Solitude

It feels so good to be working alone once again. For far too long I've been busy with stuff like meetings and dealing with various arrangements. When you can sit down, relaxed and with very few people around you; when the environment is not too comfortable that your mind wanders off (or you get up to grab some food) yet is cosy enough for a few hours' solid work; and when you have everything that you need sorted out, that's solitary working at its zenith.

It should be effective.
The only problem is that the assignment is, as always, programming!!

I'll update on my Berlin trip soon enough.

Wonderwall ~Oasis

this song's been making its rounds in my head for some time... nice lyrics... Now I know how =)

Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow realised what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
......

Brrrr~llinnn***

Berlin Today: 1.50pm CET
3° - partly cloudy

5-Day Forecast:
Today ------ Tomorrow -- Sunday ------------- Monday
Light Snow - Light Snow - PM Snow/Showers - Rain/Snow
High: 2°----- 1° ----------- 3° ------------------- 4°

Good luck to me!! That's it, I'm bringing the thicker Diadora jacket with hood!

Wah lau eh

Bear with me...

Damn Ryanair's got a new deal for Barca!!!! Now it will only cost like 25 quid return, and I paid £39!!! I should have trusted my gut feeling and left it a bit late last weekend. And to think how things have transpired, damn!!!! Grrrr~

Berlinnnnnnnnnnnnn---

Well. I just realised I'm supposed to call Beilin regarding the stuff she wants from the Hard Rock Cafe there.

Hehe. You guys have fun over here while I slog it out in the cold company of Brandenburg Gate and the U-Bahn. And a meal of sauerkraut. I have exchanged in excess of 100 Euros so I guess I'll be well-covered for this trip, and some of my Barcelona trip in December too! Also managed to get my replacement credit card yesterday. Now for the packing, and then I'm all set!

Will also be bringing some stuff to my brother.

One more thing. IT'S SNOWING NOW!!!!!!!! What the hell?? So early in the year... Looks like itz the La Nina or something phenomenon hahaha... but in UK??
Just checked weather conditions in Berlin. I might meet with some snow there. But generally it isn't a great deal colder than here.

Concert

Watched a damn soporific concert at De Montfort Hall tonight. Through no fault of Ho Fung, though. Philharmonia Orchestra. I decided to go for it too because of the £3 student-stand-by offer, which is basically a cheap ticket facility for them to dispose of tickets to students at the last minute. It didn't help when the last piece went on for a hefty 62 minutes!!

Was out in town, and well, the LG U8120 videophone really is one decent phone, though clamshells aren't really my cup of tea. Nokia 6230 would have been desirable, if only for the design and functionability, and of course that CompactFlash card. but LG's will have a computer link anyway, even more convenient! And the price is right: £4.99 per month for 6 months, then £30 p.m. for the next six, with 500 mins crossnet+100 text. Boy oh boy I can videocall friends too!!

Did I say I had to rush my assignment the other day? Living life dangerously, as usual. I slept at 6 and had to be in school by 9.30 for that submission! Then that night I slept at 4 and got up at 9. Tonight I'd better be sleeping earlier cos I'll need to be awake tmr morning for all the stuff that I have to get done before I leave for Germany this weekend!

A joke I used to know~

Just decided to share with everyone a long-standing joke I had concocted... I recently reminded myself of it while chatting with Hajar and Nazimah that day. Helps if you know Bio.

(only to a girl beside you--and u must be a guy... or vice versa)
"There's a vas deferens between the two of us."

...reminds me about the other joke, regarding the standing ovulation. Only if you get it.

Creation

Last night I was at 3 places for 3 birthdays. Kenneth's was first, and I arrived early "to help out with the sound system" only to end up descaling the fresh salmon and helping to prepare Jonathan's baked seafood rice and brownies. Couldn't even stay for the liquor as I had to look for Vani... had some Viennetta ice-cream there before heading off to Creation for Ken's clubbing event. I have the VIP pass there so I was given Q-jump and 2 free drinks (anytime every Tuesday night). Then we proceeded to his place for the cake-cutting. Tracy had too much to drink and was tipsy at the end of the event... we were basically teasing her on her condition and asking her questions (with all the wrong answers!)

Had a haircut at "lenglui" Gents Hairdressing today. Haha Ho Fung kena the not-so-pretty one.. no wonder his hair not as pretty as mine. After that I was at Mandarin Oriental Restaurant making use of one of my 40% discount coupons. It has turned out to be a rather good experience. I will definitely be back!

more jokes

A neutron walks into a bar. He asks the bartender:" How much for a beer?" The bartender looks at him and says: "For you, it's no charge".

I ended up sleeping at 5am this morning. But I made it t my 9.30 lecture. Body aching already.. played 3 days of badminton plus street soccer. Will have to get my studies in order.
Later...

What do dipoles say in passing? "Have you got a moment?"

Why do chemists like nitrates so much? They're cheaper than day rates.

Do you know what happened to the chemist who was reading a book about Helium? He just couldn't put it down.

wasted my whole weekend~

I'm falling asleep surfing the net. Played lousy street soccer just now, and nearly scored an own goal. Luckily I hit the ball when it was inside the D. Rubbish.

Ok, I'll go for badminton now.

happenings + a joke!!!

Joe was over last night for some food and "male bonding"... in the end the 3 of us (Ho Fung too!) we chatted till 5 plus. And then we adjourned to my room where I slept at six. And of course I wasted all my day today doing some "mou liu" (无聊) stuff. When am I ever going to get some common sense........

I gave Nazimah some of the Leonidas chocolates for her birthday. And Hajar was like, "What, Leonidas? Ooh damn!!" And she's recommending me to go the Wah Shing restaurant for a meal. I think I will, some time.

I finally lost a singles set to Roger again. He hadn't beaten me this year. 14-17. I had earlier taken the wind from under his wing with a 15-12 victory, a match in which I was rarely troubled despite being behind most of the game. The most funny thing was that I won with Shuk Ngan's racket. And I was super confident about winning. As for the second set played later at night, I used Paul's 70+ gram Karakal. A little too light for me... can't whack the shuttle properly. (Excuses!) Oh, but I think he's been put on hold for a possible outing in the second team. (I'd say I am the better player but all's good for him if he really gets to play) I make far too many unforgivable, stupid mistakes. At least his mistakes are more expected ones...

I think I am getting confused with the lot of stuff happening to me, or rather, in my head maybe.. timing, timing... the most most important thing... ... ... Or will I ever?

A Chemistry joke...
A small piece of sodium which lived in a testube fell in love with a Bunsen burner.
"Bunsen! my flame! I melt whenever I see you," said the sodium. The bunsen burner replied, "It's just a phase you're going through".

current song: Cranberries-Ode To My Family/Zombie
_ Deana Carter-Once Upon A December (Anastasia OST)

PES 1

Yesterday I played table soccer* again with Ho Fung right after dinner. I was nearly going to demolish him 9-0** when at 8-0 his striker "hit" the ball exquisitely and squeezed it inside the left post. Damn! 9-1!

Zhang Yi bought this second-hand white reclining chair and pink/purple coffee table which we helped her lug all the way back to Opal Court. Then I went CW for the umpteenth time to go online.

I had half a piece of Leonidas chocolate*** too, and boy was it great!! But not so great for my throat, as it was sinful chocolate i.e. it absolutely kills your throat! Could feel the hot air (热气 haha) straightaway. And I got extra school-sponsored paper again. Come to think of it, the stack is still with Ho Fung!

Tonight I will have to be ultra on time for badminton cos I have to unlock the cupboard. Paul and Jackie will be late/may not even turn up. And don't the Chinese (PRC) have manners? I am still in the engineering lab... just finished Programming Embedded Systems 1 labs, the toughest module this semester. This postgrad student came and asked me regarding the breadboard components and then borrowed my sheet (everything is in the notes!). Then he forgot to return it (I guess)... which was okay. I had to get the sheet back from him, and that's where he sorta pissed me off. Not him, actually, but they had scribbled some stuff on my paper. What do you think it is, rough paper? Even if my writing is doctor-like and too well-encoded for your meagre brain to understand it doesn't mean that the neatly-drawn table is rough work! I decided to rewrite the copy and thought nothing of it. You know, bumpkins... (heh) But on top of that he had the cheek to come back and ask for it again. I motioned at the ball of paper on the table, which he unravelled, then left it there after he was done! What the heck??? Perhaps I demand a lot out of others. Just maybe. But accommodatingly so. Maybe my world is too perfectionistic for them. But surely it isn't unreasonable to expect a person to at least be cultured?

*That mini set I brought here all the way from home
**9 is the highest the rotating score dial goes, so we keep all matches to that and change sides after one side attains 5 goals.
*** bought in Belgium!

游手好闲。。。

这几天真是忙得不可开交！又迟睡又没精神又疲倦，肚子又常饿。。。嗨。。。功课也丢在一旁，好几天没理了。。又要搞CV，德国旅行的安排等等。。 伤了好久的脑筋！然后喉咙也痛，似乎中了some throat viral infection。。。

但我也在这同时觉得时间还过得蛮充实的。那天在Belgium时Ling也text过我，跟我说她已复了我的信。总算做了penpal。。“the wonders of technology!...”希望她在印度还过得愉快。

近几天我也多了些事情要搞，或者说是需要摆多一些心思来考虑的某些事情。人老了，头脑也变得复杂多了。。。有时侯想把全部看得淡些，简单些。然而，在这同时也需要堤防某某人的举动。。是不是真的需要这么做呢？

有人说我婆妈。。。是吗？Hmmm...也许吧。。。关于某些事情？你又怎么知道呢？Elaborate!!!

Joanne never ceases to surprise me. I thought she was on the phone but it turned out that she hadn't replaced the handset properly.

Cartoons + Berlin

Was having a look at Tom Toole's old cartoons and decided to post another one.



I have just booked my ticket to Berlin. Leaving on Saturday 20th Nov and returning on monday 22nd Nov. Gonna be skipping Monday's lectures and also Tuesday morning's. Arrival just in time for labs on tuesday afternoon.

Fireworks!!

Singsoc organised a fireworks session today. We were supposed to meet at 7.15pm, but knowing them, I went late. And still had to wait. In the blistering cold. This time it seemed that only I was complaining of the cold. So very ironic. Normally I'm the one who is not cold while the rest are freezing their socks off... probably they all came well prepared this time while I just put on my usual jacket over the long-sleeved t-shirt. It was a rather long wait for the sporadic release of the "missile" or the "grenade", but all was worth it when the last one was unveiled. It's called "End of the World", and apparently cost £50. Takes a very long time to empty, and has an incredible repertoire. Much better performance and value than James & Mel's £10 non-starter of a missile. The grenade was very interesting too, with Ben having to empty it quickly from his hand just in case. I might be playing again... maybe will get the Malaysians to organise one too!!

This morning I had to get up at 7.30am so that I'd be in time for the Student Ambassador event. I was among the nine who went to New College to "fetch" the school children over to the Uni for a morning of playing "Go". "Go" is actually 围棋... Those kids were really naughty and making lots of noise. Reminiscent of those days long gone, when I was still carrying that water bottle in the red plastic bag (later to become the NTUC Fairprice bag). And very naive.

America had proved that it has matched the wit of its illustrious president, George "Dubya" Bush, by re-electing him. As Kenneth's nick fittingly describes, "the world mourns as the chimp gets elected". Once again, enough said. The days have already gotten dark enough.*

And I seriuosly am going to get myself in order and re-instil some discipline into my life. I will endeavour to put in at least an hour's worth of solid study time evey day (I hope I am not sounding too fake or lofty already!!)

*Seriously! These few days have been colder and it gets dark at around 5.30pm. Winter is coming!

crime back home

I just read a report about another case of snatch theft back home. Things are really coming to a head now. Damn the bloody snatch thefts!! What do they take life for? Perhaps they have been emboldened with the terrorist-style techniques cropping up in various parts of the world. I shall not be cowed by their dirty, underhand tactics. Itz really saddening to see all this happening, and the government has a tough job trying to secure the streets and at the same time limit the damage to the country's image.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/11/2/nation/9296953&sec=nation

One minute's silence...
(frustrated enough already)

Belgium

I was in Belgium for the weekend, playing in a badminton tournament at Deerlijk. This time I went with hopes of either 1) winning a match; 2) winning a set; or, at least, 3) getting 10 points.
What dreams! They all went *poof*! Came back with the "worst" results of my career", having been handed two ducks too. The unfortunate thing was that all my opponents either went on to reach the finals or the semi-finals. I was playing below par too. Missed very simple shots. Singles: 1-15, 4-15. I was losing match point and I forced him into a weak lift. An easy smash would have sufficed, but instead my racket went bocor* again and I missed it completely. Men's doubles with Terence: 0-15, 3-15. They kept smashing him and all I could do was to look on. He should have lifted more, and further. That could have prevented him from receiving some very stinging smashes. Mixed doubles with Shuk Ngan: 0-15, 1-15 and then 4-15, 6-15. Although this was the first time I played mixed doubles, I had some hope as my partner had some potential. I was confident that she could take care of the shots at the front, but we were woefully short on footwork and court cover. Actually, me. I was supposed to cover most of the court, and I let her down with some very lousy returns and also somehow failed to retrieve the smashes. Damn... and the last match, though inconsequential, was on paper looking to be a close affair, yet we didn't even force ten points. Only consolation was that I beat Roger (friendly) again, 15-4, 17-15. I think I should step up and get Paul to play with me.

We stayed at some "forest location", which were actually sturdy wooden huts, but mine had no heater!! The first night was bloody cold, and I slept at 4.30am, with the Singles match at 9am the following morning! I think we were accommodated on some nature park accommodation. There's forest trails and a lake nearby, but I didn't really have any time to explore them.

The trip otherwise was very enjoyable. I'd say I have some chemistry with my partner (hopefully she'd agree hahaha) and so it could help with things on court. I bought Leonidas chocolates, and some biscuits for my people at Leicester. Only thing was that I lost 50 Euros somehow... I am not even sure if it was passed to me in the beginning. I should have counted the notes when Roger passed them to me. And my credit card went missing too. Nothing was amiss, but I will have to wait up to a week for my new card.

I also managed to do a "night walk" while there, reminiscent of my time in Pulau Ubin's ACE Camp and Outward Bound. Only problem was that Shuk Ngan was gripping my hand so darn tightly (like a tourniquet!) Kekeke... well at least she's not scared of smashes...
~~~
Last night they were in my room trying to figure out some very stupid "logic" games. I gave them the "Open/Close" and "Around the world in eighty days" game, which took them ages to figure out. (until now, only Shuk Ngan knows the logic behind Open/Close) I also managed to solve three of their games. Then Shuk Ngan started writing Ho Fung's name on my white t-shirt!!! In ink!! The one I searched high and low for during my treasured weekend in KL this August past. Arrgh... it was really comical, but... damn!! Girls... maybe I will never understand them...

And now for all the irritating work experience applications and homework and assignments and badminton stuff and student ambassador stuff and germany stuff and barcelona stuff... and i still gotta work on my footwork, strokes and smashes!! ***arrrrrrrrrgh***

*Malay for "having a hole"/punctured