My Life

Muthu's first haircut

2010-10-28T20:40:00.006+08:00

Back to blog again. Please forgive me for breaking my promise that I will post photos of my trip to prague on this blog. I guess it will not happen anytime soon. If you want to see the photos, please see them on my facebook account. I have always wanted to resume blogging, but just couldn't find the motivation to do so. With facebook around, don't really see the need to blog to share snippets of my life on this blog. Facebook is far more instant and convenient to keep in touch with people.

So you must be wondering, what gives me the motivation to resume writing on this blog again? Well, I have made a lot of empty promises and claims in life saying that I would do this and I would do that. But most of them turned out to be unfulfilled and uncompleted. One of the things that I have always wanted to do is to write a book, a promise that I made to myself. I wanted this blog to record the manuscript of my book and allowing people to give suggestions on how make the book more interesting and readable.

I have thought for quite some time, pondering about what kind of book I will write? Eventually, it was towards the end of my first year in university I decided to write a book about the snippets of my university life. Then I thought to myself, would it be an interesting book. I doubt anyone, maybe my even my university friends would be interested to read it. So I sought opinions from my closest friends in university and to my surprise, they actually like the idea. I thought that since this is the first time I would be writing a book, it might seemed like a daunting task to complete it alone. I suggested to them the idea of them becoming co-authors of the book, each contributing some stories to the book and this book would eventually become a yearbook for the graduating class of 2010.

But as expected, I was enthusiastic about it, then passion died down. If I don't start writing now, I probably wouldn't start writing at all and will regret years later why I haven't written the book. The initial deadline was to complete the book before the graduation ceremony of my good friends Andrew and Jasmine, and my "sister", Marissa, and give them the book as a graduation gift but apparently this did not happened. But better to be late than never. I'm sure they don't mind having the book some time later and hopefully, this book can be completed by my graduation.

I would try to write as frequently as possible and hopefully but the end of my honours year, I would have sufficient information for the book to be published (perhaps not for sale, but as a private read and yearbook for all my university friends).

The blog entries that I write from now on would form the backbone of my book and hopefully once I get it up and running, I can get my friends to contribute to the articles that I would post here (properly acknowledged of course). The stories may not be in chronological order as I just want to write down what I remember and what I feel like writing on the day itself. The final version may be rearranged in order but that's the least of my worries now.

So, what would I write for the opening chapter (for the purpose to just start writing)? It has to be Muthu's first haircut. Just to sidetrack a little bit, for the sake of those who don't know who Muthu is. That's me! You must be wondering since why I became Muthu? The nickname was initiated by my best friend since primary school, Jason, who happened to be studying in the same university with me and was also my housemate for 1 year when I am studying in Melbourne (12 years of friendship and still going strong). So, why was I called Muthu?

I have to admit that I was a really poor cook when I first came to Melbourne. While Jason did most of the cooking during my first year, I did helped out when he cooked. The first incident when I was called Muthu happened when we wanted to cook curry. We went to the Asian grocer to buy some curry paste. But, instead of the curry paste, I got the wrong pack and we ended up buying coconut paste. The funniest of all was we did not realize we got the wrong stuff until we starting cooking and we ended up having coconut soup.

When Jason discovered that I got the wrong pack, he jovially blurted out "Hey Muthu, I ask you buy curry, you buy coconut paste". Why Muthu? Probably, he thinks that Indians cook curry and so he just blurted that out that name. Then, in the end, it became our role play for the entire year, where he became the boss of the household and I was Muthu. There will be more stories about Muthu, but let's just leave it as that for now.

So what's about Muthu's first haircut? It was actually the first haircut that I got after I came over to Melbourne. I remembered that I was window shopping with my newly made friends when we past by BigW and they were having a sale on shavers. I said to my friends "Whoa, the shaver only cost $14.95, just cut 2 times can save money already. Can you all cut for me?" Andrew questioned if I really dared to let him cut my hair? Not sure what prompted me to do it but I actually threw down the gaunlet. "I will let you all cut, but you all dare a not? You dare to cut, I will let you cut". Eventually, I bought the $9.95 shaver which Andrew pointed out was cheaper.

As soon as I bought the shaver, we went back to my place where all the action takes place. We started unpacking the package and Jason and Andrew being first time hairdressers, started to read the instructions manual. I have a crazy idea to create a video parody of Army daze where the actor points out a Andy Lau photo for the Army barber to follow. And so it began.

Jason was the first to start shaving, he started from my forehead, from front to back. The first shave removed most of my fringe but apparently all except him realize that the majority of my fringe was missing until Andrew pointed out to him. Damaged done. No choice but to finish the haircut. Who knows, the lousy shaver can only sustain one shave and got jammed for the remaining shaves. Shaving the head became a chore. I remember we took so long and I was so tired that I dozed off while they were cutting my hair. We struggled for almost 90 minutes before the haircut was "completed". Of course it was ugly, with jagged edges everywhere. I remembered I had to wear a cap to hide my hideous hair when we went to victoria market for grocery shopping that next morning.

The video was edited and posted by Jason on youtube and facebook and actually caused quite a stir when our families and friends saw the video and comments came pouring in. Not actually a bad idea after all, to do something that can make them laugh. We laughed at ourselves for the rest of the week. So what happened to the fate of the shaver? I still have that shaver in the corner of my room but probably that's the only time the shaver will be seen in action.

Muthu

IYLC Day 2-3 - UN and ICC simulations and culture night

2008-07-23T08:12:00.000+08:00

Hi,

The past 2 days of the conference were really really amazing. On day 2, we had UN simulations where I represented Russia and have to debate my way to the UN security council and other members in the UN that Kosovo's independence was illegal under international law. On the same day, we also visited the Embassy of Ireland to pay a visit to the ambassador, where he would talk to us about his experiences in international relations and diplomacy. It's a pity that the ambassador had something on in the last minute and could not meet us; we had an Irish diplomat talking to us and I was a little disappointed. We also visited the Parliament house of the Czech Republic.

On day 3, we had ICC simulations where we simulated pre-trials, arguing on whether we should allow the ICC to take over Germain Katanga's genocide case. I was a defence witness, simulating as the Minister of Justice and Human Rights of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We also visited the Pricewaterhouse Coopers HQ in Prague and had a panel discussion on responsible leadership with Dasa van der Horst, the Director of Amnesty International Czech Republic, Pavel Franc, Founder of the Global Alliance for Responsibility, Democracy and Equity, Tomas Bouska, Project Manager at ANO pro Europu (YES Europe) and Simon Panek, Executive Director of People in Need Foundation. Next, we had a reception party at PwC where I met with numerous foreign service officers, including diplomats from the Embassy of China.

The highlight of day 3 was the Culture night. We had various nationalities trying to present to us their cultures and traditions and in one single night, I thought I have travelled to countries like Corea (Nope... I didn't spelled it wrongly, it's not Korea. The original spelling of Korea is supposed to be Corea but when Japan invaded Corea, they changed it's spelling to Korea as K is behind J (Japan) - interesting=), Indonesia, USA, Philippines, Pakistan, Canada, Slovenia, Puerto Rico, India, Australia amongst many other countries. I truly enjoyed the entire night and this had to be one of the best day so far.

Today, we are going to have the European Parliament simulations and I'm looking forward to it as this is the largest simulation we are going to have during the IYLC and will last for 2 days of the conference.

Just in case you're wondering why there are no photographs posted, it's because I forgot to bring my transfer cable along and I promise to upload it all on my blog and facebook once I get back to Singapore.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"The language of friendship is not words but meaning."

IYLC Day 1 - Opening Ceremony

2008-07-20T23:15:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Today's the opening ceremony for IYLC but the rest of the participants wouldn't arrive the venue until 3pm. Thus, the few of us, the early arrivals, decided to wake up early to go to a couple more attractions. After breakfast, we took a metro back to musek station, Wesceslas Square, where we had dinner yesterday. We walk down the streets, through the beautiful architecture of prague, to old town square where we visited last night. The day's scenery as compared to the night's scenery is totally different. Their Sunday market is open and there are many stores selling Czech handicraft and candies. Didn't get any as I was running out of Czech Kc and was searching for a money changer with a reasonable rate - The hotel rate was horrible. Passing old town square, we arrived at Charles Bridge where we took pictures with our lousy cameras last night. We took more pictures of beautiful scenery across the river, where the prague castle is. As we walked across the Charles Bridge, we saw many of prague's best caricature artists, performers as well as people selling handmade handicraft. Crossing the bridge, we arrived at the foot of the Prague castle where we decided to have a drink before visiting the castle. After our drink, we had a very steep climb up, towards the castle. We took more pictures in the castle but didn't manage to enter the cathedrals there as it was too crowded and we didn't want to waste our time queuing for it. Next, we split up. The girls wanted shopping while the rest of us wanted to to have lunch. We had our lunch at MacDonalds and I missed having my MacDonalds with Garlic Chili Sauce and I was pretty surprised you have to pay 5 kc to enter the toilet in MacDonalds. What a weird culture. I never paid to enter a toilet in MacDonalds in any country before, ever!!!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel. It's about 3pm when we reached and most of the participants have arrived and we went around introducing ourselves and meeting new people and I can't believe I travelled half way around the globe to meet like 10 Singaporeans here. We registered ourselves and got our conference package and met our facilitators. My facilitator is a beautiful Czech Republican girl named Katarina. We were also given nametags to identify ourselves.

Finally at 6pm, the opening ceremony starts and we had dinner, mingled around with other participants and listened to a couple of opening addresses. After dinner's the group discussions and we discussed some rules and got to know our teammates better through some ice breaking games. The itinerary was also briefed to us and I found out the my group will be visiting the Embassy of Ireland tomorrow and we will be meeting the Ambassador . Other groups will be visiting other embassies in prague, like Bosnia, Germany, Switzerland, Afghansitan embassies.

Our meeting was adjourned and we will invited to a nearby pub for some drinks. I went along but it was too crowded and smoky and so I decided to head back to hotel to rest.

Looking forward to meet the Ambassador of Ireland to Czech Republic. It's definitely going to be interesting.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the wonder of shoreline."

IYLC Day 0 - Culture shock in Prague

2008-07-19T21:48:00.006+08:00

Hi,

I've arrived earlier in Prague for the IYLC. Met with my roommate, Fabian, a German who's studying in London. My original roommate is suppose to be Ka Chuan from Malaysia, but apparently due to the poor management and miscommunication between the organisers and the hotel, they mixed up the records and many people were left without roommates and had to pay for the entire room.

Earlier on, some of the participants who arrived early went on a tour to old town square and charles bridge. Everywhere is full of beautiful structures and we enjoyed the sightseeing trip with exception of the horrible czech cuisine at one of the bistros. I ordered 2 very salty czech sausages and was ripped off. The sausages and a sprite costs approximately 400 czech korunas (~40 Singapore Dollars).

Drinking water is so expensive here. A 1.5 L bottle of mineral water cost me 80 korunas (~8 Singapore Dollars). It's not shocking to me as before the trip, I already know how expensive mineral water is in Prague. I thought I was smart enough to bring a water bottle along so that I can boil some water to drink but I was outsmarted by the hotel. They didn't even provide an electric kettle for me to boil water and my bottle became useless if I can't fill it with drinkable water. We always take clean water for granted in Singapore - It's so cheap that I always thought it's free. Ironically, the topic for the essay I wrote which got me to IYLC is on "Lack of clean water is the most important issue the world is facing now". After this trip, I'll will appreciate my privilege to be able to drink straight from the tap.

The conference will begin tomorrow and I think I may not be prepared enough. The conference is very academic intensive and I haven't been hitting the books much. Hopefully, they will start slow tomorrow.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement."

Back to blog

2008-07-18T18:41:00.000+08:00

I'm back to blog. Zero updates since 13 Feb. I've always told myself that I'll blog later on but it never happened. I realised - If I didn't blog today, I would probably have gave up blogging totally. I gave myself many reasons to continue blogging, but even more excuses on why I can't blog - No time, too tired. Whatever it is, I'm going to start blogging again.

Recently, an acquaintance which I knew from my camp met with an fatal motorcycle accident and died. It is shocking to me. Although I don't even know him well, It made me realise how fragile human life actually is. One day you may be talking to the person, the next day, he may have left you. It made me rethink my goals in life.

A while ago, I lost focus of my goals and my aims. I was not as focused as when I was in manjusri, ngee ann or even during bmt and supply supervisor course. My thoughts were rambling. There were so many questions in my mind that I wished I can have solutions to. I'm keeping a lot of things to myself and sometimes I just feel like finding someone whom I can share these things with. But often, when the opportunities came, I just didn't know how to or felt uncomfortable expressing them. I just feel really tired at times and don't feel like doing anything at all. I'm always busy with my army stuff. Despite having a lot of off-in-lieu, I didn't have the opportunity to take them as I'm the only person managing my stores and it would be very irresponsible for me to leave them alone. As there are no training conducted these 2 weeks, I have taken the opportunity to clear my off as well as leave to attend IYLC. I have been resting the past 2 days and I feel so much refreshed adn relaxed now. I realised that work can never be finished and as long as you know how to prioritise, a short break can make you a more productive worker. This is another skill that the army has taught me and I believe that it will definitely benefit me in university.

I have began to re-read my textbooks. Many things seemed to be unfamilar to me after 1 year after graduation and starting to revise my work now will ensure that catching up in university will not be too difficult.

I'll be flying to prague in approximately 4 hours time. I'm looking forward to meeting all the people of different nationalities and cultures, and trust me, I'm going to blog all about the conference here.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."

Updates, updates, updates...

2008-02-13T01:07:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Here's a post to cover the events that happened to me in the past 2 months.

1) Army Life

I have successfully graduated from the Supply Supervisor Course and have been posted to the Infantry Training Institute manning the signal and optical stores. The camp has excellent facilities such as a business centre with internet access, great gym and the best SAF cookhouse that I have ever eaten in. The food taste heavenly and that explains the reason why I have gained quite some weight. =)

2) SAT & University applications

I have finally taken my SAT on the 26th Jan after postponing for so long due to my Army training requirements. Results are coming out in 2 days time and I really hope I will do well enough to allow me to apply to great universities like the John Hopkins University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and most importantly my most desired NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Wish me luck. =)

3) Celebrations

I attended Michelle's babies first month celebration at Fort Canning and Debra's birthday apart from multiple Chinese New Year celebrations that the Army has planned for the servicemen. Below are some photographs taken during the celebrations:

4) Pulau Ubin

I revisited Pulau Ubin again but this time with Jason and Jinkai. We visited Chek Jawa which was recently opened to the public and the place is great. Did not take many photographs though, so not posting any here.

5) The 16th International Youth Leadership Conference

This is by far the best thing that has happened to me in the year 2008. I'll have been accepted to attend the 16th International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague, Czech Republic from 20th - 25th July. The 16th International Youth Leadership Conference is a week-long youth forum on world politics, international relations and international law and selection is based on the following 3 criteria:

1. Educational Background (year, grade point average, and area of study)
2. Level of English (as a second language)
3. Two Short Essays (both are required)

As you probably know, I majored in Biomedical Science in Ngee Ann so I have a great disadvantage in the educational background criteria as they would have prefered political science, business, mass communications or law students. Also, since this conference is intended only for current university students, I am very lucky to be chosen since I am no university student and have graduated from Ngee Ann for more than 6 months. =)

The conference will cost me 850 euros with food and accomodation included. The air ticket to prague will cost me another S$2200. Doing some simple calculations, the whole trip will cost me about S$5000 including the miscellaneous. Thus, I hope that I can find companies or institutions that may be willing to sponsor me for the trip. According to the organisers, Ngee Ann is a student sponsor but I'm not sure if they would sponsor an alumnus but I am going to try anyway. The National Youth Council is another sponsor that have sponsored students to the same conference and thus I am also applying for their grant.

The 15th International Youth Leadership Conference had about 100 participants from 35 countries and I hope that the 16th conference would attract the same number of participants. I am so looking forward to interacting and debating world issues with them.

Anyway, to all my friends who are interested to participate in the same conference, the application is still open and you may like to check it out @ http://www.czechleadership.com/

Lastly, a belated happy new year, happy chinese new year and early happy valentines day to all my friends.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T10:13:00.001+08:00

Hi,

It's been a long, long time since I last updated my blog. I've been too busy or rather too tired to update especially after every day of training.

First, I did not manage to take my SAT on December and had it postponed to January next year. I have realised that I will not be able to perform to my best if I had taken the test the day after my exercise. Anyway, I have been slacking since I missed the test and have to buck up soon. Otherwise, I'm sure I will perform badly.

This December, I also went to Pulau Ubin for cycling with two of my secondary school friends. Pulau Ubin has changed a lot since I last visted 3 years ago. The ferry terminal was also much more pleasant and cleaner compared to 3 years ago. Here are some of the photographs we took on the island:

As usual, this christmas season, I went to the Red Cross Home for the Disabled to celebrate with the residents. I haven't been visiting the home since I was enlisted into the Army. Probably, I should visit them more frequently. The party was great despite the rain. I also met a couple of friends who I didn't expect would be present - Suan Sin, Ximin. It's really great to catch up with them.

It has been a long, long time since I went to Orchard during christmas season. I usually purchase my christmas presents in other places to avoid the christmas crowd. Last Friday, I met up with my polytechnic friends in orchard to buy presents for a lecturer's newborn twins. It took us quite a while before we finally decided what to get. Sylvia surprised me by giving me a T-shirt which I was tricked into believing it was for Edison's friend. Thanks for the nice christmas present and surprise. The christmas lightings this year were fantastic and we just can't help taking a couple of photographs:

That's all for now!

Have a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Bye =)

"Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."

Birthdays in October

2007-10-30T04:47:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I have not blog for over a month and thus, I have decided to add in an entry early this morning before reporting to camp. So far, I have been busy with my supply supervisor course as well as preparing for my SAT reasoning test which falls on 1st December. Ironically, I have a military exercise which falls on the 28, 29 and 30 of November and this means that I'm grounded in camp for the whole week before my test. I'm starting my preparations early as I know that I will not have the time to revise for it after the exercise. The exercise will most probably enervate me so much that I will not revise the day before the test. I am hoping that I could get a score of >2,200 out of a total of 2,400 to make me a more competitive applicant when I reapply for NUS medical school as well when I apply for scholarships. =)

This month, I celebrated 2 good friends' birthday on the 20th October; Sylvia's birthday was on the 20th October while Siew Yong had her birthday celebration held on the same day. In the morning, I went over to Sylvia's place to pass her birthday present before going for a SAT diagnostic test. We had lunch together and Sylvia treated me to vegetarian food - Thanks, Sylvia. =) Later in the evening, I went over to Siew Yong's place for her birthday celebration. Priscilla decided to plan a surprise for Siew Yong using sparklers and the few of us who met at the train station became her accomplices. In the end, the surprise was carried out ineptly by us and the scene was not only hilarious but also "smoky".

Here are some photographs which I took during her birthday celebration:

I'm glad to have met so many ex-schoolmates from Ngee Ann. Although we have only graduated for 6 months, I'm already starting to miss them. I'm so looking forward to our next gathering. =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"People never know how special someone is until they leave, but maybe sometimes its important to leave, so they are given that chance to see how special that someone really is!"

Funny quotes from Army Warrant Officers

2007-09-25T23:08:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Just thought of adding this post to share the funny quotes that were used by Army Warrant Officers. I found that they are a bunch of creative and humorous people. So here are some of the most funny quotes:

1. "All the swimmers don't need to go for swimming lessons. Only the Submariners and Naval Divers."

2. "I travel to work by BMW - Bus, MRT and walking."

3. "Do you know what pikachu stands for? Pi ka Pi Cu (Lame hands or legs).

4. "When I am enlisted into the army, you are probably still in liquid form."

5. "Eh soldier, I am asking to do pull ups. Not asking you to pull the bar down."

6. "I am the CSM (Company Sergeant Major). Do you know what that stands for? The Company Superman."

7. "Eh you bobo shooters (Soldiers who are not proficient in shooting and cannot pass the shooting test), I give you an elephant to shoot, you also cannot hit. The elephant will probably die laughing instead."

8. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A cigarette a day, god will take you away."

9. "There's nothing right about your left brain and there's nothing left in your right brain."

10. "I have an MBA. I'm Married But still Available."

I'll add in more quotes when I'm more free.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Laughter is the best medicine."

SAF BMTC ePosting Order

2007-09-23T20:53:00.001+08:00

Hi,

My Basic Military Training officially ended on 11th September. It was indeed a memorable experience due to the people I met there. Every trainee came from very different backgrounds with different educational qualifications. It's actually quite hard for me to believe that there are people whom did not even complete primary school (I thought it's compulsory to complete primary school in Singapore?). However, I was really impressed by how well we can bond together and display the strong sense of fighting spirit throughout the entire training despite our differences. This fighting spirit was especially displayed during the games day when we fought back from losing the tag-of-war event to winning 2 other events and eventually becoming the overall winners.

Anyway, I received my SAF BMTC ePosting Order and I will be reporting to my new unit tomorrow morning.

Here's an abstract of my Posting Order:

Comd SAF BMTC wishes you all the best in your future posting.
Your Posting Order is listed below:
1. You are posted to SUP&TPT CENTRE.
2. Your vocation is SUP SUPVR.
3. Your are to report to: Sembawang Camp, STC, Blk 207, #02-02.

I did a google on my posting and this was the description given:

"In life and death situations, our forces need support they can count on. The right supplies, delivered at the right time, can ensure their safety and survivability. As a Supply Supervisor. you'll be responsible for doing just that. You'll supply our forces with the proper resources: from food and medicine, to ammunition and spare parts. You'll be well trained in the latest IT and Logistics management systems, using them to order , keep track and deliver a wide range of supplies to our troops. So whether you're maintaining stocks of essential supplies or distributing them, you'll be sustaining our Army's operational readiness. Our supply chain management system is one of the best in the world. As part of the Logistics team, you'll contribute to the effectiveness of our Army."

The description sounds interesting and I'm quite pleased with my posting except for the location of the camp. It's going to take me about 2 hours and at least $5 to travel through and fro. Thus, I was hoping to stay in camp (I know many people is going to say that I'm crazy =)).

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"If you do not do the things you fear, the fear controls your life"

Life as a Recruit

2007-08-26T17:01:00.000+08:00

Hi,

First, I would like to apologise for not updating this blog for close to a month. Don't worry. I'm still surviving, alive and kicking. Army training has been progressive and manageable. Superiors have been reasonable and punishments are not meted out without a reason. If you are putting in effort to do your best, superiors will help you to perform your best. To be honest, I have learnt quite a lot from them. One of my commanders inspired me with a quote - "Pain is temporary, pride is forever". It is indeed true. When we put in effort to do something seriously, there may be sacrifices and we may feel painful. However, the sense of pride and achievement when we succeed, will live with us forever. The pain that was inflicted would seem so negligible compared to our success.

After spending weeks in Pulau Tekong, here are some routines that may sound really familiar to servicemen and may of course interest others:

1) Reciting out the SAF 7 core values - Loyalty to country, Leadership, Discipline, Professionalism, Fighting spirit, Ethics, Care for Soldiers before gulping water like a buffalo every morning and seeing many trainees becoming a Singapore icon (The Merlion) after drinking.

2) Hearing people yell "FACE THE FLAG" during the flag raising and lowering ceremony.

3) Chicken - I can't even imagine how much chicken went down my stomach every day. (Probably a few farm worth of chickens were supplied to the SAF? No wonder they made a film Chicken Run.)

4) Black tape is my best friend - It is versatile and can be used in any situation you can imagine of. No soldier can live without black tape, especially during their basic military training.

5) Feeling sleepy once the clock hits 2230 hours for lights out (Even when I'm at home, so that's why you have not been seeing me online often even on Saturdays).

6) Taste of combat rations with a little bit of mud, camo cream and sweat as supplements.

7) Blisters - Walking unimaginable distances with your boots during route marches causes blisters on my feet. It is almost impossible for any soldier to escape getting any blisters that would fully recover before you get a second one. In fact, I didn't know it was possible to get multiple blisters on the same spot before enlistment.

8) Being in platoon 4 is hell in the beginning - Every recruit would know that platoon 4 bunks are located at the 5th level (top floor). That probably explains why the fastest runner and strongest legs usually comes from platoon 4.

9) Pushing myself beyond limits - Up to now, I still do not know my limits yet. Every time I thought of giving up, I always end up completing the training. Army training has expanded my limits, allowing me to perform tasks which I thought was impossible in the past.

10) Laughing at other recruits' "Botak" head and only to realise that your hair is also gone.

I'll be booking in in 2 hours time. Hopefully, I could discover more interesting facts about the army for me to blog about. 2 more weeks to my passing out ceremony. Hope that the army will send me for the upcoming medic course.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Pain is temporary, pride is forever."

Final hours to BMT

2007-07-27T06:16:00.000+08:00

Hi,

In just less than 3 hours, I'll be off to my Basic Military Training in Pulau Tekong which I believe will be a life changing experience. New friends will be made. New things will be learnt. Instead of seeing it as a torture to serve National Service, I'll rather see it as a chance for to know myself better as well as for me to mould myself into someone who is stronger, not only in physical fitness, mental fitness as well as in character.

Memories of wearing the green uniform when I was in the NCC, the smell of mud and grass, the scolding from your superiors, the brotherhood bond, are already starting to flashback in my mind.

Well. I'll have to do my last minute packing. I'll continue blogging about my National Service experience from time to time (Hmm... I guess that's the content for the majority of my blog for the next 2 years ) =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Ask not what your country can do for you: Ask what you can do for your country"

4E Gathering

2007-07-22T01:15:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I haven't been blogging for a long time. I'm now just waiting for my enlistment on 27 July. How I wish the army had enlisted me much earlier. At least I would be occupied instead of just staying at home feeling so lost, having so much time but nothing much to do.

Anyway, I went for a secondary class gathering at the vila'ge. I'm so glad to find that they are all doing well. Most have entered universities or are waiting for their ORD date. The rest have just enlisted. I was the only one who was still waiting for my enlistment. =( I saw Huiting and Anna at the restaurant and waved to them but they couldn't recognised me at first, most probably due to my new spectacles which I prescribed specially for my National Service.

I had a great time talking to my old classmates and hope that we could catch up again soon. 4E is truly a excellent class that left me with happy secondary school memories. I have this strong belief that we will stay as great friends for years to come.

Here are some photographs that I took during the gathering:

The guys.

Class of 4E
With Amanda, Christie and Jiamin. All NUS undergrads. =)

I've started a new blog. It will be written in mandarin and the blog would be on TCM to prepare myself for my degree in NTU. Here's the blog address: http://www.sinseh-tong.blogspot.com/. Do check it out and give me some ideas/ topics which I can blog about.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with friendship."

Public transport sleeping syndrome

2007-06-19T09:17:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Just uploaded a video captured by Jason during the train ride back to Singapore during our Malaysia trip:

This is a syndrome I had for the past 3 years when I was studying in Ngee Ann. I call this the "Public transport sleeping syndrome". Every time I take a public transport, this always happens. I'll be very interested to find out if anyone else suffers the same syndrome as me. =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big."

Graduation Picture Book

2007-06-19T00:12:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Graduation is over, and I'm officially a Ngee Ann graduate. Time to move on to the next chapter of my life. But first, I'm going to post all the pictures I have taken during graduation. What entry about graduation would be complete without pictures, right? I have taken so long to add this entry because of slow loading speed and also, I do not want to post "Graduation Picture Book" without all the pictures I haven taken. =)

So here they are:

So, anyone whose interested in having a copy of any of these pictures, please give me a call or drop me a sms. Alternatively, you can also leave a comment or tag on my tag box.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference. "

寻找藏宝点, 爱上小红点...

2007-06-09T19:53:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I wanted to do something crazy before I am enlisted and this was what I did:

A photograph with little red dot.

Team Michelle =)

A photograph with Adrian Pang.

Another photograph with Ben and Michelle.

One more photograph with Kym.

With little red dot 1.

With little red dot 2.

With little red dot 3. =)

Yup... That's was what I did. I participated in the new TV game show Code Red (爱上小红点) created by Mediacorp Studios.

Read how the game is played @:

http://ch8.mediacorptv.com/shows/variety/view/864/1/.html

I'm not allowed to copy and paste here due to copyright issues.

Being involved in a TV production is really tiring. The program which we watch on TV is heavily and professionally edited to only 1 hour. However, we took the whole day to do the filming. So, here's the breakdown of how the program is produced.

9.00 am - Participants start to rush in to Kampong Chai Chee Community Centre.

9.10 am - Production team have not arrived.

9.30 am - Arrival of logistics team.

9.40 am - Hosts of the game - Adrian, Michelle, Kym (a.k.a AMK) and Ben arrives.

10.00 am - We were informed by the producer that we arrived too early (but the website told us that it starts at 9.00 am) and thus she did not managed to get the shots of the participants arriving and we will told to move and disperse at the carpark outside the community centre and walk in again.

10.15 am - Hosts start to film the opening of the show.

10.30 am - We were called in to film the opening of the show (all the running in and cheering).

11.30 am - We were supposed to read a jingle as follows to gain an opportunity to appear in the game:

东方红透半边天

昂首来到新据点

不管藏得有多远

终究难逃我法眼

Embarrassingly I got the jingle wrongly and was eliminated. I was told to move to one side.

12.00 noon - I was informed that as many participants got the question which was asked at the end of the jingle wrongly, a reselection was carried out.

12.30 pm - I was given a second chance in an audition by the producer. She mentioned that the game later will be tough and participants should at least know Singapore well enough. Otherwise, we will look bad on TV and that's not what she wanted to portray. =) So I was asked the following 4 questions:

1) Who is the President of Singapore?

My answer: Mr S R Nathan.

2) Wan Qing Yuan(晚晴园) was built to commerate which person?

My answer: Sun Yat Sen (孙中山).

3) Who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs?

My answer: BG George Yeo.

4) Where was the treaty signed when the Japanese surrendered to the British?

My answer: City Hall.

Correct answer: Ford Factory.

So I got 3 out of 4 questions and successfully entered the game.

1.10 pm - Selection of teams. I got into Team Michelle.

- Spoilers start here -

1.20 pm - Lunch Break and briefing of the game rules.

Rules are as follows:

1) No handphones are allowed during the filming. Otherwise, a 30 minutes penalty will be incurred.

2) If you needed a clue, a 15 miuntes penalty will be incurred. There are 2 clues for each questions.

3) If you give up searching for a red dot, a 15 minutes penalty will be incurred.

2.20 pm - First question and challenge issued. We are supposed to perform a jingle and we sang Twinkle, twinkle little star.

2.25 pm - As we couldn't interpret our first question, we immediately bought our first clue.

2.26 pm - The host and team leaders set off to find the little red dot.

3.05 pm - Live transmission of Michelle and team leaders searching for clues at a food store in East Coast Road using a Nokia N95 3.5G sponsored by Singtel.

3.10 pm - Found the little red dot. Every team member started cheering. Team Michelle leads by 1 point.

3.11 pm - We picked a second red dot to search and unfortunately, we picked 1 which the other team was also searching. We did not want to take any risks and so we selected another red dot.

3.12 pm - We received our second question and we immediately guessed it to be Fisherman's Village of Pasir Ris Park without any clue. Michelle and team leaders set off to search for the clue.

4.10 pm - Still no news from Michelle and team leaders. Base camp members started to get worried.

4.12 pm - Live transmission from Michelle and team leaders. Apparently, we got too confident of our answer and got the place totally wrong. We decided to buy a clue.

4.20 pm - Still no idea of where to find the clue. Bought a second clue. It shows a picture of Sengkang Scrulpture Park. Michelle and team leaders headed there to find the little red dot immediately.

4.55 pm - Found the second red dot. However, Team Adrian had already started their quest to find the third red dot long ago. We were given our third question. Although we did not have enough time to buy another clue, we still worked hard to interpret the question, showing great sportsmanship.

5.05 pm - Preparing the last five minutes for countdown. We already found out the location (Joo Chiat, we were told that it was the correct location at the end of the filming) of the third little red dot and Michelle and team leaders was heading there at full speed.

5.09 pm - Live transmission from Michelle and team leaders for countdown.

5.10 pm - End of game.

5.40 pm - We welcomed Michelle and the team leaders back from their treasure hunt quest.

6.30 pm - Filming of show's closing and awarding of cash prize. Winning team gets $500 each while losing teams also received a consolation prize of $50. Team Adrian won while Team Michelle and Kym lost and I received only $50. Nevertheless, I had a truly fun experience being involved in a TV production and it was more important the amount of money received.

- Spoilers end here -

I was involved in the filming of the fifth episode and there are ten episodes altogether. Be sure to check it out. There will be more recruitments and if you are also interested to participate, you could just check out their recruitment publicity at the mediacorp webpage. =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. "

April trip to Malaysia.

2007-06-02T08:10:00.000+08:00

Hi,

These are some photographs that was taken during a trip to Malaysia about 2 months ago. I couldn't get hold of these photographs until now. It was indeed fun and exciting going on a backpacking trip with a group of friends and I really enjoyed it. It's really not expensive to go on such trips if they are well planned. It costed me less than $300 for the entire trip including transport, food and accommodation. However, try not too backpack alone as it's rather dangerous. Moreover, it's definitely more fun and cheaper to travel with a group of friends. =)

I hope to have a chance to do these more often in future.

A really nice 3 star hotel in Malacca - Hotel Puri.

On a Malacca public bus. The seat almost fell off after I sat on it.

Some chinese kopitam in KL that serves very nice pork chops and kaya toast.

In the kopitam.

Satay celup in Malacca. A little bit overrated by food critics.

Starbucks coffee after a shopping spree.

Eye on Malaysia.

At the Eye on Malaysia at Titiwangsa Lake Gardens which was unveiled earlier this year in conjunction of Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign.

The more I look at this photo, the weirder it looks. It appears to me like a power ranger movie poster. =)

Petronas Twin Tower from Titiwangsa Lake.

More Petronas... If you have not taken enough photos with the Petronas, you have not visited KL.

Trying to look stupid on a Malaysia train.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints."

A future career option?

2007-05-25T22:27:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I saw this article on TODAY and thought it would be quite interesting to be a TCM vet. A future career option if I accept NTU's offer? =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Instead of looking at life as a narrowing funnel, we can see it ever widening to choose the things we want to do, to take the wisdom we've learned and create something."

Analysis of NUS and NTU...

2007-05-24T23:36:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Here's some analysis I made on the 2 universities that offered me a course:

NUS:

+ Prestige - NUS has been ranked as one of the top 20 universities in the world, together with Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, Princeton and Imperial College... It is also ranked within the top 25 science universities in the world.

+ Highly vibrant campus.

+ I'll be together with many of my Ngee Ann friends. =)

+ Diverse nationalities in campus. Able to build my network around the world even before graduation.

+ Very accessible campus. Lesser travelling time if I am not given a place in the halls.

+ 3 years course with chances to file for honours of file for graduation. So if I don't do so well in the course and unable to meet the honours requirement, I can graduate earlier and get some work experience before heading for a master's degree.

- Large lecture class size. Makes me feel so unimportant.

- Little exemptions available.

NTU:

+ Prestige - Double degrees in 5 years, how many people in Singapore can boast graduating with 2 degrees? =)

+ Small class size. I'm confident that I can get good recommendations to graduate school - Being in a small program is a really easy way to get to know my professors.

+ School of Biological Sciences is the only school in Singapore that is able to boast a 100% employment of students.

+ "NTU grads going global, earning higher monthly salaries" - Heading of weekend TODAY (May 19-20).

+ Confirmed overseas exposure.

+ Undergraduate Research Experience on CAmpus (URECA) - NTU pays me $400/month for 10 hours/week of research work. Doing some calculations, it's $10/ hour doing something I like. This research job is definitely not washing glassware.

Here's a quote I found interesting:

"Washing dishes is not a job for an undergraduate; washing dishes is a job for a dishwashing machine, okay." - Mollie, Harvard Medical School

- Little diversity in nationalities although school have a large ratio of international students - I've been in NTU for attachment for 1 year and apparently, that's the impression I have.

- Inaccessibility - Time wasted in travelling if hall places are not secured.

- I'll be alone in my course. =(

- Totally no exemptions.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second."

Dé·jà vu? 1 offered and 1 rejected... Again...

2007-05-18T00:28:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Within these 2 days, I received another 2 letters from NTU and NUS.

My application to the NTU Nanyang Scholarship was unsuccessful after the interview. Although, I am quite honoured to be selected for the interview with so many competent applicants around, an unsucessful application is really bad news to me - A 5 year double degree will cost me a bomb, especially when I have to spend my final 2 years in China. However, looking on the bright side, I'm sure I can find many other sources to fund my university education. Just like the NTU professor had told me during a course consultation, I can easily earn the money by giving the local chinese English tuition. (Well... I will see if it's true when I successfully make it to China 5 years later =)).

On the other hand, NUS finally gave me an application outcome weeks after many of my friends received their outcomes. Yup... I was offered a course of study in Life Sciences but it does not appeal to me as much as the NTU double degree. Nevertheless, I've decided to give it a chance, by attending the science talk at NUS on 26th May before making my final decision.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

"Anonymous"

2007-05-04T01:52:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Recently, a mystery person "Anonymous" chanced upon my blog and starting tagging positive comments and encouragements on my tag box (see my tag box for the past few tags). =)

That's the beauty of the Internet. You'll never know who you will read what you write. This person may be your future employer or lecturer. I started this blog with the intention of keeping my friends informed of what's going on in my life and I'm glad that more people are actually reading my blog now, leaving comments on my tag box and even proof read what I've written so that I can make the changes. =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

P.S: "Anonymous", I've made the amendments for the quote in my previous entry. =)"

"Be yourself because the people that mind don't matter and the people that matter don't mind."

1 offered... 1 rejected...

2007-04-18T21:27:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I haven't been blogging for quite some time and so I decided to post an entry today.

I just received 2 notices for my university applications today. The bad news first: NUS has officially rejected my application to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Probably, the match between the SoM and I just wasn't right. I do feel a sense of disappointment but not to the extend of being really sad. I will try applying for the SoM again the next year and hopefully I have become a better match to what the school is looking for. If that fails again, I will concentrate to do well on my degree and apply for the NUS Graduate Medical School after my degree. I have this belief that someday I will fulfill my aspirations of becoming a doctor. By the way, all the best to Sylvia, Edison and Ron for their SoM's interviews and essay. They are truly excellent and talented candidates whom I believe will also become great doctors in future. =)

And now for the good news: NTU has offered me a course for their double degree programme in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine. I checked NTU's website today for more information about the course and discovered that last year's intake was only 60 and that means far lesser applicants were selected for the double degree as compared to NUS medicine (Ok... I'm just trying to console myself). Does it mean that I am the match they are looking for? Or does it really suggests that no one is actually applying for the course and that is why I'm selected?

I'm in a real dilemma now. Should I accept NTU's offer? Or should I venture overseas and risk losing the opportunity of getting into NTU again?

Please help!!!

That's all for now!

Bye =)

“History repeats itself if you do not learn from it, opportunity doesn't, if you do not know how to make full use of it.”

Greetings from Genting Highlands

2007-03-23T19:02:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I was checking my emails at a cyber cafe in Genting a while ago. I paid for 1/2 hours and had some time left. Decided to use the time fully since it's paid, so I'm adding in this entry.

Tried to sneak into the casino 3 times earlier this afternoon but failed. Haha... I think they are afraid that I win all their money, so don't let me enter. So went to the arcade and played some games.

Most probably will be going to the theme park tomorrow. =)

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Happiness does not depend on the size or content of a goal, but on the strength of the desire to have it."

Polytechnic Student Research Programme

2007-03-21T21:19:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I took part in the Polytechnic Student Research Programme and was one of the best teams in the programme. We were awarded best team awards during an award presentation ceremony yesterday.

The guest of honour for the event was Emeritus Professor Er Meng Hwa, the acting provost of NTU. Mr Chia Mia Chiang, the principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic was also present at the ceremony and it was probably the only time (and maybe the last time) I spoke to my own principal in my 3 years at Ngee Ann.

Dr Sushila Chang, Dr Wayne Forday and my supervisor, Mr Matthew Mak were also present at the ceremony to give us their support.

Here are some photographs taken during the ceremony:

Receiving the award from Professor Er.

Jinkai & me with Professor Er.

Taken with Mr Matthew Mak, Dr Sushila Chang and Jinkai.

Presentation time.

With our juniors, Michael & Shawn from Biomedical Science.

More professional photographs will be uploaded once I obtained it from the Ngee Ann Corporate Communication Office.

I would like to thank the following persons for our success:

1. Mr Matthew Mak for being such a supportive and encouraging supervisor.

2. Mrs Tang Guek Im for her trust in enrolling us in this research programme.

3. Mrs Teo Kwee Bee for training us in our oral presentation skills that made us speak with confidence (despite the technical glitch) which won the praise of many.

4. Professor Gong Haiqing, Thomas and his staff at the BioMEMS Laboratory for their help while doing our project there.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"I would thank you from the bottom of my heart, but for you my heart has no bottom."

3 years, 6 semesters...

2007-03-14T06:46:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I checked my final polytechnic results just a few minutes ago and felt so exhilarated when I saw the words "Passed and completed diploma" at the bottom of the online results slip that I decided to post an entry. My 3 years of hard work had paid off. Graduation would most probably be scheduled around June/July and although I'm looking forward to it, at the same time, I'm also feeling sad that I am leaving Ngee Ann very soon. Had the same feeling 3 years ago when I graduated from Manjusri.

Anyway, thank you LSCT for being such an excellent school. I had a great experience in Ngee Ann and made many friends that I will remember and keep in touch for life. Before I end this entry, I would like to congratulate all my friends and classmates who passed and completed the diploma with me.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go."

Graduation Trip: Bintan Style

2007-03-11T22:06:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I just returned from my graduation trip from Bintan. We booked and stayed in a villa at the Bintan Lagoon Resorts. It's a nice and beautiful place for a holiday (It has got to be, costs ~$2, 200 for 2 nights).

Here are my heights for the trip:

1) Laser Quest - So fun and exciting that we played for 2 rounds. Won both times. =)

2) Daryl's quiz time - Reminisced our 3 years in Ngee Ann.

3) Drive to tourists' night market (Pasar Oleh Oleh) - One of my favourites, sitting in a car of a hell driver going at 120km/h with no road lamps (and with Jason imitating the racers in the amazing race, telling the driver to go faster "Faster, faster!!! I give you $10"). Dangerous, yet exciting.

4) Fun time at the pool - A guys' party in the pool.

5) Cooking time - All the guys helping out in the kitchen.

Here are some pictures taken during our trip:

In the ferry, on our way to Bintan.

Our villa: Angsoka 02

In our villa.

Laser Quest. Fun =)

Food is served. =)

Dinner time. Casually dressed in a formal dinner. =)

Lost in Daryl's quiz. Forfeit time.

Guys party in the pool. =)

L-O-V-E-! Ya... I know the last character does not look like an exclamation mark.

Our last picture at the villa before we left.

In the ferry, on our way back.

Arrival to Singapore - Sunset

Arrival @ Singapore Cruise Centre - Jason, Jinkai and me =)

Arrival @ Singapore Cruise Centre - The whole group =)

Some other funny pictures:

Not brokeback mountain. This is what happens when the cold wind blows.

Pool jump - Take 1

Pool jump - Take 2

Pool jump - Take 3

Ya. I know I'm not in good shape and looks like a piece of lard. Have been trying hard to lose weight.

Waiting to be barbequed.

I'm sure everyone had fun during the trip and no one would ever forget this wild and crazy class of 2M03.

I'm starting to get nervous now. Final results would be out on 14 March.

All the best to everyone receiving their results.

That's all for now.

Bye =)

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

Gathering during chinese new year

2007-02-20T23:08:00.000+08:00

Just a short post. Here are 2 pictures I took during a chinese new year gathering at my grandaunt's place:

Photograph taken with my grandaunt and her family.

Family photo.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow."

A new beginning

2007-02-18T22:02:00.000+08:00

Hi,

I have been really busy the past few weeks and so have not been posting regularly. So I've decided to post a short entry tonight.

First, a belated valentine's day to all couples I know and a happy chinese new year to everyone. Hope everyone will have a great year ahead.

I've successfully moved house on the last day on the lunar calendar year and yesterday was my first night at my new place. Here's my new address: 42D Lor H Telok Kurau S(426039). I will invite friends shortly to a housewarming party. So hopefully most can attend and have a gathering before we all graduate.

Examinations are finally over and just one last external presentation before the end of my polytechnic education. I'm going to miss it for sure - Friends, lecturers and all the fun memories....

I've also submited my application to NUS and soon to NTU and of course my dream course is still medicine. Hope I can be granted an interview since NP diploma is not accredited. If I happen not to get in, I would have no regrets as I have given a shot in the interview.

I also hope that we can have grad trip and I'm still looking for options we have. Once that is finalised, I will make contact and again, all can attend.

Watched protege with Jason last night. It's a really nice and educational film. Everyone should watch it.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.Walk beside me and be my friend."

I'm Chee San, a blood donor. And I save lives.

2007-01-11T16:00:00.000+08:00

I donated blood this week again. It's the fifth unit of blood I've donated since 16 years old. It's such a meaningful deed and I will continue to be a blood donor. Here's some photo I took secretly.

Blood donation: A cool but painless procedure.

My pack of O+ blood =)

Donation done in 1 hour. Up to 3 lives saved

I took some time off from my stressful reports schedules this weekend to attend my secondary school class gathering at the NSRCC. I had a enjoyable time dragonboating, playing mahjong and dai dee as well as BBQing with them. It's been a long time since I caught up with them. So glad to meet up with them. Anyway, I'm going to be very busy the coming few weeks and so will not be updating my blog that often.

That's all for now.

Bye =)

"Helping people is music to my ears."

It's a year again...

2007-01-02T10:08:00.000+08:00

Time flies. One year ended again. There's so many people I would like to thank for all they have done in the past one year.

Thank you Jason & Jinkai for being such great friends.

Thank you Sylvia for bringing me into NP Soleil.

Thank you all my excellent lecturers and tutors for giving me such wonderful lectures.

Thank you all my other classmates and friends from Ngee Ann, NP Soleil and ex-classmates and teachers from Manjusri.

Thank you everybody.

These are the major highlights of me in year 2006:

1) Joining NP Soleil. It's one of the best choices I made in Year 2006. Community Service is what I enjoy doing and what I will still continue to do. Getting CCA points is an added bonus for me. Hope that my small contribution did made a difference to the lives of RCHD residents.

2) Starting my blog =)

These are my wishes for year 2007:

1) To be able to get good grades for my final semester in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

2) To be able to get into a Life Sciences course in NUS or NTU. I also wouldn't mind switching faculty to NUS's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences to major in Social Work although my ambition is still to become a doctor.

3) To be able to enjoy my life in the military.

4) To be able to keep in touch with all my friends even after graduation.

5) To be able to do some backpacking around Asia.

6) That all my friends' wishes will come true.

&

7) The world be a much better and peaceful place to live in.

I've been working hard on my reports the past 2 weeks including Christmas and new year. I've put in so much hard work this time round and I hope that my hard work will pay off.

Anyway, Happy New Year to my friends, teachers and everyone else who reads this blog. Wishing all of you a great year ahead!!!

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Do not repent for what is lost forever. Start with whatever is left with you and once again fortune will smile on you."

Christmas Celebration @ RCHD

2006-12-21T23:06:00.000+08:00

I attended the Christmas celebration at RCHD. Really enjoyed the night. Hope the residents had fun too. Here are some photos with compliments to Sylvia and Edison:

Edison, Chee San, Sylvia and Priscilla =)

Christopher's birthday wish is to learn English by himself, so we got him a vocabulary book. =)

The December babies =)

Performance =)

The cute dog at RCHD.

Red Cross Home for the Disabled celebrate Christmas =)

Priscilla, Sylvia & Chee San

Christopher looks very happy tonight =)

Just in case you are wondering why I had written less and less words in my recent blogs, the answer is I'm saving the words for my IAP and FYP reports. I'll be writing in more once I clear all these reports. Anyway, I couldn't post the 'unglam' photos up as my camera has officially died. I'm sending it to Canon to service it and hopefully the photos are still there and I'll post it up in my next blog.

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"As long as there is one fellow creature whom you can console with your kind words, whom you can enlive and cheer by your presence, whom you can help with your worldly posessions, however little that charity may be, you are a precious member of the human race."

Moving House, Part Three

2006-12-15T22:21:00.000+08:00

Here are some more pictures I took at my new house today:

My sisters' room -completed.

My study desk - completed.

My great grandfather did this before he passed away a long, long time ago. My dad repainted it.

A bench also made by my great grandfather with zero nails. Heard he's a great craftsman. My dad repainted it and used it as our sofa.

Anyway, Jason, Jinkai and Melvin helped me shop and assemble computer parts for my new desktop. Really appreciate it! Thanks.

"A friend in need's a friend indeed."

Visit to Mr Naufal's house...

2006-12-10T12:41:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I visited Mr Naufal's house with my secondary school class. Glad to know everybody is doing fine. Some of them are at NUS while others will be going overseas to further their studies. Mr Naufal is more than just a biology teacher to me. He is also a mentor and friend in Manjusri. He listens to us whenever we're down and tries his very best to help us. He's one of the most inspiring teachers I have met so far. I'm sure he will continue to inspire more students. All the best Mr Naufal & family!

4E Class of '03 at Mr Naufal house. They still look the same =)

"阿嬷" and Chee San

"阿嬷" and Chee San again. Why do they like to take photos slanted?

"阿嬷", Chee San and the top student '03 =)

"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."

I miss my grandmother...

2006-12-08T22:53:00.000+08:00

Today's my grandmother's death anniversary. Time flies. She has already left us for a year. She had left so much for us. I still think of her quite often. I miss my grandmother. Hope that she is somewhere happy and well. May we meet again in the next life...

Photograph taken during my grandmother's last birthday before she passed away.

"Death ends a life, not a relationship."

Moving house, Part Two

2006-12-02T23:54:00.000+08:00

This is my second entry on moving house. I've added a few photographs I had taken this morning at my new place:

It is just located behind East Shore Hospital.

A single storey terrace located at 42D Lorong H Telok Kurau.

The living room that is still renovating.

The dry kitchen.

The backyard and wet kitchen.

Common bathroom.

My parents' room - Kind of small isn't it?

Master bedroom's bathroom - Currently used as a store until renovation is completed.

My sisters' room.

The small bathroom in my sisters' room.

My room - Another store until renovation is completed.

My study desk.

My wardrobe.

I also went for NP BB Primers' Sharity Gift Box Food Collection Drive at Fajar today. Tomorrow, we will be distributing these food items collected to old folks staying in Macpherson area. Thanks to everyone who contributed in the drive today and also to those who donated food items. You have done a great deed =). Here's a group photo taken today:

On my way back, I took a LRT to Choa Chu Kang MRT station. It's my first ride on a LRT even since it start operation (so embarrassing...). Here's a photograph that Jinkai took for me on the train:

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"Thinking well is wise; planning well, wiser; doing well wisest and best of all."

Nicknames...

2006-11-29T20:49:00.000+08:00

Many of my friends has given me nicknames throughout these years. I thought it would be cool to list them down in my blog.

Nicknames when I was in Tao Nan:

Sotong - I was given this nickname most probably due to my surname "Tong" and also I was actually quite blur, like a sotong, when I was in primary school.
TCS - TCS was another nickname my friends gave me due to initials of my name and they would usually joke that I own TCS (Television Corporation of Singapore), the present mediacorp.

Nicknames when I was in Manjusri:

Ah San/ San San - This is what my closest friends in Manjusri call me.

Nicknames when I was in Ngee Ann:

Bready Superman (面包超人) - This is what the YEP Palawan group calls me. Not too sure of the reasons. Anyone care to tell me? Slogan that comes with this nickname "I am Bready Superman. I want to use my bread to save the world." ("我是面包超人。我要用我的面包拯救世界。")

The Thing - The Thing is the rock man from Fantastic Four. I'm known to my classmates as The Thing because I have set it as my display picture on msn or maybe it's because I look like The Thing. Which one is it? Anyone care to tell me? Slogan that comes with this nickname "It's clobbering time!"

Nicknames NCC Cadet Lieutenants (CLTs) call me:

Laughing Buddha - I was given this nickname because I smiled at everyone I meet and have a botak headstyle. Once I smiled at the sergeant in charge of east district and that night he won 4D and since then all the east district CLTs call me Laughing Buddha.

Any other nicknames that anyone have called me which I don't know? Share them here!

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. "

It's Gerald's Birthday!!!

2006-11-27T23:13:00.000+08:00

Gerald, this entry is for you. Have a happy birthday and may all your dreams come true. Continue to stay young at heart although soon, you will not be able find your age on the calendar. Haha...

Photographs taken during Gerald's birthday celebration earlier this month.

Photograph taken during Gerald's birthday last year.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. "

Sec School Gathering: First trip to K-box

2006-11-26T22:42:00.000+08:00

I had my secondary school gathering (or rather buddy gathering, only 4 attended and 1 left within 1 minute -_-lll, why did he come anyway?) at K-box today. It's my first trip to K-box (so embarrassing) and it would definitely have been more fun with more friends around. But anyway, we had a good gathering singing karaoke and catching up. Here are some pictures:

Only 2 of my classmates and I are in the pictures, the other classmate was busy taking photographs that we forgot to include him in. Haha...

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"True friends are a reward, leaving them is the penalty of life. "

Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la la...

2006-11-25T23:41:00.000+08:00

This morning, I visited the Red Cross Home again. I planned this event and was afraid that we might be shorthanded today since most of our Soleil members went for the BB primers' Sharity Box publicity. So, I brought my sister along to help and introduced her as our new member from BMS Year 1 and Sylvia believed... Haha...

We had a Christmas Carol singing session (Ya, I understand it might be a bit too early for christmas carols) today and I found it very nice and I'm sure the residents would like it as well. Here are some pics:

Our 2 fabulous guitarists from NP strings. Thanks for your help!

F4 wannabes?

Spot my sister.

Actual Performance - A great success!

I had to leave early today as I registered for the HarmonyWorks! Conference. My apologies to all soleil members and Darren, thanks for helping me to conduct the Christmas Card making session. I will be more responsible next time and not register for 2 events on the same day. It was a genuine mistake that I only discovered this week.

Anyway, the HarmonyWorks! Conference I attended with Jinkai was great! The organisers were not only bold in their style of discussing racial harmony but also making it as close to reality as possible by incorporating a couple of sensitive and racist jokes into their role play for the forum theatre.

My participant pass and conference materials.

Today's also the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women". They had an event at Clake Quay which I wanted to go down to show my support but I was just too tired after the conference. However, I ordered a shirt which United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) had printed for the event to show my support. I'm quite supportive of this event as I felt that women should be respected and protected and not be victims of violence.

Print behind T-shirt: "Not a Minute More"

Looking forward to tomorrow. I'll be meeting up my secondary school friends for a gathering. It's been so long since we have had a gathering together. I'm sure it would be much fun. I'll blog about the gathering tomorrow.

That's all for now!

Bye=)

"Make your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation."

It's official: She's stuck in the middle!

2006-11-23T23:43:00.000+08:00

Today's the release of PSLE results. My sister obtained an A* for Chinese, As for English and Mathematics and a B for Science. She had an overall aggregate of 227. This is the worse kind of aggregate you can ever obtain. I've experienced it myself (my PSLE aggregate was 225). Why do I say that? If she obtained 10 points lesser, she could enrol in a neighbourhood school and still not feel disappointed because she will know she did not make the cut for a more prestigious school. If she obtained 10 points more, she could enrol in a better school like TKSS or TKGS which has a Cut Of Point of 237 for last year's admission. Having an aggregate of 227, she's stuck in the middle. Her aggregate deserves better than a neighbourhood school but still could not make it to a more prestigious school like TKGS.

So in the end, after some discussion with the family, she made the following choices:

Geylang Methodist Secondary School
Holy Innocents High School
Hai Sing Catholic Secondary School
Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School
Bedok View Secondary School

and last of all the safest choice to put at the 6th position - Manjusri Secondary School. Hope this will be her correct choices and she would be posted to a school she wanted unlike me who was posted to a school that was none of my choices I made.

Anyway, I went for a christmas carols singing rehearsal today. It's for the soleil event I planned for this Saturday's visit. But the response was poor. This Saturday's event clashed with BB Primers' Sharity Gift Box which many of our members is going to participate. Hope that there would still be sufficient members to sing the carols on the day.

I must start training for my NAFPA. I believe I'm at zero points for every station now. =(

Anyone wants to train with me?

That's all for now!

Bye =)

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."

Moving house, Part One

2006-11-22T23:57:00.000+08:00

Soon, I'll be moving out of the house where I grew up, where I spent the first 19 years of my life to a new place. I didn't know how much rubbish I've stored in my house until now... So many things to dispose, so many things to pack, so many things to move. When will all these chores be completed? My house is in a terrible mess now. It looks like a refugee camp or a house that has just been burgled. Everywhere I go, I bump into things. Hope that everything ends soon. And a new place, a new environment... will I be able to adapt fast enough?

Anyway, as you can see the mess in the photographs, I have to clear up the mess and pack up my things now. I'll continue to blog about my experiences moving house. Keep coming back to check my blog.

That's all for now!

Bye=)

"If a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done. Be the labour great or small, do it well or not at all."

Release of PSLE results = Whole family stress

2006-11-21T23:43:00.000+08:00

PSLE results will be released in 2 days time. My sister will also be collecting her results this year. Everybody in the family, except the person collecting the results, is stressed up. One minute, my sister was telling me how sad she was for screwing up her maths paper and the next minute, her friends called and she forgot everything and just went out to play - incredible!

Everyone in my family knows how important PSLE is in Singapore. I'm a great example. I didn't do well for my PSLE and ended up in a not so good secondary school. I have to slog like hell to get into the course which I wanted to pursue. Getting into a prestigious secondary school simply meant that everything will be smooth for you in future. Whether you are getting into a JC or polytechnic, being an alumni of a well known secondary school gives you the added advantage above the rest. I happened to read an article from mr brown's blog. Statistics in the article shows that 40% of RJC students attend top US universities and more than half of them are on scholarships. Others are accepted by Oxford and Cambridge or other prestigious universities. So here's 2 scenarios:

1. If you do well in PSLE, you enter RI/RGS or some prestigious schools. Almost 90% of the rafflesians will move on to RJC. From RJC, it is almost guaranteed that you get a spot in one of the top universities. And common sense will tell you that you will be successful in life, getting an excellent career and making tons of money blah blah blah...

2. If you don't do well in PSLE, you enter a not so well known secondary school, you will have to work doubly hard to get a spot in a JC (Let's not mention RJC here). Then, again, you would need to struggle your way into a university.

I'm not trying to say that if you don't do well for your PSLE, you life is ruined or RJC students = successful. But instead, I'm trying to say that your education path later on would be more smooth and less bumpy than if you did well for PSLE. That's reality.

Hope that my sister will be able to get into a decent secondary school. Anyone with good secondary schools to recommend?

"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worse."

On school life...

2006-11-20T11:59:00.000+08:00

Everyday when you return from school, whether or not it is from a secondary school, a JC, a polytechnic, or ITE, you would probably think that school's stressful. All that work and torture under your lecturer's endless homework, assignments, tutorials and projects...

But think about this, all the time spent with your classmates, all the laughter, sorrows, and happiness of knowing that your friends are there in your class. Now imagine if they are gone, perhaps part of them or even all of them. You may not realise it, but when advancing into the next level of education, it is inevitable that some friends will be parting with you.

What is all this you ask yourself. What I ask is of you to think what do those people who were once or are still your classmates and friends meant to you. Anyone who had finished their O' Levels and has graduated from their secondary schools would know the feeling of parting with your classmates and friends, not knowing when you still see them again. Perhaps the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year, the next decade. Perhaps you might not see them again for the rest of your life.

One day, you would realise how bitter sweet those memories were, the fun you had with your classmates and friends. That is why ever so often when you ask someone about their fond memories they had in years of education, they would often have that sadness in their eyes, but yet, they smile briefly - It's the memories of their school friends. Those unforgettable years of laughter and happiness in school and the teachers, whether they are kind or extremely strict.

So, to all my friends and classmates. Treasure our last semester in Ngee Ann, don't complain, because you never know when you will miss them dearly. And perhaps, shed a tear for those treasured times in your youth.

Lab session 2005

"Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things."

A picture speaks a thousand words

2006-11-19T23:32:00.000+08:00

Have you even wondered why I'm willing to spend my Saturday morning volunteering myself at the Red Cross Home for the Disabled? Well, I guess it's because I feel that I'm very fortunate and life is more than just receiving. The best reward after every visit would be the smiles on the residents' face. I feel happy when I know I've made their day. =)

As promised in my previous blog, here are the pictures for yesterday's visit.

Credits to Ivan for the photographs. Thanks Ivan!

Birthday celebration

Birthday cake.

Look how happy they are.

The November babies.

Cutting the cake.

More help?

Another happy resident. =)

Beauty pageant

Our contestants? Sorry guys... Not these gorgeous ladies.

Here are the true contestants. Disappointed?

Contestant no. 1: Chun Li

Contestant no. 2: Pretty woman

Contestant no. 3: Aladdin

Our panel of judges.

Caught seducing the judges.

And guess who won...

Crowned winner of the pageant: Who else but our sexy Chun Li?

Behind the scenes

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned."

Late...

2006-11-18T22:54:00.000+08:00

Overslept today. I was late for Soleil activity. Thankfully, Pris gave me a call and woke me up. I took a cab down to RCHD and managed to join them for some activities.

Anyway, I had great fun at RCHD. Today's event was a great success. Great job, Weixin and Siew Yong! We had a birthday celebration for the residents whose birthday fell on the month of November and also a "beauty pageant". I'm sure the residents also had fun today, unlike the previous event which I planned. It was a disaster. I hope that the next event I plan could be better...

I will upload the photos for today's event once I get them.

Then, in the afternoon, I went to Tampines Mall to watch Casino Royale with my sister. Great movie. It was one of those which I didn't fall asleep while watching. I fell asleep while watching Harry Potter, Legend of Zorro and also Miami Vice.

So tired. Didn't have much sleep the whole week and brain is not working properly. And now I really have to stop blogging for that much needed rest. >_<

"The way to avoid mistakes is to gain experience. The way to gain experience is to make mistakes."

“阿嬷”的生日

2006-11-17T23:44:00.000+08:00

因为今天是2003年四E班“阿嬷”的生日，所以决定用华文来写博客。以前跟“阿嬷”说话多伴是用华语，要用英语跟她祝贺生日，感觉上有点怪怪的。所以就决定用华语来给她祝贺了。可是。。。

对我这个三年都没写过半个华文字的学生来说，要写出这么一篇祝贺词还真不容易啊！真庆兴有ms language bar的帮助，才能顺利地把它写完。

我心目中的“阿嬷”虽然有点傻傻的，但是乐观开朗，乐于助人的她，十分受到我们4E班的欢迎。虽然她不是班长，但也可称的上是我们4E的“龙头大姐”，为4E做出了很多贡献。

在此祝贺“阿嬷”生日快乐，心想事成，快高长大，学业进步，永远青春美丽。

智杉， 2006年十一月十七日

迟到，所以没有吃到的生日蛋糕。=(

“真好吃！还有没有啊？”

感动到哭。“阿嬷”，生日要开心，不可以哭哦！

4E女将！

“大家一起来！”

"My friend, if I could give you one thing, I would give you the ability to see yourself as others see you... then you would realize what a truly special person you are. "

Time will heal our wounds

2006-11-16T22:22:00.000+08:00

Trouble passes. What has caused you to burst into tears will soon be forgotten. You may remember that you cried but not why you did so! As we grow up and go through life, we are often surprised at how we lie awake at night, brooding over something that has upset us during the day, or how we nurse resentment against someone by letting the same thoughts run through our minds concerning how to have our own back. We may fly into a rage at the spur of the moment over something, and later wonder what it was that we were so angry about, and be surprised to realise what a waste of time and energy it had all been. We have deliberately continued being unhappy when we could have stopped being so and started thinking about something else which is more wholesome.

Whatever our troubles are, and however aggrieved we may feel, time will heal our wounds. but surely there must be something we can do to prevent ourselves from being hurt in the first place. Why should we allow others or our troubles to drain away our energy and make us unhappy? The answer is that they do not. It is we who make ourselves unhappy.

You may have some trouble in school but you should not infect your home with a bad atmosphere. You should realise that there is an end to those problems. The solutions could be found in achieving freedom from our selfish desires, by eradicating all forms of confusion and ignorance.

When we fail to find a solution to a problem, we are inclined to find a scapegoat, on whom we vent our frustration. We are not prepared to admit our own shortcomings. It is easier to put the blame on others. In fact, some even take pleasure in doing so. This is a completely wrong attitude to adopt. We must not show resentment towards others. We should do our utmost, painstakingly and calmly, to resolve our problems. We must be prepared to face up to any difficulties that we encounter.

"You need a reason to be sad. You don't need a reason to be happy."

Over land, on the sea and in the air, we are the best buddies

2006-11-15T23:21:00.000+08:00

To reward you for visiting my blog frequently, Jason -This entry is for you.

I just discovered something incredible. You are my only friend who has ever

gone over land (Hope Mt. Ophir counts. Hehe... Did not take any photo though, we should go back there someday again)
on and in the sea (see photo) &
in the air with me.

Sounds like the NCC song ah... Haha

Dived the deepest sea.

On the sea.

In the air. Just in case you are wondering where I am, I'm flying the plane. Joking. I'm taking this picture.

More fun times with this buddy:

So buddy... We have gone over land, on the sea and in the air, where next?

How about space?

Thanks for being such a good friend.

Hope you like this post!

"Friendship isn't a big thing; it is a million little things."

"Stamina and determination is the key to success for careers in Biomedical Science and Biotechnology"

2006-11-14T22:37:00.000+08:00

I wrote this entry for all my friends and coursemates who will be graduating with a life sciences diploma with me next year. Just curious to find out if anyone have actually started planning what you would like to do in future? I was reading the series of articles regarding future of a career in life sciences on TODAY a month back when I came across this blog entry by Mollie. She had drawn a flowchart about careers in biology. I thought it is quite useful as it lists out the career paths that we can take. So I decided to also come out with one that fits us better. It is more or less similar to hers with slight changes.

Career flowchart for Life Sciences industry. Just in case it's too small to be readable, save the picture to read it.

I guess this flowchart is more or less self explanatory. So I shall just list a few important things that I concluded about our future in the life sciences industry:

A masters degree in science alone is not very useful as the jobs you can do are more or less similar to a degree holder. You are over qualified for a job of a lab technician but under qualified to be a principal investigator. Thus, you might lose you competitiveness since a degree holder commands a lesser pay than you.
The minimum time for a diploma holder to obtain a PhD is 6 years - Australia (But again, it has to depend on how fast you come out with your PhD thesis.)
The minimum time for a diploma holder become a doctor is 7 years - Australia or UK (I think Penny Tan is taking just 5 years since she went straight to med school from poly - Genius). I want to be a doctor. I'm taking this route for sure.
It takes a lot of money and time to finish all those education before we start work.
Final Conclusion: It sure takes a lot of stamina for someone to do life sciences. Life Sciences is definitely not for the faint hearted. Only those who are determined can make it - Dr Wayne Lee Forday deserves a salute from me. Just in case you didn't know. He holds a total of five academic degrees - One honours degree in science, two masters of sciences, a masters in Business Administration and also a Ph.D. Whoa... How long did he take to complete all those degrees anyway?

Hope this entry gave you a rough idea of our career paths. I might have missed out on other paths or there might be mistakes in my flowchart. Anyone who knows of other career paths or spots mistakes, could you please post a comment? Thanks.

That's all for now!

Bye=)

"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up and work."

Mathematics - From Hate to Love

2006-11-13T23:05:00.000+08:00

I've decided to post an entry regarding mathematics since I really love this subject. I used to hate A-maths so much and just blamed the teacher for not knowing how to teach. That was the only subject I failed in secondary 4. Here's the proof:

My result slip for Sec 4.

Just in case it's too small for you... I've enlarged it... E8 for Additional Mathematics...

Then, I discovered that maths is all about practice. I started doing my ten year series, question by question. At first, it was so frustrating since I didn't understand any of the concepts taught, not even the simplest simultaneous equations or matrices. I threw my ten year series around and it split into two pieces (check with my secondary school friends if you don't believe). As I continued on, I got the hang of doing the questions. I found that they are actually just repetitive of each other. Then, I attempted the more challenging questions and refused to ask anyone to solve for me even if I had taken a long time because the sense of achievement you attain when you solve a challenging maths question was indescribable. It was then I fell in love with the subject.

Finally, I completed all the questions in the ten year series and I moved up 6 grades from E8 to A2 during my O' Levels. Nothing is impossible if you put in effort. So what happened to my "model answers"? I passed it on to my cousin who took her O' Levels one year after me and I think she got an A as well.

Since this entry is about mathematics, I've added in a couple of maths jokes. Enjoy and have a great laugh:

That's all for now!

Bye =)

" Achievement, I have found, is nearly always a rebound from hard work."

"Weekend"

2006-11-12T23:58:00.000+08:00

Hello Kitty alarm goes off after about 7 hours of sleep (Ya… It belongs to my sis, just borrowing since mine’s spoilt and since my mum wakes her up, No need for an alarm clock anyway). So tired… Hit the snooze and went back to sleep again. Ah… Alarm goes off 5 minutes later. I tried my best to pull myself up, switched off the stupid hello kitty. Washed up then sat in front of my computer, checked email, everyone’s blog, friendster.

Irritating Hello Kitty Alarm Clock.

Went down to the dining to search for food. No luck. Not even a slice of bread. Decided to skip breakfast. Read some newspapers and then my mum came home from the market. Being a good boy (hehe, actually with a motive. I don’t like to eat beansprouts. See photo), I volunteered to help her pluck beansprouts. Then, dad woke up and suggested that we pick up some appliances for the new house at the mall. So the whole family changed and went to vivocity.

I hate beansprouts!

Tried to pluck off most of the beansprout. The last one was done by me. Hehe...

Mum & Sis on way to vivocity.

We went straight to best denki to look for a new TV set and refrigerator. I had a personal preference for this TV. Nice? Of course it has to be. It comes with a $4,000 price tag. So, we decided to visit other shops before making a decision. We went for lunch at basement food court. Expensive and taste really bad. Did not finish the cold pasta which I thought was supposed to be hot and steaming.

LG Time Machine, with built in DVR for recording functions up to 33 hours.

Next, dad drove us down to parkway parade to check out more shops for more comparisons. But instead, he saw this car showcase opposite parkway parade and got attracted to it. Went to check out the new cars and he seemed interested to make a purchase almost immediately since the price was much cheaper then the one he saw at the showroom. Mum stopped him.

Nope... Not this one. This is an Aston Martin DBS. The new 007 car. Saw this at vivo for promotion for Casino Royale.

We then went to Harvey Norman to check out more appliances. Did not make any purchase in the end. But still, great service by the salesperson. Keep it up!

I reached home around 4. Watched some boring Hong Kong drama and ate porridge for dinner. Continued watching TV – Meet the parents was great. I had a great laugh. Then, I helped my sister with her presentation on her China trip that was due tomorrow.

I wanted to write this entry earlier. But my stupid ELDER sister had to switch off my laptop’s power supply to charge her mobile phone when she could do it somewhere else. So I quarreled with her. Yes… Again… It seems like an everyday routine. Either we both keep our mouths shut or we’ll quarrel. I decided that it’s there no point carrying on with the argument and so I went to watch some news before coming back to write this entry again. I must try to be more tolerant and patient to her from now on…

"Be patient with all. Anger leads one along a blind path. While it irritates and annoys others, it also hurts oneself."

Tribute to my Alma Mater: Manjusri Secondary School

2006-11-11T22:40:00.000+08:00

Time really flies!

It has been 3 years since I graduated from my secondary school, the place that defines my adolescence. I still recall the many fond memories of Manjusri. The days that I spent there mugging for my O' Levels and meeting CCA proposal datelines - Endless top schools exam questions, ten year series, after-school remedial lessons, CCA proposals, leadership camps. 24 hours never seemed enough for me. But through constant encouragements and motivations from my teachers and friends, I learnt to cope and manage my time pretty well.

Now, whenever I spot a manjusrian in uniform, it reminds me of the school song and motto that has moulded and continued to mould my character. To be honest, when I was first posted to Manjusri, I was actually quite embarrassed about telling people my school due to the notorious "fame" it had as a gangster school. Kind of bad huh? But now, 3 years after graduation, I am no longer embarrassed to tell people about my school. I am in fact proud to tell people where I come from. When I look back, Manjusri is not a bad school after all. The teachers were extremely caring and dedicated. Most of them, even when they are not teaching my class, are willing to go the extra mile to help me in my schoolwork. Some even stayed with me as late as 7.00pm to go through the past year questions.

The last time I visited the school during its 24th anniversary, I caught up with my teachers. I'm glad that they are all doing well and fine. The school would be moving to a new campus soon and I hope that this change in campus would also change people's bad impression of the school.

I have joined the Alumni since and I guess it's time for me to serve my Alma Mater. I believe I can play a part in seeing Manjusri flourish in not only its reputation but also in academic results and CCA achievements.

This entry is a tribute to you, my alma mater, Manjusri Secondary School!

From a proud graduate,
Chee San, Class of 2003, 4E

Class of 4E, 2003, I'll miss the days spent with them.

"When you can think of yesterday without a regret and tomorrow without a fear, you are on a road to success."

“Hi, I’m Chee San”

2006-11-11T02:15:00.000+08:00

Welcome to my blog!

Hi, I’m new to blogging and this is my first entry to my personal blog. So, I believe that I should start off my blog with an intro of myself. The basic things you need to know about me: My name is Tong Chee San. I was born in Singapore, grew up there the first 19 years of my life. I aspire to become a gynaecologist or lecturer or researcher. I am a member of the class of 2007 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore and basically I’m going to graduate in less than 6 months time to have my head shaved and serve my country. I am taking a Diploma in Biomedical Science and that means that I like cell & molecular biology a lot, but I like biochemistry, immunology and mathematics (just maths, not stats) even more. As far as my education is concerned, I’m planning to enroll myself in a university of my choice, get honours, go to graduate med school (hopefully) and get my M.D. or PhD and hopefully start working by 30 years old. I’m usually lost in class and always need someone to explain to me what the lecturer has just said and in the end, got my friends lost too. Really sorry about it.

In other areas of my life, I am a member and secretary of NP Soleil, a CCA that does community service work, mainly at the Red Cross Home for the Disabled and I really enjoy volunteering my services there. I have met a lot of great friends in Ngee Ann and I really treasure my friendships with my former classmates of 2M03 and friends I made from NP Soleil.

I also enjoy writing and taking pictures and as you can probably guess, this blog will contain a lot of photographs. I promise to update my blog regularly. I would appreciate if anyone can teach me some basic HTML so that I can make my blog look more appealing. I take suggestions, questions and like friends to leave comments on my blog often or I’ll take it that I’m unpopular.

That's two photos to start with:

My former classmates of 2M03

NP Soleil

That’s all for now!

Bye =)

"Life lets us ask what we want, but gives us only what we deserve."