In Pictures: S'pore All Over Again

AT THE SCIENCE CENTRE...

ENTRANCE

Big Dino... It moves...

cool contraption...

no idea what this is

flashy tunnel
this is cool... u can interact with d fishes by moving yr hands over d screen

chicks hatching in d incubator

this is nice but dunno how 2 explain so....

i captured the explanation as well...haha

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CHINATOWN

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LAST NIGHT @ NIGHT SAFARI

i couldn't snap shots of d animals coz it was too dark...

that's all... =)

My Review: Singapore Part 2

Greetings... it's been quite a trip but nevertheless i'm glad to be back home.... i have had some feedback that my posts r too long... haha maybe i talk too much so i'll try to shorten things up but still make it work... (something like the essay's that Pn.Shanti want- short but packed)

ok, everytime i go down South something, surely something bad happens... last time it was eternal rain, now it's a rolled over crane... it's just my luck coz that long vehicle had to collapse & block THE ENTIRE expressway which i was magically supposed to pass by on my arrival night... so the bus had a 2 HOUR DELAY! i just stayed patient and slept through it.. when i reached my sister's place i was like a corspe...

OK, not looking back, the 2nd day was great... i went to the Science Centre at 11am....this place is amazingly fun.... seriously... nothing like our science centre... PPL, if u go 2 singapore, visit d science centre...Science is not just for nerds, in fact this place made it cool to explore science... i think smart ppl like tee jin & chor yeng will enjoy this experience coz there were things that i didn't understand...

At night, i went to the Esplanade Theatre (known locally as 'The Durian') to watch my 1st musical, "We Will Rock You"... it stars "Rockstar: INXS" finalist, MiG Ayesa.... this is a futuristic rock musical featuring 26 of Queen's legendary hits.... my sis & i loved it....just mind blowing... everyone was so in to it... and this is coming out of the mouth of someone who's not into Rock music....

the 3rd day.. erm went to Chinatown to walk around & buy souveniors... later went to Orchard Road for some shopping.... at night, went to the Night Safari.... wow, this place had LOTS of tourists... u must come here too if u do Singapore...i will not say more....

OK, so i've pretty much seen everything in S'pore in my 2 trips.... (the last time i went to Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa Island, Merlion Park...) next, i'll do a picture update....

byeeee.... =)

I Won!!!

hehe i know i shouldn't be online now... but i have to say it.... my team got 1st place in the bowling competition... even though i didn't know anyone from my team b4 this, but we had fun together... we played 2 games each, n for the 2nd game i got 117! not bad...

haha so i did get one of the hampers my sis wrapped...

oh but i'm so tired now... n i haven't pack my stuff...it's so frustrating coz i get exhausted so easily now... something is wrong with my fitness lately...

ok, reli gtg now....

bye =) =) =)

Bye Bye

ok, this is probably d last post until i come back from Singapore next Tuesday.... i wanna take this opportunity to thank everyone for your support and well wishes...

i will be taking a 4.30pm bus in Bangsar... will have to rush a bit but i can make it...

yesterday went to play squash and badminton with Jit Teng & Yu Xuan again.... i know i shouldn't be doing these things at this time, but i'm already trying to take it easy and i did not push myself too hard... after coming back from NS, i realised the biggest change in me is that i learn to treat myself better and not stress myself too much... when i look back at last year, i feel like there have been moments where i should not have over worked and put myself under so much pressure.... so now i know better..... i take more breaks, n relax more....as a result, i'm enjoying life so much more...

anyway, today i'm packing my stuff in the earlier half of the day and later in the evening i will be helping my sister out... she's organising this little bowling competition at Sunway Pyramid and n i'm taking part too just for fun... hehe right now she's wrapping the hampers n it looks funny.... but i have to admit it's not easy coz were not professionals.... btw i'm not too bad at bowling so i will take my chances n try to win back one of those junk food filled hampers...

ok, b4 i go, here's a nice song to say goodbye...

love to u'all.... goodbye!

50

50

/

50

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If ur wondering what this figure is... it's my score for the computer test(undang)!!! yes, u got that right buddy... a perfect fifty it is... i was shocked when the results came out at the end of the test coz i had doubts for a few questions... i just feel so blessed to have nailed this exam... i know, to some of u this means nothing, millions n millions of ppl have passed it... n i know i'm not the first and definitely not the last to achieve this score...

but heck, this result has it's significance in my books... i reli needed this to boost my self esteem... after being worried about this whole deal for some time.... IS stupid... but the results r evident... College watch out!!! i know Undang test n College exams r worlds apart but at least i know i still have what it takes to do memory work.... my study techniques have not failed me...n i think i have a little bit of photographic memory too...

hehe n u know what, perhaps i will have a little victory celebration to make myself feel good.... but as i type this post i'm suffering from stomach pain that is pretty intensed... dunno why... haven't been fit lately....it's a miracle that i survived this exam becoz i slept so poorly last night... was shivering all night n then had to wake up in the middle of the night to eat panadol.... n later get attacked by mosquitoes.... n so my health battles continues.... hey, i may not feel good but i'm still proud of my achievement today...

Future Happenings

good day, i'm so glad that i've a lot going on for me lately, and it's all coming at the right time! i don't think i can stay in this holidaying mood for too long becoz it makes me feel wasted, like i'm some kind of a useless pig that lies around and waits for food to come along... (no offense to pigs around the world, i respect u' all for being true to yourselves)

***

tomorrow i will be taking my Computer test (Undang).... i know, i know, it's alredi so late in the year n i have myself to blame for not taking an earlier initiative... n if i pass (fingers crossed) i will continue with the 6 hour course immediately to not waste any more time...

***

this Saturady (26/4) i will be going back to CHS (again...) to meet up with some friends n also becoz i have been invited to be one of the judges for the inter uniform society marching competition... i would like to thank the organisers for having me in advance, n it really is my pleasure to attend...

***

later in the day i will have to rush a bit coz i have to catch a 4.30pm bus to Singapore... yes i will be going there for a second visit in as many months! wow, i'm excited to visit my sister again n i hope this time the weather will be more co-operative.... the last time i went there, i witnessed Singapore history for most number of hours of continuous rainfall in a day for a very long time... needless to say, a lot of my plans were 'washed away' by the rain.... Singapore is beautiful n modern, n i would say the ppl there r hip n the atmosphere's just ultra cool... i really look forward to this trip...

***

oh, n lately i have been inspired to do another project, related to music and family.... i have a rough idea of how i want things to be, with fancy art work n a strong plot... n again i'm just so worked up about this whole plan... if all turns out well, it will be remarkable...

so that's all for now, see you soon...

Back 2 CHS + Gathering

hey... yesterday i went back 2 school for the Majlis Anugerah Cemerlang.. woke up at a record breaking time.... haven't had to get out of bed this early since my NS days... ok, things started late... the teachers in charge for registration was LATE.... but thankfully the whole ceremony went quite quickly... faster than what i expected... spoke to teachers for a while... Miss Lum is retiring next month....didn't stay long coz our class went to Mid Valley to celebrate Wooi Joe's B-day...

Did lunch at Sushi King, n we had cake there... a nice chocolate cheese cake fr Secret Recipe... then we watched a movie, The Forbidden Kingdom.... it was ok, not bad but i just feel that they aren't any great movies nowadays... haven't seen one in a while.... the plot of most of the shows i watched lately have been too simple n predictable (equals boring).... believe it or not, the only previous show that i watched in a cinema that i really liked was Ratatouille.... (i had to look up the spelling...)

ok, then some of us went for a drink and we talked for a while then decided to leave.... Jit Teng was so nice.... He sent so many of us home.... first he sent Yi Ping back b4 the movie n came back to join us... then in the evening, he sent Suat Wei home in Cheras, and drove all the way back to P.J. to send Ying Yang & me home... n it was raining quite heavily at that time.... he stays at the other side of P.J. so i feel the need 2 mention this n express my thankfulness....

it was a nice day out... had a wonderful dinner with my sis at The Curve too...

here r some pics of the day...

April Kids

this is the cake.... before

Cut it up!!!

SEVERAL MINUTES LATER...

.................

.........

...

...AND this is the cake After...
we literally ate the cake by digging chopsticks into it...

everyone had fun

=)

till next time...

I Love This!!!

hey check out this video... it's Kylie in rehearsal for her upcoming KYLIEX2008 European tour...

this is an acoustic version of "All I See", the song which was released in the U.S. as a single... =)

Enjoy!

Workout + Good Food

As i type this my body is aching all over... i was fine last night but this morning when i woke up it was like Whoa!.... nothing serious though... just muscle sores that need to be rested..

let me tell u what i did...

ok, hmm.... jit teng came to pick me up at about 11.15am and we went to Yu Xuan's place at Ken 2... d original plan was to play squash... so that was what we did for about an hour or so... Yu Xuan is pretty good at squash.... he totally 'squashed' jit teng and me... i have to admit squash is not my game... i was in awkward positions much of the time and even my speediness in tennis could not help me reach the ball in time and hitting the ball hard only makes it difficult for yourself... haih... it's crazy coz the ball bounces to all the weirdest places and when it hits the sides i just can't seem to retrieve it... after that yu xuan and jit teng went swimming while i decided to chill by the pool... i took some pics but due to request, i could not take photos of the 2 swimmers...

the pool area is so nice n it has a modern feel to it...the water was so clean & clear...

this is the nice little spot i sat at while they swam

they were enjoying themselves at the jacuzzi

*(note that all these pictures were taken with my HP n they were not edited.... clear shots right? hehe)

ok, then we decided to go play badminton at Taman Megah so we called Zhi Shan to join us... before that the 3 of us went for lunch at LaManila... then it started to rain HEAVILY.... just my luck... we ran into the car getting wet... and got more wet when we ran from the car to the badminton place...

we warmed up sufficiently coz the weather was cold it's easy to get muscle cramps... wow we had a good game...we played doubles where i partnered zhi shan against yu xuan n jit teng... hehe we won all the matches... there were some very funny moments... but i thought i played well...i do what i do best- hitting the shuttle as hard as i can and as deep as i can like hitting a tennis ball... that secured me a number of points... but at the same time jit teng and yu xuan were trying to exploit my greatest weakness in badminton (i will not mention to protect myself) which is pretty darn obvious... but i tried my hardest to improve on that part of my badminton game... oh i also played singles against zhi shan n yu xuan... beat yu xuan but lost to zhi shan (it was close)... i really enjoy playing with other ppl coz u experience a different type of play with a different player...for every player there is a different tactic to use against... it's all for the better of improving my own game...

yay, after playing for well over two hours, we went back to yu xuan's place... we waited for him to finish his in house guitar lesson then we went to SS2 to MAKAN!!! i believe that after working so hard in a day u really should reward yourself... we went to KTZ to eat tong sui... i had Mango Loh... yum yum... and coz it's Monday there was pasar malam too... we bought lots of food and ate as we walked...

i reached home about 9pm and i was tired so i didn't blog yesterday... i didn't feel any pain yesterday but i kind of expected it to hurt today... hehe but i look forward to our next game... most likely this Thursday... i really need to do these things more... so that i don't feel like a pig n live a boring, meaningless life... must cherish times like this more coz when school starts all of us will be busy again.... =)

Something Worth Reading

to all that aspire to become a front runner in the field of sports that they participate in, i'm sure u know that the mental aspect of your game is just as important as the technical and tactical aspects. i've stumbled upon an article about improving your mental game which is quite good on tennis.com... this article is not just for tennis, in fact i think in any game mental strength is what determines the victor... so go check it out:

http://www.tennis.com/yourgame/sportsscience/sportsscience.aspx?id=882

there are lots more quality articles under the sports psych/science category... i really like this website.... it is actually the official website for "Tennis Magazine"... not only does it update u on the latest scores for tennis tournaments worldwide, it has a lot of articles suitable for players of all levels to read and improve their games... also, they provide reviews for tennis gear which is quite professional...

NS???

ok, so ppl have been asking me to blog about my NS experience, which i promise i would about a month ago... i dunno why but i seem to be making excuses to myself to not do it... i guess it's just laziness.... oh no, nowadays i'm so slow n unproductive i feel like a pig...(oink oink)

ok, ok, better not delay things even more... don't worry... i kept a diary throughout the whole experience so i can recall everything in a matter of minutes...

wow, there has been some sweet n erm not so sweet times there... let me break out some facts to u first....

1. my camp was Kem Latihan Etnobotani, Gua Musang which is situated in the town of Gua Musang, Kelantan... the town is small, i mean SMALL...

2. I was in Group B(there r 4 groups), better known as 'Batalion'.... I was in Dorm B02, there r a total of 14 dorms for guys... each dorm has about 8-14 ppl, mine was only 10 so it was comfortable n not over crowded... i like my dorm mates coz they're all peaceful n friendly...

3. the more interesting activities in NS were flying fox, repelling, rafting n kayaking competition, obstacle course competition, marching competition, and of course how can i not mention the shooting part... i got to handle a real M16 rifle, and it was amazing...

4. the main sports in my camp (for riadah n competition) are volleyball and sepak takraw.... needless to say, i suck at both... (how come there's no tennis or badminton?) oh wait, i did play badminton on weekends with my friends Hong, Leong & Adrian... Hong brought his rackets over after the CNY holidays...

5. the guys dorm is on a hill, seriously... so everyday we have to climb up and down just to get from our rooms to the common area... n the long slope circling the hill is steep... initially it was dreadful to go up n down...

6. the food was very very normal... i don't say BAD becoz it's still edible... but some trainees didn't quite accepted it though.... they resorted to instant noodles... personally i'm not a fan of 'mee segera' so i have to eat what the kitchen makes... we have meat every meal... either chicken or fish... but i prefer the chicken (usually fried or curry or some other version of it) to the fish coz the fishes r very boney.... not appetising at all... n they don't seem to serve much vege... it's always ikan bilis or eggs....i guess my taste buds were numb alredi... it wasn't until i got home n tasted REAL food that i realised the difference...

7.In every camp there is a Koperasi that caters to the trainees' endless needs... from instant noodles to all kinds of junk food... u name it, they got it... mostly unhealthy snacks though... those 3 months i had so much junk food i think it is even more than i've ever taken in my life... becoz once a week i have picnics with my gang of close friends... we do it at night n we sit in the open and stare at the stars (lots of stars in kelantan sky) while we chat about things back home.... those were good times.. i still keep in touch with them...

8. in my camp there is a burger store that opens at night, but of course these things u have to pay on your own... even though the canteen feeds us sufficiently, a lot of ppl still like to buy themselves good food... i heard that some camps even got mamak.... how fortunate...

9. Character Building (C.B.) module was fun in my opinion, though quite a number of trainees sleep through it... it all depends on the trainer... if u get a good one, the class is fun... the structure of this programme is well crafted i feel... i did learn some useful things... oh, one of them is juggling... but i'm not good at it...

10. the Chinese population in the camp is small, about 60+ out of the 350+ total.... so it's a huge contrast to what i'm used to... a bit of a culture shock at first... but i slowly adapted to the NS way of life....

11. the thing i hated most is washing clothes.... it is the most tiring chore... hence a lot of ppl don't wash often... haha that includes me... also, another thing that i hate is the behaviour of some trainees.... there's nothing wrong with the trainers (we adress them as Cikgu)... they're all so nice to us... one friend even said that one of the cikgu was like a father to him... BUT some of our fellow trainees.... i tell u i almost exploded with the annoying things they did to my friends n i... but i stayed patient... my mantra was "three months only... three months only... this is not permanent... so just tahan..."


overall, NS was an eye opening experience for me... it introduced to me the real world (Malaysia)... i met so many different types of ppl there... n my group of close friends... even though we r completely different characters... n i believe we won't even be friends under normal circumstances... but in NS, we just clicked instantly... when ur with someone 24 hours a day u tend to know them reli well.... u see their living habits... u chat to them about so many things... we withstand the best n worst of each other in those 3 months... this is priceless... Making friends is the BEST part of NS... so if u ask whether i enjoyed the whole experience, i would say "yes!"... =)

if u want to know about anything NS related that i failed to mention... just drop me a message...

update > friday

yesterday was a fun day...

i had a good game of tennis in the evening with my sister n Gerard... my previous few outings haven't been so successful... i have to say sometimes god is not supportive... the last few games have either been interrupted by rainfall or simply there aren't any empty courts available... i guess the weather has not been conducive for sports lately so everyone wants to go play when the conditions are decent... i finally found a range yesterday after missing the mark so many times recently... tennis is a frustrating game... i don't know why i love it so much... sometimes i wished i had my own tennis court, n it must be indoors... then i can practice everyday come rain come shine n actually stay consistent for a change...

yesterday i played quite well, it's been such a long time since i can actually hit good shots that are deep n just within the baseline and sidelines... just where i like them the most... even though the ball is still considered 'in' as long as it touches the line when it bounces, but i don't like to take the risk... keeping them within the lines will eliminate any chance for opponents to argue with me whether the shot was 'in' or 'out'... that is my philosophy..

ok, sorry if ur not into tennis... that was probably meaningless to u but i have to say it coz it's a big part of me... anyway my day didn't end there... i had lots of fun at night... yesterday was one of the nights where i went for a supper marathon with Alvin and my sister... if ur wondering what that is, let me tell u in detail...

we made a total of three stops:

Destination #1 -9.45PM
We went to EuroDeli in Damansara Kim becoz Alvin said the sausages were good... my sisters have been there before and this is apparently d place to eat MEAT... seriously they have a lot of good meat dishes to choose from...we ordered one plate of sausages with potato salad, coleslaw and some other weird German vege dish i think... we didn't fill ourselves to the top becoz...

Destination #2 -10.30PM
We flew straight to our next stop, which is 'Alexis' in Bangsar... there were lots of ppl around coz that area is like a clubbing spot... but Alexis was a place we knew that served excellent Sarawak Laksa... emmm...... which is exactly what we ordered...oh, and a walnut cake with ice cream too... we only ordered one laksa coz hehe we were quite full alredi.... after all this is supper, not dinner.. wow, i have to say their laksa is reli reli good.... i'm not bragging, go try it... the texture is just so so fine...

Destination #3 -11.30PM
finally we made our last stop at a familiar restaurant, McD!!! we walked from Alexis to McDonalds which was just nearby.... we were quite full alredi so we just settled for fries and chocolate sundaes.... emm emm...... what a nite..

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hehehe for those of u who think i can't eat much think again... i may look thin, ooh wait i am thin, so ppl tend to think i starve myself... but the truth is, i just don't get fat no matter how much i eat...(wow, i bet a lot of ppl r cursing me now)... haha sometimes i wonder if there's something wrong with my system... oh well, i might as well embrace this gift...

so there u have it, 2 of my favourite things in 1 day... tennis and food... I will always rank food before tennis though, becoz dining is a pleasure that really requires not much effort, anyone can enjoy food...just open your mouth and chew... but tennis is a struggle.... u have to work so hard just to see some results.... not to mention the amount of sweat and physical pain it causes me... but don't get me wrong... the sense of achievement in tennis is much greater than a satisfied stomach... =)

A Very Funny Video With A Serious Message

this video was played when i went for my KPP course... this was totally unexpected, becoz the whole thing was so boring and the speaker looked like a serious man... anyway, i laughed like crazy watching certain scenes but strangely everyone else were quite silent... just some occasional giggling... guess they have a poor sense of humour or just a slow processing brain... enjoy =)

A humorous animation on traffic by Bruno Bozzetto

thank u

thank you zi yang so much for teaching me how to put music on this blog...
ur just like my Blog Guru helping me with so many things...

u rock! =)

My Studying Tips

In response to my previous entry, i realised there are positives to this entire thing. for one, at least i'm doing this series of learning and tests in my holidays so i have lots of time to prepare.... n when it comes to studying that KPP book, it made me remember some of my studying techniques which i can apply and i will gladly share them with you:

1. Grab a pencil (follow the stick)
Or a pen or a satay stick if you must... the idea is to simply drag the pencil across each line as u scan through it... i noticed that my eyes tend to get "lost" and wonder to other places if i just look at the words... or i will sometimes read the same line many many times.... so i find it effective to use a guiding pencil so that i stay focused on the contents... another useful thing i do is sometimes i read the words out loud, kind of like telling yourself the contents... it goes into the memory much better like this...

2. Circle it up (it's fun!)
simply circle the important word in each line(s) or paragraph that you read... but u want to avoid circling too much words or phrases as this defeats the whole purpose of minimizing it all.... the objective is simple.... u understand the content so much better as u search for the MAIN point... also when i revise the contents in the future, i just need to see that one word n i will know what that paragraph is about, n i immediately move on to something else... this is suitable for last minute express studying for last minute goers like myself hehe... oh, but this method is not for you if u only plan to read that topic once... no point dirtying the book with your imperfectly circled circles...

3. Just read it (ala Nike style)
i don't believe in doing exercises.. sorry... this is probably becoz i'm lazy but i really do not think that finishing a million workbooks will make u any better... sometimes it can even be confusing becoz of the lousy questions... i believe in just sole studying, reading the book is enough for me to nail the exam... this is my way.... n speaking of self studying i'm also against attending tuition... seriously it's a waste of money!... i mean, all u need to do is to pay attention in class n buy your own revision books n use them as references... ur good to go... some may beg to differ but this is just my opinion so no offense yeah.. (esp. tuition teachers)

4. Shake things up (not your butt)
this is my favourite line... i love to shake things up becoz i get bored easily so i like to mix things up in life.... what i do is i alternate between subjects when i study... i don't finish one subject before i move on to the next... this helps me to get through the not so exciting topics... everything in moderation mah...

5. Keep on swinging (use your own momentum)
this is easy... everybody knows it's hard to get started when u study... initially it is super easy to be distracted, so once u r into it, like maybe 10-15 pages, DON'T STOP! keep on going.... but of course don't push yourself too hard until u go coocoo...

6. Four walls (no distractions)
never study in front of a TV or your computer or with a group of people who r not studying... don't lie to yourself... if u want to study be serious about it.... for people like me who have absolutely poor (i actually mean NO) self control, u cannot give yourself the chance to be distracted... i know, it's easier said than done but we have got to try...as for music, i think it's ok but not too loud, coz i realised i also cannot study in absolute silence... it's creepy...

7. Chop it up (like a butcher)
no, this doesn't involve knifes so don't worry... there is also no cutting up or burning of the book (even if i really wanted to).... this is by far the most effective method...ok, i will take the example of me reading the KPP book.... i flip to the content page n realised i have 130 pages to swallow.. ok, so instead of going shit, 130 pages, and then 1 down 129 to go..... i split it up into 3 studying days... so i will read 50 on the first, 40 on day 2 and finally the remaining 40 on the last day... this is like a psychological thing, i mean would u prefer 50+40+40 or just 130??? it seems easier to complete when u break it down... also, when u set a mental target, u tend to finish it day by day... it's like, "ok, 50 only mar, i can do it... if i don't, tomorrow i will suffer." this of course requires discipline, but don't we all have it in ourselves? u just need to dig deep... this method is good for people like me who are obsessive and highly precise when it comes to being organised and specific with numbers....


So, i hope that was useful even a little bit at least, but be warned... should any of these techniques backfire or cause u any physical or mental damage, i will not be held responsible as you choose to follow it at your own risk.... muahahahahahahahahahaha.... =)

Ohh The Stress

i can't believe that i'm stressed out about getting my driving license... i know so many people have done it and heck i'm probably just as good as the next person that comes by but just the thought of all the tests drives me nuts...

i just attended the 5 hour KPP talk on Undang last Sunday and things couldn't have gone any worse... it was boring and i almost died in that room... another hour or so and i would have started attacking people in the room.... i guess it's just due to the fact that i haven't been needed to sit down and pay attention for such a long time... i mean i haven't been in any kind of class or took any form of exam in a while so it really makes me wonder whether i can cope with my studies when i enter college later this year..........

now i'm stuck with the orange KPP book and i will most likely take the exam this coming Saturday... n i just can't seem to concentrate on reading the book... i swear there were times when i read the same sentence 10 times before i throw the book n go do something else... i'm officially diagnosed with "extended holiday laziness syndrom"....

Cheers!

It is officially the month of April....

wow, time passes so fast, before u know it i have been back for half a month... haven't done much though... it seems i'm getting lazier by the day...

anyway here's another great memorable Kylie performance.... she sings this just as it hits midnight on new year's eve to welcome 2008...