Future, Someone And Me

I don't even know how to blog this.

Okay, going out with someone tommorow.

Don't ever get any wrong ideas.

Present, CCA Mates' Outing

As with most CCA outings, you can't really have full attendance. So are really busy people, some just don't bother. I, for one, pounced on every opportunity whenever anyone ask me out. After all, I can't just waste my block leave staying at home. Eventually, 6 people went today, which was an ideal size as we were able to come to decisions fast.

Turns out everyone in the group chose to study in NTU rather than NUS, which came as a shock to me as I was the only NUS guy. Why sia? Is NUS really that unpopular? Right up till now, I still haven't heard of any of my friends going to NUS. My buddy Hao Zi's going to NTU, I'd better go ask the other guys.

Okay, I admit I'm a mountain tortoise coz this was my first time eating at Subway. And woohoo, their cookies are delicious. I wonder how they made them. It's not too crunchy and not too soft and the topping (chocolate and candy) was oh so heavenly.

And so this outing marks the first of many to come in my one week's stay away from army camps, so I will cherish every one of them. Later, we partied at Party World. Again I feel like a man just back to civilization coz I lost touch on the latest chinese pop songs. What more can I say? Time for some catching up on the latest buzz before my brains rot.

Present, Family Versus Girlfriend

Turns out my trip to The Central gave me something more than just food and scenery. Here's what happened on my trip back:

While on the MRT carriage, there was a couple having some small talk with each other. There was nothing really interesting about the talk, not that I was eavesdropping or anything (hello, packed carriage here). So they droned on about educational matters (anxious about results, whether CCA would help, blah blah blah) and the girlfriend suddenly came up with a statement completely unrelated to studies at all.

'Hey you know what? Chinese New Year falls on Valentine's Day next year.'

Do girls like to test their boyfriends on this kind of stuff ever so often? I mean what's the guy gonna say? Sure enough, the poor guy seemed kinda stunned.

'Wow, cool.'

Okay, I could almost feel the next question coming up.

'So how will you spend the day?'
'With you lor.'
'No, you should spend it with your family.'

I didn't hear the conversation after that coz I'd found a seat. And so it seems the guy had got the right answer. I wondered if I would do the same thing if I were in his shoes. Count myself fortunate (or unfortunate) that I do not have to face the dillema come next year (don't even know if I get to celebrate CNY outside camp).

Movie Tidbits, Terminator Salvation

Everybody deserves a second chance, I've had mine.-- Marcus Wright

In the year 2018, humans are outsmarted by the things they have created, machines.
The few that remained became part of the resistance force, led by their leader, John Connor.
But who would have thought that a new and unlikely hero has risen?
He is Marcus Wright, and he is part human, part machine.
He is the one who (which) is going to salvage the human race.
This is Terminator Salvation.

Present, Finally Back, But Not For Long

Wow, finally I passed out of BMT. This blog has been dead for 3 months now and I'm surprised that someone is still following it. Sorry about not blogging sia, but NS really takes everything out of me. So here I am now enjoying a short week break from NS life to blog for my faithful follower. For now, I will blog the week's worth and then head back to my new camp.

But Ying Hui here only likes 'the 5-dollar crush' sia. What to do? The story happened like so long ago liao still wanna bring up. Anyway, I will still blog it my way, whether you like it or not. But I have to give you credit for inspring me to blog again.

So better watch out, the first post after 3 months will be up tommorow.

Present, About Driving (Part 5)

I seriously wonder if I'm just not driving material. It's my 5th lesson already and I'm still stuck in the driving course. Perhaps the instructor thinks I'm not good enough. This is bad, coz learning to drive isn't cheap.

Apart from the lack of confidence in myself, today's lesson was pretty relaxed, owning to the joker nature of the instructor and the ease of driving in the course. Considering that this was the eve of the release of the 'A' Level results, I felt that I drove well. Well enough to have a little chit-chat session with the instructor while driving. Of course, this was because I was in the driving course rather than outside the big dangerous public roads.

I was like a caged bird, protected from the outside world but hoping to roam free. Perhaps driving is something like learning kung-fu, you always start with the ma pu-- the half squat position and you need to do that for years. Well, the instructor is always right. If I'm not ready, then I'm not. Better luck next time.

Speaking of luck, I guess I need a lot of it tomorrow.

Past, Chapter 3: The 5-dollar Crush (Part 14)

I quickly brushed off the kinematics question and came to the focus of the day. Her question was on functions and I didn't let her down (after all, functions was my specialty). The difficulty was how to translate my methods for her to understand. And so we started talking face to face, me answering her every question that tested my very foundation in maths that brought me here in the first place. I liked the way we can talk as if the other 2 people at the table were invisible, liked the way she looked at me in admiration.

I really wish I can just explain the math to her forever, but she understood soon after. My time was up, was I daring enough to ask for a place at their table? I lacked the courage, and tracked back to where I started.

I couldn't really study anymore for the day, yet I didn't want to go home. Just then, I noticed they were leaving but their stuffs are still on the table. Maybe they went out for lunch, whatever they are planning to do, she didn't ask me along. Me and my wishful thinking, I wasn't really anybody to her, just somebody she knew.

Present, Results Out on 6 March

Yep, the official news came in the afternoon on Monday. Luckily it was coming out on Friday, otherwise I might not be able to drive properly if it was on Thursday.

Time to face the truth, like my Dad said, it's all fixed, no point worrying about it. But why am I still scared? Probably because of 2 reasons:
1. I may fail GP. Can't helping thinking back to the day of the GP exam. Was my essay good enough? My one paragraph AQ definitely took away some grades.
2. Are my H2's good enough when pitted against peeps from the top colleges. I thought I gave it my all, but was my all good enough?

While I hope for good results, here's wishing good luck to all you peeps out there that are as hopeful as I am right now.

Present, About Driving (Part 4)

This lesson happened to be the lesson in which I thought I'd drove my best, however, this also happened to be the lesson in which the instructor picked on me the most. What a difference in perspectives. My confidence became my poison, that's what the instructor implied.

So we started the lesson warming up in the driving course before moving off onto the public roads. I admit I was getting good at driving in the course already, then the errors came.

Error #1: Tailgating
Instructor's advice: Keep a safe distance of at least 1 and a half car lengths in the driving course.
My reason for error: Hey, I'm driving at 1st gear here, I've got perfect speed control. Wait, is there any speed to control?

Error #2: Failure to stop at the Stop line.
Instructor's advice: Retake your BTT, the pass was a fluke.
My reason for error: I admit it's dangerous to not stop in front of the stop line, but then again with my current speed, it's as good as stopping. Besides, I already checked before hand for oncoming traffic.

Error #3: Failure to give way to traffic from the right.
Instructor's advice: You'll definitely fail your practical test if you take it now.
My reason for error: I was too anxious to move, forgive me.

And so the instructor's comments became harsher and harsher, it really doesn't pay to argue back. So I humbled myself when I go onto the public roads, remembering the errors I made. And maybe, just maybe, I got even more confident in my driving since he didn't have anything to pick on me anymore. Was so sad that I didn't learn anything new today, it was more like familiarisation driving.

Oh well, plenty to look forward to next week, with another lesson and the 'A' level results coming up.

Present,The Teacher, My Favourite

Okay, I know it's not Teacher's Day yet, but recent happenings have sparked an urge for me to write about and thank my teacher. Wait, I wonder how should I address her now. Let's just say she was Ms Elaine Lam back then. Why did she get a special thanks from me? Probably because my maths took centre stage while she was my mathematics teacher. She is a woman of great talents, probably someone like Mr Terence Toh, minus the occasional arrogance. She was the most eye pleasing teacher in Zhonghua back in those days.

If you have read my past posts, you may have got a hint that my secondary school life wasn't that great, especially in Sec 3. I was constantly in turmoil at school, new subjects, classmates that don't seemed to get along (at least on the surface they did), not to mention a form teacher that constantly picked on me. Mathematics became my only solace in the gloom as I sat quietly there, hoping that at least something good should happen in these bad times.

Perhaps that something was her. She said that maths is never a difficult subject and she would help the class get through the 2 math subjects. That is really true, for there are like 8 out of 10 people getting A's for 'O' level Mathematics and Add. Mathematics. My maths was good but not the best. At the class level, I was never the top, but among the top. And so like a supporting actor, I never got as much attention as the lead, at most a few fans. This year was different, I came out tops with 90% for add. maths, the best part was the 2nd best in class managed only a 62%. Wow talk about sparrow transformed into a phoenix.

I shall not go on with all the hoohah about what happened next. Point is I got to work more closely with Ms Lam after that, for my work proved to be of standard to supplement her teaching materials. Furthermore, I was the AV personnel back then. So I was real proud when I was setting up the OHP and this close to hearing that Ms Lam was once again using my work for reference. Those were the days when my glimmer of hope came from her (my form teacher still picks on me). Thank you, Ms Lam, from the bottom of my heart.

Ya, Ms Lam got a facebook account recently and I'm glad she still knows who I am. Time really flies, I watched her (figurative) from being single to being married to having kids now. All the best to you, Ms Lam, my favourite teacher.

Present, About Driving (Part 3)

Today marks an exciting new area of driving, that is driving on public roads. Can you believe it, I get to drive on the public roads on my 3rd lesson, how cool is that? For the lesson, I'm learning gear shifting, so you really can't expect my to shift to the 4th gear in that small driving course with hundreds of cars (no kidding). If I really did that, I would have died.

So gear shifting is all about hand and footwork coordination. Yea, beginner drivers like me love to look down at the gear when shifting, but that is unwise coz you take your eyes off the ever-changing road conditions, which proved to be very dangerous.

Being accustomed to the driving course for a while, I felt afraid of the big dangerous public roads. I'm expected to drive up to 4th gear speed, which to me felt pretty fast since it was the first time I exceeded 2nd gear speed. In addition, I still wasn't that good at gear shifting yet, and so there were panicky moments when I hurried to down shift as I approached a junction.

Maybe it was because of the 'L' plate or maybe because there were less cars, for I felt comfortable driving after a few rounds around Ubi. I think it's because of the 'L' plate that made other road users move extra careful around me. I think I was more of a threat to them than they were to me.

After an eventful 100 minutes, the instructor declared I was proficient enough in gear shifting. Yeah, I wonder what's up for next lesson.

Past, Chapter 3: The 5-dollar Crush (Part 13)

June 19 could have been the best day of my life. Ya, you must think I'm mad. It's the middle of the holidays and common tests are just round the corner. I woke up early today and headed for school-- the only place I could study in. I've been in the library on every other day for weeks now, soaking in the aura of the books, hoping against hope that I would do well in the first major tests in JC.

It was on that very morning that she came to the library with her friends (1 guy, 1 girl). She saw me, smiled and waved. I waved back, hoping she would sit near my table, but her company preferred the other corner. And so there I was, unable to concentrate on what I initially set out to do. I was fighting a constant battle within me, whether I should join her group. On one hand, there's the seat beside her that is beckoning me to come over. On the other hand, I wonder if there's anyone else coming, and it would look impolite to barge in like that. This bothered me for the next hour or so, until she messaged me (the first time she messaged me).

******: hey r u free, can help me with some qns?

I turned to look her way, she smiled. This was the ticket to the coveted seat I've been pondering about for the last hour. I went over.

Her girl friend had some H1 physics questions (kinematics) to ask (how thick-skinned) while she had math questions. At that moment, I had to thank my teachers for bestowing me with adequate knowledge for the task at hand. I threw a smirk at that guy (or I tried to).

'Fancy you not being able to answer those questions, shame on you that she needed my help coz you were useless'

'Okay, don't malu yourself now' I told myself as I mustered all my effort to complete the tasks at hand.

Present, Pests Begone

Seriously I do hate bugs and lizards who invade my house. Why do they choose to climb all the way here? I hate them to the core, but always face a dilemma whenever I'm faced with something larger than the regular housefly. Usually, there are 3 ways to get rid of them:
1. Shoo them away
2. Insecticide
3. Physical attacks

I like to use #3 a lot, but don't know how to clear up the mess when they are all smashed, and so my family complains. Sometimes it's so irritating that they are faster than me or are hiding in some hard to reach areas. Argh, I hate it the most when they pop up when I'm going to sleep, I just can't sleep when I know something's moving around the room.

Their presence made me more of a cleanliness freak sometimes, but evidence shows no matter how clean the house is, you can't escape from the occasional spider or beetle. I don't like to kill, but they leave me with no choice. So sorry pests, consider yourselves unfortunate to come into my house.

Movie Tidbits, Slumdog Millionaire

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees, how did he do it?
D: It is written.

A story of 2 slumdog brothers, Salim and Jamal, who wanted to millionaires.
Each of them with qualities to make it big in Mumbai.
Salim joined the mob and got that kind of money easily.
Jamal wanted a decent job, he lost his girl, he lost his brother.
In a twist of fate, Jamal won the top prize on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'.
Salim finally understands his brother, but had to die along with his money.
Jamal is the Slumdog Millionaire.

Present, Don't Give Up On Me Now

My phone malfunctioned again, just barely a month after servicing. It's 3G functionality is down and it can't detect my memory card. This phone, the Sony Ericsson W910i, has been with me for the longest time. I really think it is the best after I-phones and those touch screen ones, but lately it has been giving me all sorts of problems.

Hey W910i, are you going faulty on me because you knew I am going to be enlisted soon? Wow you are so drama man, like those male and female leads in a love story. I must be going mad, talking to a non-living thing. So off to the Service Centre for repairs. I swear if it doesn't get any better then I will chuck it at home for 2 years.

Hey wait, I'll be doing that anyway.

Poll #1, Stairs Problem

Encountered this question when I was climbing the stairs one day. Even though I'm quite proficient in maths, this question still got me thinking. The answer is 26, hey, looks like no one got it correct (the 1 vote on 26 was mine). Let me analyse the question for you guys.

The number of storeys of stairs climbed is governed by a simple formula, namely number of storeys= final storey- initial storey.
For example, if you climbed from the second to the twelfth storey, you would have climbed 10 storeys (12-2=10).
Do take note that the ground floor is the 1st storey. And so the correct answer is 26 [(17-1)+(14-4)=26].

Present, 14 February 2009 (Karaoke)

Let me bring your attention to a sentence from my previous post on Music Tidbits, Love Songs (Part 1): It's Valentine's Day next week. As always, I'll be spending it alone. Well apparently I have to eat back my words, because not 1, but 2 groups of friends have asked if I could spend the day with them. Don't get me wrong, I didn't choose E6 over 06, I chose Karaoke over dinner.

So headed over to Hougang Mall after the talks. I guessed I was overdressed for the occasion as they were in their casual wear while I was like back from work. But hey, I was in the city you know, can't afford to look too shabby. Hougang Plaza's Kbox seemed more like a favourite hangout for us karaoke lovers. Karaoke is good, you get exposed to new songs everytime and have quality time with friends. Of course you have to bear with the dark ambience and the occasional out of tune and mistimed singing. We are amatuers after all, that's why we coop in the lounge rather than enter competitions.

One point to note while we are at the topic of singing-- sometimes you need a real good command of Chinese, or at least traditional Chinese so that you can pronouce the lyrics properly. Don't believe me? Try singing Jay Chou's 青花瓷 for a start. I also realised you need some preparation before K-ing, at least you need to know how the tune of the various songs goes or you will end up like me-- singing only from the chorus.

And so we had great time until 11 plus, luckily train service was still available, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get home. It was then that I made the same mistake I've always made since coming of age. Now let me bring your attention to another sentence from my previous post on Passed BTT?: I realised that I failed to be a gentleman again. Should have escorted Jasmine home lor. After all, it was late at night and she had to walk home by herself. Okay next time, I've to stop thinking about myself and start thinking about others.

Past, Chapter 3: The 5-dollar Crush

It's April already and I still did not make my feelings known. I guess I was afraid of rejection more than anything else after the first attempt (another girl) went wrong. So I wonder how I should go about doing this, so I asked Kai Wei about it. Turned out he confessed through MSN, and it succeeded, so lucky. He said the key was to be straightforward, I thought so too.

Nicholas had planned for a movie outing to watch Spiderman 3. It was meant to be a class thingy, but then many people were busy and thus only 5 or 6 people could make it. Well, it was the perfect opportunity to ask her out and maybe confession after that. Her acceptance could mean something, that she was ok with going out with a group of people with me, now that is a big step.

I sent the message right away, it was already 11 plus at night, wonder if she's still awake.
Jaikun: hey wanna watch spiderman 3? sum ppl frm my cls r watching tmr, u can bring ur frens along 2o, my clsmates r doing tt 2o, it's like a mini aj outing.
******: no thanks, i've got council meeting tmr
Damn that council meeting.
Jaikun: hmm, wat time does it end? we r watching in the evening...
******: 6.. nvm la u guys go along i will be tired after tt.
Jaikun: orh, ok lor.

Hey the rejection doesn't mean anything alright. Even Vale had said better luck next time. Awesome movie by the way.

Future, Posts to Expect

Damn I'm so behind time on present posts. It's already the 24th and I'm still blogging on the 14th. If I don't speed up soon I may just forget what I wanted to blog about. The past posts are dragging me behind, but then the readers seemed more interested in my past. So this is a blog post to remind me of what to blog about and to let readers anticipate what's coming up.

Chapter 3 of the past posts are coming to an end soon, I reckon 4 more posts should do the trick. Then there's a brand new Chapter 4 coming up, but it's not as secret-revealing as the previous one.
Certain present posts are waiting to be published, here is a sneak peak of the titles:
14 February 2009 (Karaoke)
Don't Give Up on Me Now
Slumdog Millionaire
Pests Begone
About Driving (Part 3)
The Teacher, My Favourite
The 5-dollar Crush, Aftermath of the aftermath

Yup that's about all. Oh wait, of course there will be some sort of discussion of the polls as well, so please poll.

Present, 14 February 2009 (Let's Talk @ NTU)

As always, university talks are a hot favourite for many. There are simply too many interested people, too little places. So I expected packed meeting rooms at Suntec City. And I wasn't disappointed-- even the largest theatre couldn't accommodate everyone; latecomers had to sit on the stairway.

It was a good experience though, as I learned valuable information and get to meet some friends that I thought I will never get to see again in my whole life. So the whole time at Suntec was going to the various talks and 'hi and bye'-ing during breaks. Saw some 06 people, but I guessed there were more, just goes to show we have vastly different interests.

Discovered something real interesting in one particular talk-- the best occupation to have is being a mathematician. Alright, I always knew doing math will get me far. Wonder if I should pursue a course in mathematical sciences. But it all really depends on my results. Come to think about it, I'm actually pretty scared, what if I flunked?

Ah, don't wanna think about it, don't wanna talk about it.