Tuesday, December 15
prom - wasn't terribly interesting, neither was it entirely boring on the whole.
i was still suffering form jetlag (LOL 1 HOUR TIME DIFFERENCE, YOU FAIL GARY) at prom so i decided to maintain a low profile and just sit there and mull over some stuff.
also, i avoided the after-prom event (or whatever they call it). clubbing? no thanks, i swore off from places with beer/booze for a personal reason that i feel vindicated to uphold. also, i was also tired from the jetlag so i decided to make a quick exit home to get some rest.
fancy picking clothing on the same day as prom night. way to go gary for impromptu-ness. [although it couldn't be helped really, i only had half a day to get my gears so there wasnt any chance of picking what i liked or wanted]
i believe an award is in store for me for the 'most pathetically dressed person ever in a prom night'.
also, i shall make it a point to acknowledge that prom nights are somewhat not to my liking.
i prefer the cold, emotionless walls of a lab rather than prom. (olololol emo kid? nah, its just preferences, really)
maybe i shall avoid future prom nights, if there are any.
---
speaking of jetlag, vietnam was pretty much an eyeopener for me.
although i did not enjoy the trip in part due to my parents, the itineraries along with the local people were sufficient to offset that flaw.
basically if i have to sum up some things about vietnam, it would be these:
1) vietnam food was greeeeeeeat. perhaps even 'great' itself is an understatement at best. not only do they taste awesome, they are also healthier. speaking of which, any traveller worth his salt ought to try the beef noodles (pho). these noodles easily put those generic noodles in singapore to shame with a taste that transcends mortal boundaries. also, they're chucked full of vegetables but they compliment the noodles, the soup and the beef so well one would find it hard to complain about the sheer amount that is added into it. healthy dish ANDtaste great?
i wonder why the ministry of health has yet to find this and introduce pho into singapore. seriously, screw the "OMG LOL ITS HEALTHY EATING HEALTHY ACTION/ insert any generic programme", the answer is right in a neighbouring nation.
the solution is so clear. introduce pho for everyone in singapore. cut down the number of obese males entering BMT, and increase the longetivity of singaporeans.
oh, such a win-win situation! someone should phone MOH now.
2) this sounds cliche and is INDEED cliche, but i must say that singaporeans have it lucky.
singapore traffic being retarded/a bitch? wait till you hit saigon/ho chi min city. no mrt, bottleneck traffic in EVERY (nope, not an exagguration, really srs about it) corner you turn? certainly a living hell for the average singaporean. in direct contrast, those viets just take it in their stride and just live with it.
oh, did i mention that the extent to which an average vietnamese driver uses his/her honk/siren is akin how many times a flasher has flashed himself? in singapore, if you even use your siren once, you would probably be sent to the gallows for being a jerk.
of course, it has to be acknowledged that the honks are not for fun, its more of a means to signal the drivers ahead of him/her that he/she is overtaking which in my honest opinion, is a nice gesture really.
3) the average pay of a vietnamese seems to be pretty paltry.
USD $100-150 per month (according to the tour guide), and doing about the same thing as an average singaporean does? hmmm seems like double standards doesnt it?
also, before you go and say "lol but their stuff are cheaper so its allllright" i present you a simple comparison with the price of coke in singapore and vietnam:
price of a can of coke in singapore: $0.80 (approximate)
price of a can of coke in vietnam: 11000 dong
exchange rate as of 3 december: 1 sgd = 13657 dong
same price, but different pay rates? certainly makes me wonder how they manage to make a living.
N.B. in vietnam there is no macdonalds at all in any provinces/cities (LOL HA-HA CAPITALISM) so i have no choice but to use the (probably) next accurate means of measure instead of the well-established 'big mac exchange rate'.
4) makes me wonder about the US being an 'altruistic' superpower during the cold war.
yes, i acknowledge i'm probably childish by thinking that the USA is great and is ever-awesome (a bias that was shaped due to video games really, lol), but i do concede that the USA isnt totally innocent as well.
this trip to vietnam serves to solidify that stance.
experiencing it first-hand allowed me to understand the vietnam war without all the filtered propaganda (i will not dispute on how the information that i received could also be propaganda in nature, this i will leave it in the near future because it is simply a never-ending argument in whole) that is presented in the general news/readings.
atrocities committed by the US during the war itself is nothing short of devastating. the effects can still be felt up to now.
case in point: landmines, landmines, landmines and agent orange and the number of disabled citizens in vietnam due to agent orange (a biochemical that simply screws up your body and renders it useless)
5) vietnam is beautiful.
naturally-forming stalagmites over centuries.
great field day for the average geography student. hell, even a non-geography student can also learn a great deal out of it as well. (proof: me)
-
in short, vietnam, i really appericiate what you have offered. that is all.
oh and ill come back on my own in the near future as well.
---
gonna go play badminton at yishun sports stadium tomorrow.
can't wait for it, really.
---
still typing history stuffs.
almost done though ;p get to learn a lot of SEA history through typing alone.
maybe i should be a sadistic history teacher in the future! my, my. LOL.
i was still suffering form jetlag (LOL 1 HOUR TIME DIFFERENCE, YOU FAIL GARY) at prom so i decided to maintain a low profile and just sit there and mull over some stuff.
also, i avoided the after-prom event (or whatever they call it). clubbing? no thanks, i swore off from places with beer/booze for a personal reason that i feel vindicated to uphold. also, i was also tired from the jetlag so i decided to make a quick exit home to get some rest.
fancy picking clothing on the same day as prom night. way to go gary for impromptu-ness. [although it couldn't be helped really, i only had half a day to get my gears so there wasnt any chance of picking what i liked or wanted]
i believe an award is in store for me for the 'most pathetically dressed person ever in a prom night'.
also, i shall make it a point to acknowledge that prom nights are somewhat not to my liking.
i prefer the cold, emotionless walls of a lab rather than prom. (olololol emo kid? nah, its just preferences, really)
maybe i shall avoid future prom nights, if there are any.
---
speaking of jetlag, vietnam was pretty much an eyeopener for me.
although i did not enjoy the trip in part due to my parents, the itineraries along with the local people were sufficient to offset that flaw.
basically if i have to sum up some things about vietnam, it would be these:
1) vietnam food was greeeeeeeat. perhaps even 'great' itself is an understatement at best. not only do they taste awesome, they are also healthier. speaking of which, any traveller worth his salt ought to try the beef noodles (pho). these noodles easily put those generic noodles in singapore to shame with a taste that transcends mortal boundaries. also, they're chucked full of vegetables but they compliment the noodles, the soup and the beef so well one would find it hard to complain about the sheer amount that is added into it. healthy dish ANDtaste great?
i wonder why the ministry of health has yet to find this and introduce pho into singapore. seriously, screw the "OMG LOL ITS HEALTHY EATING HEALTHY ACTION/ insert any generic programme", the answer is right in a neighbouring nation.
the solution is so clear. introduce pho for everyone in singapore. cut down the number of obese males entering BMT, and increase the longetivity of singaporeans.
oh, such a win-win situation! someone should phone MOH now.
2) this sounds cliche and is INDEED cliche, but i must say that singaporeans have it lucky.
singapore traffic being retarded/a bitch? wait till you hit saigon/ho chi min city. no mrt, bottleneck traffic in EVERY (nope, not an exagguration, really srs about it) corner you turn? certainly a living hell for the average singaporean. in direct contrast, those viets just take it in their stride and just live with it.
oh, did i mention that the extent to which an average vietnamese driver uses his/her honk/siren is akin how many times a flasher has flashed himself? in singapore, if you even use your siren once, you would probably be sent to the gallows for being a jerk.
of course, it has to be acknowledged that the honks are not for fun, its more of a means to signal the drivers ahead of him/her that he/she is overtaking which in my honest opinion, is a nice gesture really.
3) the average pay of a vietnamese seems to be pretty paltry.
USD $100-150 per month (according to the tour guide), and doing about the same thing as an average singaporean does? hmmm seems like double standards doesnt it?
also, before you go and say "lol but their stuff are cheaper so its allllright" i present you a simple comparison with the price of coke in singapore and vietnam:
price of a can of coke in singapore: $0.80 (approximate)
price of a can of coke in vietnam: 11000 dong
exchange rate as of 3 december: 1 sgd = 13657 dong
same price, but different pay rates? certainly makes me wonder how they manage to make a living.
N.B. in vietnam there is no macdonalds at all in any provinces/cities (LOL HA-HA CAPITALISM) so i have no choice but to use the (probably) next accurate means of measure instead of the well-established 'big mac exchange rate'.
4) makes me wonder about the US being an 'altruistic' superpower during the cold war.
yes, i acknowledge i'm probably childish by thinking that the USA is great and is ever-awesome (a bias that was shaped due to video games really, lol), but i do concede that the USA isnt totally innocent as well.
this trip to vietnam serves to solidify that stance.
experiencing it first-hand allowed me to understand the vietnam war without all the filtered propaganda (i will not dispute on how the information that i received could also be propaganda in nature, this i will leave it in the near future because it is simply a never-ending argument in whole) that is presented in the general news/readings.
atrocities committed by the US during the war itself is nothing short of devastating. the effects can still be felt up to now.
case in point: landmines, landmines, landmines and agent orange and the number of disabled citizens in vietnam due to agent orange (a biochemical that simply screws up your body and renders it useless)
5) vietnam is beautiful.
naturally-forming stalagmites over centuries.
great field day for the average geography student. hell, even a non-geography student can also learn a great deal out of it as well. (proof: me)
-
in short, vietnam, i really appericiate what you have offered. that is all.
oh and ill come back on my own in the near future as well.
---
gonna go play badminton at yishun sports stadium tomorrow.
can't wait for it, really.
---
still typing history stuffs.
almost done though ;p get to learn a lot of SEA history through typing alone.
maybe i should be a sadistic history teacher in the future! my, my. LOL.
12/15/2009 12:49:00 AM; shattered
dreams.
Monday, November 30
end of a levels.
i think i screwed up for my physics mcq. like a total fiasco, really.
--
will take the time to read some history stuff that i am tasked to type out.
great way to earn some pocket $, and at the same time learn some southeast asia history.
hey, $80 for typing notes out? count me in!
---
going to vietnam from the 2nd to 8th by force.
hopefully none of the following happens:
1. get shot by guerrillas
2. step on a landmine and spontaneously combust into a raging ball of fire
3. die of boredom (this is going to happen unless divine intervention occurs)
4. get involved in an exciting game of real-life battlefield vietnam (oh, who doesnt want to play an awesome rendition of the fabled fps game where you have much more surreal 3D graphics, catch being that you cant respawn on death?)
5. this list can just go on with my level of raging (see first segment of this post)
in short, i am not really looking forward to this trip.
to be blatantly honest, i prefer the company of my laptop/notes/friends/(insert any other remotely interesting stuff) than my parents by a longshot.
---
having made that declaration above, i can't wait for national service.
gotta keep myself up to shape after nearly 3 months of inactivity (oh my).
will go to east coast to jog again. really liked the scenery there.
--
i need a day or two to mull over my incompetence.
i think i screwed up for my physics mcq. like a total fiasco, really.
--
will take the time to read some history stuff that i am tasked to type out.
great way to earn some pocket $, and at the same time learn some southeast asia history.
hey, $80 for typing notes out? count me in!
---
going to vietnam from the 2nd to 8th by force.
hopefully none of the following happens:
1. get shot by guerrillas
2. step on a landmine and spontaneously combust into a raging ball of fire
3. die of boredom (this is going to happen unless divine intervention occurs)
4. get involved in an exciting game of real-life battlefield vietnam (oh, who doesnt want to play an awesome rendition of the fabled fps game where you have much more surreal 3D graphics, catch being that you cant respawn on death?)
5. this list can just go on with my level of raging (see first segment of this post)
in short, i am not really looking forward to this trip.
to be blatantly honest, i prefer the company of my laptop/notes/friends/(insert any other remotely interesting stuff) than my parents by a longshot.
---
having made that declaration above, i can't wait for national service.
gotta keep myself up to shape after nearly 3 months of inactivity (oh my).
will go to east coast to jog again. really liked the scenery there.
--
i need a day or two to mull over my incompetence.
11/30/2009 08:55:00 PM; shattered
dreams.
Saturday, November 14
end of KI paper.
was raining heavily so decided to join in with the gang to wait it out for the rain to stop.
ordered a cuppa coffee, and drank slowly while listening to the bunch.
at that moment there was no lingering thoughts, no ideas, no stress whatsoever.
just like how louis XVI wrote in his diary 'rien' during the fall of the bastille, i kind of felt the same way as he did, just inner peace.
its zen moments like this that i treasure the most.
was raining heavily so decided to join in with the gang to wait it out for the rain to stop.
ordered a cuppa coffee, and drank slowly while listening to the bunch.
at that moment there was no lingering thoughts, no ideas, no stress whatsoever.
just like how louis XVI wrote in his diary 'rien' during the fall of the bastille, i kind of felt the same way as he did, just inner peace.
its zen moments like this that i treasure the most.
11/14/2009 12:50:00 AM; shattered
dreams.
Friday, August 21
why do i have this unshakable feeling that im losing grip on my sanity...
---
"...go, and always remember no matter whatever happens, the choice was always yours to begin with"
a new phrase that will be engraved in my mind, no matter what.
---
reading george orwell's 1984 now.
pretty nice book to be brutally honest. beats those "OMG-HA-HA-CONFESSIONS-OF-(insert whatever person that are remotely interesting)" type of books by leaps and bounds, literally.
---
"...go, and always remember no matter whatever happens, the choice was always yours to begin with"
a new phrase that will be engraved in my mind, no matter what.
---
reading george orwell's 1984 now.
pretty nice book to be brutally honest. beats those "OMG-HA-HA-CONFESSIONS-OF-(insert whatever person that are remotely interesting)" type of books by leaps and bounds, literally.
8/21/2009 10:55:00 PM; shattered
dreams.
Wednesday, July 15
i cant believe im still shedding some tears right now over that at 1.55 in the morning, with 6 hours left to school right after typing those chunks.
7/15/2009 01:55:00 AM; shattered
dreams.
a lot of stuff happened within this period of 1 week.
ill recall to the best of my memories.
---
i managed to re-secure my place at LT5 for chemistry.
talk about close call.
but unfortuantely i didnt manage to do so for maths. ugh.
(questions self)
but nice thing to note is that there's more of S205 people in LT5 now! [at least our class wouldnt look so small now]
---
few days ago, while i was having (very) early breakfast with dominic, mr lye just whizzed by (apparantly to grab his breakfast as well i suppose) and we had a chat.
by the end of the conversation i was tad surprised, perhaps because 1) i didnt expect the WR to be perfect (read: ZERO errors) when i know from the back of my mind that there were some flaws in the diagrams 2) it was featured in some MOE stuff and the WR's now in NYJC and its making its rounds around various JCs.
well, right at this juncture, if only all subjects were PW-style it would be a breeze, i swear. ahhahahhaha.
----
had archery on sunday.
out of 10 shots, 4 hit the woodwork. >.<
gotta train intensively after A's!
---
late morning.
so my physics teacher (a very kind lady, i must admit) was of course (without doubt) distraught at our class's performance for mid years (kind of expected, wasnt it). so she gave us a card to write and reflect on what happened (i.e. why did you screw up you moron/idiot/(insert flowery language))
so i just wrote what i really felt and just submitted it.
after school, 5.
i checked my handphone. there was a message.
"Hi dear gary, im sorry if i was too busy n negleted u. i've never given up on you. In fact i see inmprovmeents in u, though small but commendable. pls dun give up, you can do it. I dun wan to push u too hard, worried u too stress.I want to give u space and time. I will do my best for u. Lets try to work out a plan perhaps"
i was on the bus when i saw this message.
i shed several tears.
perhaps it was the lingering guilt that made me lost my composure (momentarily) on the bus, but the underlying fact is this:
i really appericiate it,cher.
thank you 'cher.
---
ill recall to the best of my memories.
---
i managed to re-secure my place at LT5 for chemistry.
talk about close call.
but unfortuantely i didnt manage to do so for maths. ugh.
(questions self)
but nice thing to note is that there's more of S205 people in LT5 now! [at least our class wouldnt look so small now]
---
few days ago, while i was having (very) early breakfast with dominic, mr lye just whizzed by (apparantly to grab his breakfast as well i suppose) and we had a chat.
by the end of the conversation i was tad surprised, perhaps because 1) i didnt expect the WR to be perfect (read: ZERO errors) when i know from the back of my mind that there were some flaws in the diagrams 2) it was featured in some MOE stuff and the WR's now in NYJC and its making its rounds around various JCs.
well, right at this juncture, if only all subjects were PW-style it would be a breeze, i swear. ahhahahhaha.
----
had archery on sunday.
out of 10 shots, 4 hit the woodwork. >.<
gotta train intensively after A's!
---
late morning.
so my physics teacher (a very kind lady, i must admit) was of course (without doubt) distraught at our class's performance for mid years (kind of expected, wasnt it). so she gave us a card to write and reflect on what happened (i.e. why did you screw up you moron/idiot/(insert flowery language))
so i just wrote what i really felt and just submitted it.
after school, 5.
i checked my handphone. there was a message.
"Hi dear gary, im sorry if i was too busy n negleted u. i've never given up on you. In fact i see inmprovmeents in u, though small but commendable. pls dun give up, you can do it. I dun wan to push u too hard, worried u too stress.I want to give u space and time. I will do my best for u. Lets try to work out a plan perhaps"
i was on the bus when i saw this message.
i shed several tears.
perhaps it was the lingering guilt that made me lost my composure (momentarily) on the bus, but the underlying fact is this:
i really appericiate it,cher.
thank you 'cher.
---
7/15/2009 01:26:00 AM; shattered
dreams.
Friday, June 19
gary, remember : mitigated skepticism, not total skepticism.
6/19/2009 12:50:00 AM; shattered
dreams.
Thursday, June 18
as each day pass, i am always posed with this same question.
do i really exist?
to this end, if i just follow descarte's argument, then perhaps yes, i do exist.
but i cannot be sure of the fact that others may even exist. for all that i know, they could simply part of my vivid imagination. there is simply no real, concerete proof to counter that claim.
so do others really exist?
i can't answer that question for now.
---
the flu's taking a toll for the worse.
i just cant shake off the feeling that the magnitude of this flu pandemic will be on par with the black death.
---
i'm now having the exact same feeling again 2 years ago.
god, if only i can ask for a longer period of time to savour this final 6 months.
do i really exist?
to this end, if i just follow descarte's argument, then perhaps yes, i do exist.
but i cannot be sure of the fact that others may even exist. for all that i know, they could simply part of my vivid imagination. there is simply no real, concerete proof to counter that claim.
so do others really exist?
i can't answer that question for now.
---
the flu's taking a toll for the worse.
i just cant shake off the feeling that the magnitude of this flu pandemic will be on par with the black death.
---
i'm now having the exact same feeling again 2 years ago.
god, if only i can ask for a longer period of time to savour this final 6 months.
6/18/2009 12:50:00 AM; shattered
dreams.