Sargunan Says...

My tongue can't taste no more...

2007-11-05T02:08:00.000+08:00

What more can I say?...I just refused to see the doctor last Tuesday with the diarrhoea and fever....Decided to go yesterday and the doctor eventually told me it's food poisoning and told me to rest and eat porridge crap...If only...Here I am rushing my last assignment to hand in and the module is called Feeding the World...yeah, I know what you're thinking...

I've managed to keep my spirits up so far....If Destiny's kind, I've got the rest on my mind...

The 3Qs that got everyone talking....

2007-10-27T00:38:00.000+08:00

An ex-teacher took 19 minutes
to do with a calculator!

I received a call from our Maths Major, UK last Sunday morning expecting it to be about a soccer game but the first thing he did was to ask me to read the Sunday Times which had an article carrying three of the questions from this year's PSLE mathematics paper...And yesh, I ended up solving maths problems on a lovely Sunday morning at 7.30am!...Took me about 8 minutes to solve and check using backward working. Now for my comments...

I found it amusing to find out that people were complaining over the questions because students do learn how to solve questions using algebra now with one unknown. I only started learning algebra when I was in secondary 1 and some parents might have even only started learning it in secondary 3 for all I know and may have underestimated the kind of rigorous standards nowadays. But on closer inspection, I certainly found some flaws.

Question 1 is a very straightforward question which is not difficult and can be solved easily using algebra by using X to represent the unknown, which is the equal amount of rice sold by both shops.

I noted that question 3 used values that may have posed difficulties for average students. It too can be solved by using algebra and using X to represent the unknown, which is the same height in this case. All you need to do is to substitute the same height, X into the formula for volume(length x breadth x height) for both the tanks and their sum should be equal to the total volume of Tank A if it were full. Students may also choose to use the Guess and Check method to solve this question, but that may take an awful long time. Generally, I was satisfied with the examination board's explanation that they need to be able to differentiate the standards between good students and excellent students too.

The question that annoyed me was question 2. Firstly, the information about the rows of 13 and 7 was totally unnecessary to solve the question. In other words, it was misleading - the first of two grave mistakes made by the setter. This question can be solved using algebra by using X to represent the unknown which is the total number of chairs. Here's the sucker-punch! If you were a conscientious kid and tried to work backwards to check your answer, the number of chairs in rows of 13 will be 51.6 - a decimal!!....So it doesn't make logical sense as no one will want to cut up the last chair in that instance into pieces right? Therefore this question is considered mathematically incorrect...

Oct 21, 2007, Sunday Times

By Nur Dianah Suhaimi

At sixes and sevens over PSLE Maths
Tears and outrage yet again - but exam board chief says it's no tougher than past years

AS FAR as parents and pupils are concerned, PSLE Maths papers often just don't add up.

Howls of outrage greeted this year's test, with mums and dads fuming and some pupils in tears outside the exam room.

Parents also cried foul in 2005, after a flawed question slipped into the paper.

In 2000, about 25 angry parents called The Straits Times to complain about the paper being too difficult.

And in 1992, the Ministry of Education was criticised when parents raged about tough questions.

It all looks like a standard formula: tricky questions plus nervy pupils and expectant parents multiplied by exam pressure equal tears and ill temper.

Why do parents and pupils have problems with the PSLE Maths paper?

Mr Tan Yap Kwang, chief executive of the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB), offers this explanation: 'For Maths, if you don't understand the question or the concept tested, you cannot even start solving the sum. For English or Mother Tongue, you can always guess an answer.'

A maths teacher, who declined to be named, said: 'Maths is the one subject pupils can possibly score 100 marks for, unlike English. So it devastates them when they cannot do well.'

Mr Tan, who feels parents are over-reacting, said this year's paper was no tougher than in other years. 'Sometimes pupils have very high expectations for themselves. Not being able to answer one question is like the end of the world.'

Ten parents and former teachers complained to The Straits Times Forum page that some sums were not in the syllabus.

Mr Tan said the PSLE must differentiate between pupils of different abilities: 'It'd be a problem if 30 per cent of the cohort scores full marks. Then how do you differentiate between the average student and the brightest of the lot?'

Ten teachers told The Sunday Times they had never seen so many pupils crying after a PSLE paper.

One admitted that she needed a calculator to solve one of the sums. Pupils are not allowed to use them.

A teacher was called into the exam hall after a top pupil broke down and wanted to quit. But Mr Norman Tien, a PSLE Maths trainer, said: 'Most students are drilled to do past exam papers. If they come across a question they've never seen before, they'll think it's difficult.'

At least 95 per cent of a cohort should be able to tackle the basic questions, Mr Tan said, while the last few 'challenging' sums are aimed at the brighter ones.

Pupils should not fret if they cannot answer some questions. Mr Tan said: 'You don't need to answer every one correctly to get an A*.'

BMT Oh!....

2007-10-15T20:45:00.000+08:00

I know...The moustache makes me stand out...

Some fate that I ran into two of my section mates from my BMT days today on the MRT on my way back from tuition...Pradeep Singh who as always, is in the centre of everything in this photo taken somewhere in the middle of our course and Mohamed is just right above me....

It was kinda hard to have any real conversation with them other than the usual reminiscing over the good old days as we had all gone into different vocations after BMT... I did get Mohamed's contact coz the dude's in the satay biz and you never know when you need those eh?...

Oh man...BMT was easily the most tiresome yet fun part of my life...All you need to do was beef up at the gym, eat and run and then eat some more...the cycle goes on and on...with the occasional time spent at the swimming pool, which had the most picturesque view of the Changi Airport Control Tower in the early mornings...

Lasteaing Love...

2007-09-25T00:18:00.000+08:00

It's been an awful long time since I wrote anything here...Work's piling and I am beginning to grow a beard...haha...

I wouldn't really say I am too excited about my FYP trip to India...Ok, I know it's a big country and I haven't been to that part of the lands that are addicted to tea rather than coffee (for good reason that tiz cheaper, being not so far from Darljeeling and all)...It will surely be a new experience...We'll see how it goes...

The famous sculpture piece by Robert Indiana

A friend was recently lamenting to me that she's like the only girl in her clique of girlfriends who isn't attached and was feeling the pressure...Some smart ass even told her that she's reaching her sell-by-date age...I told her that love is not something to do with age but something much more than that...It's a feeling that only comes with certain people but you need to date the person and know the person quite well before even thinking about a relationship...I know some girls kinda have this warped sense of imagination where their knight in shining armour is going to appear from nowhere...It happens sometimes but not overt like in the movies la - great example of this is "The Notebook"...It's one of those feel-good movies where the underdog get the girl against all ridiculous odds...But you and I know this is way off the mark in real life, in most cases...By the way, I saw the article below about finding that perfect person...Do you think they were right about the 3 factors that makes love last?...

The love that lasts and lasts
Saturday, 22nd September 2007 in Today Weekend
Clement Mesenas
Editor-At-Large
clement@mediacorp.com.sg

AH, that perfect person … the one who makes your heart race and your stomach churn. And glory be, he or she feels the same way too about you. It's only a matter of time before you decide to nest together.

That sounds so simple and so lovely. Like saying that all marriages are made in heaven — and supposedly last forever. But you and I know that's not true. More than 7,000 couples split up in Singapore last year and the trend is rising.

Of course, almost all of us get married believing in everlasting love, and during those early rosy days, it's not unusual that many couples feel as if they are Adam and Eve traipsing in the Garden of Eden. But such joys are short-lived. Adam and Eve got booted out — and for many of us lesser mortals, that heaven on earth we had hoped for can evaporate like the morning dew.

A woman I had lunch with recently shared her secrets of a lasting relationship. She is charming, as delectable as the food on the table, and French — a people said to be knowledgeable in the matters of the heart.

She said three things are necessary for a long and satisfying relationship. One, a couple must enjoy talking to each other.

Best-selling author Jeffrey Archer, who cheated on his wife and went to jail for perjury (he lied in court about his fling with a prostitute), told me about his wife of many years, described by the judge during his trial as "a most fragrant woman".

"Mary and I have been together a long time, because for a good relationship to survive, there must be intellectual stimulation, and I find conversation with Mary fascinating.

"We don't discuss what I write when I am in the process of writing but I make three copies of my final draft — one for the publisher, one for my agent and one for my wife," Archer said.

"She will read her copy and tell me what she thinks of it. And then I'll tweak those parts she finds inaccurate. She's a scientist, a very clever woman — certainly smarter than me. Apart from my final drafts, she reads only non-fiction."

And what did he miss most about her when he was incarcerated in Her Majesty's prison?

"Meeting her at the end of the day for our tete-a-tete before dinner. Life behind bars is a lonely, lonely existence: The noise, the smell, everything. I was alone most of the time.

"I read voraciously and wrote — a million words in the first year — but there was no one to talk to. The lack of mental stimulation was almost too much to bear. Terrible, terrible."

Mary must enjoy Sir Jeffrey's knack for telling a good yarn. They have stayed married 40 years and more, despite his indiscretions.

My lunch companion moved on to the second key ingredient for a successful relationship: Sharing the pleasure of doing something together. In public, she said.

It could be anything — going to the movies, playing croquet or just enjoying a beautiful sunset by the beach.

Jennie Chua, Singapore's most celebrated hotelier, describes the man in her life as somebody who sweeps her off her feet, literally. She told me they enjoy ballroom dancing — in fact, they met on the dance floor and that enjoyable encounter has led to an enduring relationship that began more than 10 years ago and is still going strong.

Jennie is 61 and I have asked her, will she still need him, will she still feed him, when he's 64. "I'll let you know when I reach there," she said, chuckling.

And what's the third factor in a good relationship, I asked the French woman.

Why, sex of course, she said. Good sex — with the right partner — is hard to find, and it is the cement that can hold a relationship together, even if the other two factors are not too fulfilling.

Recently, I was a witness at a wedding. Peter is 66 and Elvie in her 40s. It was widower Peter's second marriage, and Elvie's first. I asked Peter whether he felt sex was an important part of marriage. A delicate question but Peter, father of two, answered gamely.

In an email, he replied: "Sex does not only mean the act of copulation — although I am sure men think of it more often than women do. For me, a tender touch, a caress, whispering sweet nothings — they all contribute to a romantic and 'sexual' feeling.

"I hold hands with Elvie almost all the time when we are out walking. I am not bothered by what people think — an old man holding a younger lady's hand with. Elvie shares the need I have for this sense of closeness."

So, there you are, folks. If you are contemplating marriage or a long-term relationship, and have been able to add a tick to all the three key points, hey, yours could well be that match made in heaven.

British Cluedo?...

2007-09-09T11:56:00.000+08:00

Was it the valet?

I caught Gosford Park today afternoon and it was not too bad...It's an ode to the mystery genre....Although done with some fine actors, this movie had a such a poor plot particularly because it was so easy to see who the killer was by the time the murder was committed....But still, it is a fantastic representation of an era which is known for its British class distinctions...I am giving it 3 out of 5 stars....If only the mystery had truly been one...

Oh and without this movie, I wouldn't have known a great theatre composer like Ivor Novello existed in the early 1900s...He was portrayed by Jeremy Northam in Gosford Park...I loved every song of his that was performed in this movie...The song "Land that Might Have Been" still rings in my head...I've give the lyrics to that song below....Maybe I'll try to find the song and add it to my radio for you...Tata!...

Ivor Novello - Land That Might have Been

Somewhere there's another land different from this world below.
Far more mercifully planned than the cruel place we know.
Innocence and peace are there. All is good that is desired.
Faces there are always fair. Love grows never old nor tired.
We shall never find that lovely land of Might-Have-Been.
I shall never be your king nor you shall be my queen.
Days may pass and years may pass and seas may lie between.
We shall never find that lovely land of Might-Have-Been.
Sometimes on the rarest nights comes the vision calm and clear,
Gleaming with unearthly lights on my path of doubt and fear.
Winds from that far land are blown, whispering with secret breath.
Hope that plays her tune alone. Love that conquers pain and death.
Shall we ever find that lovely land of Might-Have-Been?
Will I ever be your king or you at last my queen?
Days may pass or years may pass, the seas my lie between.
Shall we ever find our lovely land of Might-Have-Been?

Do you Mind?...

2007-09-03T00:22:00.000+08:00

The usual suspects...All six of us...

I just grabbed this photo from Revathi's friendster account...That was all of us at Pitstop Cafe about 3 weeks back....

Last weekend, we made our way down to another games location called The Mind Cafe at Boat Quay and despite the bigger space and better food variety, we weren't so impressed with the service....Didn't have that chirpiness the people at The Pitstop Cafe had...Their range of games is just as good though....

As for our next outing, we're still pondering over whether to go ice-skating, pool or bowling...Pool or bowling is familiar grounds for me but ice-skating?...mmm....Well, I would love to wayang in the ice-ring like Rocky in Rocky II, if there was a pretty damsel to teach me.....

Oh before I sign out, a very happy Teachers' Day to everyone in the teaching business...In my friend Kalpana's words, "the one day you are forced to be appreciated"....haha...

Singnet?....ummm....

2007-08-27T23:49:00.000+08:00

I am sure most of you already know about the Odex court case that became big news because illegal downloaders were being cracked downed on and asked to pay fines for downloading...However, what really caught my eye when I was reading the article below was that Singnet didn't even bother to protect its customers' privacy...Hey, this is supposedly Singapore's largest telecommunications company and they surely have the means to do some proper investigation before giving away such information to some third party vendor...

It's really funny how one of the smaller intenet providers, Pacnet, was more successful in evading Odex's nonsense...mmm.....Those of you who are using Singnet, I think you better think about switching your internet service provider....

Anime in court: 2 ISPs, 2 different outcomes

Judge's ruling in favour of PacNet against Odex only throws up more questions

Thomas Koshy, Monday, August 27, 2007 in Today Newspaper.

IT WAS a case of third time unlucky for Odex in its application to court for a discovery order to find out the names of subscribers who had allegedly downloaded copyright infringing anime off the Internet.

After successfully obtaining such orders against SingNet and StarHub, its similar application against Pacific Internet (PacNet) failed last week.

Since similar information was sought in presumably similar circumstances against all three Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the natural question that arises is why PacNet succeeded where SingNet and Starhub had failed.

More importantly, the decision throws up more questions about the already controversial saga.

District Judge Ernest Lau, who decided the PacNet case, explained that the issues raised in the PacNet case were never fully argued in the StarHub case.

What he said about the SingNet case was, however, more troubling: "For the SingNet case, the orders were made by consent."

This means that SingNet did not even argue against Odex's application for subscriber information. The ISP did not even instruct its lawyers to attend the court hearing of Odex's application.

The Telecommunications Competition Code (TCC) prohibits unauthorised release of subscriber information by ISPs.

Although the TCC provision may be trumped by a court order, should SingNet not have argued against Odex's application rather than consent to it?

If the ISP does not argue for its subscribers' rights to privacy, who will?

Without a voice in court, the prohibition in the TCC becomes effectively an empty promise.

One also wonders whether SingNet has acted in breach of the spirit of the TCC provision and, if so, whether punitive measures are warranted.

So, what were the arguments that PacNet raised, which the other ISPs had not?

Essentially, PacNet challenged both Odex's right to make the copyright infringement claims and the reliability of Odex's tracing of copyright infringers.

The challenge to Odex's claim was largely successful because Odex was not the copyright owner or exclusive licensee of all but one anime video titled Mobile Suit Gundam Seed. For all the rest, it was a mere sub-licensee and, therefore, not entitled to pursue claims for copyright infringement — only copyright owners or exclusive licensees may do so.

Accordingly, the court held that Odex had "no civil right of action under the Copyright Act against the persons whom the identities are sought".

Copyright infringers should, however, bear in mind that even though Odex may not have the right to pursue such claims, the actual copyright owners or exclusive licensees would have such a right.

It was reported that Odex might appeal against the PacNet decision.

But what about the enforcement action that Odex has already taken?

Should it desist from further pursuing any claims unless it manages to get the PacNet decision reversed?

What about the funds that Odex has collected in settlement of its supposed claims? Is Odex obliged to return those funds if the PacNet decision is not overturned on appeal?

This brings to the fore another aspect of the Odex case — that the Odex letters of demand to subscribers were apparently not sent by lawyers but by Odex itself.

Letters of demand sent by lawyers are subject to rules on legal conduct. For example, a lawyer may not "demand anything other than that recoverable by due process of law".

Should such provisions be made broader so as to embrace letters of demand sent by persons such as Odex as well?

Otherwise, a client sending out a letter of demand himself — even if after procuring legal advice — may easily circumvent them.

Another interesting snippet from the decision of District Judge Lau concerns the costs incurred by Odex in tracing the copyright infringers.

Odex engaged an American company, BayTSP, to track the copyright infringers. Odex's Peter Go had quoted an article in his affidavit, which highlighted the low cost of BayTSP's services — tracing up to 100 files for only $12 per month, with a setup fee of $25 for 100 images.

In a notice that has been put up on its website, Odex stated that "many of those who received Odex's letter have ... settled the matter. The average amount of compensation paid by those who have settled is about $3,000 to $5,000."

And yet, in a letter issued to the media last week, Odex had said the total amount it has recovered so far "has not covered even 20 per cent of Odex's enforcement costs".

The revelation of BayTSP's low costs heightens the mystery surrounding Odex's "enforcement costs" and revives the question of whether the quantum of the sums demanded by Odex to settle its claims against copyright infringers is excessive.

In the fog of all the negative perceptions generated by Odex's pursuit of copyright infringers, it should not be forgotten that copyright infringement is illegal and offenders run the risk of civil and criminal penalties.

But the Odex case has highlighted that all parties involved must pay more than lip service to the due process of the law.

The writer is a legal academic. These are his personal views.

Pitstopper....

2007-08-11T15:49:00.000+08:00

I find going back to NIE a hassle...Now, I understand how difficult it is to travel from Hougang to Boon Lay...Takes me an godawful 2 hours to reach...That's 4 hours of doing nothing to and fro but sitting or standing on a bus or MRT...I am still upset with someone for forgetting to key in my points for CCA, and as a result I have not gotten a hostel for the first time...Then these private hostels outside NTU are all taken up, with the earliest chance of even getting being at the end of September...

My subjects are pretty dry and boring this semester...The closest thing to something interesting is this Geography module called "Feeding the World" - means I don't have to go any forest this semester and walk up and down those slopes with all kinda gadgetry...Yeah!...

I realised that some of these English tutors are very biased and keep praising their 'A' students from the crossover batch....Reminded me of how one of my own Geography tutor used to do that with my gang...Doesn't give you a good start to making friends with the rest of the classmates and worse, they'll suspect you are gonna get an 'A' with little effort...

I was arrowed to go and take charge of this food and games bazaar on Tuesday for my club...With a little help from my fellow club-mates, Annabelle and Akhila, we held a hopscotch competition and sold croquette burgers, which I ordered at a minimal price from a Canteen 16 vendor..We got back about $98 from 2 and a half hours of madness...Should have just gone into the food business lah...

Udaya got me out of the house on National Day to go to this place called Pitstop Cafe near Clark Quay MRT...Those board game places with food you know that seem to be sprouting everywhere..Never knew there was one at a place where I went clubbing regularly last time...His brother, sister, girlfriend and his sister's friend were there and we had loadsa fun...4 hours passed by so fast...Some of the games we played were really something...Besides typically well-known games like Taboo they also had games I've never heard of before like Saboteur and my personal favourite, Squint...Food was soso but the place is cozy and nice...Oh, they also take a group picture of your gang and sell it at $1 per print...Quite cheap...

Despite all this fun, a quiet sigh inside me...why?...mmm...

*edit* I know now!...yesh I do!....waaaa.....

Cruise is over....School?...Oh no!....

2007-08-02T11:09:00.000+08:00

Time for school to start....argh!....I was having so much fun during my holiday on the cruise and spent so much time hanging out with friends that I got no energy to drag myself back to Boon Lay...This has been my busiest holiday so far in NIE, coz I had been working as well in the earlier half...Here's some of the pictures from the trip...There's some crazy ones but well...not suitable for publishing...haha...

We felt as clean as a baby after a trip to the Spa...

I love my Siew Mai!...

Senthil and I at our gangster best during Bingo!..

We were so addicted to go-karting!..

Two Sunrises from two different Cameras...

Punish to Purify...

2007-07-21T18:57:00.000+08:00

Every teacher and student should check out the flash video below, done by a Singaporean at the site happeepill.com....The site is fantastic!...I got the link from Sharm just now, though I must say, it takes quite a while to load....Btw, I'll be off on holiday for a while...So till then, adios!....

Coz I'm wearing my brand new shoes...

2007-07-20T20:14:00.000+08:00

I've been going through a couple of changes in my wardrobe...Time for some change in style, and so too for the shoes...My lovely Nike Gold shoes are so worn out with street soccer games every week...Along with that I also wanted a new pair of shoes which would be a good addition with the black leather ones that I normally use for formal attire - something I could wear for both casual and formal occasions....The new boys who'll be protecting my feet, regardless of whether stinky, sticky or even with some scent of cologne have arrived...

Mug Shots of the New Boys

Mr Linguistic...

2007-07-19T17:00:00.000+08:00

My Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

I am excellent with words and language. I explain myself well.

An elegant speaker, I can converse well with anyone on the fly.

I am also good at remembering information and convincing someone of my point of view.

A master of creative phrasing and unique words, I enjoy expanding my vocabulary.

I would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

For the last time...certainly...

2007-07-09T21:50:00.000+08:00

Alrite people...It's been a while since I blogged...I didn't even have time to complete this post that I started on the 9th of July..Now it's the 13th...Got a little too busy with the offline activities lah....Amongst them was a trip to the National Stadium on 30 June....I think this time it really was the last time...Good game between the Aussies and Singapore, and the score flattered the boys from down under - 3 - 0.....I went there with Senthil, Skanda and a couple of Senthil's army friends...One of Senthil's friends was a Man Utd fan and I got annoyed at the amount of stick he was giving me and Senthil as we were waiting for our other friends, over the fact that Liverpool didn't win anything this season...I had to do something about it and so I held up 5 fingers and told him, "Read my hand bro...That's 5 European Cups...Too bad I don't have 18 fingers or I'll show you exactly how many league titles Liverpool's won...By the way, how many European Cups has your team won?...3?...no?...Oh...".....Thereafter, he sang a different tune and we were one voice in unison, cheering our Singapore lads...

It was great to see how kids are picking up swear words much faster than I ever did at their age as we cursed the referee, to the slow ball boys and the Singapore players who kept falling just so that that their female physio could run onto the pitch to tend to their needs...hehe....All in all, it was quite a spectacle, with the final lighting of the cauldron by C.Kunalan, to some opera-like singing of the Aussie and Singaporean national anthems by 2 females all decked out in the respective national colours (I swear it looked a lot like superhero costumes!)....Of course the fireworks!....We almost missed it as we were just out of the stadium when the sky was jolted with a bloom of colours...Here's a few of the pics from that outing...

Singapore vs M'sia Ex-Internationals was a little boring

A little sneak of the upcoming National Day Parade

I liked this shot...The crowd and the floodlight in the background...
with Senthil in the foreground...

Half-Time and everyone's rushing to get food, whilst the TKSS Band rolls out....

We had to pose in front of the Old Lady....

Two Tickets...One for the stadium entrance, and the other to go back home...

Jammed the Goatee...

2007-06-30T08:12:00.000+08:00

With my work stint over, I find myself truly starting to enjoy this holiday...Jamming sessions with my buddies Jamal and Ridzuan along with their friend in McPherson after almost 4 years has been wonderful...Our band name used to be the Unknown Cripples...We came up with this name because, there used to be a cripple who had to use crutches to walk around the coffeeshop where we ate after our jamming sessions selling tissue paper...Looks like I and Vincent were the only ones who had left the band, whilst the other two chaps have gone on to performing at clubs on a part-time basis...We've lost contact with Vincent..Last thing I remember was that he had gone to Australia to study...

My goatee had to go...Why?...I accidentally zipped off a tuft of hair from my chin as I was shaving in the morning...So, that meant that after two beautiful weeks of the look, I had to let it go due to a technical error called "half asleep"...Having said this, it was getting tiresome answering to comments about my goatee....Here are some of the comments I've received and some of the reasons I gave for the "Why the goatee?" question...

Comments
"Hey it makes you look older"...(my reply was "Thanks!...That's the whole idea...")...

"Are you trying to join the Taliban?"...(funny indeed...I added on..."Do you know any Sikhs?..I am struggling at the headgear part")...

"Are you turning into a Devdas?"...(This was when I let my beard grow - mandatory before getting the goatee...my reply - "Yesh...Then I can find my Paro, who will be as hot as Aishwarya Rai"...)

"Chinese girls don't like goatees you know?"...(This was a guy, and my reply to him was..."Interesting observation...At least I'm safe from Chinese girls now...you must have been a Chinese girl in your last life right?"...A crap comment to begin with..)

"I think it brings out the beauty of your eyes"...(Wow...That's sweet but I almost choked on my cake at this point)...

Reasons
"Well, it helps to cushion my lower lip when I use the trumpet"...(This is true)...

"It harbours my extreme powers, which will be unleashed upon you if you speak any further"...(I am so in the superhero phase still)...

"It helps to trap the mosquitoes if they get too close to my face...It's the dengue season you know..."(I gave this excuse during the beard phase)...

Surprise!...

2007-06-25T17:16:00.000+08:00

Had a very good birthday this year...First surprise was that the company I was doing a project for took out a birthday cake when I went over to hand over the completed work, two days before my birthday....Two of my female colleagues had so much to say about my goatee...This happens when people are not used to it lah...The last time I had it was in my final year in poly along with shoulder-length hair...

On my birthday itself, I was 'tricked' into thinking I was only meeting two of my old poly buddies, Sara and Kelvin and had a nice celebration at Swensen's where the rest of the lot were waiting....They know I love fish and it certainly was a fishy affair!...Oh, it was very pai seh having a birthday song sung there...Not one for those...

Then I had this super high expectation that I'll be receiving more of the same kind of 'surprise' where the rest of the gang will come later when I met Sharon alone at the Civil Service Club a few hours later after meeting the poly fellas...Yeah, it was a real surprise!...She was treating me herself..haha...She made me play bowling and pools with her even though she's not that good and we had an awesome meal at a Chinese restie...Two Levels up on Guna's Surprise Index for you Sharon!...I still can't believe she can't bend her thumb...mmm....genetics?...

These birthday reminder services are awesome aren't they?...At first they started with websites like birthdayalarm.com, who made their money through services like online birthday cards and gifts...Then came along reminder services on almost every other social group sites such as friendster and multiply...Clearly the reason for some of the unexpected greetings from friends and acquaintances I haven't met in a long time....It's the the thought that counts though and I thank all of you for your greetings...

The mistake...

2007-06-23T09:57:00.000+08:00

I know this was a mistake...A friend of mine was having some problem with his girl and tried to write a poem, and showed it to the guys...Some of em weren't exactly kind and he asked me if I could help him...I just agreed thinking he really needed some aid in scribbling that note.....So I took a poem I once left half-finished and started to change and add words to it to fit the chap's needs...Then once I finished the poem, I realised it would be very cruel for the fella to give a poem I wrote to his girl and instead told him to write it himself (I didn't think his original poem was that bad la...)....Anyway, since my poem has already been done, I decided to ask two of my friends to read it and they agreed that it was quite good...Here it is....What shall I title it as?...mmmm....got it!...

The Boyfriend's Plea

Even with two wings, there can only be one sky to fly in...
When two hearts clash, there can only be one love to fall in...
In every language, words may be different darling..
The words may change but flowers still remain flowers...
Times may change, places may change, love will still be love...
With a flicker of your eyes, the wheels of his heart became unturned...
If only your feelings may be known to the world outside...un-interned...
If you steal another look, will he bear the skip of another beat?..
If only the shadows on the floor could make a fuss and bleat...
A picture of you, planted, watered, growing inside of him...
A million miles of trouble - for you, he would surely swim...
The bright pearls are out in the sky, burning the night...
I wish you were here next to me, sweet nothings and frivolous fights...

*edit* I certainly wrote this with someone in mind...I realised it the moment I finished it...

Mr. Guna Presents...

2007-06-17T00:52:00.000+08:00

Alright this post is just to let everyone know that I am alive and well..haha...A lot of things are going on lately...Army stuff...Passport stuff....Movie stuff...Meeting friends stuff...reading stuff...blah blah blah...so much stuff..Army and passport matters very confidential la...SO we'll skip those...We'll stick to movies for today....I've watched some movies over the past week or so and decided to give a review of them....The circumstances under which some of the movies were obtained or seen shall remain highly confidential as well... :)

Of course, we can't have nudity in the poster!

Mrs Henderson Presents is based on the true story of Mrs. Laura Henderson, who was the owner of the Windmill Theatre - famous for its nude 'revuedeville'. The story begins with the recently widowed old lady who doesn't know what to do with the enormous amount of money she has been left with since her husband's death (I was laughing when I read this part of the synopsis..After all, which lady doesn't know how to spend money right?)....As an energetic and fun-loving character she finds it boring without her beloved husband and is adviced by her friend to find a hobby - "collecting diamonds perhaps?"...But to everyone's surprise, Mrs Henderson(Judi Dench) decides to buy over a theatre...Since she doesn't know much about running a theatre, she hires Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hobskins)....The movie basically relates to us how the Windmill goes on to become a legend from obscure beginnings, to something of a spectacle with nude girls as an attraction, especially during the war and at the heart of it is the love-hate relationship between Mrs Henderson and Mr Van Damm....At the end, we come to find out the true meaning behind Mrs Henderson's choice to buy the Windmill...A good movie with brilliantly funny dialogue and wonderful acting by the lead actors who are quite famous in British theatre circles..There were parts which seemed a little too theatrical but isn't that the whole idea?...4 stars..

See the multitude of Eiffel Towers?

Paris Je T'aime is a movie which is made up of 18 five minutes 'arrondissements', each one directed by a different director...They say too many cooks spoil the soup...This is not that...This show is a potpourri of the facets of love, which are revealed in Paris - the so-called city of love....It's hard to believe that so many stories could be told within 1.5 hours and it feels like there's just so much to discuss...The stories are not just about romance, but also about love between a father and his daughter, a mother and her son, a gay who finds his soul-mate, a teenager who falls in love with a girl from a different faith and even about love with a vampiress!...Each and every single story is unique and directed in a style which is very distinct from the others...Most of the dialogue in the movie are in French or English, with subtitles of course...I'm sure everyone has their favourites but mine would be the bittersweet Pigalle portion which tells the story of a middle-aged man and his wife about to divorce, only to discover that they still have chemistry with each other , right in the middle of Paris' red light district...haha...I especially liked the song "Then you can tell me goodbye" which was key to that story...4.5 stars!...You must watch it!...

Doesn't it look like
the Dangerous Minds poster?

Freedom Writers was recommended by Annabelle quite some time ago...It's about a teacher who managed to get her students who come from various ethnic groups to learn to respect each other and improve their poor grades so that they could go to college through writing journals....This movie is based on a true story of Erin Gruwell(Hilary Swank) and her students during the interracial riots in Los Angeles in 1992...Well made movie though Dangerous Minds kept coming into my mind while I was watching this since they seem to share a lot of similarities...I felt that the actors who portrayed the kids in this movie were really talented and we may see some of them turn out as future stars....The sad reality in my opinion as a teacher is that in order to be able to make our own Freedom Writers, we may have to give up our social life and more, like what the teacher Gruwell did in the movie....3.5 stars...Gruwell's first day in class was so nostalgic for me...hehe...Incidentally this movie is directed by the same guy who directed my favourite story in Paris Je T'aime, Richard LaGravenese...

Red and Yellow...
I thought of the Republic of China!

I also watched The Namesake, which is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri...I read the book sometime during my first year in NIE...The story is about the Ganguli family who migrate from Calcutta to New York...As their son Gogol and daughter Sonia grow up in America, Ashok and Ashima find that there is a gap between their world and their children's...Gogol on the other hand, is faced with an identity crisis as he struggles to find a unique niche of his own whilst trying to retain some of his heritage...The movie isn't altogether serious as there are some funny moments such as when Gogol introduces his Caucasian girlfriend to his parents...The most poignant part of this film is the story behind how Gogol got his name, which he tries to change when he becomes an adult....This movie is a good accompaniment to the book though I felt that Kal Penn wasn't really as charismatic as Gogol was in the book...Other than that, Irfan Khan and Tabu were awesome in their roles as Gogol's dad and mum...Maybe the fact that they acted so well could've made Penn's acting look seemingly lacking during the emotional scenes...He certainly was better at the first half of the show where his humour came in handy...Well-directed by the award-winning Mira Nair who was right in her elements in a movie about the relationship between dads and sons, as well as about the culture shock suffered by brides who travel to new homes overseas and the identity crisis suffered by children of immigrants...Deserves the 4 stars...

Anything I say can make you say Whatever...

2007-06-02T21:30:00.000+08:00

I went to a wedding today....In the morning!....So that meant I had to forego soccer....Kinda sucks doesn't it when you've to miss something you love doing as supposed to something you are obliged to go for?...

The wedding was for my best friend in primary school, Thanaraj.....My mum got the wedding invitation from his mum since they both work at the same hospital...The last time I saw him was at my NIE Diploma coursemate Sara's brother's daughter's 1st birthday party...Thanaraj happens to be her sister-in-law's mother's brother's son....That's a mouthful of relations....Oh ya, Saras was at the wedding too...I didn't notice her as I was going up the narrow flight of stairs to the wedding hall at the Tank Road Temple and she yelled out "Guna!"....Yesh..she yelled...I greeted her nonchalantly....She told me she'll catch up with me later and that she was gonna have her meal...I proceeded on to the wedding hall and to my horror I had arrived just when the wedding ceremony had ended...

Wait a minute...Before I carry on with this story, I've gotta let you know of the series of unfortunate events that led to me being late...First, my alarm didn't wake me up in the morning....The loud construction noise outside my window did....The time was 8.30am and the wedding ceremony would end by 10am...So I quickly bathed and put on my finest and swooooshed down to the kerbside and waited for a cab...It was 9.00am at this point...There were no taxis in sight and there were like 2 people ahead of me along the road...By the time I got a cab, it was 9.15am and I was still hopeful of making it in time...Then I got the bomb...The taxi driver was this old uncle who actually uttered the dirty words, "Can you please direct me to the place?"...I simply told him, "Uncle, you do know where Mohammad Sultan Road is right?..The temple is just near there..." whilst struggling with a lousy belt buckle....Then he gave me a blank look and asked me for directions...Then I asked him to take the CTE expressway and exit at Cairnhill Circle...I even took the street directory from him to show him where to exit..At this point, I was already thinking that I was gonna blog about this - another post with a taxi driver involved (I seem to be taking the cab more often these days don't I but it sure comes up with the stories)....The CTE traffic was awful and moving at a snail's pace and my hopes of reaching in time were drying up by the second....All of a sudden while we were around the Jalan Toa Payoh area, he swerved into the PIE expressway...I was on the handphone with Siva and didn't bother asking him why because I thought that maybe there could be alternative faster route he may know of....When I put down the phone, we were somewhere in Sims Avenue and I was starting to suspect something amiss when he exited the PIE like a bad outlaw...He changed from the far right lane into the exit lane in less than 15 seconds!...He stopped by the roadside and told me with the most pathetic of voices that he didn't know how to get to the place and that we were far off the destination...

Guna thinks "Ya, I know that bugger!"...

I simply told him to drop me off at the nearest bus-stop...He apologised profusely and told me I didn't need to pay for the ride..

Guna thinks again, "If you told me to pay, I'd have refused to do so and taken down your taxi number and made a complaint"....

Time check - 9.55am!...argh!...Then I got another cab, with a driver who knew his way around town and got me to the temple in 20 minutes...I was praying that like most other weddings, this would have started late...Who would have guessed that Singaporean weddings are keeping good time nowadays!...Now that the series of unfortunate events has been explained, let me continue with the story...

I met Thana's mum at the stage and she told me to have my meal first as the bride and groom were having a change of attire....In that short journey back towards the end of the hall and down the stairs to the eating area, I noticed that many people seemed to go traditional with clothes at Indian weddings...Some of the boys and men looked like jockeys with their shocking colours of jippas and kurtas....I was wearing my tailored light yellow long-sleeved shirt and dark grey pants with sharply defined long creases, which are the hallmark of a good ironing....Certainly a much better choice when compared to a couple of intelligent souls who chose to wear round-neck tees and jeans...Good vegetarian food was served and fantastic coffee!...I went back to the wedding hall after that and was just in time to join the queue and give my wedding token or ang pow...Thanaraj gave me the "Sargunan!" shock greeting too and his wife seemed rather amused..mmm...Maybe his mum may have forgotten to let him know that my family was invited too..But it sure was great to see my friend again, officially united with the woman in his life...I also met his younger brother who asked me when it'll be my turn...I had an quick answer to that surprisingly..."In 5 years time bro.."...Why did I say 5 years?...I really do not know...mmm...

A few minutes later I was out of the temple and walking towards the bus-stop....I could see from the corner of my eyes from a distance that there was a girl sitting at one of the long tiled benches at the bus-stop ...Quite obviously an Indian girl because she was wearing her salwar kameez...I couldn't be bothered to look at her and was just walking past her to take my place at the other bench when I heard a familiar high-pitched voice calling my name...I turned around and well well, it was none other than Saras....I thought I had escaped her...She was sitting there waiting for her boyfriend who was coming to pick her up in a taxi....

Anything or Whatever?

We kibitzed over what's been happening in our lives until my bus arrived...She wants to come back to NIE to do her degree and asked me about my life since crossing over to the degree programme....Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, we agreed that the Anything and Whatever drink Ads marketed at bus-stops were a bit raunchy...I managed to convince Saras that the words Anything and Whatever are the two most commonly used words by women.....I told her that the word "Whatever" is a form of defence mechanism in situations where a woman meets a man of higher wit and a better gift of the gab and doesn't want to lose in the war of words....The word "Anything" is used when a girl wants to be a bit submissive to a guy and wants him to make the decision....Guys, when a girl tells you "anything" when you ask them where they wanna eat or shop or something along those lines, beware!...IT is a test!...I do like the TV ads they had for these drinks though...Hilarious!...Check out my favourite one below....By the way, I have another wedding to attend tomorrow morning!...argh!...I've to miss badminton!...

Anything/Whatever Drink TV Ad

Sargunan - Benevolent Leader

2007-06-01T15:26:00.000+08:00

Just took another one of those personality tests... Interestingly not, I scored high on confidence, extroversion, openess and masculinity....I usually score high for my confidence and extroversion on most personality tests....Take a look at my other online tests.....

These guys have given me a specialised tag with each colour representing different traits which are shown in the chart below...Scroll over the colours to see which trait each one represents....They have described my personality as being a Benevolent Leader!...Leader ok, but benevolent?...mmm...I guess I may have that side to me....Now when I die, people can add another line to my epitaph - Here lies Sargunan - Benevolent Leader, coz he'll graciously make you follow him down...hehe....Have your PersonalDNA analysed today!....

This chart shows thirteen personality traits. Each bar indicates the percentage of test takers who entered a lower value for that trait than you did. For example, if Confidence is at 80, that means that 80% of people entered lower values for confidence questions than you did. Click here to learn more about the traits.
Confidence
Low High
94

Openness
Low High
86

Extroversion
Low High
98

Empathy
Low High
66

Trust in others
Low High
84

Agency
Low High
76

Masculinity
Low High
100

Femininity
Low High
2

Spontaneity
Low High
44

Attention to style
Low High
70

Authoritarianism
Low High
22

Earthy/Imaginative
Imaginative Earthy
56

Aesthetic/Functional
Functional Aesthetic
46

Shrek in Time...

2007-05-30T00:13:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I blogged...It's the work people...When I do programming, I tend to go into this hiatus in blogging simply because I start hating the computer....I think most programmers would agree with me....at least the sane ones would...So once I am done with the work for the day, I straight away head towards the stadium for a run, or sometime have a workout at the gym in the event that I do not have any meetings with mates planned for the day....Currently I am also involved in a little hobby of mine, which I shall keep a secret till a time when I deem it fit to be revealed...

One of my closest friends from my diploma days in NIE just cancelled an appointment we made for tomorrow like almost a week ago...I am sure anyone will absolutely hate it when people cancel plans to meet at the 11th hour, especially for sketchy reasons like, "my dog spilled my chicken curry and I need to recook"...I just made that up.....Anyway, my friend quickly read my mind before she actually sent me a carefully crafted sms to apologise...haha...Uncharacteristically, I wasn't even angry at all....maybe it's the work...or maybe because the words "a leopard can't change its spots" appeared on my mind...Most of all I suppose it's because her apologies seemed sincere....

The Monfort School bunch all together again

I received an email from Anthony with the pictures taken at Wanying's Birthday Chalet....I think I forgot to mention in my previous posts that she's 6 months pregnant now with her second baby which explains her larger frame in the picture...Father Jack sure is fast with his family planning...

I still find it odd standing next to Anthony(far left in picture)...He used to be my secondary school's star striker when I was in sec 1 and 2 and was the tallest and I would be the second shortest player in the team...Then all of a sudden, the rest of us shot up and he remained rooted down to earth....But his dribbling skills still kept him in the team, albeit on a reserve slot....Actually the coach was a little biased ethnically(that's the politically correct word now eh?) and Anthony really should have been in the first team...I was blessed with a good left foot and because no one else in my school team was left footed, I became an auto selection for left-back and left midfield most of the time....Likewise, I was selected to be a doubles mini-tennis player for my primary school for being a left-handed player...Who said being a leftie was bad huh?....

I watched Shrek the Third with Skanda and Vik today....It isn't as bad as what some people say lah....It just isn't as good as the first two movies but still is worth watching....The part where all the fairy tale princesses sit around having tea reminded me of something....I once asked this person to tell me which princess she would choose to be among all the disney princesses...And I would call her that from time to time...Basically this movie's about Shrek's search for Arthur, who is the King's 2nd choice to take over the kingdom of Far Far Away and his overcoming of the fears of becoming a dad....I'm giving it 3 stars....

Enzamatic Attack...

2007-05-22T04:46:00.000+08:00

George Carlin

I am having a terrible flu!...I can't sleep with all the sneezing...and I'm staying up to do my project instead...Programming is a difficult process with all the blocked nose, phelgm and sore throat!..argh....

Now this reminds me of a George Carlin observation..."Does it surprise you that you don't sneeze while peeing in the toilet?....Ah, the wonders of God!"....He has to be up there amongst the best stand-up comedians of all time...

One of my favourites from his routine is "the stuff". Check out the youtube video....

George Carlin on Stuff

Can you do this kinda weekend?...

2007-05-21T01:56:00.000+08:00

Crazy night out on Saturday with my the secondary school and neighbourhood kakis...Went down to O Bar and it was quite a happening place plus the awful smell of cigarettes....I saw an interesting girl who was doing what she named "the freak dance"...Wish I could've youtubed it with my hp camera but the smoke from the cigarettes won't have you distinguish an Angelina Jolie from an Alien...And why does everyone wear black to pubs?...Is it because they are afraid they'll puke on their clothes?...Do you know that you can have a 78% higher success rate at attracting attention if you wear brighter clothes to a pub?(ya..That was my BS...mmm..or is it?)...We also went down to Krish where I met two ladies with whom I had a decent conversation amidst less noisier settings, and when my friends and I were leaving, one of em asked me for my number and gave me hers...Bhim Boy who was standing next to me was looking at me with wide eyes...haha...But well, I probably won't call...I never do...

I came back at 6.30 am in the morning!...I knew I would do a big K.O. and miss badminton at 10 am if I slept and so I ended up watching the Korean movie Seducing Mr. Perfect, all thanks to Veoh!...The funnies from the tension between the leads and the great chemistry between them is worth watching and this movie is highly reccommended from me...4 stars!...

When I met Henry at his block, instead of walking towards the bus stop as usual, he told me we're taking a different route and then surprised me with his new car, a yellow Jazz and asked me when I was gonna get mine...I simply told him, I'll think about it long after I get attached because I didn't need a car now, and more importantly I wouldn't want a girl to love me just coz I have a car, which means that I could fetch her around from shopping centre to centre like what some idiots out there are doing....AKA free-of-charge chauffeur boyfriends...

After badminton, I certainly had that big K.O....I was supposed to go Downtown East for Jack's wife Wanying's birthday bbq at 5.30pm and had overslept by an hour...So a thirty minute cab ride was endured with a very expletive-happy driver, who had some grudge against passengers who don't talk to him...He even mentioned that some of his colleagues died due to heart attack and squarely blamed it on stress given by passengers...I promptly asked him if he was feeling alright today...He said he felt great because I was a real gentleman and was having a conversation with him(ya right!...)....At this point, I really wanted to use my line, "Sorry, I am not a gentleman...I am a man!" but those heart attack stories kinda kept me in check....The bbq itself was good...Lots of catching up over what's been happening with other friends and a fantastic double chocolate truffle birthday cake!...Damn, I must find out where they bought it...

Just got home some time ago and I am very very tired...but I felt like sharing this bit before going to sleep..Good night!...

My take on the dating process...

2007-05-19T21:16:00.000+08:00

That's how it's supposed to be...easy...simple...That's just not like that with her...It's not easy and on some level, it just has to be easy asking someone out...

I'm single...Maybe that's just who I am...And you know what?...I like being single...Stay out as late as you want...Not needing to answer to anybody...The whole world full of endless possibilities....Not having to go to some farmer's market or undergarment store...

For whatever reason, I thought that night would have been the turning point...That, that was the night my life would begin to make some magical sense...It ended up sitting on the fence...Maybe she needs the time...

Tonight, I'm going out with my friends, and who knows I may hang out with someone beautiful, intelligent, witty and has a great sense of humour...Ah, but that X-factor called chemistry...Seriously, nothing else matters....People, when you find it, try your very best not to let go...Almost rare to come by...Me?....My brain is a little stubborn...I still think of her when I go to sleep now and then...For now, let me psyche up and roll on to the party!...woohooo!....

What will you tell your children?...

2007-05-18T05:46:00.000+08:00

The Cast of How I Met Your Mother
From left: Barney, Robin, Ted, Lily and Marshall

It was really awful after great comedies like Friends and Fraiser ended their run....Nothing that came on the tube after that could sustain my interest for long....That was until I started watching episodes of How I Met Your Mother from my NTU MIRC network....It is absolutely the perfect successor to friends....It's been great watching this show over the last 5 months or so....Basically, the story is told by the father to his two kids in the year 2030, about how he met their mother...I dare say it has the potential to be even better than Friends with its unique show format which features a lot of reverse story telling...They use extensive use of flashback scenes like "3 hours ago"or "2 days earlier" to tell the viewers of the interesting events that lead to the more current predicaments...

The present season has 5 main characters...Ted Mosby(Josh Radnor) is our main man...An architect who believes in finding The ONE or what we call soulmate and every bit of a romantic...His dating adventures or misadventures are a key part of the first season....

Marshall Eriksen(Jason Segel) is Ted's best friend who is a law grad, and is attached to his college sweetheart, Lily Aldrin(Alyson Hannigan)..He loves doin the robot dance and he is very good at all kind of games...Lily is a kindergarten teacher who has deep desires of being a painter some day...These two are like the super lovey dovey couple, who make use of this 'pause' concept to change their state of mind when they are mad at each other..hehe..It's funny when they do it..

Barney Stinson(Neil Patrick Harris) has to be the most hilarious character on this show...He is a womaniser with an arrogant attitude..He likes wearing suits..He is brutally honest with his friends to the point of being cruel...But this is the same thing that endears him to the group...His job is unknown as he always sidesteps any questions regarding his job by answering "Oh please"....And yeah, he is the inventor of what Ted calls the "greatest pick-up line of all time"...

On his search for The ONE, Ted meets Robin Scherbatsky(Cobie Smulders), to whom he accidentally reveals his love for her on their first date...Robin goes on to become his friend instead and joins the rest of the clique...However, it is obvious from the start that Ted and Robin have that connection and this shows through in their attempts to make the other person jealous....She's a journalist...

I always believe that you can find a little of yourself in the character you like the most in a comedy series...When Friends was around, I saw a lot of myself in Chandler Bing and it was proven by a poll I had in a post last year....At first I was not so sure for this show....Then I realised it...I see myself as 70% of Ted and 30% of Barney!....

Let's hope that Channel 5 or StarTV start broadcasting this wonderful series soon...I found two videos that should give you an idea of what the characters are like and what has happened in season 1 already...Enjoy!...

Greatest pick-up line of all Time

Ted and Robin's Story

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini...

2007-05-16T05:49:00.000+08:00

The Kite Runner Cover

Just finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini...It is quite a story....The writer is a Afghan American who migrated to the United States in his early teens with his family just around the time that the communist took over the country...It is very clear from the attention to details, how Hosseini derives a lot of the inspiration for this book from his own experience of life in Afghanistan...He shows the distinctions in social status that was present in his youth; particularly between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras who are treated like lower class....

The story tells how friendship transcends all differences between the son of a rich Pashtun, Amir and his servant's son Hassan who is a Hazara. Yet in a painful kind of restraint, this same friendship goes into hiding when they are faced with the repulsive looks, at each point of the story....When the adults themselves are so immersed in this distinction between classes, it percolates through into the minds of the children too...This creates a certain kind of space between Amir and Hassan when they are in front of others - Amir taking the role of the boss and Hassan, the subservient...

The beauty of the book is that Hosseini brings out the feelings of each character whether it be sorrow or happiness with much depth...There are some scenes which will shock you with their plain ruthlessness!....So be warned....A lot of focus is given to Amir, who has to eventually flee from his life of comfort in Afghanistan, and ends up migrating to America with his Baba(or father) where they are greeted with a change for the worse...a change of fortunes which also greets his own nation...At the back of Amir's mind is whether he will ever find redemption for his lack of respect for his friendship with Hassan...Definitely worth reading...It's filled with iconic moments that are so aplenty in anyone's childhood at the beginning....With the transition to adulthood, there is a sense of honest truth attached to the narration by Amir, and a scent of hope at the end...

*edit* This review has been added to NLB's Highbrowse Online!...

He's got the whole world in his hands...

2007-05-15T05:08:00.000+08:00

Won Oscar for Best Documentary 2004

My weekend was good....Played soccer with my buddies and then caught Born Into Brothels with Siva and his family when he invited me over to see his new place in Clementi on Saturday....It was a documentary and I'd never watched a documentary in a cinema and it was my first movie at Vivocity...Nice seats!!...The show was quite hallucinating with the overt use of handycams and hindi film music, though it did bring out some of the issues that children born to prostitutes in India face...The director of the film tried to use photography as a way of getting the children to be more confident about their abilities and tries to get them to go into boarding schools where they would be safe from facing the painful realities back home....3 stars....

Brought my granny and mum to Sakunthala's Restaurant for Mother's Day, the following day...Actually, I wanted to bring em to Mama Africa Restaurant in Telok Ayer but my granny is so old fashioned that only curried stuff would go down her throat any day...hehe...

Then, I made a trip back to my NTU hostel to pack my stuff out...Ara called me and asked me to teach him how to use MIRC to download movies...That took almost a night!...Weird that in the middle of it all, we started talking about philosophy and life...Quite an interesting chap...Still not totally used to his brand of funny though...He once called a girl "yennadi" in Tamil and she not knowing Tamil, was telling him not to irritate her, whilst laughing about it...I was annoyed because it is really rude to talk to a girl that way and told him to stop it...in Tamil obviously or he'll get one hell of a smack from the girl I suppose...

Since I have been doing a bit of travelling in the past few days, I've noticed that our standard of English in Singpore really needs some improvement...For one, when I asked the taxi driver to go to Clark Quay (pronounced, Clark Key), he asked me back, "Car Kueh ah sir?"..What can I say?...I went along with it..."Yesh ah uncle...Car Kueh!"....Vivian and Andy, my poly club-mates who were seated at the back couldn't stop laughing....Then I saw a mother who was speaking to her 1 year old child whom she was carrying whilst going down the MRT escalator at Outram station..."A is for airloplane...B is for boy..."....Oh my God!...Air-LOplane!!...For God's sake, please stick to A is for apples!....I pity the P1 teachers who are gonna get that kid...

God...He's got the whole world in his hands...doesn't he?...If not for these little differences in all of us, wouldn't it be a bore living life?....

The Most Beautiful Story

2007-05-11T02:34:00.000+08:00

Something dawned on me yesterday and I felt inspired to write....

The Most Beautiful Story

The whole world awaits you...
a prince on his glorious journey...
never hesitate, never give up...
Belief is what you need...

Beware of the demons...
They will come in many disguises...
lust, greed, wrath, pride or even envy...
Bravest of hearts succeed...

There is only one chance...
A single lifetime of achievement...
the moment of truth is approaching...
will you stay and fight on?...

She is yours truely forever...
If you be a man and stand by her...
give her your very best till sunset...
princesses love heroes too...

she may be queer and irate...
but don't mind those little squabbles lad...
she probably feels the same way too...
you and your constant dues...

nothing can be perfect...
if you keep trying, you'll never know...
the most beautiful story ever...
could be heard throughout this land..

It all depends on your endeavour...
and hers too...

Mean-man

2007-05-09T12:48:00.000+08:00

I can be a mean person you know...It's not within my nature to be nice to everyone at all times...Even amongst close friends, they say I can be really mean at times though they've understood it is a part of me...I do try to curb it and I am beginning to find the nicer side of me...I can't be one of those guys who'll try to impress the girls by being super nice or giving lavish gifts....It may make things easier I suppose but wouldn't I be cheating someone by doing so?...mmm....Anyone doing it is surely going to show their true colours later...I'd rather be me and be creative with the surprises I am capable of...I wonder how many guys would answer a girl if she asks "so you think I am pretty?..."...Don't you agree there's a perfect moment for it, when it overwhelms you and you feel like telling it?...Why would a girl be so impatient to find out this?...

Happy Days are here again!...

2007-05-07T06:34:00.000+08:00

After exams on Thursday, I packed my bag and headed down to Pulau Ubin on Friday to do some location survey with my fellow scout leaders for an upcoming camping trip with their boys...Met up with Udaya, Senthil, Jan, Wayne and a couple of other familiar faces at Sin Ming after almost 4 months on Saturday morning for football and Spiderman 3 in the evening...The weekend was rounded up by badminton on Sunday with the secondary school classmates...Shiok!...

One of my friends' revealed to me that he plucked up the courage to ask a girl out in his workplace...All of us at the table where we were having lunch cheered...I mean this is one of the quietest guys anyone would have ever seen...He has a lot of excellent qualities which should easily endear him to most girls but his silent killing is obviously a sticky issue...Out of curiosity, I asked him to describe the girl...."She's quieter than me!", was the reply...No wonder...I think this will force the chap to open his mouth a little more...haha...

"Reading Love Poems" from Webshots

Then he said something very serious...."We spoke mostly about things like work when we went out...I don't know where to bring her out next time..."...Soon, a flurry of suggestions came...Some were a bit odd to me - going on a long walk in the beach or park...How is he gonna get inspired to be interesting in such quiet places when he speaks to the girl?...I thought it'll be more fun having coffee at a cafe and making innocuous comments about unsuspecting people who were zooming past in an area with high mobility....Starbucks at Raffles City springs to my mind now!....When I mentioned poetry, the table kinda went silent...The fellas were like, "That's too difficult man!"....Why not?...Aren't they the words from the depth of your heart and soul, layed out bare in the simplest, sweetest and most sincere way to seduce your darling?...I suppose each and every guy has his own way of wooing the girl who holds the keys to his heart...

Give All to Love - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Give all to love;
Obey thy heart;
Friends, kindred, days,
Estate, good fame,
Plans, credit, and the muse;
Nothing refuse.

'Tis a brave master,
Let it have scope,
Follow it utterly,
Hope beyond hope;
High and more high,
It dives into noon,
With wing unspent,
Untold intent;
But 'tis a god,
Knows its own path,
And the outlets of the sky.
'Tis not for the mean,
It requireth courage stout,
Souls above doubt,
Valor unbending;
Such 'twill reward,
They shall return
More than they were,
And ever ascending.

Leave all for love;—
Yet, hear me, yet,
One word more thy heart behoved,
One pulse more of firm endeavor,
Keep thee to-day,
To-morrow, for ever,
Free as an Arab
Of thy beloved.
Cling with life to the maid;
But when the surprise,
Vague shadow of surmise,
Flits across her bosom young
Of a joy apart from thee,
Free be she, fancy-free,
Do not thou detain a hem,
Nor the palest rose she flung
From her summer diadem.

Though thou loved her as thyself,
As a self of purer clay,
Tho' her parting dims the day,
Stealing grace from all alive,
Heartily know,
When half-gods go,
The gods arrive.

The last training session...

2007-05-01T20:38:00.000+08:00

My beloved Reds are playing Chelski tonight at Anfield in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final....

I feel more confident about their chances this time around than when they last won the Champions League coz the team is simply so much better...I still can't fathom how they did it then but it was magical for them to come back from 3-0 down against Milan in the final...As a true Kopite, I refused to admit defeat when my friend called to taunt me at half time during that eventful 2005 final....However, little did I know what was to transpire after that first half as it has now gone on to be regarded as one of the greatest European Cup finals ever.....

The Champions League Final 2005 highlights...Like a Musical...

They even practiced looking remorseful just in case they lost...
or is it a boy-band dance routine for a goal celebration?...

I just saw pictures of their last training session before the match today on the official Liverpool FC site...Proud of these lads...They beat last year's winners Barcelona when no one thought they could in the second round....Hope they extend this run to the final and maybe we'll meet the old foe, Man United...Some insist on calling them that....I wonder how that shortened form came about...mmm....

Walk on...Walk on...With hope in your heart....And you'll never walk alone!...You'll never walk alone!....

For Whom the Forest?..

2007-04-28T17:25:00.000+08:00

The exhibition poster by Dr. Chatterjea

My Geography tutor, Dr. Chat arranged an exhibition for my Biogeography class and her NTU elective class to show their research project findings on the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve...Come and visit us then ok?...Click on the image to know more...

Heard that quite a number of schools are coming to visit us...I wonder if I'll meet any of my ex-coursemates from the diploma programme...That'll be cool as I've not met some of my own clique since december...It's understandable when they are so busy with their wacky kids in school and I'm here living a working adult's dreams of becoming a student again....Trust me, it is not a dream...It is a nightmare filled with exams, tests, projects and little social life just like any other job...Two more exam papers for me this coming week before I get busy with something else...Holidays!...A welcome change of course....

The Great Spy Experiment

2007-04-22T22:24:00.000+08:00

The lyrics...Don't they mean so much?...

The Great Spy Experiment

Class 'A' Love Affair

what I'd do
just to take you in
you know I'll take you
somewhere deep within
you know I'd die for you
yeah I'd die for you
oh yeah

close my eyes but I can't escape this feeling
your voice is so gentle and appealing

(chorus)
this fire
takes me higher
a bit of desire
I just can't deny
oh wont you
come a little bit closer
and be mine?

heavenly, I draw my puckered lips
so slowly you smother me within

(chorus)
and wont you say you'll be mine
for all time
were gonna take it slower
last a little bit longer
oh yeah

I tried to listen yeah I tried to reason
but this feeling just won't go away
you draw me in so close you burn my skin
but still I turn to you all night and day

turn my back, I can't stop resisting
can't deny this love everlasting
light this love divine constellation
mind my heart, this twisted attraction
taste your sweet release on my fingers
rest my soul but leave me so breathless
God forgive but please don't deny this
so come on, shine on
shine all your love upon us

The Pursuit of Happiness...

2007-04-19T01:14:00.000+08:00

The letter to Voices that made me write this post

Some chap wrote a letter to the Today Voices section and suggested using the Happy Planet Index or HPI to rate our Ministers' performances in his letter dated 13th April 2007 (Click on the picture to read it).... He mentioned that the index is calculated based on the three criteria of life satisfaction, life expectancy and ecological footprint.

I must point out that the ecological footprints criterion used in the index is biased against a nation like Singapore which is totally urbanised with most of its food supplies imported from other parts of the world... Thus, we incur a negatively high score of 6.2 against a world average of 1.5. I also think you cannot forget that the perception of happiness is very subjective for the other two criterion, depending on the aspirations of the society. Would you have been satisfied if 65 % of us were involved with subsistence farming today? Because that is the main economy of Vanuatu, the country that is number one in the HPI...It really depends on what your perception of happiness is, doesn't it?...

Without a strong government which had the foresight to attract foreign investment to aid Singapore's industrialisation and promote economic growth after gaining independence, we would not be the "unhappy" nation we are today; a demanding lot... It is inevitable that in developed societies that some people do get left behind. In countries like the US and Australia, they pamper their citizens with social welfare programmes, which may leave some of them over-reliant on handouts. But in Singapore, the government has much better policies such as the Workfare bonus and CPF to try and keep Singporeans self-reliant... I believe that the Human Development Index used by the United Nations which is a comparative measurement of literacy, standard of living and life expectancy is a far better tool to measure our leaders' performances as it is objective. Singapore is ranked 25th on this index with Norway in first place...

As for the Ministers' pay. how many of us would be willing to join politics for all the brouhaha about the need to be motivated by altruistic values to become a MP in Singpore? Several of the Ministers we have now in Parliament were on Government scholarships when they were younger, especially those with military ranks attached to their names and it simply paved the way for them to come into the PAP when the time was right...So what's the use of opposition MP Sylvia Lim saying that "public service should remain a noble undertaking" when people are not gallantly fighting tooth and nail over the chance to become an MP? (The Taiwanese certainly do..Remember the shoe flying incident in their parliament?).....Even the PAP has mentioned how difficult it is for them to get capable candidates let alone the opposition....The reality is that most Singaporeans have simply become an apolitical bunch...Money seems to matter more because it's been internalised - that kiasu attitude...Ok, I am done...btw did I mention that our PM's current salary is three times that of President George Bush's?...

That boy is hitting fever pitch...

2007-04-17T09:50:00.000+08:00

From Left: Héctor Jiménez, Sanjaya Malakar, Mowgli
Long lost cousins?

And at last I know who that guy whom everybody believes should be out a long time ago in American Idol, Sanjaya Malakar, reminds me of....He looks a bit like the thin fella who acted as the sidekick in Nacho Libre!...He may also pass off as Mowgli I think...I must say, the 17 year old has improved with his confidence and singing as the show has progressed but seriously, he is riding a lot of his luck on the changing personality of his hairness...Or maybe, it's because most of the other contestant are awfully predictable and boring...There is also a story that Sanjaya's continued presence is due to the campaign by Howard Stern, the quirky radio DJ to vote for Sanjaya, in the hope of convincing the producers to end the show forever by making the least worthy singer win....What a plot!...

The Finale...
I bet they felt uncomfortable kissing

I watched The Perfect Catch....I've got two things to mention...No chemisty between the leads, Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore and Fallon is an awful actor....I used to think he could do the crossover to the bigscreen from Saturday Night Live coz he was quite a creative comedian but alas...I can swear this movie would have been a bigger hit if they had gone with Adam Sandler or John Cusack instead....Quite good story nonetheless...Its about a successful businesswoman who falls in love with a guy only to realise that his passion for the Red Sox baseball team is way beyond her wildest imagination...So basically, it's about the giving and taking in a relationship....The story's adapted from the book, Fever Pitch by British Author Nick Hornby....I've read the book before and it's an autobiography of the author and his undying love for Arsenal football club and how it affected his relationship..If you love British humour which comes across in a matter-of-fact manner, then you should check him out...I've seen two other movies adapted from Hornby's writings - High Fidelity and About a Boy and I recommend them highly...Well, much more than The Perfect Catch...

Not a classic at all...It's for that "I am so tired after finishing my final project that I'll watch something" mode...

How long does it take to boil an egg? Revisited

2007-04-14T06:05:00.000+08:00

The Experiement Setup - the egg is held in
place by what else but an egg holder of course!

It seems that some lecturers from the Natural Science and Science Education department in NIE, co-wrote an article with the above title!...When I scanned through their paper, it was full of physics lingo!....Just look at their introductory line!...

"Boiling an egg involves non-steady thermal diffusion where the temperature within the egg is dependent on both time and position, and due to its geometry, an exact solution, if available, will likely have complicated expressions..."

Ok folks, let's get back to the more important matter....How long does it actually take to boil an egg?....According to the experiments conducted using the contraption shown, it was determined that an egg reaches hard-boiled perfection when it is heated under a temperature of 85 ◦C for 750 seconds or slightly under 13 minutes....So there you go....Go and see if it really tastes nice or not...

If you are crazy enough to wanna read their article, their reference is given below.

Buay, D., Foong, S.K., Kiang, D. and Kuppan, L. (2006). How long does it take to boil an egg? Revisited, European Journal of Physics. 27, pp119 - 131

Le Fantôme de l’Opéra

2007-04-11T06:28:00.000+08:00

I had it all planned out...but I guess the surprise I had in store would not be carried out....Hope at least you guys managed to or hopefully will catch the Phantom in action at the Esplanade before he brings the curtains down on his Opera on 13th May....

I remembered this suddenly, because I caught the Man United versus Roma game earlier...Goals galore as Manure won 7 - 1....One of the Roma players, Christian Chivu was wearing a protective mask...Doesn't it look strikingly similar?...

The Phantom has been reincarnated!

The Ethnic Integration Policy in HDB estates

2007-04-04T04:58:00.000+08:00

I just handed in an assignment a couple of days ago about the Ethnic Integration Policy(EIP) in HDB estates for AMX 301, a module on Multicultural Studies...This is one part of that assignment and I felt like sharing it...Bear with some of the chimology...

The EIP currently does not possess the ability to truly integrate our multi-ethnic society. I would like to use Caditz’s (1976) model of four groups which exist in the world of ethnic integration to explain my views – Identified-Associationalists, Identified-Communalists, Assimilated-Communalists and Assimilated – Associationalists.

The Singapore Government’s EIP appears to aim at achieving Identified-Associationalists in our society. These people identify with their ethnic group and interact heterogeneously with other ethnic and religious group members and contact does not preclude identification with one's ethnic group. This group would thrive on the CMIO model, as it internalizes and heightens the notions of race and cultural differences whilst trying to integrate with other ethnic groups. However, with racial and cultural differences clearly marked out, up to even the ‘mother-tongue’ of a ‘race’, the CMIO model has alienated each of the ethnic group from the others and thus reducing the potential of stronger interaction that the EIP was supposed to elicit.

I believe that the next two groups seem to be indicative of the current disposition of Singaporeans. Identified-Communalists do not adopt many of the values, beliefs and customs of the majority group but totally identify with their group in a way that their customs, manners, beliefs and values are distinctive from the majority. They will also have a high degree of insularity along with ethnocentric attitudes. This type of group is very unlikely to exist in Singapore as a result of the EIP. If the EIP had not be implemented, it may have presented itself in the Malay and Indian communities as they do not have the numbers to form the majority group which will influence the values, customs manners and beliefs of the nation but could have chosen to live life within their own ethnic enclaves, and work within that neighbourhood.

Assimilated-Communalists adopt values, beliefs and customs of the majority group and yet still maintain a homogenous set of social relationships. This can be representative of Chinese Singaporeans who may choose to go through their whole life without communicating with members of other ethnic groups and yet form the majority group which happens to determine the values, beliefs and customs of our nation.

According to Caditz(1976), the group most suited to ethnic integration in a cosmopolitan society are the Assimilated – Associationalists. They tend to integrate better, with a lack of ethnocentrism and prejudicial attitude, discrimination, and other social conflicts. They assimilate to the majority group's values, beliefs and customs while not maintaining homogenous ethnic relationships. However, it may also mean a possible loss of their culture in order to accept a more universal idea of integration. Some people may view Eurasians in Singapore as a model of this. Benjamin (1976) noted that the demands of the Singapore national culture that “each ‘race’ have a respectably ancient and distinctive exogenous culture as well as a ‘mother-tongue’ to serve as the second element of a Bilingual education.” has forced many Eurasians to emigrate as they do not possess them. He also states that the strongly institutionalized multiracial model has come across as a suppressive force on any possibilities of a truly non-racial Singaporeaness. I believe this could be the reason for the low level of interracial marriages in Singapore as we are time and again reminded of our different races and cultures but rarely the similarities between us.

In my opinion, interracial marriages are a brilliant catalyst in the integration of various ethnicities as boundaries are crossed and family relations across ethnicities are formed which would increase understanding instead of just tolerance. It may be easy to say that we should do away with the CMIO model in our society in order to increase Assimilated – Associationalists. However, that would only lead to other types of classifications. For instance, those based on socio-economic status.With an increasing number of foreign talents taking up residence in HDB flats, it is going to be a real challenge for the government to sustain the current ideology of multiculturalism, multi-lingualism. multi-ethnicity and multi-racialism and multi-religiosity, as we evolve into a potpourri that could become increasingly too elaborate to be controlled.

Sad Movie!...What a transparent title!....

2007-04-01T02:07:00.000+08:00

The four stories and their main characters in Sad Movie

Ok, I almost shed a tear at the end!...How do I know it was almost when I didn't shed it?...Coz I could feel my heart engulfed by so much sorrow...I can't believe I watched this Sad Movie...It was recommended by Allan...It is the quintessential Korean romance film, which would start off chirpy but end sappy....I'd guess that the director got his inspiration for this movie from Love Actually as there are four stories based on aspects of love - separation, communication and affirmation...

The main story is about a fireman who has been waiting to find the right moment to propose to his girlfriend who doesn't quite feel comfortable about his job...The next is about a disfigured girl working as a mascot at a park, who befriends a young, "cute" painter but refuses to reveal herself to him...The third, involves a chap who has just started an agency to help other lovers break up.But his own love is in danger of failure as his girlfriend wants to dump him for being out of a job for so long....The final story, is a fitting tribute to mothers, centred around a career-minded woman who is finding it hard to cope with her son who is a nuisance in school and she is soon to have the biggest obstacle yet...

The two reasons why this movie comes out looking better than Love Actually is due to the good character development and effortless intertwining of the stories like the way my milk does with my coffee...And Koreans are simply too good at this kinda story-telling...The part that really got to me was the ending...I would usually roll my eyes most of the time if ( yesh if, coz I rarely watch them) I was watching any Korean fare because of their overt melodrama...But for once, this was an ending that seemed almost perfect...

Oh, interestingly, I found out that this movie was released in Singapore as "A Season for Love" around last year's Valentines'!...I wonder how many couples came out of the theatres confused or worse, wanted to find out if a Separation Agency truely existed to enlist their services...

Here's a perk for you people. I managed to find a site like Youtube called Veoh where you may watch this movie with the subtitles!...*cheers*....But you better have broadband...

Love is a bed of roses....Sometimes people forget to mention the thorns...
Only with pain do we learn to truely understand and cherish it even more...

The Toilet Sharers FAQ...

2007-03-28T08:38:00.000+08:00

So I went to apply for the new hostel online just now...Since NTU is using this very new system of allocating the points and the hostel...I had to read up about it...So I went to the FAQ section, and was kinda amused to find the answer for the question below...

Question 23: Save our Toilets!...

Do Hall 1 or Hall 2 people where 2 pairs of room-mates share one toilet and clean it themselves bother so much about this?...mmm....

The Rat Race

2007-03-24T23:41:00.000+08:00

Define your Happiness

I am burned out with the completion of my assignments. Still got another to finish. I found a little bit of time to squeeze in this poem.

The Rat Race

I want to whisper tonight
in your ear, in your dream,
I will be there, to hold you tight

As for how this game plays out
it's a mystery, neither you nor I
may know beyond a shadow of doubt

For now, let's embrace,
free ourselves of the world
Away from the neverending rat race

I am a Singlishporean lah...

2007-03-21T08:22:00.000+08:00

Training to be soldier,
Language of lah-land

I just got a new roomie...His family thought I was from India...I get this in hostel most of the time....Maybe not enough Singaporean Indians in hostel?....Just for fun, I asked why they thought so, and they said, "You don't speak English like a Singaporean. A little too polished"...

So, I must have lahs and lohs peppered all over my English?....mmm...Ok lah...I will up the lohs to satisfy the distinctive hearing of our localites in NTU hostels...Thanks to the training I received during my army days hor, or else I mati ah!....

The rallying is over, and the blood's been spilt...

2007-03-17T12:24:00.000+08:00

Thanks to all those of you who voted in the Youth.SG contest....It was nice to know I was in the top five in the voting all the way and I sure made some friends with other bloggers...Congrats to Crazyhamster , and I wish him the best of luck in the grand finals....At least one of my friends had won the Starbucks vouchers which was superb - Daryl Lim, my secondary school buddy...

NTU was having this blood donation drive...and I decided to go and give blood after almost 6 years of safe-keeping...Thanks to Sharm who mocked me for taking so long to give blood again...She happens to give every 3 to 4 months; she obviously must hate her blood to give it away so often...

Singapore needs an average of
250 units of blood daily

It has changed a lot I must say...The needles looked smaller, the staff were unusually friendly(think coz some donors very demanding, go and complain newspapers that they donate and ppl treat em like crap lah), there were pamplets given out to explain how we should take care of ourselves over the next 2-3 days, and they even gave iron tablets!....I saw Keith from 1st year Geography there...It was kinda nice to make proper acquaintances with him...Happens to be a poly grad like me!...The thing that really struck me after I gave blood and was leaving the premises was this huge banner which said "NTU has about 30,000 students; ONLY 2,780 have donated blood"....

Harry Enfield - Association Football

2007-03-14T04:18:00.000+08:00

Oh you guys should watch the Harry Enfield series!...Here's my favourite...

Look out for the last goal!...

It is Benign...

2007-03-13T11:56:00.000+08:00

This is my 200th post!!...

I just realised an easy way to remember my code..coz one of my friends forgot it, and voted for the wrong person!..hehe.....

B9 sounds like Benign!

Seems there are five ways to interprete it!...

Experts from Dictionary.com say:

Main Entry:
be·nign

Pronunciation:
\bi-ˈnīn\

Function:
adjective

Etymology:
Middle English benigne, from Anglo-French, from Latin benignus, from bene + gignere to beget — more at kin

Date: 14th century

1. having a kindly disposition; gracious: a benign king.
2. showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness: a benign smile.
3. favorable; propitious: a series of benign omens and configurations in the heavens.
4. (of weather) salubrious; healthful; pleasant or beneficial.
5. Pathology. not malignant; self-limiting.

I am a Youth.SG Winning Eleven Finalist!...

2007-03-10T00:08:00.000+08:00

I'm into the final eleven friends!...It's now in your hands to help me win!

The primary school teacher dude!

Please vote for me if you enjoy reading my blog. Tell your chums. Get your whole family in it too, even if it's a baby born this year! Voters stand a chance to win Starbucks vouchers.

You can find the voting form on the right side of my blog. My code is B9. Check out the rest of the Finalists for Round 5 too.

Note: To vote, please include your Full Name, NRIC/Passport Number and Contact Number and your email for verification. To ensure fairness: Votes are restricted to one vote per person per unique NRIC/Passport Number per unique email address - repeated votes will be voided.)

The Caricature of WTC...

2007-03-06T07:23:00.000+08:00

WTC uses his laser pointer to point at a city!

I was very bored during my module on Academic Discourse Skills....Very dry stuff and we were spending 3 hours on analysing texts on matters such as how the writers' made their points in each section and why they were doing in such a way...blah blah blah.....My tutor is good but there wasn't anything inspiring me to learn yesterday...

I couldn't take it at one point, as I was falling asleep...Suddenly I started drawing a caricature of my Geography tutor Dr. WTC(No, it doesn't stand for World Trade Centre) as we call him...Kalps, Adeline and I agreed that we wish we had him this semester for one of our modules...He certainly made a lot of effort to improve his PowerPoint slides since our Diploma days and it was a joy to learn under him last semester...Moreover, he teaches two areas of geography that I enjoy reading about- urbanisation and globalisation issues....

He's away on a three-nation trip for some research project...So we'll have to wait till next semester to opt for any of his modules...

I Am @ Youth.SG

2007-03-03T07:17:00.000+08:00

Well, I definitely would love to win a 30GB Apple iPod in this I am @ Youth.SG - Blogging Contest...It would be real neat if I did, as it is in my top 10 list of things I hope to get one day...Here goes my attempt...

I know that several friends who are girls in NIE (It’s “National Institute of Education” and not “Not Intelligent Enough” ah!), like telling me that I should find a girlfriend soon coz I’m “not getting any older you know”….But God, I am only 26 going on 27...I sure feel young…Maybe girls could feel this biological clock ticking much more than guys do…But then, the article below suggests otherwise...

No joke...It's official Census leh

An ongoing process in the life of a Teacher?

I suppose that my role as a primary school teacher would only serve to increase this feeling of youthfulness...We are surrounded by an eternal fountain of kids…I say, we teachers are like some Teacher Idol contestants…We get judged by our students…Either you’re popular or you’re not…And don’t forget, all our voters are younger than Singapore Idol voters (Of course, I didn’t count those kids who got past their parents to illegally dial those 1900 numbers)…

Well, that’s another facet of a youth in Singapore, ain’t it? All the Above 21, RA, M18, NC-16 and tons of other age limits we have….As youngsters we consider them our Berlin Wall which prevent us from growing up as fast as we would like to…Unless, you don’t mind trying doing something stupid and getting your ass kicked by your parents or the police…But let’s face it…As youths, most of us would take a dare if it was exciting enough….

Thank God, I don't have to bother with these ratings anymore

Being a youth in Singapore definitely means being so super IT savvy than the mortals whose love produced yours truly…Ok, maybe at least good enough to surf the internet, use the IRC, MSN, Blog and have a Friendster account to connect with your ex-schoolmates…It seems like the digital age is truly alive in schools too….I found it amazing that many students in my practicum school had an msn account…I was bombarded by messages from my students ever so often after I left the school…Seems as if the MOE IT Masterplan is bearing so much fruit...Only not edible one...

The IT future looks ummm...bright?....

I wonder if the future youngsters in Singapore, in about 50 years time, may look back and say, “They were so primitive in carrying big bags full of books when everything could be accessed at the touch of a button on a pocket-size foldable electronic device, which has multiple functions such as a video recorder, camera, handphone and computer with a slot to upload the day’s lessons when the teacher walks into the class”….Or maybe they may even learn from home at their own time own target(O.T.O.T they call it in the army) on their individual personal computers…

I recall a time, when being a youth in Singapore meant, doing the Great Singapore Workout in school to the tune of a video presentation in the hall….Painfully nostalgic! In no other country could you see all the ministers wearing funny tennis shorts and t-shirts and joining a mass group of people in promoting a national aerobics programme!....1,2, 3 4…Now turn left and…dee..dee..dee…I suspect it has been now taken over by a better programme called the Great Singapore Sale which gets us to go weight-lifting on the move!...

The Great Singapore Workout Ad in 1993

Oh, I did forget to mention that uniforms...yesh uniforms are what every single youngster would have had a whole lot of youth time spent in....At least up till you were 16 or 17....Here's a poem I wrote just after entering poly...But I suppose I wrote it too soon, as I realised I still had uniforms to contend with in the Army just three years later!....

Uniforms
wearing dovey white shirties..
with checkered red shorties..
i was growing up in Kindergarten..just too blur..
maybe the distractions of cats' purr..

just 2 years passed and there i was..
always dirty and needing a wash..
oh Bendemeer...what a world it was..
bend the corner of Serangoon and there she was..
a strange boon to many tiny green elves..
where life revolved around ourselves..
then came a time to part..
and Montfort took over my heart..

all boys domain..
oh what a bane..
playful nature still intact..
i was growing by the stack..
quiet boy was a surprise remark...
given by a form teacher who used to bark..
blue and white...colours I always longed to wear..
sadly quite a common sight I swear...

along came poly..and took me a while..
to choose my clothes from a pile..
thoughts of regret loomed over my mind..
weren't those the days..i started to pine..
now when do i wear a uniform again?..

Right now, I can imagine how surprised some of the Youth.SG readers would be, when they realise that they have teachers amongst them too…haha…Rock on people…I gotta go...Wait a second.....I feel a little patriotic now....Mahjulah Singapura!...

The Free Newspaper Story

2007-03-02T11:48:00.000+08:00

Nantha told me about his harrowing experience in getting his daily free news spread at the MRT station a few days ago...He went up to the lady giving out the paper, and tried to take a copy from her, only to find her refusing to give and pulling the paper back...He used all his might and after a short ordeal, got his crumpled paper....Muttering, "Mad woman!" under his breath, he proceeded to walk away and read the headlines...Nothing made sense to him...You know why?....It was a new free newspaper called, My Paper in Mandarin!.....

Lesson learnt : Time to take Mandarin lessons if you still want to hide your face from others on the train with a free newspaper...

Versions of Rumi...

2007-02-27T06:49:00.000+08:00

13th Century Persian Poet, Rumi

"They try to say what you are, spiritual or sexual?
They wonder about Soloman and all his wives.

In the body of the world, they say, there is a soul
and You are That.

but we have ways within each other
that will never be said by anyone..."

"At night we fall into each other with such grace.
When it's light, you throw me back
like you do your hair.

Your eyes now drunk with God,
mine with looking at you,
one drunkard takes care of another..."

Rumi

I told you so....

2007-02-26T19:53:00.000+08:00

The Lives of Others won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film!....

This week is quite hectic...I've to attend make up for 2 lessons on Monday and Wednesday, go to Bukit Timah hill on Friday and finish a Group Presentation with my mates, which is on Monday...Yesh, I also got those CCA stuff, other assignments and a friend's ROM to attend to as well...Like some of my friends would say, "Jia Yo!"...haha....

Well, my roomie's left for his practicum and it seems I'll have the whole place to myself from now on till the end of the semester!....

Fire in the Belly by Sam Keen

2007-02-24T00:23:00.000+08:00

Fire in the Belly Cover

I've been reading Fire in the Belly by Sam Keen for the past 3 weeks and it has been quite a great read. Keen meanders through the ideas of what it was being a man in the ages before the world began a rush towards the women's movement, globalisation and more peaceful resolutions than wars which pretty much changed the ideology of how someone is judged to have reached manhood...Together with growing divorce rates and abandonment of familes by fathers, it has resulted in a new generation of men who so-called are lost with the know-how of reaching the true and deeper meaning of being a man...

It's very philosophical indeed. You may not agree with everything he has said, but Keen's experiences through his growing years and some of the sharp advice he gives about relationships and facing our fears kept me amazed with his profoundness.

I wouldn't say that it is a complete wikipedia to the idea of how to be a man. It doesn't exactly teach you that but brings you through a lesson of inferencing, and making your own idea of the what it means being a man...I must say that it is rather hard for guys to find books on self-improvement for themselves, as compared to ladies who seem to have tons of advice dished out in books all year round....The great thing about this book is that Sam Keen doesn't try to be too one-sided, and has some observations about women that they may find positively interesting too...

The Lives of Others

2007-02-20T17:26:00.000+08:00

Ulrich Muhe In the Lives of Others as Cpt. Wiesler

I went to review this movie last Thursday with Sharmala, and both of us were pleasantly surprised with how creative and fresh the script was....

The Lives of Others does come across as dull and boring with all the greys and greens that showcase East Germany in the 80s before the fall of the Berlin Wall...But I was blown away by some of the wittiness in the dialogues and especially the unexpected ending.....And moreover, it is Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Film in addition to a number of other awards it has already received...Highly recommended with a rating of 5 out of 5 stars...I am rooting for this movie to win at the Oscars...

Quaying on Chinese New Year

2007-02-18T19:02:00.000+08:00

I went clubbing on Chinese New Year's eve...Boat Quay and Clark Quay sure have changed...The most interesting place was this C Clinic, where the whole place was designed like some hospital ward with drips and all to drink from...The only irk was that some of siva's friends were as late as 3 hours....I know I'll never go out with those chaps if I know they were the ones planning next time...

I saw Kumar at Chillies!...Ok, I went up to him or is it her and asked if I could conduct an interview about homosexuals in Singpore with him/her for my NIE module and the reply was, "I'm all woman darling, and you've got some balls to ask me that. Sorry but I can't help unless"..*eyes rolling"*..The people around him/her started laughing along....Then I was like, "I can't offer anything in return but any of my friends' numbers back there"(pointing towards the oblivious guys who were dancing at one corner)...He/she started laughing and said that she/he was not at all interested to take part in the interview...well I tried...Then when I turned and walked, I realised I wasn't too comfortable talking to someone with all that crossdressing stuff and heavy make-up....Is that discrimination?....mmm...

Oh, some girlfriend of Siva's wife was celebrating her birthday at Bumble Beez with their fellow colleagues and she gave me her number!...She was pretty nice but...sorry lady, I am not gonna call you loh...Smoking turns me off...Now, that's discrimination but in all fairness, I don't want to go out with a girl who smokes when I don't smoke....

The Valentines' Day Article

2007-02-14T23:48:00.000+08:00

I just read the article below in the Today Newspaper about relationships. Maybe it's the humour that is mentioned in the article. Well, more like sarcasm and irritating the hell out of one another. There's some pretty good advice in this article, for whoever doesn't like living alone or wants to improve their relations.

Don't take yourself too seriously!

Here's love advice from two who would know: Bill and Pam have been together for 27 years

Coffee With: Bill and Pam Farrel, both 47, relationship and marriage educators, bestselling authors, and founders of Masterful Living, a non-profit organisation that helps build successful relationships

Consider this our Valentines' Day gift to you singles, hitched or (hopefully not) ditched. Last Saturday, speakers Bill and Pam finished a gruelling 9am-5pm seminar here in town, but Winson Teo (winson@mediacorp.com.sg) wasn't going to let them leave without first dispensing more golden words of wisdom.

After all, if a couple that's been teaching about togetherness for the 27 years of their married life doesn't make the best relationships gurus around, who else would?

One of your bestsellers is Single Men Are Like Waffles, Single Women Are Like Spaghetti. Why the fascination with food?

Bill: (Laughs) Guys just have a thing about food that connects with who they are, so we figured that men would understand our analogy of food. Like the many "boxes" on a waffle, men operate by putting things into "boxes" and handling one thing at a time. The same goes with spaghetti: Women tend to connect all their thoughts together, just like how the noodles on a plate are connected.

Pam: In Singapore, you can see waffles and noodles every day, so you'd be easily reminded!

You mentioned that humour is important to a relationship …

Pam: Our study of couples happily married for over 25 years had humour ranked as the second-most needed thing for a happy marriage. As couples, we should take our vows and commitments seriously but we shouldn't take ourselves so seriously! If we can't laugh at ourselves, it can put too much pressure on our relationship.

Bill: One of the troubles we see people have is everybody's looking for the perfect relationship, which is impossible because everybody says and does stupid things. There is this side to a relationship that is like a game; humour gives the parties involved permission to enjoy the game.

You mentioned that healthy relationships are usually well defined. Does it mean that many unhealthy relationships are ill-defined?

Bill: Yes. People tend to make commitments that go beyond the definition of their relationships, like getting "physically connected" before they are ready. One party may think it's friendship while the other thinks they're going towards engagement, leading to confusion in the relationship. But when two people define their relationship properly, they both know what the expectations are.

Pam: And a couple can't read each other's minds, so they have to verbally define their relationship.

Isn't it overly technical (and ridiculous) if couples have to analyse every issue that crops up? How much "analysing" is too much?

Bill: If every time you get together you have to analyse something, then it's too much. For the issues that come up, if you can't laugh at any of them, it's too much. If every date turns into a big question, it's too much.

Pam: And if every phone call starts with: "We have to talk …", it's too much.

Bill: A regular dating relationship requires an evaluation maybe once a month. If it happens more than once a month, the couple is overworking the relationship. The other danger sign is when a couple makes a decision but have to talk about it again and again. A bad habit is formed where the couple seem like they're making decisions when they aren't.

Pam: Sometimes you just need to enjoy the company of the other person. If you keep analysing it, pretty soon you won't have anything left to enjoy.

There are singles who worry about their biological clocks ticking away. Is there hope for the singles out there?

Pam: Yes, there is. I think most singles could find the love of their life if they make it a higher priority. Singles lead religiously isolated lives; work takes a lot of time and sometimes family, too. So, I think singles who want to get married have to say to themselves: "This year I want to make relationships a priority." In our travels, we've met so many amazing quality singles out there, sometimes, we wish we could just hook someone from Norway up with another person in Singapore.

Bill: The challenge is the older you get, the more opinionated you are. You have to manage those opinions. Since everybody comes with their own quirks and flaws, you have to manage your expectations well if you want to get into a relationship when you're an older single. But it can happen. The beauty of being older is you know pretty quickly if someone is right for you and a relationship can develop quite fast. In six months, you could go from whining about singlehood to finding someone to love.

How do you usually celebrate Valentine's Day?

Pam: We have a certain tradition where we'll do cards for one another and we usually do some things that you cannot write in the newspaper! We also have our favourite spots and romantic restaurants in several different cities, because as marriage educators, we're never sure which city we're going to end up in. This year, we're going to end up in Chicago where we'll go to one of our favourite fondue restaurants.

Bill: One of the things I started doing a long time ago was buy Pam a pair of pyjamas every Valentine's Day because I want her to know: "I'm interested in you".

Most guys would rather buy lingerie!

Pam: (to Bill's laughter) He means lingerie.

Bill: It's my way of saying to her: "You are my only sexual partner and I will always consider you that."

Karnan son of Sargunan?

2007-02-10T11:27:00.000+08:00

If I had a son, I would love to name him, Karnan...It's a name that's crops up on my mind now and then....Perhaps due to the reruns of the classic 60s Sivaji Ganesan movie of the same name from time to time....Beyond that, after reading the full Mahabharatam epic by the time I was 20, it made me feel even more convinced that he epitomises how a man should be....Fearless, ambitious, confident and most of all, a sense of loyalty and generosity to those in need...To me, he was the real hero of the epic...Not the Pandavas nor Krishnan could hold a candle to him...

I have seen people in Singapore struggle with my name, and miss out the R, and pronounce it as "Sa-gunan" and some of my friends in poly, truncated it to "Guna"....Still not so bad, as it maintained an Indianess to it...I wonder if a son of mine would suffer the same fate, and be called, "Ka-nan" and de-de-de, it becomes another Indian name!...

Apocalypto

2007-02-04T10:41:00.000+08:00

This movie made my day yesterday!...Mel Gibson obviously took a great risk in making this movie in a language probably only people with Mesoamerican roots could decipher....You could compare this movie to The Fugitive, albeit with a little less complication in the story and a lot more pace and excitement in the chase...We don't really get to see this sort of raw deal in movies nowadays and it came across as refreshing...

Apocalypto is set around the plight of the Mayan civilisation just before the Spanish invaders arrived....The Mayan rulers resort to capturing people for sacrifice ceremonies to appease the Gods, and grant them rain for their crops....Our hero, Jaguar Paw, manages to hide his pregnant wife and son inside a dry well before being captured...The rest of the story tells us of how he escapes the clutches of his captors to get back to his family by following 3 simple rules which have been the hallmark of every Survivor series: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast!...

My verdict?...All 2 hours and 15 minutes...Worth it!...I felt that the actors although unknown, were very convincing in their roles..Good cinematography and a chance to "look" at a civilisation that we only read in the books....But you won't learn a much greater deal about the Mayans than just that, the looks, as Apocalyto relies on a lot of violence and works up the cringes with scenes such as a spear piercing a man through his skull and coming out of his mouth....I know the historians are unhappy over the inaccuracies of this film, but that's Hollywood, ain't it?....4.5 stars out of 5!...

One tiny problem I had after the movie was this....There was an idiot who was talking loudly on his handphone at the urinal next to mine....As I washed up, I told Siva, "Sometimes, I wish I could piss in peace..." - Loud enough for someone to hear....

Farewell to my National Stadium...

2007-01-30T23:46:00.000+08:00

I've bought my new handphone at last!....Well, it's actually second-hand with 8 months of warranty left...A Samsung X680 which I bid for in Yahoo Auctions...Took me about a day to get used to the user interface and had some initial problems with the sms function....But now, I am ready to swing around town with my black beauty...

Celebrating the penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 scoreline

Singapore's in the final of the ASEAN Cup!...Yeah!....I took the opportunity to support the Lions for the last time at the National Stadium against Malaysia on Saturday along with Udaya, Jan and Jia Yi....Missed going for sell-out matches like this....I hope the new Sports Hub they'll be building to replace the stadium will be fully sheltered coz we had to bear with a short drizzle just before the match....Next up is Thailand in the finals...Let's make Tom Yam out of them Lions!...

I used my Armortec racket on Sunday when I played with my sec. sch buddies...wah!...I love the extra control over the offensive shots...After all that fun, I had to rush through my assignments, one of which was non-school related - a review of an upcoming French movie, A Comedy of Power...Actually, that last bit was fun too...

Serendipity, The Sweetest Thing, The Wedding Planner....All of these movies have something in common with what is going on in my life now....She has already given up her neutral disposition when she sms-ed, "so are you sure i'm not your type?"...Amazingly, this was after we had argued...I have seen the process of how altercations get resolved as a sure way of seeing how a relationship would work out...So I'll give a huge tick for that category....She's made it hard for me to answer with a YES for the question....It might be you after all...I went out with an interesting girl last week but I thought of you when I was in the train, on the way back...We'll see where this takes us....

I am an Armortec Man...

2007-01-21T06:45:00.000+08:00

My Samsung handphone's going through a painfully slow death...Works for a few hours before going through this low, medium, full, low, flat indication of battery power.....Been looking at 2nd hand handphones that are available on the internet and around Hougang...Haven't decided on one yet...Considering getting something that I can use for 6 months and sell again or one that's very cheap and simple without a camera, which I can use for my in-camp trainings...

Saturday's been quite a fast one, I travelled back home for a game of badminton in the morning before going down to Queensway in the noon with Henry and Defa to get myself a good racket...They wanted to get new shuttlecocks and shoes...I knew it was about time I threw away my awfully heavy racket and got something better...But I didn't expect myself to get a Yonex Armortec 150!...Anyway, it was a good deal...The racket was already discounted from a original price of $159 to $99...I then asked the guy to cut it down to $89 and he agreed...maybe too readily?...Should have bargained some more lah...

We headed towards IKEA for lunch, and scouted around for a bed for Defa's new place...In the midst of all that, we started to rate the beds and sofas, which appealed to us....Why?...They are the two most important things you'll need when you buy your own house...I don't know about you people, but I am crazy over leather sofas!...

On the way back, I saw this interesting 7-8 year old kid, who got up to the 2nd deck of the bus, and started a conversation with this flat-topped, bespectacled, rolly polly twins who were about 1-2 years older than she was....When her dad called out to her to come down as their stop was nearing, the girl said, "shhh...I am talking something important here"..After a few minutes of the "something important" conversation, she bid adieu to the boys with such innocence "Goodbye boys, I'll see you again!"....She made me smile...How often do we actually see kids with such confidence, who speak to total strangers and at the same time, have the hope and belief that they'll meet those strangers again?....

My brother, the Guardsman!...

2007-01-13T05:39:00.000+08:00

The Customary Family Photo in the Mess

My brother's passed out of the Guards Conversion Course!....I think it was a kind of relief for all of us....For my mum and granny, the worries of him getting injured or worse...For me and sometimes my sister, the amount of whining which annoyed us whenever he came home from training on weekends, during the past 5 weeks....

I had to rush to Bedok Camp II from NIE on Thursday evening after classes for his parade and kept dozing off on the train ride...It was pouring when I got down at Tanah Merah station, and as expected, the parade was cancelled and we had to watch the beret and badge awarding ceremony in their hall...My brother was pretty disappointed about the rain and lamented about how it was like that during his BMT passout too!....But I'm sure he's glad his trainee days are over and now can be a little more relaxed in his role as a GPMG commander...

The Match

2007-01-09T21:41:00.000+08:00

I received an email from tickle test 2 weeks ago...Some free report on a Zodiac Match Test I did way back in February last year!....I almost forgot about it till I started deleting unwanted email messages on my gmail account....I barely know what my star sign encompasses.....So I decided to check it out...Ended up being an awfully detailed report about why I am suited to certain stars....Was an interesting read but I shall not bore you with those details....

The email gimmick they sent me

My Compatibility with other Signs

The master of our destiny...

2007-01-07T21:36:00.000+08:00

You know what....I wish there were less religious people...Here our government is encouraging racial and religious tolerence and harmony but I realise a lot of the efforts are superficial and just a facade to some....The matter of my discontent is about some idiot who without batting an eyelid said, "Why are you praying to idols who are made of statues?"....I promptly proceeded to rip that person's ass worth of pride...

Isn't the majority of our world's problems because of religions?....I don't give a damn about the pope, fakirs or any guy born 2007 years ago....The God that really exists is within us coz you, my friend are the master of your destiny....Your hope that speaks in your mind is the God you mask in different guises -Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and so on....Wonder if I'll create some cyber-hullabaloo with this post...

Alright folks...I've gotta go...Going back to hostel after almost 2 weeks....Hope I have a smooth 1st day of school tomorrow...You too have a great week ahead...

Ashoka lah

2007-01-03T22:25:00.000+08:00

I went to the proverbial clubbing spot during my NYP days after almost 3 years...The place had changed from Kallang Leisure Park Mall to somewhere in Balestier....bigger dance floor, with the still well-known range of Indian remix music, peppered with English hiphop and R&B tunes here and there....Oh, they still have the live band!!...And I bumped into Subra, one part of my NYP musketeer clique and his girl....The thing is I was tricked into going!!...

Siva told me that there was a birthday celebration for his brother, on Jan 1st night into the actual birth date itself.....I was up for it since its been ages since I saw Guru and Pala....Then he messaged me, "wear socks and shoes..we are bowling before the celebration".....Smelling nothing amiss, I went down to wait for Pala and Siva to pick me up before heading towards Guru's place....Guru came on board, and then said, "Hey Guna, I've never been with you to this place eh?".....My eyebrows twitched...."What place?", I asked..That was the moment of truth...

Siva gave me that sly look....Pala and Guru looked like innocent sheep....Siva tried to explain to me that he knew I wouldn't come if he had said we were going Ashoka coz I maintained a policy of not going clubbing since I entered NIE...I didn't speak at all, keeping a pissed face all the way to the place....Damn, I couldn't resist once we got inside....Missed the good ol days....But I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon....School's starting next week!...argh...

2006 songs on a 2007 morning

2007-01-01T10:57:00.000+08:00

Happy new year people!...Two 007 has come and let's all do our best to make it as memorable as possible. Go buy your dream car or if you are of the adventurous sort, break a leg or two!....

I've just picked out 10 songs I would rate as some of the more memorable ones I'd been listening to last year on my laptop and put em on my music player...Not a simple task to choose...After much deliberation I decided to go for musical and lyrical qualities and gave some benefit of doubt for newer bands/singers....So that pretty much left singers like Sean Paul or Timberlake out of this ten coz they were singing songs the same way they were singing em in 2005!...Maybe they change a word or two lah...Like, from butt to tail feather or from uh to duh?...I'm going back to sleep....Still haven't recover from yesterday's partying...

The 2006 Ten
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
My Chemical Romance - Welcome To the Black Parade
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
Avril Lavigne - Keep Holding On
John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change
The Fray - How To Save a Life
The All-American Rejects - Move Along
Shakira feat Wyclef Jean - Hips Like That

New Year Resolutions

2006-12-29T17:01:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I blogged....Was pretty caught up with the deadline of a part-time project I was doing for a IT firm...and of course buying gifts for friends and visiting them for Christmas...And yesh!...There's another I'll like to add here - the accomplishment of last year's resolution...

It's funny how we often talk about new year resolutions around this time....Most of the time we barely achieve them...I suppose it is a kind of belief that you would somehow get around to it with a sense of guilt....I have not had the time to visit my granny so much this year....Well 3 months of hiatus enjoying herself in India this year didn't help that cause....Of course, settling down to the task of doing more than 1 geography module was a chore in itself.....I think I somehow managed to achieve last year's resolution of spending more time with my granny just near the end of the year...I've been visiting her twice a week since the holidays started....She's a genius to me and she always denies it by saying she doesn't know anything just cause she doesn't speak English...She speaks fluent Malay without formal learning and is able to dish out the unexpected funny one-liners with a dead-pan expression...

You must be thinking what will be my next year's resolution?....I haven't thought about it....Maybe I'll just follow my heart and do what feels right instead of relying on a resolution....How about that?...

I love the rain the most....when it stops....

2006-12-22T23:33:00.000+08:00

The results were out earlier than expected.....I had a call from a belle informing me about it and I couldn't stop thinking about my grades till I got home later in the afternoon....

I've got that "shit hit the fan" feeling now...All my As turned out to be A-....For the first time I've had so many - in my grades since the new grading system was introduced about a year ago...and they count towards the GPA!...I am very disappointed...I will get over this after today.....There's no way will I settle for such poor grades next semester......I'll be back for Round 2......My sunshine will return...

Funny thing is some people on msn thought I failed I think....A few of them came and try to "tell"me the grades were out....Then when I replied "ya, I know"....There was a long pause before they went like "Cool!" or "Hope you did well".....I don't understand how some people are so eager to find out the grades of people they don't share ice-creams with....After all, I usually share my grades with the few people I trust...

I had spent the day at East Coast Park, cycling, bowling, and chilling out with Udaya, Chris and Max....Chris introduced us to this interesting Japanese lass, by the name of Mitsuko who was studying in his University in Perth....She was stopping over for a short holiday in Singapore...She spoke fluent English!...*hit myself on the head*...No stereotyping Sargunan!....Well, the fact that she's a English major was self-explanatory to that matter....It sure was a fantastic day until I got home and I'm glad in a way for that....

Now, I really need some sleep...Hope that most, if not all of those who've seen their results are satisfied....Otherwise, just work harder and don't compare your grades with others...Bien la nuit!...

Bollywood TV

2006-12-20T07:53:00.000+08:00

I remember playing with this stuff some years ago when Fanta.dk came out with an ingenious idea to make our own subtitles for foreign films and send the links to our friends...Looks like it is no longer around, but I still found an adequate version of it. Bollywood TV!...Check out my subtitles, create your own ones and send it to your friends...Something lame yet fun, for possibly another long day of rain...

Just read ChannelNewsAsia.com....Looks like yesterday may go down as one of those days with the highest ever rainfall in Singapore....McRitichie Reservoir couldn't hold it together and broke its banks!...

Noise vs Sound of Music...

2006-12-19T15:30:00.000+08:00

Interim Upgrading Programme my foot!...More like Interim Irritation Plan!....The noise of the construction work woke me up at 9am, and my ear drums aren't gonna get any relief anytime till at least about 5pm I think...Then I have the wonderful rain which would have been the superb accompaniment to a snooze...What an irony...

I've found something that has been keeping me a little busy for the past 1 hour......Mr Brown has a Guess that Show Contest going on. Just download his podcast and listen to all the 25 tracks and guesstimate which TV show each one belongs to. It is so so easy - not!....I couldn't remember some of the shows although the tune was familiar!!...argh...I found the names of 11 of em so far...Thank God for the invention of surround sound Philips headphones, I can still hear beyond the noise going on around my place...

Monday Blues?...Nah....

2006-12-12T10:31:00.000+08:00

I decided to get out of the house on Monday....Stuck to the plan with my buddies...Movie outing with Udaya and Jan brought us out to the Jubilee Theatre in Ang Mo Kio for Déjà Vu (seen this word before?)....The movie tried to combine science fiction with terrorism, and somehow for someone who knows a thing or two about time travel and its logics, their explanation of how they intended to transport the guy back in time was ridiculous!...3 out of 5 for the spectacle of explosions and fast pacing....I know I know, the Jubilee Theatre is kinda old but it has those large comfy seats, big screen(unlike most multiplexes) and high slope along with the rather small crowd, which makes it perfect to enjoy a movie....

We headed towards the Tip Top Curry Puff stall at the Coffee Shop right next to the theatre once we had finished the movies...Its been ages since I had them...Tastes much better than Old Chang Kee...Used to cost only 70 cents per piece when I was in poly a few years back, and now it was going for a buck....Who cares as long as it tastes great right?...And it goes hand in hand with coffee!...

After that, I had to zoom along the North-South line to Dhoby Ghaut...I had won preview tickets to a new movie that is about to come out....School of Scoundrels...Met up with Jose, and I think it was the right fella to hang out with for this movie...He was the first person who got back to my sms coz he knew about the movie and had wanted to watch it...I'll give this movie 3.5 out of 5.....Funnies aplenty but story is pretty standard....

Today, I'm doing my part for charity...Helping my sister to transport some presents from her hospital to this home in Sembawang which shelters the kids of parents who are in prison...I enjoy spending some time with these kids...Something more worthwhile than just dropping some coins in the donation boxes...Would you prefer your loved ones to buy you an expensive present while they disappear on long engagements? Or would you prefer them to be conversing and listening to you, if they could try to get some break from that engagement?....Think carefully...

The eyesore on V.Central

2006-12-11T23:34:00.000+08:00

As if it was not bad enough to be stuck at home over the weekend with a bad ankle injury, I had to bear with some terrible movies on Vasantham Central too...As it is, I barely watch much Indian films, coz many of them are rip-offs of some other film in Hollywood or other parts of India...So imagine the cases of déjà vu that often occur...Thankfully some good movies are still out there, probably reserved for the public holidays usually....

I suspect the theme for last weekend was all about people who are too obsessed with someone AKA psychos...Two movies about people who get too crazy about someone who is already happily married!!...wtf!...I mean why try to create trouble for someone you so called love if they are happy?...Guess these two movies aren't my cuppa tea...

Kalaaba Khadala

Saturday, 9th December@ 10pm

There is always a dark allure to the forbidden. Its seductive attraction is magnetic. This special charm, as manifested in a woman coveting for his sister's husband, is the essential theme of Kalaba Kadhalan. Akhilan (Arya), a city slicker and a software pro to boot, goes to a village in Tirunelveli to pick a bride for himself. He marries Anbarasi (Renuka Menon), a typical wide-eyed, impish belle. It is all fun and frolic for the couple. Enter Kanmani (Akshaya), sister of Anbarasi. She comes to the city to pursue her studies. But it is Akhilan whom she ends coveting for. she pines for him. It is love and lust at is best and worst. And when Anbarasi is in the family way, Kanmani becomes bolder and opens her mind to Akhilan. He is stunned. But Kanmani wants him at any cost. Akhilan is her object of obsessive desire. Anbarasi doesn't know what is happening behind her back. Kanmani schemes and plots to get her man. Does she manage to?

Chellamae

Sunday,10th November@ 3pm

Cast : Bharath, Vishal, Reema Sen

Vishal an Income tax officer raids the house of Girish Karnad, a business man, where he meets Reema Sen, Girish's neighbour. He falls for her. Vishal gets married to Reema and moves to Goa, much to the dismay of Bharath, Girish's son. Bharath is attached to Reema Sen. His attachment turns into an obsession and kidnaps Reema Sen. The rest of the narration is about how Reema Sen escapes from the clutches of Bharath.

I've been hearing a lot of good reviews about the Hindi movie Dhoom 2 and Kamal's latest offering Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu....Crime movies which borrow much from western movies in terms of style but with a little originality....Maybe they might provide me a little respite from boredom...

Never Admit

2006-12-10T05:05:00.000+08:00

Sanity is a state of mind that only lasts till the heart takes over...Don't you agree my friends?....

Never Admit
If I had a moment's grace to be
alone and to hear the calm sea
I still hear in a faraway distance
your voice inside my head, amusing me

I could see the sandy beaches, summer trees,
and those blue skies but much more to my glee
nothing else makes my heart skip a beat
like when I see your face again, finally

I still lead my life in a pretty normal way
But somehow, the times with you really make my day
I'd never admit this but I truely mean it
when I secretly say, I miss you so much when you're away

Johari Window/ LOST in NIE

2006-12-08T17:22:00.000+08:00

Barbecue at Dr. Chatt's residence was cancelled today....Quite a last minute cancellation....But, I doubt if I could have made it...I twisted my ankle whilst playing soccer at the St. Wilfred's 7-a-side pitch yesterday....A sudden change of direction from the right to the left, was too fast for my left ankle...

Spent the rest of today resting...Ice packs and bandages limiting my movement and boredom is reigning...So this has presented me with an opportunity to try out this thing called the Johari Window. It's a tool for people to understand their personal understanding of interpersonal communication relationships. If you are a friend of mine or someone who thinks they know me well enough, please do click the link below to click on the 5 or 6 words you associate with me :

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Sargunan

The ULEAD Video editing course on Monday and Tuesday weren't that exciting but I made some new friends. My team members were all from different courses. Monday was taken up just to come up with a simple storyboard which should ideally be 2 minutes and video-recording. Tuesday was all about learning to use ULEAD software and putting in some individual flair and creativity into our short movies...Just uploaded my video onto Youtube....Nothing spectacular given the short 5 hours given to complete it....Hope you like it!...

LOST in NIE

Wedding Planners

2006-12-03T23:23:00.000+08:00

Had a rocking good time at Dominic's wedding on Saturday...The army buds reunion, and it meant that I could dispense with censoring myself a little...hehe...Interestingly not only was the venue the same as for Zaneth's wedding, the caterer was the same too!...River Walk Tandoor's the name I believe, and they were too good...So good that my glass could never get empty, with vulture-like waiters refilling at the slightest ounce of space in the glass...Think I drank more than I ate...Was that all a part of their plan?...

After the wedding, some of us, decided to chill out, but not before our dear Mr Joseph has his fill of transexuals to look at along desker road...I absolutely hate going along those kinda spots...Don't know why, but some of these army guys get into this kind of visual fetish in the alleys while they are serving their national service...All in all, a great night, as we exchanged numbers, emails and ridiculous banter over who is getting married next...

A new badminton court near Hougang Mall was booked on Sunday when I met Jack, Henry and Defa...The smell of fish kept lingering in the air, and it really felt weird playing under that kinda condition...Went for Mudha's wedding in the evening at SPANS-JOM near Toa Payoh...Met so many of the Holy Innocents people....Some of them told me to try and request to be posted back...Toa Payoh has changed a lot...It is a place where I spent hours during my childhood years, as my granny would bring me to the Library there and go shopping at the NTUC supermarket...So much memories!...

I've been noticing a trend in some of the weddings that I had attended this year...They are becoming more mainstream for all races, like as in a slightly more westernised dressing concept for the couple, high-class buffet or a typical 10-course dinner, decorated car, pre-wedding photo album and a guest book to sign...I guess we are really becoming Singaporeans in essence, as the most distinct object I see in common at these weddings is the Chinese-influenced "red packet" though they seem to come in all colours, shapes and designs nowadays!...

The IQ Test....

2006-12-02T17:14:00.000+08:00

Woke at around 10am, and went for a run, came back and it was time to take out the soccer gear and go for the Hall training game...Not bad for a guy who's not been playing much field soccer as I scored one and created another whilst playing in a left-back role...

Came back and then yesh....the all-kind of aches after bathing....finished reading my novel, and then laid in bed to rest....A penguin came to disturb in my dream.....Just woke a while ago, ironed my shirt and pants for the wedding later at the laundry room....Came back and there was an invitation to take an IQ test in an email from a friend...Quite a good score, I think...Try it out yourself...I found out what the IQ scores mean through another site and the info is given below....Good night and good luck!...

Understanding IQ Scores from http://www.audiblox.com/iq_scores.htm

IQ stands for intelligence quotient. Supposedly, it is a score that tells one how “bright” a person is compared to other people. The average IQ is by definition 100; scores above 100 indicate a higher than average IQ and scores below 100 indicate a lower that average IQ. Theoretically, scores can range any amount below or above 100, but in practice they do not meaningfully go much below 50 or above 150.

Half of the population have IQ’s of between 90 and 110, while 25% have higher IQ’s and 25% have lower IQ’s:

Descriptive Classifications of Intelligence Quotients

IQ	Description	% of Population
130+	Very superior	2.2%
120-129	Superior	6.7%
110-119	High average	16.1%
90-109	Average	50%
80-89	Low average	16.1%
70-79	Borderline	6.7%
Below 70	Extremely low	2.2%

Apparently, the IQ gives a good indication of the occupational group that a person will end up in, though not of course the specific occupation. In their book, Know Your Child’s IQ, Glen Wilson and Diana Grylls outline occupations typical of various IQ levels:

140 Top Civil Servants; Professors and Research Scientists.

130
Physicians and Surgeons; Lawyers; Engineers (Civil and Mechanical)

120
School Teachers; Pharmacists; Accountants; Nurses; Stenographers; Managers.

110
Foremen; Clerks; Telephone Operators; Salesmen; Policemen; Electricians.

100+
Machine Operators; Shopkeepers; Butchers; Welders; Sheet Metal Workers.

100-
Warehousemen; Carpenters; Cooks and Bakers; Small Farmers; Truck and Van Drivers.

90
Laborers; Gardeners; Upholsterers; Farmhands; Miners; Factory Packers and Sorters.

Kusu Island

2006-12-01T07:22:00.000+08:00

Back at hostel now....Had to come back to help Skanda shift his computer over to my place for safe-keeping....His flight is around 8.30am, and I had to come back around 11pm yesterday....This was after a day of running around the stadia at my place, watching Lost episodes from season 3 which I think is coming to the point of beating about the bush and packing books and stuff in my room at home...

I met up with a poly friend, Kelvin, at his place in Ang Mo Kio before heading towards the hostel...Only knew him for about 3 months as we were partners for the Final Year Project(FYP)....Since we were responsible for signing an attendance file by ourselves, we would take turns to come on time at 8am to sign both our files, while the other person comes later at around 10am by depositing his bag at my locker in the basement....It worked quite well, as we never got caught...But I often ended up staying past the 5pm closing time, to finish my work, as I found it interesting and worked better in the evenings...Very memorable days....I would get annoyed with Kelvin at first, for not reading up on his visual basic programming, but realised that it was not exactly his forte and I helped him with some of his codes, though I suspect our supervisor quietly knew about it coz of all the notes I put all over the programme codes usually to serve as a reminder for myself of what each section was supposed to do.....As time went on, the brother introduced me to fantasy football and I owe him one big thanks for that..hehe...I still check my team once a week and currently am 3rd in a league of 50 players in the public domain...My team name?....100% CoTToN WooL....

Anyway, during our conversation, Kelvin and I started discussing about an article that was on the newspaper....The headline that caught my eye was Kusu Island: Playground of the rich?....Don't ask me why I seem to be analysing newspaper things more keenly now...I told Kelvin that Kusu means flatulence or fart in Tamil and asked him to replace that in the headline ---> Fart Island: Playground of the rich?.....The article was about the Singapore Tourism Board's intention to convert some of the southern islands in Singapore which includes Kusu Island, into some private resort locations for the wealthy...

Gotta go now...Catch some sleep before heading towards 8flags to get the Fujitsu guy to take in my laptop for repair...The battery connection is dead and I am using constant direct power supply to turn the lappy on for the past 3 months...

MISSING

2006-11-30T17:21:00.000+08:00

Aren't you curious too?

I came across this interesting Today newspaper advertisement, when I was trying to keep myself occupied during the one of the sessions at the SEAGA conference thingy during the last 2 days...I just checked out the website listed in it....Couldn't resist the curiosity....

It would have been boring at the conference held in Nanyang Girls if not for Kalps and some other new friends I made there...I am also getting tired of the word "sustainable", which seems to crop up everywhere....geographers, economists, politicians and Non-Govt. Organisations are using it like a catchphrase....I managed to get myself out before the 5pm timing on both days and caught up with some of the NIE mates...It was real fun clowning again..haha...They know what I mean...Too bad that no one had a camera to take those shots...

If we were to look back in life, would we regret missing the chances to make friends with more people, catching up with friends we already have, the chance to tell someone you love them, the opportunity to show your talent if you were a little more vocal or daring and so on?

Things do happen for a reason....Most often than not, I think and wait patiently, not because I am afraid, lazy or unwilling....but because I try to take a step back and see if I would want to go through with a certain action in life...If I do not regret missing the chance there and then, I'll walk away....But if it's worth it, I'll see it through, but not at the expense of giving up my social life....If actions taken do not reconcile with expectations, I've learnt to walk on, and try harder and stop worrying or getting angry about the results....Why waste your life worrying when it's better to live it by seeing the brighter side of things and continue to grow by learning from it?....As a wise and famous man once said, "What we've learnt so far is the size of our fist, but the amount of things we've yet to master, is that of the size of the world".....Are you thinking about that wise and famous man yet?..hehe....

The holidays have arrived at last!...

2006-11-27T02:37:00.000+08:00

I am glad the exams are over...I felt like a zombie during that whole week...The moments after my exams ended, were spent looking for some books to read at the NIE library - got The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinback.....Now, I am relaxing at home and taking the time to enjoy the company of my neighbourhood kakis, play as much footy and computer games as I want, see all the movies I find interesting, read that book and meet up with those secondary school and poly friends to whom I always keep uttering the "busy"word....

It was a really packed weekend after my exams ended on Friday...Saturday was Shirley's birthday celebrations at Changi Aloha Chalet....Then today I played street soccer in the morning, before coming home and going out again to Jack's place(haha) to celebrate his daughter's 1st birthday...I certainly felt overdressed as most of the fellas there seemed to be in bermudas and t-shirts...I wore a tucked-in vertically striped shirt with different shades of brown and a dark blue jeans with black leather shoes...Only one other chap wore something smart casual....Think his daughter's name is real cool...PRISTINE...

After that, had some catching up with Henry and Defa at Compass Point...I saw some of those fluffy Happy Feet soft toys in a store and got reminded of someone.....Oh that Penguin!!...Rounded off the day by meeting up with Nantha and Siva and had a ball of a time catching the Chelsea vs Man Utd game...Of course, it's irritating sometimes to talk to them about football....One is a Tottenham fan and the other's a ManUre fan...

I am keen to check out Happy Feet and James Bond movies this week...Been hearing a lot of good reviews...All I need to do now, is to find someone who makes it worthwhile to watch those movies with...

Good Luck

2006-11-20T00:14:00.000+08:00

I know I am not in the best of preparation modes for my exams....but here's wishing everything goes well...I hope things go well for anyone out there going through something important too, whether it be your exams, getting married, taking a driving test, that job interview, or if you are a kid persuading your dad that it's worth buying that remote control car even though you know it's gonna last only 6 months or less before something else rocks your world...This one's for you people..

That Good Luck Poem...
You don't need some precious charms or a four-leaf clover
You don't need an open door to hang a horseshoe over

You don't need to sing a chant or do a silly dance
You don't need a special shirt or "lucky" underpants

You don't need a magic coin to slip inside your shoe
You've got everything you need right inside of you

Hall 15?...It's that way....

2006-11-17T14:36:00.000+08:00

I was walking back from NIE today, and a girl came up to me to ask for directions...The moment I turned around to show her the direction where Hall 15 was, I saw not one, but about 5 to 6 guys drooling over her as they were walking...Some of em, with their heads turning back as they walked past us..haha...It was weird man...

Maybe I didn't bother looking at her...That could be why she asked me for directions instead...Not much of an impression on me.....She had put on a t-shirt which looked way too small for her...The first thing that sprang to my mind was to ask her the question below but since I don't know her, it wasn't the right thing to say and I politely gave her directions before heading to my hostel...

"Did you get that from a Giordano Kids outlet?"...

I think boredom has really hit me this time...coupled with the load of crap I have to study for the geography examinations...Why do we take exams when we probably forget most of what we learnt barely a month later?...The memorise and vomit technique has been mostly utilised for studying with perhaps the few moments when true understanding is needed; cases in point :

Human Geography ----------- 40% understand, 40% memory and 20% bull****....
Physical Geography --------- 50% understand, 50% memory and no way to bull**** ....
Environmental Geography - 30% understand, 60% memory and 10% bull****....

I received another wedding invitation!...It's from Mudah, a fellow trainee teacher whom I met in Holy Innocents...She ended up back there after her practicum....Looks like this wedding thing is really in season...

Kannukku Mai Azhagu

2006-11-03T07:40:00.000+08:00

I was looking around for songs from AR Rahman's first film, which as most websites put, is not Roja. It was actually Puthiya Mugam, a film by his close friend, Rajiv Menon. It happened to be that Puthiya Mugam was in post-production work, for almost a year, and Roja was released earlier to Indian cinemas, and became such a big hit, winning quite a number of National Awards I think. So here it is, one of my all time early favourites from the music maestro, Kannukku Mai Azhagu. I have given the meaning of the chorus in English below if you don't understand Tamil.

Real life couple Rajiv Menon and Revathi in Puthiya Mugam

For the eyes, eyeliner is beautiful
For poetry, lying is beautiful
On the cheeks, dimples are beautiful
Dark tresses make a woman beautiful

The list of friends getting married in 2006...

2006-11-01T01:41:00.000+08:00

I received an sms from my army buddy, Dominic yesterday night. One of the more animated characters that I had the honour of meeting. The boy is getting married! I think the year 2006 will go down as the year when the most number of my friends got married. I wonder what's so special about this year. Let me make a list of friends who are already married or going to get married this year.

Patrick
Michelle
James
Jeann
Dominic
Siva
Visalatchi
Ramesh
Zaneth
Zahara
Rethi

mmm...Actually James and Jeann got married in December I think...

Have I have ever mentioned what had happened during Siva and Visa's ROM? They had it at this Singapore Police Association for NSmen (SPANS) Resort near Novena. So Siva needed 3 "best men" and well, I was one of em. The other two were Siva's brother and Visa's cousin.

After all the exchange of vows, and pronouncing husband and wife, the emcee sprang a surprise by asking the "best men" and "bridesmaids" to give some comments on the newly weds. The irritating thing was that the bridesmaids made up of Visa's cousins and sister, had pre-planned speeches in their hands! The guys in contrast, were totally taken off-guard. So after the first bridesmaid and first best man had spoken, it was clear that the men looked quite crappy. I don't know how I did it, but I just spoke what came to my mind on the stage. I loved the applause afterwards and nothing was greater than Siva's mum telling me that it was the best speech of the night. I guess anecdotes work better than, "I want to congratulate the couple on their marriage, blah blah blah"....I remember all of it quite vividly:

"I recall that I first met Visa on New Year's Eve in 2004 at East Coast Park upon an invitation from Siva to join him for some merry-making. At that point in time, I had no idea, Siva was dating her until he told me some time after. It was funny...funny how they would argue so much..(Visa's sister became a bit defensive, and yelled out, "No, they are loving, ok?!"..)...No, just, listen to me for a while...It is true that they argue a lot, but it made me wonder how this couple could love each other when they argue half the time. Wouldn't you guys wonder too? I realised...they were arguing with the one they...CARE about the most...It made them understand each other more deeply by sharing their emotions and building a solid foundation for their love...I cannot think of a more perfect match for my friend Siva than Visalatchi...Congratulations to the newly weds and hope the rest of us singles find our perfect match too! Keep on arguing!"

The Art of Conducting a Survey

2006-10-30T06:52:00.000+08:00

I had some fun doing this survey thing in school last Friday...Addy, Kalps and I are partners for like, four Geography projects, and two of em, would require us to get surveys and detailed analysis done to guarantee us, any grades above a B...

We had already done our survey forms for this Foreign Talent project amongst the foreign and local lecturers and that was something...The American lecturers had a lot more complaints than those of other nationalities in their Other Comments columns....Useful stuff though.....

Since Addy and Kalps wanted to compile the Foreign Talent data first during a rainy Friday afternoon, they got me to find about the remaining 40 odd people in the NIE canteen to complete our survey on Junk Mail....The Art of Conducting a Survey is not just about saying, "Hi, can you do a survey for me please?"...You need to know who and how to ask...If you know the secret to that, then you can complete it all in the snappy 20 minutes like I did....Or else, you have to accept the likely rejections that might come your way and waste more time....

Here are the 3 Golden Rules:

1. Always find groups of people, even better if they are seated at adjacent tables. Then you can hand out several survey forms at one go and don't need to walk around so much...One group of five people is one audience and less talking. Just need to convince one person, and the rest will follow suit.

2. Open your eyes and observe...Look for people who have completed eating or are having a drink and chatting. These are your number one targets...Don't be an idiot and go and ask people who are in the middle of their meals....Never ever destroy a person's personal time with their food....Those people doing a project discussion should be okay too if there's not many people around but it's better not to disturb their work...If you must ask them, say "Why don't you guys take a break and help me do a short and simple survey?"....

3. Smile, and look at them in the eye and tell them, "I have an interesting survey and I think you guys are the best people to do it. How about it?"...Makes them feel important and special and they'll be thinking what's so "interesting" about this survey.....

Patience is a virtue...

2006-10-29T20:15:00.000+08:00

When we wait, it is the test of time
Is it worth the wait? Am I investing too much time?
Will it all be a total waste of MY time and energy?
Feeling irritated and angry?
Yet there's eagerness and anticipation?
What a crazy world we live in my friends...
but I think patience is a virtue...

Devil's Awakening

2006-10-23T22:29:00.000+08:00

I know it's been a long time since I wrote a haiku. Here's something...I usually think I see God in my dreams..Maybe to tell me to be nice to people?..haha..I can be, I know...but I thought of someone else when I woke this morning...Well, it is a funny dream but it ain't the time to tell it just yet...

Devil's Awakening
whistling of the wind
gently blowing on my face
thought of the devil

motionless lying
moment of broken silence
uttered her sweet name

flipped open my handphone
a hint of hesitation
to call or message?

Happy Deeps and how to write a tutor's survey...

2006-10-22T10:42:00.000+08:00

Deepavali was great...at least in some ways...visited my uncle's place in Woodlands after almost 2 years...My little cousin, Kirubeshwaran has become so much taller...The six year old kid never ceases to amaze me with his hospitality...sharing his toys with other kids and offering food to guests....and without a doubt, cracking the odd joke....I think that joking part runs in my family!!...Almost everyone knows how to do that thang...hehe....My uncle was so over the top about getting him into ACS....I would say, the school should be happy to get a really smart boy who can even play chess at this age...Of course, I had to give in a few times before beating him with 6 pieces left on the board...Still, I was impressed...He's learning things I only learnt when I was in sec 1!!.....

Anyway, I know you are still wondering why I have a bald headed, moustachioed Indian man's picture here...Don't worry, he's not my father....

He is Prof Goel from NTU, the man in the centre of a student survey post-mortem..Check out the youtube link below....I never thought people could write these kind of comments inside a survey for tutors in NTU...Heck, I never thought about it...Perhaps I should try it but will NIE tutors be as cool as this Indian lecturer across the bridge?...

NTU Student Survey

Millions of Hearts

2006-10-16T06:13:00.000+08:00

I am so environmental now....God!....I sometimes wonder if this whole thing was inside me all this time...Wrote this poem during my break from school work...10 minutes is all it took...

Millions of Hearts

While man decides to argue, the world's crying still
Pain and suffering met by thousands killed
just another distant echo or a hazy tv screen
news reported differently in twisted scenes

No more nuclear power plants please
Meltdowns and pollution aren't sweets
Forests full of life, losing their vigour
Logging aplenty, developers just snigger

What can you do, with a lonely voice?
Wake up brothers and sisters, we aren't just toys
Stand up for your beliefs, make yourself visible
Push upon those barriers and be audible

Spend a thought for Earth and future generations
Show you care, and understand that cooperation
is what the world needs to rid itself of evil seeds,
With the faith of millions of hearts, we can do this deed.

The moments were great and will be missed...

2006-10-09T21:22:00.000+08:00

The AED105 presentation went well, except for a few hiccups along the way....But almost everyone agreed it was one of the best, if not the best presentation....I don't know why I had this mixed feelings after my presentation...Maybe coz I might not meet the same people again in my modules next semester...

Anyway, how do you like a person, you love to hate?...It's amazingly crazy don't you think?...It happens really!...

Guna's story time...

2006-10-07T18:38:00.000+08:00

I just guess, some friends when they meant "not holding onto the past", perhaps they really meant it. Let me tell you 2 stories...

STORY 1
Udaya and I made friends with two ladies who were brilliant in us getting back to society from the monstrosity called Army...Happening people and it was always great hanging out with them....We cliqued so easily from the start...I still remember the first place that I met them...It was at East Coast Park, June 23, coz someone didn't want to meet two girls alone..haha...Udaya got some luck in friendster I'd say....Met these fantastic people and his girlfriend from the cool site...

However, after about 2 and a half years, they seemed to have gone out of our lives...Not from any lack of effort from our part...coz Udaya and I would always try to call them, but they'd always be busy, or their hp never seem to be answered...Udaya told me some time back, that he'd given up on their friendship...I told him, that we shared some of the most memorable times with them...Why give up on all that?...He asked me, "If they could forget our friendship, what value is that?"...Well, the gentleman had a point..Somehow, I have yet to give up hope...

STORY 2
Another story is of a friend who recently lamented on her blog(I know she'll be reading this), that making friends is hard...Then she went on about drifting apart..I made the effort, I sms-ed when I was around town to meet but understood that the time was not right.....I called a few times to have a chat - no replies, but could you have called back?...Think about it....Sometimes, it's easy to let go and maybe you are starting to take that way out...because, I can't recall a time when you made the effort to call me to have a short chat since we left school...I haven't given up hope yet again in this case...It isn't that much harder than easy to hold on to your friends....

STORY 3
Well, this hasn't got anything to do with friendship.....I went for my 2.4km run today, to time myself...It's quite awful...12.10 min....Just pass leh...I need to start some serious sprinting to get anywhere near a silver timing of 11.40min...

As I was running, I could barely make out the other end of the long road...The haze is terrible don't you think?...The Indonesian government would need to go beyond just introducing anti slash-and-burn laws, and have a serious effort in the enforcement. I think that there are reasons that may be more related to employment opportunities in the oil-palm plantation business, and political corruption that may have allowed these forest fires to continue for so long....See how so many stuff indirectly related to us are affecting us in a cross-boundary manner....Now, who's the moron who said globalisation was good?....

Mr. Morning...

2006-10-04T06:45:00.000+08:00

Well, congrats to me, for doing like what, 30% percent of my projects only during the 1 week break. Now I've got to put in a little more work to finish the remainder. Anyway, I always seem to do my best, when the deadline approaches...

Just went to do my morning routines in the toilet, and when I came out, to make a cuppa at the pantry, there it was!....For the 3rd time in three consecutive mornings, I saw the same mynah happily chirping away on the clothes hanger nearby. If you are like, "what is that?", a mynah is a black bird with yellow beak and feet. I wanna give him a name. Would Mr. Morning be fine? Daring fella...trying to take a step closer to me each time. Poured some water into a bowl, which I don't know which idiot left behind, and he was happily slurping once I was a bit further away from him...

Mr. Morning looks like this.

I had stayed up to do some work on my AED project. Had this lady come on my online messenger and kinda expecting me to give her my attention. Thought my plan of redirecting her to some website links worked for a while, in me carrying on with my reading before she came back with cries of "I'm bored!"....At that point, she reminded me of some of my students whom I see online!..haha..

Kinda miss em, but I guess that's what life is about...You can never move forward without leaving some things or someone behind....The memories will help you through, if you valued them...You know what I mean, : P....

A new poem about friendship...

2006-10-02T04:45:00.000+08:00

I went into friendster to approve a former student's request to add me and realised that it was my friend's birthday....Poetic lines flowed...This is what came out...

Another Friendship Poem
I started to write this poem about you,
and then I decided, that I would write it,
all about friendship.

Friendship's like a walk down the street,
An apple that's so sweet,
Can feel it, from a thousand feet.

A story that can be retold
even till the days you grow grey and old
It'll be shiny beyond gold

It's something that's so divine,
It can be measured by no sign,
In your heart or even in your mind.

________, my friend,
know for sure, I'll be around,
if you need me, make a sound.

Going back to the kitchen...

2006-10-01T03:39:00.000+08:00

I've been rather amused by the latest barrage between male chauvanists and feminists in the local newspaper, Today. Some fella did the stupidest thing by suggesting that women were mostly responsible for the break-down of relationships, based on the a 70% initiation of divorces by women which was featured in an earlier article on the divorce statistics released by Department of Statistics. He felt that they should go back to the kitchen, as that would help them be less financially independent and care more for the family....Even went as far as to say that women are unable to handle the stress of work well...Here's the final nail in the coffin..He claimed that men are unable to enjoy a good homecooked meal at home if their wives are too tired after coming back from work...

Of course, before the blink of an eye, the feminists came in loud and clear....They claimed how chauvanistic the men who wrote in were...Some were a little more neutral, stating that sometimes financial freedom was not the matter, but financial sustainability in the family....A brilliant point to me...

My take is that many men fail to notice how much their ladies go through....Let me tell you this story....I've always notes how much my maternal grandma went through to bring up her sons and daughters and grandchildren....I remember that when I was a 4-5 year old boy, she used to bring me along with her to her part-time workplace coz no one was at home to take care of me. A rubbish collection place in Beach Road...I made several friends with the coffeeshop uncles, the provision shop aunties and all, while I followed my granny on her daily trips to sweep up the drains, every floor of some blocks of flats when lifts didn't stop on every floor...I always wondered why she had to do all this when my grandpa was already doing two jobs; one as a technician at the Public Utilities Board, and another as a night printer at the Tamil Murasu printing press....I innocently queried her on this when she was having her break...She scolded me, and told me to eat my food...But I didn't miss her welled up eyes...I realised much later about how much she had toiled to ensure my three uncles could get through university with enough pocket money...

When I took on a part-time job as a cashier during my polytechnic days, this is what I did with my 1st pay check....Roses for both my mum and grandma was what I did....My mum's quite bad at hiding her emotions...She was like too much for me...I had to come in with my jokes and all to save the moment..."please do not wipe your mucus on the flowers"...My granny?...She just gave me the sweet smile she always had when contented...What had been missing, was the true recognition these ladies deserved for their unselfish endeavours for the family....I've never stopped giving them gifts from time to time since....

Very often in the past men forgot to embrace their angels...What happened after the women's suffrage and rights movements was a case of giving back the just desserts....Women were more independent and didn't want to end up being not recognised....What has evolved is a case children being less polite and more selfish due to a lack of guidance...I am saying that the role not only belongs to the mother, but also to the father...We are now more aware of how much our ladies had given in the past....More men should realise that and learn to share the burden, whereas some women need to know that this isn't about gender war but about their family and children....

Gentlemen, please don't be stupid and think that wishing your wife, I LOVE Us every night and morning is good enough....Surprise your darlings man...Like Russell Peters says it, "Be a man, do the right thing".....I just wish those writers who sent in those entries think about what they did wrong and do their part to make the relationship work....

Here's something that Udaya sent me some time ago...Ties in well with this post...There's no more water in my mug....I am going back to the kitchen...Adios!!...

Oprah's Seven Steps to Rescuing Your Relationship
Try one every day of the week, focus on one at a time, do whatever you like with them—but do

1. Find Out What You Want
Are you meeting your partner's needs? Are your needs being met? What are they? After you know partner's needs, if you find yourselves still frustrated, realize that it's not that you can't meet your partner's needs, it's that you won't. Think about why you haven't yet. take them all to heart.

2. Respect Your Partner
It shouldn't matter why your partner needs what he or she needs. Consider Dr. Phil's example: If one of your kids got up in the middle of the night and said, "I'm thirsty," would you just turn around and say, "Well, I'm not, so go back to bed"? The key is to appreciate your partner's individuality. Don't expect your partner to react exactly as you would; your partner isn't you!

3. What Message Do You Send?
Think about the message you are sending your partner when you don't acknowledge his or her wants. How does this make your partner feel? How would it make you feel?

4. Compromise.
Know that you can fulfill your partner's wants. But by prioritizing your needs alone, you're making the conscious decision to not to fulfil his or her wants. Try talking about both of your needs and wants. Find the middle ground.

5. Don't Forget Romance
Keep in mind that romance is an important element of marriage. Your partner might consider romance as the true measure of his or her value to your relationship. Be thoughtful and try doing something sweet for no apparent reason.

6. Remember the 4-minute rule
You can predict the rest of the night based on the first 4 minutes, so make those minutes count! Bring flowers. Greet each other with a compliment. Ask questions about your partner's day. Smile; it'll make a difference.

7. Open Up
Be communicative and expressive with your partner. Remember, sharing emotions is not weakness; it makes you whole.

- From the show 'Advice to Husbands Only'

The Break has Started....

2006-09-23T01:14:00.000+08:00

It's been almost 3 weeks I think since my last post....I've had lots of work to do, particularly reading all those reading materials given by tutors.....I never had so much to read in any of my semesters....I can barely finish them!!.....

Things been a lot strange lately....I find myself in the company of rather organised people for group projects...haha...I know, that's like the perfect foil for me, as I can come up with ideas for projects and materials, but more often than not, take a longer route to organising them....Has it got anything to do with the fact that I am left-handed?....

Anyway, I've to say that I've got a great roomie this time. He's quite a religious chap, read Bible every morning without fail and all...A PE teacher in NIE doing his Diploma....Let's say being from the same school helped us to break the ice and discuss about teaching and some of the ridiculous things that happen around our hostel....For your info, those power-saving lights which switch off when no one is around by movement-sensing are torturous....They've got it in the toilet, and it went out when one of my friends was there in the last cubicle...*chuckles....So, the poor fella, came out...brown stains between his legs....just to wave his hand to get the lights back on!....

I owe a couple of people, not money, but some catching up over makan...2 of my friends who are my seniors, Sharon and Priscilla....I bump into em all the time, but even those times are like those moments where you flash the kodak smile and politely tell em you are rushing for a class and sometimes it's vice versa...

I am so so happy, the one week break's arrived....But I am looking at my softboard, and there is a list telling me of the 8 projects I need to complete by the end of the semester....Ah heck lah....Like Yoda would say, "Not bothered am I....Watch must movies to relief the stress!"....So let me get back to my 1st season of Friends episodes...You, in the meantime, can check out this cool and funny flash movie called, Call Center....Be patient, for it to start but please give up if you are using a 56kbps internet speed....

Talking Cock in Parliament

2006-09-03T07:57:00.000+08:00

Just managed to view some clips of the Talking Cock in Parliament event that took place last thursday...It was so crowded, that we had to be turned away along with another 50 odd people...Argh!....Ended up going for coffee instead....

Colin Goh, addressing the unbelievable crowd turnout.

Now, after watch a couple of these clips, I just wish we had been there 20 - 25 minutes minutes earlier...They had this innovative way of finding out how to stop more than the 350 people from coming into the Old Parliament building which has been turned into The Arts House....They gave out paper cups to everyone who could be allowed into the place...Oh, I forgot to mention that this was a free event....Who would think of having paper cups in their backpack or purse unless it was some fella with bladder control problems...So kudos to the people for coming up with a simple solution...

I've managed to grab a couple of the videos for this event off Youtube...My favourite segment, was a speech from a girl in NIE, Ruby Pan...She dished out a variety of accents, and got her message across brilliantly..."Some English is More English than Others"...

Ruby Pan and her array of accents

Happy Vinayagar Chathurthi

2006-08-27T19:41:00.000+08:00

Had to go vegetarian today...Seriously been a long time since I did....Did the family prayers and then visited this relative of mine who's become rather more religious since he married his wife, whose family is Hinduism personified...They celebrate every festival in a grand manner...

I wouldn't want someone as religious as that for a wife...What's the use of putting everything into God's hands and not doing enough yourself?...Pray to God for your well-bring, education etc...but you have to be realistic and know that you have a part to play in your achievements...

After all this talk, I must admit enjoying such celebrations...In more than a slight way, it brings the whole family together...mmm...Religion certainly did help achieve this, political stability and culture during and before the medieval times...Now, perhaps most of us have rendered ourselves subscribers to a scientific faith, retaining a small degree of hope in other monotheistic or polytheistic faiths when all seems lost especially...

Just in case, you are not sure what's Vinaygar Chathurthi, it is celebrated as the birthday of the the elephant God, Lord Ganesh, the eldest son of the Lord Shiva and Parvati. He's known as the remover of obstacles and thus is very popular amongst Hindus. I remember that a couple of years back, there was this phenomenon of Ganesha statues drinking milk, going on. Eventually, the science revelers tried to break that myth...One of those rare times, you do not know what to believe...

That listing thing...

2006-08-20T19:55:00.000+08:00

NAME: Sargunan Ilangovan

AGE: 26

STAR SIGN: Gemini

HOME: Hougang

I WANT: to be someone's inspiration in my lifetime

I HAVE: an ability to shock people with my temper...but it rarely happens...

I REGRET: not doing my best at times before...

I WISH: I could survive the next 2 years without any salary and still go on a holiday...

I LOVE: backpacking, especially to places of natural beauty...No concrete jungles for me...

I HATE: people who are dishonest and those who betray friendship...

I MISS: my days as a primary and secondary school student...They were the best...

I FEAR: no one...I will stand up for what I believe in..

I SEE: my mum watching what else, but her SUNtv channel, sorry, its Vasantham Central now...she changed channels

I HEAR: the ice-cream man's bell....Very tempted...

I SEARCH: for someone I could spend the rest of my life with...

I KNOW: Very few people understand or know me...

LAST TIME YOU....

SMILED?: At this coffeeshop aunty, who was surprised to see me after a long time when I walked past...

LAUGHED?: Just now...I saw this contestant on the Ms Vasantham show, commenting that the Tsunami event affected her a lot..Najib asked what she did then..She replied, my parents donated some money...Najib gave this amused look...

CRIED?: I can't remember it...I guess it was so long ago...Maybe I've grown up...

BOUGHT SOMETHING?: In the morning, bought beancurd soup for my family..

DANCED?: It was at the NE show...So happening!...I think some of the teachers never knew that party side of me...

GOT HAMMERED?: I think I use my wit a lot more...If big size, don't waste your energy...

WERE SARCASTIC?: An idiot blocked my team-mate from the ball by using his butt to push him off; I told my mate to slap the J.Lo tail feather...

KISSED SOMEONE?: My mum!...Just this morning before I went to play soccer...

HUGGED SOMEONE?: mmm...Does someone else hugging me count?...It was on Monday, and it caught me off guard....

TALKED TO AN EX?: No?...Never had a girlfriend though it came close before...

HAD A NIGHTMARE?: The last one was getting involved in an accident, in a mini-bus driven by my army driver, Hari...Whoever gave him the license should be shot!...

LAST THING YOU READ: Yesterday, on the MRT, this book on Challenging Sustainability in Southeast Asia written by several Geography tutors in NIE...

LAST MOVIE YOU SAW ON THE BIG SCREEN: Believe it or not, my first ever Hindi film at the Cinema, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

LAST PHONE NUMBER YOU CALLED: Senthil, to ask him to pick up Satish on the way to play football

LAST SHOW YOU WATCHED ON TV: It was this programme on ChannelNewsAsia...Chinese Resturants..about 2 hours ago...

LAST SONG YOU HEARD: Change your mind by The All-American Rejects right at this moment...

LAST THING YOU HAD TO DRINK: You guessed it...Coffee!!...

YOU ATE: My mum's fish sambal with rice and cabbage!..I am such a fish lover..

HAVE A CRUSH?: I thought this was an adolescent thing?...

HAVE A DREAM THAT KEEPS COMING BACK?: Yesh...I keep seeing this someone, the past few days..

REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE?: Oh, she was from a girls school and I, from a boys school, and we hated each other so much..we started liking each other...

STILL LOVE HIM/HER?: Haha...I'll be psycho if I did...

BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?: Yes i do..

BELIEVE IT'S POSSIBLE TO REMAIN FAITHFUL FOREVER? No doubt about that..It takes a lot of committment and effort...

BELIEVE IN GOD?: Eswara!

HAVE ANY SECRETS?: Doesn't everyone?

HAVE ANY PETS?: No more..Used to have dogs though...

GO TO OR PLAN TO GO TO UNIVERSITY?: I am in Uni now..

WORE HATS?: Only caps and bandanas during my long hair days...I could have passed a test for any Indian anjadi gang then...

HAVE ANY PIERCINGS?: Pierced my ears in poly...

HAVE ANY TATTOOS?: I don't really fancy them, after seeing a guy in army going to the trouble of removing his ex-girl's name off his chest..It was a disgusting sight...

HAVE A BEST FRIEND?: The chap's down under..Allan Ang...Should be home soon..

HAVE ANY BAD HABITS?: My worst?...Procrastination...Lots of others that people would probably know about already...Please tell me all about them and make me a better person...

CARE ABOUT LOOKS?: My friendship knows no race, language, religion or looks..

TRUST OTHERS EASILY? Nope...

LIKE SARCASM?: I'm full of it..

TAKE WALKS IN THE RAIN?: Haha...Just yesterday, on the way back from Pasir Ris Mangrove Reserve...

SING IN THE SHOWER?: You mean croak in the shower?...Yesh..

HAVE ANY SCARS?: Yeah...so many sia...all the sports I play..

HAVE MANY SCARS?: Definitely more than the 10 my fingers could show...

WHAT COLOUR HAIR DO YOU HAVE?: Black and proud of it..

SHOE SIZE?: 9 and a half...

I am a stranger in my mother ship...

2006-08-17T01:09:00.000+08:00

Guess who I saw when I went for my ALK101 Communications module?.....Ms Janet George!!...It certainly did lots to my comfort level after observing a class where I knew no one...If I was surprised to see her, she was even more so...Then I had to go throught the usual nonsense of how I had come back...I dunno why but I was reminded of Parveen then...She was like a surrogate tutor during that ELE201 module last semester, where me the phonetics dinosaur, learnt to pronounce...It was just this year but feels like almost a distant memory...

I've at last been exempted for a module - ASK301 which is pretty much similar to ETS101, that Science module on Bio topics...It's quite tiring having to find out things on your own now...No more friends to tell you latest information at the canteen...It has taken me almost a week before meeting any of the crossover people from other AS groups...I was talking to Siti Arfah today and we agreed that life without old friends in NIE is dull...We walk like strangers in the playground we left just months ago...

Taking 4 geography modules isn't exactly fun, as there seem to be quite a number of field trips...The first one will be this Saturday at Pasir Ris Park....Go, take picture, do some of that investigator scene, listen 'attentively' and do the 'awe' show...then worry about what to write for the weekly geography journal on the train ride home...I hate the writing, when it involves a lot of reading as a precursor...

That persisting rumour

2006-08-14T22:38:00.000+08:00

Looks like the "rumour" that someone persists in insisting upon is still around..The "rumour" is that I am supposedly married....She seems like the only one who says it...Anyway, I recalled saying something about at least hopefully being linked to a pretty girl...But on hindsight, I realised it was not at all the key thing I look for in a girl I would find myself being attracted to...

The key aspect?...It the ability to talk intelligibly about anything under the sun and having a great sense of humour....I absolutely don't go for the demure types who have to giggle away by covering the mouths, you know, that very victorian lady-like thingy...I want someone who doesn't feel the need to bother about others, and laugh out loud...Someone who likes to do things differently and has her own opinions...mmm...I don't know how to explain the differently part...coz I think I will know that difference when the time comes...

How to vow that looks don't play a part...Ladies, any fool who tells you he doesn't give a hoot about looks is lying...All of us men, being the miserably visual creature we are, love to see a person who's as gorgeous as Angelina Jolie...For me, I need someone who can be pretty and presentable, not some leggy, 36D boobied supermodel...At the end of the day, I am sure the saying that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder means very well...

But there's one other requisite which can't be denied its rightful mention...Chemistry.....Some kind of spark, which makes us glow when we meet...tough to see, and easy to feel...It must be a two - way traffic...And, I need to probably fulfil that other half's views of what her man should be like...

My expectations sound like a tall order?...Not true...There's several girls out there who can meet such a criteria, but one who can give you that funny feeling....how life would be with her around in your life - a thought that comes before you go to sleep....ah..that's somewhat rare and accidental at times....I've had it before, maybe 2 or 3 times but...mmmm...just didn't bother...and oh of course, being lucky enough to be linked to people I didn't think of as potential mates didn't help...A stunning beauty doesn't mean an attractive person, when they seem uninteresting, aloof or worse, dishonest...

If I get attached, I think of myself as someone who would probably, think of being with that girl for life...Maybe my views of love are too romanticised...I know that love doesn't work always, but when you are in love....I expect a person to give it their best...For me, I have always loved e idea of writing poetry or a love letter to that special someone...My scribblings may not be so moving or written with lots of style...but in love, you must have originality...I've had ideas on how to surprise the one I love....They shall remain locked away in my mind, getting a visit every other night when i feel like thinking about them, and be released upon the joy of finding someone I love....

Life is even more fulfilling with someone to love...You know why?...Because you have a witness to your life...someone who was there to see and feel, your good times and bad....

Grow Old with You - Adam Sandler

I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wanna do is grow old with you

I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

I'll miss you
I'll kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

I'll need you
I'll feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed if you've had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you
I wanna grow old with you

Singapore Idolization

2006-08-12T22:06:00.000+08:00

After watching about 3 episodes of Singapore Idol in the last 4 weeks....I must seriously say that the show must go....It does nothing to promote the talent of singing in Singapore...All that I hear Gurmit yakking about after each each contestant sings is...."Remember Singapore, vote for your FAVOURITE singer".....

It has been rather clear from the start that the likes of Jaokim Gomez and Jasmine Tye should have been voted off so long ago...Even my sister asked me to turn the TV sound to mute when she heard them sing....And Ken looks like the only judge who says anything right, though I must agree he crossed the boundary between judging and shaming the contestants a few times...In Jaokim's case, he was spot on when he mentioned that he was better off as a actor or host....The song that stands out when I think of his singing is his rendition of "You send me" during the Jazz round....That was the worst ever rendition of that beautiful quintessential Sam Cooke love song....Where do all those teen girls with stupid ideas that they might get to shake his hand or better, get his sweaty shirt, come up with the money to vote for this poor excuse for a singer?...

In that space of time, some better singers, with probably less stage presence and not-so-good looks have gone....I was most surprised with Jay Lim's and Emilee Kang's exits....The saving grace of this show so far is that the really good singers are still around...The names just roll off the tongue....Mathilda, Hady and Jonathan...If any other than these threesome get to the finals, its a confirmation of the bloody popularity contest at play...To be honest, I can predict that the final two will be guys...Why?....Read the aforementioned paragraph....I really think Mathilda has the best voice amongst all the singers, but she is probably gonna be let down by the fact that she's a minority, an Indian, one of only 7% in Singapore; she's female and isn't exactly drop dead gorgeous...Out of the 10 -20% or so men who even bother to vote are doing so because their friend is taking part or they have some fetish for one of the girls, presumably one who gave an ah lian rendition of "Wannabe" by Spice Girls a few week back...

Interestingly, after that analysis of why Mathilda won't win Singapore Idol, I realised how similar it is to the way PAP chooses its candidates for the single seat constituencies....They tend to choose Chinese males because they form the majority race, and the fact that they are male...They even confirmed this strategy during the last election rallies.....For all the rap of not having enough female MPs, they do make a poor statement, by doing just that...It simply sends out the message that Singaporeans are so backward that they will not vote for a minority female if she stood alone in a constituency instead of a GRC where the attention sways towards the Minister(so far all males) who spearheads the contest.....Sometimes I wonder why talented, independant females MPs like Ms Indranee Rajah decided to join them....Boy, she makes one hell of a speaker...Read the article below, to know what I mean....

SINGAPORE: Members of competing political parties engaging in a public forum was proof of how much more open the Singapore political climate had become, argued National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) president Chandra Mohan on Wednesday.

He made this remarks at the opening of the forum, entitled "The General Election: Does Singapore have a choice?"

Held on the eve of Nomination Day, the forum saw Ms Indranee Rajah from the People's Action Party (PAP), Dr Chee Soon Juan from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Sin Kek Tong from the Singapore People's Party (SPP) and political commentator Catherine Lim engage in free-flowing political discourse.

Ms Lim described the forthcoming elections as a watershed event underscored by new complexities. She said her hopes for a better Singapore lay in the large group of young people who would be casting their votes for the first time. They would not be seduced by the lure of material blandishments, nor prescribe to the belief that freedom came with the satisfaction of material needs, she said.

Ms Rajah, on the other hand, argued that Singaporeans had a choice if they wanted to be politically active, dispelling the misconception that a climate of fear persisted in Singapore. Step up to the plate and contribute, be it in the PAP, as an independent or with the Opposition, was her message to political aspirants.

The coming General Election is no "wayang", she said. Singaporeans will have a choice in the coming polls and they will be exercising their right, she asserted - putting her faith in the fact that the new generation of Singaporeans are a discerning lot.

Look at the PAP's record, she urged. "I have worked with many ministers over the years and have never doubted that they have the best interests of Singapore at heart - from the provisions of jobs and housing, to healthcare. And they listen to feedback too."

Dr Chee of SDP, who is not contesting the elections because he is a bankrupt, likened the participation in elections in Singapore to a dead-end process. He said that the SDP could not even get its election materials printed as its printer was facing legal action over allegedly defamatory articles that the SDP had printed in its newsletter.

Dr Chee used the occasion to repeat his call to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to meet him in a public debate.

"Please tell Mr Lee that my invitation still stands," he said, addressing Ms Rajah.

Ms Rajah, a lawyer with Drew and Napier, was all sweetness and charm when she responded to Dr Chee's invitation. "I don't carry any message for any man. Please do it yourself," she said. - TODAY

Every end has a beginning somewhere...

2006-08-09T17:12:00.000+08:00

I went to Teck Ghee Primary School's National Day concert yesterday....Wanted to catch up with some people and say a proper goodbye....I am so glad MOE introduced Adjunct Teaching. If not, I wouldn't have known a wonderful neighbour next to my cubicle in the form of Mrs Leslie Tan...and of course further down, Mrs Ong who has since left the school...It was always wonderful to hear their stories from all their years of experience and sound advice...They are such an inspiration for beginning teachers...

My fellow Beginning Teachers, only missing Victoria...Shine on ladies!...

I left TGPS around 9am...and rushed down to NIE to make it in time for the 10.30 Geography tutorial...Dr. Chatt's class and she hates latecomers..I found it weird when I noted how Dr. Chatt kept on telling how her previous students got A and A+....I was thinking, "Is it even remotely possible to get an A in geography??".....Just for the record, none of my geography batch got an A before....I realised then that she was selling the module to the remaining 6 people who were from the Art(secondary) specialisation who now have to take a second AS....We have a lot of field trips planned in her module....Bukit Timah, and its steep, slippery steps are awaiting....

Then I got to meet the new Geography tutor in charge of techniques, who is teaching us GIS...She's got such a thick Chinese accent, that it is rather hard to stay focused with all the mispronunciations....I met some of these 2nd year students from the degree course in her class, and somehow, didn't feel welcome at all....I can understand how hard it is to make friends with people who just came when you already have a clique...Hopefully it will improve....

Kalpana, Adeline and I went on a wild goose chase to find out how to get the NTU ezyLink card and reset our campus network passwords after lessons. NIE people seem to be treated like pariahs. In every place that we were referred to in NTU, the moment they heard that we were from NIE, the first words that would come out of their mouths are, "Are you sure you have come to the right place?".....We managed to eventually settle some things and it was 6pm by then!...I had a big time K.O. when I went back to the hostel...

Today, I have a much needed rest...Back home, met up with friends, played soccer and doing some shopping later....All thanks to Singapore's Birthday...

Took a little trip around Hougang Town....

2006-08-08T00:28:00.000+08:00

I went to NIE today...It is officially my first day back at school, but my lessons were cancelled...Thus I went to get my hall keys and settle some stuff regarding my module exemptions....I met a few friends I know and a lot of people I never came across before...Totally felt like a freshie again....

The new hostels seem to take a leaf out of HDB's new concept flats...they are super small and the blocks are so close to each other...On the plus side, I love the green colour scheme on the outside of my hostel, and the condominium-ic glass panels and security systems with card keys...Huge desks too!...

That freshie feeling in NIE, amidst a background of patriotism...

A view of my hideout

I will be going back to Teck Ghee Primary School tomorrow morning and join in their National Day celebration before rushing down to NIE for my lesson at 10.30am...My last chance for photo opportunities with people I will sorely miss...

I wrote something down after taking the feeder bus 112 from the interchange today with an intention to see the places around Hougang and what I can recall from them by taking a longer route ...

A little trip around Hougang Town....

I must be a dreamer...
becoz I saw something else in a glimmer...

Let me tell you this story...
before it fades into the books of my life's history...

A bus trip I took around Hougang Town...
to see things I've missed and the beautiful sounds...

Each place reminded me of a time during and beyond my adolesence...
A time when I became serious about life's lessons...

Hougang Street 21, Mavis tution centre...
Montfort Secondary School, crappy yet youthful banters...

Hougang Street 61, saw a man fall to his death...
Could I haved saved him? Do your math...

Hougang Avenue 8, my best friend's former abode....
Holy Innocents Primary School, kids I used to dote...

Many things have changed...
I can only say this in disdain...

I can't erase those memories from times of old...
As they will forever reside in my soul...

I have learnt instead to appreciate the Present better...
and live the moment as if it was now or never...

Return to the Zoo

2006-08-02T00:55:00.000+08:00

It has been quite tiring actually....Rushing through my marking and corrections with my parallel classes, editing my Science SA paper, sitting down with Izam to write a National Day Concert play script, bringing out my distant relative who's visiting on her way to Australia and finding ways to cut down the number of AUs required to complete my degree...

I managed to shoot some pictures with my Maths and English P3 parallel classes last week. It has been vexatious as well as harrowing to see some of them around this week, as they keep on asking why I am leaving them...To be honest, I think my outlook as a teacher has been very different in my present school...I can see a lot more meaner me...I think I surprised a few people with my temper...But to see that pupils can still appreciate my efforts....That's amazing!...Another thing I love about TGPS is how closely knit it can be....Students whom I don't teach and parent volunteers seem to know my name!...Not everthing is perfect though, but I am trying my best to keep my mind off all the hogwash....

I am gonna miss some of the people in this school...I don't deny it...I will be going with a heavy heart....I cliqued so well with some of them....Of course, I don't have the time to make friends with every person...and perhaps that could have been a contributing factor to why I didn't bother smiling or saying hello to the new contract teachers...I don't want the burden of doing the fake niceties when I bump into em next year when they come to NIE....

I have yet to collect my hostel keys....I will try to do it tomorrow...3pm is the target to leave school....Will I make it?...As long I can do a good houdini and siam the 'archers'...

Go and watch Thank You for Smoking...This is an order!...It is definitely going down as a classic for me...This satirical comedy gets 5 out of 5 stars from me!...There are just too many witty lines and dialogues. My personal favourite - "You sell cigarettes! They are cool, available and addictive. Half the job is already done for us!" ....An interesting point to note is that not a single actor in this movie actually ever smokes a cigarette!!....

In the meantime, here are some of the shots taken at the Singapore Zoo on Sunday. I can't even recall the last time I went there...Must be ages...The bad news is that it does not seem to have changed much...The Night Safari was a totally out of the world experience though...You should take both the tram ride and the walk....

Camel - Obviously not one for a dental ad

Babirusas - the ladies are supposedly attracted by size & shape of the tusks!

Meerkat- Stand at attention!

Lion- Are you looking at me? I''ll send my wife!

White Tiger- They still eat meat people!

Elephant- This big guy's name is Komali (Clown in Tamil)!

Human- Top of the food chain and wears clothes!

Confidence	Low High	94
Openness	Low High	86
Extroversion	Low High	98
Empathy	Low High	66
Trust in others	Low High	84
Agency	Low High	76
Masculinity	Low High	100
Femininity	Low High	2
Spontaneity	Low High	44
Attention to style	Low High	70
Authoritarianism	Low High	22
Earthy/Imaginative	Imaginative Earthy	56
Aesthetic/Functional	Functional Aesthetic	46