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::shengie::
gender
male
age
21
dob
7-11, it's a store and more :p
horoscope
scorpio, tough one eh?
hometown
teck whye, singapore
location
johns hopkins, baltimore, maryland
occupation
student
yes yes
good music, good food, sea breeze, happy times with family and friends, cool weather,
no no
backstabbers, dogs that bark for nothing, regulars, hypocrites, misbehaving children, humid weather
sports i play
badminton, swim, gym, cycling, kayaking
listens to
jay chou, david tao, chinese and english pop, chinese orchestral, rock, r&b, world, inspirational, classical artistes
msn
wujassng@hotmail.com
icq 44783954
aim
aidanwu84
::Quote::
"You know, you only have half a heart, so even if you do something whole-heartedly, it's still half-hearted."
Me to Alex one day on 151
::calendar::
29.05.06 IBN Attachment
06.08.06 Concert@SCH
11.08.06 HCJC Booth
19.08.06 JHU BBQ
04.09.06 Back to JHU
::frens::
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The Study Rasu
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Tu Anh
::navigator::
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get around Singapore!
currency converter
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friendster
world lingo translator
internet SMS:
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::frontiers::
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::credits::
design
catchastar.blogspot.com
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31.8.03
We went to Chinatown for lunch! Man! Not again! Haha..no lah we went to the side opposite from where I spent most of the previous evening. The yong tau foo is not bad. Koo Kee brand. But next time I wanna try the Yong Xiang Yong Tau Foo, the one Zhong Qin went that time on Channel U..
The new OG building is also quite impressive; first time i stepped inside since it opened a year ago. Then went to look at some mooncakes on the first floor of the former majestic theatre. Tried the lotus root, green tea, red bean and fruit n nut types. Cheap thrill. Haha. the fruit n nut one sucks> Don't buy.
Then rushed home for tuition. My cousin lah, so it's okay. Anyway, his mum was with us for lunch too, so both late together.
Then went for a run.
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AidanWu was here on 9:47 pm
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Man what was I doing doodleing!
Anyway, i was in somewhat of a trance when I typed that.
Today was the 21st day after my grandpa's demise. So we went down to depot road for prayers.
I was expecting to submerge myself in the tranquil surroundings of the temple again. But I was to be disappointed. Haha.
My mom was turning into the tiny lane that leads to the entrance of the temple when we were unexpectedly faced with a procession of Hindu devotees with trumpets and various idols and flowery ornaments. So she had to break the rules of the Highway Code and reverse onto the main road. Then she headed down a bit till we passed the temple and another temple beside it before reaching a carpark. To be more precise, a lorry-park.
Then we walked to the venue. Man, the temple beside the temple we were going to was emanating loud, hollow Buddhist chants. And the Hindu temple was filled with devotees' shouts and cries. The Taoist temple we were heading for was quiet. But it had a makeshift stage set up in front of its premises. Actually, it was quite fun to experience so many things at one time. From a detached perspective. I was in the quiet temple, facing the road, with Hindu chants on my right and Buddhist chants on my left. And of course the incessant chatting of my mom and aunts behind lah. Haha not counted lah.
Sometimes i admire these people. The devotees. I cannot, at this point, see myself so pious in my prayers. I say this with all due respect to all the gods of the various religions. I am a free thinker, and I wonder sometimes what am I missing out by not going to Church, Mosque, or not chanting Taoist or Buddhist scriptures?
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AidanWu was here on 9:40 pm
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yoyo..
Today was an eventful day, or i should say eventful-enough day. That's because I'm still quite drained from yesterday! Haha. Well..on yesterday, I checked with my father and he said 190 DOES pass through where we walked, except it doesn't stop at the two bus stops we passed by. Dang! It stops at the MITA builiding one..which was just down the road from where we were. But again, we would probably have been too tired to walk some more.
So I took the mrt with alvin and dropped at dhoby ghaut (9:49pm). Then changed to the NS line and dropped at newton (9:57pm). On hindsight, I should have just dropped at somerset and take 190 home. Well..no brains liao lah...i realised too late, when the mrt reached orchard. Then I walked towards the bus stop in front of the Alliance Francaise De Singapour building (10:01pm). It was nice walking in that dark pathway, somehow. It seemed as if the night was still young, but yet there was no one around. It seemed so peaceful and quiet along Bukit Timah Rd District 11, as if everyone had decided to turn in early for the night. Well, admittedly I don't go out so late often. But the bus stops were empty, the buses were pretty empty. Is everyone at home? Or still busy clubbing/eating/merrymaking. I don't know.
When I reached the bus stop, a young couple dropped off 66. And walked towards the mrt. Ah, some hint of life. Then a young working-class lady sauntered into the same bus stop and sat down beside me. She wore the ubiquitous career-woman suit and appeared rather devoid of life, as opposed to me ( i was still bouncing around! and sweating of couse). She looked at me for a while, and I looked back. Nothing was said. Then my bus came. 67.
As usual this 67, like all others, was speeding and almost didn't make it at my stop. Yet it moved so quietly I almost didn't hear it coming. As usual, this 67 was filled disproportionately with Indian or Bangladeshi workers decked out in their best wear. Long sleeved shirt, proper formal pants was the average. Of course, the disproportion was to be expected; in fact I am used to it. 67 passes through the main thoroughfare of the Indian community in Singapore, Little India and its outskirts of Upper Serangoon.
Alliance Francaise De Singapour, Casa Rosita, Balmoral Plaza, ACS Barker (on the other side of the road), Wing on Life Garden, SCGS, Raffles Town Club, Copthorne Orchid, botanical gardens, the old NIE (where we lost to acjc waterpolo in 2002), crown centre, coro, HWACHONG (where some hc gals and one guy boarded), TCHS, sixth avenue (where two of the hc gals alighted), MGS, the bus stop where the 3-bus accident occurred, KAP, ngee ann poly, bukit timah market, johnson's duck, beauty world, the hillside, hume park, railmall, standard and chartered bank, dairy farm, mindef gombak base, phoenix lane, block 12, pub building, mobil station and then alight. cross the road, look left look right look left again, pass block after block after block, seeing the carparks all full. 10:40pm. Pass a playground with young people smoking and empty cigarette packs lying around. Cross the last road. Walk past Teck Whye Garderns. Into the lobby of block 132. I'm home.
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AidanWu was here on 9:23 pm
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Going to pray soon. So shall not dwell too long here.
Anyway yesterday was awesome! went to chinatown with some 79 buddies and we explored the place quite a bit. plus the bloated stomach i suffered after the whole thing was kinda unforgettable...haha.
[A penny for your thoughts]
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AidanWu was here on 10:00 am
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29.8.03
Teacher's Day Celebration
It's been a long day. There're so many things I wanna say but I'm just too drained out now...not that it was such a busy day, but rather how yesterday's duty (and the three that preceded it) has taken its toll on me..
Right after booking out at 8:20am, my mom drove me to Chinese High, where I spent a couple of hours and then went to Hwa Chong till about 11.
One thing that strikes me: despite how people's physical appearances may change, it is heartening to know again that their heart remains the same, how they still in their own individual ways, show how much they care for you as an ex-student. And you feel so wanted that you could melt in their words. For a moment, in the crowded, bustling staffroom of TCHS, I was looking for a former Geog teacher who taught me to appreciate the world in more than just physical terms without ever needing to try to do so, when I almost felt like crying. I was speaking to another Geog teacher when I asked her "Did you see Mdm Chan around?" and she went "She just passed by you behind!" and I turned around and saw my beloved teacher heading down the stairwell, and above the noise and chaos I cleared my throat and went "Mdm Chan!!!!" without giving a damn who was looking or hearing or turning around to witness the reunion of the year. And what made me want to cry (with joy of course) was when she turned, momentarily stunned, and then a broad smile breaking out on her lips and spreading through mini-earthquakes through her face as she squealed "Shengyong!" and ran all the way up, against tens of boisterous boys in khaki shorts blocking the way like nobody's business. What made me not hug her in front of everybody was largely the respect attributed to a teacher that still makes me keep a distance so as to maintain her professional image (doesn't make much sense to me now though). But in our hearts, we embraced for a moment. One year of absence, and suddenly, it was Graduation Night 2000 again.
I shall continue tomorrow.
[A penny for your thoughts]
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AidanWu was here on 10:13 pm
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28.8.03
Heya! I just reached camp at around 3..nothing to do yet so I decided to blog around..
Hmmm today was quite eventful so far..let's see what I did this thursday morning. I woke up at 8, blogged a bit (see below), then there was a mad rush to prepare my stuff for duty as we had to leave at 10am to visit my grandpa's alter all the way at depot road (CMPB for those who're more inclined towards that landmark, or near Bukit Merah swimming complex). It's situated right beside a newly constructed Hindu temple, which is in the final stages of touching up, washing and clearing up of all the construction debris. It's quite a fascinating juxtaposition of cultures, especially when all that separates the two distinctive religious environments is a small road. And standing at the entrance of the Chinese temple, I witnessed the hindu devotees praying at the consecration of the Hindu temple, which my father says could probably last a few days, drums and prayers coalesced with the occasional and innocuous ring of the chinese handbell. It's not a totally new experience to me, not especially when I am brought up in Singapore, but it's just revisiting this scene that reminds me of the fragility of the Singapore social fabric, how easy it is to upset this balance of cultures and tolerance between the races and religion. There's a very thin line between innocent comments and insulting remarks, and to make it worse, a genuinely innocent remark may most unfortunately be interpreted as an insulting one. Like when my mom was commenting on how difficult it would be to clean the multitude of colourful idols that don the usually high roof of a hindu temple, my father reminded her promptly that those are the Hindus' gods and cannot be treated superficially. One was a harmless, practical remark, and yet the other was not totally unreasonable.
I look forward to the next visit. One reason's that the tablet's only going to be there for 49 days (Chinese custom) and another is that I like to peaceful feeling I get when I step into the compound of the temple. More on the latter, it's not as if the surroundings are beautiful or comfortable, in fact I have many criticisms of the caretaker's poor job of maintaining the cleanliness of the place, and how frequently he changes the offerings to the ancestors. In fact, the place sometimes resembles a rubbish bin or a pig sty! (No offence to any gods or ancestors) The feeling is derived from the total lack of want, I don't feel bound by the need to do anything, time just stands still, especially when I make rounds around the small compound of the temple, examining the plant varieties growing on its perimeters. One just doesn't feel the need to be in the rat race, to study hard, to earn money, to know celebrities; one just longs to be at peace with oneself and lead a tranquil life. Well, it sounds like I am going to be a monk, but you can't judge a man by his words. Heh heh.
In fact, i just went there on tuesday (26/8). and this sunday probably.
Oh yah one thing I learnt too: you can't judge food by how it looks.
The Penang char kway teow at the coffeeshop at block 107 along depot road (just opposite the temple and beside the cmpb buildings) is practically tasteless! Other than the overt salty taste, there're no other distinct flavours a char kway teow should have. On tuesday, my mom, father and I confirmed this fact 3 times. My aunt, who ate wan ton mee from the same stall, verified that it's the chef's fault, as the wan ton mee was equally tasteless. The conclusion: the cook is better off as an artist, as he makes the food look really good, but without any flavour.
Today, we went to the Macpherson Kopitiam for lunch after prayers. The Hokkien mee was not bad, but it was too little for $3. Maybe that's why they have an option of $8. Haha. The chendol was really good too, and was so much that I couldn't finish it without my parents' help. Hmmmm, feeling peckish again writing about food...haha
Driving was good. Did crank course, s course and the directional change thingy..something like parking lah..saw a senior there too! Adeline for those who know her..she's studying medicine in London Uni...st. something one don't know which college though...really glad to see her! They have this Hwa Chong night over there..sounds kinda fun! Anyway..she's taking her driving test tomorrow so here's good luck to her!
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AidanWu was here on 3:58 pm
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This post was supposed to be up last night at 10pm, but because my internet explorer hung in the middle of watching the music video for Tale of Two Sisters, the blog entry was totally lost! So now early in the morning, I am trying to recollect my thoughts and post them all over again. Sigh.
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Yoyo..just finished math tuition. I am starting to experience anxiety pangs on behalf of my tutee, because his looming prelims are only 2 weeks away! It's like reliving the pre-prelim days in secondary school all over again, except this time it's slightly worse, because I am not the one who can control the outcome of the exams, and yet there's a certain responsibility attached to being somebody's tutor. Now I really understand how our teachers used to feel everytime the exams approach..
And there's a certain antagonism inside me even as I assign homework to him. On one hand, I worry about giving him too much work (that even I wouldn't feel like doing now, but of course during my sec. 4 year I couldn't have been more glad) and on the other I worry about him not having enough practice to breeze through the exams.
Enough about tuition though. I am getting too emotionally attached when I started giving tuition purely for the sake of the extra money! =)
Well, I was on duty yesterday and I am on duty tomorrow again. It's just a marathon of duties for me!
Hmm, this morning at 6am Qi Yue flew off for her studies at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore..that's 11 hours from here! Received a farewell sms from her as I was doing the graveyard shift in camp addressed to all her friends at abput 3:37am and called her in return. She was pleasantly surprised, who wouldn't, receiving a call in the middle of the night? Hope she has an easy time settling down there!
[A penny for your thoughts]
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AidanWu was here on 8:32 am
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25.8.03
Yoyo..have been pretty caught up with events these few days..
Let's see, oh yesterday's duty was pretty good! Managed to catch 6 hours of sleep that's why i am up blogging so 'early'. Anyway, printed lots of stuff from JHU's website. Mostly on physiology..and came across a paper by Prof Hang Chang Chieh on 'Why we need the local research institutes?'; at least that's the gist of the paper..find it would be useful to justify to others in the future why the government should be spending so much taxpayers' money giving scholarships to people like me (and in future paychecks as well) when so many poor people are suffering in Singapore..
For those who're interested, the link's http://www.a-star.edu.sg/astar/upload/mid1/type5/cat18/362_312_SERI-Competitive%20Advantage.pdf
On friday was my 3rd driving practical lesson.
On saturday was a particularly bitter day which i hope to forget soon, and as my aunt says, to 'dissolve' it away...
On wednesday was a normal day at work, my senior asked me to run after work with him, but i wasn't in the mood so i declined, but the moment i reached home i decided to run. Bah, talk about mood swings.
Yes, XK, i blogged! you also blog more leh..
[A penny for your thoughts]
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AidanWu was here on 2:25 pm
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20.8.03
Finally got down to blogging again..i have 4 more duties for this month, which means i will be doing 4 back-to-back duties from friday till next thursday! friday, sundau, tuesday, thursday..power sia! Haha.
Went for driving lesson on Monday, it was my second practical lesson, and stalled 3 times. Wasn't that bad though, the instructor asked me to book my final theory test as soon as possible as he thinks 'i can drive'. Haha, i took that as a compliment. What the heck!
Monday was also my first trip to the Paya Lebar Air Base's Quarter Master, was lugging laundry (bedsheets) there. It's like one kilometre away from my unit so I was glad my senior could drive there. Pretty boring place, manned by a couple of Indian civilians, and there was a Hindu figurine overlooking the whole store. Saw a couple of interesting 'stores' they have there but don't think i'm at liberty to disclose them here..
Heard from a friend in medicine that the lecture notes are really lousy! Cannot compare with Hwa Chong notes..(but again, I wouldn't expect NUS notes to be that on par with HC's..) The notes are basically printed Powerpoint slides that make little sense if you do not attend the lectures. Hmm..talk about independent learning, instead of providing the resources for the students' consumption in their own time, they seem to be encourage rote learning and spoon feeding. I mean, from the little I gather, it seems you have to attend the lectures and copy down every single thing they say, then you will know what is going on. This leaves scarce time for really absorbing the lecture and understanding the content fully, and only leaves students with no choice but to spend extra hours at the library figuring out the gist of the information before they start lagging behind. Then again, it leaves room for students to be able to synthesise their own notes after the lectures, during which they would have to apply what they have learnt (then again, if they haven't absorbed any real content during the lecture, how can they apply anything?) and which may actually aid in revising the concepts supposedly gained during the lectures. I mean, wouldn't it save so much time to just provide everything in the first place (save the time for mindless copying) so that the students can save the time spent at the library absorbing the content.
Aiyah, that was crap. I didn't even experience it first hand.
Peace.
Anyway, Chan Lek's leaving for Cambridge in 2 weeks. On his own money also..I was pleasantly surprised receiving a text from him requesting 'any help he can get', haha..will dig out some old winter clothing soon...sigh it only shows how screwed up our immigration department can get...weeks of procrastination and it all comes to nought; he had to reject the A*STAR offer in the end. And pay liquidated damages as well.
[A penny for your thoughts]
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AidanWu was here on 10:03 am
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16.8.03
The Hen
It came on Wednesday morning, according to my father, who stayed over on Tuesday night. I saw it for the first time on Wednesday evening. It seemed like just another hen, except this had a particularly unassuming air around it. No, it wasn't dao or anything, just distinctly there. They tried chasing it away in the morning, but failed, obviously, so my mother and I got another chance to do so in the evening (to avoid it leaving its faeces all over). Every time we chased it out of the gate (it was a terrace house), it inevitably found its way back into the compounds of the house and circled the coffin, carefully avoiding obstructions like the lit oil lamp that was directly underneath the coffin, 'lighting the way' for my grandpa in his jouney towards the subterranean. The undertaker told us not to chase it away, mistaking it for the spirit of my grandpa as he thought that it was a rooster, and said it would go away the moment the funeral was over. Then it went inside the paper house that was to be burnt for him, and roosted there for the night, without pecking and tearing the delicate, fragile paper material the house was made of.
My father suddenly remembered that my late grandmother was born in the year of the rooster. The hen was hypothesised to be a manifestation of her spirit, here to visit my grandfather for the last time.
Wedensday night I stayed over, relieving some of the burden from my aunts, father and eldest uncle. The chicken woke at 5:20am SGT and ruffled its feathers, making a few muffled cuckling noises (muffled because it was inside the paper house). Then it started to preen itself. It was indeed a hen. For it did not crow.
On thursday evening, someone finally had the common sense to broach the subject of feeding. However, we were advised by another undertaker not to, for being in the midst of the lunar seventh month, it could easily be any gu1 hun2 ye2 gui3, or wandering spirit, that was attracted by the yin character of the environment. But we fed it with raw rice grains anyway.
The rites started at four on thursday afternoon, and would last till 10:30pm in the evening. All this while the unassuming hen was tied by a loose bit of raffia to the fence, so that it would not disturb the rites or soil the grounds where we would kneel on. It was a perfectly tame hen, if I failed to mention it so far. There was no objection to being tied up. And it was courteously quiet throughout the whole process that people forgot for a moment it even existed.
Then at 11 we released it.
It headed in a seemingly random path towards the coffin and stood at its head on one leg for a protracted period of time, as if in deep thought, bordering on prayer. It was a tranquil sight; I've never seen a more disciplined chicken other than a sleeping one[unless chickens can sleep perched on one leg. Can anyone tell me?] .
That night when I was sleeping, a relative took it away in his taxi. And it never came back.
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AidanWu was here on 8:57 pm
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14.8.03
This week is just jinxed. 2 deaths in 3 days...how can one ever explain the coincidence? And both deaths were sudden and unexpected, involving 2 almost perfectly healthy people. I am seriously vexed, especially because there've been no established reasons for their deaths as yet.
The worse thing is, I am prevented by superstition (or tradition) not to attend two funerals simultaneously, meaning I can't attend the cremation of one of my closest buddies in camp. It's a bit like wanting to marry a girl but not being able to because she's of a different colour. But I shan't argue with my family.
Rest in Peace, Biresh.
[...]
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AidanWu was here on 2:31 pm
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12.8.03
Yesterday was a day when I experienced many different emotions..some of which I have not experienced at such a deep level since years ago.
It started off as a typical Monday, where the blues can be seen on most people's faces. Sunday morning was spent sleeping (as i was on duty the whole of Sat), and lunch was at my maternal grandma's place (we had to pray for the seventh month). then it was tuition for my cousin as the rest of my family visited my paternal grandfather at the end of jurong. I really regret not being on that visit, as it was ironically the last.
Monday morning; as usual met Biresh at the toa payoh bus stop and crapped all the way to camp. then it was lunch, and the seniors suggested going to tampines mall, and all were game, but somehow biresh n I were cast out - our own folly. As the unit seemed empty, we presumed they had left and made our way promptly to the cookhouse. Alas, they were actually still in another part of the unit, but something came over us at that moment and it genuinely felt as if they had all left. Strange.
Then it was time to go home. Renewed my concession pass, then bus-ed home. The moment I stepped in the door, my mom said "Your gong-gong is missing." I was just stunned. He was always an independent person, one who on bored weekdays would take solitary bus rides all over the island; from his residence in Jurong to Changi airport for a drink and back again. Once my father even accompanied him to take the NEL al the way to Punggol. He used to travel overseas to look-see. He may seem a contented man, and he has no apparent reason not to be one, given a comfortable life and grandchildren. But you know someone isn't exactly happy with his life when throughout the years he has openly expressed his wish not to live so long. (He wanted to live till 60 only, he professed when I was very young. He left at 76, just 1.4 years above the average lifespan of a Singaporean male.) And given his deliberate absence from home for more than twice the usual time he would spend outside, it wasn't hard to see what was going through his mind, though for reasons that are still unfathomable to me. I've heard gossips from my mum and aunts hypothesizing his mental attitude towards life, and even why he decided to leave outside his home; most old people I know (or rather, stereotypes of old people I've grown used to) prefer to pass away in the comfort of their home and in the midst of their loved ones. Yesterday was the most solitary, even bordering on lonely, death that someone could have wished for, and actuated by choice to finality. Why??
[Why?]
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AidanWu was here on 9:46 am
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10.8.03
Listening to Jay Chou's San Nian Er Ban now. Really, I cannot help but agree to a certain extent with the Life critique on Jay's just-released 4th album, Yeh Hui Mei, that his music is getting too predictable. True, I still like his style and a certain 'attitude' in his music making that entices me to hear it again just to re-live the momentary 'what are we doing all this for' feeling I get when listening to his songs - the raps that is.
Personally, I broadly divide Jay Chou's music into 2 distinct types: the love-song-ballad-style or soulful R&B which paint a vivid scenery of his perspective on life and human relationships (Kai Bu Liao Kou, Ban Dao Tie He, An Hao, Hui Dao Guo Qu and Long Juan Feng are personal favourites, in fact the Dong Feng Po I'm hearing now will probably make it to this list), and the typically light to slightly heavy and sometimes metallica-influenced raps (like Ye Ye Pao de Cha, Huo Che Dao Wei Qu, Zui Hou De Zhan Yi, Ren Zhe, Long Quan, Shuang Jie Gun and the new Nuo Fu).
Of course, the 1st album was more of the 2nd 'type' (for want of a better classification), the 2nd was more of the first and the 3rd was about evenly spread out. I have only listened to 5 of the 11 new songs on the fourth, so I can't pass a judgement yet. =) [wo gei ni de ai xie zai xi yuan jian...i love this song]
Still reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, at the part when Dent discovers the most belittled species on Earth is really the "hyperintelligent pan-dimensional brings", or mice, that have ruled the Earth since the day it was born (or manufactured, in their lingo). Irony at its maximum when the poor Dent realises that what humans have thought to be behavourial experiments on mice were actually subtle attempts by the clever mice to disguise themselves so that 'smart' alecks like us will be misled and lulled into the false impression of our superiority. Well well, to think I'll become one of those Earthmen who will be carrying out such tests in future! Heh heh. Imagine if one day Mr. Penicillin decides to spell out its actual identity by growing colonies that spell out 'Yo man(kind), guess what? We rule! Not you. Ah, that look of surprise..shouldn't you be glad that you have just made a Nobel-Prize-worthy discovery? Go boast about it and bloat your ego man(kind)!'
*Faints*
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AidanWu was here on 8:42 pm
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Woohoo! It's half an hour to book out! Going to my grandma's house for prayers later (for me the aim is lunch :p)
[A penny for your thoughts?]
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AidanWu was here on 7:33 am
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9.8.03
Never expect anything from pirated VCDs. Haha, that's one lesson I have to learn again. We only managed to plough through 5 minutes of shivering images, inconsistent sound quality and the result of the video-cam being zoomed in too much on the theatre screen that the two sides of the film is perpetually cut out before calling it quits and postponing the screening of the video. Haha..an anti-climax it was, but it's hard to just relax when the film just jumps from scene to scene - a result of poor editing and senseless splicing of footages.
Going for a run later! Darn, my IC's (a regular) came back without warning at 11 plus and as a result I have to run alone later.
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AidanWu was here on 3:36 pm
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Yoyo
It's National Day today, and here I am working away at my terminal somewhere in the east of Singapore in the camouflaged surroundings of my camp.
Haha.
Watching Black Hawk Down later with my unit mates.
[It's National Day!]
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AidanWu was here on 9:32 am
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8.8.03
It's a friday!! Yay! Oh well, no doubt I've got 24-hour duty tomorrow, but there's an inherent zing when the weekend mood hits you. It's like how I always looked forward to Fridays during school days, a cliched analogy would be like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Haha, yeah, despite me always telling my friends why there's no point looking forward to the weekend because Friday means Monday is coming which means another hell week.
Hmm, talked to a former hwachong classmate on wednesday night who's just matriculated in NUS medicine. She said the rat race is getting to her even before formal lectures have begun. I shan't make public her woes, but it certainly surprised me when someone who allegedly poured scorn on her for getting free notes from a senior counsellor (when that someone had already asked for the notes herself) was actually someone we both know. (Ask me personally if you're wondering what the hell?) Well, may be meeting her up for coffee one day!
I received news that one of my closer friends made it into Medicine as well! Gee, that makes 3 prospective doctors from s79~~ haha..really glad for him. Do your best man! This one's for you. =)
Sometimes, I just wish I can just hop on the next bus to NUS and say hi to my friends and seniors there. Haha..just a thought lah. AWOL's a mean (to yourself) thing to do.
On the way to camp today, I passed by MinDef and saw the longest procession of artillery and armoured vehicles, plus all the supporting signal rovers (whatever they all them), heading into the heavily guarded grounds of Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean. It didn't really hit me till then how real and how close the threat of terrorism is to our lives. (I live just 5 minutes away from MinDef) Well, with regular reports of potential and actuated terrorism activities in our vicinity, one tends to become jaded to the omnipresent threat of such attacks. It's ironic, but the more you're warned to be on full alert, and the more something doesn't happen and all remains calm, you inadvertantly start to relax. How many of us still bother to wash our hands the moment we reach home? (think SARS) ^.^
[It's National Day tomorrow!]
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AidanWu was here on 9:42 am
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5.8.03
It's a rare time when I'm actually blogging from home as I usually do it only in the sanctity of my camp, in a usually vain attempt to humour myself with myself. Apparently, boredom is contagious, and between venues too! Anyway, I was pretty happy with my tutee (for want of a better word without revealing his name) as he put some effort, some real effort into his work. Well, I can only hope that I played a weeny role in his confidence-building in math; what used to be a masterpiece of careless mistakes and misguided attempts at differentiation has evolved into a more standard, but nonetheless impressive work of mathematical and logical precision, ah..just hope it stays that way till after the O's. I used to (and still) think that careless mistakes is simply a reflection of the person's insecurity and lack of self-confidence in applying what he already knows, else it wouldn't just be careless mistakes but like someone who has practically gone haywire and who applys concepts mindlessly. (or zou2 huo3 lu4 mo2, for the more Chinese-inclined. Sometimes I really appreciate how you're able to succintly describe a particular feeling with a 4-word cheng2 yu3 rather than lisp unconvincingly, but that's for another blog entry! ^.^)
Admittedly, I admit I am not the teacher I would like to be taught by; after all, a long day at my camp plus the unflattering IPPT training regime after that did take its toll on me. But excuses apart, I guess it's not fair to our teachers, who are forever tired, physically and mentally, all for the sake of a few unappreciative students who're more interested in comparing your dress sense with Cai Yi Ling or Victoria Beckham. Haha. Sweeping statement I know. But that gets the idea across better. See what I mean?
*Yawn* Darn, I am young but I am feeling tired out. It's a kind of tiredness that's different from that I experienced when still in school; the latter's kind of like pure fatigue due to pure overload of activities both physical and mental, what I am feeling now is like the hangover you get the next day when you sleep too much, yeah, that feeling of aimlessness that sucks the life out of you because of pure boredom. In other words, I'm getting lazy. Ah. Enlightenment. I shall go and sleep under the Banyan tree.
I've always slept early. In P1-P6, I slept at 8:45pm. In secondary school, I slept at 9pm. Even in JC, where I scarcely completed any tutorials before, I slept at 10. People always ask: How do you find time to study or do anything by sleeping so early? They've got a point, but I always rebut them with this: It is better to spend fewer hours doing things to a higher level of involvement and which as a result means more to you and has higher quality (as applied to studying) than trying to keep awake with caffeine when you know you can't give it your best shot anymore and are as a result staying up purely for the sake trying to trick your psyche into thinking you actually did more work than if you slept earlier. Efficiency: the rule of the thumb. *Yawn* Haha. See?
[A penny for your thoughts...]
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AidanWu was here on 10:07 pm
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Yesterday evening I was in the mood for rebuilding some bridges in need of maintenance and penned two emails to a former teacher in TCHS and a former classmate from hwachong. The latter is currently heading to Washington for her sophomore year end of August. I would have penned one more to another old classmate who is now in Monash..but I just didn't have the stamina after a very long one to the current Deputy Principal of TCHS. Heh, I migh just reply another day (like I always say). Hmm, there's a tuition session today, I hope he did his work.
[A penny for your thoughts...]
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AidanWu was here on 1:27 pm
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4.8.03
It's just another Monday, I'm tempted to think of it this way and simply accept it. But what else can I do with a Monday other than to reduce its value to that of nought; 'it's JUST another monday', hardly does justice to the notion of time, which is supposedly one-dimensional and irreversible, but which when fitted into the concept of 'week', 7 days a week seem to be given little more recognition than a mundane routine.
*pause*
heh, back from lunch. we have a couple of newbies from the june batch, haha, reminds me of how green I used to be on the first day of my vocation.
Well, 2 classmates are going overseas this year; one at the end of this month and one on Childrens' Day. Another would have gone back to Melbourne to continue her medical studies, but gave it up to read pharmacy in singapore for the love of her other significant-half. Sometimes, I really admire her for the sacrifice that she undertook, giving up a 6-year course in Moscow University that would have led to her getting her dream docterate in medicine, taking a long, convoluted pathway to realise her dream of being a neurologist (i still remember her determination when she said somewhere in the middle of our J2 year, during one of those tete-a-tetes we shared either in the sanctity of an empty classroom awaiting the beginning of a tutorial, in the confusion and chaos of the crowded canteen or during rush-hour where we sauntered from classroom to lab to LT, "There are only 5 neurologists in Singapore; it would have been 6 but one has died; and all of them are men." I was like, hmm, this is a tough girl, and she only proved it more when as the captain of hwachong's squash team she led the girls' team to their first A division championship since 1988, especially when the national players were from the rival acjc! isn't she good or what? All I know is that i was really happy for her [as well for the school] as it was precisely such events that increased my confidence in her endeavours and to wish even more deeply that she would achieve her dreams in due time.) Ahh, but I am sure after a month-long hiatus in singapore and her hometown in sarawak, she would have made the best decision for herself and her partner (who, ironically, is the one going overseas come Childrens' Day) and I sincerely wish them all the best, despite their impending separation.
I could rattle on and on about that, but I ain't gonna bore any (un)fortunate reader who stumbled upon my blog, heh, it's just that when you know someone so well that he or she has become so much a part of your identity, you can't help but talk about them, in the process of moulding your true (butnever final) identity. The reflections, the memories will forever leave their marks on your history, and as such, though it is inconceivable to a stranger how one can dawdle so much about one person other then someone you live with, that's the crux; as classmates we practially lived together, through a short period of 2 years, at times leaving us with little breath to rejuvenate before being thrusted into the next day's challenges, we laughed together, cried together..
I really felt like sighing just a second ago, but somewhere inside me seems to be telling me that it's not worth sighing about, as it feels as though the moment during which you sigh is when your memories flow away with your breath, slowly dissipating into the never-ending turbulence of the atmosphere beyond you..by keeping it inside (very much like how you would bottle up negative emotions until it explodes), you relish it every other day, and it doesn't get diluted with time, for you're making a conscious effort not to let it go..
Meanwhile, most the rest of the ladies in my JC class are busy preparing for their first day in university, which is damn cool! haha, i really miss school, especially the camaraderie fostered through spending time together doing everything conceivable that can be done together. it just makes it this little easier to bear through the tough times when the brunt of the exams fall square on our necks, and when literally two heads are better than one. i'll just have to look forward to the ephemeral class gathering where I would relive the life of a student, as they have experienced it, in the cosy confines of an eatery. Haha.
Well, at least I know I have almost as many friends in the same boat as me, with the country above our individual lives, we are here for a purpose, and hence should not take to it as a form of compulsory community service. Heh. Life will seem to come to a standstill in my two years left in JID, and I must say I am really fortunate to be here, though at times I'd really felt like defecting to the infamous MDC, famed for being indiscriminate to all sexual orientations. (haha...now that was just a joke). My take on NS is (for my case as a lowly clerk, that is): it's 2 years of slacking and more slacking. There comes a time when you wonder to yourself what you could have done with these two years if given a choice not to serve NS. I read an article in TODAY a few days back, in which the writer commented (probably rightly) that Singapore boys will still choose to waste these to years before seriously settling down to study or carry out whatever plans for their future, as they are not grown up enough anway, having to bring home dirty laundry for mommy to wash during the weekend bookouts.
[A penny for your thoughts...]
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AidanWu was here on 2:00 pm
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::Note::
You can click on the 'Stop' button on your browser to turn off the background music accompanying this blog.
::taggy::
::current faves::
Jay Chou - Nocturne, Fa Ru Xue, Qi Li Xiang
Guang Liang - Shao Nian
Liang Jing Ru - Yong Qi
Gigi Leung - Dan Xiao Gui
Lin Jun Jie - Yi Qian Nian Yi Hou
Stephanie Sun - Ting Jian, Wo De Ai, Tong Lei
Li Sheng Jie - Yuan Zou Gao Fei
Liu Zhong Yi - Ji Ju Xie
Yanni - Almost a Whisper
::boredom killers::
latest craze:
Adventure Quest
previous crazes:
Fortress Game
Telescope Game
Meganic Wars
Text Twist
YetiSports Flamingo Drive - high score 3755
trustables:
Throw paper into the dustbin - high score 5025
Miniclip
Mofunzone
Addicting Games
Utopia
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