Things You Never Knew...

how sinister of lingwei to toy with my feelings.

quotes from previous entry:

statement one:
"If not from me then by my trusty sidekick leia who is not going on holiday and will be random in my place. (If she can tear hear browser away from etsy, that is)"

statement two:
"And okay, I will miss leia (who someimes seems crazier than my crazy friends, but thats another story) too, abit. "

so i can't decide whether to feel sore/grieved that i CANNOT do heaps of shopping and sight-seeing in the US, or feel oh-so-regal that i will be missed. har har.
and by the way, etsy.com is a very hip hip website. i strongly encourage. although i must say that having a good credit health is almost imperative, 'cause it's really addictive (:

and yes, since lingwei has decided to exploit my utter randomness ("Watch this space for updates! If not from me then by my trusty sidekick leia") , i'll be posting on his behalf till the jedi returns.

"i'm off!", said the madwoman. "have a nice life, everyone."

In a development that seems rather surreal, it's finally happened. All the months of planning and negotiation and mediation and goodness knows what else is finally drawing to a close, and in just over 6 hours I'll be stepping on a plane that first goes to Seoul, and then on to Vancouver. I'll spend the next three-and-a-half weeks or so living out of a suitcase halfway across the world, continuing the strange tradition that is grad trip.

Watch this space for updates! If not from me then by my trusty sidekick leia who is not going on holiday and will be random in my place. (If she can tear hear browser away from etsy, that is)

Special note to my crazy friends: Will miss you guys! There, I've come out and said it, happy? I could give a list including the picnics and the teas and all, but it's the whole, shall we say, experience? Aha. Going away together would be nice, but oh well... Enjoy your own trips (well, if Sha's actually happens) and will see you two when we all get back.

And okay, I will miss leia (who someimes seems crazier than my crazy friends, but thats another story) too, abit. Don't miss me too much k!

First it was the rule of 4, then 5. We broke all records today though. Mind you, this is just a small sampling of the photos we snapped. I think Sha was just happy I brought my old cam today. Huh.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

In the past few days, as part of the Secret Project (apparently it's hip and trendy to do secret things nowadays so I'm joining the club and jumping on the bandwagon) I have had the chance to listen to my own voice. Over and over again, in different contexts. In particular, my singing voice.

And I have just come to a very startling conclusion. My singing voice sucks. I cannot sing for nuts. Many, many apologies if you have had to listen to it before, and more apologies if you have to be subject to it again anytime in the future.

*cringe*

Ed note - Yes, I understand most people don't really like the sound of their own voices. Except *ahem*. But I don't remember having to sit through so much of myself before so...

Not with a bang, but a whimper. Strange, after four years (well, three plus one) of blood and sweat, toil and labor, it would end so... mundanely. A half-exam, mostly a no-brainer. (I spent most of my time wondering if I had enough time to write whatever I wanted to) A simple tea with friends, except out of 4 of us 2 still had examinations so celebrations were somewhat muted. And now, back home to worry about the 203958209358203 things I need to get done before I fly on Saturday morning.

Hopefully tea on Friday will be better. A more suitable occasion to signal the end of 4 years of law school.

OK SOCCER POST COMING UP. PLEASE IGNORE IF THIS OFFENDS YOU.

20 Years and 10 months and 26 days ago, Diego Maradona scored a wonder solo goal against England in a world cup semi final, dribbling from the halfway line, skipping over the goalkeeper and sidefooting the ball into an empty net.

Fast forward to last week. Lionel Messi, another speedy forward from Argentina scored a remarkably similar goal. Albeit against Getafe in the Spanish King's Cup, the resemblance between the two goals is slightly uncanny. As the youtube video below shows, the moves were as good as identical. Fancy that.

(Commentary unfortunately in Greek, but well, who needs commentary.)

Sha pointed this out, and hey whad'ya know. That's me!

Great reasons to be a geek!

You’re probably very smart.

Yep that's right. Okay, quite smart, at least, depending.

It’s hip to be geek. Everyone is familiar with the stereotype of thick glasses, a pocket protector, an obsession with star trek, and social skills akin to a sack of potatoes. Times have changed: geeks are often fashionable, hip individuals who are very aligned with the trends of their own generation.

YARRRR.

You geek out on more than just your computer. Ever seen the movie collection of a film geek? Ever had an automotive geek work on your car? Ever seen the body of a fitness geek? The tenacity of someone like us, when applied to hobbies outside computers and the like, can yield impressive results.

Right now, the flavor of the month is board games! Check out BGG - www.boardgamegeek.com.

Geek humor is the best humor. This is perhaps a biased opinion, but I’ve never laughed as hard as I have while reading some of the random, funny things that came out of geek culture.

The bestest webcomic is xkcd. (also recommended by Sha. Huh) But as a random sampler, check out the O RLY owl.

You listen to good music. Geeks have access to tools that allow us to hear music that extends well beyond top 40 radio. Want the entire discography of Aphex Twin by tomorrow afternoon? Ask a geek. Not only do they listen to good music, they can find just about anything you’re looking for in a heartbeat.

I can do that. Whoever Aphex Twin is. But ubernet.org is a good place to start.

You make good money. If there’s one stereotype about geeks that usually rings true, it’s that they rarely have trouble earning a decent income.

Ahem. I shall reserve judgment on this for the time being.

You fix stuff. Everyone loves a handyman, especially one that can fix one of the most frustrating devices ever conceived: a personal computer.

I charge $30 per job for this, but I do good work!

You’ve got your own stuff going on. You’ll never meet a geek who runs out of things to do, they’ve got lots of hobbies and interests and are more than happy to dive head first into one of those when they’ve got some spare time. In other words: they won’t rely on you to give them a life.

Note to self. Next freetime block - memorize e to about 20 digits.

You’re very articulate. Compulsively reading a few hundred RSS feeds a day yields a vocabulary that could put most college English majors to shame.

What can I say? (Pun wholly intended)

You’re passionate. When a geek becomes interested in something, they tend to immerse themselves in it entirely. They’ll strip a new gadget down to nuts and bolts and re-build it with an xhtml compliant grappling gun. This intense passion can extend to many areas of a geek’s life, not just computers and hobbies.

Again, YARRR.

To our fair young readers, and all who might believe us,
We begin a tale of long, long ago;
Of castles and dragons, and beer by the flagons
And all the corniest jokes you'd know.
For our story begins in practical things,
And a place called the Cornflake Land,
And it starts at the top – and later will stop –
With this Land's most powerful man.
He was young but wise, and could eat, for his size,
Meals of a hundred and one things,
And these he always got – for he was, was he not?
The Cornflake Land's beloved King.

He was happy and kind, and he always had time
For the old and the poor orphan kiddies.
But though he was shy, and a SNAG type of guy,
The only girls around were old biddies.
It troubled our king, this wee minor thing
Of not having someone to marry.
Furthermore all his pals had wonderful gals;
So he thought, "No more shall I tarry!
I'll look, and I'll leap at the first chance to keep
A pretty maiden who can win my favour;
She'll be funny and kind, and I know that I'll find
Her jokes to have a corny flavour."

So the king decided no longer to hide it:
The fact that he was seeking a wife.
And before he knew it, his palace was strewn with
Young lasses wanting a queen's life.
They were young and they were stupid, and hoping
that Cupid's arrow would make the king blind.
But he was not fooled, and in annoyance he ruled
that he'd see girls of only one kind.
They'd have to be witty, and sing him a ditty
About the cereal that they liked best,
And for the finale – he loved this part –
they would have to pass a secret test.

So the selection began, and as time slowly ran
The king felt farther and farther
From his goal of a bride to walk by his side;
It just got harder and harder.
He'd reached the few around five hundred and two
When he decided he'd call it a day,
He said quietly to Five Hundred and Three,
"Thanks for trying; now please go away."
She stood there and stared – or maybe she glared –
And finally she retorted,
"I'm not here to compete in the impossible feat
of trying to get your head sorted."

The king was surprised: not here for the prize
Of his noble hand in marriage?
The girl then continued, with irritation renewed,
"I've come for that half-eaten cabbage."
The king was befuddled: it seemed he had muddled
up a suitor with a palace maid.
And being polite, just like a king might,
He apologized for the mistake he'd made.
"You see," he said sadly, "it's been going quite badly,
this search for a princess soulmate.
Whomever I find must be one of a kind,
And I know that she'll be worth the wait."

"Then what's wrong with waiting?" Her scorn now abating,
the servant felt sad for the king.
"I don't want to wait, for it's getting too late,
and without love, life won't mean a thing."
Seeing his need, she was sorry indeed
And promised to help him keep looking
For a girl who loved corn, and might for him be born,
And incidentally, would be OK at cooking.

So with his newfound assistant and a path less resistant,
The king began feeling quite strengthened,
And though they spent hours discussing chocolates and flowers,
He didn't mind when the days lengthened.
Months they became, though all stayed the same:
Much talk, and no wedding in sight –
The king didn't care, for his new friend was there –
Till at last she told him one night
That she'd found him a girl, alone in all the world
Who might be the one he deserved.
She'd like much to meet him, and perhaps beat him
to the happiness of falling in love.

The king was excited and gladly invited
The servant girl's choice for his mate
To dinner and wine, in his courtyard divine:
Just the two of them, promptly at eight.
The day took forever: soon, however
It was time for dinner at eight.
The trumpets were blowing, and he couldn't help crowing
To his palace, "I've got a date!"
He primped and he preened and was nervous, it seemed
But managed to keep himself steady.
And at last at the call for him through the hall
He strode down it, with roses held ready.

The courtyard was dim – how could she see him? –
And the poor king stumbled his way there.
“I’m sorry, dear miss, for a darkness like this,”
And he collapsed in the opposite chair.
“It’s fine, Your Majesty,” she said quietly,
“At least we’re not starting late
and as for the dark, please pardon my snark,
But it gives new meaning to the phrase ‘blind date’.”
There was a deep pause, probably because
Her joke was so very lame,
But the king began to laugh at a joke so daft,
For he knew he’d have spoken the same.

Off to this start, with great warmth of heart
The king and the maiden had dinner
And they both spoke of very lame jokes
And together they laughed themselves thinner.
Soon it was cake, and the king thought he’d make
One last try to give her a test.
“You’ve shown me you’re witty: do sing me a ditty
Of the cereal that you love best.”
At first she was quiet, but soon she would try it.
She sang of her cartons of milk,
And how she waited, with breath all bated
For her cornflakes and those of its ilk.
She loved Frosties most, they were better than toast!
But there were corn pops and popcorn too;
And corn-on-the-cob – that was a nice job –
And cornbread, with hot chicken stew.

The king was struck dumb; his tongue had gone numb,
And he stared hard, with his eyes blazing.
Could it really be that his soulmate was she?
The girl smiled and said, “It’s a-maizing!”
With that final word that the king heard,
He knew he had no time to waste.
“Dear maiden,” he said, “you’ve gone to my head,
Please let me see your sweet face.”
And then in a blink, before he could think,
The torches around them flared brighter.
The girl he now saw – why, he’d met her before!
She made his heart feel much lighter…

For it was she who volunteered to be
His advisor in things of the heart,
And now that he knew, he knew too what to do.
“You and I,” he promised, “shall never part.”
They were married on the morrow, and no more of sorrow
Did either of them now feel,
For all day they talked, and everywhere walked,
And were so happy that this love was real.
So our moral is this: if you’re looking for bliss,
Be first a person of value.
Love others, and then if you’re patient, in the end
It is Love who will come find you.

(c)marciav.2007

Quite possibly, the most elaborate flash game I have ever seen. The graphics are hit and miss - nice if you like the type, a bit odd if you don't - it's a hit in my book though. So cute! Production values are generally high, even if the theme of the game is a bit odd. Help a milk-deprived family steal some milk from Fort Fridge. Hah.

Try it out at http://www.gettheglass.com/

Warning - load times can be insanely long, multiple times. The music is decent, but like all looping music can get extremely repetitive. Still worth a shot though, in my book.

Edit - After about 45 minutes of my life I won't see again, I completed the game with 4770 points. Not too shabby, but only something like 16000th place out of 47000 people. What's your score?

To quote Jason, "Titus Bramble store power for 5 whole seasons just for tonight".

BUT WHY MUST IT BE TODAY OF ALL DAYS. WHY CANNOT LAST WEEK OR NEXT WEEK. OR THAT TIME THE UEFA CUP OR WHAT. WHYYYYY

But ok, to give Newcastle credit, the other centre back, Taylor, was pretty good too. Bahhhh.

Whooosh.
What looked like an insurmountable lead a few weeks ago doesn't seem so bad anymore. Thanks heaps to Portsmouth and Middlesborough for cutting the lead down to a paltry 4 points, which can be cut down to a solitary one tomorrow if Chelsea have their way at Newcastle, which isn't so tough.

Still to come though are visits to Emirates and the showdown at Stamford Bridge. It's heady days! Sadly I will be halfway across the world where football == NFL which is interesting in it's own right but stillllllll.

10-9-8-7....
Well not so much, but when I woke up this morning I realized that by this time next week, I A. will not be an undergrad (for all intents and purposes) anymore, and B. I will be somewhere over the South China Sea, flying towards Seoul and then Vancouver. Hohum.

In honor of the occasion (and also because everytime I talk to mh on MSN I get reminded of it too) I put up a countdown timer on the sidebar to remind everybody of the momentous times we live in.

==============================

Oh, and as I told the 3-5 guys yesterday. We are now entering exam week. In case I don't see you (whoever you may be) around school (and that's highly likely) good luck and all he best for your exams, enjoy your grad trip, and see you around raffles place.

Thanks in part to a little nudge in the right direction by Grace, I HAVE FOUND MY WORD. Yes, the word worth a free lunch.

Announcing: Hypocoristic
A hypocoristic (or hypocorism) is a lesser form of the given name used in more intimate situations, as a term of endearment, a pet name.

Read more at (where else?) wikipedia.

Now, to buy myself lunch.

Now, you might be thinking *huh* when you read the title. Guess what, so did I! In one of the odder occurrences in my life lately, I mistakenly downloaded this article from HeinOnline while trying to download some aviation article. To be accurate, it got appended to the end of my article so after I happily finished reading Major Changes in International Air Law: The New Montreal Liability Convention I had a bonus article at the end!

Apparently the Egyptians had a decently well developed legal system with fixed procedures for dispute resolution, recognized the importance of due process and all that. They kept records of their decisions so they could resolve similar problems in a consistent fashion. Although there were no professional lawyers per se, scribes specialized in preparing legal documents, and also wrote wills and other documents of a legal nature.

Well, whadya know. We might not be part of the oldest profession in the world, but lawyers go way back.

One day I'll fly away
Leave all this to yesterday
What more could your love do for me
When will love be through with me

Why live life from dream to dream
And dread the day when dreaming ends

Well, not so much cruisin' as er. how to put this delicately. heart-stopping car ride of doom? okay, more like the kind of thrill ride you get at amusement parks where it looks like you're gonna crash but you swerve away at the last possible second. anyway, some choice sound bites:

"When I say slow down, I don't mean stop!"

"He doesn't fasten his seat belt when he drives but it's fastened when he's in the back seat?"

(instructor)"Turn right in front. its a sharp turn."
(panicked driver)"eek eek can someone else do it?"

"Grace lee looks like she's going to throw up"

"Er, I can't park, can someone else do it?"

(much cannot be transcribed as they consist of odd high pitched whine-y noises that don't transcribe well)

But all's well that ends well I guess. Huh.

reasons why i love nelly tan.

scene 1:

nelly:
(all of a sudden) i want to watch freddie mercury.

[ silence ]

me:
but he's dead.

[brief pause]

me:
you know that right?

nelly:
oh.
nelly:
issit!
me:
this is the funniest conversation i've had all day. congratulations.



scene 2:

nelly:
i've always wanted to be a robin. a blue robin. their eggs are so pretty.
me:
nel, you have strange ambitions for your life. i mean, you want to be a BIRD?



scene 3:

nelly:
why can't you go shopping with me tomorrow! why WHY WHY!
me:
because.... i am employed miss tan. i have to work so that i can get my pay so that i can go shopping with you.
me:
another day that is.
nelly:
okay. hey let's go apply for another job after you're done with this one. okay okay?
me:
ummm. yar. okay. but, i am going to slack first, for at least a week and half. i don't fancy writing another resume that soon.
me:
its depressing when your life is only worth two pages long and possibly less, depending on the size of your font.
nelly:
oh silly. let's just go scoop ice-cream together. i guess you don't need a resume attall! just tell them, i can memorise every single flavour you sell here! and, i like to eat ice-cream and people!
me:
i think you meant, i like to eat ice-cream and i like to see/talk to/interact with/am friendly with people.



scene 4:

nelly:
i like spongebob squarepants. he's so stupid and funny.
me:
yar, just like you.
hannah:
i agree with mich.
nelly:
you two suck.
hannah:
but that's the truth! even though i think you're cuter OHKAY. spongebob is so ugly. he's this ugly......thing. no. sponge.
nelly:
attack spongebob again! don't talk to both of you anymore.
me:
oh what a friend we have in nelly tan.

"Do you really think there is only one perfect mate? ... how can you be certain to find them? And if you do find them, are they really the one for you or do you only think they are? And what happens if the person you're supposed to be with never appears, or, or she does, but you're too distracted to notice? ... let's say God puts two people on Earth and they are lucky enough to find one another. But one of them gets hit by lightning. Well then what? Is that it? Or, perchance, you meet someone new and marry all over again. Is that the lady you're supposed to be with or was it the first? And if so, when the two of them were walking side by side were they both the one for you and you just happened to meet the first one first or, was the second one supposed to be first? And is everything just chance or are some things meant to be?"

- Prince Henry from Ever After


i think i'll just set up my own Alone Forever Club, and play Catan and Risk and Twister, and bake things, for the rest of my life. WHOO! ^^

(Ed note: I do not in any way condone the playing of Risk or Twister. Settlers of Catan... maybe, once in a while, for old times' sake. But Risk or Twister? *turns up nose a-la-Sha*)

Some people have names that are automatically short-formed. I'm not talking nicknames, I'm talking about things like Richard-Dick, Robert-Bob and William-Bill. (and, I'm told, Alexander-Sasha)

There should be an overarching term to refer to this kind of names. No, nickname and shortform are not what I'm looking for.

What is it? Lunch to whoever can tell me.

As usual, no studying was done in the process of creating this work.

While passing by Hwa Chong, we notice these very cheena-pok banners advertising Hwa Chong's open house. This is how the conversation went:

s: wah, they look really communist
me: *chokes back laughter*
sha: got badminton player. I wonder if there are tennis too?
me: uh, hwa chong isn't noted for their prowess in tennis.
s: do you mean ping pong?
sha: ya ya. denmark is good at badminton right? and indonesia and china also.
me: ya, i guess.
sha: what else is china good at? rugby? soccer? track and field?
me: no, they suck at soccer. and i don't believe they even have a rugby team.
sha: oh, they're only good at individual sports and not team sports
me: (highly impressed by the insightful comment)

Poking about on BGG as usual, I came across a picture that made me look again. What's wrong! Such innocuous looking glass counter beads. Or are they! One of them doesn't belong!

In honor of today being free cone day, here's a ben & jerry's flavor quiz. Two parts - given the description name the flavor, and given the flavor list what goes in!

(Highlight the blank parts to see the answer. Primitive I know, but I'm too lazy to code it in properly)

Part I
1. Strawberry Cheesecake
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberries & a Thick Graham Cracker Swirl

2. Dublin Mudslide
Irish Cream liqueur Ice Cream with Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Coffee Fudge Swirl

3. Cherry Garcia
Cherry Ice Cream with Cherries and Fudge Flakes


4. Chunky Monkey
Banana Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks and Walnuts

5. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Vanilla Ice Cream with globs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Part II
1. Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks & Toasted Marshmallow & Graham Cracker Swirls
Marsha Marsha Marshmallow

2. Chocolate ice cream with gooey marshmallow and caramel swirls and chocolate fish.
Phish Food

3. Sweet Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookie Pieces, Fudge Dinosaurs and a Fudge Swirl
Fossil Fuel

4. Chocolate ice cream with white and dark fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts, and fudge-covered almonds.
New York Super Fudge Chunk

5. A Crazy Concoction of Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Cream mixed with Fudge Brownies & Gobs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Half Baked

No prizes since all the information is freely available from www.benjerry.com, but hey, test yourself! Have a very happy free-cone-day!

AKAN DATANG New Flavor!
Cinnamon Buns - Caramel Ice Cream with Cinnamon Bun Dough & a Caramel Cinnamon Struesel Swirl

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall not want
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
He leadeth me beside still waters
He restoreth my soul
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For Thou art with me
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
Thou anointest my head with oil
My cup runneth over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
For ever

Having met a few people in school who seem to opine otherwise, I feel I must clear something up. Michael Ballack's goal last night was NOT taiko, neither was it a product of luck or any fortuitousnesses on the part of Chelsea. It was a wonderfully worked goal in more than one sense.

As usual, a clever Mourinho substitution was integral. Shaun Wright-Phillips possessed enough pace to cut across half the pitch and raced to the byline. He had the burst of speed necessary to reach the ball first ahead of a weary and embattled Blackburn defence, and was able to cut it back. Salomon Kalou had one attempt blocked, but Blackburn were unable to clear their lines. It fell to Ballack who was lurking at the edge of the six-yard box totally unmarked - whose fault is that? He then had the presence of mind to aim for the far corner - just beyond the stretch of the (mostly excellent) diving Brad Freidel.

That said, however, I still feel that going to extra time was unnecessary - extra half-hour of football that Chelsea could I'll afford, and the heartbreak for Blackburn who must've thought they were in with a whiff of a chance.

har har.

In case you have forgotten, (though how one can forget such an important occasion is beyond me),

Free Cone Day is coming!!

Thanks to you, it's on us!

Mark it in your diaries - Tuesday, 17th April is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day!

Loyal fans, in appreciation of your support, we are giving out ice cream from
12noon to 7pm at 8 participating Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops:

Downtown East, #01-08A
Great World City, #02-40A
Suntec City Mall, #01-152
Raffles City, #B1-80
The Cathay, #02-12
United Square, #02-40A
VivoCity, #02-135
White Sands, #01-36

Apparently, if you are EFFICIENT and GOOD AT YOUR JOB, you can spend a fraction of your time at work actually working, and the rest of your time doing other things, like irritating entertaining your friends who are actually trying to study for exams. Okay, exam.

Anyhow, this person is sufficiently bored and random enough to qualify as a guest contributor right here at this blog, random-ness and boredom central.

Just as a sneak preview of the writing you might come to expect:

leia says:
anyway you owe me icecream
ell says:
WHY
leia says:
HAH
because the last time you said you would buy me icecream!
ell says:
i did?
leia says:
yes you did
ell says:
let's go ben n jerry's tomorrow then.
ill get you an icecream cone
leia says:
hahaha. tomorrow's free cone day. WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO KID
ell says:
haha
it was worth a try.

1. 40 cents Chocolate or Strawberry Milk in the school canteen.
2. You grew up watching He-man, Transformers, Ninja turtles, Captain Planet, Tom & Jerry, Mickey Mouse, Rainbow Brite and Little Pony!
3. Sharity Elephant donation envelopes were distributed every Children's Day.
4. When you were late, the last person you wanted to see was the prefect or the discipline mistress/master.
5. You've probably read Young Generation mag. You know who's Vinny the little vampire and Acai the constable.
6. Movie tickets used to cost only $5!
7. Girls were fascinated by Strawberry Shortcake and Barbie Dolls.
8. You learnt how to laugh like the Count in Sesame Street.
9. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Famous Five and Secret Seven were probably the thickest story books you ever read. Even Sweet Valley High and Malory Towers.
10. KFC used to be a high-class restaurant.
11. Catching was the IN thing.
12. Waterbottles were slinged around your neck.
13. The balsam plant and angsana were the most important plants in your life. Guppies and goldfishes the most important fishes.
14. BATA, BM2000 or Pallas shoes.
15. Your form teacher taught you Math, Science and English.
16. Spelling tests and mental sums every week!
17. Freaking out when you had to hold hands with someone of the opposite gender.
18. Class monitors and prefects loved to say: "You talk somemore, I write your name ah!"
19. There were at least 38 people in one class.
20. You brought every single book to school, even though there was one thing called the timetable.

MEATCAKE. Meatloaf, 'gravy' for layering, mashed potato frosting and a ketchup glaze.

Now, I'm a big fan of deserts of all sorts, but really, this takes the cake (PUN WHOLLY INTENDED)

Read all about it at http://www.blackwidowbakery.com/demo/meatcake/

I'm starving, time for lunch.

Okay, so Chelsea are in the FA Cup Final. They left it a little late, but would you really have expected otherwise?

Anyhow, the other big hoohah news of the weekend emanating from England is the fact that Prince William split up from his longterm girlfriend, Kate Middleton. Okay, I honestly could care less about Prince William, but the newspapers have got it all wrong. It's not the fact that he's single, it's the fact that this lovely lady:


... is now available! Now that is news! Sorry, grad trip people, but you know how I was talking about eloping to England with this British girl the other day? Well, I was joking then. Now, I'm dead serious.

Bye.

(Okay, I know the photograph isn't exactly very flattering, especially the one on the right but it's the best I could come up with on short notice. Love the dress, anyhow!)

Spotted in the stands of Chelsea v Blackburn - Sir Alex Ferguson.

Fair enough, checking out the competition and all that, but very important question. Did he have to pay to get in? Okay, it's Old Trafford and he works there, but still!

=============================

Extremely unflattering picture of Frank Lampard's goal (taken from Soccernet) - you would think Old Trafford was empty or something, or it was a training match. Gee!


=============================

Oh, and uh, not to sound disrespectful or anything, but who died?

Today's ESPN program is brought to you by the letter Q, and the number 4.

"Q is for quadruple, which is four of something." E.g. trophies.

As part of the Private International Air Law part of Aviation, Alan Tan brought in this outside guy from R&T to lecture us. He was average I guess, but that's not important.

At the conclusion of his series of 4 lectures, he gave out a CD containing documents and cases and what-not that we would need for exams. At first I thought that that was really decent and cool. Apparently not. You know why?

BECAUSE. THERE ARE 30,947 FILES in 2,711 FOLDERS TAKING UP 544MB OF SPACE!
That. Is. A. Lot. Of. Stuff. To. Read.

I hadn't looked at it earlier on account of globalization and law & econs, but earlier I found myself with a bit of time so I popped the CD in to take a look. I was staggered by the amount of data in there.

Die die die.

Just so you know a little about cheeses and can make some intelligent conversation at the wine & cheese thing later on, here's presenting the Cheese Roll Call, from Pinky of Pinky & the Brain fame.

Pinky: A world of cheeses
Deliciously made for you and me
Flavors like Provolone and Brie
Each with its own ethnicity.
So many cheeses
Are available all around the world for you to eat
Especially good with crackers and meat
A nice yummy treat.

Thousands of cheeses
The texture of some can be real gooey
Others are quite firm and chewy
Some are better when mildewy.
Bountiful cheeses
When you take a big whiff a few
Will make you want to spew
Especially strong is the cheese Remoudou
A real stinkeroo.

It's incredible just how many kinds there are
From countries near and far
It's really quite bizarre.
Now from the mouths of cheeses big and small
We proudly present to you
The cheese roll call.

Cheddam: G'day! I am Australian Cheddam, an
innocuous, golden yellow, rindless block
inspired by Cheddar and Edam!

Pinky: Welcome, Cheddam!

Wensleydale: I am the British cheese Wensleydale, lightly
pressed and smooth textured with a subtle
milky flavor which is clean and refreshing.

Pinky: Welcome, Wensleydale!

Edelpilzkäse: I am the German cheese Edelpilzkäse, a fine,
blue-veined cheese with a pale ivory paste
and very dark veins traveling vertically
through me.

Pinky: Welcome, Edelpil... Edel... oh, willkommen!

Brie: I am the French cheese Brie, a soft,
unpressed, naturally drained cow's milk with
white rind flora, molded into large flat disks
and ripened for three to four weeks.

Pinky: Welcome, cheeses! I want to eat you all!

Pinky: Oh, how I like my cheeses
Cheese from around the world
Cheese is the taste that pleases
Cheese from around the world (sing with me, cheeses!)

Some: Oh, how I like my cheeses
Cheese from around the world (everybody!)
All : Cheese is the taste that pleases
Cheese from around the world

Around this great big world
Around this big cheese world
Around this great big world
Around this big -- cheese -- world!

Pinky: Mmm... yummy! Narf!

Soccernet's latest poll involves guessing which of the final four will go on to win the Champions League. The current results are as follows:

Manchester United:51%
Liverpool: 24%
Chelsea: 15%
AC Milan: 11%

Now, I am not ordinarily a betting man, but for the sake of the math I checked out Ladbroke's (some online sports betting site) odds for each club winning. The results are rather surprising:

Manchester United: 3.00 ($3 for every $1 bet)
Chelsea: 3.25
Liverpool: 4.00
AC Milan: 4.50

Irrelevant - Strike! has ManU and Chelsea at 3.00, Liverpool at 3.60 and AC Milan at 4.10. What stingy odds. Don't ever buy strike! if you can help it. Either that or there are lots of Liverpool and AC Milan fans out there, which I find highly unlikely.

Okay, anyway, back to Soccernet's numbers. THEY MAKE ZERO SENSE. Singapore Pools is in the business of making money. If Man U are such firm favorites, the price for Man U winning should be a /lot/ less than Chelsea, who incidentally scored about half the votes of Liverpool but is priced less. Okay, even if you don't trust Singapore Pools' prices, Ladbroke's has been in the business for a long time - you'd figure they know what they are doing.

I'm not sure what I just proved, except maybe that Soccernet readers are all deluded and they (i) place more faith in ManU's ability (getting past AC Milan is no mean feat!) and (ii) underestimate Chelsea. By quite a fair bit. Liverpool? Pooh!

I was going to go into some detail about calculating odds based on votes and calculating prices based on votes but my brain is tired. Also, how the winner is determined over a series of two matches and you can also calculate the odds for those, but that would take too much math and time, so I decided against it. Maybe later.

Anyway, one last point.

THE MIRACLE OF ISTANBUL IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN. NOT BY A LONG SHOT.

The miracle of Athens? Hah!

Eileen, A poet?
Really not a good idea.
I cringe at the thought.

Apparently my dad just received free tickets to go see Phantom. The slight problem is, on the date he has them for, I will be someplace halfway across the world. My brother will be away too, so it seems they have more tickets than they can use. Huh.

Not that I haven't seen it already, of course, but it would be cool to see again, no? I wish. Can I quit grad trip?

You got to know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away
And know when to run.
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done.

This almost made me fall off my chair.

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/04/drsha_0405/

Did you know - Sha came to law school because she didn't make it to med school. I bet in an alternate universe she did, and this might have been the result.

Was just looking thru photos from exchange (after someone told me it's almost been a year on) and well, what can I say? I miss just about everything about the entire thing. Except maybe having to do my own laundry and cleaning, but well it wasn't that much of a chore. And of course, I miss the people. Ang mohs >>> locals.

:))))))))

Shame about Roma though, 7-1 is harsh beyond belief. Three England teams in the semi-final is also slightly ridiculous. And my brother tells me Liverpool is bookmaker's favorite. fancy that.

As usual, Chelsea have to muck around for the first 45 minutes, go into the dressing room at half time to get yelled at or whatever by Mourinho, and come roaring out for the second half.

1-1, shevchenko 53". GAME ON.

Fernando Morientes, FORMER LIVERPOOL FAILURE, scores against Chelsea. 0-1

Life as we know it is ending.

Whatever the result, whatever the outcome, it will be a night to remember. The journey might end tonight, or it might end in athens come may. here we go.

Purple light In the valley
That is where I want to be
Infantry Best companions
With my rifle and my buddy and me

SOC Sibei jialat
IPPT Lagi worse
Every day Doing PT
With my rifle and my buddy and me

Book-out day See my girlfriend
Saw her with Another man
Broken hearted Back to camp
With my rifle and my buddy and me

ORD Back to study
Got degree So happy
But can't forget Still remember
My rifle and my buddy and me

Ed note - Slight wave of nostalgia inspired by Jason's MSN nick. So, now that we have (almost) finished studying and (almost) got our degrees, are we 'so happy'? I know I'm not.

A friend sent this to me today and despite the wrong-ness of it all, I have magnanimously decided to share this with all of you. Although you figure if you swap out Chelsea with whoever it will still work.

========================

A bloke goes into Stanstead Airport and manages to eventually get into the departure lounge where his flight home is being called. All around him there are overturned tables, smashed windows, computer terminals broken, upturned chairs and crowd control barriers lying on the floor.

"Christ, what's happened here?" he asks one of the ground crew.

"Oh yeah...", he replies "Absolutely hopeless .... we had the Chelsea players in here this morning filming the new Nike ad".

========================

Q: What is the difference between Bill Clinton and Andriy Shevchenko?

A: Clinton can score.

========================

4 surgeons are taking a tea break:

1st surgeon says "Accountants are the best to operate on because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered."

2nd surgeon says "Nope, librarians are the best. Everything inside them is in alphabetical order."

3rd surgeon says "Well you should try electricians. Everything inside them is colour coded."

4th surgeon says "I prefer Chelsea fans. They're heartless, spineless, gutless and their heads and a**es are interchangeable."

========================

Unsubstantiated reports seem to suggest that Chelsea will be releasing a new record at the end of the month, "I'm forever blowing Doubles"! (ed - I guess quadruples is more correct, but the idea is there)

========================

I've heard that Stamford Bridge has arguably the best pitch in the Premiership. Well...not entirely surprising considering all the sh*t that has been on there.

I. Am. Speechless.

Wow.

Je ne veux pas travailler

MAIS

Je veux déjeuner!

In the co-op they sell a book entitled "Yong Pung How: Selected Speeches and Judgments". It's about as thick as poh chu chai's law of banker and customer, which I guess isn't surprising since well, the guy's had a long career of hearing lots and lots of cases and I'm sure he's invited all over to speak.

What I'm wondering is, what sort of book is it meant to be? A textbook, for those studying his life? A biography - albeit a technical and boring one? Or just some tribute/homage type book? I know I wouldn't just pick it up and read it, and I have rather broad taste in books. Forgot to check out how much it costs but I'm sure quite a pretty penny.

Which begs the next question. Who is the intended audience? Other than libraries I'm not too sure who will pick this up. Chan Sek Keong, maybe. And the rest of the Supreme Court bench. Law firms, to put in the reception area/conference room to look impressive. Other than that?

Law Students? Hahahahaha

Those railing things they have in the lifts are dangerous. I leaned back and impaled the back of my head on one of those huge oversized thumb tack things. What are they for again?

============================

I can't decide if Nestle Toll House or Pepperidge Farm makes the best choc chip cookies in the world. Opinions?

============================

Simon Chesterton has a book entitled Does the UN Need a Secretary or a General? On the front cover is a picture of a man whose head is covered by a dove. I wonder if that's a real photograph, or if it was photoshopped?

============================

Just a friendly reminder. Chelsea are now only 3 points behind Manchester United, with ManU still to visit Stamford Bridge. The title race is wide open, people. (Many thanks to Portsmouth by the way. Much obliged)

Today my family went to see this house my parents are thinking of buying. For the longest time they've been talking about how no one ever uses the garden, and we're living on prime that can be rented out to expats and all that. Nothing really has been done about it though, since moving is a hassle. The thought of moving has always been rather daunting to me personally, since that involves packing and I HATE PACKING. I wanted to cry the two days before I left Canada to come home, cause I had to pack.

So anyway, the house is pretty cool. It's built into a slope so it has about 6 split levels, and the basement and attic are huge. We lose the garden, but like I said we never use it anyway. Lot's of space for entertaining and all that. Or, according to my parents, we can get married and all still live under one roof. It's about 5 minutes walk from Al Ahzar so supper will be insanely convenient - no more Macs and dabao.sg deliveries! ALl in all, we all were pretty hyped up on the way home.

Then I came home and walked into the huge massive explosion that is my room (Those of you that have been to visit know what I'm talking about) I am not moving if I can possibly help it.

as promised...

Once again, Arsenal have shown their ability to pass the ball around... in the opposing penalty box, all without scoring. Honestly, the number of passes they can string together is slightly scary, yet number of goals to show for it = big, fat zero. They need to learn that direct and long ball football, while ugly (not when Drogba's your target man, but that's another story) is horribly effective. Flowing, passing football is pretty but won't win you as many games.

==================================

Why, Reading, why! So close, but yet so far.

As of this writing, Manu are 3 (well, technically 4, since their game is drawn) points ahead of Chelsea. Hope. Springs. Eternal.

edit - 2-1 portsmouth ftw!

[eileen] How fast does hair grow? says:
wheres the chicken dog icecream soccer bit!!
FAIL

(ed note: At least when sha requests blog posts, she isn't specific about content. Gee!)

Get a free twenty piece
Chicken McNuggets
When you buy any four extra value meals!
Oh, lalalala. (or something to that effect)

Actually, I just feel like some nuggets right now. In curry sauce.

PS No icecream post, I just blogged about that 2, 3 posts ago. And soccer will come tonight, after Chelsea cuts Manu's lead down to 3 points. Although to write that I might have to blog before Manu plays. Huh.

[eileen] How fast does hair grow? says:
eh blog leh
i don't want to sleep alone says:
okay fine
[eileen] How fast does hair grow? says:
faster pasta
i don't want to sleep alone says:
pasta?
[eileen] How fast does hair grow? says:
i give you inspiration
chicken...dog..icecream..and soccer

Okay, the supposed inspiration didn't really work. But I guess I could write about pasta. Being a rather atas consumer, I naturally am familiar with the different types of pasta. I know what linguine, ravioli, penne, what have you look like. I have wondered for the longest time, though. Why are there so many different types?

Wikipedia, the source of all my knowledge, is singularly unhelpful in this respect. "The basic ingredients are often the same, the shape and characteristics of surface makes various kind of pasta well suited for different kind of dressing." Which a random waiter at a swanky restaurant told me once, I think. Or at least I must have heard it before. But it doesn't hold water with me. How come flat pasta (e.g. linguine) holds cream sauce better, while regular spaghetti is better for bolognese? And then, angel-hair pasta - mini-me spaghetti - is usually used for alio olio.

Why? And, okay, assuming wikipedia is true (which is generally the case, so okay) Who can tell me how it works? And, which pasta is best for which kinds of dressing, and why?

Pasta lunch on me if you can explain the whole thing to my satisfaction.

Ice cream on the house, anyone?

Every time I think of you
I get a shot right through into a bolt of blue
It's no problem of mine but it's a problem I find
Living a life that I can't leave behind

There's no sense in telling me
The wisdom of a fool won't set you free
But that's the way that it goes
And it's what nobody knows
And every day my confusion grows

Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You'll say the words that I can't say

I feel fine and I feel good
I'm feeling like I never should
Whenever I get this way, I just don't know what to say
Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday

I'm not sure what this could mean
I don't think you're what you seem
I do admit to myself
That if I hurt someone else
Then I'll never see just what we're meant to be

Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You'll say the words that I can't say

I am the student,
Who don't do anything.
I just stay at home
and laze around.
If you ask me,
to do anything.
I'll just tell you
I don't do anything.

[It really is a song! Ask me to sing it for you sometime]

Eileen is taking Chinese 3 and she is very proud of her Chinese ability, which right is light years better than mine, as the below picture will attest. The above two lines are my work (the ones with blanks all over the place) and the lines below are hers - hooray for 19/20! (She claims she has another one with 20/20)



In my defense, I was rather blindsided. I walked in and she whipped out a piece of paper and said, 'okay, ting xie time'. I haven't written Chinese for quite some time, and I think if you ask me to write my name for you I'll have to think for a while.

eileen adds: also she did not study for it she is just smarter than b****** and yes i wrote this of my own volition

If you've ever been to Venice, you might have noticed that all the gondoliers are male. Oh, and the city stinks, but that's another story. Anyway, theres this German lady who's been campaigning for ten years to become a gondolier, and a regional court in Italy just made the Gondolier's Association accept her as their first female member.

Now, I'm a believer in women's lib and all that, and if a lady thinks she's up to a particular job then fine, go ahead. What I find disturbing about this particular newsbite is that she had failed the gondolier's qualification test three times. One suspects that if a male failed three times yet wanted to force his way in he would be subject to general ridicule, but if it happens to a woman, she goes crying to a court for help. Meh.

Uhh, I don't know where you learned to karate chop a cake into slices, but did anyone tell you a knife sorta kinda works as well?

Apparently, yesterday marked the founding of the Arsenal Supporter's Club, Singapore branch. Or whatever they call it, I forget. Anyway, to mark the occasion, they had a party yesterday evening, coinciding with Arsenal's match against Liverpool at Anfield. Sounds like they had a huge blast, with Glen Ong (a notable Arsenal fan) running the show, contests and goodness knows what else. Except for the slight problem of the final scoreline.


Oh, they also had a 'predict the score' competition. Guess no one at that particular party won, huh. Or even came close. I wonder what the prize was.

WHYYYY ARSENAL. WHYYYYYY. To lose 1-0 or 2-0 is okay. (Hey, even Chelsea lost at Anfield this season) But 4-1! And, to a Peter Crouch hat-trick to boot!

=======================================

For 25 glorious minutes (approximately the amount of time Blackburn led at Old Trafford.) I harbored a hope in me I though long dead. Maybe ManU might slip up after all. Maybe Chelsea still have an outside shot at taking the Premiership.

Then again, it was not to be :( As wave after wave of ManU attacks crashed on the rock that was the Blackburn attacks, it slowly began to become painfully obvious that it was a question of when, and not if, that rock would be breached.

And inevitably, it breached. Not just cracked, mind you, but more like annihilated. Ouch.

=======================================

It's often said that the mark of Champions is the ability to win matches you don't deserve to win. To squeeze three points out of a match that held zero, or at the most one. Well, for what it's worth, Chelsea managed that yesterday, though one suspects that it's the case of too little, too late.

Today is the first day of April. It also marks the first day of our last month as law students. It suddenly occurred to me today that in a month's time, we will all have graduated (assuming we don't fail our modules/exams, but that's another story) and in another month's time, we will all be gainfully employed, having sold our souls to the Drew & Napiers and Allen & Gledhills of this world. No more doing things on a whim. No more insiduous sms-es from LH inciting revolt. (Well, one can hope!) No more doing all the things we've become accustomed to as uni students. NO MORE SLEEPING IN.

In light of this, I propose that we make the most of our last month as law students. Go out more. More breakfasts, lunches, teas. Slack more. Enjoy life a little bit more. Not that we haven't been already, but well in these things a little excess never hurt anyone.