average tasting, but DAMN SINFUL!!! Try it if u dare! Next time I will try its pizza. My colleagues love the Korean food there so much that they go there once a week... zzz... "~iw

 

 

24/6/08

 

Canteen 2: "The Fish Soup there (Noodle aka Beef Stall) is also superb!" (pending investigation) ~Meiyu 

 

 

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MAIN ARTICLE

 

Canteen 1

Never try before. An ancient website says porriage good. Haha!

 

 

Canteen 2

Woohoo! The best canteen! Hong2 men1 niu2 rou1 (Beef Meat Trapped in Red Sauce) is a must try! Sorry for the bad translation. Haha! =P Then there is this dessert store that sells favoured shaved ice. I forgot its name, but it is NOT ice kachang. Very special! The texture damn soft. I tried the mango one... Damn nice!

 

The Western is over-hyped. So so only. Tried Fish and Chips and Chicken Chop. Nothing much.

  

 

Canteen 4

Zi Char which won the Channel U Campus Yummy Hunt. Probably the best zi char in NTU. I tried the Hor Fen, quite good, better than many other stalls, but otherwise nothing special... just an above average Hor Fen. Can try.

 

 

Canteen 5

Only went there once recently during exam period. They got sell different types of ready made soups in bowls. Tried the Lotus Soup. Better don't try the Lotus Soup. Haha!  

 

 

Canteen 9

DON'T eat the laksa! Tasteless. Don't know what else is good. But I like the Mocha Freeze there. Only place in NTU that sell freezes?

 

 

Canteen 11

Erm... Never stepped into can 11 since I start work. Really don't know how to tell my colleagues what is nice there... But the Beijing streamboat is something special la. Ah, and the sausage plata! Yum yum! But too bad lunch no sell. =(

 

 

Canteen 13

Famous for its Korean food which also won the Channel U Campus Yummy Hunt. Hmmm the 'Rice and Meat in Stone' (don't know what it is called, chinese they say 拌饭 - mix rice) is quite special. They put rice and meat and vege into a very hot Stone Bowl, then you are supposed to mix them up together. A bit like Pepper Lunch. Not bad, something you don't eat everyday.

 

Tip: Colleague say that MUST mix in the special Korean red sauce from the sauce bottle. And not only MUST, must also put A LOT. I mean A LOT.

 

Erm btw they say don't buy the Korean noodles, cos it taste like maggi mee. Well, I never tried their mee, so I don't. One colleague also said that the Jumbo Sausage Meal from their Western also not bad. I'm going to try it if got chance. =)

 

 

Canteen 15

Over hyped Western.

 

 

Canteen 16

Never try before.

 

  

Canteen A

Sigh. Best known for MacDonalds and Subway?? I heard Jap standard drop le (not that it is very high in the first place), but well I guess it is still the best Jap Food in NTU.

 

 

Canteen B

Best Vegetarian stall in NTU. I also love the sugar cane juice there... and also the extremely short queue for the Western there. Haha!

 

 

Executive Cafe (near Can A)

Soonguan's friend said there dim sum not bad.

 

 

The Palette Western Food Cafe (near Can A)

Who ate there before? How is it?? I never tried.

 

 

Cafe by the Quad

Bake rice sucks. But I personally think the beef spaghetti there quite good. Covered with melted cheese, alot of meat also. Damn gao3. Did some research online before I write this guide. Got people say the $3.50 Chicken Rice quite good also. Erm... if you peeps try le nice can tell me. Personally I won't spend $3.50 to eat Chicken Rice. Haha!

 

 

NIE Canteen

I LOVEEEE the Fish and Chip Spaghetti there! To me NIE Canteen have the best Western in NTU. Hee. Ah... and overhyped Fishball Noodles.

 

 

Coffee Club Express (outside auditorium)

I always only drink Mocha Frappe. Not bad.

 

 

Mayflower Resturant (at staff club)

I am curious who the hell will eat there???

 

 

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This list is by no means exhaustive. If you think there is any food that is really good or really bad, or if there is any place i left out, help me expand this guide by leaving me a comment! Thanks alot! =P

 

 

Plays are drugs

Stage plays are like drugs. Their intellectual, emotional, visual and sometimes even aural stimulations are EXTREMELY addictive. I had never looked back ever since I watched 《暗恋桃花源》.  Just curious, play lovers out there, which play made you visit Sistic average at least once a month?

 

Anw this coming weekend got one "Short + Sweet Gala Night", which consists of the Top 10 short plays (9 English 1 Chinese) out of 40 plays. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

 

Why?

 

Cos I watched all the 10 plays where the 1 Chinese play was chosen from yesterday! There was one I watched le feel damn tulan (WTF is with this play?!? Never seen a worse play than this in my life!)... but lucky it was only 10 mins.There was 2 or 3 that were boring. Another 2 or 3 that were average. But there were FOUR that were EXTREMELY entertaining! 

 

If the quality of the English plays are as good as the Chinese ones, then the quality of the remaining 9 English plays (3 out of every set of 10 for English plays) should also be VERY good.

 

Anw, the 4 short plays yesterday made me feel that addiction once again. Looking forward to this coming Saturday!

 

*Sniff... sniff*

 

 

Oh btw, did I mention there is a Toy and Comic Convention in Suntec this coming Saturday and Sunday?       

 

 

 

Random

I noticed something interesting: If I google my REAL name on Google and press the 'I'm feeling lucky' button, I come straight to my blog!!! Whose else's blog can do that?? Hahaha!

 

I remember one of my Web Application Design exam questions asked about how search engines work. At that time, I don't know. So just now, out of curiosity, I googled about how Google works.

 

It says that Google uses a technology called PageRank which 

 

"relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves 'important' weigh more heavily and help to make other pages 'important'."

 

I realise that up til now, I STILL don't know how it works. Argh, forget it.

 

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After I started working, I realised that with a steady income, possibilities that were not possible before start to open up. I have a medium term plan. After about half or one year at work, I may want to take up some art related courses, eg. drawing, painting, designing, animation etc. If possible, I may even want to get a diploma or something. Is there anyone who is also interested?? =D

 

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These days MrBrownShow is back to its old standard.  The recent 3 podcast are quite funny! Got time go listen and have a good laugh. Haha!

 

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From Wanting's blog:

 

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/qYMsD6kF6QY/

 

困在人生中会有许多种的解释，或困难，或困惑，抑或窘境。《易经》困卦曰：“泽无水，困，君子以遂命致远。”意思是指人在困顿中不应放弃追求，因该好好反思。即使是祸不单行，天灾人祸，或是自寻弊端。人都应坦然的去面对，只要内心坚持中道，纯正而有主见，就会有意想不到的收获。《困》中的男女一直想离开那个房间，却总是无法摆脱一个个困难，当男人在砸落盘时，终于参透了一切，从心中流出一滴血泪。

 

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Anyone interested in watching Angel-ism in August's Singapore Theatre Festival? My friend say good.

 

http://www.singaporetheatrefestival.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=123

 

 

 

 

2nd week

Been through the 2nd week at work. Things are looking up. Getting to integrate more into their circle.

 

BUT

 

I haven't finished the learning beginner programming exercise I was supposed to finish last Friday! And I have been tasked to do REAL work next week. HOW???

 

Argh. Worry about that on Monday. Have a feeling I will be doing OTs next week...

 

Anwz last week has been a good week. Met up with lots of old friends. Had lots of good food: Crystal Jade Palace, Swensons, Pasta Mania, Korean Crusine at Can 13, Vietnamese Crusine at Suntec Food Republic, I had even been to Singapore Flyer! But we didn't sit in it. $29.50 for a scenic view of Singapore. I can't afford it, yet. (But most probably, not ever.) There is nothing much there beside the ferris wheel, but my friend and I had a good chat while strolling to, in, and back from Singapore Flyer.

 

 

 

$$$ depleting fast and soon! 2 more weeks to top up!

 

明天会更好！

 

 

I'm a pussy (I can't believe it!)

Your Score: The Cat

You scored 67% domestic, 36% gregarious, 25% trickster, and 58% intellect!

Domestic, Solitary, Serious, Intelectual: you are the Cat! Cat represents a balance of strength in both physical and spiritual, psychic and sensual powers, merging these two worlds into one. Curious, intelligent, and physically adept, cat people tend to live in a world all their own.

This test categorized you based on four different axes of personality, which were then associated with a different animal. The four axes, as well as all possible results are explained below.

Wild/Domestic: This first axis categorizes you based on how much you are drawn to the outdoors, versus how much you are drawn to civilized situations. Domesticity has many shapes and forms, and varies from the joy of dolphins leaping next to a ship to the steadfast loyalty of a family dog.

Gregarious/Solitary: This axis measures how solitary you are. If you scored high, it means that you enjoy the company of other people, while a low score indicates that you prefer a more solitary lifestyle.

Trickster/Serious: This axis measures how well you line up with conventional trickster archetypes. People who fall into this archetype have a sense of humor and an excitable, highly chaotic streak. Scoring low doesn't mean that you don't have a sense of humor; it just means that you probably don't think dynamite is very funny.

Intellectual/Emotional: This last axis determines whether you are more emotional -- acting based on feelings and instinct, or rational and intelectual -- acting more on thought than on your gut feelings.

 

Link: The Animal Archetype Test

Ranting

Having been through one week as a full-working adult, I realised I am feeling... lonely.

 

Let me clarify, it is not the 'no-girlfriend kind of lonely' lonely. It is the 'no-friends kind of lonely' lonely. There are around 10 people in my project/workplace. The manager / seniors are all very nice, friendly people whom never gave me any pressure. Also, surprising, around half of them are ladies! =P

 

However, the problem is that they are all very experienced and been through project(s), each lasting more than 2 years, together. As a result, it can be seen that they are a very close-knitted bunch. On the other hand, I, am the ONLY fresh grad with ZERO experience. Even what I studied has ZERO relevance to what I am doing. (Wondered why they decided to employ me... Haha!) 

 

So,

 

I find it hard to connect with them.

 

Haiz... miss the days when I still was an attachment student. Don't know anything nevermind. Student ma. Fool around, being childish, playing games nevermind. Sudent ma. Somemore so many fellow students around. Now as a working adult, as a full time engineer, don't know anything? WTF. Paiseh dao siao.

 

A holder of DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING) WITH SECOND CLASS HONOURS (UPPER DIVISION) who knows NOTHING?? How ironical. What have I been doing for 4 years in NTU?

 

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I found that I have a tendency of making stupid or senseless choices throughout my life.

 

I have got an A1 in Chemistry in 'O' levels. I chose to give up Chemistry and take up Higher Chinese in JC. I ended up getting a D for Higher Chinese in 'A' levels.

 

I love hands-on and mechanical stuff more than circuit boards. (I love to do props!) My dad told me don't choose the easy way out just because electronics are hard. Thus I choose EEE at the end of Year 1, and ended up wondering why the hell I choose EEE for the rest of my uni life.

 

By the end of Year 2, I realised I don't really like circuits and semiconductors. Yet for the same reason as above, I chose the hardest, Electronics, out of Electronics, Electrical & Infocomm. Semiconductors ended up to be the only C I got in Year 3.

 

By the end of Year 3, I realised I really don't like circuits and semiconductors. So I finally took the easy way out and switched to Infocomm in Year 4. However, even though all my friends commented that 'Digital Signal Processing' the is hardest design module available, I still chose it over 'Object Orientated Programming', thinking that programming is something I can easily learn in my free time if I really need it in my work.

 

 

NOW, I CHOSE A JOB THAT MAKES ME REALLY HAVE TO LEARN PROGRAMMING IN MY FREE TIME!!! I want to cry..... T_T 

 

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I hate to be a freshie! I dont want to be a noob! Hopefully I can contribute to the team real soon! Anw 'til now my job is still quite interesting. I am staring at codes from 8.30am to 6.30pm from Monday to Friday, but somehow I still love programming. Woohoo! I guess one year down the road I will start to enjoy my job. Hopefully. =)

 

It is paramount to stay positive. Actually, I HATE working.

(But somehow, I have the strange ability to still do ok even in things I don't like.)

 

 

Today is a good day.

Today is my fourth day of work. (For those who don't know, I am now working in NTU. Note: Is 'in' NTU not 'for' NTU. I shall not divulge the name of my company in my blog for security reasons. Anyone who wants to jio me for lunch or dinner, you are welcome! Most prob I will be staying back in Hall too. =)

 

Today, our company president gave a talk for ALL employees, which numbered in thousands, so I have an EFO (Early Fall Out). Actually not very early la, at around 5.30pm... but better than nothing. Haha!

 

Today, exam results release. Throughout my 4 years in uni, I have got a total of 14 As (including FYP and IA), 31 Bs, 5Cs, and finally graduated with a Second Upper for my honours! Congrats me ba.  =)

 

It was quite surprising actually, cos I have a friend who get double the amount of As I have but also got Second Upper. So I guess, for one who stop going lectures in Yr1 2nd sem, I have kio dio once again! Hahaha! Heng I din ganna GPA system. Phew!

 

I am proud to announce that the Skip Lecture Project is a success! Yeah!

 

Today is a good day.

 

 

Henderson Waves and Hort Park

Went Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah park, Kent Ridge park and Hort park with an old JC friend, Zijun, today. A few klicks walk, a good work out, nice scenery, one with nature. Everyone should get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and go to some nature reserves to find peace once in a while.

 

I found my peace today. (This trip is more interesting than my entire 11 days in Taiwan, which only made me grow fat. Darn.)

 

   

Henderson Waves, a bridge connecting Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah park. Nice design and a nice place to rest after climbing a mountain (named Faber). For the photo on the left, Kimsim commented that it looks like the wave is going to engulf me. Hmmmm...

 

   

Terrace garden and a series of metal bridges criss-crossing through the jungle... very interesting!

 

    

Garden living prototype house and cooling waters in Hort Park.

 

    

Former gymnast showing off his gymnastic skills and current slacker showing off his slacking skills on a nice, big grass patch.

 

Saying bye to the nicest park ever seen.

 

 

Next time who wants to go nature parks, find me. =)

 

Random

Trivia

 

Why do you need to open the windows of an airplane during take offs and landings?

 

So that you can access the situations outside and remain orientated (i.e. which way is up) during emergencies. It also allows light to enter the plane, allowing the rescuers to see more easily during rescue missions.

 

What does "W.C.", another name for toilet, stands for?

 

Water Closet.  

 

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Something interesting from Peifang's blog.

 

 http://www.freerice.com/

 

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 Cool videos!

 

Mission:Singapore - Singapore Freeze

 

     

 

Mission:Singapore - Calling Aliens

 

     

 

Damn cool right?!? More videos available from YouTube. http://www.mission-singapore.com =) 

 

Tag

I was wondering when are people going to tag me with this... Minghui, you finally tagged me! Yeah!

 

Rules of the game: Remove one question from below, add in one of your own(personal), to make a total of 20. Tag 10 people in your list in the end of this post. Notify them.

1. At what age do you wish to be married?
I don't think I will wish to get married... at least, not at the moment.

2. What is your plan 5 years down the road?
Work as an engineer and save a sum of money. Then I will plan again for the next 5 years.

3. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
1. Europe. 2. Japan. 3. Beijing.

4. If you can have 1 dream come true, what would it be?
Continued good health for me and my family.

5. Do you believe you can survive without money?
No. (This is a stupid question.)

6. What are you afraid to lose the most?
Life. Freedom is a close second.

7. If you win $ 1 Million, what would you do?
Fast forward my plans by 5 years (stated in question 2).

8. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Yes, of course.

9. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
Capable, hardworking, cute.

10.What is your dream guy?!
I don't dream of guys.

11. What kind of person do you hate the most?
Stupid people who consistently think they are clever.

12. If you are given the chance to go back to the past and make a difference, will you?
No.

13. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. What does it mean to you?
Parents' love.

14. Any wisdom to share with your readers?
The only thing I know is that I know nothing.

15. If there's ever a war(or things that are similar) happening in your place, are you going to move to a safer place, or fight?
Depends.

16. If you have the chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
The outer part.

17. Who is the person that you can share all your problems with?
None. I have different friends for different problems.

18. What's your weakest point?
Secret.

19. Think of the person who tagged you to do this quiz. What song do you relate him/her to?
After reading her answer to the above question: 《心太软》

20. What is the one thing you regret most?
None. Everything that happened happened for a reason.

Tag:

Shuhui, Shirong, Xinying, Peifang, Yihui, Liping, Yongan, Xiangbin, Yanli

More dreams

After reading Singying's blog, I would also like to share a few more strange dreams of my own

 

WARNING: They are all damn cock.

 

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Dream 1

 

This happened during the exam period. I dreamt that I drove a pickup to a multi-storey carpark. Then I parked and went off to do something. When I came back, I found that I forgot to where I parked! Then I was thinking...

 

Wah lao eh, now exam period so many things to need to memorize liao, now dream also wan me to remember where I park my car... %^*$% !!!

 

For those who drives and experienced forgeting where you park your car before, you will know that there is only one thing left I can do next:

 

 

Search EVERY SINGLE storey of the carpark.

 

 

So I prepared to take a lift and search from the top storey down. As I went into the lift and wanted to press the button of the top storey, I saw something that shocked me to the very core:

 

 

This freakin' carpark has ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY storeys!!!

 

I woke up immediately.

 

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Dream 2

 

This is a short dream. In this dream I was taking my laundry to a laundry shop to wash.

 

The laundry person said lazily, "Wash clothes ah?"

 

I replied, "Ya."

 

He replied, "Ok." Then he pressed some button.

 

I was like ???? Then I heard some strange sound behind me.

 

I turned around and saw

 

TWO GIGANTIC HAIRY ROLLERS ROTATING AND MOVING TOWARDS ME!!!!!!

 

 

"OEEIII! I NOT CAR... AND I DON'T WANT TO WASH THE CLOTHES ON MEEEE......!!!"

 

Then I woke up.

 

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Cock people have cock dreams. Me.

 

Photo Hunt

 

 

Can you find (in increasing difficulty)...

 

1. Hall 11's toilet's toilet roll

2. An old pencil box from an old friend which I am still using after 6 years

3. PlayStation Portable

4. Tarot cards

5. Hall 11 Commendation Award 2008

6. Packet of keys

 

 

7. How many Interblock Games Medals did I get over my four years in Hall 11?

 

 

8. Can you find my berms? (Sorry... can't think of any good questions to ask for this picture =( )

 

 

9. Can you find the wind chime?

10. How many slippers me and my roommate have altogether?

11. How many leaves can you see on the tree I saw every morning I open the door?

 

 

Goodbye Hall 11.

 

Don't ask me how the hell can I tahan living in this kind of room for 4 years. (I simply have superhuman tolerance for messiness. Haha!)

 

 

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I shifted back from Hall last Sat, 10th May. I am going Taiwan from 13rd to 24th May, starting work on 2nd Jun. If free, ask me out after I come back and before I start work! =)

 

 

A game

Imagine a game...

 

 

It is a very very open-ended Game. It has a lot of different endings. Some are good, some are bad. The objective of the game is to reach one of the good ones.

 

The game starts with you in a very big room. In this room, there are a lot of doors to other rooms. There are also many mini-games for you to play. Most are for you to up your stats (eg. Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, Charisma, Luck etc), so that you will have easier time in other mini-games. Some are just for fun and laughter to make the Game interesting, but doesn't increase your stats. 

 

However the most important mini-games are the ones what allows you to make a Key. These Keys are divided into different qualities. The better ones allows you to open more doors. The lousier ones only allows you to open some doors. The quality of the Key depends on your stats and how hard you tried.

 

Once you have the Key, you choose one of the doors and enter into another room (the next stage), where there will be rewards (such as gold, companions, better armours, weapons, acessories etc) and even more other mini-games.

 

Then you do the same things again (playing mini-games, making keys, choosing doors etc) and again until you reach one of the Endings. Or, until you accidentally end the game earlier by seriously messing up with one of the mini-games. Either way, it is Game Over.

 

If you met any difficulties (eg, don't know which rooms to choose, or don't know how to get a good key etc), there are tons of guidebooks available for you to refer. Many other players will also be very willing (sometimes, even too willing) to help you or give you advice. (Oh, this is an MMORPG by the way. =P)

 

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What differentiate this game from all other games in the market are these 3 characteristics: 

 

 

1. There is a fixed limit on the time you spent in each room. There are mini-games which allows you to increase or decrease this limit depending on whether you play them correctly or wrongly, but, not by much.

 

2. You cannot save and load game and try an alternate route. Once you are in a room, you cannot go back, except by making the correct key.

 

3. You are only allowed to play ONCE in a lifetime. 

 

 

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The question:

 

How will you play this Game?

 

Option 1

 

Will you increase your stats to the MAX and achieve God-like status and try your very best to make the best key ever to get the best rewards and the best endings?

 

Or...

 

Option 2

 

Will you only play those mini-games which are just for fun and laughter but useless otherwise? That is to say, you do not care about the ending. Ultimately you just want to get the MAXIMUM enjoyment out of the game, even if you get a bad ending.

 

Ending is not important. What is most important is the process?

 

Or...

 

Option 3

 

Will you play strategically by playing only those mini-games which give you the Key to a specific room you CHOSE (which give reasonable rewards), while spending the rest of the limited time playing the Fun and Laughter mini-games to get the as much enjoyment out of this game as possible?

 

(This is also an extremely strategic game by the way.)

 

Or...

 

Option 4

 

Will you just anyhow play?

 

Or...

 

Option 5 

 

Please state: _____________________________

 

 

Note: High stats and very good rewards do not have very HIGH correlation with good endings, though there are still some corelations. Also, good keys only mean more rooms to choose. However, some of these rooms will still lead to bad endings.

 

 

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I have been playing this game for many years. It is kinda addictive... hmmm... kinda...

 

Anw, the initial Luck stats of my character has been quite high, so, so far all my Keys had been reasonably good, which allowed me to go to reasonably good rooms (but not the best rooms). Currently, I am about to go into another room, but I am REALLY unsure whether it will lead to a good Ending. 

 

Also, I can't help but wonder what will happen if I got another Key and choose another room a few rooms back.

 

 

Cannot save and load game. What a nuisance. Damnned. Lousy game!

 

 

And also, how come no monster to fight ah??? So boring!!!

 

 

P.S. Ermm... on second thoughts, better keep it that way, no monster to fight. LOL!