Of Wat Times?

Our Number 1 local papers have done it again, pardon me if its my english that needs polishing, but there is no way i can make sense of this sentence they posted:

"Cambodia faced problems enforced new sex trafficking law"

You mean guys meant "enforcing" right?

Of Song & Poetry

《如燕》

词曲：陈佳明

编曲：Terence Teo

制作人：陈佳明

演唱：Olivia Ong

愿意合上眼才能美梦无边

别让悔熏乌了从前

也许碎片才能让回忆展颜

何妨瓷花拼凑明天

谁带我寻获幸福的模

却自己谜中困锁

谁为我留下缱绻的天涯

信物是抹晚霞

Chorus:

思念如燕它飞舞舌尖

若是真爱配尝几分苦甜

意念婆娑时间里推磨

追随到何处才结果

燕如针线在青空缝编

几幅女红将以泪缀点

誓言斑驳情雾只是经过

风雨中且让我盈步婀娜

Of Convocation

Curtin University of Technology, Australia 
Singapore Graduation Ceremony 2009

Sunday, 25 October 2009, 10.00am

Raffles Convention Centre, Singapore

Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing & Advertising) with Distinction

Of Bei Shan Chuan Steamboat

It was a lazy sunday morning and a very last minute arrangement lunch with the guys, liang and fred.

Bei Shan Chuan Steamboat at VivoCity was the choice venue, the air-conditioned buffet steamboat having been opened for awhile though this was a first visit for all three of us, in fact, it was the first time that we had lunch together in a long long while, much less a steamboat buffet lunch..

Price for adults on weekends are slightly on the heavier side costing 18.90++ per adult, we didn't see the NSF discount earlier, if not, the bill would definitely be cheaper since liang is still an NSF, while, we was re-NSF after he got back his civilian life for his university studies

Drinks were also expensive where juices cost like 3 bucks while soft drinks went for 2. Okie, enough about price

For the soup base, we were able to choose between seafood, chicken and ma-la(spicy), we took the chicken and ma-la soup base while the electric induction cooker meant that there was no direct flame in the restaurant

I was quite impressed with the variety of food that Bei Shan Chuan had to offer, there was a good spread of vegetables, meats and the usual yong-tou-fu stuff, my favourite being the sliced beef that was of good quality

We were in fact the earliest to arrive (opens at 12) and didn't have much problem with the food replenishment though the beef did run out at one time because liang said some botak took all the beef away, haha..

Surprising, i didn't whack prawns this time round, i have less than 10, which is a record low for me in steamboat.. turns out that my 2 friends of more than 10 years both don't really take prawn.. maybe some of you might think that friends for so long then you don't know they don't eat prawns? Well.. we are not those know everything kind of friends and we are just fine with that thank you very much.. fred didn't remember that i don't take spicy food too, but it doesn't really bother me at all.. it doesn't matter at all in fact..

So in all, we were quite satisfied with the food quality and variety and we didn't even think about desserts since we never intended to pack our tummy with food..

The service, well, lets say there almost wasn't any.. the only time the male staff(uncle) finally smiled to me was when i signed off the $79.20 bill for 3 adults and 4 drinks ordered.. the 10% service charge was not worthy at all.. but i guess in SG culture, we are not so direct to ask not to pay for the 10% when we think that the service was not there..

All in all, it was the company that counts and not the cost of the meal.. it was great to see the guys again and hear about how each other are doing over hot soup, good meat and good food..

There was a piece of news that i was supposed to share but did not find an opportunity to, till next time when we meet up again then

Of Free Rice

If you have time to spend on the net and time to read my blog, do visit this website now and play your part in donating rice to hungry people!

By spending just a few minutes of your time playing simple games like english vocab or naming the capital of countries, you can make a difference!

About FreeRice
FreeRice is a sister site of Poverty.com. Our partners are the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the United Nations World Food Program.

FreeRice has two goals:

Provide education to everyone for free.

Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site.

Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you.

Of Karma Points

Now i'm not trying to push Buddhist concepts to you.. but for those who are close enough to me, you should be aware that my religious orientations tends to be closer towards the Buddhist train of thoughts, not exacting your local sense of Buddhism but more of a zen Buddhism sort that's really hard to explain through this blog.

What brings us to the topic of the day now is the concept of Karma Points, first heard and introduced by a guy i spend 9 months with.. shock? well, ask me for details and i'll tell you

So, Karma points - it helps when you already know what karma means, and it'll leave you scratching your heads if you don't, monks scratch their heads once in awhile too you know..

karma, simply put (ie. my version) is a general concept that things eventually balances out.. the complication here is that the calculation begins why before your current life.. so what you have done well today might not be rewarded this lifetime, likewise some evil that you have committed doesn't mean you will suffer the full effects now, get it?

If you aren't already confused, it is generally considered positive karma for all of us here reading this because you are human, now how bad can that be compared to that lizard crawling outside my window and that bird that's sleeping on the tree by the main road.. you get the picture don't you..

So now, karma points are earned/deducted by the deeds that you do... points are added when good acts are done, such as giving up your seat on the bus/mrt to someone who needs it more than you, donating blood at this weekend's blood donation drive at doby ghaut MRT station and telling me how i have lost weight the next time you see me(now i'm not sure if lying but making me happy will have a positive or negative impact on your points, but just give me some joy alright)

Points are effectively deducted when you do things less desirable.. throwing that litter on the floor, cursing that guy who squeeze pass you into the train earlier although he's wrong, cursing that colleague for throwing shitloads on you while they go for some exotic holiday, stomping on those ants/cockroaches on your way home or simply when you comment or think in your head how silly i am to believe in karma..

So its a system of points that evens out in some way or another, do you believe in karma?

earn some karma points today! :)

Of Shit Times

Only in Singapore:

Straits Times

Dec 14, 2008 

Improving traffic congestion

More say ERP helps 

WHEN a new set of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries begin operation, a chorus of complaints is heard and jokes - ERP gantries drawn above lift doors - are circulated freely on the Internet. 

But the reality is that more Singaporeans now believe that this means of congestion control actually gives them a smoother ride to work. 

About 26 per cent of drivers polled this year said ERP had reduced traffic compared to 15 per cent last year. 

---------------------

 

More Singaporeans now believe that this means of congestion control actually gives them a smoother ride to work? Is 26% more? Wow

Welcome to our national papers, the Shit Times that publishes the best news that government leaders and policy makers like to see when they open their No.1 nation press in the morning when they slip their coffee.. my people are starting to like my ideas more now, 15% like now there are 26% who like! So good.. my policies rock!

Me: Eh.. how about the 74% who disagreed that the erp helped?

Policy-Maker(PM): what 74%? the papers never say

Me: See, 100% is the full respondents right, so 26% agree, means 74% disagree right

PM: No, that's not true, only 26% agree and that's an increase from 15%, be thankful and our policies have made things better!

Me: But 26% is a low percentage

PM: There is no proof of that, see, its not stated in the papers, i'm sure the percentage will increase!

Me: Okie if you insist(wtf sia).. but 26% of respondents saying that your erp help hardly supports the headline "More say ERP helps", you understand what is more or not?

PM: Of course, 15% less, 26% more, therefore MORE say ERP help understand? Be thankful!

Me: really wtf sia..

Of The Day when Earth

The Day when Earth Stood Still...

Spoiler warning... DO NOT READ if you intend to watch the movie.. rather, return after you have seen the movie to know what i'm trying to say..

Seriously.. don't spoil the story for yourself!

Keanu Reeves feels like Neo.. i think he was born for such roles...

Okie now.. you had your chance, now read on

I especially like the part where the alien paid by Neo said plainly.. if the earth dies, you die.. if you die, the earth lives, we cannot risk the earth dying

Well, something like that, and well said.. Perhaps mankind have really reached a tipping point that we lack the will to change our ways and lifestyle to preserve the Earth itself.. its ironic how we need an ailen being to remind us that the earth never belonged to us it the first place..

those who believe that this end of the world could one day come would also link it to religious view of our Armageddon shall befall this planet and end human life..

Thinking back about the show, humans fight for a chance to change and continue to live.. and the alien(Neo) gave in and stopped the "sequence".. if the show had continue for another 5hours, 50hours, do you think this incident and crisis on it own will be strong enough to change the way people think? 

Excuses will continue to be made about how more time is needed, somethings cannot be compromised, we need to keep certain things to.. humans, myself included, is just too selfish and too weak-minded to change..

I say we deserve to be terminated if there exist a stronger life form that has the ability to wipe us out for Earth's sake.. is the sacrifice of our species for a planet such as Earth worth it?

Of course it is.. we deserve nothing for all that we have taken from Earth.. what have we given back? Nothing.. nothing at all

Of I'm done!

With the results finally released on 10 Dec.. while 9 Dec night to be precise, i have officially completed my Bachelor of Commerce with double majors in Marketing and Advertising!

I must say that i am more than happy with my results for this semester..  the Curtin Study Trip, where i fulfilled the module "Marketing Professional Practice" can be counted as part of this trimester as it was a special intensive module that was done in between 2 trimesters.. the trip saw me record my first High Distinction (80 marks onwards) and i just managed that high D at 80 for this module..

now with the results released, i have happily added another high distinction to my record, and this time round, there is no doubt that i fully deserve my grade for the amount of effort that i have put in to understand the module and plan my strategies correctly to achieve maximum results.. the outcome? well.. 35% out of 35% for the team simulation was perhaps the stepping stone to a good grade, still another 45% before the 80-mark.. and at the end of it, my grand total for the module, Business Capstone stood at 93.

93.. i haven't seen myself score anything like this since maybe primary school examinations and perhaps my economics mini-test in poly.. so for sure, i'm a happy man!

Up next, Strategic Marketing, a module that reminds me of International Business in Temasek Polytechnic.. yet another one of my favourite module, i didn't always like the overseas lecturer for his module.. It doesn't help that he is the Head of the School of Marketing in Curtin back in Bentley Campus in Perth.. the issue with this experienced old chap is that he treats all his students like full-time students.. which is.. good.. if you have the time to fulfil all his requirements.. weekly tutorials to be submitted, final exams that are weighted way too heavily at 50%, final exams that practically covered the entire textbook..

just a brief recap.. the last time i had to take a module under this gentleman.. the module was named Retail Management & Distribution.. that turned out to be my worst score in my curtin life.. a mere 62 for this module and hence my one-and-only-not-so-proud-to-have Credit in my transcript

so naturally, the fear of failure, well.. maybe more of just credit, did creep up on me while i was doing the paper.. but i did work harder to remember the concepts, pardon me, but i understood almost everything that i had to learn, i just had problem memorising certain points and listing those points down like i was a bio-photocopier

so i waited silently and bravely hoped for a Distinction for Strategic Marketing.. a score of 74 for this paper was worth the effort and i'm sure the team effort that was placed in making the report tip-top contributed greatly to the score, thanks mates, you know who you ladies are!

and so.. the grand old picture now.. i'm done!

there's something that perhaps not every student is aware of.. the following information is subjected to confirmation from the authorities, so pardon me if there are any misrepresentations.. for students who scored 75% for their overall aggregate (ie. sum of all scores divided by number of modules) gets a Bachelor with Distinction!

So my certificate is likely to read "Bachelor of Commerce with double majors in Marketing and Advertising with Distinction"

why likely? cause i have a credit among the rest.. 2 High Distinctions, 9 Distinctions and 1 Credit with a aggregate score of 75.17

i hope i do get it

So finally, it's over, a big congratulations to all who have completed their Bachelor as of 10 Dec, like me, rejoice and celebration and we shall cheer for each other once more during the convocation.. for those who continue to strive for another trimester(or two), take heed that the journey has been taken before and your time will come..

All the best!

Of Stomping

So this is citizen "journalism" in action uh?

Its interesting how the whole article was produced when all i did was submit the picture with the header "Another old man standing"

What was my message? What did i want to communicate?

It's almost funny too when you read the comments from other readers on how aunties are the worst of the lot while on the other hand, you have people who are criticise klayhead for just posting the picture and doing nothing to help the old man..

now what's your take?

For those who know me well enough, what do you think i would have done/did in this situation?

It's your call, that's journalism and how your interpretation, that's the power of new media

Of YL

Today (01Dec), the first day of the last month of 2008 marks the end of my friend's journey in his pursue for his Bachelor's degree.. through all up and downs and years of textbooks, exams, numbers and programming code.. he has completed his journey when he walked out from his presentation room today 

ROD he screamed!

To some extend, i too shared this same joy when i walked out of the examination room at MIS@Raeburn park.. indeed, MIS has shifted so many times that one can never be sure which MIS i'm refering to..

but i wonder, does my friend feel the same anxiety that i feel now, while waiting for my results to appear on the Oasis system that Curtin uses to keep their students informed of the results? Both he and i know pretty well that the chance of us failing is extremely low. Yet, neither of us belongs to the group that wishes just to pass.. we have expectations of ourselves and we do strive to meet them.. i, get lazy sometimes..

9 more days and the wait will be over.. well 8 to be exact..

10dec, come on, hurry up

oh yes, i almost forgot, congrats YL, you did it!