Things You Never Knew...

For Future Reference, Part 2

2009-04-01T14:49:00.001+08:00

Does that mean jerks finish last? We hear it all the time “He treated her like a queen, and she’s just heartless for dumping him”. Why women dump a guy who is kind, considerate, generous, and willing to do just about anything for her? Does that mean woman want jerks who don’t open door for her, don’t buy her roses and do all the opposite she tells him? No, women wants an equal, caring partner and not an insecure nice guy.

Don’t get me wrong. I may not represent all the women out there and not all women walk over nice guys, there’s some and it’s not fair that all women get placed into that category. So, What’s wrong with Nice Guys? The biggest problem is that most Nice Guys are hideously insecure. Nice guy are just so anxious of being liked and love and they will do almost anything to gain acceptance and attention, rather than for the simply pleasure of giving.

What Nice Guys thinks they did it right:.
1) They are inconfident and afraid she may dissapear or become attracted to someone else, so they cling to her always.
2) They are indecisive and always asking her to make the decisions. They afraid being blame if the decision was an unwise one.
3) They don’t have want, need and expect in the relationship. They just give in and rarely speak up when something bothers them because they fear that any kind of conflict might spell the end of the relationship.
4) They claimed that she is a difficult person and should be thankful to him by saying “no one will ever love her as much as I do.” just because they think they will never meet anyone as special as she is.
5) They believe that he is the best person otherwise his insecurities will overrun him with jealousies and fear.
6) They thinks that by “giving in with all efforts and sacrifice”, it will make him a better, more lovable person. He thinks it will give him a sense of accomplishment, and that she will appreciate and love him more.

After going through the 6 points above, if you are woman, do you prefer such a Nice Guy? I always believe that “No woman will leave a man if he is such a nice guy”, there must be a reason behind and yet the reason is pretty clear sometimes. Although Nice Guys have his temper and do quarrel, but at the end they will do whatever in his power to give in and change, but the more he is willing to change and give in, it makes women felt guilty, demanding and selfish and in turn they(women) hated themselves.In such reaction, this is where the decision of ending the relationship come from. They need someone who can speak for themselves and stand up to their demand. The ultimate truth here is that Nice Guys just don’t love themselves, women need someone who’ll love himself more. In order to truly love someone else, you must first love yourself. Let’s be very truthful now. Stop saying “I’m such a nice guy, why did she has to leave me “. Hope you really get what it mean.
Are you a nice guy? or if you are girl, do you like being worshiped like a queen and why?

Sincerely

A Recovering Nice Guy

Of shoes

2009-04-01T11:34:00.002+08:00

I decry the extravagant bonuses paid to well heeled wall street executives as much as the next guy, and fell all self-righteous and indignant when reading about some of the excesses some of these banks go to. Surely we all feel the same way. How can these guys pay themselves so well when they were the chief architects of the greatest colossal screwup the world's economy has ever seen?

But I ask you one question. Take a step back, and step instead into their shoes (no pun intended). Imagine you're the chief executive officer of a prominent wall street bank. Or executive vice-president of an international insurance group. You graduated first in your class at undergrad level, then went on to do an MBA at a top tier business school. You have vast experience in the financial industry, and your pay has been at around market level, always receiving what your peers did. When the going was good and everything was bull (pun intended here) no one batted an eyelid at the lavish compensation packages you enjoyed, but now everything is bear suddenly you're the villan of the story. True, maybe some mistakes were made, but doesn't everyone have bad days at the office?

Wouldn't you feel the same sense of entitlement some of these executives are now feeling? What, I'm greedy beyond belief? Surely no more than the next guy! I'm incompetent? You gotta be kidding me!

For Future Reference

2009-03-31T18:18:00.001+08:00

I see this question posted with some regularity in the personals section, so I thought I'd take a minute to explain things to the ladies out there that haven't figured it out.

What happened to all the nice guys?

The answer is simple: you did.

See, if you think back, really hard, you might vaguely remember a Platonic guy pal who always seemed to want to spend time with you. He'd tag along with you when you went shopping, stop by your place for a movie when you were lonely but didn't feel like going out, or even sit there and hold you while you sobbed and told him about how horribly the (other) guy that you were fucking treated you.

At the time, you probably joked with your girlfriends about how he was a little puppy dog, always following you around, trying to do things to get you to pay attention to him. They probably teased you because they thought he had a crush on you. Given that his behavior was, admittedly, a little pathetic, you vehemently denied having any romantic feelings for him, and buttressed your position by claiming that you were "just friends." Besides, he totally wasn't your type. I mean, he was a little too short, or too bald, or too fat, or too poor, or didn't know how to dress himself, or basically be or do any of the things that your tall, good-looking, fit, rich, stylish boyfriend at the time pulled off with such ease.

Eventually, your Platonic buddy drifted away, as your relationship with the boyfriend got more serious and spending time with this other guy was, admittedly, a little weird, if you werent dating him. More time passed, and the boyfriend eventually cheated on you, or became boring, or you realized that the things that attracted you to him weren't the kinds of things that make for a good, long-term relationship. So, now, you're single again, and after having tried the bar scene for several months having only encountered players and douche bags, you wonder, "What happened to all the nice guys?"

Well, once again, you did.

You ignored the nice guy. You used him for emotional intimacy without reciprocating, in kind, with physical intimacy. You laughed at his consideration and resented his devotion. You valued the aloof boyfriend more than the attentive "just-a-" friend. Eventually, he took the hint and moved on with his life. He probably came to realize, one day, that women aren't really attracted to guys who hold doors open; or make dinners just because; or buy you a Christmas gift that you mentioned, in passing, that you really wanted five months ago; or listen when you're upset; or hold you when you cry. He came to realize that, if he wanted a woman like you, he'd have to act more like the boyfriend that you had. He probably cleaned up his look, started making some money, and generally acted like more of an asshole than he ever wanted to be.

Fact is, now, he's probably getting laid, and in a way, your ultimate rejection of him is to thank for that. And I'm sorry that it took the complete absence of "nice guys" in your life for you to realize that you missed them and wanted them. Most women will only have a handful of nice guys stumble into their lives, if that.

So, if you're looking for a nice guy, here's what you do:

1.) Build a time machine.
2.) Go back a few years and pull your head out of your ass.
3.) Take a look at what's right in front of you and grab ahold of it.

I suppose the other possibility is that you STILL don't really want a nice guy, but you feel the social pressure to at least appear to have matured beyond your infantile taste in men. In which case, you might be in luck, because the nice guy you claim to want has, in reality, shed his nice guy mantle and is out there looking to unleash his cynicism and resentment onto someone just like you.

If you were five years younger.

So, please: either stop misrepresenting what you want, or own up to the fact that you've fucked yourself over. You're getting older, after all. It's time to excise the bullshit and deal with reality. You didn't want a nice guy then, and he certainly doesn't fucking want you, now.

dear sha

2007-09-30T23:37:00.000+08:00

As promised.

Index of First Lines

2007-08-28T21:24:00.000+08:00

Because of google and the general state of the internets, this cannot be a free-lunch quiz, but hey, test yourself! Highlight text with your mouse to see the answers.

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Call me Ishmael.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

When shall we three meet again / In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

William Shakespeare, Macbeth

In sooth I know not why I am so sad

William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

The primroses were over.

Richard Adams, Watership Down

for sandy

2007-08-20T02:06:00.000+08:00

1. i like rhythm games at the arcade. not ddr though.
2. i have a collection of a bunch of dice, each with a different number of faces.
3. i want to drive from singapore to london. or vice versa.
4. when i was in jc, i used to play bridge competitively. i was pretty good at it too!
5. my land speed record is approx 200km/h, achieved somewhere in Nevada.
6. in another lifetime, i would've gone to oxford to do PPE and i'd probably be working in London right now.
7. i am completely clueless about the visual arts. van gogh and picasso and all mean nothing to me.

grrgh. yes. that was insanely hard.

oh, and this doesn't really count but,
i have this strange craving for kfc. or pfk, as it's called in french canada.

for the record

2007-08-20T01:39:00.000+08:00

Let me be (one of the first) to say that yes, it was a (highly) dubious penalty.
But hey, like they say. A goal is a goal is a goal! And besides, a draw was a rather reasonable result. Rafa Benitez might feel slightly shortchanged, but who cares.

WTB a new right back!

2007-08-16T05:00:00.000+08:00

In the Mourinho reign, no less than six players have played at right back: Paolo Ferreira, Geremi, Khalid Bhoularouz, Lassana Diarra, Michael Essien, Glen Johnson. Today, Shaun Wright Phillips - originally a winger, mind you - joined their (dubiously) illustrious ranks.

There is talk of Dani Alaves making a £24m move to Stamford Bridge. But is he really the solution to Chelsea's right back problem? Mind you, I haven't actually seen him play other than the odd random moment of Primera Liga highlights, but by all accounts he is more of a wing back in the mould of that other great Brazilian right back, Cafu, than the tough tackling stalwart Chelsea really need.

Mind you, Ashley Cole (and arguably Wayne Bridge as well) can hardly be considered defensive rocks themselves. Dare I say, in the style of Roberto Carlos? But at least Cole has one thing going for him - he has the full support and confidence of his manager. One can only wonder what goes through Ferreira, et al's head when the team sheet is out and they find out they're at right back. "Hopefully I don't get subbed out after half an hour" might be reasonably accurate.

Then again, Shaun Wright Phillips seemed to enjoy his 45 minutes at right back against Reading, so maybe, just maybe, he has found his true calling after all.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm...

2007-08-15T22:27:00.000+08:00

... And then Miss Clarity took a bunch of his animals and served them for my lunch.

oh but since i'm here

2007-08-04T00:59:00.003+08:00

you are hereby put on notice. soccer season kicks off on sunday with the charity shield. look forward to more varied and riveting posts!

for my own reference

2007-08-04T00:46:00.001+08:00

Since this blog is (currently) sorta kinda defunct. Am putting this up here so I don't have to dig through youtube if I happen to watch to watch it again. Tinny sound and awful video quality but hey, it's the only one I could find.

O RLY?

2007-07-10T12:54:00.001+08:00

Yep, you heard it here first.

there is no such thing as a free lunch

2007-07-09T00:19:00.000+08:00

or is there?

why are tennis scores love-15-30-40-game?
what sort of retarded progression is this?
who taught the umpire how to count?
and then, deuce?!?!

so, want a free lunch?

and away we go!

2007-07-08T23:45:00.000+08:00

in honor of the occasion, here's a dinky little flash game: http://www.linerider.com/

Using a paint-esque java window, draw a track for this dude on a bicycle. Click play and away he goes! Be careful with the gradient, otherwise he will land in a bloody heap...
Check out other peoples' videos, way cool!

roll my eyes

2007-06-12T21:04:00.000+08:00

"...Do Women Date Naughty Guys but Marry Nice Ones? This notion sounds an awful lot like the irritating good-girl/bad-girl distinction that men continue to make. Still, it does contain a nugget of sense. Since women truly are conditioned to be "good girls," sometimes we feel uncomfortable with or guilty about that pure burning "I must have him!" feeling. That's why we sometimes seek out a bad boy to serve as the object of these desires, says Cleveland psychotherapist Belleruth Naparstek, creator of the Health Journeys series of guided imagery tapes. "In order for the deliciousness of pure lust to be 'okay,' it has to be for the symbolic bad boy who has nothing to do with the rest of your life. With him, you can crank up your animal impulses, worry-free," she says...."

2007-06-10T15:23:00.000+08:00

For when I was a babe and wept and slept, Time crept;
When I was a boy and laughed and talked, Time walked;
Then when the years saw me a man, time ran,
but as I older grew, Time flew.

- Source unknown.

Well, basically a roundabout way of saying I don't really have very much time anymore; as you will have realized, an entire week has gone by without a new post. Gone are the days of idly surfing the internet for entertainment, and I will probably no longer be able to share the exquisite randomness of it with you all.

Will attempt to continue to update from time to time though, so do not despair! Check in from time to time (no pun intended!) Or if i can get leia to crawl out from the damp rock she has gone and hid under... but that's another story.

the merchant of venice

2007-06-03T21:05:00.000+08:00

To bait fish withal. If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgrac'd me and hind'red me half a million; laugh'd at my losses, mock'd at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies. And what's his reason? I am a Jew.

Hath not a Jew eyes?Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility?

Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute; and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

- Shylock, Act III Scene i

because flash games will always be flash games

2007-06-02T14:00:00.000+08:00

... a total waste of time. but such an entertaining waste. i suppose it could be worse. anyhow, www.lumosity.com is the current flavor of the week. technically not a game but more of an iq test of sorts, but still loads of fun anyway!

my current 'high score' - they call it lumos IQ - is 151, 9 points short of genius. but i'll hit 160 soon enough!

what i learned on the first day of work

2007-06-01T23:41:00.000+08:00

since it's the friday after a public holiday lots of people at the office took advantage of getting a super-long weekend with just one day's leave, i didn't get to meet my pupil master nor my mentor. in fact 3/4 of my team was away.

which resulted in a lot of time sitting around doing nothing. to be specific, sitting in the recep area on the 17th floor and perusing the publications placed there for goodness knows who to read. Harper's Bazaar's (so many posessives!) watch guide pour homme 2006 is a decently interesting read. And while reading it i learned about...

A tourbillon (IPA: [toɹ bi ˈjɑn], French for "whirlwind")...

... a type of mechanical clock or watch escapement invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet that is designed to counter the effects of gravity and other perturbing forces that can affect the accuracy of a chronometer. This is accomplished by mounting the escapement in a rotating frame, so that the effect of gravity cancels out when the escapement is rotated 180°. The effects of gravity were particularly problematic when pocketwatches were carried in the same pocketed position for most of the day. In a tourbillon, the entire escapement assembly rotates, including balance wheel, escapement wheel, and pallet fork. The rate of rotation varies per design but has generally become standardized at one rotation per minute.

In a nutshell, how cool is that! I want a watch with one.

Addendum - Swiss-made tourbillon wristwatches are very expensive, typically retailing for tens of thousands of dollars. Oh well.

you don't love me anymore

2007-05-31T00:20:00.000+08:00

We've been together for so very long
But now things are changing, oh I wonder what's wrong?
Seems you don't want me around
The passion is gone and the flame's died down

I guess I lost a little bit of self-esteem
That time that you made it with the whole hockey team
You used to think I was nice
Now you tell all your friends that I'm the Antichrist

Oh, why did you disconnect the brakes in my car?
That kind of thing is hard to ignore
Got a funny feeling you don't love me anymore

I knew that we were having problems when
You put those piranhas in my bathtub again
You're still the light of my life
Oh darling, I'm beggin', won't you put down that knife?

You know, I even think it's kinda cute the way
You poison my coffee just a little each day
I still remember the way that you laughed
When you pushed me down that elevator shaft

Oh, if you don't mind me asking, what's this poisonous cobra
Doing in my underwear drawer?
Sometime I get to thinking you don't love me any more

You slammed my face down on the barbecue grill
Now my scars are all healing, but my heart never will
You set my house on fire
You pulled out my chest hairs with an old pair of pliers

Oh, you think that I'm ugly and you say that I'm cheap
You shaved off my eyebrows while I was asleep
You drilled a hole in my head
Then you dumped me in a drainage ditch and left me for dead

Oh, you know this really isn't like you at all
You never acted this way before
Honey, something tells me you don't love me any more, oh no no
Got a funny feeling you don't love me anymore

- Weird Al Yankovic

/sadface

thirty days!

2007-05-30T10:03:00.000+08:00

because i don't know my pupil master, i had to poke around drew's website to find a number to call them and find out. while doing so, i came across a page detailing remuneration package and benefits and what not.

I quote verbatim...
"Upon retention, our lawyers can look forward to the following additional benefits:... 30 days of annual leave."

is it just me, or does something about the above sentence sound exceedingly fishy? Like, technically, if i wanted to i could take half a day leave EVERY WEEK and still not use up all my leave? i've heard war stories which seem to suggest that if you get to take THREE days of leave a year you are very good life already, not to mention thirty!

who can explain it

2007-05-28T23:39:00.000+08:00

who can tell you why?
fools give you reasons
wise men never tryyyy

- Some Enchanted Evening

Yes, I know this particular quote has appeared in this space before, but this time it's actually pertinent and relevant. For the life of me (well, us) we can't figure out how we came to be a household of three. It's like one day we suddenly decided we'd hang out together, and that was that.

But hey, life's too short to worry about things like that. Sit back and enjoy the ride! (partial pun intended)

love you guys!

(although why two hot, happening, popular, etc etc girls would choose to hang out with yours truly - math nerd, geek, anti-social - is really beyond me. but then i've said that already)

and for good measure

2007-05-28T23:28:00.000+08:00

krispy kreme and kettle chips. unrelated to grad trip though, but rather from the brother's trip to england.

(for the uninitiated, a dozen original glazed and a dozen assorted)

(cause the resolution isn't so good, Mexican lime with a hint of chili, soulmate cheeses with onions, buffalo mozerella tomato & basil and sea salt & balsamic vinegar)

how to take good photos

2007-05-28T23:10:00.000+08:00

Have a good eye for composition, an understanding for how lighting works, a steady hand, yadda yadda.

Alternatively...

Buy an expensive camera, and take 20396820936820936832 photos and hope 2 of them turn out nice.

Out of my 20396820936820936832, here are a couple I like... (in no particular order)

deja vu

2007-05-26T00:01:00.000+08:00

Apple campus, circa May 2004

Apple campus, circa May 2007

I can't believe I've already made the pilgrimage twice.

it's official

2007-05-25T11:08:00.000+08:00

i am no longer an undergraduate student.

when you check your results online, the system first makes you read some stuff (sorta kinda like terms and conditions) and there's this pdf titled "Admin Notes for Graduating Students" which says a lot of ominous things such as how we aren't allowed access to the NUS network anymore and should backup our mail asap, we have to return matric cards within 2 weeks, our library membership ceases...

bleargh.

hello, working world.

why it sucks to be home

2007-05-23T14:29:00.000+08:00

other than the fact that home =/= the united states of america, and that its insanely hot:

this morning i wanted to get into the passenger seat of my car to drive. and about a minute later, i turned into the wrong lane. good thing i was still in my estate and the oncoming car wasn't driving all that fast.

and going at 80 i felt i was going very fast already. not that i had a choice to go much faster, since there was traffic everywhere. and to think that last week i was doing 180 and wondering if i could go even faster...

picture dedications

2007-05-23T01:20:00.000+08:00

randomly taken pictures with a person or two in mind. (the usual suspects) since they're mostly self explanatory i won't bother, so if a picture makes you smile (or alternatively, go GRR) then it's probably for you. you know who you are.

grad trip by numbers

2007-05-23T00:57:00.000+08:00

well, this is as good a place to start as any!

Days spent out of the country: 25

Number of bags at the start: 3

Number of bags on cart wheeled out of the arrival hall today: 7 (Unbelievable but true)

Countries visited: 5

Distance driven: 2022 miles

Amount of money spent: (i don't know. i don't particularly want to either. but it's a rather large number, believe me)

Number of photos taken: 1005, taking up a whopping 5.04GB of space

Birthdays celebrated: 2

Days spent shopping: 2 and part of a third.

Number of rides on Space Mountain: 4

Highest temperature experienced: 104 deg F, which works out to something like 40 deg C

Lowest temperature experienced: Not sure, but it was snowing so it was definitely below zero

Trophies won: 2 (Okay, not really related but still.)

Oh, and of course, last but not least: 2.7818.

Whom we have to thank for the number two. (this one's an inside joke)

honey, i'm home!

2007-05-23T00:53:00.000+08:00

ya rly.

it's a but surreal, but i'm sitting at my comp for the first time in almost a month. hohum.

here we go again.

PS Contrary to what the last post was about, prepare for a whole lot of photoblogging. Apologies in advance.

normal service will resume soon

2007-05-21T18:20:00.000+08:00

but before that, here's something i want to put up before i forget it exists.

(thanks sandy for the linky)

From http://hej-kobenhavn.blogspot.com/2007/05/things-you-learn.html

sometimes when we travel, we get too caught up with trying to best capture the moment on camera because we believe that once we capture that moment, it will remain with us, the memory etched loud and clear in photographs. plus this whole need to have physical proof to show people that "look here, i was actually in this place, this time" kind of mentality.

when we get too kiasu in phototaking, we totally miss the point of coming to a place and experiencing its maximum value when we try to reduce it to a photo. photos can only capture what the lenses tell them to see. they cant reflect anything else if you dont have an emotional or sentimental attachment with the place to begin with.

ok, that being said, im such a serial photowhore you might think im being contradictory. you can take all the pictures you want of course, but sometimes slow down and smell the flowers for a bit while travelling. like how we take 5mins for our pre-meals food shot, one plate but several different perspectives and in different lighting, flash no flash.

remember, photos cannot tell you how those flowers smelt like.

AHAHAHHAA

2007-05-03T14:15:00.000+08:00

i love this breed of rabbits!
makes me laugh my head off everytime i see them :D
okay rabbit hearters, here's your therapy: http://lionheadrabbit.net/

and for those paper hearters,
i recommend http://printpattern.blogspot.com

haaaaaahhhh. so much eye-candy :D :D :D
i need to go do my eye-vision exercise now.

heartbreak

2007-05-02T12:21:00.000+08:00

it seems such a shame that things should end this way. months of toil and labor, maximum effort week in week out. all that time invested, the house of cards painstakingly built, to come crashing down just like that.

i'll always remember the moment. on a windswept pavillion overlooking elliot bay in seattle, washington. the fateful words, forever sealing our fate.

and thus, all good things must come to and end. just that in this case, for reasons beyond my ability to comprehend, they must end prematurely, and... with such pain and sorrow.

such pain, such sorrow.

such heartbreak.

response

2007-04-30T07:47:00.000+08:00

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."

so long, and thanks for all the fish

2007-04-28T03:35:00.000+08:00

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!

rule of 2350098209358

2007-04-28T02:38:00.000+08:00

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.

hngh

2007-04-27T01:22:00.000+08:00

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.

yeech

2007-04-26T15:31:00.000+08:00

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...

so this is the end

2007-04-25T17:35:00.000+08:00

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.

deja vu

2007-04-24T21:03:00.000+08:00

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.)

geeky and proud of it!

2007-04-24T13:19:00.000+08:00

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.

The Ballad of the Cornflake King

2007-04-24T08:01:00.000+08:00

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

environmentally friendly

2007-04-23T16:12:00.000+08:00

anya hindmarch should bring in these bags for us to use. i would proudly carry it to shop-n-save every wednesday and swear off ugly cheapo pink plastic bags with dragons chopped all over it.

got milk?

2007-04-23T01:22:00.000+08:00

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?

in a nutshell...

2007-04-22T22:31:00.000+08:00

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.

it's in our hands

2007-04-22T02:17:00.000+08:00

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.

countdown

2007-04-21T11:15:00.000+08:00

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.

the name game

2007-04-20T15:00:00.000+08:00

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.

math cereal

2007-04-20T14:52:00.000+08:00

as if math doesn't drive me loco enough already.

(Ed note: Contrary to popular belief, math IS delicious. yummy. I <3 math )

krispy kremes

2007-04-20T14:03:00.000+08:00

The healthiest part of a doughnut is the hole.

But to get to that hole, you have to eat through the rest of the doughnut.

Do not contemplate any longer.

Get your doughnut fix today!

a lunch tribute to mr. ko

2007-04-20T13:33:00.000+08:00

mr ko, mr ko,
chicken rice lover
ho ho ho
boneless, crispy, soy, fried
as long as it's chicken
he'll be satisfied!

Legal Procedure and the Law of Evidence in Egypt

2007-04-20T00:16:00.000+08:00

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.

Flyin'

2007-04-19T22:08:00.000+08:00

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

cruisin'

2007-04-19T14:40:00.000+08:00

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.

nelly-issues

2007-04-19T11:55:00.000+08:00

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.

Ever After

2007-04-19T11:01:00.000+08:00

"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*)

one question quiz

2007-04-19T02:34:00.000+08:00

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.

the return of the menage a trois

2007-04-19T02:14:00.000+08:00

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

of firsts

2007-04-18T14:02:00.000+08:00

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)

double take

2007-04-17T21:06:00.000+08:00

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!

quiz time

2007-04-17T20:15:00.000+08:00

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

2007-04-16T20:23:00.000+08:00

The Lord is my Shepherd

That's relationship!

I shall not want

That's supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures

That's rest!

He leadeth me beside still waters

That's refreshment!

He restoreth my soul

That's healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

That's guidance!

For His name's sake

That's purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

That's testing!

I will fear no evil

That's protection!

For Thou art with me

That's faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me

That's discipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies

That's hope!

Thou anointest my head with oil

That's consecration!

My cup runneth over

That's abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

That's blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

That's security!

For ever

That's eternity!

FOR THE RECORD:

2007-04-16T17:30:00.000+08:00

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.

im onna roll!

2007-04-16T17:07:00.000+08:00

my life is complete.

cookie monster cupcakes!

2007-04-16T17:00:00.000+08:00

for ell.

har har.

2007-04-16T16:41:00.000+08:00

A balanced diet is a chocolate in each hand.

a friendly reminder

2007-04-16T16:30:00.000+08:00

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

introducing, leia

2007-04-16T15:29:00.000+08:00

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.

primary school nostalgia

2007-04-16T15:24:00.000+08:00

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.

The Best Cake Ever

2007-04-16T11:51:00.000+08:00

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.

The REALLY big news

2007-04-16T01:40:00.000+08:00

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!)

huh!

2007-04-15T23:55:00.000+08:00

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?

if espn were sesame street...

2007-04-15T21:23:00.000+08:00

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.

GOOD GRIEF

2007-04-13T14:45:00.000+08:00

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.

a cheese primer

2007-04-13T11:29:00.000+08:00

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!

math that boggles my head

2007-04-13T01:22:00.000+08:00

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!

no.

2007-04-12T23:30:00.000+08:00

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

sucks to be me

2007-04-12T22:02:00.000+08:00

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?

note to self

2007-04-12T12:20:00.000+08:00

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.

"Dr. Sha, a Healer With a Modern Spin"

2007-04-11T13:29:00.000+08:00

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.

i miss exchange :(

2007-04-11T13:02:00.000+08:00

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.

helloooooooo liverpool

2007-04-11T04:36:00.000+08:00

:))))))))

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.

shevchen ko!

2007-04-11T03:54:00.001+08:00

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.

the ultimate embarrassment

2007-04-11T03:39:00.000+08:00

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

Life as we know it is ending.

calm

2007-04-11T02:43:00.000+08:00

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

2007-04-10T12:06:00.000+08:00

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.

because i have an open mind

2007-04-09T23:27:00.000+08:00

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.

5 pianos, 10 hands

2007-04-09T18:54:00.000+08:00

I. Am. Speechless.

Wow.

Je ne veux pas travailler

2007-04-09T16:15:00.000+08:00

Je ne veux pas travailler

MAIS

Je veux déjeuner!

Yong Pung How: Selected Speeches and Judgments

2007-04-09T14:37:00.000+08:00

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

int rand (void);

2007-04-09T14:28:00.000+08:00

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)

the big move

2007-04-08T20:27:00.000+08:00

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.

soccer

2007-04-08T00:21:00.000+08:00

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!

pasta (part i)

2007-04-07T17:03:00.000+08:00

[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.

chicken, dog, icecream, soccer

2007-04-07T16:50:00.000+08:00

[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.

Free Cone Day

2007-04-06T14:34:00.000+08:00

Ice cream on the house, anyone?

2007-04-05T11:18:00.001+08:00

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

the student who doesn't do anything

2007-04-04T23:37:00.001+08:00

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]

"ACS would be proud of you"

2007-04-04T11:12:00.000+08:00

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

Refrain du Gondolier

2007-04-03T09:11:00.000+08:00

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.