the lastsplash

Yeah!!!* (do a Stresemann imitation) ... Finally killed off the exam! It was the last nail on the board, keeping me from enjoying my break since end of hell-month. Of course there is still the ICT (aka Reservist for those not in tune with military term), but it'll end tomorrow anyway! Double Horray! After the morning paper I had lunch at Lau Pa Sa with my dear and Theresa. The last we had lunch together was the end of one paper last semester. Time flies. Since it was a good six hours before my dinner appointment, I had chance to go Christmas shopping and get a feel of ' oh-so-free-nothing-to-do '. I started out with some meaningful activities like reading the newspaper throughly at the Esplanade library, and finishing a book. Then I made the mistake of leaving the library... Everything seemed so 'you-must-buy-me-for-someone'. Perhaps it was the Christmas bug - the spirit of giving. I discovered some fantastic shops at Raffles City Shopping Mall basement. There wer...

I was really excited about this exhibition. Finally, the works of the legendary pop artist in Singapore. First learnt about Andy Warhol only at about ten years ago, and his works I saw were only in books and websites. So, twenty years after his death, we can finally get to see the real thing. Below are the only three pictures I took, photography was strictly not allowed. Tho' I saw some people snapping away with their hand phones, and one using her SLR (perhaps she was the official photographer??). But generally there were many CCTV cameras all over the place (could be almost the same as the number of works on display), so I did not attempt to embarrass myself. Ah yes, I went along with my good friend XTT-KC. This was the closest I got of photographing the exhibition. I think students should all pose at the entrance, there were lotsa 'A's for grabs! I needed a few myself for my remaining semester. Okay, I know, cold joke. Brrrr.. Incidentally, XTT-KC wanted at least two A...

I bought a BURSJÖN storage stool from IKEA for office use this afternoon. Perhaps you may think that it is an alarming signal of growing attachment to the company, I'm doomed to be stuck there forever! Well, the fact is I see my $19 investment as a way to get more real estate on my desk. I like to have more empty space. By keeping the files and papers in the storage box, I have a clean and neat desk which makes working more enjoyable. It isn't exactly expensive and it serves as a stool as well for colleagues at my desk for discussion. And i love the idea of customizing my work space. I will thrive in companies like Ideo where you get to hang bikes on the ceiling and an plane's cockpit sticks out of the wall! At least one person doesn't see eye to eye with me and made it loud and clear. He exclaimed that some have big fat bonus and there's a need to feedback to boss bout company's poor infrastructure that staff must buy their own furniture. Well, to consider my...

What better way to spend your time on the commute than to my term paper! And I did at least 30% of my term paper while traveling in the train. Finally, my laptop sat firmly where its name suggested it should be, on my lap (okay, on my bag which was on my lap). =p

It feels so good to watch a great movie. I have not done any movie review for ages. Actually, it is quite a while since I watched a movie. Into the world of love and magic. The book is only a short novel, the movie ain't no epic either. But it certainly did the book justice! You can almost feel love flowing in you when Claire Danes glows. God! She IS still so beautiful!!! Remember R&J? It's pretty cool to see Robert De Niro getting in touch with his feminine self! And get a glimpse of how Michelle Pfeiffer will look like if she lives a few hundred years old. It is a wonderful story by Gaiman, who is so good at crafting the stories where pieces fall nicely together and the ending delights you. Stardust was the second Neil Gaiman book I read. With the perfect plot of many little messages which Gaiman wanted to put across, throw in the special effects and fantastic soundtrack, my imaginations came alive! Add it to the list of classic fantasy movie. But somehow, I feel that abo...

We are continuing the Commuter-Series from long time ago. Thanks to some experiences I had on the bus. Now that I am no longer that tired and start noticing the environment, my urge to complain and blog came back. Sitting at the back row of the bus, three commuters really irritated me. Irritant #1 : He was playing techno music so loudly on his phone. This DJ-Wannabe boy probably just wanted to share his lousy music with the rest of the world. Imagine loud, high pitched, fast tempo noise ? Yes you get the picture... What I wanted to do? : Snatch his phone and throw it on the ground. If it doesn't break, I will pick it up and throw till it breaks. Irritant #2 : He was enjoying his wonderful Mc-Chicken meal in the bus. Using his wonderful skills, he managed his burger with one hand and chili sauce on the other (he squeezed some sauce onto his burger). I think next time he should also try having steak or chili crab in the bus. If not, a bowl of laksa would be good too. What I wanted...

The long journey of the short chapter in the project has finally come to an end. Three months may seem like a very short period to develop a prototype product, but it is definitely a gruesome ordeal for all of us. In knowledge management, there is an emphasis on the lessons learned. So I guess this will serve as some kind of AAR (after action review) for me. To me, this project has another meaning to it. To stand in for my PM who departed for his studies, it was about daily fire-fighting and earning the respect. You don't really have a choice to back down, when the project seemed to be doom right from the start. A few of my teammates joked that I could write a thesis or case study on how a project can fail. And it would be really really thick. We were working against a ridiculous deadline with changing requirements. And it was not helpful to hear some superior telling me that we were taking high risk and should admit we were unable to deliver. But who were we to admit so? We could ...

Has anyone seen the few black woks and knives on my back, my battered and bruised face, and the bullet holes on my chest, lately? Seems like it may not pay to do your best to make the impossible happen. Some may just want to remain focus on failure and wish for your failure to make their point. Oh please, help us to make it happen. Let the shits stop here.

I attended a couple of lectures by Dr Charles Lee in the Creativity and Innovation classes a few weeks ago. After discussing with my girlfriend today about what he said, I am more convinced now and I want to share it with you. Hopefully, it will benefit more people. Essentially his lecture was not only about being innovative, but really, it was the secret to being successful. Dr Lee described that there are two types of people, the River-people , and the Goal-people . Example of River-people are those who lead a carefree life and doing mostly what they feel like, eg. his elder son who is a successful artist in NY. While, Goal-people target at achieving certain things in life, eg. himself, a venture capitalist. He said that happiness is in the process of pursuing the goals. Thus, the importance of having goals and plans, in particular, the Plan for Life . Before we start to pursue our goals, we need health. In order to stay healthy, we should exercise regularly. This means exercise at...

It is something similar to Friendster, yet it is not Friendster. I guess one similarity is that both of them are social networking website. However, Facebook has much more to offer. If you are thinking its another Hi5 or mySpace, not quite. It has clean user interface and is highly configurable with many 3rd applications add-ons for your profile. And these applications are really creative ways for you to interact with your friends on the site, besides usual viewing of personal information, photos, etc. I was one of the reluctant folks who refused to sign up, till I met a long lost friend who asked if I have an account on Facebook. Curiosity got the better of me and now I am having lotsa fun. =) The thing I like most about Facebook is the photo application. There is this need Java applet with thumbnails that let you upload your photos by folder. You can further select photos you want in the folder itself. But you can only upload at most 60 photos in an album, at a time, which will tak...

Often I find myself in the situation that I need to explain myself. Example, for things I do wrong or when I am at the wrong end of unfair judgments and comments. Basically I have a strong sense to articulate and defend myself. I would say it stems from my character. I dislike being misunderstood, undermined or accused. It can be in the form of email, SMS, IM, face to face, or whatever means it takes. I bet many of my friends are tired of my lengthy explanations. =p Okay don't tell me. I know lah ... Sometimes it is good to do so. In the process, I inject some humour along the way, defuse any unhappiness, let both parties understand each other better. Sometimes it is not so good. Especially if it is perceived as a small matter by others. I may come across to the other party as too strong, or even petty. The fact is most people are not perfect communicators. We say things we don't mean it. We do things others don't comprehend. It may just make better sense to let it rest tha...

or moodswings? bread crumbs... Grrr... "...behind by 44 points! " Hahaha... "Impressed? So proud of me?" Heeee... "You are welcome!" Hmmmm... "I am individualistic and I think I am important..." Mmmmm... "You are not just anyone, but an idiot?" Sigh.... "No Bak Zang for me tomorrow..."

I was inspired by my friend (the one who constantly remind me to shut down my machines after office hours) to do my part for the environment, and start recycling. She told me that on NEA website there is a Recycle Map which lists out the recycle bins such as this (picture from NEA website) around the island. So all I have to do was to find out which is nearest to my house, start dividing my waste into paper, drink cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles, then dispose them accordingly. Although it is an extra step, I think it should be worthwhile. A quick run through the list, I realised there is only one recycle bin in the whole of my neighbourhood! Other neighbourhoods have plenty. Perhaps this may be a reason which deters people from recycling. Tho' they are making some effort to encourage people to recycle, they ain't facilitating it all the way. This inconvenience is actually deterring people from bring their waste to recycle. While I was in Goteborg recently, not only th...

I couldn't believe it. With my back facing incoming traffic, I raised my hand to point across the road and accidentally flagged down a cab. I never imagine I would be so unwilling to flag down a cab. Down the road there were many people waiting for cab, and I was supposed to be walking to another road to avoid the crowd. So the dilemma was either to piss off the driver or the rest waiting for cab. Of cuz I would have to choose piss off the rest. Either case somebody would be pissed by me, might as well choose the option which I would benefit more. Anyway I do feel bad, but I am really innocent and it is totally against my principles to cut queue, so please forgive me. =p FYI, the driver was quite rude and reckless. I guess that is karma. =)

BMA modules cost an additional $600, does taking IE modules entitle us to some refund? So much for promising a balanced Business and Engineering course to justify for the higher course fee. I know some folks are trying hard to resolve these problems. But once again, the course prescribed modules are over subscribed. De javu ?

It is always easier to feature the elites, the outstanding, the winners, the scholars, the medalists, the success stories, and the minority, than those of many others, who too, walked through the gates, and graduated with their heads held high as well. If these are considered as sweet dreams, what about yours and mine? @NTU July 2007, Issue 66.

Country: Sweden Time: 24 Jul 2007 - 27 Jul 2007 and 06 Aug 2007 - 08 Aug 2007 Places visited: Konstmuseet (Museum of Art), Röhsska Museet (Swedish Design Museum), Trädgårdsföreningen (Horticulture Gardens), Paddan Boat Tour (along canal and to harbour), Göteborgs Stadsmuseum , Vasa Church, Christinae Church, Styrsö, Central Station, Nordstan. It was nothing like summer. A slight drizzle greeted us at Göteborg Landvetter Airport . We had our first taste of the expensive transport in Europe. The short 15 min drive from the airport to my girlfriend's apartment near Avenyn cost us 500 SEK (about S$113). Our cab whizzed past the trucks on the highway at around 130km/hr. I thought I saw the the speed limit sign said 80. Hmmm . Well the conclusion is that when in Europe, try not to take cab unless it is absolutely necessary, eg. in our case when we need to get to airport. In most cities, there are train or metro stations at the airports. We had our first meals in a Japanese restaura...