the lastsplash

Winter comes for a season to purge your soul with the change of the seasons I spin out of control Where can I find you when you're not even there no where to find you Innocent eyes are blinded when the candle dies Put your arms around him there'll be no sleep tonight How can I help you when you're so far away no way to help you should I pray Don't cry, wipe the tears from your eyes don't cry, sleep with the souls tonight There's no where to run, no where to hide fear is a monster, no end in sight no screaming, silent screaming tonight close your eyes, dream tonight, close your eyes and pray. - Naked/Skin Deep

I wonder what's the big gap between his legs for. My advice is, don't open your legs too wide when you sit in the train. The commuter beside you will certainly feel quite uncomfortable (I'm very sure of that). And, shaking them only makes it worse. =P

No, make it twenty. He was standing. Me, sitting. He held his newspapers, parallel to the floor, ten centimetres away from my face. What a way to read his interesting Digital Life in a crowded train! It struck fear in me - fear of getting paper cuts in my face. lol. I know thats abit exaggerating and ridiculous. But really, it kinda irks me. I think I'm just petty. hah hah. Am I branded the Complain-King behind my back? heh heh.

" Remember, you are not the only compatible woman in his life. Not until you change and compromise along the way can you become his most compatible. You were chosen and married to him only because you met him earlier. Only benevolence and magnanimity will allow you to keep your man to your last days. " The words of a woman whose husband betrayed her. I agree with Mrs Lam, who wrote to Today in response to the letter, "Stay away from my husband, you hear!" (Aug 19). The chosen one. Don't all lovers deeply in love think that he/she is the one of their life? But what happens when he/she leaves us? Is that the end? Wasn't he/she the one? The only one? Will we never find love? I believe in a lifetime, there are countless people who will cross our path. A few of them will be those who we are more comfortable with, who we feel are special, and make us feel special. And when both hand comes together, they clap. Perhaps that special feeling is known as Love to many. ...

Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars. And then, there are the Men from Mars AND Venus - SNAG (no lah , the Taurus Men). The SNAG. Guys determined to be gal's best friend by keeping in touch with his sensitive side. Unfortunately, there is always two sides to a coin. Where is the thin line between "being sensitive to his feelings" and "being over sensitive"? Ironic. I don't think there is an easy way to identify this line. Perhaps, the key is in understanding women, but not becoming one emotiontionally. Cuz most men have a big flaw, their big gap (not exactly a gift). It is a disasterous combination. Throw in the modern day virtual communication tools, the sms, instant messengers, emails, that is the recipe for the deadly mix. It does not take a rocket scientist to discover that SNAGs are fast becoming less popular among women. The product of such mix is man with moodswing. Let me tell you, moodswings are killers of lives. Sometimes bringing everything ...

The familiar of cabaury chocolate struck my nose when I stepped out of the train cabin. I was back at Boon Lay and the chocolate factory was opened today. Not too long ago, I was doing this every Sunday night. The bus ride was like a stroll through memory lane (I know it sounds so cliche right?). I saw my old rooms, people wearing berms n slippers walking around campus (probably just got back from dinner), hardworking students waiting for their bus home only after the moon was high up in the sky. And when I reached my destination, the smell of hall, or was it the smell of hall life? Probably it was a mix of both. I was back in NTU tonight to celebrate the birthday of a very good good friend who I have not seen in months. In the presence of the familiar yellow cupboards, wooden desks, ceiling fans and lights, we sang the birthday song and cut the cake. It was an advanced celebration for the birthday girl, I think it was her first this year! The actual day is next Wednesday. Maybe she...

She woke up at 7am to prepare. After several hours of entangling with the sticky rice, and the other ingredients, and four hours late, Viola! It was done! 爱心 Sushi from my girlfriend! Yeah, I am touched she woke up so early and spent so much time preparing. And my expression after the first bite? Imagine scenes from the Japan Hour show.... ooooooohhhhhh.....OYISHIIIIIIII.... suuuuuugoooih! lol. Still got room for improvement, but still its the effort and thoughts that make the sushi so tasty! YUM YUM! I'll go polish up my pasta-cooking skills when I'm free, perhaps learn to make lagsana as well? I think I'm so lucky to have a woman cooking for me, no matter if its just sandwiches, sushi, 3-course meals, or even delicacies! That includes cooking from my dearest mummy as well! Nothing beats the home-cooked food! Thanks!

Sometimes its nice to be subtle, to imply, to hint. With bits a pieces of information, which all seem nonsensical, but when you gather them together, you see the real picture. Sometimes, it is just not so nice at all. And in one extreme case, you'll be devastated, losing that lil' bit of dignity, adding a few hours of unhappiness into your life. Probably cuz, we all assume too much. I assume, he assume, she assume. Assuming that they'll get your hint, assuming the big picture before its all complete. As I reflect, I realise that, some people you have to be straight forward. Tell them clearly what you are driving at. While others, you should give subtle hints, leaving a path for the perfect exit... Don't ask me what happened or whats wrong. I hope to regain some ego, dignity and composure, forget bout it all, soon. An apology might help? *hint hint???* ... p.s. whats the big deal bout fireworks without the right place, moment, and company?

I am not dispensing an advice, neither am I bullshiting out a big theory. I am blogging this down here for myself. Thinking thru' it, making myself feel better as I type... I'm not sure whether talking about things/problems is always the right thing to do. I mean when you talk about it, things get clearer, problems are magnified. At the same time, emotions are also stirred up and reinforced. And that makes me quite unhappy. But the fact is, sometimes problems stay there when you don't do anything about it. After a period, you might think why do I have to remind myself about it again? But hey, the problem will continue to haunt you in some way until the day you take those skeletons out of your closet. So it might be good to just talk it out early. In life, most of the time, others are unable to solve the problems for us, they may try to console us, try to think of solutions, and even give you the so-call model answers. But we should feel the warmth, they care, they bother, t...

Inspired by my morning encounters on the train, I've decided to become a week-day blogger again. Unfortunately, things take a down turn the past few days and when I have time to start to blog, there is just thirty minutes of week-day left. Oh well, before I blog about the encounters, let me note down about the "terrible Friday". I was awaken by the buzz of my handphone this morning, but I was thankful that it woke me up cuz the sun was shining brightly into my room. It was already 7.25am (normally I would be standing at the MRT platform or in the train by then). I had forgotten to set my phone alarm the night before. So I was late for work the second time since my official first day of work. But hardly anyone noticed that, except for the few colleagues who I sms-ed about me coming late. And the day went yadayadayada ... I ended up with a big problem and left office at 7.30pm on a Friday night. Okay back to the topic of morning encouters of colourful commuters. Apart fro...

Extending from the famous Law of Parsimony, when there are multiple explanation for a bug in a program, the mistake is usually made in the simplest form. Java Debugging Essential Tip 101 #1 : Most of the time its just a typo. Especially when Java is case-sensitive. You think I thought, who confirm I typed it correctly? I learned it thru the hard-way. Java Debugging Essential Tip 101 #2 : If you spend several hours in one direction and you can't solve the problem, you should probably explore the other direction. If its not the server problem, its the client's problem! Java Debugging Essential Tip 101 #3 : Are you sure you fully understood the Exception message? Read again! Read againnnnnnnnnn. Yes, againnnnnnnn. Java Debugging Essential Tip 101 #4 : One error usually masks another. The rest of the codes seems error-free cuz the current one is significant to give you the pain in the neck! Add the missin' brace, the other underlined red codes start to appear! No, I'm not s...

It has been almost two weeks since my Convocation. It was a defining moment of my life. I first heard of his name when I was serving my National Service. He was the big big boss of my department - the Director of Manpower at MINDEF. The speech by the guest speaker, Mr Chan Yeng Kit, CEO of IDA Singapore, reminded us of our decision to place the bets of our future in the IT industry shortly after the bust of the dot-com bubble. He portrayed us as brave souls, passionate about IT. And he painted the future of us as future professionals in the dynamic and exciting industry, where we can make a difference across the society. He also presented past statistics that half of the IT-graduates will take up non-IT professions. I guess I have chosen the path of the other half - following my heart where I think the money will be. Five to six years down the road, I'll see the testament of my choice. Thank you Mr Chan, for continuing to support our dream, pumping millions into Infocomm annually, ...

I'm becoming a weekend-blogger. One who blogs during the weekend. The down thing about being one is, you don't have the strong urge to blog those things you want to during the weekdays (simply too lazy or those things seem too mundane now), and nothing much is happening during the weekends. And I am forcing myself to recall some of my embarrassing moments during the weekdays. It is so that you guys reading can have lil' good time laughing at me. Touched? hee hee. Okay here goes... As the title of this entry reads, I reserved a seat on the train for my friend! Wait wait, before you go on cursing and criticisin' me bout reserving seats on public transport, please let me finish my story. I boarded the train at Yishun. There were plenty of seats everywhere. I placed my bag beside me to reserve the seat for my friend boarding at Sembawang. At the next stop, Sembawang, the morning crowd rushed into the train. And this gentleman pointed to me at the seat, signaling me to remov...

It was finally a real gathering for the class of 1996 after almost ten years. Tho' we see each other once in a while, they were mostly for the not-so-good occasions. So I am very glad we had this BBQ today at Pasir Ris Park, although the turnout wasn't very good. Perhaps during the next one, maybe the 10th year get-together or something, there'll be more people going. Tho' few people, it was definitely memorable - BBQ under the rain with three umbrellas. It was also first time I went to a BBQ where we had to "ration" the food, two crab sticks, two hot dogs, 3 chicken wings, etc for each person. I think its good, cuz there's no waste of food. Just 'nuff for everyone. In the end, we still had some bee hoon left for some good old fun - 终极密码 。 I had like about 4 cups of bee hoon. ha ha. And it ended we a game of hearts. We have come a long way since the secondary school days, the wonder years, the soccer days, the carefree times. I am very happy, everyone ...

As the saga unfolds the last few days, it was the hottest topic in town. I think to be fair to NKF as an organisation and their staffs, they did not do anything evil, just misappropriate use of funds by a few individuals (at least from what the court proceedings revealed). Their donation drive efforts had been really vigorous in the recent years, its no wonder so many people are upset when they discovered the truth. Much more of the truth, as we all know, is still hidden. Hope this saga itself has drawn enough attention for the management to make some changes, and we can leave the rest untouched. I have heard stories from friends, whose family members have to go have dialysis, there are some other non-money related problems with the organisation, again, I think it has to do with the ethics of a few individuals. But often, they are afraid to say it out, in fear of their subsidies being cancelled. Perhaps it is a good opportunity to voice it out, to improve on the quality of service that...

Last Friday, I attended my sister's commencement ceremony at NUS UCC. Well I didn't exactly attend the ceremony, was just in time for the refreshment (or is it dinner?). heh heh. My boss was kind enough to allow me to leave work an hr earlier. And with a bit of drama on the cab (don't want to elaborate on this since cab drivers already have such bad reputations), I was in time for the most important parts of the event, the food and phototaking. I was really excited when I got there, really eager to find my family. I saw happy faces everywhere, graduates running here and there to take photos with their friends. But the UCC foyer was abit too crowded to be comfortable. Anyway the refreshment was okay, some bee hoon, bao, cakes and stuffs. Fast forward to the photo taking... erm, the back of UCC was under construction so there wasn't many nice scenary for phototaking, just a couple of blue backdrops. After a few quick shots with my family, I quickly took up the role of my ...

This is for the S.H.E. fans. Especially Ah Fa (Hebe) and KM (Ella). heh heh. (need a quicktime plugin installed).

The world does not revolve around me. Therefore, I must be considerate about people around me, must not cross the line of personal attacks or packs of lies. At the same time, I want to maintain the integrity of my blog and be true to myself. As long as I play by the rules, I will air my views. Yes! I can hear many voices who agree =P Applause! Cheers for semi-freedom-of-speech-Singapore. If you disagree, you can choose not to visit my blog (I'll not send you a trojan , not the one the greek used, the backdoor virus kinda thingy la, that sets your default webpage to my blog, heh heh t.e.c.h.n.o.l.o.g.y). I beg for your kind understanding that if I ever cross this vague line, don't sue me! Still earning peanuts and paying my a** off on the bills every month lah (no money for lawyer fee). Don't harm me or my family and friends (sorry I made you guys easy targets with your photos everywhere on the blog). Don't print my photos on newspaper (especially the cover page of Sun...

Didn't notice this song till this morning, nice lyrics, nice tune, nice vocals. What's wrong with the world, mama People livin' like they ain't got no mamas I think the whole world addicted to the drama Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin' In the USA , the big CIA The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate then you're bound to get irate , yeah Madness is what you demonstrate And that's exactly how anger works and operates Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all It just ain't the same , always unchanged New days are strange , is the world insane If love and peace is so strong ...

It is said that body language plays a great portion in determining the first impression. It beings with the handshake. It should neither be a "dead fish" nor a "bonecrusher grip". It should be a firm handshake. But how firm? I was introduced to two ladies this evening. As a friendly gesture, I extended my hand out for a handshake. Half way through my "firm handshake", I decided to hold back a lil'... maybe use like 40% of the normal strength. I didn't wanna "crush" their delicate hands, no I didn't wanna "hurt" them! I guess its natural that some ladies have weaker handshakes, perhaps its in line with their demure, executive image. Ironically, I don't find them "insincere", but rather its the subsequent eye contacts that make a whole lot different. But what kinda of impression will I give them with an initial weak handshake? Like not very sincere hor ? heh heh. How huh ? Perhaps, depending on the size of the ha...

There was an article on Tomorrow about the History of Nantah and NTU. And since we were at this topic in the recent post (about the school dropping the word "technological"), I decided to give my five cents worth as well. So bear with me... Firstly, I question the use of the phrase " angmo NTU ". What is the definition of an " angmo " school? If "angmo school" means education in English medium, I think there is nothing wrong "angmo" about NTU as that's where the " angmo " link ends (okay, unless you are talking bout the exchange students, well, I apologise to our foreign friends if you feel offended, the word "angmo" only describes your hair colour, no racial discrimination =P). English-ed is one of the reasons why we're able to attract talents from various parts of Asia, and even Europe to study here. Education evolves with time, and we have adopted what is advantagous for us. The mix of students from vario...

Today, I truly felt the blues of the Monday morning. Not that I dreaded going to work or couldn't wake up. In fact I was wide awake at 5++, tossing around on bed. Perhaps my mind is programmed to sleep for 6 hours daily, so since I slept before 12 last night, I woke up earlier. The morning started out with strong winds. Fallen leaves swept across the road. The sky was grey. A hurricane, or something of that scale, was coming. The morning adrenaline left me quickly after I reached the office. I continued to doze off for the rest of the time. It felt as if I stayed awake for the night. My brain couldn't really think either. Nothing seemed to be working. The frustration of time running out and making no progress... It was only at 4++ when I felt really awake after a cup of coffee. The caffeine worked like magic. Fitter, happier, more productive, comfortable, not drinking too much, regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week), getting on better with your associate employee co...

Lifted this speech off AIR (Linda Chia's blog). Although we had not start out with fantastic inventions when we were young, or become the CEO of some MNC one day, we can be successful. I think Steve Job's speech is definitely worth reading and get inspired. He touched on the issues of failure and death, which all of us will face. And I think that is what truly matters, which we should learn from successful people - coping with the challenges in life. Hopefully, there'll be an inspiring speech during my convo as well. =P Stanford Report, June 14, 2005 'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005. I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I wan...

This morning, my ezlink went "BEEEP!" (with a high pitch), instead of the usual "doo-doop". Yes, no more travelling concession for me. Today also marks a few other significant events. It's one month since I started work. It is also my sis' birthday. Happy Birthday to You!

NUS 2005 gown bag, simple and elegant, NICE! NTU 2005 gown bag, many metal parts hanging here and there, highly configurable, designed for the typical engineer, er.... Been whining quite abit in the previous post, and since the bag is free, I shall not say much. =P Btw, did you notice the new NTU logo layout? The word "Technological" in blue, which cannot be seen clearly... I suspect it so that that word can be dropped conveniently anytime without anyone noticing it when the school name change to Nanyang University. hah, I still prefer the blue and grey logo, much more pro-looking lorh. =P

I am not upset, I just want to rant about it again (so pardon me if you complained to you before). Young parents out there, paying that few hundred bucks to send your kids to tuition is not equivalent to improve in grades, without you doing your part as well. I received a call this morning about the tuition centre administration receiving feedbacks from parents about me punishing their kids. This is how the story goes... The number of students in my English class had dropped to seven students (down by about four students) in the recent months . And according to the statistics, this is the most number of drop in number of students among all classes for the centre. Based on that, the administration decided to call up the parents to investigate the reasons for stopping the tuition lessons for their kids (their profit had dropped mah, so must find out why). Apparently, parents said they paid for their kids to have tuition, not punishment (cannot touch their lil' darlings okay..). So wh...

Umberto Eco: The Name of the Rose. You are a mystery novel dealing with theology, especially with catholic vs liberal issues. You search wisdom and knowledge endlessly, feeling that learning is essential in life. Which literature classic are you? brought to you by Quizilla Although, my favourite among all possible books would be 1984 .

I usually leave my handphone on during the night (just in case if anyone want to contact me urgently, eg. a friend in need of help etc). But I think I will be leaving my phone off from now on. Why? In the wee hours this morning, I received three continuous sms . I forced myself outta bed to read the message, thinking it must be something very important. I surprised to read that they were messages from " Dreamchat ", telling me that " someone is dreaming of me ". Oh great! What a good reason to wake me up! It also asked me to call this 1900 number to listen to the message. There was even a member id at the end... So someone still wide awake in the middle of the night decided to use this wonderful service to let me know he/she is dreaming of me leh. wah seh. I immediately deleted the messages and went back to sleep. Knowing I will just have a few more hours of my six hours daily sleep time left. How did this " Dreamchat " thingy got my handphone number? Is ...

The main objective of advertisement is to grab the viewers' attention. Yesterday I saw one on the train that certainly grabbed my attention. When the train stopped at Orchard MRT, a bunch of guys wearing white tee with a big blue alphabet on each of their backs (like those on the yellowpages advertisement) boarded the train. At first I thought they probably just got off work from some advertisement gimmick in Orchard. And must be from HP as well, cuz I saw a " H " and " P " side by side. Then I saw them standing in a row and the alphabets on their backs made up a word " HYPE ", as you can see in the picture below (eh ... can't quite see the ' E '), I realised the actual place of their 'act' was the train cabin itself. It made me pay attention to the small print url below the collarline of their tee " http://www.hypegallery.com ". Their gimmick worked very well, cuz when I got home I checked out their website. It turns ou...

Last week, I did a very boliao thing. I took pictures of the different stages in extracting the celery juice. The celery juice is supposed to help in reducing my bp level, and it has become part of my lifestyle so far. Every morning, before breakfast, I will take out four stalks of celery and an apple to extract their juice, I'll cut them into cubes, And finally drop them into the juice extractor. And here is the final product, half a cuppa celery juice, which I'll drink before eating anything.