I think my life is interesting in a funny way, considering the things that i put myself thru… As you guys know, Comex07 just ended and I decided to give it a miss for the 1st 3 days (thurs-sat). Only today then i decided to cheong for my 22″ LCD monitor, and cheong i did. Was at Esplanade and left at 7.27pm, 1.5 hrs from comex closing time. Hustled down to Suntec by walking briskly and reached the fair by 7.35pm. Checked where Samsung’s booth is and reached there to check if the model that i wanted was avail or not. Too bad sold out, and new stock wouldn’t be avail soon, plus it would be back @ its orginal price of $660 and not $579. Decided to take the other one for $549 and the salesman said that i could test. The supervisor agreed too. Later the boss made noise.

I told him that 2 persons said that I could test, so I want to test. His employees represent his organisation, so yea… he lemme test and not the rest behind me. LCD was fine and i took it and went back marina sq.

Time: 7.59pm.. damn fast

Wandered ard Marina Sq for 1 hr b4 whacking sakae supper buffet..went back to esplanade to ponder how to go home on my bike carrying the lcd. Strapped it to my back seat with 2 bungee cords…n rode damn slowly on a longer route cos it has less traffic.. stopped 5 times to adjust the position, was feeling paranoid about it dropping off.. last 10 mins of journey, it was raining…

Got home in 1 piece…. 10.45pm.

Sometimes i amaze myself

I went back to an old hunting ground today. Memories came rushing back, of all the happy times spent there with the people and the fact that they are still supportive of my decision. The decision to switch hunting grounds seems so wrong now…

I think i get a kick out of doing dangerous stuff. From climbing into monsoon drains when I was 6, climbing staircase railings and rooftops in pri sch and sec sch…n riding my bike for 700km in 12 hours to kuantan and back.. I think i’m gonna do the most dangerous one soon.

3 accidents just happened recently, with a few dead so far…. and i’m doing it…how nice… i’m gonna take a long distance bus ride to penang on 3rd sep…

Wish me luck!

I had the chance to visit my college today, the former Hwa Chong Junior College, and now sadly known as Hwa Chong Institution (College). I think that it is sad cos somehow, the history of the college has been wiped off with the renaming and merger.

I had the chance to visit the college library, and there was an Archive within the library itself. Took the chance to flip thru some of the old yearbooks that told the story of the college over the period of 33 years. The college wasn’t set up by TCHS, as opposed to common thought. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry wanted to have a JC that will have a very strong Chinese tradition. TCHS donated part of their land for the campus and the school was slated to commence operations in 1974, at NJC. This was because the campus wasn’t completed in time but it was scheduled for mar 1974.

The campus wasn’t completed in time, but we had to shift out from NJC. 所谓一山不能藏二虎. We shifted further down the road to old NIE campus at Bt Timah Road to carry on with classes. Eventually the campus was ready for us to shift in, and in order to save costs, the entire student population formed a human chain from NIE to the campus, a distance of more than 1km to pass all the tables n chairs to the new campus. The campus wasnt complete, in the sense that footpaths n some misc facilities weren’t ready. The students council organised the students to DIG footpaths. Finally the campus was ready, with the iconic u-shaped block that forms the central plaza. There was also a rooftop garden that stretched across the entire block. This garden was later removed to make way for classrooms in the later years of the 1st campus.

After Hotel New World collapsed in 1986, the govt wanted building management teams across the country to check the stability of buildings, and hwa chong was also checked. During an emergency assembly one day day in 1987, the principal of the college announced that the campus building was structurally unsound, and they were to vacate the school by the next day. One would expect ppl to run off quickly, but the students, many of them rushed home to get their cameras, and came back to take pictures around the campus. Many benches n walls were marked with the students’ writings and they served as memoirs of the old campus. Hwa Chong was forced to move again, this time to Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

We spent a few months at NP, before relocating again to 2 new adjacent school campuses in Woodlands. That place was a very new town that was lacking public transport. The college had to hire buses to fetch students from the other new towns so that they can go to school for lessons. In 1989, the school shifted to Bt Batok again to 2 new adjacent school campuses. It was only in 1991, when the new rebuilt campus was ready and we were ready to shift back. We din take buses back, instead we had an 11km march back to bt timah…

When I was a student there, my seniors always spoke fondly of the Hwa Chong spirit, and it was something that we felt but never really understood. We were united by something that remained foreign to many of us even today. However today, I learnt of the stories of the past, and these were the moments that defined the college and its many batches of students over the 33 years. The never-say-die spirit that exists in all Hwachongians, and how we sing the many songs written by our seniors, dance the same dances and shout the same cheers.

A school isn’t just defined by its ability to produce scholars and top results. It is also not about doing well in sports and other CCAs. It is about how the students regard it, and it says alot when we have seniors who have graduated 30 yrs ago making the annual trip down back to 黄城 for Mid-Autumn Fest or CNY. It’s about alumni making a big fuss of the merger, the name change and the loss of our crest. Its about embracing the many stories that come together to piece the history of HCJC. This is the real 华初精神

You know what happens when you decide to spend quite a bit of money on new toys, cos you have a bit of extra money?  Murphy’s Law dictates that you will also end up spending on something else that you can’t run away from.  You see i bought some new toys for my camera, including a battery grip for my 30D, flash diffuser and another battery, all for 422 dollars.  Felt damn shiok after that..

Of cos there’s always the “but”, and it came with my bike suddenly deciding to smoke and end up exhausting coolant water as steam.  So the repairs cost me 250 bucks, and since my bike is in the shop, I putting in another 250 bucks to change both my brakelines to steel ones (more effective braking and faster response) and change my engine oil (it’s time to do so anyway).  Total damage is 500

This is in view of a car coming soon in early september and I am going to loan my bike to my fren to ride.  She claims that it’s dumb to spend so much money on a bike that i wun be riding soon.. I sometimes think so too, but what to do… expensive hobbies, riding and photography…

And so a trip to the Indian Embassy can lead to so much things..

Indian Embassy for my visa: $80 Lunch @ Din Tai Fung: $18 Bought 2 pairs of hiking socks, electric mosquito repellant, n disposable underwear from The Planet Traveller: $59 Suntec City PC Show: 4GB Kingston CF card, 1GB Kingston MicroSD card, 2GB ram for my macbook pro, leather case for my pda, new screen protector, new stylus (with pen): $243 Down 2 levels to World Bookfair: 4 old copies of Nat Geog @ 2 bucks each, renewed subscription for $49 (big steal!!): Total $57 Bike shop for a bike cover n rain boots: $40

Scared to tally..whoa… 497 bucks… win liaoz.. Thankfully for this announcement

Is to not plan at all. Last yr when i went taiwan, RH and me only booked 1st day hostel, after that we just planned a few days in advanced..so everything was fluid.. Lonely Planet rocks, 1 book to rule them all. After sitting down for past few days trying to plan my Delhi/Agra/Rajasthan holiday, i’ve given up and instead settled for a list of die-die-must-see locations, incl taj mahal and jaipur city.

The extent of my planning (or lack of it) is that i’ve only booked a ticket to bangalore @ this pt of time. I know that i will reach there on 8th morning, and i will want to get to delhi on the same day, nite latest.. hotel in delhi not booked yet. Day 2 not planned yet, agra (n taj mahal probably). Shiok liaoz.

Remember, 1 book to rule them all…

Quarter-century old, completed 5th set of 5 yrs…perfect square birthday (cos 5th may, 5 x 5 = 25), whatever you call it, i’m 25 now.. Amidst all the birthday greetings, i spent my afternoon walking ard city hall area taking photos, before going back to durian to chat abit.. it was nice meeting up for dinner later with the physics folks..thanks for the jacket..i like it, bright colours and all..  Thanks to all of you who remembered my birthday, either by heart, overheard me saying, or simply over friendster, heh… a pity that someone din remember…hai..

but on a happier note, this birthday greeting from my sis takes the cake…i tell u with a sis like this, i’m set for life liaoz..

It feels weird when i realised i’ve not sms/msn/talked to someone for 24 hrs…

When the stress and tiredness levels are up to THAT high, you cannot imagine wat one can of beer can do for you..heh.. 2.30am and i should be continuing with work or sleeping, yet i’m sitting here drinking beer.. best liaoz

On another note, i’m thinking of having a bdae party for myself, catering food..any one got good suggestions?

I mean, what else can make your day shiok but the 1st episode of South Park Season 11??

SP is finally back after a long break, and man i liked the the 1st episode.  As usual, freaking politically incorrect, in your face, rude, offensive.  A spade is a spade, and it should be called so.  Don’t ask me how i managed to watch, this blog no pirated stuff…

And so the last weekend of the short month of feb passed by, like a typhoon i tell u.. Wasted time on friday studying for a stupid maths test that turned out to be pretty easy. I would still pref doing amaths qns than emaths anytime, joce summed it up nicely, “A maths qns more direct”

Worked at Girl Guides Thinking Day @ indoor, think it will go down as one of the poorly-organised events there. Save money mah, dun need our ushers. So the usual practice is the hirer must provide own ushers, which they din…so everything was pretty much a controlled mess. Everytime work with HER sure got problem one. You know who you are

Attended a jc mate’s wedding….1st red letter bomb to come my way. Sat with jianping n some of the bride’s classmates. Wedding dinners always have the effect of making u eat until like u never eat @ all, simply cos the food comes ever so slowly and in minute portions. The videos were pretty good, esp the animation on how the groom courted her. For 3 wks after meeting her for the 1st time, he drove her home from work everyday, and showed lots of care and concern. 21 days and settled. Lesson learnt: Having a car is a big advantage.

Supposed to work @ ucc on sun evening. Then my buddy called me, said too many ppl liaoz, so have to drop me.. ok fair enuff. I told them if they have enuff ushers, can drop me cos i dun wanna fight with my jrs for the money. 4 plus pm called me again to work, forget it lah… haiyah.. i really hate last min changes like this… Ended up going to watch the Singtel League Cup Final between Woodlands Wellington and Sengkang Punggol. Parked at the stadium at 7pm, 45 mins b4 match started, and there was super loud coordinated cheering coming from the stadium. Damn shocked if u ask me, i mean..this is a pre-season game leh… how come so chao4 enthu.. Came back after dinner, and saw the reason why. 5 super enthu fans, cheering in an enclosed area = from a distance sounds like few hundred ppl cheering.. The match was a severe disappointment if u ask me. The artificial turf made for a highly-exaggerated bounce which resulted in players looking like clowns chasing after high-bouncing balls.. Left after half time.. sianz

And today is the day when my holiday mood officially ends, from a 4 hr week to a 24 hr week…knn..

Almost a yr ago, i wished on my blog for a big birthday present, a macbook pro. Of cos none of you cheapos obliged.

I obliged finally and bought one, collecting tomorrow. Crossing over to the dark (white) side, or rather, straddling. Probably gonna use it for work and for my photos..heh

And so last Friday was the day when I started perhaps the craziest trip that I’ve done in the past 2 yrs: Fly to Bangkok to watch the 2nd leg final of the Asean Football Championship between Singapore and Thailand, on my own.

Another first is flying out from the Budget Terminal for the 1st time, and the 1st cockup of the trip.  I rode over to T2 and thought, hey BT should be close enough.  No point talking across whole of Carpark C back into T2 to take the free shuttle.  Just walk over lor, how long can it take.

Not long, only 20 minutes.  Not alot of things to carry, just my backpack, a small daypack, a camera bag and a tripod.

Smart right?

I didn’t expect much from BT, but I guessed it was pretty fine.  Imagine a giant warehouse, with a/c.  Warehouse i kid you not.

DFS Shops, dun worry, BT also can buy liquor

What I liked were the cheery colours and the various small makan outlets in the Departure Lounge.


So everyone mulls around the area until the gate opens, and surges there, cos 1st come 1st served seating.  The plane wasn’t full and the cabin crew claimed that they have to distribute weight, so it’s sorta of assigned seating.  I convinced them that with my long legs, I should sit at the emergency door row.  What more with my weight, it’s better i sit near the mid-section of the plane, then can balance mah

2 hour flight and I was greeted by this huge ass airport in Bangkok.  Really really huge, probably the size of T1 and T2 combined, with the immigration area as big as either T1 or T2 alone.


So that led to damn long Qs at immigration, which I thought i was very used to, with all my JB experience.  But 30 mins, this takes the cake!  World class airport to challenge Changi? erm…

You’re supposed to check the LCD screen to find out which belt to collect your luggage from.  Mysteriously Tiger Airways TR118 is not on the screen.  So i walked ard for 20 mins, in the equally big luggage area trying to find my bag.  And i found it lying on the floor next to the luggage belt.  Thanks yea.

The cab ride into the city was pretty smooth, with the driver hitting 130km/h pretty often.  No problem with that for me, 30 minutes to get to Sukhumvit Soi 25 where my hostel is.  A quick check-in and I was ready to hit the streets.  Went over to the Silom area, where the Suan Lam Night Market is. 

Esplanade as well, but i think more mainstream than our durians.  Theirs look more like erm..pomelo..

The main difference between Singaporean and Thai culture became clear outside Silom MRT Station.

Do this in Singapore, be prepared for holiday, at Changi Hotel.

I settled for a bottle of beer and garlic stir-fried sliced pork with rice..Beer Chang!


A lot of small shops selling craft, clothes and home deco.  I wasn’t coming to shop, so i settled for 3 beer t-shirts.  The kind that you always see my Taiwan buddy wear one..haha!

Part 2 of makan over @ a nearby outdoor food court.  You buy coupons from a main counter and the food stalls only accept those coupons.  Tried the papaya with pork salad and fried sea mussels but wasn’t pretty impressed.

Decided to go back to the hostel just after midnight, and the taxis there are the same as Singapore.  They don’t hide before 12am, but after 12am, all the fare meters mysteriously spoil and they quote u ridiculous prices.  The tuktuk drivers are the same as the taxi drivers, except they do it whole day.  So being the cheapo, i paid 50baht for a motorcycle taxi.  1 word, shiok!

Went for a walk in the red light district near my hostel.  Don’t worry, i’m still pure after the walk.

Serious!

And so the TNP reporter called me yesterday, after his friend told him that i went bangkok to catch the final.  He asked me if I was going for the Under-21 game between Singapore and Pakistan.  The truth is that I’m not going but normally I have the time, i would go.  However a pre-arranged meetup with friends resulted in me not going, and I told the reporter so.  He sounded very surprised that i’m not going, like “how come this fan can go Shah Alam and Bangkok for the matches, but not this local youth match.”

So a short conversation led to this article having some of my quotes, which were of course selectively chosen for publishing.  Like I talked about how young soccer fans in Singapore are getting the wrong kind of football education by being exposed to so much foreign soccer initially.  I grew up watching Malaysia Cup, then the now-defunct Premier League and later the SLeague.  Youth games are a favourite as well, but with time constraints, i can hardly go to as many games as I want to. 

All these of course is not mentioned.  And folks, pls dun ask me to get involved with the Official Lions’ Supporters Club.  I dun believe that u need to join a fan club to show that you support your national team, and I simply cannot be bothered to be forced to sing the cheers.  Ziwei can testify to that, there was once when we caught a game @ jalan besar and we were literally forced to cheer when the cheer ic pointed to us… not to mention getting half-deaf thanks to the drums.  No Sir, i would pref to sit at least 20m away from them during matches..

Before the rest of the photos come here, let’s post the key photo one.. i didn’t meet the players at Changi T2, because i landed ard same time @ budget terminal and because i’ve already met them @ bangkok airport.. n took photo liaoz.. check this out


We are the Champions!

Eat your hearts out folks

And so i’ve gotten to BKK, w/o knowing any Thai.. broken english all the way… kaoz… and not much shopping’s done..not that i intended to do any.. only 3 beer lao t-shirts

More updates when i come back..u wun believe some of the things that i ate.. and i heard that i was on tv! haha

for those of u who die die want some stuff from JJ market tml..pls smsme before sunday noon..i try to get..no promises

After the slight incident @ the national stadium on wed, i was abit apprehensive about going bangkok to watch soccer.. But finally everything was decided yest afternoon @ Guardian. Yes, the pharmacy.

The cashier gave me a fortune cookie after i bought some stuff there, essential supplies like wet tissue and sanitary hand cleaner..  I only opened the cookie when i got home, and guess what it said.

“Take a trip.”
“离开所有喧哗，去旅行”

Guess it’s all settled now

Return air tickets to Bangkok: OK
Hostel room: OK
Match ticket: OK (Trusting the receptionist at Thai Football Association)

All ready to go this friday to bangkok, 1st time there and i’m on my own..talk about shiok n happening.. All ready, except that i’ve yet to pack my bags

And i’ve started preliminary planning for a YEP in dec 07, working with the student grp that i’ve worked with for the past 2 times.  Something seems to be very different, the last 2 YEPs had ppl who were willing to hustle bustle.  I get very fast sms and email replies from Tumkur04 ppl mostly. 

Not that slow replies means that you not on, it could imply quality.  But somehow i detected some feet-dragging n perhaps, complacency since the proj is still so long way to go.  It’s funny, when ppl expect fast replies from me even when i’m in KL watching soccer, and they fail to reply to a simple sms and email.

Somehow i think this is gonna be harder than i thought..

Nothing much..just arranged alot of RISK figurines, played silly games and of cos set off pyrotechnics… Check out kee siu’s video…




UCC Rocks!

A net acquaintance, Lancerlord aka Lord of the Links sent me a link of the video of Saddam being hung.  I watched the video of the noose being put ard his neck and that’s it.

Shall pass on the actual hanging, somehow I think it is super weird n morbid to watch someone dying.  Even though he’s a bad ass dictator who had no qualms in torturing and killing his enemies.  And it’s genetic lah! His son, Uday tortured the Iraqi national footballers when they did badly in a tournament.

For you sick asses who wanna see the full vid, msg me.  If not google for it, i’m sure u can find it..

5.25am on the 1st day of 2007, and i just got home from Pris’ place in JB.. we had a pretty unique countdown party there.  No professional fireworks to see, just us setting off firecrackers..heh.. I got bored and decided to ride home @ 4am…

Firstly congratulate yourself for getting through 2006 alive, seems like the end of the world wasn’t supposed to come last year.  I think I had a relatively good year, with mostly ups and some downs.

Academically, i finally got out of NUS but the most impt thing that happened in the final semester was taking and passing Quantum Mechanics II.  Killer module, meaning that you have to attempt to kill it 1st with extra mugging and thinking.  So that was good. 

1st job, as a teacher in a top school.  Really wonderful experience @ my alma mater, even though my boss is damn strict with me.  The beautiful thing about that is that I’m forced to be on the ball, and that is how i really prefer to work.  I realised that I cannot work efficiently when ppl tell me “oh this work, just do @ your own pace..”  The control freak in me would go bonkers, and I would want everything in its own time n place, with deadlines so that I can allocate my time properly..  Stage 2 of career begins now by accepting a place @ NIE, and signing 4 yrs of my life away to the government.  Very big decision for me, not in terms of the career choice, but more of the fact that i decided to tie myself down.  I guess the bonus helped, haha!

I really cannot thank my friends enough, having to listen to me complain about misc stuff and my crappiness.  Then again, I listen to you ppl complain n crap as well wat..  Some ppl whom i noe, i think it’s really hard to go beyond a professional relationship with them, and that is something that i’m perfectly comfortable with.  I would rather go off on my own sometimes.

Relationship problems, nah dun have any.  As in dun have any relationship now, this gentleman here is still single and available.  Yessir!  I should get my students to intro their elder sisters or someone else to me in exchange for less assignments and homework.  Or I should just go SDU, before it closes down that is.

May u be like me and stay positive for the yr 2007

That is wat i’m doing now, as if i never have enough fun terrorising ppl with my 2 wheels, I’m taking my class 3 now.. Ok so far 2 lessons, so far so good..never hit anything that i shouldn’t hit, never killed or injured anyone, yet.. heh.. mabbe weiling was right, having riding experience does help in some ways when learning driving.

1st lesson, supposed to cover moving off and stopping, and gear changing from 1 to 2. The instructor was abit bengish and very nonchalant in asking me do lane changes when my route was blocked, instead of stopping. This compared to class 2b days when i only lane changed from subject 7 onwards.

2nd lesson today was steering control but my instructor asked if i got my PDL yet..yea i got..so he fed me to the lions by asking me go out on road…going up n down a few gradual slopes..incl an intro to moving off a slope with handbrake..

cheong n cheong, hurry get license man…

A funny msn conversation with rui on why a singapore should head UN… one of the posts by me have been censored off…way too hiong liaoz

Session Start: Saturday, November 18, 2006


(2:38 PM) JK: who fleas
(2:38 PM) rui: hellppp
(2:38 PM) rui: gimme top10 reasons why a singaporean shd be the secretary general for UN
(2:38 PM) JK: i can’t think of one leh
(2:38 PM) JK: we dun deserve it lah
(2:38 PM) rui: its
(2:38 PM) rui: for
(2:38 PM) rui: an impromptu

(2:38 PM) rui: speech
(2:38 PM) rui:

(2:38 PM) JK: ppl will everyday shoot us for human rights/ free press etc
(2:38 PM) rui: meant to be funny
(2:38 PM) rui: haha
(2:38 PM) JK: ok it’s supposed to be funny one ah?
(2:39 PM) JK: so rubbish can lah/
(2:39 PM) rui: yup
(2:39 PM) rui: my bf needs to perform this in 1 hour
(2:39 PM) rui: hahah
(2:39 PM) JK: haha toastmasters?
(2:39 PM) rui: hahaha somethign like that
(2:39 PM) rui: i cant even think of ONE reason la
(2:39 PM) JK: we carry balls of all the big powers..everybody likes us
(2:39 PM) rui: HAHAHAHHA
(2:39 PM) rui: that’s not a nice way to say it
(2:39 PM) rui: but okay
(2:39 PM) JK: we are member of Coaltion of the Willing
(2:40 PM) JK: so we are with THEM, not AGAINST them
(2:40 PM) rui: HAHA

(2:40 PM) JK: er…
(2:40 PM) JK: i got one that is abit risky
(2:40 PM) JK: hah
(2:40 PM) rui: haha
(2:40 PM) rui: what

(2:41 PM) JK: CENSORED POST
(2:41 PM) rui: hahaha we try to brainwash everyone?

(2:41 PM) JK: ok another one..
(2:42 PM) JK: if we head security council, we will hold elections when WE are ready… not when the OTHERS are ready..we will talk about the moral high ground
(2:42 PM) JK: So that we dun waste time thinking about “how to fix the opposition”
(2:42 PM) rui: hahahaha

(2:43 PM) JK: i hope its closed door session
(2:44 PM) JK: we will wipe out corruption within the un by ensuring that every staff member is well-paid, with the increased contributions from the less developed countries… up by 2% each
(2:45 PM) JK: er…
(2:45 PM) rui: all very risky

(2:46 PM) JK: we have an innate ability to form committees to discuss about forming committees to discuss about forming committees to discuss about anything, like winning olympic gold
(2:46 PM) JK: we can unite NATO with UN
(2:46 PM) JK: No Action Talk Only
(2:46 PM) JK:

(2:48 PM) rui: u definitely cannot put this on ur blog
(2:48 PM) rui: haha
(2:48 PM) rui: lemme compile
(2:48 PM) rui:

(2:49 PM) JK: haha on contrary..i wanna put leh
(2:49 PM) JK: mabbe xcept the muslim one
(2:50 PM) rui: HAHAHA
(2:50 PM) rui: ok
(2:51 PM) rui: my friend
(2:52 PM) rui: “we are a country of 4million smiles. where else can u find such a high concentration of smiles”
(2:52 PM) JK: haha!!!

It’s a good time in my family now i guess, with my pa coming into his last yr of service in his current job. So he has decided to go fully into stock trading and so far it’s reaping good benefits. In stock market terminology, this is known as a bull run.. i call it sharksfin time. The time when the bear comes hunting is called the porridge times.

Yesterday the greatest irony happened. He asked me how much does it cost to take class 3 license..i said it’s ard 2k. So he offered to sponsor me to go learn in dec…

I thought about it for a while, cos i tot we wouldn’t buy car…eventually i fell in with the opinion, and said that it’s good to have a license for the future..

u noe wat he said…

“mabbe next yr u got car to drive”

I can’t believe that a video like this can result in blog post and long comments about morality issues. I wasn’t even close to that chap’s level of thinking.

Of cos simple-minded ppl like me think about the fact that the lecturer was willing to step down from his position and allow ppl and himself as well to laugh at himself. Believe me, that is not easy for professors to do. I must also say that it is not easy for school teachers to remove their straitjackets and laugh @ themselves with their students.

• from one of the “(unattached) horny buggers” -

I see that Starhub Cable has sponsored a new team for the EPL..

Aston VANILLA

After falling asleep at 11pm and only waking up @ 5am just now, an early start to the day was called for, just to get some work done and clear some of the guilt. The morning effort started by showering and going downstairs to buy breakfast from the kopitiam. No such thing as healthy breakfast, only oily kuay teow with fried egg and veg, plus kopi, the addictive drug for almost all teachers.

Turning out of the carpark, with all the roads largely clear, I couldn’t smell the haze, probably the coolness of the early morning is doing a good job masking it. Passed by 2 bus stops where i saw a few students from my school waiting for the bus @ 6.15am. Reminds me of the good old days when i was going to the same school at the same time in order to beat the crowd, and end up reaching the school at 6.20am and sleeping in classroom b4 flag raising.

Along the way, 10 or so traffic lights, and I can never do a grand slam. A grand slam’s when u go through all the traffic lights w/o stopping, ie. green light all the way. From Bt Timah to Sunset Way, i glided thru all the junctions with ease. Whatever little traffic was avoided with a rightward flick of my turn signal and overtaking. Secretly i was hoping for a grand slam, having cleared half of the lights so easily. A grand slam’s better than finding a 4-leaf clover i bet. It’s probably gonna be a good day after all.

Alas! My 4th leaf of the clover got ripped off @ commonwealth ave, last min red light. No choice but to jam brake. As if it’s heaven’s way of mocking at me to think that i can beat the odds so easily, the rest of the lights found it convenient to turn red on me each time i approach.

6.40am, in school… Earliest ever…

Friday’s copy of Today had 2 vouchers for a book from Borders at 30% off. Die die must buy! So I went down after Sin Ming bak kut teh with the guys and bought 2 books on leadership and teamwork. Time to join the 纸上谈兵 club in sch..

Everyone who works with people is realizing that the old autocratic method of leadership simply doesn’t work. The way to win is to build a great team.

John C. Maxwell has been teaching the benefits of leadership and team building for years. Now he tackles the importance of teamwork head on, writing about teamwork being necessary for every kind of leader, and showing how team building can improve every area of your life.

Written in the style of the bestseller The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, this new book not only contains laws that you can count on when it comes to getting people to work together, but it tells them in such a way that you can start applying them to your own life today. And it’s illustrated with great stories of team leaders-and team breakers-from history, business, the church, and sports.

A Barnes & Noble exclusive: a specially priced one-volume collection of all four books in John Maxwell’s 101 series, this is the “what-you-need-to-know” guide for everyone who wants to make the most of their leadership opportunities.

Pulling together John Maxwell’s bestselling guides Relationships 101, Equipping 101, Attitude 101, and Leadership 101, REAL Leadership offers powerful inspiration in Maxwell’s trademark style. Focusing on the essential and time-tested qualities necessary for true leadership—influence, integrity, attitude, vision, problem solving, relationships, team building, and self-discipline—this book delivers practical steps for new and seasoned managers to develop true leadership in their lives and the lives of others.