Was supposed to meet some of my FOC friends to attend NTU's welcome ceremony today.
Meeting time: 8.30am
Meeting place: Boon Lay Bus Interchange
7:30am - Phone alarm sounds "Wake Up Call" by Maroon 5.
7:40am - Wake up. Sit on bed and stone.
7:45am - Finally get off from bed.
7:50am - Browse through newspaper.
8:00am - Drink honey. Wash up. Brush teeth. Take warm shower.
8:12am - Change into polo-T and jeans.
8:20am - Hui Juin calls to ask me, "Where are you? Still at home? You suck lah! Everyone's here already!"
8:23am - Wear shoes and head out.
8:30am - Reached meeting point.
I wasn't late!!! I was on time!!! But when I reached the interchange, I only saw like Gerard, Chin Lam, Michelle and Hui Ying waiting there. Jessica arrived next. Hui Juin and her gang consisting of Junsheng, Cindy, Yue Hong and Crystal were still having their breakfast at the outdoor food court. They only arrived at 8:45am...
So we finally made it to the school and we made our way to Nanyang Auditorium. We sat on the 3rd row from the front. (Note: Singaporean students tend to fill up the seats from the back to the front, lol)
There were goodie bags!! In the goodie bag you'll find...
1) NTU Jacket/Windbreaker
2) Torchlight for the lighting-up ceremony
3) Personal Organizer
4) Chocolate Milk
5) Lots of brochures.
There was also a plain navy blue academic robe that we were suppose to wear throughout half the ceremony. We looked like 1st year wizards and witches from Hogwarts lah! Without the hat. Haha.
So after the NTU talk, we went for the SPMS talk. Collected matriculation card. Collected another goodie bag (some highlighters, water bottle, notepad/calendar, more brochures). Attended boring talk. Tea break - had finger food. Attended another boring talk. Then...
... a group of us headed to Jurong Point for dinner at Kopitiam and to catch the movie "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" at Golden Village. I didn't like how the plot went. It was a pretty bad sequel compared to the first two movies... I shan't say more lest I spoil it for those who haven't watched it yet.
After the movie, we wanted to take a group photo. So we approached this woman in her 30s (I think) who was standing around the shopping centre to ask her to help us take the shot. But she said she didn't know how to use a camera.
So we went to another spot and approached some guy (with a kid) and he gladly took 2 shots for us. We stood around to chit-chatfor awhile before heading home. I was heading in a different direction so I said goodbye to the rest.
I was walking past the lady whom we had approached to help us with the group shot when suddenly...
Woman: 小弟! 现在是什么时间？ (translation: Young man! What time is it now?)
Me: (paused for awhile, looked at watch) 九点半。(translation: Half past 9)
Woman: Huh?
Me: (stepped closer to her) 九点半。(translation: Half past 9)
Woman: 你结婚了没有？(translation: Are you married?)
Me: (stunned)
Woman: 你有没有女朋友？(translation: Do you have a girlfriend?)
Me: Ummm... 没有。
Woman: 可以跟我做朋友吗？你的电话号码是什么？(translation: Can we be friends? What's your number?)
Me: (stunned again) Ummm 对不起，我是不随便给陌生人电话号码的。(translation: Sorry, I don't give out my number to strangers.)
Woman: Oh ok... byebye.
Me: Bye.
That was just so weird!! Why would anyone ask a random stranger whether they're married or attached and then ask for their number? Obviously I didn't give her my number.
I had a wonderful day with everyone despite the terrible movie and the weird event above.
Sheesh. Freaky.
I'm looking for a 13.3" notebook (prefarably less than $2000) for school use. My 5-year-old NEC Versa E680 is far too laggy and heavy for me to lug around campus. I want a laptop that has high mobility and long-lasting battery life. Thus, these two components are gonna be very important deciding factors, besides the price of course.
Here are the models that I'm looking at:
Fujitsu S6420 - $1998 (school price)
Weight: 1.9 kg
Battery Life (6-cell): approx. 5 hours
NEC Versa S3300 - $1299 (Newer Model S3500 coming soon next month)
Weight: 2 kg
Battery Life (6-cell): approx. 3 hours
LG E300 - $1299
Weight: 2 kg
Battery Life (6-cell): approx. 2.5 hours
ASUS F6S - $1898
Weight: 1.99 kg
Battery Life (6-cell): approx. 3 hours
BenQ JoyBook S32 - $1499
Weight: 2.16 kg
Battery Life (6-cell): approx. 4 hours
Exception notebook that I may consider which is > $2000
Sony VAIO VGN-SZ75GN/B - $2499
Weight: 1.93 kg
Battery Life (6-cell): approx. 4.5 hours
With the upcoming COMEX 2008 at Suntec (28 to 31 August 2008) as well as the launch of Intel Montevina, I think it's only wise to wait for awhile before making a purchase. By the way, Montevina supposedly offers a longer battery life and produces less heat than the current Santa Rosa.
Help me choose a laptop?
I trust your taste.
On the news today...
Woman arrested after stabbing 7 in Japan
(link to article) 29 July 2008
Also, just recently...
77-Year-Old Grandfather Kills Entire Family with Hammer in Toyko
(link to article) 25 June 2008
Man stabs at least 18 people, killing 7 in Tokyo's Akihabara district
(link to article) 8 June 2008
Additional note: Eerily enough, this event happened exactly 6 years after the Osaka School Massacre, where a Knife-wielding man killed 8 school children. (link to article) 8 June 2001
Woman arrested for beating sister to death with rock in Yokohama
(link to article) 29 April 2008
Japan teen, inspired by his gory tale, kills family of three
(link to article) 18 January 2008
Last year...
Japan teen 'severs mother's head'
(link to article) 15 May 2007
What the hell is going on with Japan these days? What's up with all the stabbing of random strangers and chopping up your own families? Are Japanese too stressed out? Are they living too long? Are they watching too many shows which depict violence and gore (eg. some Anime)? Is it the food they eat? Or is it their culture and lifestyle?
I'm not saying that this applies to only the Japanese. I know for a fact that these kind of crimes are getting more and more common around the world. But it's a scary thought that these things can occur so often nowadays.
KAMIKAZE!
I decided that it was time I started running again after about 2 months without any form of exercise due to my back injury. Even though it's still slightly painful, I made my way towards NTU for a run around the campus so that I could not only train up for the upcoming Nike+ Human Race 10K, but I could also orientate myself.
Even though I'd been to my school's orientation camp and I was more or less familiar with the campus, I still managed to get myself lost at Nanyang Business School. I made a huge detour before reaching North Spine and then made my way back towards South spine. I lost like 1.7kg (58 down to 56.3) just running around school. I think it was just water though. Haha. Here's the route I took...
I won't be getting lost again.
Ok... that was a lousy title. But I couldn't think of anything better.
So anyway, I did my matriculation online today and I'm now officially a student of NTU!! =D But I wasn't exactly impressed by the fact that the website stated that all new students would be able to matriculate online at 10:00am, yet I couldn't log in to my network account until about 10:20am. But I'm cool with it.
I guess.
Later in the afternoon, I went out to Jurong Point for lunch with mom and we ate Wanton Mee （云吞面） at Lai Lai Kitchen. The noodles had a nice texture to it and were pretty crunchy and had just the right amount of oil/seasoning to it.
Oh yeah, I bought a Nalgene bottle for 13 bucks. I've used Nalgene before. It's pretty good. Though I heard it was taken off the shelves at Canada or some other country for some toxicity incident. But I guess if I don't use it for hot water, it should be fine.
Because our quality may not be imitated, but it's never matched.
I posted the slogan above cos I simply like it, not advertising for them or anything.
Finally, we headed over to Harvey Norman to purchase a printer to replace the Canon i255 printer at home. It was really a good printer for 99 bucks when we bought it, but all good things don't last forever, so it finally died on us after about 5 years of loyal service. We settled on a HP Deskjet F4185 All-in-One printer which was on sale at 129 bucks before lugging it home.
Hope this one lasts long too.
So I told you that we sold our house yesterday.
And now we have 5 months to find a house in Bukit Panjang (B.P.).
House, B.P. <=> House, M.D.
hahaha... get it?
... ...
Right... so anyway, the entire family (except sis) went around B.P. to find our dream home together with our property agent, Nancy. We went to like 8 different houses looking for a prospective home. Unfortunately, not a single one stood out that all of us would agree upon unanimously.
We were a little picky...
The house was too old.
The house was too dark.
The house had poor flooring.
The house was on a low level.
The house had no proper study.
The house had loud generators nearby.
The house had too many concaved walls.
The house had a roof blocking the window.
The house was too far from the bus interchange and LRT/MRT.
Ok... maybe it was more than just a 'little'... but I was the one doing most of the scrutinizing =P
Nancy's gonna have a tough time with us.
My parents just signed the contract to sell our house. So we'll be relocating within 5 months!!
Sheesh. The buyers were quick.
Oh... crap.
That means I'm going to be further away from my school then I was before. Mom wants to move to Bukit Panjang. No more 15 minutes away from school =( No more Jurong Point. No more Jurong West Sports and Recreation Centre.
On a more positive note, I'm going to have my very own room! For the first time in my life!! Hope we'll find a house with a study room...
Sis is gonna be very shocked when she reads this post.
WOW! July's going to be over soon and August 2008 will be here before we know it! It's going to be an eventful month! It'll be the month where I'll be embarking on a four-year journey at NTU studying for a degree in Chemistry & Biological Chemistry. My sister's birthday will also fall on August 11, it's just too bad that she won't be back in Singapore any time soon since she's away in Bali.
Singapore's national day (9 August) is also arriving pretty soon, so I thought I might write a little about the country that I've lived in all 21 years of my life.
First of all, I'm sure many of you have heard of Singapore's multi-talented home-grown standup comedian / TV & Radio personality / Theatre Actor / Emcee who goes by the name of Hossan Leong. Well, last year, he sang a song titled "I Live in Singapura" in Parliament which became an instant hit among a lot of students. A short animated clip was produced by locals which made the song into a music video. I think it's damn smart and funny la. So I thought I'd share it with you guys...
Now... about the upcoming National Day celebrations. Full of new and original concepts! Maybe not... take a look at both the videos below and see if you can notice anything similar between the two =P The 1st video (Japan Ad) was produced nearly 2 years before the 2nd (Singapore NDP music video).
August is indeed gonna be an exciting month for Singapore. Not only are we gonna be celebrating our nation's 43rd year of independence, but we'll also be rooting for Team Singapore at the Beijing Summer Olympics! A total of 25 athletes will be sent to Beijing to represent Singapore for one of the most exciting Olympics we can ever expect! I do hope they'll bring a medal back this time.
Lastly, did I mention to you that I signed up for the Nike+ Human Race 10K? It will be held on August 31 and my chosen charity is WWF. I'm hoping that I'll be fit enough to run that day, cos I have a lower back injury which hasn't entirely recovered. If not, I'll be walking that day. Hah.
By the way, I DO like living in Singapore. I'm not complaining about the country or anything. I love it all (well... almost). Freebies, Fun, Food, Friends and most importantly, Family.
And nope, I'm not going to be talking about the movie.
Had a gathering with my new Freshmen Orientation Camp (FOC) friends at Sakae Japanese Restaurant after like 11 days after we knew each other.
We then met up with the rest and had dinner at Sakae Restaurant at Park Mall and I ordered myself a Chicken Katsu Don À la carte. I seldom eat Japanese food but it was nice. Tasted quite good while I took small sips from the porcelain cup containing green tea.
We took up 3 tables that sat around 6 people each. Our table ordered À la carte. The table next to us ordered a Sushi Party Set, which was shared among 6 people, and one of them barely had 4 pieces of sushi. Two tables away they had the $22.90++ all-you-can-eat sushi buffet. I think everyone had a good time chatting away while we ate and waited for our very late orientation group leader Jia Qi... haha.
After footing the bill, we decided that the night was still young and so we proceeded to a nearby pub. We sat around a jacuzzi/table and had a few drinks.
Had a nice little chat with my seniors (Nat and Chris) while on the train home. We talked about accomodation, investment, planning time-tables, giving tuition, student committee stuff and everything else that was happening in school.
I had a really great time getting to know all my OG members even more through this gathering. It was a pity that a few of them couldn't make it. I hope there'll be more of such gatherings to come but I doubt it'll be anytime soon cos school's gonna be starting VERY VERY soon...
Almost too soon.
Fringe (Season 1)
Premieres September 9, 2008.
Heroes (Volume 3)
Returns September 22, 2008.
Chuck (Season 2)
Returns September 29, 2008.
Pushing Daisies (Season 2)
Returns October 1, 2008.
Lost (Season 5)
Returns January 2009
I admit it. I'm a fish fanatic. I love rearing aquarium fish, and in particular, the Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens). My family knows I can get pretty obsessed with this hobby, cos there was a period of time where I would make daily trips to the local fish shop just to get fresh tubifex worms for my bettas. By the way, I need to point out that I DO NOT let these fish fight. They're only used for decorative purposes.
Anyway, so far I've had like one, two, three, four... yeah... maybe about 250 of these magnificent fish. My very first fish was Zorro which I had when I was about 15. Followed by a girlfriend that I bought for Zorro which I named Zelda. Then Zelda decided to date this guy called Z. Zorro and Zelda had some children, about 6 of them, but they all died due to my poor knowledge on raising fry. The love triangle ended when, while doing a water change for them, Zorro decided to jump out of his tank and landed on the floor. Our flooring happens to be quite dark, so it made it difficult to spot a dark-coloured fish like Zorro. Dad then decided that at that moment he would step on the poor fish. The other 2 soon followed suit. Not in the same way though. They died of sickness.
My passion for bettas died down for awhile...
Then, when I was 17, mom bought me a betta, which I named Po (pictured left), so that I wouldn't be too stressed out during the exams. Little did she know that this one move ignited my passion for bettas once again. And soon I bought 2 more bettas, namely Dawn and Luna. I left Po out of this relationship this time, so Dawn and Luna got together one night and they ended up with over 200 kids swimming around in the tank. This time, I did enough research over the internet to know just exactly how to raise betta fry. So I raised all 200 of them to adulthood =) I had to be enlisted into National Service so I had to give away all my fishes.
Here's a video of Dawn and Luna's kids... unfortunately I lost the pics of Dawn and Luna =(
Music Credits: Bana - Shell; Nickelback - Photograph
Today, I'm happily keeping just ONE betta which I named Tango. He's just sitting right beside my desk in his private tank. Here are some pics followed by a video of him...
Thought I'd give you guys a tour of my room since I have the pics on my com already...
This is what you see when you first enter the room.
The flooring is made from China granite. It's a kind of dried shrimp colour that my sister decided on that I don't really like.
This is my desk. That's my fighting fish on the left of my laptop. His name is Tango. The desktop wallpaper you see on my laptop is from the anime Shakugan No Shana =) It's quite a long desk, so at the other end of the desk you'll find...
... a small wooden shelf to place all my frequently used stuff at. That Stitch jigsaw model was given to me by my NS buddies on my 21st birthday =) The little brown bear was a teacher's day gift from one of my mom's students (it was meant for my mom, but she gave it to me instead.) The very cool pencil holder/aquarium was given to me by a very good friend (Alvin) for Christmas. You'll also see my wallet, watch, iPod, shades, food for my fish, umbrella, wrist supports and my aircon remote.
This is my display cabinet near the window. The anime model you see here is Saber from Fate/Stay Night. She's so kawaii =D This was given to me by a special friend (Wei Ming) who I spent the most amount of time doing guard duty with throughout my NS life. He was the one who introduced me to anime and got me hooked on it =P
On the other side of the room you'll see my bookshelf, wardrobe and double-decker bed. I'm sharing the room with my grandmother, so she takes the lower deck while I take the upper.
I'll end off the tour with a view from my window. There's a large field below where they're proposing to build a church there -_- I'd much prefer a hawker centre or food court there. Much more practical than hearing hymnals every sunday morning.
So that's it. Hope you enjoyed the tour.
My parents were lucky enough to get Singtel's July sweet treats which I helped them to register for =) The sweet treat....
Burger King BK Fish Meal (worth $6.30) for just $1.00!!! x 2
So mom and I decided to head down to Arena Country Club to lunch at the Burger King outlet there. It's the country club with a pathetic golf putting range right opposite the entrance of SAFTI. It's a really nice outlet they have there, it's just the presence of these irksome people in uniforms that totally ruins the ambience they have there... if you get what I mean.
Anyway, I had a BK Fish meal which consists of a Fish burger, Medium Fries and Coke. The BK Fish burger had like corn crumbs on the bread and the fish, though very fresh, was kinda tasteless even though I smothered the burger with 2 packets of chilli sauce. I would have chosen BK Chicken if not for the sweet treat deal... Oh well, it's a great bargain for just $1.00 anyhow.
Here are some photos which I snapped with my Nokia E51 phone. Not so great quality, but it wasn't meant to be a good camera phone anyway.
Burp.
I was on the rooftop of a huge white house. I was standing just along the corridor when I saw a blue fuzzy image moving speedily across the rooftop. At first glance, I thought it was a Lynx or maybe even cookie monster on steroids, but as I drew closer I was surprised to see a donkey-like creature waving a kind of stick and murmuring to himself. After further observation, I realised that the blue fuzzy image was in fact a wizard in a blue Llama costume waving his wand and murmuring some incantations.
Just then, the blue Llama started picking up speed towards my direction.
My first instinct was to make a dash for it. I ran towards the other end of the rooftop and arrived at a flight of spiral staircase. I descended the stairs quickly and burst through the door at the end of the stairs. What was waiting at the other side of the door caught me by surprise. I saw a video camera on the right and I almost slammed into a small TV set that was placed just beside a wooden bench on the left. I stopped short and saw myself on TV. The Sheng Shiong Show was on.
And the contestant got the right answer for guessing that I would run upon seeing the Blue Llama. o.O
OK... that didn't happen. But I did dream about it. It's one of those dreams I can remember vividly yet make no heads or tails about. Maybe I've been thinking too much Harry Potter. But a wizard in a Llama suit?! That's just weird. If there's anyone out there who can interpret dreams and know what my dream is about... please tell me by dropping me a minidoopz =)
Alright. I've finally created a blog. And here's my first post!!!! =) Let's start with the introductions first. Hi, I'm Kai. I'm 21 and I live in Singapore.
Next, the Frequently-Asked Questions o_O
Well... maybe not asked before... but here are some (or just 2) questions that may come to your mind.
How did you come up with "doopz"?
I don't know how I came up with the term "doopz"... but it just came into my mind and it happened to be available. So there.
Why start a blog NOW?
I know I know... blogs have been around for a pretty long time now. I'm probably one of the last people on earth who has never written a single blog entry. I guess I'm not one who likes to share my thoughts and views in an open diary thing. Actually, the real reason is that I wanna see if I can get as much traffic as possible on my blog and see if I'll ever receive a cheque from GoogleAdSense or Nuffnang. I saw an article from The Straits Times' Digital Life section talking about how certain blogs are getting paid up to $3000 per month just by placing ads on their blogs, so I thought I might give it a go. Who knows? Maybe I might just get rich through blogging... haha.
That's it for now... time to sleep.
