Merry X'mas! and etc etc...

It's Christmas again~!! Merry X'mas to all and wishes come true~~

And here's a little sms joke to make you laugh (if the substain inside works.)

HOHOHO!
Jingle pau, jingle pau
Jingle Char Siew pau..

Lin Yoong pau, tau sa pau..
Loh mai Kai...

HEY!!


Merry X'mas!!! Cheers!

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

Etc 1:

I found a reason why one should not buy the car they like. Coz when it's being punched with holes or whatever, one sure feel the ache in heart.

And as folows, our dear Caddy gotten a kiss from someone else, while my dad's driving on Sat:




It's not big, yet enough to cause pain. And i havent mention about some sratch mark by some passers by on the side. Ouch.

 

Merry X'MAS!!! and etc etc..

Etc 2:

With today's society been threatened with Internet banking risk, made insecure by reports on hacking by criminal, it's certainly a great sign to tighten the security.
And for sharing purposes, this is what my sister received from DBS on morning







Right, a PIN generator. To log in, key in (in order):
1) User ID
2) existing password
3) Serial number of the above Generator
4) And the PIN generated, with a squeeze of the button.

So that means that she and friends have to bring it out whenever they go out. Troublesome? no choice, in name of security.

Well, at least they provide it with a Key chain hook (and add on to my sister already big chunk of keys and key chains)

..and 4 stickers, so that you can choose the colour of the "face". She sticked on Pink, as shown.

"cool" huh? (HP laptop TV adv voice)


etc 3:

Yesterday, i was really glad to receive a new GP charger and a set of 2100s battery, in replacement of my aged 1800s which is losing the capacity. (see number of times my camera warned low batt?)

But. What would go wrong??

Charging successful.
Switching on camera successful.
Switching on screen....black.
Taking a photo....black.

The exact fault is back. The last time was sent to Canon Service and costed $123 (really 123) Now, again.

Damn.

...on x'mas eve, right before a chain of incoming events. Grr..


...no choice, loh. ^-^


.

pardon me with calculator

It's a raining thursday morning. A perfect day for sleeping with the mist and rain, in fact, it had been raining since god-knows-when. So much that it could flood the island.

Anyway, yup it's rainy thursday morning, and it's Statistics lecture. I have to say, we got a very detailed lecturer, so detailed that we could pass Statistic Theory Essay paper (if there's any). Just unfortunatly, she also have the power to put students to sleep.

So i'm there, listening, and overloaded with too many. Hypothesis, alternate hyp, H0 H1, T-test, Z-test, Table 5 on Pg 35, etc etc... and lots and lots of "So," and "Suppose," in the questions...They really like to "suppose" huh.

And my attention turned to the calculator...

1. 2.
1.Sharp EL-509. Comes in varios colours.
2.Have a long equation? Connect up a second calculator to extend your screen! Right click, select Display Properties, select secondary display.


Guess the seat is cursed. Was told that our friend (who was absent that day) always played with his calculator unneccessarily when he sat there. Hmmm.


Ok lar. Very lame right. Purely for entertainment purposes. (^-^)
Effect of too much runny nose? Stupid weather.


.

day day bus

So what happened to me? Everyday school, everyday rush here and there... 
Actually at times realli start to think should i had spreaded my school days? 

and yup, as a matter of fact i'm still in school, suppose to type an essay, yet i'm blogging.

Anyway to support my daily (almost) trips to school, my mode of transport is that long bus ride... which for that 1 hour plus the seat became your private space... 
Read notes (if possible) eat breakfast, sleep, or watch tv mobile and laugh at the just for gags

And at times, especially when seated at upper deck cruising along Lornie road, it just really felt like floating...just like a boat ride... that constant humphing from engine, that light rain drops on the windows, the leaning of left and right just as if it hits the wave... On the way to SIM resort...i wish.

How nice if the seats are better... those individual cushioned coach seat, aka those on Hong Kong Airport shuttle services double deck buses.. Or even opening a small tray for me to hold my breakfast just like Airplane Econ class seat.. and a small screen for different TVmobile channels.. TVm1 TVm2 etc etc..

And drive faster too, like those in Hong Kong... Over there, particularly at TST, the drivers just accelerate til you heard that turbo whine from the engine... so loud that it could make a baby cry... Acceleration and deccelaration are done with great G forces.., very fast.

And perhaps when all these "facilities" happens, fare stages increase very fast too. Like Hong Kong, fare of a trip would be 4.80 too. Just that theirs is in HK dollar and our the same numbers in SG dollar.


hmm.....


Time to wake up....


.

S D H -- ohohoh Get high!

Ah... Been telling myself, once i could update my blog, i must write on the Motorshow 2006, which i went last week.. but as u guys had seen by now, i havent been doing it!! Paisei oh, if u been checking here and see-ing the same thing ;p

Anyway! Here's something my sister had put up in her Mulitply page, and here u read:
(since i'm involved in it too.. hee)

-------------
SDH

a recently coined-up term. proud idea of my bro and me. SDH ! Sei 到HIGH !

sleep is a luxury given our schedules. and when one gets sleep-deprived, one does insane acts. and yet weariness is no longer felt. this is where we have reached the SDH state.

insane acts including doing shopping with relatives from overseas in Mustafa @ midnight and start to do bollywoood dances rite inside the heart of the store.

insane acts such as shireking xmas carols in a sardine-packed vehicle of 8 pax.

im sure many of you get SDH too. heh.

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

And yup, that brings me to a point. For those poor fellows whom i had thrown you to my "3rd row" treatment of my Van before, you will be glad to hear that I myself got this treatment last night...

"sardine-packed vehicle of 8 pax" --> 3rd row: me and my sis.

Now i understand what's the feeling of squeezing next to cargo and having that rear wiper as entertainment.

STill, quite fun lar. haha.

.

The venture is over.

28th Oct. Our very own City Venture event (SIM amazing race) took place and done.

Months of preparation and rushing and late sleeps, all for this day.

It went as planned, and was pretty nice...excluding the screw ups and etc.
...well, nothing is perfect right? There are stuff we did well, like the avoidance of team clashing and etc.

So expectingly, there are certainly praises and complains. So got After Action Review soon.


Back to main point. Really got to say, the team was great. For the last month or so, we were all drilled and pushed to levels unthinkable previously. Many of us certainly had learnt alot from the event. And had put in alot. As boss said, we all deserved a pad on back. Great to worked with u guys.



And yup, it's over. Upcoming would be our sister event and helping up some other event?

Til then, it's back to studying. Which had never been easy.

Study group anyone??


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


As the "transportation and logistic" guy, one of the major screw up was from me. I had a Crisis Management Lesson.


Let's reel back the tape.

Remember last year in NS i got a Nissan Van stuck in mud? Then months later i got the same Nissan van, and a lorry crashed onto it's rear?

Then on July i had a $300 crash onto a Nissan Taxi?

This time, during the event, my rental lorry broke down.


No prize for the correct guess. Yup, it's a Cabstar lorry. NISSAN Cabstar.


So it was early into the event, sending several Game Masters and team mate to Orchard then ECP. Just one junction away from Orchard road, it decided to die, during red light, on right most lane of Clemeneau Road.

What a way to cause a jam on a peak hour morning. That includes the stopping of all traffic so that the brokes from SIM could push it to the left ahead. Oh yes, the orchard team had to go orchard on foot.


Nevertheless, glad to have a great team with me. Helped me alot, in organising of people and especially when with talks with the rental company for replacement vehicle..thank you...


Anyway, the entire thing wasted a great deal of time. After it i was rushing up and down for fetching and delivery...


Lesson learnt: Dont save money on Rental vehicle. And Lin Jingxiang never to drive a Diesel Nissan, again.
.

i am 21!

For Post #92,

Happy 21st birthday to me!


Welcome to adulthood, where power comes with responsibility... haa


Anyway, had changed my details on the left panel. Check it out orh ^-^



(Dear friends, thanks for all yours messages and calls!)


.

Mine + Jine Bday chalet

(as usual, all photos up at Yahoo Album -- Bday-Me Jinie 21st.)


Yesterday, Friday the 13th October, we had our early Birthday Celebration, at Aloha Loyang.

Big Place, Big Deco, Big spirit.


It was really special coz i never really did an event for myself (of coz in partnership with jinie) ...was like good or bad it's goes to me....so must really do it well even more.

At the end of day, realli fanastic...

Still,
Apologises for not able to entertain you guys fully (ran about too much) , and making any grp felt left out....

&,
Thank you for everyone who turned up, and for all your lovely gift.

Really appreciated ^-^






(Y post so short? Energy all drained from the entire day of running abt and entire night of not sleeping! haa..... May i recovered and hopeful to do more details on it...)

.

100min hour + DEBT!

Today:-

Morning (just now):

There's a small maths test this morning @ 9am, and i woke up late....

Rushed all way and reached there minutes after it had started.

Thankfully, i thought....there's only 4 questions, to be completed in 1 hour.... so 1 question 25mins.

And i worked on, completing the first Q at 9.27am... Not too bad, i was in time, 25min per Q.

Is it?

No!! 1 hour is 60! not 100! Supposed to be 15min, not 25!!

so i got 30 left for the remaining 3 Q...


what a silly mistake... hahaha.....


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


Afternoon (now) :-


Meeting with Jinie, for our coming chalet...

Jinie: hi guys. im the special guest for this blog entry.


And yup, i'm in debt cos of this "special guest" :





arrrrrrrrh. Cant escape.


hahahaha........


.
Evening (later) :-

City venture meeting coming up at 5pm..... busy day.... (-_-).....



.

SSS: some small stuff

Oops! Havent been updating here...

So what had been going on?

Occupied with school nowadays...
Rate of study: Like never before.
(Hope i'm studying correctly, otherwise it wouldnt turn out good.... -_- )

And... now in school src club, preparing for event City Venture.. something like Amazing race, so will be really fun... certainly rang back lots of bell in me now... just like the ones we did 3 years back.. hmm...

Looking forward to it.
(if you from SIM, must support ok?? haa)

----------
SSS1:

As time of sleep get lesser, I got back to caffeine again. Last time, 50cent glass of Kopi for breakfast. Now it's in form of paper cups, during the break time of lectures.

Advantage: Tea is the popular choice, so there's sure Coffee left
Disadvantage: Smell in breathe.

mmmmm...

--------

SSS2:

And today... i cut my hair.

Sure felt the layer is thinner now, easier to wash...

but Interestingly, it still look the same. huh?


---------

SSS3:

will be getting Wireless network in home... Next week!

No more unplugging the poor modem to and fro CPU and laptop, anymore.

No more waiting for sister to finish work and vice versa before she/me can be online

Finally can see my sister online on MSN... haa..

-----

SSS4:

One of my lastest favourite one is the BBC Top Gear motor show...

Attracted ever since watched it on Flight from HK this May, and now watching on Youtube whenever i got 30mins to spare..

Sadly one of the guys Hamond (nickname hamster) was injuried after a 300mph (500kph?) crash, now in hospital.

Certainly he got a nation wide response. Other than being overwhelmed with flowers and donation, right after the accident the News channels there had debates on the dangers of stunts in recent TV shows, etc etc.

How funny the another channel could quote a line on the TG website, which initially meant as a joke, into something serious...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf52wKocoDs
Twist the facts, zoom into some words, and entire meaning is different. Great.


Still, guess the team wouldnt be bothered?

Hope he get well soon and the delayed show be on air soon... and dont cut off my "small" entertainment.


.

Priority.

My old problem is surfacing again...to set my priority right on stuff..

When you get tired, get too many stuff on the mind (because you might think too much at times) this starts to happen, you start to do some "wrong" decision...

Unlike last time which my wrong choice might only affect myself, for sometimes, now i would be afraid that i might affect other people here now.

So how??


Have to tell myself, to relax on my mind, clear "junks" inside, and prioritise things properly....


Things wouldnt turn out to be that bad?


As long as they are no being over-done, and correct stuff are done.



just R e l a x .



zzzzz.

CLICK my life.

Hollywood movies....Normally i just dont quite able to link them up with my life and those around me. Either that it will be too much of a fantasy but good for entertainment (think Spiderman) or closer to heart of Americans (think those teenage college life movies)
But. There's one recently and it does makes me think. It's "Click".

(If you had watched it, go to next paragraph)
In the movie, the main guy was given this remote control which empowers him to fast forward the part of his life which he doesnt like. But after all the fast forwarding, he realised that he had missed out alot in his life and the relationshops between him and his beloved one went downhill as he wasnt "there" most of the time. He regretted it and he had a sad ending (supposed-ly)

This movie does have an impact, and made me feel with it. Doesnt we all are similiar? Many a times we are so occupied with our work or studies that alot of stuff happened around us without our knowledge, just as if we had "fast-forwarded" that part...

Simple example: Today. Living Room.
Me: "Eh, where's that fan which our aunt had given us when we shifted house?"
Moither: "That one? Spoilt dont know how many years ago and thrown away already.."
Me: "Huh?"

So this shown how much I know about my own house. That at times i had to wonder where are the sissors kept. Not been around at much as compared to my old house.

This is only a simple example... There could be more serious implications... Like realising you havent spent time with some one, only after that person had passed away. Cos you had been too busy. You havent been "there".

So ideally, what we have to do now is just like the ending of that movie... Realising that family should be the priority, spend more time with family rather than work.

But it's really ideal. In this new society which is ruled by Captialism, it will not be that easy to achieve....so how?



Let's see what the future brings me.... lor.



Or perhaps i need Time Management courses when time comes.


.

For my Grandma

My grandmother was born in a village in Guandong, china, on 1918. Given the name “Ah Ai” she was hoped to take up the great role of mother as she grew up, and yes, she did. A great mother which brought up 8 children and some of the grandchildren, single handedly.

She was first married to a Doctor, whom she followed to Singapore to continue his business. What seems to be a stable future was disrupted as the WW2 broke out, whereby the husband was lost. With 3 children with her, she married again, this time a worker at the port. Here the last 5 child was born, which includes my mother. Perhaps heaven really wanted to challenge her, my grandfather died of cancer, when my mother was 9.

Given today’s context this would be a really good article for the newspapers to ask for lots of donation and welfare help, but in the 50’s she only have herself to depend on. Thus she took up odd jobs in the day and night, washing of dishes and cleaning other’s house while taking care of children, slongside with the elder son sharing some responsibility of care taking the younger siblings too.

Time flies then. Kampong became HDB flat, sons became someone else’s son-in-law. Seems like the end of an happy story, but in fact, it was the start of another phrase. Years past, she did enjoy her “retirement”, but time to time conflict arises among the uncles and my mother regards many issues… Nevertheless, she still always get the care that she needs, as she lived with my eldest uncle family and my mother lived next door since she’s married. Not forgetting grandchildren’s company too… The cousins, and especially my sister.

But nature is cruel. Illness caught up with her as her health got worse. Slowly her ability to walk weakens, then she has difficulty to climb stairs, then she needs 2 persons to carry her, just to go downstairs. Not forgetting all the Diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.. And then, last year, a slept led to a stroke attack in the brain… which since then removed her ability to move her left limps, to eat and swallow, and to talk properly. How would it feel for some one not able to eat what she likes, or even to like people understand her properly?

(and again another saga of the incident with relatives… you can refer to my previous post on this, dated 15 Sep 2005 in the archive.)

The next 11 months of her life was spent on that bed in her home…under the care of the wife of her eldest son and a maid. My mother visited her every Sunday, sometimes she would be trying to communicate and sometimes she would just be sleeping. It really wasn’t easy, but there’s no choice.

And the time came. She passed away peacefully, last Friday 18th August, afternoon. No pain, nothing much I heard.


She is in peace.


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


For those my friends that know, what followed for all of us were 5 days of funeral. The first few days was ok, perhaps because most of us had already been mentally prepared for this day to come since last year. Or view it as, a form or relief and rest.

The 5 days was sort of “rush” for me too, I actually pop down at Dom’s birthday (see previous below) and went school for Monday and Tuesday. I was considered as “Wai Soon” (external grandson) so it’s was quite ok if talking about ceremonial stuff.

It was also like a big relative “gathering” too. Many relatives whom we haven’t saw for a long time came, friends of our own people came too. As a matter of fact, this includes our own relatives too, since that we only saw them during New Year.

It was the last night where the mood starts to get somber. It was the ceremonial stuff for her spirit. The last day was the worst. All the time she just seems to be asleep there, peaceful. It was only when the coffin was pushed in at Mandai….then the fact came to us. She is really gone.


Many shed tears for her throughout.
There’s tears because she had left many memories in all of us, during different part of her life, be it it’s to a son, daughter, daughter in law, or grandchildren.

For me, she was the person who had taught me my basic Teochew. She the one who took care of me when parents are not around. And watched me grow from baby to that thin child to fat teen, and to the thinner now.



She will be missed.


& life goes on.

Dom Bday + abit of Derrick's PGP

Dominique Birthday Celebration
(19th August, Sat. Marina Square CA cafe)

Once again, apologises to Dom, for not able to fully attend the birthday dinner I had planned for you. No matter what, hope that you like every part of the meal, everyone that had came, and most importantly, that Red Bag which we had, brainstormed and decided to get for you as your gift.


And fortunate girl, whom had fallen in the trap set by Zhiwei. On the actual day of her birthday (21st Aug, Monday) he met her and brought her to his room in Hall…….To discovered that few of her best friends are there waiting with her cake lit with candles. Nice job done.
The culprit, in red. The nice Banana-favoured cake, foreground.


(All photos available on my Yahoo Album “Bday-dom 21st”)


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

Lastly… Visited Derrick in his NUS Residences, on Friday (18th Aug) noon. Done what I had not done previously… that is to capture his beautifully resort like PGP on camera… And here you go:

"Resort" lit up at evening....And infront is a nice hill with sun set....Their cafe! Look out of the window and you see a small pool. What an ambience.



Guys, if you are free, visit him oh… before he gets bored to pieces and atoms.. hee.


.

Fireworks with OG + IMM + SRC interview

As the fireworks lit up the night sky...thoughts flows through Teck Sheng's mind...and his heart was lit up with warmth...



...okay, not so exaggerating... and i dunno what is he thinking too.. .haha..

It's Friday, 11th August, and we Og2 joined the crowds at Esplanade Bay for the Fireworks performance... And crowds indeed, very crowded. Carpark full, Fast-food long queue, traffic heavy... thankfully they were all early there to get a nice slot. (Heard that Sat's, the last day of performance, was even more packed...)
"....people mountain people sea..."

But it's worth it... The performance was great... especially when matched with the music, it's certainly entertainment blended for the eyes and ears...


What's missing here is the music... Cameras LCDs are equally bright too...haha...



And not forgetting too, the fun everyone had with taking photos, before and after the show...:



guys and girls had their equal share.....from uncool to cool shots.


Next stop, to Cineleisure to find our Yi Wei, coz it's his birthday (almost)

But journey to there wasnt easy...Due to the jam, we took almost 1 hour to drive from Esplanade area to Orchard...(inclusive of finding carpark again).... Certainly part of a "Pattern" (think IBM) after such events...


Not forgetting, my dear passengers are all being squeezed in behind... so it's not an easy hour for them! haha..







So we finally reach Orchard...

preparing the cake to the unknowing Bday boy... and serving to the now-shocked guy.


Escaped and cutting the cake safely, but not later.. still kana.. haha..






And the Group Shoot~!


Happy Birthday, Yi Wei!





Had a fun day indeed..


Note: if due to some reasons you didnt get the photos for fireworks, you can follow the link on right to my Yahoo Photo Album "OG2-Fireworks 2006 + Yi Wei Bday" to view them too.

Sunday (13th August)

Ever since Shufang shifted out of her hall, I havent explored up West for my sundays... So after a break of months, here we go again....

And IMM is upgrading... New sections in the front are now been constructed, so guess once it's done it sure will be a nice place for shop.

Plus, what used to be small offices on the 5th level are all been emptied out, and converted into extra parking spaces.. .so this is what you get:



Which looked like a car warehouse to me... quite cool eh, this idea.

Completed with lot sensor (aka those in Plaza Sing) parking there now is so much easier. Sure visit it again in my sundays to come..


Tuesday (15th August)

SIM SRC club interview, right after my afternoon class.

Certainly comforting to see some of your own OG people in the same interview, but sigh, the unprepared me....got quite anxious as the 5 of us went in (yup, conducted in groups of five) .....perhaps the aircon was too cold... or perhaps i didnt expected to the all the exco sitting on the table...

Anyway...went through it... I can do better one eh.... But nevermind...Just hope to get to the event that i opt for...


We shall see what comes. Watch this space.


.

SL bday + derrick PGP + our van + abit of Sch

Soon Leong Birthday Chalet, Sat 5th August

And it’s the first time that I had forgotten to bring my camera. (Left home in a hurry that day) …Thus no photo for this entry for now. Also the one of the few times that I went to a Chalet without driving… Which later, we miss the stop on the shuttle bus and ended up at Costa Sand instead of Downtown east. Ah…really not familiar with it.

Yup, as you had known by now, Soon Leong birthday is held at our always-familiar Downtown East Chalet… which had gotten nicer over the years. Just like Kent’s, decorations had been done up… which includes that “welcome to the party” deco that sort of “directed” me to his unit.. ‘cos it just mysteriously reminded me of his that green shirt with words “party at my house”… haha..

Anyway, quite a number of us are there…including Daryl, Chun Min, Jasmine etc. Had lots of chat around there once again, pretty much entertained. So no worries SL, you’ve not been a bad host.

Furthermore, his chalet is filled with so much people. Classmates from all levels, including his new-found NUS mates…Pretty crowded. Moreover, he got lots of relatives there…even his food not-catered but home-cooked, prepared by them. The type of bonding he have with his relatives is what I always admired.

So… Happy 21st Birthday!
Cheers!


Derrick Shifts to Prince George Residents, 6th August

Armed with my van and our arms, we arrived at his house that morning and began our long day of shifting work. Ok, actually he only have couple of bags and electronics to move, but majority of time was actually spent on the road, finding our way in NUS, to the Residents, finding the lift, and waiting for the paper work. Finally we got to the room:

<- The room. 1 bed, 2 windows.

...and 1 desk...equiped with toilet and the HDB style glass door....the view during study.


Managed by CPG (which manages some HDB estates and Gov Buildings ) the interior seems to relates to some new HDB units (like those in Sengkang) The culprits should be those glass door in the shower and the windows panes, which seems like they are from the same contractor…haha.

But this is not the main point. The main thing is, despite that, the entire place looks like a resort. As you steps in from the main entrance, you feel a strong gush of wind and the view ahead is greenery (trees and hill) To the left is a mini-mart and to the right is a café.... the feeling of HK Disneyland resort is back….

And this cool thing too... While others use card access, they use a transponder to unlock the doors and lifts... Like unlocking a car, just press a button and you get a "beep"...without the blinking signal lights of cos. Haha... guess only i will be most delighted to use it.

Overall, a very nice and cool place...if you know the way.

Meanwhile, guess it should means a lot to Derrick too…It’s the first time he gets to live alone outside. Hope that you would enjoy this life! We try visit you often okay… haha.


Our Van…


Back home after one day of running

In their article, CAR magazine writers shows how attractive a car is by mentioning people asking about the car as they stop at petrol kiosk or even the thumbs up they get. Rare for a van, but we are getting abit of this feeling now for our VW Caddy. Certainly not thumbs up, but I notice there are people taking peeps into the van or actually moving over to take a look when it’s parked. Perhaps it’s the colour that does the trick. Luckily we didn’t choose Silver or Lime. But meanwhile, seems like a window tinting process is required…Awaiting my dad decision (and financial approval)


So it’s been 5,6 weeks into ownership and it had covered almost 4000km worth of mileage. Not problems so far, just minor niggles….Like the door-ajar indicators had failed….which leads to us not realizing the rear door is not tight and thus, the rear wipers refused to work. Quite inconvenient that I have to shut the doors again when the wiper doesn’t move…so hope to get it fixed when the first service, by the VW dealer, comes.

Another interesting “problem” is that the rims seem to get dirty with brake dust, very easily. Just weeks and this is what we get…


Seem like this appears in other VW group cars too, like a new Audi A4 I seen on the road. Anyway, just need to wash more often. No excuse. Haha.

And oh yes, about getting dirty…An simple solution had been implemented to prevent the seats from getting so… that’s recycling two of my white ultra big polo shirt…

Slightly weird, but beats the trouble of finding covers…

By the way, think I had scared my dear passengers last Sunday too. Was having full load (of derrick’s stuff) as I attempted the famous-twisty-hill road of South Buona Vista…and the body sort-of sway. Ok, it was heavy. The body was telling me to relax, but meanwhile I didn’t feel anything from the steering… The problem of an electric steering: Feedback. But hey, on the other hand, life was made very easy during parking, from the lightness.

That’s why here I have my conclusion of VW Caddy after 1 month : A van which is easy to live with around town, with the sharp yet light steering and torque-ly engine. Just don’t push her limits with full load…


Lastly…a bit of school…


I mentioned previously about my then up-coming Econs lesson right? I had attended it last Friday…and thankfully it wasn’t that bad… Except that it takes abit to follow at first (you know, all those econs terms) but I managed to catch up after some time, The lecturer (Well, a pretty lame guy, from his jokes) did mentioned that the UOL Economics is something very different from the one from A-levels, from the focus to the way it’s been tested… So guess in the end it might be an advantage that I didn’t have experience before, so might that I wouldn’t be confused now.
Nevertheless, need to jia you oh….

Meanwhile for IBM… argh… Getting complicated…. Seems like there will be a lot of names and concept to remember…and be familiar with, ‘cos the exams is all about re-production…

And did I mentioned that my Sociology Lecture have not started yet? Haha… Something new is starting next Tuesday.

GAMBATTE! (to myself, and anyone who needs “oil” too)

.

First day of school!!...

....and yup, as a matter of fact it falls on Monday, 31st july. Now then i
update my blog..hehe... anyway, i had my second class today...just nice for a
small comparation now.


So...first day is IBM (intro to Business Management) and what greeted us at the
door was the overwhelmingly large amount of course material...which was handed
to us by the staff.... How large? Almost like a ream of paper.. And no, it
doesnt last for the year. It's only 3 chapters, out of 12.

Thankfully my sling bag was huge enough to carry them...wait, as quoted from the lecturer, we must use bombastic words to impress the british examinator...so yup i had an enormous bag.

Talking about this lecturer, to me, he's terrific (good). He just have the way
to keep me interested from his sharp questioning and discussion...which sets you
thinking. Not a moment you will be bored. Only problem? The notes...which, for
some parts, i have to read a few times before i can...erm....comprehend
(understand) ...Discussion group, anyone??


Fastforward to today and i had my first Maths lecture...immediately a different
experience. In comparation, the notes are much thinner, the lecture is more
peaceful/dry, and the content...is rather easy to....comprehend. Ok, thanks to
my A-maths + C-maths experience for that..But the lecturer did mention that the
paper was getting harder... so...still must work hard.



So far so good for this SIM life... Certainly challenges will come, and i'll
just take 'em up..Yeah.



Tomorrow is Economics Lecture for me. Heard from my friend that he was
de-moralised after attending the lecture few days back, despite him having econs
background and was confident initially...


...FYI...background wise, i had none.



...I said i'll take challenges right? Erm...watch this space tomorrow.




Accomplishable (No problem)....bah?


.

2weeks of stuff!

Finally, my computer was up finally (see story below) and i'm back from Orientation Camp...Now all needs to be done are done.... that's includes this blog and this...:

Kent Birthday photos are (finally finally) uploaded to Yahoo Photos!! Click on "Bday-Kent's 21st" to view them

back to my updates....

1) Saturday 15th july 2006, kent 21st birthday...
...held at Costa Sand Pasir Ris. Kent must be one of the most fortunate guy that night, with all his friends from old school mates to gaming mates and relatives coming to celebrate that night... And not to mention the nice decoration his "organisers" had done for him.. the cool black and silver ballons, the words, etc etc.

Busy host, he is. Despite that guess he enjoyed the night... We too chatted alot, especially after not see-ing each other for quite some time, there's lots of updatings to do too. We enjoyed the night. ^-^



3 cheers for kent teo! Have a great year ahead!


2) Then, my computer was down completely...
....sometime around monday or tuesday (17,18th July) The thing refused to start, and i'm rewarded with the stubborn beep beep beep repeatedly. So she had given up, before my laptop comes, and i was shut off from the net. This time round really have to buy new CPU lor... and borrow laptop from shufang first.


3) Thursday 20th July, SRJC 19th Student Council Investiture
Yea! We are still invited to go back. Haha. Every time we visit SR there will surprises. This time round is to find that the Hall is fully air-conditioned. And that something every batch of council had been fighting for every year but failed, since the early days.

Second surprise? Now they got a extra commitee, known as Student Liason, on top of the existing two Publuc Relations and Welfare. I'm not sure about their exact job scope, but well, extra manpower is still a good thing i guess for them.

Anyway, nice presentation. Heard that the video was great (ok i was late to see it) and the I like their entrance with style.. and that Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack...not bad not bad.

Too bad i got to rush to work right after it. Or else would have stayed and get to interact with some of them, and also to find out what's the jobscope of Student liason.. hee.


4) Friday 21st July, the stupid road accident...
...what a costly kiss. All explained in my previous blog entry..


5) Saturday 22nd July...
...Last day of work! Last day of work! Cheers!!

But that also marks the end of my free transport. I'm back to the normal group of Ez-link users. Time to top-up card and reminding myself to tap before exit....


6) Sunday 23rd July... Offical 2 years Anniversary
Thanks shufang for her understanding, that part of this day was spent at Sim lim for the purchase of my new CPU. Coz this was the only day left to buy as i would only have the next day to fix it up for my sister before i left for Orientation Camp. Still we had a great dinner and a spent and very very nice night. ^-^ Thank you..


7) Tuesday--Thursday, 25th--27th July SIM Orientation Camp!
Yup, 3days 2 night at Aloha Loyang Chalet, time to play and cheer, what can be better for this ex-councillor to re-ignite his old passion? haha...

Indeed, a Uni Camp is always different from a JC one... Not forgetting the more resources they have... and well, more "crazy" too.. First day is station games held at Pasir Ris park, and for the 2 stop it already involve body parts dipping in Spaghetti Sauce...and for the rest of the stations we entered the sea several times... haha.. but well, fun is still the word.

But what that was really tiring was the treasure hunt on the 2nd day, which was held in town. From one tourism spot we ran to the another, and til the end of it we are all shag out.. What a wrong choice of me not bringing shoes, as aching legs stayed with me until now.

Overall it was a great camp...Being in a chalet it meant a nicer sleep at night (despite it's sleeping bag and floor, but hey, there's aircon ok) and a cozy place for TV while having lunch/dinner with your OG group.. Most importantly, i got to know nice people and to be with a great OG group too (2nd best OG ok.. dont play play... haha)


Everyone in the living room....and ice-cream is always the sweetest after a mad day of running about...



Coming up next....
Post-Orientation Camp Bash on 29th July Saturday night, and...
....31st july Monday ......school starts lor~~~~



......i'm a student again.


.

It started as a fine Friday morning.....

......BANG!

Taxi number 2 braked on time to avoid taxi number 1, but i was not, so i knocked onto taxi 2.

So
taxi 1 got away

taxi 2 got $80 richer and a free repair

me is now "1 week of pay"+$100 poorer...
and a bruised ego too.

damn.

Just at the right time after my computer was offically spoilt (totally unable to turn on). Before i go shopping for the new CPÜ....

Anyway now i'm using shufang laptop, again, for quick email checks and this quick blog update...
so apologises for not uploading Kent's Birthday photos yet and replying emails and etc.....


tomorrow will be a better day.

.

Last Tuesday is SIM Orientation day...

....and first thing we heard is "Guys, hurry up please. Thank you!" That's so so so different from what we are used to back in SRJC times "Freshie, hurry up!!!" (think an high-toned young female OGL, yes, charmaine pattern)

Cant blame me. After attending all the Orientation of SR through-out my 2 years of JC and even in the committee for 1 of them, i'm comparing them now. Oh man, i miss our old times. Ours is better, i can say... and we had more fun, there's more games, more participation, more cheers....Perhaps 'cos we had 3 days, while this one lasted for half a day only.

Meanwhile, i was so glad that day that i met my old-best-buddy from my NS training days...Havent seen him seen pass-out. Moreover he was only transferred to SIM one week ago, that's why i also didnt saw him at the talk last month. Always good to have someone you know in a total new environment....Just that he left 1&half hours later (got a ceremony to rush to)

Thankfully it wasnt that bad, and at the end of the day i know some of the people in the OG group. Quite a number of nice guys...and funny ones too.

Back to the main thing. Actually, i do pity the OGLs.. They have to warm up and get the group bonded in less than half a day. We took 2 days back then to get same job done (remember, first day full of admin stuff and talks..)

Best thing is, they are repeating everything again the next day. Here SIM splits the cohort into 2 and conduct the Orientation day 2 times (tues+wed). Imagine saying the same thing, see-ing the same type of cold faces, playing the same game, twice.


....Hmmm...now i'm already feeling for them...So would i join the SRC and do the same job? I'm still stuck between yes and no. No 'cos of studies; Yes 'cos that's what I enjoy doing.

But earlier, as we came across their registation booth for the Orientation Camp, I signed up for the camp almost immediately... so now, what does this imply?


I miss the good old council days... haha.



so i'm going for the camp, and guess i'll see how after it...enjoy the camp first.
Watch this space.

Weiting's 21st birthday!

Photos of Weiting 21st birthday uploaded to my usual yahoo photos album -- "bday--Weiting 21st"

In the several birthday celebrations i had attended so far this year, i have to say.. this one have the most number of people there. Effectively, filling up the entire function room. Ok lar, considering the fact that it's 2 person birthday (twins)...but it's still alot.. and a crowded mood.

For our group, we could be the smallest in numbers there. But still, we had fun too among ourselves. And indeed it's a small world, there are still people finding their old friends from the other groups too. Friend's friend is your friend, you know..

And what i like best... is the nicely nicely done guest book... Pages are divided into segments by the respecitive group you are from, with photos of your group pasted on it. Very very nice and Yong Xin.. kudos to the twins!

Cheers...! Happy 21st Birthday!~


the group photo with the big cake


...and you can tell who likes to take photo.....alot.

left or right?!

Let's start first with a technical lesson:

(as taught from driving centres)
On the car steering column, you have 2 stalk.
The one on left is wiper + washer,
the one on right is signal + lights.

This is the "standard" coz the common cars we have are japanese (right hand drive)

Then comes along european cars (left hand drive) and they reverse the order:
Left is for signal and right is for wipers.

And we have here, me, who drives a Korean van (right is signal) one moment on work and European van (left is signal) the next moment on play.

Ok, at least i reminded myself about the signal thingy, so i had prevented the silly moment of wiping the screen when lane changing..

Still..

Last weekend (in dad's van).. as I intended to High beam a annoying car infront..
I washed my screen with soap water.

And today (in company van).. as I intended to wash my screen while waiting for the red light:
I beamed at the taxi infront....

which prompted that cab driver an immediate look behind.

"Si gin na, beam wat beam, red light how to move..."
(my imaginative thoughts of that cab driver)

haha...

The wait is finally over.

...days of paper work, 11 weeks of waiting, months of research, a lifelong of hoping. Finally it's here...

Introducing our new family van :

Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 Di

The decision for a replacement was made months back, as the ever rising fuel price was getting unbearable... especially our Toyota Litace was running on petrol, with a low FC (fuel economy) figure as it's a OHV carb. The new one must be Diesel, and a european panel van fits the budget. So here you get, the Caddy, closest in our Litace in size and shape, and high on spec too.

The 2 months of waiting time flew, and last Saturday (24/6/06) the keys was finally collected. "High on specs" i said, was very correct..our agent actually have to spend quite a long time explaining to us all the electronics of the van... She loaded with lots of goodies..Power mirrors, climatic air-con, traction control, remote entry, etc etc... the battery better dont fail.

And when i finally get my hands behind the wheel (my dad drove it first, of cos.) ...i just couldnt close my mouth. The moment i fire up the 69horses (capable of 140Nm torque), i'm attracted to it.

Not only the seats are cosy and supportive (in a soft way), the ride is one of the best i had ever driven.. The body control is great, it goes firmly over uneven surface without crashing thru, and the turning in is sharp. Although it's a diesel, it was not noisy at all and vibration is all kept. Being an fully electronic steering rack, it's light at parking and weight up at speed (but is sort of muted) Overall, very very stable.

Complains? That damn speed warning device is very very loud (and sounds like a pager) ...overshadows the radio and human voices. I'm seriously encouraged not to speed. haha.

Conclusion: A great drive, and better than many cars (yes, saloon and hatchbacks) out there. I'm not going for branded, but German engineering is really very good. The european experience is indeed different..

p/s: And oh yes, it very value-for-money too...Being a commercial vehicle it's cheaper than the cheapest car in the market. Not forgetting the tax rebate too, as it meets Euro4 emittion standards (Applicable until Oct '06). And diesel engines are known for good comsumption too.

Interior: Well built and cozy. Steering wheel from the Golf. And cool blue+red when lights are on. The familiar pineapple and etc are back.

A. B. C.

(A)Diesel...Economy yet full of torque. Yeah. (B)The user manual that looks more than an journal...very nice. (C)And concidently a VW Golf parked next to it. "Caddy, meet the donor of your chassis...that's how your handling is good"

And the happy son in his father's work-horse.