To all the ppl who have so kindly helped me through this financially tough period… thank you… i really really appreciate it.. kopi’s on me..

What did i do on Black Friday? Mugged lah, wat else…that’s my excuse for the lack of quality posts in recent days..

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Many consider it the “official” beginning to the holiday season.

More here… and no need for black fridays in singapore, we are like everyday, anytime-of-the-yr-oso-can-shop, the gals i noe can personally attest to that

MeijiS for a change.. Hi-Apple Candy and ChocoBaby Milk Not much non-choc stuff come to think of it, meiji sweets tend to have this super artificial taste

Rich Fran Strawberry

The most expensive so far $2.85..but damn worth it..chocolatey biscuit stick, layer of milk..strawberry layer, with dried strawberry bits…absolutely killer..n go check out the link, the ad’s funny

Poifull Gummy “Yogurt”

Let’s play a game… Guess who this is..

Clue: He/she shows ppl thru mechanically-operated doors

Meiji Black

A gal wrote in in response to a Today’s article on GEP… Well proves that GEP is fulfilling its purpose of producing ace students like this… they are the chosen ones who would lead this nation…

A second look at the gift Nightmare for students, parents Ideal learning and social environment

Letter from Michelle Qiu

YOUR report gives the impression that GEP students are mentally unprepared for the curriculum and that students do not like being in the GEP. Having just graduated from the GEP after three years, I beg to differ. I may not be the best student in my GEP centre, but I did not find the curriculum pressure-packed, and looking at the fun the students have, I doubt the others did either. Sure, we get our share of homework and projects, but nobody said life was a bed of roses. The study noted that in Primary 6, we were “stereotyped and subjected to heckling and verbal abuse”. Yes, we do get such things from mainstream Pri 6 students, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. You see, GEPers (as we call ourselves) are more mature than most mainstreamers, the result of being in the GEP. The mainstreamers think we are snobbish — when they stereotype us, they are being immature. When we prove ourselves able to handle the “bad press”, we grow more mature. Being in a specialised class lets us interact with people like us. I had to keep changing schools every year before I entered the GEP and I didn’t have many good friends because I found my classmates to be immature. But when I entered the GEP, I was impressed with my classmates and now we can’t bear to part ways. Unless someone is transferred out of the GEP, or changes schools, we have the same 52 or so classmates throughout the three years. This forces us to become good friends. We were all mainstream students before the GEP. Most of us found it boring in mainstream classes, as we knew most of the curriculum and it was easy to get good grades. But when faced with someone at our own level, we step up our efforts to compete. Sure, there are a few who can’t cope, but they withdraw in the first or second year. My school saw only two withdrawals out of 52 people. At most, it is only in rare cases that “the club turns into a nightmare”, as your report put it. The GEP broadens our experience. Nobody minds if a girl mingles with a bunch of boys, or if she is interested in DotA, Final Fantasy VII or PS2 games. We accept each other. Would we be able to do that in the mainstream, where everyone follows the trends or the person who is the “coolest”, and everybody starts gossiping if anyone talks to someone of the opposite sex? Nobody except us, the GEPers, could know how much fun we have being in the GEP.

Time to buy tickets to leave singapore..since i’m normal..not gifted..cannot lah…

Milk Chocolate

How can dominant businesses do w/o robertos.. Roberto is of cos a direct translation from 萝卜头, a carrot/radish head which is useless and is chopped off.. So in this case roberto means the person who gets chopped by a shop/business.. SBF always have ppl comparing shops by comparing how sharp the boss’ chopper is.. Today my turn to be roberto at the Holland Village famous XO fish beehoon..

Apparently they have this policy, takeaway for the beehoon must add extra 2 bucks..and when the boss told me in his usual wanna-eat-then-eat-dun-want-just-fuck-off tone, i was thinking should i pay 5 n eat there..or pay 7 to pack back and eat outside Yr 2 lab.. needless to say, i packed back.. …. ……… ………… ………………….. …………………………….

Nicely packed, handles of plastic bags looped ard carrying handle

No wonder so expensive..nabeh!!

I hate to say this, but it looks freaking made in 中华人民共和国 (PRC)

and when i opened up the green cover, expecting to see the beehoon… : : : A special layer to put chilli, and an empty one dunno for wat..but later got purpose

Red n green chilli..which i never touched at all.. see, proves that i’m not a miser..if not i would have ate everything up if not i lugi..

Finally i saw everything in the package..

This makes it all worthwhile..

Alternative use for the empty slot, again proving that i’m not a miser, i dun like to eat ginger

Everything gone, never finish soup this one REALLY lugi..hence all gone

This tea costs 80 cents..n comes with poor tying, which ensured leaking.. thanks hor auntie..

On hindsight, it’s 2 dollars well-spent for the following reasons

1. I got back in time to watch Harry Potter 2..ok i noe i should be studying..
2. I escaped from the tissue-selling auntie there
3. I escaped from the can-collecting auntie there
4. It started raining the moment i got back to sci, hence avoiding the rain..

On another note, i’ve added a banner for the Young Lions playing in the SEA Games.. 1st match is later, Sunday 10pm on Ch 5… more distractions to SS readings

5th round of exams in nus, could be the 2nd last.. life is back to the Good Old Days, waking up @ 10, reaching sch by 11, going home @ 2am, and refusing to touch books from 2am-10am…

Exams period is also a time for chocolate fiesta..currently, i have an almost-finished large pack of loackers (took more than 2 days still havnt gone, amazing), a 3-piece pack of almond roca (eating one as i speak), and a long tube of choc-filled strawberry jellybeans strawberry jellybeans covered with chocolate.. Pls let this exam end soon, b4 i transfer thickness from my wallet to my waist and the internals of my coronary arteries..

I was telling ppl that when i go home @ nite via clementi road (speed limit: 70), i really ride @ 70 most of the time @ 2am..@ most 80..never beyond that..in fact i would find myself slowly slowing down, and would have consciously throttle more.. Nobody believed me, and would think that i omit a “1″ in front of my speed.. heck i can hardly hit 170… thanks rena for having the most faith in me by guessing 120.. kimberly u rule with ur 100km/h guess!

I saw the 1st multilingual sign in nus.. Outside S14 1st floor corridor, there was this piece of paper stuck on the wall that said “EXAMS, Silence. 安静” Do we have that many PRCs now? Or cos PM Lee went China to carry balls, nus oso must carry balls.. mabbe maths too many PRCs, hence maths majors, i sympathise with u

I saw some medical students, probably yr 4 or 5, @ sci canteen just now..one of them was carrying this book which made me cringe. “Crash Course: Surgery”. Checking online, there is this entire series of Crash Course books…shit…

Finally! The Physics canoeing outing took place, can’t say that it’s a yr 3 outing, since not everyone was informed in time. Some ppl we didnt see them this wk, some ppl were quietly left out. I wanna follow the govt in making this an inclusive society, but cannot lah… very hard, dun wanna try.

We didn’t really canoe for long, just ard a small area of about 200m by 50m, good enuff since most of us canoeing for 1st time, i just took it as refresher for 2star course next mth. The best part is this: I MANAGED TO SWIM IN MACRITCHIE RESERVOIR!! Yes damn cheap thrill i noe, but then ah, not everyday that u can do that u noe You all just dun drink too much water these days, it may have a higher Newater content ok i’m kidding here, i DIDN’T pee in the reservoir. and my burnt strips on my wrists got worse, i can see small blisters. Gross.

Anyway there was this incident b4 we started canoeing, on 1 hand it’s damn funny but on the other, i feel sad and disappointed with my jc and kids these days.. For those of you familiar with macritiche, there’s this toilet near the carpark, n just outside that, you have a barrier to block vehicle access up the road. Now this painter was painting the barrier..black n white colour.. when 2 HCI boys came down from canoeing training. Chattering as they walk, one of them walked straight into the barrier and got some black paint on his running vest. I think the painter didn’t say much, just told him to look out when walking..

JC kid not happy, went toilet wash up..kaopehing all the way…came out from toilet still kaopeh, walked past painter still kaopeh.. n KICKED the paint can over, hence black paint all over the road..painter’s face oso black, and he started shouting @ the kid. “WHY YOU KICK MY PAINT!” It was actually this pt of time when i just arrived, and ronghua filled me in on the earlier kicking. I have no reason to doubt that the kid kicked the paint out of no reason, since the painter would not kick up such a big fuss over someone touching the painted surface.

The shouting match got so bad, and @ 1 pt in time, the painter shouted, “YOU BETTER DUN RUN, IF NOT I PUNCH YOU! YOU THINK I SCARED?!” and held up his fist for good measure. Fair enuff if u ask me, cheebye paint spilled how u want him to work??

JC Kid:”nvm, we call police settle!” and he ran like fuck back to his training area like a bloody coward.. damn fast..i think 2.4 sub 10 one.. At this point of time, i really felt like covering up the hwachong logo on my shorts..damn paiseh to be associated with this kind of ppl

Painter was still shouting n later complained loudly to some bystanders, probably just wanna vent. The JC kid came back with his coach, the same one who was coaching the team when i was still in JC. He basically talked to the painter alone, and later the kid alone. Later he brought the 2 of them together to talk, and the shouting match resumed. Painter: Why you kick my paint?? JC Kid: You threatened to punch me, and i’ve had the fright of my life! . .. … …. ….. …… A few of us laughed loudly @ this point of time. How lame ass can u get? I never saw the can being kicked, so it’s definitely before the painter threatened to punch him in his anger. Fright of his life, if like that scared..i think go army die liaoz lah.. dun need think so far, A levels even scarier… damn cheebye kia, the kid if u ask me…haughty fellow who had his arms crossed in front of himself in a i-dun-give-a-fuck-about-lowly-painters.

Later when canoeing, saw the same jc kid training… couldnt resist saying this loudly, “Eh ronghua dun splash water @ me leh, gave me THE FRIGHT OF MY LIFE”

Technorati Tags Hwa Chong Institution Macritchie Reservoir

Yet another kuantan-related post, but i think this would appeal to non-riders as well.. I mentioned about the accident, and i think it deserves abit more detailed telling of the story.

Was travelling from Kuantan to Segamat along this long single-lane dual carriageway (i hope i used the right term, it should mean 1 lane each direction) which is lined with trees all the way.. think winter sonata yea.. evening time..5plus to 8pm.. 180km..raining like fuck.. Traffic was pretty slow, i was like trapped behind a 60km/h truck for almost an hour… but it came to a virtual stop about 10km outside segamat..saw 2 bikes badly damaged, one on each side of the road..saw 1 rider sitting up on opp side, clutching his leg. Then on my left, saw the other rider down and not moving.

I didn’t noe wat prompted me into action, stopped my bike, and went over to him. His eyes were open but he wasnt moving @ all. Already some guys were there, and i went back to my bike to get my LED torch. He wanted to get up to check himself or wat, so i had to shout @ him to keep still..malay chap. Managed to do a quick check of his limbs, he was pretty lucky, right shin broken and bent in a unnatural angle, and some scraps on right hand..

Crossed the road to see the other guy, who was sitting up n holding his right foot, which was missing one large chunk of flesh…seriously grossed out..but i remembered that i got my phone with me..asked one of the malay guys wat’s the emergency number. Now that’s when the problems started, shame on me.. i took malay 2 and i remebered alot of the stuff, every key phrase was on the tip of my tongue but i just couldn’t articulate myself in malay, and resorted to very simple words

“nombor ambulans apa?” “Sembilan sembilan sembilan”

Couldnt communicate with the operator n passed my fone to a malay lady to speak. Checked on the guy again, who’s now trying to remove his helmet..shouted @ him to stop. Basically u dun want the victim to move unncessarily. Now i really regret not taking my 1st aid kit along for this trip, esp for the missing-chunk-0f-flesh guy.

My 1st aid course things oso went out of longkang, i forgot how to deal with broken limbs. I remembered it’s something to do with getting a splint for the leg, but wasn’t 100% sure.. and i’m not confident of positioning his leg. By now i’m reduced to a bystander and just stood about 2m away from him and his frens, used my LED torch to wave oncoming traffic away. btw it’s the same torch that i use for ushering.

Another 999 call to confirm ambulance coming.. n ifelt that it’s ok for me to leave liaoz.. wanted to tell his frens to not let him drink any fluids for now,

“jangan beri dia minuman”

Tongue-tied again. Disgusted with myself Self evaluation: Malay skills: all out of the window when i kancheong 1st aid: did basic assessment..didnt move him cos of injury.. didn’t bring 1st aid kit..not 100% confident to render more aid Emergency management skills course for leading YEP: Directed traffic away.. contacted emergency services.. made use of local help..

i realised now, how hard it is to apply the actual knowledge from such courses in the field. and no matter how well u do in ur course, u will never know how good u are until u actually get to use those skills. Take 1st aid, i had no problems during the course, conducted in the daytime in an air-con room, CPR on mannequins, bandaging on perfectly-uninjured friends who are simulating injuries.. Throw that all away, dark rainy night, real injuries..in a place that u’re unfamiliar with, with a language that u’re half-fuck in..

Good lessons learnt…

Not alot, most of the action was when i was on the move..and how to take pics then?

Classic jkaiser shot on kuantan beach

This is the beach, see how small the ppl are..gauge the distance yea..

From the edge of the water…

718.4km, killer but damn shiok…

Aftermath, tan (or rather, burn) lines.. i didn’t wear jacket for 1st 130km, that explains the white wrist and hand that’s blocked by the glove..after 1st leg, wore jacket that left a gap between the sleeve and the glove…bingo liaoz

As part of my pre-exam psyching-myself-to-mug plans, i went on a solo trip to kuantan this morning.. it’s been a good one, and surely it deserves a good blogpost..but for now, presenting the trip… in numbers..

1 rider 10am setoff 0 riding buddies 1 gortex jacket 1 pair gortex boots 1 digicam 5 stops - Johor Bahru, Mersing, Kuantan, Segamat, Gelang Patah 4 WW2 pillboxes on the way to mersing 1 lane per direction most of the way 20 corners to mersing n kuantan, @ least 4 full tanks of petrol 4 pm is lunch time 1 pizza for lunch @ Swiss Inn, ate half, remainer packed for dinner 1 sundae for lunch 20 mins walk on the beach 150 metres: distance from beach edge to water edge (low tide) 10 dead monkeys, @ least. Roadkill 1 dead monkey in the middle of the road, which i nearly ran over ~3 crushed dogs ~4 dead n stiff dogs ~5 dead cats ~10 dead rats @ least 2 accidents, none for me 4 victims 0 dead 1 broken foot 1 stuck under car 1 missing ALOT of flesh on right foot 1 stop to help out (1st accident) 2 calls for ambulance 1 LED torch as beacon to direct away traffic 0 assistance for other accident…too mortified by 1st one to stop for 2nd one..plus already alot of ppl 1 talkative kopi uncle @ GP 1 burger ayam special 1 teh 1 ice cream 170 : top speed of the day in km/h on NSH 11000rpm, max rev of the day 100%: percentage of journey planned to be covered on mostly single lane trunk roads 14.5% percentage of journey on north-south highway cos too tired to take any more trunk roads 132km: dist from JB to Mersing 200km: Mersing to Kuantan ~180km: Kuantan to Segamat ~206km: Segamat to GP 718km: Total distance 230km: Part of journey where it wasnt raining 150km: Torrential rain 11.30pm end time 2 sore knees 2 sore hands 1 sore neck 1 sore butt 2 sore shoulders 2 sore ankles 1.5 lost balls 0: percentage of body not affected in anyway 1 busted boot 1 pair of wet jeans 1 pair of wet gloves, 1 pair of hands, stained by black leather Infinity: Satisfaction level of rider

I dun usually like to do this kind of stuff, but when the arrow flies all the way from denmark like a Tomahawk cruise missile, you can run but u can never hide…

Rules: Post 5 Weird and Random Facts about yourself, then at the end list the names of 5 people who are next in line to do this.

1. When i was 3 or thereabouts, i ran out from the bathroom in the kitchen w/o being dried by my mum..so naked n wet, i ran into the living room that has marble flooring… Slipped n spun a few rounds on the floor. Doctor later declared no damage, especially to the brain. Sometimes i doubt that.

2. My 1st, and only bike accident (i told u ppl that i’m a safe rider!!) was when i skidded one week into my 1st bike on wet roads, just opposite thai embassy bus stop while turning into Borders carpark. Damage to my 26yr old bike: 100 bucks.. Damage claimed by the mercs driver for 2 rear bumper dents: 2.8K

3. I’m so obsessed about blindspot checking that i have the tendency to do that even when walking

4. I’ve more then 5 moles from neck down to chest area.. relics of chicken pox scar-scratching as a K2 kid

5. I hate eating dried mushrooms (香菇), but i’m fine with sauces created with it. For the record, i hate coriander, parsley, among other stuff that i can’t recall rite now..

Tagged:

1. Momo
2. Zeff
3. Ruiz
4. Abel
5. SIS Boss

:D

This is on time though…

Eid ul-Fitr

The Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. On the day of the celebration, a typical Muslim family gets up very early and attends special prayers held only for the occasion in big mosques, in large open areas, stadiums or arenas. The festivities and merriment start after the prayers with visits to the homes of friends and relatives and thanking the Creator for all blessings. Eid al-Fitr is a time to come together as a community and to renew friendship and family ties. This is a time for peace for all Muslims in the world to devote to prayers and mutual well-being.

Rest of wiki’s here

Ok this is abit late..but i figured that it’s still a good read

Diwali

Diwālī or Dīpāvali (also transliterated Deepavali; Sanskrit: row of lights) is the Hindu Festival of Lights. For Jains it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the Jain year. It is also a significant festival for the Sikh faith. Diwali is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited festivals of India. It is celebrated for 5 consecutive days in the Hindu month of Ashwayuja which usually corresponds to the month of October or November. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs celebrate Diwali and use the occasion to celebrate life and strengthen relationships. Celebrations focus on lights and lamps, particularly traditional diyas (as illustrated). Fireworks may also be associated with the festival in some regions.

Rest of wiki’s here

…and no longer 18th… a drop of 4 places may not be that significant (ok it is when we are looking to go into top 10th), but the key indicators are what we should be taking note of. aNUS did well in research areas, but the indicator that truely matters to us, undergraduates who are the main customers of the uni, is the popularity of our graduates among international employers.. We did as well as NTU, 12 pts out of 100.

Now pardon me for thinking this way, this indicates that our graduates are either not well known among international employers, or that we are low quality. I hope the former’s true, cos i like to regard myself as high quality Instead of forcing ur academic staff to churn out papers like The New Paper/Lianhe WanBao/Shinmin churns out thrashy news, i think it’s more impt to get academia who are actually interested in teaching? This is seriously lacking in nus, it’s not just about the number of profs u have on your payroll.

As an undergraduate, i’m not very concerned about how many papers my lecturer has published, unless u comparing a new professor and someone really up there, like the late Richard Feynman, who incidentally was a great teacher. I wun be concerned about how many research awards n grants that he has won. I would be more concerned about the number of times he has appeared on faculty/university teaching award winners. I would be very concerned if my senior tells me “so n so prof is a very good researcher but absolutely cannot teach..”, and i’ve heard alot of that, trust me. I dare say most, if not all undergraduates want lecturers who are seriously interested to teach and are concerned about their students, and not those who regard students as their greatest fans..

Spend more time and money on this, no doubt research strength is impt, but never forget who are ur primary customers

Latest update: The rankings were released last friday (28 Oct 2005) in Today, so the release by THES could be on 27 Oct 2005. However the news release is still missing from NUS site. What this means, up to u ppl to interpret. This is of course in contrast to Nov 2004

Same day release on NUS site last yr, what about this year?

Technorati Tags aNUS

With regards to this post, i’m glad to say that they have appointed their leader and established some directions for the project

Contact the above listed persons for details yea..tentative countries listed are cambodia and east timor