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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::
01s79
Old Blog
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Mapleleafgirl
Qi Yue
Shuhui
Huien
Wattie-sen-sen
Lenard
Haofatt
Gavin
Janan
Huzz the man!
Thiam Shh...
Su *Chang!*
The Study Rasu
Gay Chou
Chay Beng
Alex
Jia Ming
Zhengyong
Lipting
Weiqiang
Kaixin
Run Bin
Zheng Ru
Tu Anh
::navigator::
My Photos
Spring Break 2006
get around Singapore!
currency converter
time zone converter
friendster
world lingo translator
internet SMS:
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M1
Starhub
::frontiers::
Physics Web
Nanotechnology Research News
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Nanoapex
Chemical and Engineering News Nanofocus
New Scientist
Nature
Scientific American
::credits::
design
catchastar.blogspot.com
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30.1.04
A friend just sat through the first-round of interviews for the A*STAR scholarships today...they actually had 4 interviewers just for the first round! Of which 2 are researchers themselves...woah that's quite a bit of clout for a first round interview, as compared with last year where there was only one, and only an administrative staff at that.
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AidanWu was here on 9:44 pm
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All of a sudden, usually hidden insecurities creep into the conscious part of my mind all over again...I dunno why it happens when I listen to S.H.E.'s Re Dai Yu Lin in the wee hours.
Sigh.
I am the only one awake and doing work in camp now, and I can't help but think of the similarity when I go to the US next year...people I know, people whom I am close to, are usually asleep when I am awake and vice versa; it's gonna be so damn hard to keep in contact with every one of them. Sometimes I even feel hesitant to make too many new friends these two years so that I won't have to feel sad so many times when the time comes to leave.
And no Chinese New Year!! =(
There were some new people holding at my unit this past week, all Pes E. But apparently they were not going to be taken in. Talked to this guy who played badminton for AC, seems that he's probably going to be posted to SAFSA. And he's Pes E. Which reminds me: Mark Chay is Pes C, and who would believe that? Haha. My friends say they give national sportsmen a lower pes status so they can train. Anyway, I digress. I meant to say that Aaron knows my cousin who just graduated from AC -- same OG. Another of those weird coincidences.
Hmmm, someone asked me out for dinner just now. But the recent weather reflects my mood...unless it becomes sunny and warm tomorrow. But actually I like the current cool weather. Just not the gloominess.
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AidanWu was here on 3:39 am
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28.1.04
http://www.buttafly.com/originals/friendster3.php
Haha...damn funny~
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AidanWu was here on 11:17 am
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27.1.04
Haha just remembered, just kena-ed another extra duty for forgetting to clear newspapers on CNY eve duty. Wtf!? Hello, who cares about doing work on CNY eve, especially if one is on duty. But who cares, it's the highlight of their career, and I shall leave them to savour their delicacy -- the scapegoat.
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AidanWu was here on 9:08 pm
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Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.
-- Alfred Hitchcock
Haha, that's pretty true, on hindsight. I always saw drama as a condensed form of life, which basically equates to the same thing; why show all the mundane stuff that we do everyday? It's the unexpected, 'drama' things that are worth recording for posterity.
That day, one of my friends went to Stanford to do psychology.
Yesterday was a bad day. It wasn't the weather. But I shall get over it. 'Cos I don't wanna be bogged down by the fact that something stupid I did long ago could be raked up again by someone I didn't know knew about it.
Today in camp, I received an sms from my mum telling me about the naked dead body that was found floating in the pond in the garden just downstairs of my flat. Unbelievable, was what I first thought. After all, the last murder case in my vicinity was almost a decade ago, though that was more gruesome. What a bad omen to start the new lunar year with. But, it rings a bell. Reminds me not to take safety for granted. My goodness, the neighbourhood police post is just two HDC blocks from that goddamn pond!!
Yesterday I went jogging at around 4 plus 5. Ran from my home to the sports complex and back via the canal behind Villa Verde which leads all the way to PJC. Saw some sec sch students from the sch beside PJC training at the newly-tarred running track beside the canal. The point to note is not the students, to sidetrack I couldn't even tell whether they were from Track and Field or TAF Club :P, but one of their PE teachers, who is a quite chio young lady. I was quite surprised to see such a young PE teacher, a lady at that. She has a really slender figure. Unlike the Hwachong ones. Haha no offence lar, but the Hwachong PE teachers are nice. Esp. Ms. Jessie Goh.
On the way back, passing PJC's entrance, I saw this champagne-coloured car. I walked past it wondering which lucky student had a car waiting for him after school, reminding myself I was once in his lucky shoes. Then just now during dinner my mum told me my aunt saw me walking past PJC yesterday evening, but she thought she saw wrongly. So the lucky guy's my cousin! Bleah~ Talk about fate.
But fate can go both ways. Which I won't further elaborate.
My junior angel invited the whole senior class of 01S79 to her place this Sunday for a class dinner. So nice hor! But too bad many pple are kinda tied down with appointments already...plus the last-minute cancellation, there're only 8 seniors going. Gf is going Thailand on 5 Feb for some training exercise. Yq is on duty. Sm is busy. Blah blah blah. The usual chore of contacting everyone for a class gathering. Haha, not that I am complaining that I have something to do.
Yesterday I was invited to a birthday party. My CO senior's 21st b'dae. It's at West Coast, but darn I think I have duty on that day...sigh. Better go and check.
National Geographic is really a gooood magazine:
"Despite outward changes in the valley, the inward journey of its people remains unaltered -- seeking to follow the Buddha's path of wisdom and compassion."
It's from the January 2004 edition.
It's raining and raining. They even got a meterologist on the local news to explain the monsoon phenomenon to the masses. It's sec 3 geog...crap that they need a 50 plus yo expert to tell us that.
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AidanWu was here on 9:05 pm
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This is a beautiful variation of the modern adage, "Change is the only constant."
"The realisation of impermanence is paradoxically the only thing we can hold on to, perhaps our only lasting posession." -- Tibetan lama and author Sogyal Rinpoche
The beauty does not stop at the inherent irony in the language used, it brings to the uninitiated reader a potentially shocking revalation about the philosophy of life in a subtle and gentle manner, such that when the reader digests and contemplates its full meaning, he will have become more receptive towards the radical nature of the statement.
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AidanWu was here on 8:39 pm
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26.1.04
Had some friends over yesterday after tuition in the morning. Re-learnt bridge for the nth time. Haha. Relatives were here too. Haha, someone was saying how an aunt was making a molehill out of a mountain (referring to the pile of coins haha). Bought the 12-girl band VCD from CD Rama. Some of the songs are not bad.
On half day today. Tuition tonight. Darn, I just remembered the pool is closed on Mondays.
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AidanWu was here on 9:24 am
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24.1.04
In camp now. Just now on the bus there was this guy who was mugging for SAT, I think it's today or something. Anyway, good luck to my dear angel, who's taking it today I think!
CNY was not bad lah, though it was pretty rainy yesterday. My relatives came over and we talked, watched TV, gambled and feasted. We decided to call in MAC for lunch since it was raining, but no one had the number. So I started my computer to search for it, while meanwhile they searched the previous days' adverts in the papers. And guess what? They found the advertorial but there was no number provided! Haha, stuipid Mac how to earn money like that? Anyway luckily the webmasters of www.mcds.com.sg were not so dumb, and the magical number 67773777 popped out the moment I loaded the page. So there goes. Then we compiled the orders and my aunt made the call. One hour!! That's how long they said it would take. So we decided to run downstairs to get the food instead. It took only 25 minutes.
Well well well, rainy CNY.
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AidanWu was here on 8:51 am
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22.1.04
Happy New Year!!
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AidanWu was here on 12:27 am
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21.1.04
Yoyoyoyoyo! Haha, today is a damn happy day. It's quite a good CNY eve so far, even though I am on duty now.
Dinner was a very rushed affair. I reached my grandma's place, and she was still not really prepared, then when I told her I had to book in early, she was like rushing to finish setting up the table (for steamboat) and taking all the ingredients out of the frigde...so paiseh. Then the family had to start eating quite early because of me..quite funny.
Then I left the place at 7:30, and since it was a terrace house, my mum walked me out to the main road hoping to catch a taxi, and luckily a taxi just dropped a passenger! The place was quite ulu, at Villa Verde in CCK, so it was quite lucky. Then this taxi driver was siao on, he just chiong all the way to Paya Lebar from CCK at an average speed of 110km/h!! He told me, "Should be able to reach ur camp by 8", and reached in a record time of 20 minutes!! Wah..it was really like sitting in a Mc Claren F1 man! Weavng in and out of the lanes like nobody's business, he even commented that the traffic is smoother today, which is true, cos everyone's home tucking into reunion dinners. And the expressway signs lept flashing, Eu Tong Sen St and New Bridge Rd closed from 8pm, Chinatown must be 'people mountain people sea' now...
Spent the whole morning visiting old schools. First I went to BPPS, didn't manage to see any teachers cos they were all watching the performances in the hall so I left the card at the office. Then I took 184 to Bukit Timah..but forgot to alight before KAP and ended up at SIM, where I got off feeling dumb. Then I crossed the road and took 74 to the Hwa Chong bus stop. Then I walked in and saw them watching the performances, so I decided to go Chn High first cos they end earlier. So I met my sec 2 geog teacher Ms. Sunita, my sec 4 chem teacher Mr Lim, upper sec geog teacher Mdm Chan in the hall. Then talk a while the celebrations ended, so we adjourned to the staff room, where I saw sec 4 chn teacher Mr. Tan, sec 1 sci teacher Mrs. Har, sec 3 chem teacher Mrs. Sow and upper sec bio teacher Mr. Chung (and the one I am most indebted to). Couldn't find Ms Pek....=(
Then saw a couple of 4E guys...great to see them again. Then went back to Hwa Chong after meeting yl at the terraces. The Chn High track team is just siao on! They were training in the heat of the day on CNY eve! Damn bia..no wonder they do so well for the championships. The street market was kinda empty...not as great a variety as I expected..ate some sushi on a soggy potato chip, and some potato chips which were not bad. The lemon barley drink from the student council was like shit, to be frank.
Talked to Mr Yeow and Mr. Chow. Miss Ooi and Miss Wong left liao....
Then went home to eat reunion lunch with my paternal side's relatives. Played cards after that till dinner time.
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AidanWu was here on 10:39 pm
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20.1.04
So full now! We just had a CNY lunch at our unit, and the spread's pretty commendable, especially compared to the Christmas one. We even had yu sheng! There was pineapple rice, sauteed chicken, crispy rolls, pepper beef, some kind of stewed fish, sweet and sour pork, broccoli with 2 types of mushroom and tang yuan in a orh-bee-beykind of syrup to top it off. Cool!
So fast and it's already the eve of CNY eve!!
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AidanWu was here on 2:43 pm
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Haha, yesterday was damn funny. It was freaking raining when we booked out, and I suddenly realised I didn't bring my umbrella, then someone asked me to borrow one of the warrants' umbrella. Then the short journey to the bus stop didn't fail to drench us, because of the wind and the fact that the two of us sharing one umbrella had to squeeze through this stupid narrow gate which only opens halfway. Argh.
Then at the bus stop, my senior and I were waiting, and usually if the first bus was not 90, at least by the 3rd one it should be. But we saw the second 94, third 94, fourth 94 and FIFTH 94 go past us with no sign of a 90. Argh! And when we finally got up the 90, half the seats were wet (the window seats). Haha, apparently the rain came too suddenly or no one bothered to close the windows. So we sat at the front seats which were parallel to the bus's length, which were sheltered somewhat from the rain, 'cos the windows behind happened to be closed.
So the bus was damn crowded, because half of the seats were not sat on. Then we were talking crap with one of the regular sergeants, and it was quite funny. And the journey was quite a treacherous one. The windows were all fogged up due to the rain so we couldn't see where we were, which is bad. And a couple of times, passing cars swept up torrents of water into our faces, obstructed only by the window which was closed tight. Phew! And the stupid umbrella I borrowed (the long kind) kept opening automatically and causing a bit of a squeeze in the bus, and when I was pointing the umbrella slightly upwards to close it, it almost caused someone who was rushing to the exit his manhood! Lol.
Haha, anyway, it was Murphy's Law at work 'cos when we got off the bus, this car suddenly came past and swept up a tsunami into the bus stop. I didn't expect it to be thaat powerful, so unfortunately I kena-ed the side of the it. This office lady bore the major brunt of the 'tsunami'. It was damn funny, but we couldn't laugh about it till the 151 came, which it did rather quickly, else we might have just laughed into her face. Yah, it's sadistic, but damn funny 'cos she was like saying 'Shit!" and all that. Then we imagined if she was going on a date, then she would have to cancel it and all that crap.
And my senior did me a favour when he asked me to join them at Orchard to buy clothes.
"Eh, you giving tuition today or not?"
"Err, don't think so leh, why?"
"Join us at Orchard lah.."
"Okay, today what day ah...shit! It's Monday! I completely forgot about tuition!!"
"Wah..so you must thank me for reminding you ah..."
-__- That's really lame, but in that semi-delirious mood I was in, it was kinda funny.
Damn sui sia. And when the first 190 came, it was packed like sardines, there was no way to get on. So I waited for the next bus and miraculously, it was completely empty. So that ended the very rainy day on a good note.
The bad thing is this morning I had to lug the long umbrella on the buses to work. I hate long umbrellas.
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AidanWu was here on 7:57 am
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19.1.04
Was pretty shocked at the news that this maverick doctor had a human embryo cloned into a woman. Although I ain't familiar with the legislation with regards to the bioethics behind such a claim, but on the moral ground alone I am severely confused. Is it right or is it not? Something gives me the vibes that it's totally wrong, but is it only because this is against the natural order of things? If that's so, then many things in the world are totally wrong, e.g. in-vitro fertility, which is why I can't say for sure whether the actuality of a cloned human embryo being inserted into a lady is wrong or not. But the initial impact still hovers...
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AidanWu was here on 10:17 am
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18.1.04
Woohoo!! Feeling kinda high now...no i am not on drugs or alcohol though.
Went on IRC just now 'cos was a bit bored with watching The Seven Sisters, popped in my favourite S.E.N.S. CD...I still melt whenever I hear their songs. This 16yo Indon-Thai chatted me up, and we ended up talking quite a bit of shit, and in the end I added him to frenster. Haha, that's abt it. Oh and there's this guy who happens to live near my grandparents' home. So good lor, another buddy to hang out with in cck. Supposed to meet up this fren for dinner, but he had some family problem and anyway the weather was gloomy so I cancelled it.
Dinner reminded me of last night's "Mui Fan" set I had in camp...it's really not my idea of an enjoyable meal when it involves a main dish that is soupy...I only eat soup stuff when I feel or am ill. Which brings to mind I haven't fully recovered from the chest infection I had..
But anyway, tuition was good! I taught her simultaneous linear equations, and nowadays they have these intriguing problem solving questions where they no longer give you the two equations directly and ask you to solve. Now students have to form the equations themselves, which calls for some higher-order thinking, which is pretty good on the part of MOE. I went through the role of active tranport in plants too, and I could practically feel the rush of adrenaline through my blood 'cos I was so excited by how everything falls into place in this example of Mother Nature's knack for detail yet overall splendor. Beautiful. Just like how South Korea appeared in The Classic. I'm glad I still have 'it' for science. In fact, I'm re-reading up on how the polar nature of water allows it to be a universal solvent for both ionic compounds and polar molecules. Miss Miss Ooi. Pun unintended.
Sigh, I miss school. Haha. Never mind lah, I have 8 years of studying to contend with. Sometimes I feel that being able to study is a blessing. And I count my blessings again.
I'm almost reaching the end Sophie's World. At long last! It has been an interesting introduction to philosophy, but I think I will not pursue it as a Social Science requirement in college because it is too demanding on my limited oratorical skills...though I still appreciate how relevant philosophy is to the question of my identity, and hence, my role in society. I don't wanna be an empty shell. Having said that, it's still nice to let loose once in a while, forget it all, and just be a shallow myself for a while.
My unit frens have been talking about going to KTV one day. I wonder who'll organise.
Wanyi's organising a class lunch on CNY eve. Bah, as always for all CNY eves, I have a reunion lunch and dinner (both paternal and maternal sides) so I can't go. But I'll be going back to my former schools. Plan to visit all three. I know how glad the pri sch teachers are when this NS guy still bothers to go back and visit them...my ex-chinese teacher already cried when a bunch of us from Hwachong went back the previous year during J1..man I hope she doesn't do that again, cos this time it's probably going to be me alone..looking forward to new year!
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AidanWu was here on 10:01 pm
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Yay, I'm booking out in ten minutes!! Duty was pretty alright, especially towards the late evening when I watched "The Classic". It's a beautiful fairy-tale-like Korean love story. And Korea really appears to have lots of breathtaking scenery, each picturesque and fit for a postcard. The plot is simple but endearing.
Now I am going home and giving tuition at 10am before I can have lunch and sleep.
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AidanWu was here on 7:44 am
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16.1.04
Haha, regulars will be regulars. So they fickle-mindedly decided not to change the duty system again, so it's now back to square one. Plus a few restrictions. Which they'll slowly relax with time, as always, due to inefficient implementation or sheer poor memory.
Tim's mum makes very good pineapple tarts! The pastry is very fragrant, and the pineapple is not too sweet or sour. I wonder if she makes it for sale.
It's almost CNY, it's really early this year. I should really help more with spring cleaning. My mum seems to be doing most of it right now.
Temperatures in New York hit the lowest in half a century a few days back. -33 degrees. It's impossible to imagine that here in sweltering sunny island set in the sea. A lady who was interviewed said she was wearing 5 shirts, 4 pants and 3 pairs of gloves. Numbers fail to qualify how cold it must feel over there. Only being there does.
Anyway, this is something interesting for the records. The IBN is somewhere I wanna be in. It's not easy but at least I have a chance.
____________________________________________________
Tiny biochip created here speeds up disease detection
TheStraitsTimes/16Jan2004
'Lab on a chip' does not require surgery for diagnosis
By Ho Ka Wei
A CHIP measuring 4cm by 3cm that can detect diseases such as cancer more quickly and effectively than bulky machines has been developed by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) here.
Work on the chip took the team, led by Dr Mao (left) and Mr Xu, almost a year. They have filed a US patent.
Its researchers have applied to patent their 'lab on a chip' that speeds up diagnosis by extracting gene information from a tiny tissue sample no bigger than a sesame seed.
There is less discomfort for the patient as getting the sample requires no surgery, they said. A fine needle that is inserted into any part of the body extracts all that is needed. It is said to be even less invasive than taking a blood sample.
Biochips are gaining popularity both for their ability to detect a range of diseases and for their small size. In contrast, some of the diagnostic machines in use now may be the size of a small refrigerator.
Led by Mr Xu Guolin and Dr Mao Peilin, the team worked on the chip for almost a year and filed a United States patent last November.
IBN said its biochip can extract genetic materials that bear a copy of the information carried by a gene, also known as mRNA or messenger ribonucleic acid, from a small tissue sample.
It slashes the time to prepare the tissue sample to just two hours, compared with two days with conventional methods to extract the RNA to determine the specific genes responsible for cancer. This means doctors will also be able to detect the presence of cancer-related genes even in the early or benign stages.
Dr Mao said the team sought a method to detect genes that are known to cause breast cancer, and a less painful detection process. 'Using the chip, you just need to insert a fine needle into any part of a person's body to extract the tissue sample. The patient does not need surgery.'
Mr Xu, who is the project's lead scientist, said: 'The device also had to be inexpensive and able to generate results quickly.' He said the next step was to incorporate a biosensor to make the biochip an all-in-one disease detection device.
'This is what we are currently working on and we hope to achieve this some time next year,' he said.
____________________________________________________
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AidanWu was here on 1:23 pm
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Haha..just watched a couple of funny movies..
Matrix Cow Fight
Matrix Ping Pong
The cow one is really funny..the ping pong one is from Chao1 Ji2 Bian4 Bian4 Bian4.
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AidanWu was here on 9:25 am
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14.1.04
Yoyo..on duty now. Dinner was horrible, haha. Maybe my appetite's bad 'cos of my current chest infection. One more week to CNY.
Went to Turf City this morning with my parents and aunt, who drove us there. We had an early lunch, then did grocery shopping at Giant.
Wow, Singapore just detained 10 JI suspects. Kinda unnerving to know that these potential extremists are living amongst us, breathing the same air, taking the same MRT, maybe even our neighbours. And it makes me appreciate all the more how hard it is for the government to try to weed out such extremists while trying to maintain social cohesion, the two being pretty antagonistic processes. Which is due to the human nature that, in the struggle for self-preservation, tends to engender stereotypes of a particular race that appears to 'produce' the extremists and gravitates towards hysteria and an apparent lost of common sense whenever the topic is breached. Although the rational side of me reminds me not to stereotype all Muslims as terrorists, to take a point in case, as a heartlander who has no knowledge of how to discern the traits of a potential terrorist who may be mingling in our midst, it can be a bit hard not to feel unsafe among people of the race from which most terrorists to date seem to hail. Okay, this is potentially inflammatory, so I emphasise first that psychological weak points in the human mind does not justify racism against the Malays, for example.
Well, anyway, I've been thinking about countries like Indonesia, which are sooo big with seemingly endless borders and far-flung islands. If it's difficult to capture the few extremists here in Singapore and at the same time persuading the masses that extremism has nothing to do with race or religion and that they shouldn't distrust members of other races or religions, then I'd say it's practically impossible in places like Indonesia. Of course, the potential for social imbalance is probably different there since 85% of Indonesians are Muslims, the tension among the non-Muslim population may not see such a great impact on the overall social fabric as compared to Singapore's in terms of percentage due to the sheer differences in geographical and population size. Sometimes, I really can't help but admire the leaders of these big countries. I'm not trying to put anyone down, but how would Indonesia have turned out if Lee Kuan Yew had taken the helm from the time of its independence? Who knows, but the first thought that crossed my mind was that it might have been so much harder to lead such a vast country, albeit one with much more natural resources to start with.
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AidanWu was here on 7:50 pm
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12.1.04
Was just called by the RSM. He officially 'informed' me of my 3 extra rations-collections with a smirk on his face, and made it a point to rub it in by emphasising "In february you know?" "Three (shows me 3 fingers) times you know?" and then asked "Are you okay with that?" As if I can say no like that.
I reminded myself that that was the highlight of his career, and to let him bask in all his glory, witnessed by me alone. So I meekly said, "No problem Sir"
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AidanWu was here on 2:34 pm
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Staying in for lunch today..not feeling very well since Saturday. Must be the result of being too vocal at the campfire, insufficient water intake, getting caught in the rain the other day, the weird weather and the guy who sat behind me in the 67 I took to attend the campfire who was coughing and sneezing througout the whole journey.
Anyway, the weekend was quite okay. Went back to Hwachong for the alumni co practice on sat. A sizeable number of people turned up, including some who didn't participate in the 20 Dec concert. But it was probably still less than half the size of the orchestra during that concert. It ended quite fast, but as always, departure was delayed by an enthusiastic instructor who decided to expound to us the significance of the set-up of this orchestra and what future directions we should take. To his credit, what he said made a lot of sense, I was just not in the mood to listen to his extrapolations into the years and decades, especially when I can't commit on the long-term to this orchestra anyway. But it's different from heck-caring the whole thing, else I wouldn't have gone back to help. I probably just feel not chen4 zhi2 when they assume that I'll be the concertmaster and stuff...responsibilities which I feel I won't have enough time to carry out fully. And more to his credit, he gave that inspiring lecture free of charge (he's helping the orchestra volunteerily). Many other musicians would have much more airs than him, some probably even insisting on a token payment for a 5-minute exposition.
Anyhow, it really is quite a tough job to ensure the success of this CO. For one, the member pool is potentially derived from a large spectrum of society. Although membership is not hard to come by, a permanent membership is probably hard to maintain on the part of the members. Some COs like Hsinghai have managed with different members for each concert very well, but at least they have a core group of people (around 20-30) to take the helm in terms of management and planning. Maybe the alumni co is new, given time, a core group of leaders may come into existence.
I'm sure there're many people like me - keen on the CO's success but simultaneously uncertain as to whether I can afford the time and energy to contribute something significant to it, both in the long and short term. Even short-term commitments can be quite taxing, e.g. helping out in one concert. For it takes much more than contributing a certain amount of time; it can be a protracted period of time, e.g. at least a month if you want to be responsible to your music, and what more, at fixed practice slots which are seldom negotiable, because of the sheer number of people involved. For adults with regular work hours that happen to clash with the practice times, no chance. And a last-minute concert won't do anyone good; still remember how some people could only attend one practice before the actual concert the last time, and most people only attended around 3-4, including myself.
Of course, everyone wants to have fun in the CO, but the reality is that practices can get pretty serious at times, especially when the pieces are demanding. Members must really appreciate that they cannot just "join for fun", else they'll just be a floating member, of no real contribution. This is my problem too, I'm not too sure I wanna get stuck in a regimented schedule again so soon. Conflicting interests are so bothersome.
Anyway, haha it seems I am more interested in the orchestra than I think myself to be. I'm glad currently there's a transitional committee taking care of things, but I wonder if it'll live up to its nature or become like Paul Bremer's administration in Iraq.
Gave tuition yesterday morning. Woke up with a sore throat and was quite worried at first how I was going to last the session. Lots of water helped loads. I figure I must have had the equivalent of at least 15 water parades yesterday alone! Today I've already downed 8 500ml bottles so far and counting sitll, so I am perpetually satiated, or more so, full. Anyway, I taught her transport in plants and animals, and I have to refer continuously to the syllabus to ensure that I don't overload her too much. Will be tuitioning later this evening too..
Last night's Ren Ci Charity Show ended after I went to bed. Well, I didn't watch it except for Kym Ng's and the Reverend Lee's stunts. Oh and plus the stupid Rock You dance by the ladies. I was really awed by Kym and was praying for the monk 'cos I thought he was going to stay in there until he reached his target.
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AidanWu was here on 1:39 pm
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10.1.04
Yoyo..yesterday went back to Hwachong for the 04 Campfire. Reached around 8:30pm like that. It wasn't that bad after all although I was the only one from my class. But at least some of my juniors and seniors were there! Met up with my angel, but she had to leave early so didn't get to talk much. Took a couple of photos with the 79 people. There was one photo with 3 generations of 79ners! 01, 02 and 03. Too bad Kaiyuan, Lizhen and Weiqiang (I think) came ten minutes later else it would have been four generations. Surprisingly, quite a lot of seniors from 01 went back, saw many familiar faces. And of course half the time I was wishing the guys from 02 good luck in BMT. Haha. Didn't see Paul though he was supposedly around. It was quite fun lah, especially towards the end during the song session and the choo-choo train thingy..the central plaza was so crowded that the 'trains' resembled the endoplasmic reticulum, somewhat at least. ^___^ The 'train' ZI was in was quite siao, sometimes accelerate until the train broke!
Saw many CO juniors and peers there. Really glad to see them after so long. The last time was MAF I think. Also saw Keith and Yuyi there. Very much the same. I only found out yesterday that Paul is in Keith's camp!
Briefly saw my great-grand juniors. Like what Shuhui said, they all look so guai1! Haha one of them is my CO junior. After the campfire, dunno where most of the seniors disappeared too except for Kendrew, who was going to bring them to KAP for supper. Like schoolkids, they took their baggage and trooped neatly in a group towards the bus stop - quite cute hor. Haha.
Realised that many Hwachong songs are very nice, except that I've forgotten how to sing them. But nevertheless, it was very nice to see everyone from the juniors to seniors to grandseniors to great and great-great grand seniors all singing along together for the night. It may be hard to appreciate as a spectator on the upper floors, but the heartwarming feeling is evident when one joins in in the Central Plaza. I think I'll go for the next Orientation campfire too.
The next thing to look forward to is CNY celebrations. One of my juniors who declined my invitation to dance Wild Wild West with me because she forgot how to has promised to learn it by CNY. Heh heh. But then CNY and MAF all these seem kinda different, cos they're not about helping a new batch of Hwachongians merge into the big 'faRmily', which is kinda special, and when the presence of seniors really make a big difference to the newbies. At least that was how I felt during 01 Touchdown - welcomed.
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AidanWu was here on 9:30 am
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8.1.04
Hey hey..just now received an sms from my junior angel asking if I am going back to Hwachong tomorrow evening for the Orientation campfire..of course I'm going especially since I missed last year's (was slacking away on Tekong mah). Haha must remember to bring camera to take angel-mortal photo.. Hmmm, I wonder besides A and myself, which other 79 great-grand-senior will be going back too. Anyway, my mum expressed interest in going to look-see, which is quite cool, 'cos she probably hasn't experienced a modern-day JC orientation campfire, esp. a Hwachong one! But she did see the pyrotechnics that the councillors can conjure up before..at one of the MAF I think. My brother is in 04S77..darn I would have no problems with that besides the fact that one of his great-grand-seniors is my nemesis in secondary school. Haha, of course now it's over, everyone has to learn the art of EQ in the end mah...^__^. Hope Mr. Nemesis is doing reeeally well. Heh heh.
Anyway, it seems that his class is gonna be like my old class, half-on half-off but mostly losing the telematches and stuff, and no one really cares, but everyone is still quite united kinda class. Haha seriously, it's damn funny when you think of it that way. Well, at least his senior class is supposedly quite powerful, what with the S7 faculty head and the Students' Council President from there. His class is quite sian, 15 guys to 11 girls, and 9 guys are from TCHS. Got one guy from Regent Sec which is near my house, run past there sometimes. Commendable man!
Well well, looking back at the 4Jan post, a casual observer probably would have concluded that I didn't have a very good start to the New Year, but of course that's a very skewed perspective 'cos it would have concluded based on only what I was thinking for about ... half an hour? It's called venting, and it's healthy.
As I have reminded myself constantly, I am still a very lucky boy, I have two parents and a brother, friends around me, advisors who I can always fall back on, and I ain't handicapped! Not trying to be funny or what, that's exactly how things are. Of course, as in Animal Farm, some people are more lucky than others. But that's the way of life, and it's important to count your blessings as well, and take heart in the fact that at least you recognise and appreciate that you're blessed, when there're people out there who don't have the same luck or are much better off but don't realise it.
Yes, but of course once in a while it's healthy to bitch about things as well, so as not to blind yourself from reality. The reality is that all SAF REGULARS SUCK! AND SUCK BIG TIME AT THAT! Haha ^_____^ Okay, that was perhaps wrong. But who cares? It's a temporal personal opinion which varies with time (thought not much, heh) and is totally impossible to judge whether it is right or wrong or irrelevant; relevance depends on the agenda of the person evaluating the opinion, which makes it a circular argument.
My cousin didn't make the appeal to NYGH, but she seems to be taking it really well, and is adapting quite well to Bukit Panjang Govt High, just 20 minutes walk from my place. A friend of mine who's her age, (she's a family friend lar) and from RGS made the appeal despite getting one point less in her T-score. Sigh, the emphasis schools place on sports. I heard Hwachong took in a 10-pointer because of CO as well, and I think he's in 79!! Haha, actually he's my junior lah. Good thing for him ah, else he would have to travel all the way to TJ everyday! And he lives in Boon Lay!
On Tuesday I collected my 11B from CMPB. I shall comment as little as possible, but there's something that I am very displeased with. The security. Okay, I am sounding like a regular here but the fact is anyone who looks decently like an NSF or a regular or a pre-enlistee can easily get into the place, and what's more, the requirement for collecting an 11B (or a military green IC) is just to be able to know the IC number! Of course, they're supposed to check the photo against your face, but the lady there didn't even bother. Lol, god knows how many people are being paid to do useless stuff like this.
Anyway, regulars are really screwed up. Haha, yesterday, my MAJ almost made me report sick this morning just because I said my knee hurt sometimes after jogging. She had no inkling that this happens if one over-trains, and is not a legitimate medical condition, and I told her directly that the MO will surely gan3 me if I reported sick, then she said no no MOs now very scared one, i gave her a -__- look and it was over. She assumed I would report sick. So today I purposely didn't report sick and then the warrants and master started to kao bei me, then I told them the reason, and they told me to see her personally. Which of course I did after pretending not to hear the first time round. Then I smoked her with some chim terms until she K.O. and resorted to using "Based on my experience...blah blah", which was fair enough lah actually, so I accepted it and the issue was over.
Then there was incident when she made my section mate sit in the middle of the work area just because he was talking to a guy from another section. Haiz. I always brush off such trivial show of lameness with "Aiyah, this is the highlight of their career mah, just take it as making somebody's day and doing a good deed."
Recently, the trend in camp is to fast and not to go lunch. 'Cos seriously sometimes it's not worth making the 1 plus km trip to the cookhouse for that kinda food. So instead we conserve energy and hibernate during lunch break. Sleep lah.
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AidanWu was here on 7:28 pm
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7.1.04
Was on duty on Monday. Monday was quite a bad day, but it ain't one of the worse. Got screwed by my IC for two things. Almost kena extra duty and my lwe will be taken away soon, though it's not confirmed yet.
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AidanWu was here on 12:21 pm
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4.1.04
I raised the idea of attending this year's countdown to 2005 to my mother. She didn't seem to have any adverse reaction against it. Good sign.
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AidanWu was here on 9:45 pm
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Hiya..listening to the orchestral version of "Ambush from all sides" by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. This was the CD Yeelin bought for me!! ^___^ War cries and battles are raging all over my room!! Really fits the mood as I am playing Utopia now. Haha -__-
Anyway, today I had an inspiration while listening to the Four Seasons Suite for the Chinese Orchestra. Man, I really wish the alumni orchestra could play it some day...but the whole suite is 47 minutes long and ould easily take up half a full-length concert! Well...at least the dream made itself to the right-hand-side list of wanna-dos...
[Sombre mood; I think they're mourning for the battle casualties...or is it the calm before the storm?]
Hmm, anyway today was the second tuition session for An-an, the sec 2 girl I'm tutoring. Taught her cells today...haha tried to imbue in her an appreciation of biology like how Ms Wong did last time, dunno whether it worked or not. But I'm pretty sure I made it very understandable!
Was writing CNY cards and I was confused as to whether Wanyi still lives at Geylang Bahru or has she shifted to Sunset Way? *confused* And I have to get Liang Jie's address too...he didn't write it in my autograph book in 2002. Man, so long ago already!! A few days ago I could still say 'last year'.
Argh, decided to change CD. S.E.N.S's 'Pale Crimson' from the latest album "Heart" (2002). I just love their songs. They are deep, yet simultaneously easily accessible to the laymen as it inspires one to sit down, and simple think. Think about anything that matters to them. It's like providing a reclining chair of a psychiatrist (minus all the negative connotations related to seeing a psychiatrist) to the listener and engaging the listener into sharing his innermost thoughts.
"Love" now. Reminds me of the sweet innocence of the ill-fated couple in Winter Sonata. Dunno why all Jap and Korean love songs sound vaguely similar. This one has the same air of bliss-that-never-was as "My Memory". Deja vu.
Sigh, I am distracted. Maybe it's because I don't really know how to pen down what I wanna say. Or maybe I don't really know what I wanna say at all.
It's to do with the family..as always, the people closest to you always give you the biggest heartaches, and yet you know you need them to survive...
As always, the problem lies with the extended family, the ones that are seriously 'not so important' to me, but yet which like the weather, influences how things go within my family of four. It's not a very happy thing when it's your second last CNY in Singapore for the rest of the decade and someone says he doesn't want to go to my maternal grandma's place this year for reasons unknown to myself.
[Climax of the song "Love"; this's probably when one cries if one is in the right mood.]
Sometimes people really become childish with age. Where's the wisdom supposedly gathered through one's life? Narrow-mindedness, selfishness, being egotistical, ain't these traits supposed to occur in the immature ages of below 21? Alright, that's an exaggeration of the actual situation. But some people just cannot look beyond temporary frustrations to consider the long-term impact of their actions. Right, so this year we won't be celebrating CNY as a family, so what you think? There's always next year. And next year. And before you know, I'll be gone, and it's too late to regret it. Fine.
What the fuck.
Sorry blog, I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just been one whole day of pretending to be fine with the rest of the world that I need some time in cyberspace to vent it a little. As always, I don't usually bottle up my feelings. I am straightforward with most things, except when it comes to family matters. Jia1 chou3 bu4 neng2 wai4 yang2.
['Blessing of the Sun' is surprising refreshing, especially when heard after the sweet polka-like 'Jam smile'. It draws the curtains to a window. What window is up to the individual.]
Okay, maybe I am selfish too. I seriously dunno how to settle this. Everything seems so normal on the exterior, I wonder what everyone is thinking deep down inside. My mum told me to 'stay out of this', in a nice way of course. And I don't wanna unhappy things that happened in the past to recur.
['Heart of Glass' is such a fragile song. It breaks my heart to hear it any more.]
Does anyone care what happens to me? Seriously speaking, from my heart, I only know 3 people in my life who will really care. It's not to say there're only 3, I just haven't had the chance to discover the others. But what I do know are those people who won't give a fuck about whether you take your next breath, where you'll sleep tomorrow, whether you'll eat tomorrow. And the worse thing is these people often are the ones who make the most conscious efforts to dish up some EQ-soaked words that are totally unfeeling and are uttered out of sheer sympathy. Worse still, some don't even bother to do so. We are just glass to them. (Erm this has nothing to do with SQ's use of the same analogy in one of her entries.)
And guess what? It's people like these who make me want to achieve all the more, who make me wanna show them that it's not money that enables one to survive in this world. I don't give a damn about your money. Even though I know you won't even give up a cent, you'd rather drag it into your graves.
[Maria sounds vaguely like Chopin's 'Nocturne'.]
Of course, I don't achieve for their sake. I do so more for myself and my family's happiness. But the product happens to satisfy both criteria. It would be an oxymoron if I were to do well just to spite others, for 'their' sake. That ain't doing justice to the people who wish well of me.
Okay, things are not as bad as they seem. What I feel and sense may not be what is the truth. Sometimes I feel that Plato is just trying to find excuses for not accepting things as they are.
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AidanWu was here on 9:34 pm
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2.1.04
Hiya..I was feeling kinda hardworking just now so went to compile some maths questions for my tutee. Spent half the afternoon packing up my room, mainly cos I can't stand my mother nagging at me to do so. Was filing my uni application stuff and saw last year's records. Recalled the disappointed of not making it into Yale. Then I asked myself, "Did I really want to study at Yale?" I remember the Yale interview with the pathology prof. He made me change my mind about Yale. At least getting into a university is over. Now the greater hurdle of surviving it awaits. But I shan't let that worry me for the rest of my NS. Life is good as of now and I intend to enjoy it in Singapore while I can. 2003 has been quite a significant year, although much of it was spent slacking and taking things easy. The significance only sank in after a conversation with one of my unit mate, who was asking what were my New Year resolutions. I replied I never made resolutions, and he was like giving me the usual response of "How can? Must have resolutions." Then I said "Maybe it works for you but it doesn't work that way for me. I set resolutions throughout the year as and when the situation calls for it." Then he replied, "Yah hor, u have ur whole life mapped out for you liao. (referring to my scholarship, getting into university and an assured career)" Though it was quite an out-of-point response to what I had said earlier, it suddenly struck me that there was more to this year than I had thought of it, academically at least, and the things I have achieved are not of the same impact as getting into Hwa Chong, for example, for they affect my whole life, in a way. My college life, my career, my future. It's a great leap forward. But then I caught myself and dragged myself to reality. Certain good things have happened (it could very easily be the other way, not getting into the uni I wanted etc.), but they have not determined my future, they're merely provide that possibility of a successful future. What remains is a journey that requires no less work than I have put in in the past twelve years of studies, possibly much more. But still, it took me 12 years to get that glimpse of the possibility of such a future to look forward to. The chance of a lifetime. The Singaporean girl in Oxford who made it to the headlines a few days back only provides another window to myself to the endless possibilities in the coming decade. In a way, it's up to me to follow the map.
Anyway, today is the first day of school, and it's the first day my brother is attending Hwachong. I'm kinda reliving the first day of school again. When he came back, I was eagerly looking at his student's handbook and seeing what's new etc. Can feel the excitement that I felt on 02Jan2001, when everyone was still in their sec sch uniform and blur blur in the stuffy hall. Of cos nowadays they have the air-conditioned auditorium.
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AidanWu was here on 8:48 pm
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1.1.04
Sian sian sian. Today's lunch was good. Western. But dinner...argh. Not worth mentioning.
ICQed a lot of pple Happy New year today 'cos 1) I was bored and 2) I wanted to reserve my SMSes for CNY instead. Have been writing CNY cards since last week. Started early 'cos of my inefficiency at writing cards. It takes a lot of effort to pen down the exact things I want to say to each person.
On 30 Dec I wished a few people Happy New Year, and the same response was given each time, "So early!!" and all probably gave me an incredulous look if they had video cams. What's wrong with an early greeting? I don't understand. I just told them it's in case I don't get to wish them personally on New Year's Day itself, and after that all of them obliged willingly with enthusiastic "Happy New Year to you too!" Hmm. One can never take things for granted, e.g. I'll be around on New Year's Day to wish my friends Happy New Year. *Touch wood*
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AidanWu was here on 7:26 pm
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Happy New Year blog!!
I am on duty now. Haha. Reached camp too early today 'cos the buses were so empty (at least in the direction I was going). I took only 50 minutes to reach, normally I would have taken 90 minutes. That's why I reached even earlier than on a normal day when I left home half an hour later. The people on duty last night really feasted! All kinds of tidbits and beer also got..
New Year's Eve was a half day for us, and we got to wear CV to work. Anyway it was basically slack yesterday, spent most of the time playing online games. Then just before 12 one WO went around asking everyone for signatures (for a donation card). Naturally my section mate and I went to hide in the toilet. Then we came out when we thought the coast was clear, and dang!!! kena caught by her. Lan lan have to sign...then realised she didn't ask us for any money..oops! Damn paiseh..she's actually donating for everyone.
So after work they wanted to go LAN, but I had an appointment in the evening and had to go home first, so I joined them for lunch only. And we were kept waiting by someone who decided to bomb the toilet just as we were about to leave! haha..we went into the toilet and said "Pang sai some more, pang sai some more!" Then a Major came out of one cubicle and we were all stunned!! haha...ended up saying "wah the toilet smells like armani!!" (talk cock only lar)
Supposed to go to Katong Shopping Centre for lunch and subsequently LAN, which is damn far for me, but I thought it beats eating lunch alone. Then we alighted to change bus, and decided to eat at one of the roadside Hokkien mee stalls. The Hokkien mee was damn good, at least compared to most others I've eaten. Most are usually too wet or too dry, e.g. Newton circle for the former and TCHS canteen for the latter. (haha i know the latter e.g. is a bit -__-) This one was in between, got a lot of ingredients (4 prawns!!) and fried pork lard too. But the chilli was so-so only lah. The price of 4 bucks is still okay for the quality and quantity of the food.
After lunch I went home en-route Raffles City, saw Weiliang and his gf there. Orchard road was damn crowded. Traffic jam everywhere. Took me so long. Then reached home, went for a short run. The cold spell is over for good!! It was freaking hot I was trying to run in the shadows. Then rushed down to town again to meet some primary school classmates at city hall interchange. Wah..damn crowded. And one escalator had to spoil then. There were 3 of us. One dropped by to say hi but couldn't stay 'cos she was going clubbing at Zouk...there was this promotion thigny that promised cheaper entrance fees for the first 300 revellers before 9pm, so she was meeting her friends there at 7:30pm. Haha, and another friend who was supposed to turn up did not 'cos she was stuck at a friend's b'dae party.
So we walked around Raffles City looking for a place to eat. It was already 7 plus by then. Took a picture in front of the blue christmas tree there 'cos one of them liked it very much. Went to the basement, nothing to eat. Walked to Suntec via City link, then she said she wanted something spicy. Thai food was the only thing we could think of, so we headed to the Fountain Terrace. Actually the one I had in mind was upstairs, but never mind lah. We ate the Siamese Fins Restaurant, supposedly famous for its sharks fins, which we obviously did not try. No money lah. Talked quite a bit in there. But was quite disappointed by the food. We ordered pineapple rice, sauteed chicken with Thai chili and di4 huang2 miao2 (my mum calls it hong kong kailan). The rice was cold and not spicy, though the other two were okay. But it was way expensive...three dishes cost 51 bucks!! Don't go unless ur not hungry and have a lot of money to throw. Even if you have the money should donate to charity. haha, and there were many young waiters there, probably because of the holidays, and they were really inexperienced. That was the first restaurant where I witnessed a waiter drop the receipt booklet...haha! And he was picking up all the small change from between our feet! Must have been damn embarrassing for him.
My friend was talking about life in medicine. She's stressed, but still coping. It's the same for everyone there i think, else there'll be many suicide cases liao. *Touch wood* Well, she said that friends are very important, as in those whom you can count on in times of real need. Not those kind whom you help and they don't necessarily reciprocate. And that's why she has a small group of close friends and few others. Maybe that's practical to a certain extent. I don't have many close friends too, mostly acquaintances. But some acquaintances can surprisngly be very loyal friends, but became like acquaintances only because both of us were physically too far apart to maintain a close relationship. Somehow, for these people, I only realise how important they are only after they've taken the time to help me.
Anyway, we walked and walked to the fountain plaza. And the fountain spray drenched us bad!! After that we were shivering...haha. Then we walked to the Esplanade, where there was a live band performance, which we didn't watch. I realised that it's not just 79 that tends to gravitate aimlessly towards the Esplanade when we have nowhere to go on class gatherings! Talked quite a bit on the bridge, blocking the way of everyone walking past, which I didn't care at all. There were many pretty boats in the bay...if only I could have a candlelight dinner on board one of those ferries. Was quite curious about clubbing since they were talking about it and we were so near Centro. And we were discussing how to persuade my mother to let me go clubbing! Sigh, I just wanna take a look only mah. And I said that I wanted to stay out all night next New Year's Eve (we'll see about that). What my seniors did was they booked a hotel room lor, much like prom, so after chionging no need to go all the way home. Then we walked towards Hill Street, passing some bridge (forgot the name) leading to Victoria Concert Hall. The bridge is an ideal place to take a picture with the Esplanade as a backdrop and the Padang park or whatever u call that, plus the Singapore river. Then since I had duty the next day, we took 190 home. Surprisingly it was still quite crowded; many people didn't believe in counting down in town.
Reached home and realised I would be forced to count down after all! 'Cos the community club right below my place was having some New year celebrations! Haha...loud bass and grossly poor imitations of Deng Li Jun's songs marked much of the 'celebration'. But in the end I was too tired and fell asleep just before midnight.
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AidanWu was here on 11:18 am
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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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