characters dont really change, dont they?

The part and parcel about working life is that, not many people will have the fortune to be taught; or rather, most of the things have to be pick up by self. And I refer to the small but significant stuff like what to do and what not to, and also all those sticky PR stuff.

Possibly, here's where reflection comes in, thinking about what I should have done or not, or what can be improved on. Provided I still have the energy left after a day.

And, as I found out with reflection, humans really don’t change. Traces of me are always the same, be it when I was 5, 15, or 25 years old.

Like the boastful me. Like the zealous me. Like the me who always tried to take his own path.

Whether such are flaws or strength can be left for debates later. However, what I was rather surprised that I can trace it back to when I was a small boy. The characteristics remain even after all the very different stages of life I had been through.


Based on this same theory, meaning that, sooner or later, I should get back the smiling, vocal and reckless myself.

I know I will.

oven baked brain, anyone?

The dust had finally settled, and the pathway to my next step in life is now clear. As on last Thursday 15th October, I have broken free from the status of actively-seeking-employment to be, well, employed.

A big relief, definitely, at a time whereby people around you, one by one, found their job, and you are already doing nothing more than clicking on the laptop at home, everyday. Furthermore, the bank account is starting to show signs of craters that is cracking into the reserves; the new lease of “rocks” from the salary comes at the right time, will very well ensure the reserves is reserved.

More importantly, I will be sure now that I will not end up in the line that I do-not-want-to-enter-but-eventually-will-have-to-cos-I-have-no-choice. I had preset it as my last emergency choice in case I’m still not employed by Jan.

So, coming Monday, the 26th Oct, I’m going to get very busy. For this Blog, it is still no bad news. Experience in the past had shown a very interesting trend; during my free times at normal school days, posts are rare here; however when I’m so busy with temp/internship, and even during exams times, post after post filled this blog up. Looking at the past four free months you can see how miserably “active” this blog is… So I reckon more blaggering, confusing thoughts, weird inspirations posts will all come in, right after my brain is re-started and reheated with the start of work.

Stay tuned, I hope.
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Formula - One and Only - Kind of Experience

To say that, for a car-nut like me, I’m born in the wrong country, is very correct. At this part of the globe, private transport is discouraged, and racing was non-existent locally. The last was in the 1970’s before it was cancelled due to safety reasons, and the more recent 1990’s carpark rallies was out of action for some time too.

That is why, even though that I haven’t been really following F1 (I was more of a fan of car races that resembles road cars), when it finally came to our shores last year, there was still some hurray. Hey, at least it’s some proper world class racing.

And that also explain why, when I was offered to buy the ticket to this year F1 at the eleventh hour, I bought it without second thought. I am going to watch a live race, first in life.

- - -

27th September, arrived at Marina bay, armed with a bottle of water and my trusty good camera, alone. Not a bad thing, considering that the amount of crowd to appear later in night, making it a more flexible affair to move about to the carnival. It was a good time for me to arrive at 4pm, since that crowd is still sparse and I get to watch the support race of Porsche Cup Asia (which is “a race that resembles road cars”).

Which, this was simply brilliant. The roar of the flat 6 engine, and the aggressiveness of those drivers, familiar with the climate and track (several was Singaporeans) conquered the tail-happy cars, sliding through corners and battling the other drivers. Some spin out early in race, some persist on despite parts falling off the cars. It was a treat to the ears and eyes.

With that over and the winner crowned, followed by some photo snap of the F1 stars on parade, I move out of the cozy seat (at the floating platform, by the way) and ventured to elsewhere. It is when part of the magic lies; you know you are in home country but it doesn’t feel like it. The entire marina area had been transformed into some foreign tourist land. Tourist roam around, cutting through all the floating balloons lamps and tents. Performers hop around on stilts to entertain guest while singers spread music around at the esplanade outdoor stage. The best of all, you see beers everywhere, be it in process of being drank or carried around in trays.

This is the complete race event experience, just like what you can get overseas; where other than the cars you get beer and chill about on the track side.

- - -

Hot dog down in stomach and it’s time for the real deal. At this time, the world is really then coming into the venue, thus it got really crowded (especially at the overhead bridge where bottleneck was formed) Arrived back to my seat, to find the entire platform fully seated, and in time for the first F1 car to drive pass for the warm up lap. The temperature at 8pm had now dropped, but the crowd around was far from cool. With the go given by the green light, the atmosphere drove up and immediately you are surrounded in the excitement in the air; one was the intensity of audience’s eagerness to know who gets to takeover/maintain the pole position short flag off (since overtaking is not that common in F1), and the other was due to that sound. F1 are so loud that you can hear them long before they come to you, and so fast that they reach you in minutes.

And when they do arrive minutes later, just like a magic wand the entire audience was being swipe up. In the sense that in a Kallang wave manner, people stood up as the race cars sped pass, either to take a photo of it, simply because they are blocked ‘coz the guy in front stood up.

It lasted for 3 laps, ‘coz after which they are tired (and gave up taking photos). But all eyes are still glued to the screen, and the most nature instinct of a outcry of disappointment with every crash or the uproar of cheering with every overtaking that was performed. A few might not totally appreciate the situation (it do gets dry after the thousand lap) and left the show early, but those who do appreciate stays behind, anxious to know who will win or “slaughter” the opponent. Especially when this is Singapore GP, the new track that is so difficult that it lacks no drama. Drivers make mistakes, some crash onto some other, and the Benz safety car enter the picture (once again for me to drool at the deep wail of the engine music) allowing more guys to do catch up.

Many laps and even more adrenaline rush later, the checked flag is out, and another champion is born (with the British national anthem being played over our soil again). The commentators come in to discuss about the points and championship stuff, but I was rather ignorant of these. What caught more of my attention was below, on the track, where the flood gates have been opened and fans poured onto the track. I joined in and had another round of immersing with the crowd. Absorbing the rays from the bright road lightings, people happily snapped every single detail of the tracks. Posing with the signboard, staring at the fresh tyre marks, examining at the accident knocks on the walls, and even lying flat on red-white rubbers with their idol team flag as blanket, the seriously haunting race track, in split seconds, turned into a giant 5 km play ground. You won’t see this on telly.


This is the complete race experience. Just like comparing between DVD and going to a concert live, yes it is different.


Big hole in the wallet is, well, worth it.

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when niggles and screw driver meets.

To say that I'm a perfectionist, I might beg to differ. However, when it comes to cars, I might have to admit it. Beyond my abilities.

Here's the picture: For those who sat in the van previously, the air-con broke down. So the part finally arrived and she went for a 2 day 1 night stay at the garage, having the dashboard dismantled so as to get that coil thing replaced.

No hands can match machine precision, thus when she came back the build quality would be lost. For instance, there are loose panel and therefore the indicator became flimsy. Being critical, I wished how much the small niggles can disappear. Especially when you cant avoid the indicator while driving.

So, the day came: It was last Friday, I had sent my dad to the polyclinic for check up. And now I'm alone, with the van keys, at our home carpark, with all sorts of tools available in the boot. Too tempting.

Hence, I got my hands dirty. The horrible sounding of the stalk was traced and linked to that loose housing on the steering column, whose screw was missing thus therefore not tighten. Search the toolbox for the correct sized screw, and in a very awkward position with some sweat it was tighten and secured.

Having fixed one problem and feeling confident, no prize for guessing correctly what the over zealous me would do next. Another major eye sore is that air con knob: the mech haven't align it properly during assembly, that why it's now pointing at the wrong way. Pointing at windscreen heater, it actually means front blowers.
How hard can it be?

The plastic cover of the center console was pulled out easily as how you do with a CPU front casing. Then with those tools bought during the Fiat-punto-bumper-came-off incident of Oct 07, the knob assembly was unscrewed and loosen. So far so good.

Then, it was stuck. Apparently it involves some cables too, which the ignorant me is, well, ignorant of. Thinking that I could just put it back and forget about it, I was wrong. Some thing else behind had fallen, and all 3 knobs now lost their connection.

That's when trouble really strikes. I have screw it up big time now. Oh god, previously it was only pointing at the wrong way. Now, it cant do anything else. Imagine what my dad would do, if first he found that I went to dismantle the thing and now, the air con is permanently forever stuck at the lowest temperature and blowing in your face. Damn. What follows, is just a long long chain of vulgarities from myself at myself.

Roller coaster emotion ride has not reach the peak. Right at this moment, the phone rang. My dad called and he is ready to be pick up. Meaning i have 15 minutes left to fix the shit i created for myself. Dead.

Be calm, I told myself, and analyze the problem. I regain consciousness, visualize & figure out the assembly, and successfully pulled the fallen part back in position and fix the console back. Done in 11 minutes.

With the back still sweaty and palms still dirty, I fire up the engine and went straight to my dad location. And certainly, when I see my dad i boasted about how i had fix the indicator but mumbled no word about the crisis i had just survived from.


Honestly, if fixing such stuff are as easy as doing DIY computers, then cars wouldn't cost as much and all pre-school kids can write iphone game codes already. I guess.

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Light is at the end of the tunnel

After my interview several weeks back, i had in mind a brief for a new post to write; it's about how nice it is to take a detour via train, particularly east west line, where the fast disappearing landscape outside the windows helps to bring your thoughts away... Clearing your mind which was heavily flooded after that revolting interview...

Yet, this post was never completed. What i'm going to narrate now, is an opposite. What happened after that incident was an irony; what was suppose to be a mundane life for me now, events still occur to me every now and then. That why, there are still stuff to ponder and think about.

Nowadays i began to take the underground NEL train for convenient sake. This is a byproduct of my laziness, however alongside i discovered: as cold and boring the tunnel may seem, as much i dislike it, it could do good. Cos nothing to see means nothing to distract, meaning maximum space in brain for the thoughts to take over. It can be an unhealthy recursive negative feelings, it can also be the straightening out towards practical solutions. It's natural: especially when you cant sleep and there's nothing to do or watch.

Which, leads to this strange aftermath feeling. What a time i'm going thru now. Yes i may love all the freedom i enjoy now, all the flexiblity because i'm free and not committed to any thing now, but, there's so much more i want to do. I may have so much inspiration, so much ideas and plans to achieve, but, there's no avenue, no means. For now, period.

I know, i heard, i aware, that all these now is nothing but a temporary phrase. I'm definately sure that one day all that i wish for will happen if i work on it. Just pardon me now cos, after all the tunnels and trains and idleness, production of all these thoughts filled out all the buckets in my brain, so just allow me to pour and empty them here.

Thx heaven for blogspot. Typing this on mobile had occupied me from Punggol to Farrer Park station. 

(this version here now is, of course, post-edited on laptop thereafter)
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the name that was 24 years late.

First, the nurse pronounces it as Jing xiong without fail, during every frequent visit to the family clinic.

Then, for the last 3 years in primary school, the name was pronounced differently as the more common chinese characters for the two words.

And while doing customer service during intern, you realize that several repetition is required on the phone before people get it and remember the name, thus shortly after, the introduction process was simplified as “Lin”; for the ease.

All it seems like, if I ever would enter a frontline job, I need an English name.

Que the entrance of “book of baby names”, 24 years after the birth of this baby.


So after some really enduring silly jokes and craps (eg, "farkson"), this particular name was selected after an exhaustive short listing of choices with elimination of many other names that was associated with bad impression in others’ personal experience. (what a long statement)

How does it feel like to adopt a new name at this age?

I do not know for now, coz I haven’t really activated the use of this name yet. To be activated if my eventual job requires it.

I can imagine, it got to be weird to hear people calling you something else, on picking up the call. Need adaptation.

However, it might be some form of new identity; the more professional me with that name, the more relaxed after I was called Jingxiang again. And possibly, less barriers in approaching strangers…? More natural in introducing myself? Less focus in getting my name right and more focus on what I'm about to communicate on?

Well, I shall get to know and experience it when the time comes. For now, I shall still be known as Jingxiang; and this new name will be under the tightly-secured-air-tight wrap.

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break the wallet

It is hard to think that, for someone like me who used to not prefer Apple and iPod and think that they are rubbish on a PC, would recently fell in love with my sist’s iPhone. And now to think about getting an iPod touch in future. For myself who doesn’t ever had an mp3 player, to plug in during driving or traveling, and to surf and play.

The best combination would be, instead of getting the all-in-one iPhone, to have a “normal” phone and iPod touch combi. Reason is, if the thing fails, at least it would not mess up your calls. The “normal” phone, however, is far from “basic”. Ideally perhaps the Nokia Navigator, then get a data plan and run the A-GPS, checking location data, weather, mail and etc on the move.

And since that I would be on the move, isn’t that sweet if I have a dSLR with me? Definitely a Canon, and perhaps the mid level 450D? Actually back then with the amount I dumped into my G10 I could have already gotten a 2nd hand dSLR; however I know it’s an endless pit: Filters would be followed by Lens and then Flash & lightings and so on… By then in a blink of the eye, today’s level of funds would be dried up… Thus only way to sustain a SLR is with salary.

With funds really flowing then I would want a PS3 too. After toying with other’s I have re-opened my interest in this thing after so many years… And to grab it so as to run that PS-only Gran Turismo 5: the most realistic racing simulator ever. At least my PS-compatible steering wheel would have another use.

Since the PS3 is in the room, it would need a bigger screen, like a HD LCD monitor…perhaps 21 inch will do. Then might as well also get one more 40 inch LED TV for the living room, since the current 28 inch CRT TV likes to tilt images on its own accord, and my sister newly bought DVD recorder is mocking it by using such smaaalllll fonts on the interface…

Great camera and monitor would be best graced with brilliant images, which would be all taken from beautiful foreign land. The money would be great for another revisit to Taiwan again with great pals, then to the coastal Australia and the snowy Japan…. And with the “buy-switch” wide opened, it would be more perfect with new watch, new wallet, new shoes, new shirts, new pants, etc etc etc.


Thus, for all these day dreams to happen, I need Salary first, feed everything basic before the expenditure begins. So that means I need a job.

However, when you get a job that allows you to buy all these, how on earth am I going to get the time to enjoy them all?

You need a job to afford play but when you play you can’t afford working time…..What an irony.

from the land accessed by planes and bullet trains.

Credits to the excellent facilites provided by Holiday Inn Express Taichung, i'm now able to access the net and post this entry, despite being thousands of miles away from home.

Well, to be very precise, the time now is 42mins pass midnight, and i am alone seated at one of the three computers provided at the hobby lobby, with friends almost asleep twelve storeys above and only few cars driving pass the police road block set up just outside the hotel....

In case you are wondering, this is now the 3rd night of my maiden trip to Taiwan, with 5 more nights left to go. Started at Taipei, now at Taichung, and tomorrow back to the city again..

And right til this minute, i'm truely loving it. There could be lots of issue (work) beforehand, there might be much travelling before the real deal starts, however, now it seems worth it. The fact that we DIY it means total control and choice, and at such a country it is possible and fun.

Fun is the key. Taiwan may not have the best city planning around, however the decentralisation means that every where is an attraction... And Colourful indeed, buzzling with activities and energy....Not the stressful push, but the energy to go out and have fun.

Huge too, from the size of the night-markets to the 4 lane roads to the variety of products to buy to the choice of food to eat to creativity of advertisments/marketing to the warmth of locals...

Especially for the last point: The streets here may be messy, however you will most likely to have someone to help you when you need it. Discount vounchers are shared among strangers, taxi driver and food/shop vendors chat with you when you visit... Contrast that with some service standard we have...or rather, dont even talk about "standards"; such human-touch will never be able to be emulated by some service-procedure or ratings... get it?

Standards also for Transport: The roads here will be hell to any average Singaporean drivers... what rules? Scooters rules the road. Bikes/Cars/Trucks squeeze through any given inches and merge in with the crowds in the Night Market. Picture an Corolla thru pasan malam. On roads/motorways vehicles weave in and out, however never seem Life-threatening, simply because they give way to others, Always on Alert... if only our roads can be so....

Keep left to the right of escalator in Subway, else summon. And you get everyone doing so, not blocking the way. And no ones rushes into the train cabin when the doors open, instead an orderly queue is formed.... Plus the call to let out the priority seats are done so even better...dont even need PCK to rap. (pix will be up) And that brilliant Bullet Train...filled with facitilies on board yet so fast that you wouldnt get to enjoy them...reaches destination on the dot, precisely.

Ulimately, is the total experience. Where meals are not just items that you sat down to chew and fills the stomach. Meals are tasty, senses-triggering treats, purchased and ate as you move from a stall to another, while avoiding scooters and distracted by the nice clothes Unique to every stall/shops. Stomach is filled when you had tried every different items bought by each friends, while laughing hard about some really lame thing. This is throughout the day; meaning that, meal times are actually, never ending until the time you call it a day.

Welcome to Taiwan.

back and forwards

Ok, this blog is not dead. And yes, i'm not dead from exams too. I have blew off the dust on this blog and celebrate this joyous occassion, by looking at the dusty past posts.

The other day as i need some info, i browsed through my past posts and found this :

Dated 5th June 2006
(http://evoxiang.blogspot.com/2006/06/road-ahead_05.html)

"...but what's after the degree?.... The answer will be out in 3 years time. May it be a great road."


That was what the 20+ year old me asked myself way back then.

3 years and 5 days later, the 23+ year old me is still asking the same question.


Auto industry? Definately will still try after the break. Just that a realistic target will be set and options are all opened out....as long as it is not finance. For sure & for sure, months later i'll get a job and only then i can get an answer for the 20 year old me.

Come November, & i believe my life will be radically different. & that's good.

Anyway, shall enjoy every inch of my holiday right now. You are not getting that often anymore, unless you clear leave and lose your phone. Haa.


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training required

At Trains (no punning intended)

Having always to be a die hard bus user, i converted to taking trains to school only Jan this year, after the morning traffic conditions gotten worse. Since then, the morning commute was seamless, and rather, monotonous.

Quickly it came for the very last day to school on Thurs, and possibly the very last time i'm known as a "full-time" student, going to that school, on that time. The train company gave a surprise that morning, by breaking the norm.

Typical morning, at the typical station, with many others typically went forward to glass door as the train typically comes to a stop, however, untypically it didnt stop on time, & went very untypically overshot. Thus with this untypical situation whereby the train doors ending up aligned to station glass walls, definately the train cannot open it's doors. An untypical reverse, i guess, is not possible too, so in the end the passengers inside the train are trapped.

Picture this. We, on the platform, staring onto the glass door that wouldnt open, (which leads to nothing) and those in the train, preparing to alight, staring onto a black wall.

This ackward moment lasted for half a minute or so, then the train sped off (before the next one came, bang and cause an 007 style explosion). And a straight voice came from the PA: "the next train will be arriving in 2 minutes.".

Honestly, i'm ok with it. I wasnt late or anything; it was rather, those in the train i do pity. For this mistake they have to go an extra station, instantly converting them from on time, to be late for work.

Hey, at least they could have shown some sort of Apology on the PA rather than only saying next one is 2 minutes right?

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

At F1 simulator

Came across this at airport today:



And me, being myself, detoured to the booth, and 5 minutes later, on the seat trying out the PC game (not the big simulator of 'cos, i'm not going to crash loudly in public)

Nothing beats playing a driving simulator with proper steering wheel and big LCD screen. But the enjoyment was discounted for the crashing, stalling, spinning out of the F1 car. The singapore circuit is so narrow with no run off area...and the sheer speeds require all the 1000 & 1 concentration...

Damn, it was hard. No wonder F1 drivers are paid millions.

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

At Exams

Here's the luck number of the week -- 8861
Fortune available at all 4D/TOTO outlet near you.

Which, by the way, is my exam candidate number, freshly out of the hot mailer that just came in. Just days before the exams.

So as we hope that our number can lead us to some Academic fortune, wouldnt it be nice if we can extract some Financial fortune out of it?

A quick check on my sister newly-beloved iPhone, whose application revealed that this number last came on:

Feb 2007, starter
Feb 2005, starter
Oct 2000, 3rd
Dec 199o, consolation

...& that's all, in entire history.


Alrite, be realistic, study hard.

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

away from red dot to the red church

Along comes a long weekend and family going melaka, so it forms a perfect match for a quick getaway holiday...away from our red dot to the place of red buildings.

And indeed, the more than 200km up north escape is worth it. Slows down your pace, get yourself immerse into that rich atmosphere, and get walk shop and eat non stop. Without any diet or financial guilt.

Once is not enough; i'll want to go back again in future and walk that jonker street again, and cover those uncovered part of 'tourist-ly' places.

(& taste again the lovely ice kacang, coffee, laksa, etc)

Hopefully then, can be achieved by driving there....since many does that, with 65.144564% of singaporean cars found in malaysia during public holiday...& be earlier to avoid that massive jam which turns the initial 4.5 hours journey into a 8 hours one.

Now, may the pictures do the talking~

**in case u wonder, some of the dark frame you saw is due to the polarizator lens i just got. Love it under bright sunlight, although unsure have i used it correctly...needs enlightment.


& next, roll the tape..

the air in airport

Ever since i knew how to take bus on own, it seems that i always love to go airport.. Earlier days was for the chilling and food, later was for dating, and nowadays is for self studies here. Whatever is it, it just have a volume to absorb my needs..

And curiously, it does help healing when u r feeling down. Maybe it's the travelling, maybe is the spacious high ceiling and fresh sunlights thru roof of t3, or maybe is the gateway that hints opportunity or hopes exist always somewhere beyond where u r currently at...as a metaphor at least.

People should be happy when they come here. Happy that u r soon going holiday, or that u just start your vacation, that your loves one r back soon, or that he is leaving for better good despite feeling sad. What an atmosphere at the halls...contributing to environment that's great for thinking about things..

Which i was just thinking.. What the heck i was doing for the past 3 years.. 06 to 09 is so different.

A blank sheet of paper

As i paused to think the other day, i could relate human to a car company. How so?

Consider this. KIA motors, a relatively young Korean player in the world market, recently launched a very impressive new Cerato Forte. Away from the odd looking and cheap cars of the past, this new product is nothing like her grandparents. Strong,timeless, striking yet unoffensive european design, it indeed holds the "power to surprise", as with their market slogan.

Behind this piece of work is the new design director, Peter Schreyer. Spending more than 25 years with AUDI/VW group, he created the famous original Audi TT and new Beetle. Coming over to the less premium and emerging Kia, as quoted from the article that I had read, it would be like "working on a blank piece of paper", not having any history to "pick up and continue (with the design) ", considering the youth of the brand.

Although it might seem better for one to have a blank piece of paper and go unconstrained, according to Schreyer it could be harder to find your own way. But luckily the guys from Seoul HQ gave him the freedom, and the result shows.


Coming back to our world of graduates-to-be and job hunting, the big question remains as "what you want to do".. Some people may be just like the big brands; under the influence of the tradition and exposure given by the family, the direction would more or less not deviate much, towards a related industry. With this it can be easy, however it can be a limitation.

As for others, which are pretty fresh without much exposure or anything, it would be like the young brand having a blank piece of paper. Despite the tougher question to answer due to the lack of guidance, any direction would be possible, as long as it is desirable. Especially if plenty of freedom is given by the family (aka HQ) on where to venture into.

So where myself want to go? Having no history to follow in the family, and fortunately given all the freedom to choose, I'm very much "young" and "blank". What i deem desirable is to go into where my passion is, regardless of pay (at first). Then hopefully like the Forte, hitting it right and getting the payoff.

However in times as bad as this, just like other brands' products in the pipeline, plans can face the axe. By then, like GM, it would be just asking for reasonable survival above anything else.

Yes, blank sheet of paper. Also have to be realistic, in name of bread.
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desperate times call for desperate measures

We all know the credit crunch that is going on outside, but little i would expect that my dad and sist would go this far to save....a fan.




Yes, this is it. A fan held together by a thick cast of masking tape ( thick enough to reduce the remote sensor range ), with recycled shoe lays precisely supporting the weight, and completed with rewiring works to accomondate the new position of the metal stand. That's what you get as a brain-child of a Technician and Physiotherapist (father and sist, respectively)


Oh, this used to be a standing fan, twice the height of what you see in the picture, if you wonder. It only suffers from a broken neck joint.


So, if your fan is also broken, you know who to look for. (^-^)
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the "F" word.

Before you readers think any deeper south into the wrong direction, this F word i am thinking now is Fate.

As defined, this is some forces that pre-determine events in people's life. Convenient it is, freed our minds with bloggering questions about why things happens, when you can simply attribute all to this force.

Commonly used to describe relationships, it could just nice to say fate is the magical force that brought about the chain of events that lead the eventual couple to like each other. Friendship too, if not for the decision to join the group/event you wouldnt know this person that became your good friend for long. Or simply be present at the right time and right place to re-encounter into someone by chance. Nice but unexplained.

Or, perhaps even for job seekers. I was thinking that sometimes hunting for a job seem to resemble seeking for marriage: a combination of right 'qualification' and attributes will be most likely to match. However, which job you end up do depends on which listing you saw, which you apply, which got through, etc etc...or simply, whether does the boss likes you or not, based on first impression, no doubt your qualification and preparedness for interview.
..Possibly fate would result in myself ending up with some different job.

Or even buying an item; you may have planned for this shop or that specific thing, but the twist of events or the last minute temptation ends you up with something else. Perhaps explaining how people ending up buying something more expensive.

But other than that simple attribution to the unexplained cause, I guess, fate is on our side; in a way things happen for a result, be it good or bad. Just like my dad old van a decade ago; we actually went to the wrong 'stall' in the used car mart and ended up buying that van, but in return the number eventually gave my dad some 4d prize winnings 5 years back, and 7 years of trouble free miles. Or, just like me joining this school, or just like how we made some decisions.

That is why I believe, what might be odd or wrong would eventually prove to be right in the long run. "What-if" or "should-be" questions are plenty, but what matters most is what happens next.

In this tough year to come, this belief should keep it going through the odds...hopeful~

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It's all in the mind.

The good thing about socio psychology class is that you would always get to watch videos; but this one that we got on monday was so interesting, that i felt so disturbed that it was first disturbed by technical gitches, then later i only got the watch half of it..so much that i went on to youtube in attempt to hunt for the rest.

From BBC, "secret of the sexes", topic about difference about male and female...as from a survey of 500,000 around the world plus experiments.

Here's the reason about all of it:



Ah. I just like the way BBC do their shows.

decorating the decorations

The house's living room just had a fresh new cloth of yellow paint, and my dad wants some deco over them.

In the name of more 4D winnings, he got this:





So, in the spirit, my mum added this, a cute welcome. A pair, each on one side of entrance.





And this. In a lazy mood, we conveniently suspended it on rubber bands, so now you can pull it and see it bounce. Quite fun actually, can do it like long john style - if u like our home, please ring the 'bell'.





Now that wall look empty. So here you see, my novice attempt to decorate. Well....at least it was done in 3 mins...



and pulled down 15 mins later.

To have this....

Honestly, i have no idea what am I doing, until the last few mins to completion...
(i'm not creative hor)



At least... can i think of: "once wealth swims in, it swirls and stay.."


Thus, welcome to my home ^-^

Happy chinese new year~~

...for period ending 25th Jan 2009..

As somewhere in my mind lingers some memories of 2007, quickly 2008 passed by, and before you know it, tomorrow is the chinese new year of 2009.

Technically, i should not be thinking hard about what to write, cos i got to say 2008 was one of the most "packed" year ever existed. From personal to worldwide, it was filled to the brink of happenings. The year my life was changed and different, and the world look different.

But, i'm thinking. Let's first look at the world events. Yes, we are all aware that there is seriously a recession, but had we felt it yet? As a small consumer who is not yet earning a salary, he is still spending like normal and observed that streets are still packed with shoppers everywhere. Perhaps the companies are being ethical now, and retrenchments/shut downs may all take place after the chinese new year. Then when i start to search for job i will feel the pinch. Or perhaps we will be all fine thanks to US's reforms, or the new investments in Sg like the IR or etc.

Happenings in SG? Many. From mas to f1 then to flyer, never so exciting. But whatever that has to be covered is covered in newspaper, and even by mrbrown.com with the alternative perspective. Just more things to be told to friends who came back from abroad.

Personal? Without thinking, there will so much to relate to. Mostly captured in this blog; Sad times, happy times, surprising times all in a year. Several first times in life. Think marathon (or 42km walkaton). The unexpected twist of events gave the life's roller coaster ride, discomforting for some driving you almost to depression, and other great news and findings that gave great hope in the future..

Yes, and these are the hopes that drives on the new future. External factors are plenty and out of control, but internal are not. Use it as motivation and perhaps we can face the external odds.

..Hence, cue in 2009 and the year of ox, for me to believe that, having survived everything in the messy 2008 so far, i can bring more on. My hope in dreams coming true is still alive. 相信未來.