Friday, April 18, 2003
Bad start to my day. Boarded the bus, and the guy behind me was talking on his hands-free set at a volume to wake the dead. So there he was, rambling for a good 15 mins of the ride to the audibility of the whole bus, about his valiant soccer-betting exploits. More than mildly irritated, I moved forward one seat, feeling particular comforted that my handphone had a built in radio I can listen to in order to escape his loud droning voice. As I shifted seats, I half-turned and shot him a glare.
When that guy was getting off the bus (I sat right beside the door) I was gonna shoot him another glare, but strangely he was looking at me, and smiled in a "hey long time no see" look. I think he mistook my glare for something else: I think he thought I know him or something. What bad fortune. I was soooo tempted to raise a middle finger at him, but that would be quite inappropriate. Don't want to taint my image. When he got off, he still went to tap my window from outside. I decided I'll just ignore the weird fella.
Went to school one hour early (as told to) for my exam. Apparently now they have a temperature check before you go in the exam hall. As admin goes anywhere, they started late (yeah what did I expect huh?) for the screening, and there was one huge mass of people waiting for them. You know something? If someone actually does have SARS, it would have spread within the crowded queue already. Sometimes, procedures while good-intentioned do seem idiotic at times. But I applaud the effort.
The exam was tough on my wrist...two hour paper, all writing essays. Wrote three three-page essays at top speed until my wrist went weak. Doesn't help that my eyelid was twitching all this while. Hmm must be the late nights watching my Anime. Hahaha...
When that guy was getting off the bus (I sat right beside the door) I was gonna shoot him another glare, but strangely he was looking at me, and smiled in a "hey long time no see" look. I think he mistook my glare for something else: I think he thought I know him or something. What bad fortune. I was soooo tempted to raise a middle finger at him, but that would be quite inappropriate. Don't want to taint my image. When he got off, he still went to tap my window from outside. I decided I'll just ignore the weird fella.
Went to school one hour early (as told to) for my exam. Apparently now they have a temperature check before you go in the exam hall. As admin goes anywhere, they started late (yeah what did I expect huh?) for the screening, and there was one huge mass of people waiting for them. You know something? If someone actually does have SARS, it would have spread within the crowded queue already. Sometimes, procedures while good-intentioned do seem idiotic at times. But I applaud the effort.
The exam was tough on my wrist...two hour paper, all writing essays. Wrote three three-page essays at top speed until my wrist went weak. Doesn't help that my eyelid was twitching all this while. Hmm must be the late nights watching my Anime. Hahaha...
(Early in the morning...)
Aha! I managed to kill a mosquito that has been terrorizing me the whole evening (it's now past midnight) in the toilet. You know, something peculiar always happen. The mosquitoes come seasonally, and especially on the eves of exams. Now I'm not being paranoid but it's true. I haven't seen a single mosquito for the past week, and then it came yesterday, right on my exam eve. There must be a conspiracy involved...the mosquitoes want me to not be able to sleep and do badly for exams. Evil mosquitoes.
I discovered something recently. A nice medium sized spider spun a web in one corner of my toilet, under my toiletry shelf. Neat...instead of just killing the mosquito, I decided that I would contribute the carcass to the nice little spider in the corner. So I picked it up from the wet toilet floor and dropped in right smack on the web. Hmmm I think the water made the web sink a bit from the weight...it is amazing how fast the spider moved from one end of the web to the mosquito. But the weird thing is, it didn't approach too near it, and it didn't try to eat it, nor did it spin a cocoon around it. Picky picky...
It still hasn't eaten the mosquito as of near noon time. Maybe it isn't hungry.
Aha! I managed to kill a mosquito that has been terrorizing me the whole evening (it's now past midnight) in the toilet. You know, something peculiar always happen. The mosquitoes come seasonally, and especially on the eves of exams. Now I'm not being paranoid but it's true. I haven't seen a single mosquito for the past week, and then it came yesterday, right on my exam eve. There must be a conspiracy involved...the mosquitoes want me to not be able to sleep and do badly for exams. Evil mosquitoes.
I discovered something recently. A nice medium sized spider spun a web in one corner of my toilet, under my toiletry shelf. Neat...instead of just killing the mosquito, I decided that I would contribute the carcass to the nice little spider in the corner. So I picked it up from the wet toilet floor and dropped in right smack on the web. Hmmm I think the water made the web sink a bit from the weight...it is amazing how fast the spider moved from one end of the web to the mosquito. But the weird thing is, it didn't approach too near it, and it didn't try to eat it, nor did it spin a cocoon around it. Picky picky...
It still hasn't eaten the mosquito as of near noon time. Maybe it isn't hungry.
Monday, April 14, 2003
Yesterday saw an amusing sight...got this dark gray cat by the roadside. I walked past it, and thought I saw something pink sticking out of its mouth. Looks like a tongue, but can't be sure. Could be the pink flesh of a half-eaten mouse...if it's really sticking out a tongue, it's really cute. So I bent down and took a look...wah lau eh, it's really sticking out its tongue, and drooling some more! In all my years, I haven't ever seen a cat sticking its tongue out. Thought it's a dog behaviour.
Ok ok...I'm amused by strange and silly things.
Today, I think it must be some big festival in Thailand. I woke up to the loud drumming and singing of folk songs by a multitude of Thai workers. Where I stay is the congregation point of the Thai workers. It went on for the whole day. At the end of the day, the air had the stench of cheap liquor and some weird food that I still dunno what it is...and downstairs, it had a tinge of urine smell. There isn't a single toilet around the blocks except for the coffee shop, and I know for a fact that they pee near the playground near my block. They had white powder on their face (must be some festival lah), and half of them are drunk. The thing that I can't stand is that they leave tons of trash all over the place where they sat. Nut shells, plastic cups, styrofoam boxes, shattered or intact glass bottles etc. You know what the irony is? The poor Bangladeshi cleaners will have to take care of the mess left behind. Hmmm...poor foreign workers cleaning up after other foreign workers.
Am watching the NKF charity show. I'm quite impressed with the number of calls that went in. Considering now are really bad times in economic terms, the apparent generosity I feel is quite impressive. And kudos to Sharon Au and Jack Neo for their tough performances. Makes me think for a second that we Singaporeans aren't that bad after all. For a second only lah.
Ok ok...I'm amused by strange and silly things.
Today, I think it must be some big festival in Thailand. I woke up to the loud drumming and singing of folk songs by a multitude of Thai workers. Where I stay is the congregation point of the Thai workers. It went on for the whole day. At the end of the day, the air had the stench of cheap liquor and some weird food that I still dunno what it is...and downstairs, it had a tinge of urine smell. There isn't a single toilet around the blocks except for the coffee shop, and I know for a fact that they pee near the playground near my block. They had white powder on their face (must be some festival lah), and half of them are drunk. The thing that I can't stand is that they leave tons of trash all over the place where they sat. Nut shells, plastic cups, styrofoam boxes, shattered or intact glass bottles etc. You know what the irony is? The poor Bangladeshi cleaners will have to take care of the mess left behind. Hmmm...poor foreign workers cleaning up after other foreign workers.
Am watching the NKF charity show. I'm quite impressed with the number of calls that went in. Considering now are really bad times in economic terms, the apparent generosity I feel is quite impressive. And kudos to Sharon Au and Jack Neo for their tough performances. Makes me think for a second that we Singaporeans aren't that bad after all. For a second only lah.
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
I'm running on low batt now...slept only 3 hours yesternight. Stayed up till 4 am to prepare my part of the group report (the stupid 400 page report for my design project) so that today morning when we meet at 9 (means I gotta wake up at 7) things will go smoother. Apparently only one other teammate shared the same idea, and I am disgusted to find that everyone else still have lots of unfinished business...and lots of sleep the previous night. Whatever happened to initiative and consideration for others? They talked about wanting to do it "chop chop" and all that kind of stuff...and they expect to compile a report done by 7 different people together AFTER they finish their own stuff and STILL finish fast? I am working with very deluded people. They're nice people, and friends, but extremely shortsighted.
I was in school from 9 am to 9 pm, compiling the stupid report and printing. The compilation took until 7 pm...you might ask, "how can you compile a report for 10 hrs?" Well, frankly, I wonder why too. Is it because a guy didn't do the things he was supposed to do, and we had to help him complete it? Possibly. Is it that everyone's report followed a waaaay different format, even though at the start me and my like-minded teammate have sent a page template and suggested that we all use that same template? Yeah, it happened. It is amazing to see how many different variations in presentation 7 people can have, even though we had fixed some naming conventions, font, font size etc. The marvellous differences of each human mind. Could it be that no one had absolutely any idea how to proceed forward...not even the team leader, until me, the usually Mr-Nice-Guy actually became frustrated enough to start barking orders to get everyone moving...and moving coordinatedly?
I was seriously wondering why my team members, as with many Singaporeans, lack initiative. Worse still, they lack the foresight when it comes to anticipating problems when it involves others. They can see every bad thing coming if it hurts them, but if what they are doing (or not doing) will cost other people something, wow...it bypasses their minds completely. I also wonder what the Singapore education system might have done, since many lack the initiative to think a little further, and are unable to move ahead without someone telling them what to do. Frankly, if a laidback guy like me could be pushed to being assertive, I really dunno what to say about this whole situation. You may think that all this is strange coming from a self-professed procrastinator, but the crucial difference is this: I procrastinate work only when it only affects only myself. I am extremely diligent when it is group work because I stupidly overburden myself with social responsibility. If I have an obligation to fulfil, (eg my team member needs certain info or data from me) I put it at higher priority. That's how I function. I don't like dragging other people down, because I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end, waiting for someone to finish his part of the work in order that I may proceed with my part. Now why can't more people think and act like this, and hey, work can move along much smoother and not delay.
Everybody's and anybody's job is nobody's job.
I was in school from 9 am to 9 pm, compiling the stupid report and printing. The compilation took until 7 pm...you might ask, "how can you compile a report for 10 hrs?" Well, frankly, I wonder why too. Is it because a guy didn't do the things he was supposed to do, and we had to help him complete it? Possibly. Is it that everyone's report followed a waaaay different format, even though at the start me and my like-minded teammate have sent a page template and suggested that we all use that same template? Yeah, it happened. It is amazing to see how many different variations in presentation 7 people can have, even though we had fixed some naming conventions, font, font size etc. The marvellous differences of each human mind. Could it be that no one had absolutely any idea how to proceed forward...not even the team leader, until me, the usually Mr-Nice-Guy actually became frustrated enough to start barking orders to get everyone moving...and moving coordinatedly?
I was seriously wondering why my team members, as with many Singaporeans, lack initiative. Worse still, they lack the foresight when it comes to anticipating problems when it involves others. They can see every bad thing coming if it hurts them, but if what they are doing (or not doing) will cost other people something, wow...it bypasses their minds completely. I also wonder what the Singapore education system might have done, since many lack the initiative to think a little further, and are unable to move ahead without someone telling them what to do. Frankly, if a laidback guy like me could be pushed to being assertive, I really dunno what to say about this whole situation. You may think that all this is strange coming from a self-professed procrastinator, but the crucial difference is this: I procrastinate work only when it only affects only myself. I am extremely diligent when it is group work because I stupidly overburden myself with social responsibility. If I have an obligation to fulfil, (eg my team member needs certain info or data from me) I put it at higher priority. That's how I function. I don't like dragging other people down, because I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end, waiting for someone to finish his part of the work in order that I may proceed with my part. Now why can't more people think and act like this, and hey, work can move along much smoother and not delay.
Everybody's and anybody's job is nobody's job.
Sunday, April 06, 2003
I remember hearing something interesting over the radio (91.3) yesterday. DJ Kate Reyes was talking about some time ago when she asked some kids what they wanted to be when they grew up, and the response that was given was mostly things like "I wanna be Britney Spears!" for the girls, and "I wanna be Beckham" for the guys. Interesting how the word "like" as been omitted. So it's not even "I wanna be like Britney/Beckham". Does that mean the kids are not after the fame and success, but after everything that the celebrities have? (Hmmm...maybe the guys wanted Posh Spice.) Weird how times have changed. It used to be things like "I wanna be an astronaut" or "I wanna be a doctor".
Is there some funny perception or blind (hopeful) pursuit of fame? I am curious about this, because I just found out that my ex-classmate from sec sch appears to have taken on a DJing stint with 100.3 fm, and apparently going to work with some other channel upcoming, or something like that. And now a friend is going for Star Search. Never thought I'd see the day when someone I know is going to appear on TV or radio. Hmmm, maybe one day I can go ask them whether there's a cost to fame. But of course, it would be a shame for them to have wasted their talents too. So, looking at them, maybe becoming famous isn't such an impossible attempt.
Makes me remember this quote from somewhere: "Losers have dreams; winners have them as goals."
Is there some funny perception or blind (hopeful) pursuit of fame? I am curious about this, because I just found out that my ex-classmate from sec sch appears to have taken on a DJing stint with 100.3 fm, and apparently going to work with some other channel upcoming, or something like that. And now a friend is going for Star Search. Never thought I'd see the day when someone I know is going to appear on TV or radio. Hmmm, maybe one day I can go ask them whether there's a cost to fame. But of course, it would be a shame for them to have wasted their talents too. So, looking at them, maybe becoming famous isn't such an impossible attempt.
Makes me remember this quote from somewhere: "Losers have dreams; winners have them as goals."
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Collected my thesis for my research project and handed it up to my supervisor...woohoo!!! Feels really good, although that was last sem's work. Anyway, I'm also slightly relieved because I'm nearly done with this sem's design project...now only left...um...still a lot of stuff. Unfortunately I also suddenly realized I misestimated my required target grades for this sem to pull my honours degree up to second upper...basically I need a CAP of 4.966, which, if you dunno, basically it works out to straight As. Not even an A-. Looks like I'm bound for second lower.
I was listening to 91.3fm when they announced the news. I just find it so ridiculous hearing this (roughly these words) "NUS has decided not to postpone the examinations but will hold a dialogue with the students about SARS this evening." I mean, come on, the only reason why the students want the dialogue is to express that they want something done. Now if you already "decided" not to do anything, then why have the dialogue in the first place? Stupid bureaucracy.
Incidentally, today, as I was walking along City Link, finally spotted two ladies wearing face masks walking around. Hmmmm...despite the SARS scare, it still looks...weird...
I was listening to 91.3fm when they announced the news. I just find it so ridiculous hearing this (roughly these words) "NUS has decided not to postpone the examinations but will hold a dialogue with the students about SARS this evening." I mean, come on, the only reason why the students want the dialogue is to express that they want something done. Now if you already "decided" not to do anything, then why have the dialogue in the first place? Stupid bureaucracy.
Incidentally, today, as I was walking along City Link, finally spotted two ladies wearing face masks walking around. Hmmmm...despite the SARS scare, it still looks...weird...
I woke up exceptionally early today (for my standards lah). At slightly after 6 am, I woke to the loud thunderblasts that came with the morning storm. It was so loud and near...I counted the time lapse between the lightning and thunder...it was about 3 seconds. Which meant that the storm front was only about 1 km away, up in the sky. I couldn't sleep after that, and there I was, counting the time between the thunder claps, waiting in anticipation. It then struck me how the thunder claps resemble bomb blasts, and for that instant, I had a glimpse of what the Iraqi civilians might have felt...shocked by the sound, and then, just slow and anticipatory wait for the next...and the next...
I had to wake up early anyway for an interview...with MOE. It came as a surprise to many of my friends who I hadn't told much about previously. I bet they think I watched too much GTO...(which is true...) You know what's the silly thing? I went there early, and the next person who came happened to be a church friend. And the next, my classmate. For a while I was counting all my friends who applied, and I wondered how small NIE would be if I got in. And the most ridiculous thing about this interview was to be asked to bring my results, testimonials etc etc to verify the photocopied ones I sent...now come on. This is MOE for goodness sake. I know all this stuff is in their computer SOMEWHERE. Sigh. All that red tape.
I had to wake up early anyway for an interview...with MOE. It came as a surprise to many of my friends who I hadn't told much about previously. I bet they think I watched too much GTO...(which is true...) You know what's the silly thing? I went there early, and the next person who came happened to be a church friend. And the next, my classmate. For a while I was counting all my friends who applied, and I wondered how small NIE would be if I got in. And the most ridiculous thing about this interview was to be asked to bring my results, testimonials etc etc to verify the photocopied ones I sent...now come on. This is MOE for goodness sake. I know all this stuff is in their computer SOMEWHERE. Sigh. All that red tape.