Honours classification

I got my results yesterday, A A B B B C C... 2nd class honours (lower division)

lower division? sounds like the people living under the expressway, or a lousy soccer team.. anyway it's over and done with, and i'm happy.. happy that i have finished the course.

They say that the people from NTU are motivated negatively (by fear), I think it's true. Fear of failing, fear of losing out to the hordes of people from china and india. Because their "freakishly extraordinary" performance will affect the way the marks are moderated, leaving us, the good sons and daughters of Singapore to kio the sai (pick up the leftovers).

Actually, this system of moderation is just pure speculation, yes.. Disclaimer: let me iterate that i did not say moderation actually takes place. I am only saying that it is speculated, so i don't want anybody coming round to sue me.

In fact, almost everything about the system and the way things are done here (from the way students are graded to the way our degrees are classified) is as clear as a fucking brick wall.. trying to see through it, is pure foolishness. We have long learnt to accept things as they are, not to question the system and obey obey obey.

Look at the honours classification, we have been having no indication whatsoever throughout the duration of studies to tell us.. "MAYDAY MAYDAY.. you are NOT going to get any honours if you carry on like that, hanging out after school and fishing on weekends." NO, it is only made known on the day you check your results for the last time. NO GPA (Grade Point Average - like what NUS and other world class universities have).

However, thanks to the new head, Su Guaning, the GPA is going to be implemented soon... we won't be there to "enjoy" it.

Regarding the name of the school, there has been a debate in the not too distant past about whether it should stay "Nanyang Technological University" or have it revert back to its old "Nan Tah". If my memory serves me well, I think they have decided not to change it back.

This is how I feel, I want it to remain...leave it please!!! NTU is not a hotel. Hotels change names all the time when the management changes. Besides, Nan Tah sounds silly and the people who studied in that era all HAD their fun days and school spirit. Folks... I hate to break it to you but, it's OVER. Dude, we will never have the the same school spirit again. What Nan Tah spirit you tell me? I've never felt it a single day i was there. If you want to reflect the spirit now, I would recommend a change of name to "Beijing University (Singapore Branch)"

Is this how I thank the school for my three years of education here?

My answer is, The school is made up of people, there are people whom i want to thank and there are people who are better off contributing somewhere else. The people whom i want to thank are my family, friends and classmates.. they stuck by me, studied through the night with me and waded through the shit with me (it might be nothing compared to the future that awaits me) but shit it still is. I also want to thank the good lecturers and tutors, those that made learning fun and really imparted knowledge. Those who can't pronounce english properly, I suggest you consider using a voice synthesizer to help you articulate or perhaps you can teach at NUS to bring down their standard. How's that for school spirit!


sidetrack:
Singaporeans complaining over a smoke
(yes we like to complain, it's - Uniquely Singapore!)

ahhhhhh

It's way past MidNight.. Please don't keep me in suspense!!!

so fast!!

the singapore idler is pleased to announce that he is finally using broadband...

thanks mum.. :)

yes, imagine the endless possibilities, no more snail paced dial-ups and having to stop using for pple who want to use the phone, no more having to pay for the phone bill for local call charges when the internet is in use.

now the page loads in the blink of an eye..

i read in the papers earlier this week that they are opening up the broadband market to more players, that is a good sign.. and it's about fucking time man.

Singnet is charging 40plus for a 512kbps subscription whereas hongkong is charging i think 30plus for a 10Mbps service, that is about 20times faster than 512!! why the large disparity? the hongkongers are getting it cheaper!!!

I am already unhappy that dial-up is more expensive than broadband (if you include the phone line charges) i guess singnet is using this to 'force' users to make the switch to broadband... users like me

but what's new, it's like one of those set meal specials at a fastfood joint where just buying the burger is probably gonna cost more

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"RAINBOW DREAM"

that aside, i've been out kayaking at the changi sea sports club... and i'm so tired now... one more day to go for this 2 star course!

the 'motion of the ocean' seems to be staying with me even after i have left the water.. can feel myself rocking from left to right, up and down, back and forth

we came across some sailing boats moored outside the changi sailing club and as we sailed through the 'parking lot' i looked at their beautiful white hulls and i was amazed at the lovely names they give their boats.

Sweat Phoenix, Rainbow dream.. there was even one named "Kiss me again" lots of kissing on that one..

then there were the conventional female names like Kristina and Jenny.. eveytime i see the name jenny, two images come to my mind; The auntie who used to sell food at my old camp's Mess, her name was jenny. and a really big breasted girl who's face looked like it had hit a tree. please, i need to know more Jennys to overwrite these two disturbing images.. at least now i can think of the boat when i hear the name Jenny

I wonder what i will name a boat if i had one.. i might call it "sea bitch" or "spongebob's pineapple" or "bang me again" or "sweet p****"

leisure

three years on since my communication skills lecturer,

ms noela murphy shared this poem with us

and i still love it... i find that it reflects our pace of life,

if everything could just slow down a little..........


click on it to enlarge

Musical Baton

okie.. lets do this...!!!!!

Total volume of music files on my computer:
3.65Gb — 937songs

The last CD I bought was:
Much more inside - Electrico

Song playing right now:
David tao - sha tan

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:
Radiohead - Creep
Blink182 - i miss you
Billy Joel - When you wish upon a star
Sarah McLachlan - Angel
Concrete Blond - Joey

Five people to whom I’m passing the baton:
1.clara
2.gigi
3.cheelip
4.jijay
5.shu

Freaky Tree Friends

Everyone's favorite cartoon..

First viewed happy tree friends years ago.. shocked and disgusted at first, i then used it to scare my other friends and urged pple to show their kids

but i didnt know they have figurines, complete with their mutilated states :-O

I think these would make great Christmas presents!

Intoxicated

Chalet - a six letter word most Singaporean teens and young adults are familiar with, to each person, the word conjures different memories and experiences.. among those are memories of card games, mahjong, not sleeping at all and booze... yes booze, lots of it

place; Costa sands east coast
time; last weekend

It seemed like an impossible task to finish eight bottles of liquor, we had absolut vodka, chivas, martel vsop, jim beam and tequila... but given 2 nights and twenty over people.. we finished all but one bottle of vodka.. along the way some of my friends merlion-ed.. it's an awful sight.

One moment my friend John (name has been changed to protect his identity) is all high, laughing and cheering.. then the next moment he reaches for an NTUC plastic bag and Bleeeaaahh.. BLLooooghhh.., he decides to sit up.. BBBBlllooogggghhh, the white stuff spills all over his shirt. Then, as if by command, the well trained "puke damage control team" kicks in, they get ready flasks of water to wash the place up, someone runs to get a clean shirt and a glass of water is prepared for him.

So he sits there, an image of depression and emptiness, a stark contrast of his boisterous side just a moment ago. It's as if his body had reached a breaking point and it was down hill from there as it began to reject the alcohol. No more for you tonight.

I've gotten pretty high before, but i still haven't puked from it.. I won't allow myself to, i guess there are limits to enjoyment and drinking.. if it impinges on someone else's fun because he has to clean up after me, then that would be over the limit.

Anyhow, it was a great outing complete with a BBQ to celebrate the end of our exams and beginning of a new life outside school. I will miss those days.


I've always wanted to do a montage of this sort, hahaha

"the junwei Mc Donald speech"

what lies ahead for all of us? i hope it's blue skies everyday

Took this from Bedok jetty in the rain, the clouds swallowing up the sun and my beautiful Singapore as it approaches the coastline...

Where's my ice cream!

After a sumptuous dinner of Indonesian food at Centre Point's Sanur today, i was making my way back home around nine or ten plus. I needed an ice-cream to satisfy my sweet tooth, failing which I could have lapsed into a coma.

My cure is a cut block of MINT chocolate chip ice-cream sandwiched between two thin slices of wafer. Usually sold by an uncle on a motorbike under a huge umbrella with the words "Magnolia" or "Walls" on it.

No ice-cream vendor outside centrepoint, I walked around. None outside Heeren shopping centre.. maybe it's getting late. Then i spot an umbrella at the carpark opposite Orchard Emerald... Nooooo i couldn't believe my eyes, it was a makeshift tattoo parlour. Fancy getting a tattoo under a single dim fluorescent light bulb.

Feeling a little disheartened, I took the train back to AMK station, theres always an ice-cream man there. Last week, he was there near midnight, and i was rewarded with a HUGE brick sized ice-cream. As you would have guessed.. No luck here tonight, i walked around the station hoping to catch a glimpse of the ice-cream man.

Two mama shops are located between the MRT and my home and they provided the only hope i had left. I decided to patronise the first mama shop and finally.. finally.. i got myself a stick ice-cream, Bullito Scotch flavour.. not quite what i wanted, but it worked for me.

Further down the road, as I was licking my ice-cream, the second mama shop came into view, It was closed!... HENG AH (you are one lucky bastard) i told myself... and i walked on, satisfied and happy..

Treetop to treetop

We went to the Tree top walk near the Singapore Island Country Club Saturday morning, a 20-30 min walk led us to the trail from the main road where all but the latest models of BMWs, Mercedes and Volvos zipped dangerously past us. It began to pour just as we neared the walk and we seeked shelter at the guard house cum mini staff canteen of the SICC until the rain stopped. Then we walked into the trail with the sky still rumbling overhead. All the green which slowly began to surround us brought back memories of my army days.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy!
(click on them to view the full size)










The tree top walk itself is a suspension bridge about 250m in length, i believe and it gives you a wide view of the surroundings. It was a little misty to see too far away so I didn't make many pictures there, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. The path beyond that wasn't too siong (tough) as it was paved with wooden planks and railings. We were greeted by a company of noisy primary school scouts.. who turned the place into a noisy school canteen, also present were organised groups from corporations having their outings and individual families having morning walks. Too crowded for my liking and a total disregard of noise discipline.

Up and down the paths went and it took us and a couple of hours to return to the ranger station, ready for lunch and a cold drink at Thomson Plaza.

BUDDHA'S PALM

An Eye for an eye

Here are some of the headlines in the news today at the channelnews asia website,

Deluge of car bombs kills 54 in Iraq

Powerful car bomb rocks Indian Kashmir's summer capital

Seven killed in Baghdad car bombing

They all have the B-word. Warfare has seen a shift to unconventional means, it's what happens when you have small fragmented groups (not necessarily disorganised) who are fighting a larger more organised and well trained group.

You're not going to face him head-on because in the conventional fight you are going to lose. So the terrorist or freedom fighter (depends on whos point of view) seeks unconventional means, by blowing up things and putting the enemy on high alert at all times. This creates tension and undue mental stress, ultimately lowering the moral of the soldier. America's push to Baghdad lasted only weeks and major fighting was declared over soon after, however bombs continued to rock the city and other places in Iraq until today.. I don't think things are really under control at all and I don't think that the violence will end soon.

During National service in the army, I've seen some explosions and it's nothing that you'd ever want going off anywhere near you. Claymore mines (little mean things packed with ball bearings aimed at the road to spray at passing infantry in an ambush), bangalore torpedoes (these tubes blow lanes in barbed wire obstacles for soldiers to pass), even explosives we put together ourselves.

Before you hear the blast, you will feel it.. a rush of wind as the shock wave radiates from the detonation, you can see the trees bend back a little as the wave passes, a split second later... just enough time for you to realise that something has gone off but not enough time for you to react.. a deafening boom hits you squarely in the face. This, is the experience from a safe viewing distance.

I hope we would never to have to raise our children in such an environment, where we live in fear. What do you say to a kid who hears the warning on the trains about suspicious packages....?

Son: Dad, Why do we have to look out for suspicious baggage?
Father: Er... there are terrorists who want to blow us all to pieces
Son: Why do people want to blow us all to pieces?
Father: They are bad pple who want to make a statement
Son: I wanna be a terrorist when I grow up!
Father: ... *two tight slaps*
THE ONLY THING U WILL BE IS A DOCTOR, A LAWYER OR AN ENGINEER!!

A day at the beach

NTU's Beach Out 2005 at sentosa on 7th may.. it was a sunny day


We all went to the beach Today...
there were hunky guys...



And babes of course...
(beware! she does a mean serve)



even the monkeys joined in...



we baked in the sun.......



and played lotsa games......



there was competition.....



Some of us got hurt.......



But we all had good time!

It's Over

The battles are over, We're done with the war





What comes tomorrow is another story
Will I make it? we'll wait and see, when the results are released...


But i thank all my friends who fought with me


And though school might be through, the learning starts here...



but i don't give a shit
at least for a month



cos it's time.....



it's time!


and it's way overdue
it's time for a celebration.. FUCK YEAH!