I reach school at 930 in the morning thinking "ah I'll be a good boy today and use that hour before classes to sit in the library to do some research on my laptop and look through the file that I edited last night again. Imagine how disgusted I am when ALL the freaking power outlets were already taken up. It was bloody 930 in the morning ok? Shouldn't most people either be in class or sleeping in their halls?

Then came another realization. Most of the power outlets were taken up by our friendly foreign students. Like come on! You foreign students stay in Halls where you've got your own power outlets, don't come to the library and snatch it from people who brought their laptops to school so that they can do their work! NTU is already pathetically short of places where students can plug in their laptops (so much for a Technological university) and people still don't have the courtesy to share our very limited resources together.

Seriously, NTU, why don't you spend a few more dollars building useful stuff like sockets instead of things like electronic pricing for parking?

I've recently started watching this new modelling wannabe show Make Me A Supermodel, and I've got to say Niki Taylor and Tyson, you've got to work harder. Where's the fun bitchin? Where are the fierce photos? Where are the Tyra-esque 'we're not looking for just a gorgeous girl on the outside, but one who's also beautiful inside' kinda nonsense that is pure joy to listen to?

Granted any reality TV program will have some bitchin but I'm really not feeling it man. Even Janice Dickinson alone creates more noise and drama than all the 14 contestants in her JDMA show. But for girls, maybe there is a reason to like MMAS more than ANTM. Because although clearly ANTM inspired, half the contestants of MMAS are guys. It also allows viewers to vote out a contestants from 3 judge-chosen poorest performers.



So verdict: watch ANTM for pure entertainment cos it rocks. Tyra Banks rocks my socks! HAHA! And be sure to catch the brand new season starting Feb 20. WOO!

Woo SRC was once again packed to the er.. doors at the annual HO cheerleading competition! 14 Halls took part in the cheerleading and mascots comp while 2 of the halls only joined the mascots comp.

Prizes for the mascot competition went to Halls 5, 7, 14 and 15.
For the cheerleading segment, prizes were bagged by Halls 1, 8 and 15. I still can't believe Hall 13 weren't in the top 3.
Ok photos photos!


Hall 1


Hall 3


Hall 5's Powerpuff Girls and Mojo


Hall 6. Ain't the green nice? HA!


Hall 7, once again very very creative but perhaps abit too much story telling this time


Hall 11. Woo Xiuwen well done!


Hall 12. And since I was supposed to be there to support Hall 12, you guys rock! Hahaha! But frankly it was quite good!


Hall 13. The cheerleaders looked the part and I felt the part too so someone tell me why they didn't freaking nab one of the top 3 spots?!


Hall 15. Presumably inspired by 881 cos their mascot was a crazysexycool flamboyant crossdresser with a ge-tai-ish pink furry thingy.




And I've forgotten which halls these teams were from. Lol.

Finally....

YH look at yourself dance! Coooool sia~ HAHAHA!!

Alright that's all.. I didn't manage to snap pictures of every Hall's performance cos the battery went flat so those people who don't see your Hall's pictures here, don't be sore! HAHA!
Just to to be clear, I'm not from Hall 13, but seriously you rock my socks! I will give you a trophy myself! Hahaha!!

Isn't it fun how some signs are just able to make you laugh with their language even if you're not having such a great day?





Oh yea, giggles aside, those who're taking part in the Inter-Hall cheerleading competition tomorrow: all the best and may the best hall win! And of course I'm gonna put my bet on the halls that my friends are in. Hah. Good luck all, don't break any legs!

My god I love this car. A saloon car has no right to look this beautiful. Sensual flowing lines and a sumptuous leather interior matched with the masculinity of the mesh grille, fabulous wheels, quad tail-pipes and a Ferrari-derived engine. Phew. This is what you call a dream car. A 4-door Ferrari in all but name. Presenting to you the latest Maserati Quattroporte variant: the GT S. What a name too. Simply orgasmic.

Mood today: a little bum-my if you know what I mean. Reason? I was sitting in front of my computer a tad too long and started thinking. About people. About how people come in and go out of your lives. I open the MSN window, scroll down the list and realized that there are people who for some reason haven't talked to for a pretty long time.

I then asked myself, so what exactly happened? Honestly I couldn't provide an answer for most of the people. Over time or sometimes seemingly out of nowhere, people just stop talking to each other. Then they drift apart, and after some time the last thing these 2 people remember about each other could just be their names. Sadly it's not always about whether anyone made an effort or not, because if it's gone, it just somehow is.

There are people whom I'd love to talk to again, but well many things that are lost probably never see the light of day again. To me though, some people may be gone physically, but they've never left.

There was some information about the Singapore Flyer in the UOB privileges booklet that came with my monthly statement so I thought I'd visit the website and do a little wiki on our version of the London Eye. Here goes...

Official Opening: 1 March 2008 (although it will open on 14 Feb for a couple of special rides)

Height: 165m (which will make it the tallest ferris wheel in the world until the one in Beijing opens)

Carrying Capacity: 28 capsules carrying 28 passengers each

Duration of a ride: 30 minutes

Prices: $29.50 for the ride alone, $52 for express boarding which includes a souvenir and $69 for express boarding with a special Flight cocktail. Senior citizens and children enjoy 20 and 30% off those prices respectively

Entire capsules can also be booked for events and that's exactly what's going to happen for Valentine's Day. It is however $399 per couple for the V Day package with no dinner provided. So maybe you guys can go to the food court at Marina Square to eat first. Haha!

So it holds a world record for the time being and at $30 a pop, not really that expensive but the design of the Flyer's website didn't leave me very pleased. Singapore Flyer you say, but navigate through the site and you'll realize in not a single one of those photos do you see our 3 main races. You see Asian kids in one of the pictures, but they don't look like local Chinese. So there. It's a pretty nice man-made addition to our very man-made landscape (especially at night when it lights up), but failed to show any local flavour where most visitors will first go to for information of the attraction, the website.

Before CNY comes everyone will do their spring cleaning and clear out the junk that's been sitting around the house the past year. While the wiping and rearranging isn't really what I love to do, it's really not the worst thing in the world to be doing.

Because every year during spring cleaning, I'll come across some very special objects that in the course of a hectic year were sort of forgotten. Things that've been sitting in the drawers and shelves but somewhat abandoned due to the whirlwind of events that's happening around the owner's life. Stuff like presents, birthday cards, tokens from a overseas trip, crumpled up notes, or probably just a movie stub. Ok so the people who wrote those cards and notes or gave me the things are still alive and I don't have to like have something to remember them by but these things show how much they care. For example my birthday may fall on a pretty special date which is so easy to remember but anyone could simply not care. But hey, I still receive messages and cards. So spring cleaning time becomes a day when I relive some memories and feel warm and fuzzy several times as I go through some of the things. They hold rather special meaning to me and I just can't bear to throw them out. *dreaming of a sweet birthday card*

Which is very unlike my mom, who views most of the stuff in my room as junk. She nags at me for keeping so much stuff everywhere. For keeping boxes that the presents came in, for displaying that soft toy even though it's just sitting atop my drawers gathering dust. Like come on, surely she can understand her son is a sentimental and appreciative guy and just wants to go 'awww' each time he comes into the room and see all these precious stuff?

Alright I don't really know the point of this post. Maybe I just miss the toy cars that I had to throw away to clear some space for other stuff. Or maybe I just want to let everyone know that the cards you people give me may be turning yellow but they're still sitting very comfortably in my cupboard. Happy cleaning everyone!

Ok updates updates. The past 2 days have been pretty tiring with a meeting yesterday and then lessons till 830, settling some admin stuff in school and typing 2 long emails.

Thankfully the rest of the week will be more sane, but it's time to get into the swing of work already. I may be getting my ultimate last chance. So wish me luck for what will happen in the morning. I'm gonna meet my Assoc Chair to see if my journey in NTU continues.

Unrelated to what's above, I'm probably a less secure person than most would believe me to be. Well, just a thought.

Have a great week ahead to all, and good night.

For all the folks in NTU and SMU, WOOHOOO our semester starts again tomorrow! I'm not a mad person who's eagerly awaiting having to bury our heads in notes again, but the non-studying part of school rocks. Yea. You get to see familiar faces again, get to bitch about other people, get to eat together and waste time in school together. And er of course occasionally discussing work. But we all know how that goes.

So have fun everybody, good luck chasing the perfect GPA while cursing the school daily. Have fun visiting other hall mates while having sucky/great canteen food. For myself, uh well I do wish this semester will be a little like the last one. Bah.

How could I have had a month of posts without talking about gadgets at all? There you are, the gadget of the year and another 10 great toys that you can actually own, at more sane prices.

Gadget of the Year

Undoubtedly the most talked about gadget of 2007 is the Apple iPhone and although there are a couple of glaring omissions in its spec sheet you just can't fight against the lure of Apple's latest halo product. Previewing on the iPod Touch (since the iPhone only reaches here 'sometime in 2008'), the design is extremely minimalist chic which is synonymous with the taken-a-bite Apple logo by now and the fully touch-sensitive user interface is just frigging cool. While it may not sport 3G, only has a 2 megapixel fixed focus snapper, will likely to be locked to one mobile operator and should cost alot when it Does arrive, that doesn't diminish the fact that it is The gadget of 2007. Techno geeks, get a N95 8GB. Techno-sexuals, this way to the coolest convergence device yet please.


and the others....


Notebooks

Sony Vaio TZ

Amazingly compact but yet packing in computing power of an average machine, this stunner packs a ultra low voltage processor to extend it's battery life. Flash memory instead of hard disk storage can also be configured to save power, weight and improve shock resistance.
Toshiba's Portege R500 does all of that too with a 1" bigger LCD screen (12.1") and weighs about 100g lighter, but just look at the this. $2999 - $4999.

Asus Eee PC

UMPCs seems likely to be the next big thing with the appearance of the Eee for combining big name manufacturer, full functionality as well as an extremely pocket friendly price tag. The LCD may be 7" with flash memory of 4GB, 512MB RAM and no optical drive, but this Linux based costs just $598, upgradeable if you must run on Windows. Dump that $1k+ smartphone and carry a real computer to work instead.



Mobile Phones

Sony Ericsson W910i

Sony Ericsson got design in a big way this year and this is arguably their best effort yet. Large 2.4" screen and a nicely designed interface with typical SE usability. So it's not the best Walkman ever nor is its photos Cybershot-sharp, but who cares? Just look at the thing. $608

Sony Ericsson P1i

I would've bought this myself if not for the price at launch. Rather attractive for a smartphone, big screen, lovely keyboard, wifi and 3 megapixel auto focus-equipped snapper. All it's lacking is GPS and that's not even important because you can't get lost in Singapore. $728.

HTC Touch

The HTC Touch is surprisingly compact and stylish for a smartphone but its trump card must be the touchFLO interface. You can actually access many features without the stylus now, which is rare for a Windows Mobile device. Well, much like a prelude to an iPhone then. $668.

LG Prada

The first luxury model to not be based on an existing phone (like the D&G Moto V3), this was again an attempt to have a iPhone-style device. Again, the design and attractive masks the fact that its spec sheet is very average. But well done to LG for upping it's image in a big way. ~$800+

Nokia 6120 Classic

You may own a N82 or N95 8GB, but Nokia's best is still at the simpler side of things. Compact size, no 5 megapixel or smartphone gimmickry and a low price tag. In short, it's exactly what it's supposed to be: a communication device. $338.



Portable Media Players

Samsung P2

The P2 is the Touch's closest competitor at this point in time, with a full touch screen interface and that sole Menu button below the 3" screen. Looks gorgeous too. Pricey though. The P2 runs from 2GB to 8GB priced between $299 and $459. Touch 8GB is priced at $498 but comes with wifi.

Microsoft Zune 80

While flash memory takes over the world with the first 32GB players rolling out of Creative, just the Zune 80, iPod Classic and Archos 605 are left in the market of hard-disk based memory media players. And the 2nd generation Zune is absolutely sexy with that gigantic 3.2" screen. Unbeatable memory per dollar ratio too. US$250.



Digital Cameras

Canon IXUS 75, Canon IXUS 860 IS

Choosing between the 75 and 860 IS is a matter between small size and features. The 860 IS has an extra megapixel (8) max resolution, a wide angle lens (like higher end Panasonic Lumixes) and comes with image stabilization. However the difference in thickness is 5mm. Which is more than you imagine. Both comes with a nice big 3" LCD screen and performs nicely as point and shoots though. 75 $499, 860 IS $669.

I was 12. Maybe slightly pimply, definitely sporting a typical 90s MacDonald's fringe hairstyle. Voice started to break, changes to the body and mind can be seen and felt. Ah, adolescence.

But 10 years ago was also the beginning of a wonderful journey with a bunch of amazing people. Secondary school friends! WOO HOOO! A decade has passed since we first stepped into the old compound of Nan Hua Sec. Strangers we were, but as time went by friendships were forged, and for some of us, relationships too. Countless jokes were passed around, as were rumours but no matter what a bunch of us stayed pretty close till today.

So this wonderful group of people, if you're reading this you've made an impact in my life. Cheers to our friendship and may this go on till we move on to our real lives with jobs and families and all!

As the Hawaiians usher in 2008 in another hour-odd, the whole world would've entered a brand new year. I may not think alot of holidays and anniversaries are really worth remembering and making a huge fuss over as long as one remembers what they stand for and keep it in their hearts all the time, but a brand new year is good for us as individuals. We take a look back at the 12 months that just passed, maybe evaluate them, then set some goals and milestones we want to reach in the future that follows.

Granted, many new year resolutions are made just to be broken in 2 days, but I'm pretty sure those that matter to us will stay. Ultimately they may not be realized within 2008, but it's still great that you're well aware that throughout '08 major effort has been put into them and you didn't lose track of your goals.

Back to the countdown last night, I was at Esplanade park with a few friends last night to watch the fireworks. Unfortunately because we were there since about 7pm, my bladder couldn't hold it in any longer so at around 11 I had to go pee, and as you might've guessed, got stuck outside for good. Thank god I wasn't alone so despite getting a compromised view of the pyrotechnics I wasn't the loser who counted down to 2008 by myself. Watching the colours explode in the sky somehow brought a gush of emotions as 2007 flashed back in my mind. Things that went right, those that went wrong. People who walked in and out of my life. Events that shook our community. It was a very memorable year for myself, especially the 2nd half and honestly the degree of happiness I've managed to feel in '07 was so great that it's hard to describe with mere words. So thank you, all who've made my 2007 wonderful. However, instead of reminiscing it's time to look forward to a better future, be it for ourselves, family, friends or country.

Rock on 2008!