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Yesterday, while i was with shufang at orchard, we decided to went up to the Sony Gallery Shop on the 4th storey of Wisma. Initial idea was to take a look at my "proposed" SE K750 and the price, but there wasnt much new news that i had gotten there. Instead, my eyes landed something at the Gallery -- The latest Gran Turismo 4 game, running on PS2 and a big Projector Screen, for playing on the spot... drool...
but, there's already this small boy (3yrs old?) "hoarding" onto the game.. a quick look at the track timing suggests that he had been playing for 6 minutes, and all he had done was only forward, bang, reverse, bang, forward.... Nevermind, i just "queue up" behind and wait... (anyway, shufang's best friend had called her too on her mobile, and she already chatting on the phone by now... paisei ah girl, hope u r not bored for those minutes..!)
finally, i guess the little boy had gotten bored and ran to the PSP next to it... hehe, my turn!! wow... totally impressed with the game... the range of cars to choose from already had left me drooling...especially all those japanese domestic models... click click click , and my Toyota Altezza Glita roar in to life ;) Once in race, the physics and handling of the car is soo impressive... it's so realistic! (and it means it's hard to play too...u got to be a pro..haha) And oh yes, the graphics and effects are stunning too..shiok
The next 5,6 mins passed by quickly, and i'm done with my race. But as i hand over to the controller to the next person (a caucasian tourist), he stopped me and asked
"excuse me, could u help me go de menu?"
"eh? ok sure,"
"if can change to english mode better?"
"ah, this is japanese version... i guide you?"
and while we are at the car selection screen, immediately his cursor went to Renault..
"Ah, you from france?"
A nod and smile from his face tells me immediately that they are really proud of their domestic products ;)
And a cool Peugeot 206CC was selected and he's in the game... wow, so pro, what a good driver. Guess he had already mastered his GT3 at france.
Gran Turismo... What a great and perfect game, for car enthusiasts.... and this is internationally recognised too.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
long bus ride are good too
Bus 62 is my daily transport, to and fro my office. Passing through busy streets, heavy traffic and picking up many passengers along the way, it's quite a long ride.
So, other than watching TVmobile, and sleeping, i oftenly sink into deep thoughts during bus ride... I would think about the events from past, plans for future, and things that happens recently... And oftenly, some of the stuff that was on my mind are what you had read in my blog..
For today, i done some reflections.
And i came to realise... the mistakes i made in my life were all caused from the same ..: My wrong priorities.
In many times, i had focused on the less important matters and overlooked on those more important ones... And i came to realise later that, if i had prioritise correctly then, there would have significant changes in my life...and those changes could be good on a certain extent...
But on the other hand, whatever that had happened are fated...so they could be allowed to happen 'cos there's a reason for so... just that currently for some i have yet to see the reason yet...
Still, for whatever that had happened, I tell myself, no regrets.
And, from now on, i will remind myself...:
"Lin Jingxiang, please prioritise correctly..."
So, other than watching TVmobile, and sleeping, i oftenly sink into deep thoughts during bus ride... I would think about the events from past, plans for future, and things that happens recently... And oftenly, some of the stuff that was on my mind are what you had read in my blog..
For today, i done some reflections.
And i came to realise... the mistakes i made in my life were all caused from the same ..: My wrong priorities.
In many times, i had focused on the less important matters and overlooked on those more important ones... And i came to realise later that, if i had prioritise correctly then, there would have significant changes in my life...and those changes could be good on a certain extent...
But on the other hand, whatever that had happened are fated...so they could be allowed to happen 'cos there's a reason for so... just that currently for some i have yet to see the reason yet...
Still, for whatever that had happened, I tell myself, no regrets.
And, from now on, i will remind myself...:
"Lin Jingxiang, please prioritise correctly..."
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
"...reach for the stars..." *goose-bump*
Guess u guys all know that when a song is very nice and it touches us, we would have goose-bump on our skin?
yup, i felt this today. Was watching tv mobile, and it was showing the Chinese version of the latest NDP song "reach for the stars", sung by Rui En... When she reach the part before the chorus, goose-bump started to appear on my skin... funny huh, wondering was it due to her singing or is the song....haha. the last time such effect occurred to me was during "Project Superstar", when Kelvin sang "i believe"... wah, but for that the latter the effect was much more stronger... that's y i'm looking forward to hear his singing everytime.
anyway, i heard that Ken Lim produced this NDP song with the idea of inspiring and encouraging singaporeans...similiar to Taufik's "I dream"... hmm...seems like he really achieved some effect in this NDP song.
by the way, there's a small point which i found it amusing.... in this chinese version mtv, they used exactly the same scene, movement and clothes as the english one, but only with rui en there alone.... felt abit "empty" after getting used to the english version...as if Taufik was simply being deleted off the screen..haha
So how they shot it? got a feeling as if that they shot the english version, got taufik to stand aside, then ask rui en to redo the entire part in chinese again... haha... ok here goes my craps again...^-^
hmmm... just curious... so are there any malay version with only taufik on the screen? hee...
yup, i felt this today. Was watching tv mobile, and it was showing the Chinese version of the latest NDP song "reach for the stars", sung by Rui En... When she reach the part before the chorus, goose-bump started to appear on my skin... funny huh, wondering was it due to her singing or is the song....haha. the last time such effect occurred to me was during "Project Superstar", when Kelvin sang "i believe"... wah, but for that the latter the effect was much more stronger... that's y i'm looking forward to hear his singing everytime.
anyway, i heard that Ken Lim produced this NDP song with the idea of inspiring and encouraging singaporeans...similiar to Taufik's "I dream"... hmm...seems like he really achieved some effect in this NDP song.
by the way, there's a small point which i found it amusing.... in this chinese version mtv, they used exactly the same scene, movement and clothes as the english one, but only with rui en there alone.... felt abit "empty" after getting used to the english version...as if Taufik was simply being deleted off the screen..haha
So how they shot it? got a feeling as if that they shot the english version, got taufik to stand aside, then ask rui en to redo the entire part in chinese again... haha... ok here goes my craps again...^-^
hmmm... just curious... so are there any malay version with only taufik on the screen? hee...
Sunday, July 24, 2005
23th july 2004 and my small "facelift"
time really flies...23/7/04 was the day my life had a change with shufang...and now it's 1 year since we are together! haha... so on this day b4 we had a little celebration, i went down to do what i been wanting to do for long... a hair cut! finally i have a change in hairstyle ;) hehe... but after the cut, 1) why it looks abit different from the "proposed" one the pic ah? 2) and why it seems abit back to normal? hmm.... i guess my hair have not settled down perhaps?...the hair had been set in centre parting for soo many years.... i think gonna give it a few days first and see... perhaps can take a photo too by then... haha..!
Ok, after it, it's time with shufang! as a matter of fact, this day is also the first time i saw her after she shifted into hostel.... hey, she seems more slim.. guess it's what happened after all her daily long walks around the campus to get to other places! (shufang ah, take the shuttle bus please! haha...)
anyway, it was a great day! we went around and bought each other gifts (which we both needed and coincidentally turned out to be the same price!), and had a good dinner at nydc ;) We tried new food and drinks and they are good! in the end we both were soo full... haha...!
btw at the earlier part of day, out of curiosity we visited the new national library....it's really a nice place..! and mind u, it's huge too... as the lift is overcrowded (there's lots and lots of curious public too...) we have to take 11 storeys of escalators... round and round... haha... but it's worth it coz there's this nice little garden on the 10th floor...good view from there ;) haiz, miss my camera. (see p/s)
(shufang: really great and glad to have you!! hope u enjoyed yesterday... ;) we will celebrate more anniv to come!!)
(p/s: what a day to be without my camera! forgot the battery was flat and didnt charge them the night before... haiz... so for us we just took pix with her handphone... and i'm going to take some shoots when i visit the national library again..! )
Ok, after it, it's time with shufang! as a matter of fact, this day is also the first time i saw her after she shifted into hostel.... hey, she seems more slim.. guess it's what happened after all her daily long walks around the campus to get to other places! (shufang ah, take the shuttle bus please! haha...)
anyway, it was a great day! we went around and bought each other gifts (which we both needed and coincidentally turned out to be the same price!), and had a good dinner at nydc ;) We tried new food and drinks and they are good! in the end we both were soo full... haha...!
btw at the earlier part of day, out of curiosity we visited the new national library....it's really a nice place..! and mind u, it's huge too... as the lift is overcrowded (there's lots and lots of curious public too...) we have to take 11 storeys of escalators... round and round... haha... but it's worth it coz there's this nice little garden on the 10th floor...good view from there ;) haiz, miss my camera. (see p/s)
(shufang: really great and glad to have you!! hope u enjoyed yesterday... ;) we will celebrate more anniv to come!!)
(p/s: what a day to be without my camera! forgot the battery was flat and didnt charge them the night before... haiz... so for us we just took pix with her handphone... and i'm going to take some shoots when i visit the national library again..! )
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
...to be a blessing onto SR...
** Photos are all loaded to my Yahoo album... do go & download them! thanks!! any request please feedback! **
19th july, 18th SC investiture. We seniors from the 15th SC are invited back. A good day to support the juniors, visit the sch again, and to gather again ;)
For this year's invest, there lots of changes... It's on a Tuesday (was wed) on a morning (was afternoon after lesson) at the Hall (was LT 5) attended by JC 1s (was selected students from every j1 j2 class) and etc.... and the school environment... we all were greeted by the "colourful" environment instead of the old "warm" beige colour... comments? u have them in your mind..
Anyway, watching the juniors really reminded me of our days... we were so happy when we got in...it was all excitment... but 1 year passed so quickly, and when it's our day to go...it could be one of the sadest moment... so many people was crying... even after the invest, i could still remember we missed the council so much that we even gathered in B2-1...a class room that is just nearly opposite to the SC room...
and the video... glad they are using such a concept!! and it's nice...i like the part whereby the slides actually paces with the background songs... so an entire song marks an entire segment, both ending together on the same beat... nice!! not like mine that time.. only have songs fading in and out... haha~!!
ah...even after soo long, the council song is still so clear in my mind...
But certainly, there's something too that we can feel proud of...towards the end, when the juniors cheered the council cheer, it was so great to hear that they were still using the Cheer that we the 15th created! (although it was modified from elsewhere...shh... ;p ) haha.. but the best is still when we did the cheer with the 16th... nothing is better by having it done by the original "performers"... especially the "sika saka" part, with benjamin (the creator) on the spot, "live"... haha.. power..
But think i'm getting old le bah... haha... after that my throat "cannot tahan" for a moment..... the "kids" have more energy indeed... haha...
haiz... guess i really miss the council days...
19th july, 18th SC investiture. We seniors from the 15th SC are invited back. A good day to support the juniors, visit the sch again, and to gather again ;)
For this year's invest, there lots of changes... It's on a Tuesday (was wed) on a morning (was afternoon after lesson) at the Hall (was LT 5) attended by JC 1s (was selected students from every j1 j2 class) and etc.... and the school environment... we all were greeted by the "colourful" environment instead of the old "warm" beige colour... comments? u have them in your mind..
Anyway, watching the juniors really reminded me of our days... we were so happy when we got in...it was all excitment... but 1 year passed so quickly, and when it's our day to go...it could be one of the sadest moment... so many people was crying... even after the invest, i could still remember we missed the council so much that we even gathered in B2-1...a class room that is just nearly opposite to the SC room...
and the video... glad they are using such a concept!! and it's nice...i like the part whereby the slides actually paces with the background songs... so an entire song marks an entire segment, both ending together on the same beat... nice!! not like mine that time.. only have songs fading in and out... haha~!!
ah...even after soo long, the council song is still so clear in my mind...
But certainly, there's something too that we can feel proud of...towards the end, when the juniors cheered the council cheer, it was so great to hear that they were still using the Cheer that we the 15th created! (although it was modified from elsewhere...shh... ;p ) haha.. but the best is still when we did the cheer with the 16th... nothing is better by having it done by the original "performers"... especially the "sika saka" part, with benjamin (the creator) on the spot, "live"... haha.. power..
But think i'm getting old le bah... haha... after that my throat "cannot tahan" for a moment..... the "kids" have more energy indeed... haha...
haiz... guess i really miss the council days...
Sunday, July 17, 2005
A Long Day
1 day. 2 major events. This is 16 july 2005, my gf "moving-into-hostel" date, and kent's councillor gathering.
First, start the day early. 8am plus i'm out to pick her up for breakfast, settle her photos in my comp and write photos into CD for her to develop, to shift her items from her school and her house and pack up into my van, etc etc... poor girl... was starting to miss home abit.. No worries, you will be back soon again..
When we are finally on the way, it's already lunch time when we hit IMM... after food, next mission: to find my sister Birthday gift. After much hunting around, i finally gotten 2 hello kitty items for her (ya, she likes hello kitty alot..!! haha...)
On the way again. Shortly after i entered PIE, my hp rang.. and surprise...it was Dom!... haha..she just went pass my in a taxi, on way to NTU for her camp. At first she finds my van familiar... but what made her confirm it was me was actually that 3 "shen" figures on my dashboard...haha.. isnt they are supposed to for safety? when it became a form of identity for my dad's van... haha.. interesting.
Next, Jurong Point to develop shufang's photos.. A short stay, and we went on towards NTU. On the way inside, we stop by Hall 10 to have a short chat with dom..She was busy preparing for their Orientation camp, and hey.. u made me missing those days when we prepared for camps too eh... haha... would i have this chance again in my life to do such jobs? hmm.. only the future knows...
So, finally finally... we reach Hall 7, my gf home for the coming months... and hey, the place is really very quiet..! Guess because it's more isolated and it's a saturday.. Unload items. The carpark was quite a distance from the hall.. so in the end, both of us had a good time sweating out by shifting all the stuff from the van to room...walked few times up and down.. haha... But luckily, it wasnt built on hills... or else, i think both of us would really die on the stairs...haha..!!
Unpack the stuff, clean up, set up the laptop for LAN, etc... finally both of us got the bit of time to sit down.. Was really a peaceful and quiet place... like a resort. Her roommate was out for the day and night, so guess she really gonna to be alone for the night... haiz.. just hope monday will come earlier for her. When finally the time came for me to take my leave, i felt something...hope u will be well..
Back to the road again, now alone in the van...towards Marina Bay, second phrase of today.
Fastforward to the dinner. Derrick, kathy, kent, kelly, portia, benjamin and soon leong was there, and it was really since some time that everyone gathered, and i had a really good chat with everyone... although was gettin abit tired and some nose block that irritated me, i enjoyed the time ;-) hehe.
After dinner, head towards esplanade park for our next little program...But gotten a little jam on e way, coz i forget the road was closed for the NDP (ironic right, i just witnessed it myself on 2 of the sat and now i forgotten about it.. haha)
Arrived at the park... and surprise! (intended), Jinie appears with a birthday cake for kent (Kent birthday coming) On the spot with items borrowed (lighter from public) and recycled (cakes served with teared up cake box), we done up a little celebration for him... hope u like it, kent!
The night is still quite young.. so all of us took our stroll up and chat along e way, til we reach one fullerton and visited this nice pub... It's a very relaxing environment with soft music and big sofa (and no smoke) ...great! Will want to visit again.... with more cash and no blocked nose..haha.. Anyway, everyone had a great time, as we played our old game again... Zhong Ji Mi Ma
Time flies with happiness, and it time to go back...with a long stroll back to my vehicle (still at esplande park, if u recall...haha) As i drove out, it's a jam again... this time round it's because of the long long long queue of army tanks driving out from NDP preview... haiz...waited for quite a long time at the junction, while the girls was having some fun with kathy's bolster...haha.
And after i drop off soon leong, the remaining of us ran into a police stop... Seems they only target on youngsters, so we are all called to pull of aside and checked on our ID... Quite a eye opener for some... and thankfully for me i knew beforehand what they are doing...or else i guess i might be nervous.. hmm.. but anyway, once again we are all delayed for quite sometime there, coz there were quite a number of IC for them to check (there were others who were stopped too) and the computer system too... Not too good, when we all wants to go back asap...
Drop off everyone left to their places and i'm finally back home, at 4am plus. Wow, 20 hours outdoors... a quick bath, and quickly, z z z z z z ...
what a long day :-)
First, start the day early. 8am plus i'm out to pick her up for breakfast, settle her photos in my comp and write photos into CD for her to develop, to shift her items from her school and her house and pack up into my van, etc etc... poor girl... was starting to miss home abit.. No worries, you will be back soon again..
When we are finally on the way, it's already lunch time when we hit IMM... after food, next mission: to find my sister Birthday gift. After much hunting around, i finally gotten 2 hello kitty items for her (ya, she likes hello kitty alot..!! haha...)
On the way again. Shortly after i entered PIE, my hp rang.. and surprise...it was Dom!... haha..she just went pass my in a taxi, on way to NTU for her camp. At first she finds my van familiar... but what made her confirm it was me was actually that 3 "shen" figures on my dashboard...haha.. isnt they are supposed to for safety? when it became a form of identity for my dad's van... haha.. interesting.
Next, Jurong Point to develop shufang's photos.. A short stay, and we went on towards NTU. On the way inside, we stop by Hall 10 to have a short chat with dom..She was busy preparing for their Orientation camp, and hey.. u made me missing those days when we prepared for camps too eh... haha... would i have this chance again in my life to do such jobs? hmm.. only the future knows...
So, finally finally... we reach Hall 7, my gf home for the coming months... and hey, the place is really very quiet..! Guess because it's more isolated and it's a saturday.. Unload items. The carpark was quite a distance from the hall.. so in the end, both of us had a good time sweating out by shifting all the stuff from the van to room...walked few times up and down.. haha... But luckily, it wasnt built on hills... or else, i think both of us would really die on the stairs...haha..!!
Unpack the stuff, clean up, set up the laptop for LAN, etc... finally both of us got the bit of time to sit down.. Was really a peaceful and quiet place... like a resort. Her roommate was out for the day and night, so guess she really gonna to be alone for the night... haiz.. just hope monday will come earlier for her. When finally the time came for me to take my leave, i felt something...hope u will be well..
Back to the road again, now alone in the van...towards Marina Bay, second phrase of today.
Fastforward to the dinner. Derrick, kathy, kent, kelly, portia, benjamin and soon leong was there, and it was really since some time that everyone gathered, and i had a really good chat with everyone... although was gettin abit tired and some nose block that irritated me, i enjoyed the time ;-) hehe.
After dinner, head towards esplanade park for our next little program...But gotten a little jam on e way, coz i forget the road was closed for the NDP (ironic right, i just witnessed it myself on 2 of the sat and now i forgotten about it.. haha)
Arrived at the park... and surprise! (intended), Jinie appears with a birthday cake for kent (Kent birthday coming) On the spot with items borrowed (lighter from public) and recycled (cakes served with teared up cake box), we done up a little celebration for him... hope u like it, kent!
The night is still quite young.. so all of us took our stroll up and chat along e way, til we reach one fullerton and visited this nice pub... It's a very relaxing environment with soft music and big sofa (and no smoke) ...great! Will want to visit again.... with more cash and no blocked nose..haha.. Anyway, everyone had a great time, as we played our old game again... Zhong Ji Mi Ma
Time flies with happiness, and it time to go back...with a long stroll back to my vehicle (still at esplande park, if u recall...haha) As i drove out, it's a jam again... this time round it's because of the long long long queue of army tanks driving out from NDP preview... haiz...waited for quite a long time at the junction, while the girls was having some fun with kathy's bolster...haha.
And after i drop off soon leong, the remaining of us ran into a police stop... Seems they only target on youngsters, so we are all called to pull of aside and checked on our ID... Quite a eye opener for some... and thankfully for me i knew beforehand what they are doing...or else i guess i might be nervous.. hmm.. but anyway, once again we are all delayed for quite sometime there, coz there were quite a number of IC for them to check (there were others who were stopped too) and the computer system too... Not too good, when we all wants to go back asap...
Drop off everyone left to their places and i'm finally back home, at 4am plus. Wow, 20 hours outdoors... a quick bath, and quickly, z z z z z z ...
what a long day :-)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Police Driving Course (Day two/three) -- Initial C
(i was really soo tired last nite that i didnt manage to update here... so now u get 2 days in one go.. hehe ;p)
Day Two
Day two kicks off with a video (from UK) showing the basic defensive driving...it's abit old (year 1996), but nevertheless, it was quite a good one coz it really explains everything...understeer oversteer, grip, braking etc. After which, it's driving around again. Once i got on the car, imediately i tried what i thought of yesterday... push the seat back... and finally i got myself a more confortable position.. and starting to get used to the high clutch. Now more relax, i'm able to enjoy more...since i gotten my licence, i'm only able to stick to the left lane and "enjoy" the beep beep beep once i hit 70kmh in my van... Now is the first time i could take the right side of ECP and go all e way down at 90,100kmh, without any beepss and fully still legal... shiok! haha...
Fastforward to after lunch, it's the braking exercise... Not the E-brake we learnt during L-plate times, but the more efficient ones like ThresHold and caden (forget spelling ;p) which is actually "manual" ABS... We are suppose to drive down the track at 60,70kmh and apply the brakes...if done correctly, it would stop within 20m (as indicated by a row of 5 cones) ..But of cos it's not easy to do it...for me when i did the latter technique, while we have to jam and release the brakes repeatly and quickly, mine was off rhythm and too light... If i was really to avoid crashing into a kid that dash out of the road, guess i would have knocked him down and still drag him along for some distances already... haha...! Too bad, it's only for us to have a feel of it... 3 days course is certainly not enough time for us all to master all the skills...
After this, we are given a chance to try braking in a newer car which have ABS... (ABS: Anti-Lock Braking system, prevents the wheels from locking during hard braking, hence not sliding over the road. Braking distance is much shorten.) Same rows of cones, drive in at 70kmh, and slam the brake pedal. Cars jerks, feels vibration and the "Kong Kong Kong" sounds rapidly from underneath, and cars stops much much within 20m. Cool.
FYI: The so-called track is actually a old ex army camp compound, at the west of singapore... A big place, with open space and sweeping roads, perfect playground for drivers. Comes with many rambutan trees too...fully grown with the fresh red fruit all over. Tired after driving? Have a rambutan feast there, simply by pucking them off the trees... haha
Day Three
As usual, days starts with a lecture on proper method of cornering, and off we go, for the cornering exercise at the ex-army camp. My most favourite moment now. To drive around a part of the camp, on something similiar to a circuit, at 80,90kmh (or more, if u can handle) Near a turn, downshift, rev rises, attack the apex, straight, and off with acceleration... Shiok...! Although some parts of my turns wasnt quite well done, but the feeling was really great... It's only during "hard" driving then u can really feel the characteristic of the car... How i wish i have more experiences beforehand, to fully enjoy the handling of the car...
After the exercise, no more driving already... haiz.., after lunch, it was filled with lectures on safety and conduct of police drivers, procedures and etc. Finally... sign on the doted line, course completed.. yeah!! haha... police driving permit to be ready some days later... so for now, still a passenger at work.. haha
p/s: Through-out this course, valuable experiences was shared from the instructors... Some of them was from Traffic police, and they had seen soo many accidents and deaths, and you can really feel the dangers of speed... so please be careful... confident + ignorant kills... even you are the passenger, you can warn the driver too... 'cos when something happens, you are going to be the innocent one... just my after thoughts...
..and...Mazda 323 is really a good car... hehe..despite the stupid clutch (which i guess is spoilt le la) Power is there for a 1.6l, and steering weight is nice. Very spacious at the back, and cabin is well built. But Honda engine still sounds better than her unit...(still addicted to the Honda's sound... hehe..)
Day Two
Day two kicks off with a video (from UK) showing the basic defensive driving...it's abit old (year 1996), but nevertheless, it was quite a good one coz it really explains everything...understeer oversteer, grip, braking etc. After which, it's driving around again. Once i got on the car, imediately i tried what i thought of yesterday... push the seat back... and finally i got myself a more confortable position.. and starting to get used to the high clutch. Now more relax, i'm able to enjoy more...since i gotten my licence, i'm only able to stick to the left lane and "enjoy" the beep beep beep once i hit 70kmh in my van... Now is the first time i could take the right side of ECP and go all e way down at 90,100kmh, without any beepss and fully still legal... shiok! haha...
Fastforward to after lunch, it's the braking exercise... Not the E-brake we learnt during L-plate times, but the more efficient ones like ThresHold and caden (forget spelling ;p) which is actually "manual" ABS... We are suppose to drive down the track at 60,70kmh and apply the brakes...if done correctly, it would stop within 20m (as indicated by a row of 5 cones) ..But of cos it's not easy to do it...for me when i did the latter technique, while we have to jam and release the brakes repeatly and quickly, mine was off rhythm and too light... If i was really to avoid crashing into a kid that dash out of the road, guess i would have knocked him down and still drag him along for some distances already... haha...! Too bad, it's only for us to have a feel of it... 3 days course is certainly not enough time for us all to master all the skills...
After this, we are given a chance to try braking in a newer car which have ABS... (ABS: Anti-Lock Braking system, prevents the wheels from locking during hard braking, hence not sliding over the road. Braking distance is much shorten.) Same rows of cones, drive in at 70kmh, and slam the brake pedal. Cars jerks, feels vibration and the "Kong Kong Kong" sounds rapidly from underneath, and cars stops much much within 20m. Cool.
FYI: The so-called track is actually a old ex army camp compound, at the west of singapore... A big place, with open space and sweeping roads, perfect playground for drivers. Comes with many rambutan trees too...fully grown with the fresh red fruit all over. Tired after driving? Have a rambutan feast there, simply by pucking them off the trees... haha
Day Three
As usual, days starts with a lecture on proper method of cornering, and off we go, for the cornering exercise at the ex-army camp. My most favourite moment now. To drive around a part of the camp, on something similiar to a circuit, at 80,90kmh (or more, if u can handle) Near a turn, downshift, rev rises, attack the apex, straight, and off with acceleration... Shiok...! Although some parts of my turns wasnt quite well done, but the feeling was really great... It's only during "hard" driving then u can really feel the characteristic of the car... How i wish i have more experiences beforehand, to fully enjoy the handling of the car...
After the exercise, no more driving already... haiz.., after lunch, it was filled with lectures on safety and conduct of police drivers, procedures and etc. Finally... sign on the doted line, course completed.. yeah!! haha... police driving permit to be ready some days later... so for now, still a passenger at work.. haha
p/s: Through-out this course, valuable experiences was shared from the instructors... Some of them was from Traffic police, and they had seen soo many accidents and deaths, and you can really feel the dangers of speed... so please be careful... confident + ignorant kills... even you are the passenger, you can warn the driver too... 'cos when something happens, you are going to be the innocent one... just my after thoughts...
..and...Mazda 323 is really a good car... hehe..despite the stupid clutch (which i guess is spoilt le la) Power is there for a 1.6l, and steering weight is nice. Very spacious at the back, and cabin is well built. But Honda engine still sounds better than her unit...(still addicted to the Honda's sound... hehe..)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Police Driving Course (Day One) -- I'm a Van-Man ^-^
When i reach the police driving school at bukit timah, i was fully awaken. Not only this is what i had been waiting for for years, i just had a scare. 30mins ago i still thought i would be late, 'cos traffic was real bad on e way on bus 156 (and the driver...so slow already still dont want to overtake e same bus infront... grr.) Luckily, it loosen up after bishan, and i'm very on time.
Fast forword into action. After all the admin stuff and briefings, we are all divided in to 4 groups for driving assessment. (Here they would see how well each can drive.. for those who cant make it, the course would end here.) For my car, i have 2 other "partners".. one whom had been drivin a Auto gear car for 5years (BMW to be exact... rich guy..) and the other have a very similiar case to me.. drives every weekend with his dad van. But he have 2 years of experience (Mine 8months) . So, because of me, a "beautiful" yellow-red triangle is stuck on the windscreen....haha.
A quick wash of the car (required in training daily) and we start to roll. First driver, the "Auto-gear-BMW" man. Unfortunately, 5years is a really long time, and in this case, he really lost all the clutch skills... In the end, the car kept stalling through-out the journey...(If u recall, on the last season of Amazing Race, a team of 2 ladies lost that leg 'cos they have problems with manual cars...This was exactly what happened today) Poor chap.. he was really stressed up... Finally we reached Senoko and that's the first break of the day.
After a cup of tea... it's my turn..! Thank heaven i did fine... except for some small problems: .....At start the handbrake wouldnt go down...the clutch was so high that my leg strike the steering wheel...the accelerator pedal have zero feedback...with the thick leather shoes i really cannot feel the pedals... at times i could even "lost" my pedal too. ....And it rain heavily all the way... visibility was very poor.... Realised that i been driving a van til i'm not used to the driving position of a normal car...haha.. "normal" case should be the other way round eh.
Now is the turn for the 3rd person. 2years of van driving helps indeed. With a Vrrooom he moved off swiftly, and with every gear change at 4000rpm, the car is soo alive... that's the quickest journey out the three.. haha..
Hit back to the school, bad news arrives. The instructor decided to fail our first guy, 'cos he really wasnt prepared at all... So it's the two of us for the rest of the course.
Right after lunch... a quick theory lesson and it's back on the road again.. and to both of our delight, now it's to drive a Van.. (my partner commented he is not used to a car too) Seriously, after driving for awhile, everything feels right at home... Moreover it's a Toyota too... So it means the SwitchGear, Dials, Meters, Steering wheel etc are all exactly the same as my father's...(except for body, this is a much bigger van... 11seater mini-bus) While during the morning session is all full of uneasiness, now it's all ....relax.. Seems like i'm really a Van-Man now... haaha...
But, i still have to get used to the Saloon Car. 'Cos for the next 2 days we would only be using Car...
Think for tomorrow i would try to push the seat all the way back, and hope it helps in getting a more comfortable position ;p
Day Two (upcoming) : Braking, Cornering, Control, etc.... Yeah..! (...the fun begins...)
Fast forword into action. After all the admin stuff and briefings, we are all divided in to 4 groups for driving assessment. (Here they would see how well each can drive.. for those who cant make it, the course would end here.) For my car, i have 2 other "partners".. one whom had been drivin a Auto gear car for 5years (BMW to be exact... rich guy..) and the other have a very similiar case to me.. drives every weekend with his dad van. But he have 2 years of experience (Mine 8months) . So, because of me, a "beautiful" yellow-red triangle is stuck on the windscreen....haha.
A quick wash of the car (required in training daily) and we start to roll. First driver, the "Auto-gear-BMW" man. Unfortunately, 5years is a really long time, and in this case, he really lost all the clutch skills... In the end, the car kept stalling through-out the journey...(If u recall, on the last season of Amazing Race, a team of 2 ladies lost that leg 'cos they have problems with manual cars...This was exactly what happened today) Poor chap.. he was really stressed up... Finally we reached Senoko and that's the first break of the day.
After a cup of tea... it's my turn..! Thank heaven i did fine... except for some small problems: .....At start the handbrake wouldnt go down...the clutch was so high that my leg strike the steering wheel...the accelerator pedal have zero feedback...with the thick leather shoes i really cannot feel the pedals... at times i could even "lost" my pedal too. ....And it rain heavily all the way... visibility was very poor.... Realised that i been driving a van til i'm not used to the driving position of a normal car...haha.. "normal" case should be the other way round eh.
Now is the turn for the 3rd person. 2years of van driving helps indeed. With a Vrrooom he moved off swiftly, and with every gear change at 4000rpm, the car is soo alive... that's the quickest journey out the three.. haha..
Hit back to the school, bad news arrives. The instructor decided to fail our first guy, 'cos he really wasnt prepared at all... So it's the two of us for the rest of the course.
Right after lunch... a quick theory lesson and it's back on the road again.. and to both of our delight, now it's to drive a Van.. (my partner commented he is not used to a car too) Seriously, after driving for awhile, everything feels right at home... Moreover it's a Toyota too... So it means the SwitchGear, Dials, Meters, Steering wheel etc are all exactly the same as my father's...(except for body, this is a much bigger van... 11seater mini-bus) While during the morning session is all full of uneasiness, now it's all ....relax.. Seems like i'm really a Van-Man now... haaha...
But, i still have to get used to the Saloon Car. 'Cos for the next 2 days we would only be using Car...
Think for tomorrow i would try to push the seat all the way back, and hope it helps in getting a more comfortable position ;p
Day Two (upcoming) : Braking, Cornering, Control, etc.... Yeah..! (...the fun begins...)
Saturday, July 09, 2005
N D P
Today. 7pm. Was having nice dinner with shufang at KFC, funan mall, sitting at a nice "window-seat-view-table". First there was no cars on the road (north bridge road). Next 2 TP bikes rode pass in the reverse direction. And everyone in KFC stretched their neck, to see the entire parade of SAF & SPF and etc march pass. Today is the one of the full dress rehearsel (and preview for selected schools), and guess they just completed their march pass from the Padang. As i look at their sychonised movements, i was wondering... how do they feel? Everyone used to march on normal grounds, "lucky" ones on stadium.. but this time? normal roads for normal traffic, with buildings like the new Supreme court (full of marble walls), Treasury, and Funan Mall making up the surroundings.... and the against flow of traffic somemore. Interesting.
And when our guys feel so proud to be in their No.1s and marching at padang, the residents in my area are proud of singapore too. Today is 9th of july, and just a few days ago i already see a flag being hung at a unit of a block near me. My sister was even more excited when she sees it...that she took a pix of it.
...but the best part is, soon after this unit, several others follow suit. This gave me the impression of "kiasu-ness"....haha... "wah, got people put le eh!! quick quick must hang too, cannot lose to them ah!" ^_^
"hmm... our MP very active mah." my sister commented, as we are looking at the sea of reds on that block, while waiting for our bus at the busstop today.
And when our guys feel so proud to be in their No.1s and marching at padang, the residents in my area are proud of singapore too. Today is 9th of july, and just a few days ago i already see a flag being hung at a unit of a block near me. My sister was even more excited when she sees it...that she took a pix of it.
...but the best part is, soon after this unit, several others follow suit. This gave me the impression of "kiasu-ness"....haha... "wah, got people put le eh!! quick quick must hang too, cannot lose to them ah!" ^_^
"hmm... our MP very active mah." my sister commented, as we are looking at the sea of reds on that block, while waiting for our bus at the busstop today.
Friday, July 08, 2005
0_0
London just won the bid for olympics and now, less than 24hrs later, they are being attacked by terrorists... seems like luck do not last quite long for them... was a shocking news indeed. Can imagine how they felt... a moment of happiness, and boom, it turned into fear.. haiz.... when tomorrow morning comes, would anyone skip a heartbeat when u board the train/bus?? i think i would... but after a few minutes......i feel nothing.....coz i'm falling asleep...!! hehe... coz i think i would be tired!
...coz... now den i realise how long i had spent juz to re-align this blog..! hehe.. I had just created a new pix on top and adjusted everything... hope finally it would be ok now for those who had problems viewing this! and hope u guys will like my changes..!!
now it's time to sleep...! ^_^
...coz... now den i realise how long i had spent juz to re-align this blog..! hehe.. I had just created a new pix on top and adjusted everything... hope finally it would be ok now for those who had problems viewing this! and hope u guys will like my changes..!!
now it's time to sleep...! ^_^
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
D - d a y
Yesterday was America independent day. Coincidently, there were 2 other D-days which i know.
the first one? my close friend.. (some of u would know who is he) Poor guy, seems like he had been taken advantage of in his office... finally yesterday he did something, and as he told me, it was his D-day.
now more or less settled le, tiriness also caught up with him.. Take good care bah, pal. You can survive what the future brings.
the next one is something not so close to me but yet i could feel it.. Have you heard about Eurovan club? (http://www.eurovanclub.com) It's a club for all van drivers in singapore.. Of coz not your delivery van man, but people who had chosen Vans as their private (cum work) wheels... mind u, these european made vans could be even better built and well equiped compared to some of the private cars around, at an much lower cost. (btw i'm interested coz now i'm driving my dad's van oftenly and also wishing for my little Peugeot (van) in future...if possible)
seems like i gettin off topic....haha...anyway, wat happened was this editor from Torque Magazine wrote an article, in which many parts are not true, ignorant and biased..
(if u have e time -- http://www.eurovanclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2859&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 )
result? Many drivers are offended, many threads followed, and the club decided to send in a petition. 5 other van clubs joined in and after 2 nights of signing, 129 persons put down their signature. And the petition was sent in yesterday (aka D-day) to the publisher, the magazine itself, and the straits times forum.. (<- anyone saw it?)
(http://www.eurovanclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2869)
hmm... wondering... what's gonna be the outcome of this...?
(personally i hope after this incident the "whole world" would be able to see van drivers are Not Lower Class than car drivers...and we r not taxi drivers too!)
To sum up.... In both D-days, one was "many against one person", while the other was "one person against many".... for the former one the result is unknown yet, and perhaps, in e end it might not do much change to that dumb editor. but for the latter case, the result was seen on the D-day itself... so? well done, pal, for speaking up ;^)
the first one? my close friend.. (some of u would know who is he) Poor guy, seems like he had been taken advantage of in his office... finally yesterday he did something, and as he told me, it was his D-day.
now more or less settled le, tiriness also caught up with him.. Take good care bah, pal. You can survive what the future brings.
the next one is something not so close to me but yet i could feel it.. Have you heard about Eurovan club? (http://www.eurovanclub.com) It's a club for all van drivers in singapore.. Of coz not your delivery van man, but people who had chosen Vans as their private (cum work) wheels... mind u, these european made vans could be even better built and well equiped compared to some of the private cars around, at an much lower cost. (btw i'm interested coz now i'm driving my dad's van oftenly and also wishing for my little Peugeot (van) in future...if possible)
seems like i gettin off topic....haha...anyway, wat happened was this editor from Torque Magazine wrote an article, in which many parts are not true, ignorant and biased..
(if u have e time -- http://www.eurovanclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2859&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 )
result? Many drivers are offended, many threads followed, and the club decided to send in a petition. 5 other van clubs joined in and after 2 nights of signing, 129 persons put down their signature. And the petition was sent in yesterday (aka D-day) to the publisher, the magazine itself, and the straits times forum.. (<- anyone saw it?)
(http://www.eurovanclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2869)
hmm... wondering... what's gonna be the outcome of this...?
(personally i hope after this incident the "whole world" would be able to see van drivers are Not Lower Class than car drivers...and we r not taxi drivers too!)
To sum up.... In both D-days, one was "many against one person", while the other was "one person against many".... for the former one the result is unknown yet, and perhaps, in e end it might not do much change to that dumb editor. but for the latter case, the result was seen on the D-day itself... so? well done, pal, for speaking up ;^)
Saturday, July 02, 2005
siemens ah siemens, again.
i went to bugis today again. But instead of shopping around like other days, i went directly up to 3rd storey, Siemens Care Centre. Okay, the service is not bad, although there were a queue (only 1 counter is working, and seems like people holding S65 and SL65 have problems too...) OK, verified my hp really have no sound coming out, so they kept it for repairs. Approx 1 to 3 days, they said (spot this line on e pix below).
So they took the set and the battery, while the cover and SIM card was returned in a plastic bag. Reminded me of Case Property....haha... (see below too)
The "funny" came later. Siemens called me up and said now my Hp will take 2 weeks to repair, due to shortage of spare LCD... "Har??? i thought my fault was no sound? So shouldnt it be the speakers?" "oh, erm yes, the speaker is spoilt, but actually it's linked to the LCD screen. So we have to replace the entire part..."
....what a weird design...
so 2 weeks without my hp. haiz. Reminded me of 3 years back, when my samsung N500 was sloten...it was never recovered, FYI.
Anyway, a great thanks to derrick! i got him to lent to me (last minute) his HP for today... coz i was on stand-by.. (phew, never kana anything today.. hehe)
(the pix: what i was left with, and derrick's hp)
So they took the set and the battery, while the cover and SIM card was returned in a plastic bag. Reminded me of Case Property....haha... (see below too)
The "funny" came later. Siemens called me up and said now my Hp will take 2 weeks to repair, due to shortage of spare LCD... "Har??? i thought my fault was no sound? So shouldnt it be the speakers?" "oh, erm yes, the speaker is spoilt, but actually it's linked to the LCD screen. So we have to replace the entire part..."
....what a weird design...
so 2 weeks without my hp. haiz. Reminded me of 3 years back, when my samsung N500 was sloten...it was never recovered, FYI.
Anyway, a great thanks to derrick! i got him to lent to me (last minute) his HP for today... coz i was on stand-by.. (phew, never kana anything today.. hehe)
(the pix: what i was left with, and derrick's hp)
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