Attitude-ed.blog.spotcom

Watch It.

2007-03-25T16:53:00.000+08:00

Revolution.

My choice.
My determination.
My life.

boys2men

2007-01-11T05:36:00.000+08:00

Does serving the two mandatory years of National Service really turn immature,whiny boys into hardened men?

Well, I'll find out after my own two years, which happily begins ONE days from now. There's no error in the earlier sentence. It's just my wish that there would be days before I have to enlist so that I can enjoy my life slightly more before enlistment.

What does enlistment mean?
On the positve side, it means:
- daily trainings & exercise
- monthly allowance from the army
- no worries about how to pass my weekdays

On the negative side:
- no more meeting up with my friends as and when we feel like
- no more mahjong anytime we are free
- no time to go cable ski at batam
- no mambo nights at zouk

It's not like I have a choice though. So I'm just going to have to enjoy my time in camp. Good luck to me and all others who are enlisting soon.

woah.

2006-12-27T01:21:00.000+08:00

I'm confused.
Over what one might ask.

The thing is, there's so many things to confuse me that I'm confused over what I should be confused.

liah: =) abit is bluff one la.. hahas.. you sld know.. wahaha..

I agree. Everything in life, everything anyone might say at any point of time could easily be a bluff, because we can never know what is going to happen later on in life. I can say one thing today, and do another a month down the road. Who can say anything is certain, who can ensure that anything is forever.

So, what happens in the future shouldn't be a concern. Instead, what is happening now should be the main concern.

What is happening now in my life is, I just want to enjoy myself and in the meantime, find some time to get my ass out there and regain some of my long-lost fitness. At least I won't look like a total loser in BMT. That would be so lao kui-ish.

Anything other things don't really matter much, simply because they are all in the future.

Lastly, I just want to thanks all my friends. For whatever reasons.

Merry X'mas and a happy new year to everyone! : )

2006-12-22T20:19:00.000+08:00

I damn well hate it when people think they understand me well.
That well that they can decide my life.
That they can tell me that I'm doing something I shouldn't do.
When I know perfectly well that I'm not doing anything wrong.

These people.
Can fuck off.
I mean it.

It really bothers me to know
That such people exists in my life
No matter how much I try to convey the message to them

post As

2006-11-22T10:56:00.000+08:00

Someone said yesterday that I was giving myself reasons not to find a job, even though I'm in need of money. Well, who isn't? Anyway, I know I have some time to work, but no way will I spend this last month or so, before I enlist, working.

It's time to play, party and have fun. It can get boring, but it's also quite enjoyable not to have to worry about papers, shiok! There's movies to catch, friends to catch up with. It's the best way to spend life, seriously.

What am I doing today? Maybe a movie would be nice.

TPJC Post Prom. One week's time. Party time.

hanging on.

2006-11-15T23:58:00.000+08:00

One of the most difficult things to do is to concentrate on something when all your peers are enjoying themselves.It's just that hard.

My A's end on Monday. But a lot of people end today or friday. Somehow, I've got to manage my revision these few days. I've got to find a way to study and revise my Further Mathematics on my own. It's hard, but it has to be done.

It's only 5 days before my A-level education is completed. But it's going to be 5 long days. Sadly.

imperfection.

2006-11-13T08:23:00.000+08:00

You often hear people lameting how something isn't perfect, how it is never the way they think it should be. But very often, you see the same person letting go of something that borderlines on perfection, and chasing an imperfection. How ironic is that?

I can't say how true it is for the millions of people out there. But if you're looking at me, that might very well be the case. I've recently realised how I gave up borderline-perfection to pursue a completely imperfect life. And I always thought I was leading a better life.

In life, we often never know what is perfect, til we give it up, and we look back. It is then we realise how much we've given up. That's life. I should therefore learn to appreciate everything in my life, before it's too late. Be it my family, friends, whatsoever, I should appreciate them all, everything that ever existed in my life should be appreciated.

On a side note, the perfect news this morning, Liverpool lost 3-0 to Arsenal.
And not a single Arsenal striker scored a goal. Instead, 2 defenders and a young man not much older than me scored. Hmmmm. Of course, the imperfect news is that Arsenal won. But we can't have the best of both worlds. I'll just appreciate the fact that Liverpool lost.

C.

2006-10-31T21:08:00.000+08:00

com‧mit‧ment
–noun
1. the act of committing.
2. the state of being committed.
3. the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.
4. a pledge or promise; obligation: We have made a commitment to pay our bills on time.
5. engagement; involvement: They have a sincere commitment to religion.

This is one of the Cs that no one, not even yourself, can see.
So who will know if anyone has it?

But somehow, many things in life revolve around commitment.

rock off.

2006-10-27T22:05:00.000+08:00

It feels great to get one huge rock off your chest.
Even better since I did it after mugging at Delifrance for almost 12 hours.

GOGOGO!

26/10/2006

2006-10-26T20:44:00.000+08:00

You know how some people can brighten up your day simply by smiling? When the same person talks to you, you'll feel as if there were a lighthouse around you all day.

Now, I am not talking about someone whom I idolise, admire, or have the slightest crush on. Nah. I'm talking about a friend of a friend. We met today by chance and talked awhile because we were both waiting for someone. There wasn't much depth, just the normal stuff you'll talk with someone you don't really know. But it does have an effect on brightening my day.

Also, there are others who can do the exact opposite. They can plunge your days into darkness simply by not talking to you. It happened to me awhile ago. It was depressing. But I'm glad to know people who can light up my day. I don't mean to say that those who darken my days aren't friends. If I don't know them, why would their silence even bother me? They are friends, just perhaps there's some kind of gap between us.

Friends are not only part of our life.
They make our life.
So treasure them.
26/10/2006

in considerate

2006-10-10T22:19:00.000+08:00

Just the other day, I took a feeder bus. Upon sitting down, I smelt the fragrance of food. I looked around to see who had bought food and brought it on the bus. Then I saw this young boy eating some sort of chicken rice in front of me. There's absolutely nothing wrong with spreading the smell of food if you're just bringing it somewhere. But there is something seriously wrong if you have to resort to eating on the bus. Either you are a very busy person, or you are just downright inconsiderate. And you know what's worse, the boy's mother was right beside him, which means she believes that it's ok for her son to eat RICE on public transport. That is seriously bad education for a child. And the boy didn't even bother finishing his food.

Look, I've got nothing against eating snacks, or even a quick sandwich on the bus if you are really busy and the bus trip is the only free time u have. Eating sweets is even more innocent. But actually taking a meal on public transport, that's more than just a little too much. What's next, a picnic on a bus? If you really have to eat while on the move, you jolly well pay to go eat on a cable car.

Just imagine, let's say the boy's eating on the bus because he is really hungry. I don't even believe that because seeing the way the mother fawns on the boy, she wouldn't let him even approach hunger, let alone starvation. But let's just say he is starving, then you might say it's all right for him to eat. Imagine, what if he was in need of the toilet, what if he needed to take a dump, what if he has not pooped for a year, and he needs to shit there and then, what would you say if the mother just let the boy release his bowels on the bus? I won't even want to think about it.

So how about we try to be more considerate? As long as it's within our area of control, we should at least do something to make lives better for others. I'm not saying we should go out of our way just to make others' lives better. No, because no one else will do that for you. But we should still do what we can, within our time, to make what we're doing more acceptable for the people around us.

mahjong.

2006-10-03T21:17:00.000+08:00

Mahjong.
It's starting to become an addiction.
Not in terms of how 'big' I play.
But how it can take priority over anything.
My studies.
Even when I'm sick.
The things it cant take priority over are my outings.
I should really worry.
But it seems as though it's normal.

In one single month, the defining moment in my life.
The single examination that I studied 6 years of primary education,
4 years of secondary education and 2 years of post-secondary education for.
THE examination that will define if I can get into a university course of my choice.
And Mahjong can still take priority over my studies.

Anyway, I don't mean to make mahjong sound like pure evil. It does take skills to play, no doubt. But it's so time-consuming that just meeting up to play takes at least 3 hours, with the pre and post game activities. 3 hours is just sufficient time to practise one paper.

Mahjong.
My joy yet my bane.

what's the difference?

2006-09-12T01:11:00.000+08:00

Roger Federer wins US Open.
98.7FM advertises for some upcoming event.
Singapore tries hard to impress.

What's the difference between these three?

There's no difference. They've all been happening so frequently that we readily accept them.I'm sure Federer's Open win caused little stir among followers. I'm equally sure listeners are used to Perfect 10's advertisement. I'm also sure that Singaporeans are used to being told to impress any important "foreign" people they could chance upon.

The upcoming IMF meeting just serves to highlight everything. The preparations for the events have been extravagant, to say the least. I understand the security issues, the fact that Singapore wants to project a Singaporean image to the world. But what I still can't get is the 4 million smiles campaign. I mean, it wouldn't take an idiotic IMF delagate to realise that it is impossible for everyone in a state to be smiling, even if it's a small little red state. If Singapore wishes to project a truly Singaporean image, we should show them our HDBs, our kopitiams, our fast food restaurants cum study corners. It should do enough to wow any delagate, in my opinion.

Anyway, if you noticed that I put the "foreign" in " ", there's a reason for it. This is because this form of impression does not only occur on the national level. It occurs in all schools. As a young student, we are always told to do this and that whenever there are important visitors to the school. Come on, what is more important than education to students? I know that students have to learn to socialise and to respect authority. But there's a thin line between respect and sucking up. To ask young students to smile and greet whenever they see 'important' people, might send out a signal that the teachers and staff they see daily aren't important, and thus do not have to be treated with the deserved respect.

What can I say? Since it happens on a national level, it will surely happen at "lower" levels. I'm starting to get lazy to blog.

heaven & earth.

2006-08-26T01:27:00.000+08:00

Well, today I witnessed 2 things.

Firstly, when I was at Parkway playing pool, I saw this man playing pool. He was playing with only one hand. At first I thought he was just trying to be funny. Then I realised he only had one hand. I was amused and thus continued watching him play. He played quite well. Seriously. He would balance the cue stick on the edge of the table and then hit the ball that way. Amazing. This shows us what determination can do. There is nothing that we can't do. It's just the amount of determination that we can conjure up to do that thing.

Next, I was taking a cab home. From Bedok, the cabbie drove me the longest way home. I simply keep quiet. I was thinking, aren't cabbies also in the service sector? Since people would surely complain if service people provided inferior quality service, why is it that no one has said a thing about cabbies driving passengers through the longest possible routes, especially after midnight. For example, if you were asked to pay $100 for someone to repair your computer, and you knew that the computer could be repaired at $50. But the repairman explained that this part and that component was spoilt, so it required more repair. So we gladly pay him, without checking out the facts. This is similiar to the cabbies. They can tell us that this route is shorter, that route is prone to traffic jams, and we should believe them, after all, they have more experience than us in driving around Singapore. But that route is a route I know well enough. I kept quiet, because I thought he would at least turn through Simei, which is long but still not as bad. He chose to turn the longest route, which disappointed me. For those who are interested, it was a Comfort cab, I think. Plate number SHA 4640B.

After this incident, anytime I take a cab, especially after midnight, I'll tell them exactly where they should drive me, and specify the route I feel they should take. My apologies to those honest drivers who feel that I would insult them by doing such a thing.

fuck.

2006-08-24T01:16:00.000+08:00

Who the FUCK decides how things should happen?
Who the FUCK decides what will happen?
Who the FUCK decides when it will finally happen?
Who the FUCK thinks he's all powerful and can decide MY fate.

This is not meant to be offensive or whatever. But it is so common.
"Why are things this way?", "Why am I caught in such a stupid situation?"
Nobody understands why. If you are someone who can explain to me why life is this way, please feel free to leave a message.

Sometimes, life leads you to bang a wall. Even then, sometimes it's possible that one collision will break the wall down. It'll surely hurt, but at least you can continue down that same road. Other times, that same wall might not break when you bang into it. You hurt your head, and still have to use that same head to decide how you're going to continue.

If there's only one wall, it would still be okay. But what if it's an infinite series of walls? An infinite labyrinth? Once you walk into that path, the only feasible way out might be to bang the wall many many times, unless you are patient enough to wait til the walls corrode and crumble.

So, the only solution whenever this kind of problems arise is to bang the wall. It'll hurt once, it'll hurt twice, but after a few times, it eventually becomes part of life.

storm

2006-08-19T00:29:00.000+08:00

Storm. Not Storm as in X-Men's Storm. Not Storm as in thunderstorms or rain storms.

Storms as in the setbacks we frequently meet in our journey through life. They can depress us, so much so that we give up. Or they can teach us, grind us to become a better person so that we'll emerge with the useful experience. Of course, it is never easy to do the latter, but it can be done.

Just yesterday, I heard from this disabled man, Mr. Gilbert Tan. He was speaking to the JC2s. When the video played to show his life story, I was shocked at all the things he had gone through, and yet he still had the courage to not only show it to the world, he was so fine with his condition that he could even joke about it.

What happened to him was that he broke the 4th bone in his neck when he was 22. Can you imagine? Losing control of your entire body at the age when a person is the most active? One doctor predicted that he had only 5 years to live. Today. he is still alive while that doctor is dead. He told us how he kept himself going, ensured that he never gave up.

He is now a mouth and foot artist, a singer and songwriter. He has represented Singapore in international events. Simply, he is more successful than many able people are. He is 45 years of age and has been on his wheelchair for the last 23 years, but he still carries a smile on his face, going around reminding others that they should live life with a positive attitude.

He also told us about his 5 C's. Not the Cash, Condo, Cars whatsoever. His 5 C's were about life.

1) Can We can do anything if we set our minds to doing it.
2) Can't We can't have everything. We must accept that.
3) Compare We should learn to compare with those worse off, those less fortunate than us at times, and not always grumnble at being worse than others.

Those three C's left the greatest impression on me. If a young man who has lost the use of his body at such a young age can get back up on his feet, not literally, what is there that a fit, able me cannot do?

SO people, remember that anything is possible as long as we face life with a positive attitude.

To end off, here's something he said.

If you're happy that day, the day will pass.
If you're unhappy that day, the day will still pass regardless.
It is up to you to depend how you spend each day.
So why not spend it happily?

F.O.C.

2006-07-26T19:48:00.000+08:00

F.O.C. The Freedom Of Cycling

I love cycling. Simply because it gives me the freedom to go anywhere I want. Simply because I'm depending on myself to bring myself to places. Simply because I get to indulge myself with my surroundings when cycling.

Then some people might ask, why not take up driving? Well, I plan to take up driving only after my National Service. Now, it's not necessary. Plus cycling is less stressful than driving because there are no roads to restrict my movement, lesser rules to adhere to. Although cycling takes a longer time, and there is surely a limit to how much and how far I can cycle, the benefits certainly outweight all the disadvantages. The freedom and the wind simply cheers me up easily. It makes me forget everything once I'm cycling.

I'll try to test the limits on how far I can cycle instead of taking public transport.

FOC is no longer free of charge. Because nothing is free in this world. For me, it has instead become the Freedom of Cycling.

roads.

2006-07-13T20:57:00.000+08:00

It takes a road to go nowhere...

That's from some song I have on my iPod now. Just can't remember the title. But it started me thinking. And I felt, I rather be walking on a road to nowhere, than walking nowhere to the road I want. I don't know if anyone can understand my blabbering, but that's just what I feel.

Maybe it's just my way of life, but I prefer to be doing things aimlessly, whenever I like to, instead of knowing my destination but having no idea how to get there. It may be seen as a lazy, or even an 'escapist' lifestyle, but it's something I enjoy.

Roads to nowhere might have branches midway that will eventually lead somewhere I will want to go. That's surely better than walking to somewhere I know I won't enjoy. It's a faint hope, but hoping is better than regretting my decision in the future.

priorities

2006-07-10T20:08:00.000+08:00

The World Cup is over.

Zidane sent off.
Trezeguet missed penalty.
France lost.
Italy lost.

Many great footballers are retiring from international football after this.Sadly.

I don't want to look back on that anymore.

It's now time to look to the future. Talking about time, it's something that we wont realise we're lacking til we are actually running out of it. "Time flies", how true is this statement. Only yesterday it seems I had just started my JC education. Today, my principal told us that there's only about 8 weeks left to our prelims exams, and 10 weeks of official schooldays left in total. And that ends my life of uniformed education. Time flies.

Why priorities? Because it's the time to study! I've realised how hard it is to get into a faculty of my choice at the university. It requires A,B grades with an aggregate above 60. That is totally out of reach given my current knowledge and abilities. Perhaps it's really time to give up my slacking lifestyle, and adopt a mugging one instead. But that'll surely take some time to adapt to. Nevertheless, I have to do it!

8 weeks to prelims.
GOGOGO.

If Italy can win the World Cup, I can do well for my A levels as well.

fevr

2006-06-17T13:02:00.000+08:00

It's the damned World Cup now.

Why is it damned? The matches are a perfect excuse not to prepare for my upcoming mid-year papers, which so happen to begin in slightly more than a week's time. And I'm losing precious sleep over the matches.

That's beside the point. The point is that this World Cup is so predictable, yet unpredicatable at the same time. I know I might not be making much sense, but once again, that's just the way I see it. Who would have thought that England, with all the EPL millionaires would struggle against T & T, with all the lower leagues counterparts of the England team? Who would have thought that Argentina would put six goals past a Serbian side that has been so miserly in qualification? Who would have thought Spain, who previously have struggled to score, would score four and concede zero against Ukraine, consisting of Shevchenko. Granted Sheva is only ONE player, he is still a very good one and surely capable of putting away ANY chance that comes his way.

This World Cup does get boring at times, but I still believe it would get exciting once the knockout stages come around. So far, Germany, Ecuador, England, Argentina have already qualified. Ecuador is the surprise package so far, given that they were thought to be capable of playing well at 2000m above sea level. They won 2-0 against Poland, the former favourites to qualify alongside Germany from Group A, and 3-0 against Costa Rica, a side that scored 2 against the home team in the opening match.
As for the other three nations, what more need I say? They should be there, just based on heritage. But if they can remain in the World Cup competition is another thing. And much of it rests on their young stars. Germany has Lucas Podolski and that midfielder. England has Rooney and Lennon and of course, THEO WALCOTT the boy. Argentina has Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez. Woah!

It's gonna get better.So good that I would not mind failing my mid-years to catch the matches.

respect.

2006-06-09T19:14:00.000+08:00

Before this, I always thought that respect had to be earned, and that no one should be given respect unless earned. Now, I know otherwise.

How often is it that a 30+ 40 years old man gives respect to a 18 years old student who has no idea what he is doing? Plus the fact that the man is a busy entrepreneur. I encounterd two such men recently. They listened to my opinions whenever I talked and perhaps tolerated my rudeness and lack of respect for even them. The worst thing is, I didn't even notice this until someone pointed it out to me.

I've learnt that we should give respect to anyone, regardless of status or appearances. One basic way to do that will be to listen, whenever someone is speaking. Let the person complete his/her words without jumping to conclusions, unless you can read that person's mind completely. This is how miscommunications can always occur.

That's not the only thing I've learnt, there's many other things I learnt over the 3 days I spent organising an event. I've learnt how I should always try to get the best from people I'm working with, how not to show my temper when things aren't going the right way, among many many other things.

Organising Faire Marcher, Meridian JC's inaugural games convention, allowed me to learn things I would never have been able to learn in a classroom. It also allowed me to know very interesting people and realise the fun of playing intellectual board games. I also realised that board games don't just mean Monopoly, Risk, Game of Life and Snakes and Ladders. I might just start to play more of such designer games.

we are singapore.

2006-05-27T00:52:00.000+08:00

With the World Cup Finals looming on the horizon, or rather on our TV screens if we had paid StarHub S$15, it's apt to talk about Singapore's turn, if it ever comes, to play in the World Cup Finals.

There was a time when people said that Singapore wouldn't make it.
But we did.

That line from the ever-popular National Day song should serve as an inspiration to all soccer players, in fact all sportsmen and women, to show to the critics that Singapore can be a global sporting powerhouse, not only an economic one.

In fact, Singapore soccer has the basic groundwork necessary to produce talented players. We have so many soccer courts or state lands around, so many in fact that Singapore youngsters are not willing to play on "lousy" surfaces as much as possible. I believe our worst courts or pitchs are comparable or better than the state of the area kids in Brazil play soccer on. And Singapore is surely safer. And also, there are rules and laws prohibiting soccer being played at void decks, whatsoever. What is this? The government hopes to develop our talents, yet we can't play soccer in void decks, which make good practice places because of the pillars. And we have to pay to use the fields which are otherwise vacant. What is this?

In my opinion, the government should just allow people to play on any available fields, not including the school fields and private fields for a logical reason, but all the other fields which are stand-alone and can be opened without allowing access to other properties. Then again, people who really wish to play soccer should not be so picky about the state of the land. As long as it is flat and suitable for soccer, it should do. Of course concrete land is more ideal, as it will surely be flat. But that will bring up other problems as well. The main thing I'm trying to say is that, in order for Singapore to even smell the World Cup Finals, the government have to first give soccer players in Singapore all the area it can to play soccer. Only then can talents be developed, thus spotted and nurtured to play for the Lions.

And if we should ever get to the Finals, we should start singing...

There was a time when people say that Singapore wouldn't make it,
But we did.
There was a time when the World Cup seems too far for us to reach,
But we did.

We built our soccer team, strong and fast.
Playing as one heart, for the ultimate dream..

We are Singapore,
We are Singapore,
We're a nation in the Finals for the first time.

We are Singapore.
Singaporeans!

timeless

2006-05-21T16:27:00.000+08:00

Today, I had that time-stop feeling I've not felt in a long long time.

Well anyway, I found it at this park connector by a canal in Tanah Merah. I was cycling along when I wondered where the path goes. I was hoping it would lead to East Coast Park. But it didn't. Instead it led to a dead end.

But all that's beside the point. The point is, I saw these men using the front cover of a fan and digging in the waters of the canal for something. At first I thought they hoped to find some precious items or stones to sell for money. But I was wrong. I asked this old man what he was digging for in the canal. He couldn't speak, but was capable of making incoherent grunting sounds. It appears he was digging for some kind of shellfish, with beautiful shells. They looked like mussels, but quite small ones. He 'told' me, using a combination of sound and sign language, that the mussels tasted good once put into the mouth. He had a lot of them, so I guess he would be enjoying his dinner.

As I was cycling home after that, I was thinking of the fact that one could still find people looking for food in Singapore. As in, looking for food that doesn't cost money. Everywhere else I see people queueing up to pay for food. But the old man was enjoying digging in the canal for what was to him, good food. I sensed happiness in him as he was talking to me (really!) and that short "conversation" sort of made my day for me. I thought of how it is really quite impossible for people like me to lead such a life. Given that we have to study, then work in order to provide for ourselves at least. But it wouldn't hurt to occasionally put it all aside, and simply relax, just like the old man. So that we wouldn't have to be bogged down by society's load, and instead just do what we enjoy, and thus find happiness.

Maybe I'll go there again when the feeling comes, even though it's only a dirty smelly canal to many people, I believe.

worthy final.

2006-05-18T02:13:00.000+08:00

In a little less than half an hour, what I believe to be the most exciting UEFA Champions League final in recent years will be kicking off.

2004's Liverpool vs Milan was good, but these two teams don't have the attacking flair that Barcelona or Arsenal currently possesses in Ronaldinho and Henry.

2003's Milan vs Juventus was not even worthy of a mention. It ended in a penalty shootout after a boring 0-0 draw.

Today's match brings together two teams that surely cannot be said to be on the same level, after the way Barcelona dominated their dosmesic league, while Arsenal laboured to ensure qualification for next season's Champions League. But yet, both teams are going head to head for one of the biggest prizes in club football today.

Man to man, I believe no team has the advantage. Where Barca has Ronaldinho, Arsenal has Henry. Though it's true that Samuel E'too is a much accomplished goalscorer compared to anyone Arsenal has to offer other then Henry, it cannot be denied that Jens Lehmann, providing he doesn't lose his head, is an extremely reliable and very experienced goalkeeper compared to the young Spainard in Barca's goal, Vitor Valdes.

Even though Ronaldinho may be the reigning World Player of the Year, and on paper, seems to have the better team to complement him, I believe that Henry, with all the hype surrounding his presumed exit from Arsenal, will show us the same form of leadership Gerrard showed in the FA Cup final to drag Arsenal all the way til he lifts the coveted trophy. Arsenal to win the Champions League courtesy of Thierry Henry. By then, he can leave Arsenal (for Barca?) with fond memories of Highbury and his name surely deeply etched into the walls of Ashburton Grove.

Ronaldinho and Co. still retain the ability to be back in the final this time next year, perhaps with the addition of Thierry Henry in his prime. But today, in this very game, Highbury's Thierry Henry can wait no longer. It is almost certain to be the only chance he has to lift the trophy as the captain of this young, but very talented Arsenal team. It could very well be his last game as captain of this team.

rockson

2006-05-09T20:46:00.000+08:00

http://rockson.blogspot.com

This blog is really good. Offers an alternative view to the things happening in Singapore, and perhaps beyond our shores. Be warned though, the language used can be slightly crude. So if you're not used to crude language, please avoid the blog. Do not flame it simply because you don't like the language.

At the very least, it is a blog that can make me laugh while reading the posts and I quite agree with whatever he writes.

elections.

2006-05-04T22:17:00.000+08:00

The General Elections are in 2 days' time. 6th May 2006.

Well, I don't really bother about the elections. Because it seems to be more like a circus the way it is going. With Gomez and Dr Chee pulling their stunts, it really diverts the attention away from the important factors regarding the election. The people should be more concerned with the credentials of the candidates, rather than the tricks they have up their sleeves. The candidates themselves should try to shy away from bringing up these incidents, and instead try to convey their abilities and their ideas on nation and community building to the people, the ones who have the power to vote.

Luckily, PM Lee Hsien Loong said today that Singaporeans should be more concerned with the actual election campaigns rather than the entertainment being provided by the side. It's rather good timing to say that, with the elections just 2 days away, the people's focus should be brought back to the crucial campaign ideas.

Anyway, since I'm not eligible to vote, I don't understand why they should choose a Saturday as Elections Day. Wouldn't it to better to set it on a weekday, so that non-voters like myself can enjoy a day off from school, and perhaps meet up with a few friends to discuss how we should select our MPs in the future...

sportsmanship

2006-04-24T22:40:00.000+08:00

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the Arsenal vs Tottenham EPL match on the television. And I was unfortunate enough to witness the examples of sportsmanship which would put even young children to shame.

Firstly, Tottenham continued play even though Arsenal had two players on the ground, supposedly needing medical help, and went on to score the first goal of the game. It could be argued that the refree waved play on, and the two Arsenal players had in fact collided with each other. But it should still be common knowledge in soccer, that if a player is down on the ground, you should kick the ball out.

Secondly, Arsenal's striker appeared to foul Tottenham's defender ( I can't remember who were the players ) and then went on to supply the pass which eventually led to a beautiful goal from Thierry Henry. Well, this is at least forgivable, because the refree once again believe there was no reason to stop play, and since no one was injured, the striker would have been doing the correct thing to continue playing. But it still isn't right to knowingly commit a foul and go on to score the goal. That's so Drogba.

Anyway, today, I got to hear of one of the most bizzare case of bad sportsmanship in my 18 years of existence. It will surely dwarf the above two in terms of the lack of sportsmanship.

Meridian JC vs Raffles JC.
87th min: MJC 5 - 1 RJC

Then came Zeus. There was lightning in the skies and thus the match had to be paused. That's the right thing the refree did. Once Zeus left, perhaps it was still raining, but the match could carry on. The refree, doing his job well, consulted both teams and informed them that he was about to resume the match. Surely with only 3 minutes left, and the lightning clouds having just left, it would be safe to finish the game.

But NO! That wasn't what the RJC team, with their overwhelming intelligence, thought. They deemed it too dangerous to continue playing after lightning has passed. Note the fact that it has passed. Perhaps they also took into slight consideration that they were 5-1 down at the moment. So the option to replay the entire match another day seemed the best choice. Now, I don't even know how to comment on such sporting behaviour. I'm sure they had our interests at heart, that they were afraid we would get struck by lightning.

Anyway, before the match, I had respect for RJC. The fact that they were top of the group, perhaps unbeaten, led me to believe that they were a respectable and formidable opponent. They disappointed me. First they conceded 5 goals. Even if the goals were fluke goals, even if luck was on MJ's side, to concede 5 would have to mean they weren't that formidable right? Secondly they had to pull off such a stunt.

Respect. For RJC. What little bit of it that I had. Is now gone. Gone and it will never return.

lazy

2006-04-23T21:04:00.000+08:00

Haha! I finally realised my one outstanding weak point when I'm doing sports.

It's something so simple and basic but I always have a reason to avoid it.
My wearkness is that I'm always unwilling to do defence once I tire even the slightest bit. There will always be some reason for me to avoid doing continual defence work. I'll either say I feel an injury somewhere, or just simply convince myself that I'm too tired to defend anymore. I know it's a really horrible weakness and it's something I'll surely have to overcome soon if I'm going to do well in any sport I want to pursue. And I think because of that, I always let my teammates down. Come to think of it, it's really very bad.

Back to the coming elections. I just found out that it's the SDA (it's short for Singapore Democratic Alliance, I think) who will be sending a team to compete in Tampines-Changkat GRC. It might be slightly early to say this, but I feel that no matter what, the PAP candidates will still be the MPs of this GRC after the coming elections. Anyway, my dad mentioned on the car just now, that the Workers' Party candidates this time round have quite a bit of substance in them. Because they are all degree holders and I think he also mentioned they hold some positions in society. Well then, all the best to them as well. Becuase I hope that the government will have all the best people, so that Singapore will continue to prosper. This is so that young and lazy Singaporeans like myself will not have to bother ourselves too much with matters of the nation.

May the best team win
An age-old quote, but nevertheless very correct.

trance

2006-04-22T21:50:00.000+08:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trance is a style of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s. Trance music is generally characterized by a tempo of between 130 and 160 bpm, featuring repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and down throughout a track, often crescendoing or featuring a breakdown. Sometimes, vocals are also utilised. The style is arguably derived from a combination of largely techno and house as well as being heavily influenced by Goa trance. Trance got its name from repeating and morphing beats and melodies which would presumably put the listener into a trance but because the music is almost always played in nightclubs at popular vacation spots and in inner cities, one could argue this style of music would be better known as club music.

I never knew what it was until yesterday night. But it's really quite enjoyable.

Well anyway, the elections are coming. 6th May I think. It's a saturday and they're going to declare it a public holidays. Not that it matters in any sense. I have no school on Saturdays and I can't vote anyway.

But what's the point of voting? In my opinion, most GRCs will either be a walkover or a clear win. So there, let's just enjoy the public holiday.

pierc

2006-04-16T21:15:00.000+08:00

How is it possible to get fired up over nothing?

It has been happening to me over the past week. I kept having to cool myself down and go on being happy so that no one would notice. Of course, there were times when I didn't bother to even hide the blatant fact that I'm unhappy. I just indulge in my own world, which is, in most senses, unhealthy. Damnit.

Anyway, what's the big deal with guys piercing their earlobes? I don't see nothing wrong. But it's just some old-fashioned, traditional people who can't seem to understand that piercing anywhere doesn't affect your work ability, and it sure as hell will not corrupt your character, unless it has already been corrupted beyond words, then that's another story. Back to my point, I don't see how piercing can be worse than smoking or gambling. I mean, unless I somehow get addictied to piercing, which I most probably won't. Some people are just old fashioned, stubborn mules. No amount of 'discussions' will persuade them to change their minds. Dumbos.

You've got to peak at the right time, which is your A Levels
by Ms Esther Lai, principal of Meridian Junior College.

I hope I can peak at that time, because I feel as if I'm "valley-ing" now. There is no motivation in me, I seem to have lost all interest in studies. The idea of skipping school is constantly on my mind. Whatever. School sucks.

addiction

2006-04-09T18:35:00.000+08:00

Addiction. Dictionary.com defines it as the condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.

We've all heard about drug/substance addiction. That happens when you are constantly craving for drugs. That's a bad thing. It's even illegal. Next, with the upcoming integrated resorts (IRs for short), gambling addiction has become somewhat a hot topic. Counselling centres for gambling addicts have already been set up. But I have to say, I don't understand all the hype about gambling addiction now. Legalised gambling has been around in Singapore for ages. We've had the horse races, the 4Ds and totos. Even the Big Sweep is some form of gambling. But because the IRs are such a big thing, people are raising the public's awareness about gambling addiction.

Other than these two main forms of addiction, I've come to realise a new form of "addiction". The percentage of people who actually are "addicted" to it could acutally be very small, but I believe it's slowly growing, mainly due to Singapore's competitive society. This "addiction" is studying. It has almost become a habit for Singaporean students to study wherever they can. So can studying be considered an addiction? And if so, can I thus say that compulsive or habitual studying is a bad thing? Parents will surely disagree. I've asked my parents and I just could not get them to use studying and bad thing in the same sentence.

I've seen people studying while eating out. I've seen people studying on buses and trains, I've even seen people studying while walking. That's quite scary. Luckily, I've not seen people studying in cinemas. That would really be freakish. But I still think if certain people should review their methods of studying. Should studying for an exam, even if it's 2 days away, take priority over everything? By everything, I meant family time, time with friends, exercise time, relaxation time. Mugging is good, to some extent, but is it still good if it takes precedence over other things in life that matters?

Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull ass.
But all play and no work makes Jack a dumbass.

I'm sure all of us wouldn't want to be either one, so study smart and play hard.
Don't get addicted to studying.

dis-appoint-ment.

2006-04-07T14:16:00.000+08:00

Right now, I'm disappointed by MJ's soccer.

Why? Not because they are unable to reach last year's standards. But simply because I feel that the coach makes stupid decisions. And that the team is not playing as well as I believe it should if the coach had been a slight bit more intelligent.

I don't feel like going into details here because it's simply not that right for me to do so. And, I hope that they will qualify for the 2nd round and hopefully, at least advance to the semi finals.

Anyway, when I was watching MJC vs AJC, which MJ incidentally won 3-2. I thought of something. Maybe I could become a soccer coach. It's quite an abstract dream. Plus, if you consider that I can't play soccer really well, what chance is there I can be a coach right? But I am always so critical of coaches'/managers' decisions and team selections. Sometimes, I wished that I could change their tactics, their formation, and somehow I believe that it would allow that team to play better. It's just an abstract idea, and I know that I'll most probably never become a coach, but that's what simulations, like Championship Manager, are for.

A quote, which in a way sums up my feelings awhile ago.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

Sounds slightly dumb perhaps, but in my opinion, quite true.

superstars.

2006-04-03T23:33:00.000+08:00

Superstar. Exactly how do you define a superstar?

Is it...
A) A famous icon who has worked his way up the entertainment industry after years of hard work and quality works?
B) A undoubtedly talented person who manages to get his talent spotted by media companies, by luck or by chance, and shoots to fame overnight?

Make your choice and think about it. The recent flood of "Superstar-mania", which has been sweeping across Singapore, has been going too far. Of course, I wouldn't deny it's excellent entertainment. Why would I, when I've been enjoying the programmes? I enjoyed Star Idol, Project Superstar and the recently-concluded Campus Superstar.

But come to think about it, how many of the "Superstars" or "Idols" who become 'household names' in these competitions will actually be able to maintain their fame in the long run? I seriously think that very few of them would be able to do that. They shot to fame as raw talents, to become a polished gem would take a lot of hard work and the continued support of their producers. That is quite a bit to ask, I believe, from people who shoot to fame in like 6 months.

I feel that all these competitions are actually treated as BIG money-spinners by MediaCorp, rather than as the talent-spotting programmes I assumed they are projected as. The amount of income they are able to get is monsterous. If each SMS/call to vote is $0.50, 1 million such votes would enable them to rake in $500000. That might not be ALOT singularly, but multiply that by the number of times we as audiences are asked to vote throughout the entire programme. Now that's quite a bit isn't it?

Take for example yesterday's night's Campus Superstar Finals. The fans were supposed to vote twice. Once for the first rounds and once for the second rounds. In the first round, the two male finalists competed and one winner emerged. Same for the two female finalists. On to the second round and ALL scores are reset to zero. That means they restart afresh. Their SMS/Call votes. The scores they got from the judges. But do the phone bills of their fans get reset to zero? NO. Taking into consideration that this is CAMPUS superstar, which most probably means that most of the supporters are students from the respective schools, the majority of supporters are not earning their own income yet. All the money comes from their parents, who surely have to toil to earn the money that MediaCorp gladly collects on the premise that they, the supporters, are voting to select THEIR campus superstar. What more can I say?

I hereby give my best wishes to all the past, present and future winners of such competitions. I hope that their talent, having been discovered, would not be wasted, but instead be polished to make them real superstars capable of holding their own in the global entertainment industry.

stonegrill.

2006-03-31T22:12:00.000+08:00

Stonegrill. It's this restuarant which caught my eye on a Channel U show and I happened to chance upon the location when I was in Katong a few days back.

It's quite interesting. The food is served raw on a 'hot rock'. I don't really know how to describe it, so a 'hot rock' it shall be. It's practically cooked right in front of you. Especially for the beef, it's great to able to control how well you want it to be done, though I must add, it's totally not an easy job. I had mine medium most of the time. And there was the mushrooms, which tasted okay. It was sweet and I don't know what flavours they added to the mushroom, if any at all.

But one caution though, it can be quite smoky and you will smell like how you do after a barbeque. But if you don't mind the after-smell, it's really quite a nice place to visit. Just remember to call and reserve a place before going down. I was lucky to get a table without reservation today.

Note: This is not a paid advertisement nor is it a professional opinion.
It is simply what I thought of the place after eating there.

mother nature.

2006-03-27T18:20:00.000+08:00

Has anyone ever wondered why the Earth and the Sky are known as Mother Earth or Father Sky respectively? Actually I've never wondered about such things, until I had a terrible headache just now.

I realised that the Earth and the Sky has a lot in common with us human beings.

The trees are like hair. Cutting off some hair from time to time wont kill. But most people would get angry if I tried to cut off a whole chuck of their hair.

Both the Earth and us contain large percentages of water. Water is so important to us. If the water in our bodies is lacking, or contaminated by weird bacteria or OIL, we would surely get weird diseases, or at least feel weird.

The man-made structures are like accesories we wear on our bodies. It decorates the body and makes it look good. However, one would look quite retarded if the whole body were to be filled with accesories, right? Some may disagree, but whatever.

Geysers are like noses. They allow breathing to take place and occasionally, we blow our noses. And we all fall sick and have running noses.

Volcanoes are like assholes. They stink and you really don't want to be near them when they erupt.

Lastly, from time to time, we all think of seeing the human body in its true, natural, undecorated form. Likewise for the Earth.

Now for Father Sky.

Just as one can usually tell others' moods by looking at their faces, you can tell the weather by looking at the sky.

Just like how we cry when our emotions are pented up, the sky releases its tears when it can't take it anymore.

And, just like how some of us exprience mood swings, the sky can blow hot and cold, the weather changing without notice.

Lastly, just like how things turn very ugly when we throw our tempers, things can turn very ugly should the sky decide to throw his or hers, and unleashes its most furious weather conditions upon us.

Well, these're simply some thoughts of mine and I've realised how we should treat the Earth as our friend and protect it as we would our best buddy.

There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid.
- quote from my Primary Six teacher, Mrs Jude Liew

adi.

2006-03-25T09:00:00.000+08:00

Well, yesterday's New Paper and this morning's Straits Times both carried the news about the young boy in Malaysia who might be expelled from school.

What's so special about that? The one special thing about this boy, Adi, is that he was able to count from 1 to a million at least, when the school was teaching the students to count from 1 to 10. That's a big difference. And he also could do perform calculus at his age. And he challenged 230 students and teachers to a maths quiz, which he won. All this at the age of 7, I think.

The reason he's threatened with expulsion? The school feels that he skips classes too often. Quite amazingly, the reason he offers is that he finds school too boring. His level of mathematics is far beyond what the school is currently offering. So why shouldn't he be bored?

The fact that he is able to claim that school is boring, and back it up with his proven mathematical prowess, shows that he is indeed a gem. Very raw at his tender age, but a gem nonetheless. His parents have done the perfectly right thing in seeking permission from the Education Ministry in Malaysia to allow him to study in Kuala Lumpur, where I hope he can receive education at a level which befits his intelligence.

I'm deeply disappointed with the school, for not only failing to recognise his talents, but also for threatening to expel such a talented young genius just because he understands the lessons even before they are being taught. How pathetic can this get?

Well, as a side note, I also realised that my dear school, Dunman Secondary, will be undergoing upgrading works soon. Thankfully, they'll not have to move campus like some other schools being upgraded. So I can happily go back and visit the school when the chance arises. I certainly hope that after upgrading, the school will have in place all those extra areas that were promised to us when I was there, most notably, the Heritage Centre. It has somehow failed to materialise despite our fund raising efforts. But after this upgrading, it had better be there.

cheated.

2006-03-23T09:37:00.000+08:00

I felt SO cheated this morning.

Cheated by who? I was cheated by the damned gym at Tampines Sports Hall.Ok maybe they didn't really cheat me.But i still felt cheated.

Today, after a long 'rest' period, I finally decided to get my ass up and resume my gym workouts. I checked the SSC website for the gym's opening hours. Satisfied that I was prepared for the workout, I happily went to the sports hall. Heck, I even went to 7-11 to get a drink and also some small change because i knew from experience that they usually don't have any change in their cash register early in the morning.

When I reached the office, I saw this notice which went something like this:

The gymnasium will be closed with effect from 22th March to ____. For any enqueries, please call ______ from Monday 9am to 5pm.

WHAT THE HELL?!?!

I checked their website, not once or twice. Being a kiasu Singaporean, I think I checked it at least 3-4 times. And not a single time did I see any mention of the Tampines Gymnasium being closed because they were moving it to the new Tampines Swimming Complex, which would incidentally be opening soon after renovations. Hell, they didn't even say what facilities threre would be in the new complex. So how in the world was a hardworking gym-goer like me expected to know that it was closed?

This is pure cheating. Cheated me of my time, my effort.
And I believe the next time I visit Tampines gym, I'll most probably have to pay more than the current $2.50 (which is already an increase because I happily turned 18...) because it will be integrated with the swimming pool and stuff, and they will surely claim it's to make things convenient for everyone when they integrate this and that.

Everything in Singapore is becoming integrated. Integrated resorts. Integrated sports complex. In mathematical, or perhaps in every sense, it makes things much more complicated. Instead of going to the gym, we now go to the gym-cum-swimming pool. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that it will complicate matters. What if I was only interested in working out, but not in swimming? Can I pay just to enter the gymnasium, and avoid paying the swimming pool fees?

I seriously doubt it.

explosion?

2006-03-22T05:52:00.000+08:00

I've just read the news and i was shocked by the explosion that took place this morning. No, not the bomb-type explosion. It's the goals explosion that took place at the st andrews stadium in birmingham.

Liverpool 7 - 0 Birmingham

Furthermore, the goals were all scored by 7 different players, inclusive of an own goal by one unfortunate Oliver Tebily. One consolation I have for the guy, is simply to remind him that at least he didn't socre the winning goal for the opposition. He simply decorated the scoreboard.

What I'm wondering, is that how in the world can Liverpool's strikers not score a goal for more than 2 months, and then suddenly start firing on ALL cylinders? It's as if they took a crash course in goal-scoring. Well, maybe they really did, given their pathetic form prior to the recent matches.

One thing I must clarify that while I'm no You'll-Never-Walk-Alone supporter, it's certainly good to see Liverpool finally scoring the goals that have been long overdue. At least now, the Premiership might have an interesting end to the season despite Chelsea's domination.

Before i go, here's my idea of how the top 3 will look like after 38 matches

1) Chelsea (duh!)
2) Man United
3) Liverpool

I don't mean to despise the men from Anfield, but i believe the Red Devils have it in them to see this season through.

Another quote for people who are struggling with their lives:
The best way to predict future is to create it.

I saw this in my yearbook when I couldn't sleep after counting 230 sheeps.
Mehhhhh.

ring ring

2006-03-20T18:44:00.000+08:00

well, i was just thinking of what song i could use for my ringtone and after trying out a few, i eventually settled for Black Eyed Peas' My Humps.it still isn't something i really like, but it'll do for now.

just a thought.what would it be like if everyone would still be using the classic ringtone(i.e. brrrrringgg) whenever a phone rings in public, everyone would be digging their bags/pockets to check if it was theirs, despite the blatant fact that vibration mode exists in most phones nowadays.i still remember those scenes which occured frequently when i was young, not saying im that old now, but whatever.

well anyway.i've realised how fun, but tiring, studies can be.it takes up a great deal of mental strength and it brings about mental pleasure at the same time.BUT its still not something i enjoy doing often.i do it purely for the sake of these obstacles known as the block tests.

a quote for those struggling with studies:
Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going
by Jim Ryun

eddie murphy?

2006-03-19T11:10:00.000+08:00

i just spotted this website,myHeritage.com, on a blog and i apparently cant remember which one it was. but its still kinda interesting.the website i mean,not the blog

well.somehow it managed to give me a 58% match with eddie murphy.hes a nice guy, but i really cant see how in the world i would look like him.i tried it a 2nd time with another photo,and they suddenly felt that i looked like leslie chung.its weird,but still fun,especially if u have lots of photos.

hatch-ed

2006-03-19T10:59:00.000+08:00

This blog is somewhat a revival of my older blog.Which I have decided to keep for memories purposes in the future.This will not be a rambling of my life,which I've realised can be boring.It will instead be my thoughts,feelings, opinions, blah.

In simpler words, its just about my brains instead of my life =D