This Surreal Feeling

what surreal feeling am i talking about, you might ask?

just moved back to hall last week with the rest of the guys up on C4 and it was only after we sat down for our first chat at the familiar common bench in a very long time that i realized that this will be the very last time that we'll be moving in back to hall and have long chats like this.

there's a phrase that can be heard when we come back to hall every year, "last year last chance"; last year in hall and the last time to do everything that you haven't done in hall. i've heard this from the seniors as a freshmen, when i was in my sophomore year and third year and it seems so surreal that now we are the ones that are saying that exact same phrase that we have heard for the past 3 years of our hostel/university lives.

this year's homecoming seem a little different than the other years, gone are the days when we just talk about things like who the chicks are in the orientation, hooking up (we still do actually) but this time round, quite a few of us are still working during the orientation week and i guess that opened the eyes of most of the guys that are graduating. we're actually talking about life after graduation and plans ahead, which sort of gives me a sense of relief (being the old man on the level) to know that everyone on C4 are actually able to move on from the daily mindless ruckus that we are.

it didn't take long before we resumed our drinking/smoking/gambling ways, but this time round, it's going to be different, or rather, we're going to take in the experience fully this time round. you always try to make full use of something enjoyable when you're doing it for the last time.

it always sucks to be doing enjoyable things for the last time doesn't it? who knows what all of us will be doing this time in a year's time?

Labels: food for thought, hall

Quarter Century and Beyond

was out with my mum the other day and we were talking about my sis' marriage which was coming soon. for some reason unknown, the topic steered to the fact that i'm graduating in 2 semester's time and my van would have to be scraped at the same time. it was then i realized that i've driven my van for a good 5 years already and in another 5 years, i'd be hitting the big three-zero.

the moment i mentioned that i would be 30 in 5 years time, my mum sprung up from her car seat and said:

"yeah, then it's time for you to get married to~"

i immediately stared at her blankly and she gave me a shocked look after registering the awkward silence from me.

frankly, i think 30 is a bit too young to get married. at 30, im just at the end of my SAF bond and i'd be at the crossroad of my career -- deciding whether to stay with the force or look for a greener pasture. maybe i'm thinking a bit too far ahead of my time, but i've even factored in the fact that at 30, i'll be financing a vehicle while i hit the crossroads of my career, so marriage would kind of be out of the question at that age.

and more importantly, im still single right now. i think that's going to be a bigger issue even before she starts talking about me getting married.

as graduation starts creeping in, i find myself planning for a lot of future things that seem so far away just last year. an urgency just rose from nowhere and hits me, issues regarding finances, career, family start popping up and you suddenly realize that in the future you have to make all these decisions that could affect your life in the future.

it's a good thing that these issues that i foresee isn't going to be much of a problem and actually looks pretty good that im looking forward to it.

Labels: food for thought

Own Time Own Target

"if you don't know, ask your buddy first", "don't run and shout like a gu niang"

if the above phrases bring memories or make you feel right at home, Own Time Own Target will tickle your funny bone whether you're a NSF or NSmen. for those that have had nothing to do with the army before will be still be well entertained by the jokes and antics of the characters from this play.

Own Time Own Target is a double bill consisting of Full Tank by Laremy Lee and Botak Boys by Julian Wong which is based on Singapore's very own National Service. like it's movie predecessor, Army Daze, it cleverly portrays the life of NSFs when they serve their 2 years of national service. the only difference, this double bill might just make a few eyebrows frown. unlike it's predecessor, Own Time Own Target gets down and dirty when it comes to the scripts. profanities (often involving female genitals) are being thrown around throughout the double bill and for someone like me who has already been through it, finds it extremely familiar and close to heart.

all 6 of us were wildly entertained by this double bill and for me, being a sucker for musicals, was totally impressed by the second play. the singing and the acting was great and i could really relate to what was being acted out on stage (yes, even the profanities). one cannot help but notice about the representation of CMIO (chinese, malay, india, others), in both plays and i must say that it is very well represented, accent and antics included.

in all, Own Time Own Target really captures the very essence of what the young men in Singapore feel being in the army through conscription and i would definitely recommend anyone to catch it, even if you don't know anything about national service. just make sure you get the programme booklet to be well-versed with the army lingo to prevent yourself from being lost in some parts of the play.

Labels: personal

Problem Solving

i've been on course at CMPB for the past 1+ week and i must say that im glad that im not working anywhere near town, or anywhere that requires me to go past 2 ERP gantries every morning to be specific. i always knew that it was expensive, but i only knew how much it hurt when i actually went through the gantries myself every morning.

every morning i have to pay at least $4.50 (if im early, which is not very often) and $6 if im actually late (happens more often than i like). we did a little calculation and it turns out that in a worst case scenario, a person working in town has to pay $120 every month on ERP and guess what, that's just going to work. if you're being a good family person and want to go home straight after work for dinner, guess what, your dinner's going to cost you.

ERP gantries aside, the course that im on is pretty interesting, although the lecture can get a little dry sometimes, it's a set of problem solving tool called TRIZ which i'd be surprised if you've actually heard of it. haha.

anyway, just 2 days into the course, it made me realize that sometimes while trying to solve a problem, we actually concentrate too much on the problem and in the end ignore the fact that the solution is somewhere away from the problem.

a very good example by the instructor was one that involved making an unmanned vehicle to move around on the moon. the problem was that in order to take videos on the moon, they need a good light source, so they fitted bulbs on the vehicle. problem was, everytime they did a landing test, the glass that encases the filament breaks. so they tried all kinds of materials but to no avail.

the thing is, they didn't look at why the case for the filament was needed. the case is just there to prevent oxygen from getting to the filament to prevent oxidization (that's how the filament gets charred). to put things into perspective, the vehicle is going to the moon, with no oxygen, so why do you need a case for it? they ended up using a metal mesh to protect the filament when the vehicle lands and it worked.

i think this whole way of looking at solving a problem applies to life too. there are so many times that we look at the problems that we have in life and go "why is this happening to me? how can i make it go away?" without realizing that if we keep focusing at the problem we're just chasing our own tails and going in circles. whatever problems we face, there are always better solutions when you look away from the problem. this might take a while to digest but think about it. for example, if you think your life is miserable because you're constantly broke, don't just think about how you can get more money, think about how you're spending instead, it'll do you wonders.

think out of the box. don't be an expert of your own problems.

Labels: food for thought

New Toys

woohoo, i've been having an orgasmic week when it comes to gadgets (read: tech slut), i've gotten quite a few new toys and i just can't keep the excitement in.

first off, in preparation of becoming my sis' wedding photographer, i've been authorized by my parents to get L lens for my camera. after intense research online reading reviews, i narrowed down my shopping list to:

1. Canon 24-105mm f4

2. Canon Speedlite 580EX

shot a bit both of my new toys and i must say that i am very satisfied with the results of my buy.

next up, something that i've been looking forward to for a while and spent around 3 hours queuing up today to get. iPhone 3GS!!

after getting my iPhone 3GS i proceeded to getting gelaskins from far east plaza and my phone looks pretty funky now.

i must say that the new iPhone is definitely more powerful, the web browser renders faster and the camera just owns the previous one just because of the focusing. will update more as i use the phone.

ok, this is too much excitement in one post. till another time.

Labels: gadgets

Mess

it's going to get messy around here. im attempting to change the template of my website on the fly. bare with me for a while

Long Time

hey people! im back, well kinda, i think most people would have thought that this blog is dead already, haha. i've been bumming around doing random stuff and i actually have a lot of things to talk about, just that im not home enough to type it down.

in the midst of redesigning my template, should be up very soon. stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

This Surreal Feeling

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Quarter Century and Beyond

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Own Time Own Target

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Problem Solving

Sunday, July 12, 2009

New Toys

Mess

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Long Time

Who?

Twitting Makes Me Happy

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