halfway across the world..

SOS

2008-02-20T03:50:00.002-05:00

Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find
I tried to reach for you, but you have closed your mind
Whatever happened to our love
I wish I understood
It used to be so nice, it used to be so good

So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me
SOS
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
SOS
When you're gone
How can I even try to go on
When you're gone
Though I try how can I carry on

You seemed so far away though you were standing near
You made me feel alive, but something died I fear
I really tried to make it out
I wish I understood
What happened to our love, it used to be so good

So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me
SOS
The love you gave me, nothing else can save me
SOS
When you're gone
How can I even try to go on
When you're gone
Though I try how can I carry on

gundam

2008-02-11T01:23:00.000-05:00

So I've been watching this new anime, Gundam 00. In this storyline, a independent organisation utilises Gundams, which are huge robots piloted by humans, to perform "interventions" in military conflicts. The ultimate aim is to eradicate war, by means of overwhelming force (made possible by the superior technology in the Gundams).

My chosen profession is in the military. The cool part of our armed forces is that we have two major roles (in my opinion). The first is the obvious one, to deter foreign aggression, as well as engage the enemy in a conflict if need be. The second is as a nation building tool, in line with national service.

Some people sign on for the first role, some sign on for the second, some for both, and some for neither. I did it for both. Recently I've been meeting many new people here in Stanford, and the conversation never fails to turn to the SAF, usually along the lines of why I chose to sign on. I believe that it is possible to provide a positive NS experience for all. Coincidentally, that is very similar to the current ACE mentality in the army: Army Culture and Experience. I've been scoffed at by most, since the majority of NSmen have not had a positive army experience, and find it difficult even to envision having one. Nevertheless, I do believe my goal to be possible.

The next most common question is: are you excited about starting work? That for sure I know, I am. I have a bunch of close friends who have similar ideology as I do. I really look forward to our careers developing in parallel and all of us working towards our aims. I am excited about working with the crop of young officers in my chosen formation, a group of dedicated and capable individuals who shine together as a team.

The SAF has not been to war (lets not count WW2 here). I do not wish the SAF to go to war ever. Without even considering the consequences of victory / defeat, the toll it would place on our people would be pretty devastating I would say. Of course, there is no real way I can say that with absolute certainty, but hey History Channel and Military Channel has given me a pretty good idea. In the absence of bloodshed, it has been said that it will be difficult for Singaporeans to truly form a national identity. Hopefully, this is where the two roles of the SAF can come together. While preventing war, we help to develop this true national identity, even without bloodshed. Can it be done? I think so, but the road is long, and I'm definitely pumped to be part of it. :)

Free Credit Report

2008-01-18T00:32:00.001-05:00

Haha this video is hilarious. :)

Seal and Heidi

2007-12-09T17:04:00.001-05:00

More emo songs

2007-11-12T23:43:00.000-05:00

shoes

2007-11-06T02:23:00.000-05:00

ahh which one?

Sherwayn's visit

2007-10-31T21:09:00.000-04:00

All of last week was a blast..Tan Sherwayn dropped by on the way home from iobc.. and proceeded to destroy 5days worth of plans to work.

pre-pickup Friday: Exotic Erotic Ball

www.asiandivagirls.com

more demonstrations

evelyn lyn drools

snoop dogg concert!!!

Day 1 Saturday: Stanford Shopping Centre.

Presents for the whole family

Day 2 Sunday:clubbing in SF
we managed to get tickets to ARMIN VAN BUUREN. if u dont know him, you should. haha.. http://www.djmag.com/index.php?op=top100dj&top100dj_op=results&results_op=display&top_100_id=1

Ruby Skye - the club we went to

Armin

Day 3: Shopping in SF + touristy things

Golden Gate

Fisherman's Wharf + Clam Chowder

Day 4: Sherwayn the Chef
Dude decided to cook up a feast for us we provided shelter haha. =) pretty awesome
Steak & redwine mushroom sauce + Roast chicken & potatoes + boiled asparagus + pasta salad + Brownies n icecream

AWESOME.
now back to work.

Silverado

2007-10-13T06:35:00.001-04:00

Chee chian wanted to rent a normal economy car and ended up with a free upgrade to this:

wish i could get it in singapore. grrrr

My Brain

2007-10-11T18:20:00.001-04:00

Alan Tanの脳内

muahaha

College Gameday Pregame Handshake

2007-10-07T01:32:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB0hu7Ttxd0

Stupid For You

2007-10-03T03:32:00.000-04:00

It's not everyday
That I find a person quite like you
Perfect every way
I finally found the nerve to confess that it's you - that I want
I don't care if I act a fool
I would damn near beg for you
Put aside, all my pride
So don't keep me hanging here
'Cause this girl is falling stupid for you..
Stupid for you..

The proper thing to do
Is for me to act like a lady and wait
For you to make the first move
But I don't think you're getting the point
That it's you - that I want
I don't care if I act a fool
I would damn near beg for you
Put aside, all my pride
So don't keep me waiting here
'Cause this girl is falling stupid for you!
Oh, oh stupid for you

Why's it always feel like I am
Chasing love when nothing's there
And here I go just making the same mistake...

I've fallen stupid for you..

grrr

2007-09-20T20:13:00.000-04:00

just read mingyang's blog abt this prof from cmu: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/index.html

its super crazy he's got his really bad case of cancer, and has abt 6months left. but his attitude is superb. what a guy.

this is a clip of a lecture he just gave at cmu (under "most popular", then "a professor's lessons"): http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid86195573/bclid86272812/bctid11

its really refreshing.. considering im such a bitter person.. grrrr.. do take a look.

Right Here Waiting

2007-09-10T08:48:00.000-04:00

Oceans apart day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice on the line
But it doesn't stop the pain

If I see you next to never
How can we say forever

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you

I took for granted, all the times
That I though would last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can't get near you now

Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me goin' crazy

I wonder how we can survive
This romance
But in the end if I'm with you
I'll take the chance

Where to go

2007-08-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

What am i doing now.. i dont even know.. gragh.. this feeling of uncertainty is unsettling. =(

Emo post

2007-08-20T11:27:00.000-04:00

Feeling emo for no good reason. Just ate a shitload of pad thai and curry at a friend's place in melbourne, so im super stuffed and cant sleep. Mun just said, why must all good things come to an end? So yeah man. why? A lot of good things have been ending recently. Melbourne holiday is almost over, attachment's almost over, summer is almost over. a lot's over. sigh.

so when all these gd things end, whats there left? friendship n memories. spending time at work in camp, getting to know my future colleagues; spending time slacking at dan's place with my best friends, eating and shopping; spending time with her.. awesome times man. hopefully lots more to come =)

p.s. i want this car haha but super doesnt make sense.

Happy Birthday Lyn

2007-08-15T12:26:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Lynette!!

On this special day, a special girl turns 21. Kudos to Mr and Mrs Ng for producing such a beautiful daughter. Happy birthday to you my dear amazing friend. Hope today will be full of happy moments and good times to be remembered! You'll always have a special place in my heart =)

When You're Gone

2007-08-15T12:21:00.000-04:00

Come What May

2007-08-15T04:44:00.001-04:00

I hate myself for loving you

2007-08-13T23:21:00.000-04:00

i hate double standards

Nobody Knows It But Me

2007-07-28T04:22:00.000-04:00

Baby Face Nobody Knows But Me (Greys Anatomy)

so cheesy

2007-07-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

so cheesy....

to be with you

2007-07-20T06:28:00.001-04:00

So come on baby come on over
Let me be the one to show you

Im the one who wants to be with you
Deep inside I hope you feel it too
Waited on a line of greens and blues
Just to be the next to be with you

Why be alone when we can be together baby
You can make my life worthwhile
And I can make you start to smile

mambo

2007-07-11T15:12:00.000-04:00

mambo was kinda mixed today.. it was fun as usual, with the crazy uk gang there.. incl ben koh, sebas and lulu.. bumped into a whole lot of people too. didnt manage to go to lim aik's bday celebration due to below mentioned reason. but met daniel wuu, andrew boey, judy, linmin and yujing! omg some weird nj coincidences man.

anyway one of them died quite badly la in the end the night ended early, and i couldnt find aik after =(

however, before the night ended we managed to catch these two songs:
i hate myself for loving you, and i want you back.

another of my friends just broke up super recently, so he was feeling emo too.. fortunately i didnt drink, else it would have been super emo..

I Hate Myself For Loving You

.....
I think of you ev'ry night and day
You took my heart then you took my pride away

I hate myself for loving you
Can't break free from the the things that you do
I wanna walk but I run back to you that's why
I hate myself for loving you

Daylight spent the night without you
But I've been dreamin' 'bout the lovin' you do
I won't be as angry 'bout the hell you put me through

I Want You Back

The room has suddenly grown cold
and outside in the street it's raining

You packed your bags and said good-bye

you took my heart without explaining.
How could you go
how could you go

we had a love most people never know.
Stop
before you break my heart.

I want you back
don't care what I have to do
I want you back

I want you back
gotta get it through to you
I want you back.
If I can make you see only you can fill the need in me

If you walk away you'll regret it someday
please
stay!

This room is full of memories
and shadows of the last remind me
Of all the love I gave in vain
and all the hurt I fee inside me.
I want you back
I want you back

its over

2007-07-07T14:59:00.000-04:00

so its all over. my years long drama serial has come to a close. sad aint it. nothing much to say, just that its such a waste. sigh. good times are left behind, and hopefully, a few more new additions before we all go away. i want you to be happy. if i cant do it, so be it.

tennis

2007-06-05T09:15:00.000-04:00

woahhh french open is very niceeeee..
all of sharapova is obviously very nice to watch
henin's backhand is also very nice to watch
but oh man vaidisova is also very nice to watch
sighhh i wish i was good at tennis. gragh.

Me

2007-05-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

im not perfect. not now, certainly certainly not in the past, definitely not in the future.
all i hope is to be perfect for you.
and thank you, once again bro for keeping me in check. =)

coincidences

2007-05-07T00:18:00.000-04:00

oh man this is super scary haha
top 20 coincidences in history
http://www.oddweek.com/item_82923.aspx

Wine and Cheese

2007-05-06T14:47:00.000-04:00

visual dna

2007-04-28T18:23:00.001-04:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Vending machine hat-trick

2007-04-27T21:01:00.000-04:00

Vending machines 3 - Alan 0

OMG this is the worst day of my *life*
so today i got screwed on 3 separate occasions by 3 different vending machines.

1) at lunch went to the CS graduate student lounge to buy diet coke with mingyang. machine ate my money without registering it. loss: 75c

2) evening time while working in lab, went to the ece soda machine to buy a can of mountain dew. machine didnt return me change. loss: 50c

3) late evening, still working in lab, went to the wean 2nd floor aka world of vending machines to buy a cup of hot chocolate. thought the vending machines gave me a break when i found 65c in the change slot. then i realised the machine didnt put a cup there and just dumped all the hot choc into the drainage. loss: 75c - 65c = 10c

overall: 75 + 50 + 10 = $1.35

bloody hell.

summer to do list

2007-04-25T13:44:00.000-04:00

2007 Summer to-do list:

Spend lots of time with Lynette
Hang out lots with the Lentor gang
Clock more jumps
Get my diving cert
Figure out how to con TP to giving me my full drivers license
Get to <9>
Go to mambo
Go to Melbourne
Eat at the following places:

YCK hawker centre
Inagiku
Shima
Kuriya
Sakae Sushi (haha)
Lao di fang
Crystal Jade @ Holland after soccer
Crystal Jade XLB @ Taka with Dan n all
Crystal Jade @ J8 with mom
Newton
Maxwell
East Coast Jumbo Seafood
Lao Beijing
Jack's Place with dad

booth

2007-04-23T09:04:00.000-04:00

the past week was carnival.. and im damn tired from booth. graghh.. check it out:

asa

tsa

ssa

theta

sigep

kdr

constructing the booth

Bored

2007-04-08T17:44:00.000-04:00

hai. im bored.

Three names you go by:
1. alan
2. nala
3. i dont think there's a third

Three screen names you have had:
1. ~aLaN~
2. no more.. i never changed =(
3. does my blog count? incertezza

Three physical things you like about yourself:
1. im decently fit (well at least, i can be decently fit)
2. i can dress (or at least i think i can la)
3. i have good psychomotor skills

Three physical things you do not like about yourself:
1. cant jump
2. too short
3. gain weight too easily

Three parts of your heritage:
1. family
2. raffles institution
3. njcanoeing

Three things that scare you:
1. being alone
2. failing sbj
3. global warming / no snow

Three of your everyday essentials:
1. phone
2. computer
3. photo of lynette

Three of your favorite musical artists as of now:
1. the spitz
2. ace of base
3. michael jackson

Three of your favorite songs:
1. the sign
2. billie jean
3. sweet child of mine

Three things you want in a relationship:
1. trust
2. support
3. faith

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
1. dressing
2. <10 2.4 timing hahahah ok joking la i mean outdoor hobbies
3. smile / laugh

Three of your favorite hobbies:
1. talking kok
2. snowboarding
3. soccer

Three things you want to do really badly now:
1. go to melbourne
2. snowboarding
3. skydive

Three careers you are considering/have considered:
1. military
2. events planner
3. police

Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. melbourne
2. japan
3. any big ski resort

Three names that you like:
1. lynette
2. alessandra
3. cheryl (this one is random)

Three things you want to do before you die:
1. snowboard in every continent
2. watch a match in old trafford
3. have something named after me haha

Three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. im rational
2. i take <5mins to shower
3. i curse

Three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. i gossip
2. i like to shop
3. aesthetics are important

Three celeb crushes:
1. alessandra ambrosio
2. jessica alba
3. evangeline lily i guess? i dunno its close fight for third

Three things you love:
1. powder
2. singaporean food
3. a perfectly weighted cross field pass

People that i would like to see take this quiz:
1. lynette
2. my safos/sms cohort
3. the melbourne gang

Greek Sing

2007-04-02T00:11:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks back, I took part in this charity performance event called greek sing.. and i must say it was one of the most memorable things i've done here at cmu..

mike testani || nick burkholder || me || brian pollack
a few of my closer friends in the house

josh chen || alex timmons
2 of my even closer friends in the house

georgie and abby
oh man the insane make up

some of the DGs

pollack and mike ricci

joanna my main dance partner

mei and i
asian cuteness contest

georgie
first real greek girl ive met

the opening scene of our show

effort

2007-03-30T10:32:00.000-04:00

life is like a research proj. if u choose to undertake one, u know that its going to be one long painful process. there will be many long hours, there will be much effort put in, there will be sacrifices to make. however, u never know when you're getting closer to completion. then, why do so many people commit to it? i guess its the hope of achieving something great, knowing that those hours and effort reaps its rewards. omg what a cmu skewed analogy. dont-lose-faith-live-life-like-u-want-it

Stanford?

2007-03-24T15:50:00.001-04:00

Graaagghhhh Stanford or CMU?
Who's going Stanford this year? Like nobody lehhhh

LSE

2007-03-23T11:12:00.000-04:00

GRARRGGHHH i was so ready to go to London. bleargh. Now I wonder what Stanford has to say.

Senioritis

2007-03-22T14:01:00.000-04:00

Sigh. National Geographic is taking over my life. Instead of doing urgent hw i'm watching this awesome show, "Rescue Warriors".

*Insert* Wow this post is getting longer and longer as I keep writing. Think I'll separate it into two posts. *End insert*

So most people would have heard of various groups of special forces all over the world. Delta Force, Green Berets, Rangers, British SAS, blah blah. Especially in Singapore, the two main groups of soldiers most talked about are the SAF Commandos and the Naval Diving Unit. No one really thinks of the Air Force as an elite fighting unit in the traditional sense.

This documentary, "Rescue Warriors", is about the USAF Pararescue Team, known as the Parajumpers, or PJs. They train to execute rescue missions over any sort of terrain, be it a sea rescue of a downed chopper crew or airborne insert into enemy territory to evac a downed pilot. That being said, they train just as hard as any other SF group.

The documentary is about the 7 week training and qualification program of the PJs, called "Indoctrination", which is strikingly similar to any other SF course, be it the COCC or GCC. Two particularly familiar components of this documentary jump out at me: (1) The role of officers in an elite military outfit, and (2) The role of NCOs (WOSE in SAF terminology) in the training cadre.

(1) In many militaries, there is a distinct segregation between the men and the leadership. The SAF is no exception. However, in some unique situations, the distinction between the technical roles of the officers and men become blurred. More often than not, Special Forces experience many of these situations. In this case, the officers can hardly expect to be the strongest, fastest, most technically competent, top of his class in every single aspect.

On the other hand, officers are still always expected to lead the team. Officers will always be expected to step up and lead, take responsibility for the actions of any member of the team, to supervise, monitor, counsel, advise, maintain standards. Failure of any member of the team, no matter what situation, reflects the failure of the officer's leadership. In a course where officers and men train and live together, the boundaries blur, but the responsibility is distinct.

That being said, officers have to lead the way. An officer need not be the top runner in this team, but he has to be next best. An officer need not be the top marksman, but he needs to be able to outshoot everyone else. Most importantly, officers need to provide the emotional and psychological direction of the team. Officers cannot give up, they cannot break down, they must lead with example. One particular scene in the documentary shows Lt Ledersen in his 2500m fin swim test. He is one of the strongest swimmers, but that day he showed some signs of trouble. Cramping within the first 10 laps, Lt Ledersen manages to finish the swim through sheer grit, knowing that he cannot give up. The instructors recognise symptoms of heatstroke in him, but all Lt Ledersen says is "I'm rocking and ready to go".

(2) Another special aspect of such courses is the training cadre. *to be continued*

aint that bad

2007-03-21T01:16:00.000-04:00

ok life isnt all that bad la.. but i really did lose my money clip. SIAN MY PAUL SMITH =( *tear* and im facing a severe severe case of senioritis. i mean i've had the symptons since like sophomore first sem, but oh man is it bad now.. who the hell does hw man.. geez. *roll eyes*

losing it

2007-03-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

i hate my life right now.
im losing things, im losing you, im losing interest in other stuff
wth
how much is money worth really?

spring break 07

2007-03-16T15:55:00.000-04:00

Spring break has been pretty good man.. in short, flew to ny, drove up to vermont had a great 3days there.. drove back to ny, spent a day shopping n eating.. came back, met up with kiat.. then thursday went to cleveland for awesome dimsum, da-bao-ed roast duck back.. today lunch had the duck. omg omg. shioks. haha

feeling super nua now.. 2nd half of this sem promises to be very very crazy. greek sing, 2 booths to build, daily run, work getting harder.. oh man. sigh.

the non n00bs

my shaun white and i

the vermont crew

killington peak

photoupdate..

2007-03-04T15:14:00.000-05:00

as requested ;)

saf@midwestgames || my family

reorganised room || just another weekend @ KDR

pledge night || back to the library

wicked in chicago w meiyi || citylights chicago!

chicago

2007-02-26T02:26:00.000-05:00

i love chicago! haha.. well okay the winds can get painful, but the people are fantastic. thanks to xela, meiyi and chinsiong for a great weekend.. got to meet up with friends i havent seen in a while, like yixian, chengxun and yanling. not to mention the foooddd.. korean bbq, russian sausages and of course, dim sum! i got to see wicked from front row, and witness meiyi doing some kerayzee shopping.. =) good times, good friends. thats all that counts man its true.

one of the random thoughts i got from this trip.. i've got lots to be thankful for. i can say i'm comfortable and practically at home in chicago, pittsburgh, london, melbourne or singapore. its crazy isnt it? best of friends all over the world and best of memories to go with it.

my 3rd year is slowly winding to a close. cmu's been a blast. for all that i complain abt this place, its been pretty fun. whats next to come i wonder. not much time left to treasure the wealth of opportunities out there, before i rejoin reality and join the ratpack back home.. sigh.

2007-02-13T11:34:00.000-05:00

hmmm which one lehh?

=(

2007-02-11T10:54:00.000-05:00

damnation to all board thieves. %!$!T$#

woah...

2007-02-07T10:29:00.001-05:00

jap prank

2007-02-06T13:57:00.000-05:00

winter break

2007-01-15T19:19:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of school.. which means two things. One: my time in CMU is coming to a close; and two: winter break is over.

so after a month and an obscene amount of money, here's some of the stuff i have to show for it

The Dolomiti Mountains

The lodge where we stayed at looked like one of these

Happy boy with his new toys in our apartment

The snowboarders

The skiers

My burton and i

Clowns

The snowboarders

New year's eve at Venice Marco Polo airport. sigh.

Stonehenge in the rain.

Beautiful Cheddar Gorge.. in the birthplace of cheddar cheese!

At Oxford. this place look familiar?

At the 3-6 game at Anfield, Liverpool vs Arsenal

OLD TRAFFORD!!!

Emirates stadium visit w the arsenal fan!

View of Greenland on the flight home

Great trip. Thanks guys

italy

2007-01-02T03:24:00.000-05:00

the-yet-to-be-named-snow-sports-gang!
this time, all the way from the italian alps! whee.

stupidity

2006-12-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

omg.
im convinced i represent the epitome of "shooting yourself in the foot".
so i just took my last final, a stats exam. so like most other stats classes it wasnt hard and having A levels and 2 other stats classes behind me i wasnt too worried abt it.
and as it turned out, the exam was alright difficult but manageable la. i only need like 82 to get an A in the class so it wasnt such a big deal.
so the thing is i brought in a cheatsheet right, which had some extra help on it. so far his exams he allowed cheatsheets, but turns out the final he DIDNT. OMG.
and since i was sitting in the front row, he saw me use it and BAM.
now i gotta retake the final next semester. @^$@~#
IT WASNT EVEN HARD!!! SHEESH.
-pissed at myself-
omg i want to punch something now. grrr.

Here we go

2006-12-15T00:08:00.000-05:00

London beckons in 5days.. but before that.. I have to get past 3 finals. 2 of which are tmr, consecutive, and painful. argh. so by the way i've been listening to utada hikaru. her music's not bad eh? very diva, r&b-ish.

busted

2006-12-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

i saw it on amped mobile.

timberlake

2006-12-12T23:28:00.000-05:00

If I wrote you a symphony,
Just to say how much you mean to me (what would you do?)
If I told you you were beautiful
Would you date me on the regular (tell me, would you?)
Well, baby I've been around the world
But I ain't seen myself another girl (like you)
This ring here represents my heart
But there's just one thing I need from you (say "I do")

unbeatables

2006-12-12T02:38:00.000-05:00

woah. thanks to daniel.

here's 2 and 3 if u're interested:
unbeatables2
unbeatables3

horrible person

2006-12-11T21:04:00.001-05:00

oh no i feel like shit now. sorry. i am a horrible person. argh.

10days to london

2006-12-11T16:51:00.000-05:00

10days to London!
morocco plans have been scrapped cos the imperial people need time to mug.. ohwell. now i have 2weeks in january to tour oxford, northhampton, manchester, sheffield, maybe nottingham and cambridge too? hmm. i think i should plan a trip to barcelona / paris. yessssss.. or maybe to eat pizza! i mean ibiza.. by the way.. im going to splash money tmr though i dont have any.. aren't these chio? haha dont worry. its not my money. muahaha.

VS

2006-12-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

OMG.
the past one hour has been one of the best in recent days. just watched the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. which is simply breathtaking. to say the least. i mean:

it was mingyang's first time seeing alessandra ambrosio, and when she did her look over the shoulder smile, he just died on the couch. haha. fortunately it wasnt my first time. omg again.

2006-12-05T21:44:00.000-05:00

blacking out

2006-12-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

i need to stop blacking out. as correctly pointed out. its pretty darned dangerous.
so i woke up at 9am today in the middle of the University Centre. wth. i dont remember anything after 2am the night before, but there was nothing going on with even the mildest link to the UC. In fact, its in the opposite direction of home from KDR. gosh.

winter trip

2006-11-30T12:34:00.000-05:00

ARGH I'M PISSED. i just realised that i wont be able to watch a match at Old Trafford. OMFG. GRRRRRRR. what bad timing. sigh. so anyway here are my winter plans:

19th Dec: Last day of finals! Flying to London.
20th Dec: Arrive in London, prob going to spend the nxt few days eating and meeting up with Imperial and LSE people
23rd Dec: Flying to Italy! and hence begins our wondrous 7day ski trip! WOOHOO
31st Dec: Return to London. Prob going to head up to Manchester to visit OT. Perhaps go visit Aunt Muihuang and my angmoh cousins.
03rd Jan: Flying to Morocco! I've heard good things abt that place. Pretty exotic eh?
08th Jan: Return to London again. This time probably going to visit Oxford.
13th Jan: Flying back to Pittsburgh, probably broke and sad to leave Europe

and guess what? the ManUtd home matches during this period are on 26th, 30th Dec and 13th Jan. Thanks guys. What a damn conspiracy theory. There's an away match at Newcastle on Jan 1st. Think I'm going to try for that one. GRRRRR.

wed night

2006-11-30T01:01:00.000-05:00

its been a while since i got buzzed on a wed night.
lost in beer pong in overtime. for those who dont understand pong, its like letting in an equaliser in the 90th minute, then losing on penalties. ARGH. i wonder hows it going

burton bag

2006-11-27T13:57:00.000-05:00

every now n then, i get the urge to splurge and spend money on a "want". this is one of them:
click here

i already have a couple of backpacks, but ahhhh i like. haha

orient kitchen

2006-11-26T21:47:00.000-05:00

i just went to oriental kitchen for dinner, since it was xijie's birthday and he wanted to eat good asian food. as we were heading there i wondered if i would meet anyone there, since i havent been to OK in a long while. and true enough, i saw a bunch of people i knew, all at different tables, and i promptly exclaimed wow the whole world is here. when the 2 freshmen asked me who those people were, i realised there was a malaysian, hongkong-er, taiwanese, indonesian chinese, and an ABC dude. haha. seriously a very proper represenation of the chinese population in CMU. hehe. and the fortune cookie i got read "An important person will offer you support" i wonder who that could be.

tiger beer

2006-11-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

omg. guess what. i was just making a beer run to get a refill of stella.. and as i was walking down the aisle, a shining light glowed on the top rack.. TIGER BEER. OMG OMG OMG. in america!! pittsburgh some more!! its just like harold and kumar finding whitecastle. the taste of home 12hrs time difference away. wooohoooo.

so i just got back from my thanksgiving holiday. 5 of us drove over to snowshoe mountain, west virginia to get some early season skiing. though we were hit by a early setback (the resort delayed opening day by 1 day i.e. 1 less day to ski) we persevered on in our quest for snow.

so all in all, im glad for a couple of things. even though the snow was bad (it was 10deg cel the whole time) and the slopes were bare (there was more green than white everywhere u looked);
im glad for the chance to get away from work and rest
im happy to get some fresh mountain air
im elated to be able to snowboard anyway
of course, not to mention the hot babes we spotted on the slopes.

yay for thanksgiving

ullr

2006-11-21T02:03:00.001-05:00

O Almighty Ullr, come and rescue me from this torment. I need release.

bike crash

2006-11-17T23:43:00.000-05:00

so right now i look like i just got into a fight. tried to pull some stunt w my bike and i skidded cos my bike decided that it liked the ground over me. =(
fortunately i escaped with a couple of abrasions.. all in non vital places. haha.
my valiant oakley pants bore most of the brunt, and its pretty ripped up now. i wish i could show the aftermath, but i dunno if the new version of blogger is compatible w flickr yet. anyone know?

whiskey

2006-11-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

so yesterday someone's fortune cookie read:

as a cure for worry, work is always better than whiskey.

i have to agree. whiskey is disgusting. stella is a better cure than work =)

late nights

2006-11-14T23:19:00.000-05:00

in 39mins (read: midnight), my programming assignment is due. soon after, i will begin on one of two assignments which are due tmr in class, both of which i have yet to start on. exciting isnt it? fortunately my first class and first hw is only due at 1130am, which means that i can afford to work till 5am and still clock 6hrs of sleep. the only question is whether i can endure another 5hrs of work right after 5hrs of coding. grrr.

dijkstra and bellman-ford

2006-11-14T01:57:00.000-05:00

Im in the middle of coding up Dijkstra's and Bellman-Ford's algorithm. very irritating. That being said, snowboarding is in 8days' time. let the countdown begin..

TMD

2006-11-13T00:39:00.000-05:00

Truly Madly Deeply

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy.
I'll be your hope
I'll be your love
Be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath
Truly madly deeply do..
I will be strong I will be faithful
'Cos I'm counting on a new beginning.
A reason for living.
A deeper meaning.

I want to stand with you on a mountain.
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever.
Until the sky falls down on me...

And when the stars are shining brightly
In the velvet sky,
I'll make a wish
Send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry..
The tears of joy
For all the pleasure and the certainty.
That we're surrounded
By the comfort and protection of..
The highest power.
In lonely hours.
The tears devour you..
I want to stand with you on a mountain,
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever,
Until the sky falls down on me...

Oh can't you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cos it's standing right before you.
All that you need will surely come...

football fans

2006-11-07T22:53:00.000-05:00

for a longest period, i've been getting pissed off by a certain group of soccer "fans". before i go into my barrage of abuse, i'll quantify myself by saying that im sure there's some people among this group who think i'm full of shit too. but so be it i cant help that.

i'll start by saying i really enjoy soccer.
i enjoy playing soccer, i enjoy watching soccer, i enjoy talking soccer.
when u call yourself a soccer fan, hopefully u mean that u are a fan of the entire sport, not just a small tiny portion of it.

dont make judgmental remarks when you dont have a good grasp of the entire story.
dont base your view of the entire world of soccer around a single team of players.

do try to appreciate more than 1 aspect of the game. its not called the beautiful game for nothing. defensive football may not be pretty, but its amazing when executed to perfection. offensive football may have a lot of style, but remember that the defense is working overtime in silence at the same time.
do try to think before you make claims. its plain irritating then you blindly follow your teams.

hopefully we can all call ourselves true fans sometime soon.

-----

on a totally irrelevant note, i had a flash of inspiration and will attempt to relive my childhood by naming my fantasy 11. haha

my first pick is: cisse.

just kidding. hahaha u think i'm working for adidas ah??

gk: Petr Cech
'nuff said he's tall, athletic and amazing in goal

lb: Gabriel Heinze
whenever he is not ard, man utd's defense sure misses his top class tackling

cb: Alessandro Nesta
at the heart of milan's defense, he's simply the best all round defender in the game

cb: Paulo Maldini
most would admit he was very good, but Maldini is my defensive idol. no longer possessing the speed required for his natural lb position, he still rocks the heart of any defense with the experience from 21 years of pro football with AC Milan.

rb: Gianluca Zambrotta
ok he plays lb for barca, but he's as comfortable w his right foot, seeing how he played rw for juve, so there. fast, great crossing, superb technically

lw: Cristiano Ronaldo
haha i have to include him here. matured much over the past few seasons. speedy tricky winger who leaves any defender in his wake.

dm: Cesc Fabregas
ok he's not really a dm but he's more of one than giggsy. he has to be the most exciting youngster after Cristiano (cos im a manutd fan) but his contribution to arsenal's flowing football is unmissable.

am: Ryan Giggs
ok he's more of a left winger, but in recent years he's slowed down a tad bit, and fergie has been playing him behind the strikers. his experience combined w that control simply unlocks any defense

rw: David Beckham
still my favourite player of all time. say what you will. do u know he can complete the bleep test? do u know he runs an average of 15km a match, more than any other man utd player? assuming he plays 90mins per match, thats 10km/hr IN A SOCCER MATCH. not to mention his crossing.

fw: Andriy Shevchenko
silent killer. not a flashy player, but can create, score from far, finish in close (with either foot), strong in the air, blah blah. what else do u want from a striker

fw: Wayne Rooney
the talent is undeniable. give him 1 metre of space and you're asking for it.

isnt this dude so damn cool

2006-11-07T20:54:00.000-05:00

once an eagle

2006-08-10T00:53:00.000-04:00

i've been headstrong when i could have been wise,
craven when i should have been bold.
i havent understood very much...
who in god's sweet name am i to judge anybody on this earth?
here we are in the thousands, rushing in gray shells towards the unknown.
what is the end of all our fear and sacrifice?
--excerpt from "Once an Eagle"

no man is an island

2006-07-30T22:07:00.000-04:00

no man is an island. or so they say. for some time now, i've felt very much alone. just like im alone on a deserted island. no one for company, no one to talk to, nothing to do. sometimes i think, how many people can i count on to cover my back. a couple maybe? im not sure. i used to think im not that bad. im sure i have friends. then again maybe not. then again, i think i do. thing is, i've nvr had an occasion to "test" it out. nor do i really want to.

how much do i know myself? how can i expect others to know me when i dont know myself. let alone trust myself. i thought once i knew for sure that i wanted in life. now i dont. every now and then my world seems to collapse upon me, and i go into a state where i try to sort things out. usually i have help. this time, it seems like im alone. help.

why r u doing this to me?? its breaking me.

us army

2006-07-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

as i prepare to leave west point, and head back to fort bragg, i get this intangible feeling in me. i figure that i must definitely belong to the military. perhaps it is my 2 years of college in the US, but i can safely say that i would feel as much as home in the us army as i do in the SAF. this particular sensation is intriguing. i chose to join the army, in part because i believe in the benefits of the national service system. however the us army is an all volunteer force, a fully professional army where every man, regardless of intent, chose willingly to sign on to put on that uniform. so whats the attraction of the army?

i just watched "the last samurai" again on my laptop. my fascination with the samurai stems from when i was just 14. but that fact is irrelevant now. however, history is filled with grand civilisations and empires which have been led by the military leaders, their culture defined by warrior ways. the japanese, the spartans, the mongols. even the european colonial powers relied on their military to expand to the americas and asia. these empires' leader have always been their strongest warrior. it would seem that the "way of life" of these cultures develop skills and hone the character of the men who practice that code.

honor. compassion. strength. integrity. fortitude. will my career develop those traits in me? the modern day army is of course different from the warriors of past. but the values we believe in will remain the same.

2006-07-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNnLVs1aN2Gj¬ag=1
more to come.

2006-07-28T22:50:00.000-04:00

its amazing how 2 armies, so different in size and so far apart, can be so similar after the world's uniting factor, beer. haha. i love the army

2006-07-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

Coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this?
It was only a kiss It was only a kiss
Now I'm falling asleep
And she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke
And she's taking the drag
Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head

But she's touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
And I just can't look
It's killing me
And taking control

Jealousy, Turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Joking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes

'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside

failure

2006-07-22T22:04:00.000-04:00

its nice to see that even arguably the world's sole superpower makes mistakes. haha its even nicer to see that the arguably the world's foremost military can at times be as incompetent as other lesser armies.
its comforting to see that people here bitch and whine abt the same things as I do.
its rewarding to see myself performing to a level which others can look up to, and holding myself to a high standard that i can be proud of.
its upsetting that even the best laid out plans have flaws.
its upsetting that failure still result regardless of how much you put into it.
its less upsetting to know that there's always a downhill after every painful uphill.
and lastly, its fantastic to know that u'll always have friends to help you climb those uphills.

argggh

2006-07-19T23:57:00.000-04:00

AARGGGHHHHH
i need to spend money. any ideas?

ooohh

2006-07-17T22:14:00.000-04:00

just watched my 2nd jessica alba movie in 2days.. "sin city" this time.. wow she is smoking hot. hahaha.. of course the rest of the movie's pretty good too.. but i mean. OMG. haha

1 week gone

2006-07-16T21:34:00.000-04:00

very quickly now.. 7days of work have gone by in a flash.. and tmr will be day8 before i get 2days of rest, then another 8days straight. its getting kinda tiring.. waking up at 445am and going off work at 8pm everyday..

couple of nice things have happened tho.. first, i met 1 of the singapore cadets going to school at westpoint.. justin lee. he's a MTA scholar who just so coincidentally happens to be my BMT platoon mate.. so guess what? we go wayyyyy back.. all the way to day1 of my army career. take that.

also, training cadets is pretty fun la.. hopefully i managed to knock some sense into some of these guys.. sigh. officers-to-be of the greatest army in the world today. kinda sad man.

on the other hand, i wasnt an observer/controller all the time. managed to get myself on the enemy team the other day, and went to be badguy for the day.. wooohooo. pretty fun man... after so long.. getting back down onto the ground and taking cover under fire and doing some basic fire and movement was pretty damn exciting.. brings back memories of OCS man.. and of course it helps that i got a couple of compliments from some of the NCOs here.. grins.

and oh before i go crazy.. i just watched "honey", starring none other than jessica alba. she's gotta be the hottest actress in hollywood right now.. and not to mention the 2nd hottest in the world.. losing slightly to a certain girl i know. haha. u all know who im talking abt. starts w "L". haha.

anyway.. thats all for now..

cheers!

day1

2006-07-10T21:23:00.000-04:00

finally, day 1 of proper work. today my platoon started on our first iteration of the QRF training we're responsible for conducting for the west point cadets. QRF is quick reaction force. basically they guys who are on reserve, and forever on 30min / 90min standby. they can be called up for anything from rescuing a downed pilot, or to quell a riot, or to quickly take an enemy position, etc..

so these cadets on training have just completed their first year at the US Military Academy, and its kinda like their first training camp. they've been at it for a month now, doing things like weapons familiarisation, theory, individual fieldcraft, and this is their first real platoon level mission. so the prep work was not bad.. but they werent really tactical.. a lot of small mistakes that just make them look very unprofessional and make them seem like they couldnt care less. so it got kinda upsetting.

in the field, i guess they havent been out much, so they're still kinda at BMT level. so their fieldwork is pretty mediocre, and even the leaders (who are senior cadets by the way) werent exactly up to standard. i really felt like giving them a good one, but i guess this is not my place to do it.

i got a nice surprise tho.. found out that the singaporean cadet, lee wei sen is "top in the class". i assume that means academics, cos that wouldnt be much of a surprise, but i do hope its military, cos that would be some good stuff right there.

beginning from all the talks w capt chua, then all the leadership development w col sukh, high standards of officer training has become one of my key interests, for if the basics are not established and our leadership sucks, then our army is done for. so i feel quite a bit for the things they're doing here. hope tmr is a better day..

on a side note, i tried the US army MREs today. thats "meals-ready to-eat", i.e. combat rations. they're not bad, but i guess they taste kinda the same as ours.. same standard la i mean. but they have some cool stuff in there man.. there's a heating pack which only requires water.. thats pretty "high speed" as the americans would say.

on another side note, the army also has this way cool training aid, called an artillery simulator, or arty sim for short. its basically a device which makes a whistle sound that mimics the sound of an incoming arty round, then is followed by a huge blast. its soooo good. haha.. i wish DSTA would come up with something like that soon.. bet its not hard to improvise from our current thunderflashes. hehehe

ok thats all for today. cheers.

max paiseh

2006-07-09T11:26:00.000-04:00

battalion commander took all the lieutenants out for PT today..went for a simple 5mile run.. omg damn paiseh cos i died.. sigh. what an embarrasment to the saf and myself. sigh. i need to get back in shape... ahhhh
at least i can do chinups. haha

greetings from west point

2006-07-08T19:34:00.000-04:00

hey blog..

seems like i havent blogged in some time.. (ignoring those short random posts) and some people have said that my blog's pretty useless.. so i'll make use of this thingy to keep my thoughts in check..

i've been back in the US for a few days now.. currently doing my US army overseas attachment. im supposed to be attached to a battalion with the 82nd airborne division at fort bragg, but my battalion is currently at west point teaching west point cadets how to be a soldier. so after 2days at ft bragg, here i am at west point. haha.

its like a pinch of technology transplanted into the woods here. im living out of a trailer, and shitting into port-a-toilets. there's no cellphone reception, and the only internet is out of a internet cafe they've set up here. but its amazing how they managed to set up an entire battalion here, complete with a shower trailer, convenience store, dining hall, battalion hq, etc etc.. they literally moved / shipped up rail-loads of stuff here.. haha.. not bad eh?

im attached to 3rd platoon, delta company, 2nd battalion, 508th parachute infantry regiment, 4th brigade combat team, 82nd airborne division, US army. hahaha. for those who can understand, delta coy is a heavy weapons support company. they fire antitank rockets, auto grenade launcher, .50 calibre machine guns etc out of humvees.. pretty exciting stuff eh? but over here, everyone just teaches cadets how to be a soldier.

the platoon leader im attached to, 2LT Pete Gomez is quite a cool guy.. he's down to earth and doesnt really involve himself in all the random stuff that goes on in the battalion. he and the plt sgt just tries to get the best for his men.. thats really amazing.

in a few short days, i've already seen a couple of issues which i shud keep my eye on.. first being the fact that officers here dont go thru the same training as the men. they just go straight into west point / ROTC. well at least the majority of them are as such. the result is that the men feel that they dont understand sometimes what the men go thru.

the other issue is the relationship between the NCOs and the offrs. the CSM is quite a character. he's really involved in the development of the junior leadership in the coy. i'll need to have a few chats with him to leech the most i can.. muahaha.

anyway thats all for now.. will blog as often as i can.. cheers.

airborne!

goal 2010

2006-06-23T11:42:00.000-04:00

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/worldcup/stats?type=ref&year=2006&cc=5901
they nvr said singapore going to the world cup by 2010 meant the players going right? haha

dragonboat

2006-06-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

its been a while since i dragonboated.. last week i had 2 sessions.. tdy i had another. really miss the feeling of the water.. now i remember why i love canoeing / dragonboat so much. i really forgot the pain too.. but the sight of everyone rowing in sync, the feeling of the boat surging forward with every stroke, the sensation of my back and arms powering the paddle through the water.. all that just makes the pain bearable, and makes you give another stroke, and another, and another till u finish the set. haha.. ok sounds kinda masochistic but ohwell. thats called perserverance yah? hehe

results

2006-05-21T03:15:00.000-04:00

its been quite a week..

i got my results yesterday. 3 As 2Bs. thats a measly overall gpa of 3.58. wth.
plus one of my Bs is a 88. thats usually an A. wth.
sigh i dunno what im complaining abt. i had already braced myself for a 3.3 gpa, cos i thought i'd get 3Bs. so i guess im in no position to bargain for grades. at least my overall cumulative gpa is still pretty healthy. dont think i'll expect a friendly postcard in the mail tmr. heheh.

was involved in a car accident tdy. prob my first real one. but chill no one got hurt, with the exception of my lower lip, who unfortunately came between the passenger seat rest and my teeth when we crashed. i really shud be less passé abt this. towards the end of the day, i almost forgot abt the incident. hrm.

anyway its been a while. staying up. blogging. staring. thinking. pondering. another medley of emotions set in. soon it'll be over, and another cycle begins. i dont know whether to be excited or sad.

2006-05-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

ok im damn sian of studying for my last final.. so i did some random surfing.. hahah interesting results eh?

from yongcong:
Put your music library on shuffle and answer the questions with songs in the order they come up. it doesn’t really make sense at times, but some answers you come up with will freak you out.

1. What’s my mood like right now?
i hate myself for loving you -- joan jett

sigh ok la quite there..

2. How’s tomorrow going to be for me?
x gonna give it to ya -- DMX

eh? hahaha.. wah this is scaring me too.. i hope thats true.. tmr's a big day man

3. What kind of person am I?
move bitch -- ludacris

haha where got so mean.. army cannot scold bitch la..

4. Am I loved?
wrap your arms around me -- KC and the sunshine band

i know i need some love..

5. How can I achieve my highest potential?
Forca -- Nelly Furtado

hrms wasnt this the theme song of euro2000? but i sign on liao. SAFFC.. muahaha

6. What should I do with my life?
mockingbird -- Eminem

wah lao my lit sucks can..

7. Is everything really going to be alright in the end?
kryptonite -- 3 doors down

oh man. sense of foreboding there...

8. What is my best quality?
hate it or love it -- the game feat 50cent

eh doesnt really answer the qn right? it kinda describes me tho..

9. How does my sex life look?
stay young -- oasis

muahahahaha *winks

10. What’s the meaning of life?
goodies -- ciara

woohoo.. but thats just half of life.. there's also snowboarding.. =)

11. What do people think of me?
can you handle it -- usher

heheh i just rock. (also refer to qn8)

12. Would I make a good catch?
chi pang -- lin jun jie

i know im overseas now.. but im sure it can work out!

13. How crazy am I?
rock your body -- justin timberlake

haha ok la im not all that hardcore..

14. Will I have a good life in general?
get something -- lil wayne

eh?

15. Can (insert name here) ever really love me?
she wants to move -- nerd

OMFG STFU

16. Can me and (insert name here) ever be more than friends?
how do i say -- usher

sigh i knew it couldnt get to her

17. What’s going to happen to me this week?
boogie shoes -- kc and the sunshine band

far out. right on! exams over in 1 day!

18. Where will I be a year from now?
fade away -- oasis

nooooooooooooooooooooooo. yes indeed i would have retired by then.. hahah

19. What is my biggest wish?
i should be so lucky -- kylie minogue

haha.. damn kena exposed by a song. wth

20. What is the love of my life doing at this very moment?
flashdance -- irene cara

another "eh?"

21. How will I die?
a little respect -- erasure

just a little? cannot la..

22. What will happen after I die?
your body is a wonderland -- john mayer

3rd eh? does that mean i wont die?

23. How do my friends feel about me?
right thurr -- chingy

yay!

fortune cookie

2006-05-06T02:19:00.000-04:00

fortune cookie of the day: you are admirable, for you remained firm even when troubled by personal relationships. heheh

paradoxes of life

2006-05-05T11:03:00.000-04:00

life is 1 big paradox dont u think? or rather, maybe its a pandora's box.

in this world, as we grow up, certain beliefs are indoctrinated into us via the system. a set of virtues so to speak. we glorify the men who represent the epitome of goodness and self sacrifice, and that whole lot of characteristics.

as a child, my dad always always told me.. the result doesnt matter, as long as u tried ur best. he didnt care abt my grades or my scores or my performance. everyday at the dinner table he would ask, "did u try ur best" and if i did, then he would go, "thats good. thats all that counts".

as a teen, in school, the principle of hard work is yet again emphasised. "studying for ur test at the last min doesnt work!" or so they say. singapore is founded based on a system of meritocracy. the good will be rewarded.

as an aspiring jc sportsman, in njcanoeing. also as a professional soldier, in the army. the never-say-die attitude is burned into your soul. traits such as endurance, perserverance and commitment, among others, are vital.

then why. why after i've come to accept all these so called lifeskills. why after i've seen that possessing these traits can indeed prove to be beneficial, time and time again! why do i still come to be disillusioned with the system?

i figure, i still lack one very important thing. that is courage. im afraid. what is wrong with u. what is wrong with u, alan tan. bloody useless. im not upset abt u. im upset w myself. it is no one's fault but my own. i quote dinesh, "wah champion. what a clownster."

lucky no slevin

2006-04-30T00:31:00.000-04:00

just got back from watching lucky number slevin. i must say its really pretty good.. havent watched a good movie in a while.. and this is pretty good really. i shant spoil the plot.. but its a well crafted movie with a witty script and a stellar cast (not eva longoria stellar but morgan freeman stellar) haha.
but one thing i'll say abt the movie is that its abt revenge. i've realised that i've been watching a heckload of these vendetta-plot movies... its really weird. do u believe in revenge? sigh. i used to believe in deep planning and thought. then i realised it was a waste of my time and effort. but then again. when ur plans work out its pretty fun. haha. ok very random and kinda scary so nvm. =) just an idea

v for vendetta

2006-04-29T05:09:00.000-04:00

v for vendetta
i quote a certain someone "wah you damn slow ah? now then watch v for vendetta" so yeah i just watched the movie.. and i must indeed agree that its actually quite a good show! its not just an action flick w cool moves and 1 x hot girl. the protagonist, V, actually makes many good points in the show. his ideals are (tho lofty) something he has worked hard to achieve. i quite admire him. willing to stand by his true beliefs, since without beliefs we are nothing.
then again it is ironic that the movie with a hidden meaning like this would eventually end with a soppy love story. thats like so "happy ever after". fortunately, even tho the guy died in the end, the female lead did finally understand V's true feelings. do you?

only love

2006-04-26T06:48:00.000-04:00

u know sometimes u listen to old songs playing randomly from ur computer.. and then there comes along one old song that hits u right on the head..

trademark -- only love

2am and the rain is falling
Here we are at the crossroads once again
You're telling me you're so confused
You can't make up your mind
Is this meant to be
You're asking me

But only love can stay
Try again or walk away
But i believe for you and me
The sun will shine one day
So i just play my part
Pray you'll have a change of heart
But i can make you see it through
That's something only love can do

In your arms as the dawn is breaking
Face to face and a thousand miles apart
I've tried my best to make you see
There's hope beyond the pain
If we give enough
If we learn to trust

I know if I could find the words
To touch you deep inside
You'll give my dreams just one more chance
To let this be our last goodbye

But only love can stay
Try again or walk away
But i believe for you and me
The sun will shine one day
So i just play my part
Pray you'll have a change of heart
But i can make you see it through
That's something only love can do

That's something only love can do

thanks

2006-04-24T07:35:00.000-04:00

thanks for listening to me complain so much this sem. didnt really realise it myself. seems like ive been in pretty bad shape this sem doesnt it? well its over soon, but i'll still have to wake up my idea.. finals is coming..

sian

2006-04-23T10:39:00.000-04:00

u say maybe u cant make me happy anymore. but thats not true.
but u should till know that ur the only one can make me upset like this.

omg omg

2006-04-10T19:32:00.000-04:00

omg omg omg
right now.. midterms are all over.. all thats left between me n play is a few more homeworks, couple of labs, and finals. sounds like little? haha
need 97 for signals final
need 90 for analog circuits final
need 100 for computer engineering final
omg omg omg

pissed off

2006-04-06T09:09:00.000-04:00

every now n then, i get pissed off at the world. why cant people be like this. why cant things be like that. but then, "the world doesnt owe you anything". true. but then again there's no problem that talking to u cant make better. thanks. =)

and the world comes crashing down..

2006-04-05T14:49:00.000-04:00

and the world comes crashing down
this semester started off pretty damn brightly.. i got my presidency, the weather tho not that cold, was cold enough.. i got regular fixtures of snowboarding.. the view in class was good.. and on top of that my grades were holding up despite all the crap..
then come spring break.. fantastic trip.. to get away from all the crap in school.
somehow.. now.. after break.. everything's going wrong. the exco doesnt seem to want to be an exco.. the snow's gone.. things arent working out.. and im bombing all my tests.. this is probably the worst semester so far in terms of grades. oh man. whats going wrong. and to top things off i cant use internet in school now.. ARGH. its a terrible day
there's only 1 shining light. but even then its not all that bright.
looks like another sleepless night. i definitely losing the fight.

rock

2006-03-26T23:08:00.000-05:00

in an effort to get restarted with mugging, i asked mingyang to provide me with his top 20 songs.. obviously these songs are not the smashing durians' lead singer for nothing.. i.e. they are actually pretty damn nice. haha.. esp this one:

The Cure - Love Song

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am home again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am whole again

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am young again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am fun again

However far away
I will always love you
However long I stay
I will always love you
Whatever words I say
I will always love you
I will always love you