Vaynard's Personal & Aquatic Journal

NTU NPCC YEP is back... Project Inspirion II

2010-02-03T09:05:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

NTU NPCC is proud to bring back the successful YEP to Cambodia. Project Inspirion II. Please go to this webbie to check out the details.

Even though you are not from NPCC, we also welcome you to join. Let's touch the hearts of the Cambodian children once again with our warm hands and devoted spirits.

http://yep-inspiron.weebly.com/index.html

2nd weekend in Shanghai

2009-08-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

After a long week at work, it’s time to give ourselves a break. Yee Chwan, Edwin and Evi were not free. So only left the 3 of us to go around sightseeing. Thus I gave a ring to Chee Lam and ask if he is heading to the same destination as I do. Indeed he was! Andrew, Estelle and I went down to 城隍庙 area and had our lunch. Came across this Halal noodle shop, we decided to give it a try. I order a beef slice noodle which was very nice and very filling. After having our stomachs filled, we headed to 城隍庙 and met up with Chee Lam and his group of friends. Paid 15 yuan per head and entered the temple which is not really worth the money as it was really very small. We saw this God of Fortune temple and Chee Lam suggested to shout, “1,2,3… Huat Ah!” Toured around 预园 for some scenic architecture and nice ponds then we went parted ways with Chee Lam’s group and headed to a nearby shopping centre which has loads and loads of souvenirs and small handicrafts. When nightfall, we headed towards 中山公园龙之梦shopping centre. Another big shopping centre comparable to 正大广场. We did more shopping and followed by buying egg tarts home for breakfast the next day.

1 dollar shop... dirt cheap!

Halal Noodles

避风塘 ice blended

No inlet teapot (Andrew, Estelle, Me)

城隍庙 with Puxi Pals

Huat Ar!

ORB-001 Akatsuki?

Me with Chee Lam

龙之梦 shopping centre

Satay Wanton Noodle Soup

Sunday morning jio both Yee Chwan and Edwin to join me for golf. Now we have a photographer and thus have pictures of golfing experience. Poh Hoon’s coach came along so we manage to get a free lesson. Though having one more week of golf than the other 2, my shots weren’t that great. A lot of miscues due to the urge to smack the ball again. Then after being rectified by Jacky, Poh Hoon’s coach, things start to get better. After golf, joined Poh Hoon for lunch at a Cantonese restaurant and headed back home. Edwin joined the rest of the housemates to 七浦 while Yee Chwan and I stayed home to recover and clean up the house.

Me overlooking the driving range

My turn to hit!

Work week 1

2009-08-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

Supposed to start work on Monday but end up only started working on Wednesday. So end up slacking at home on Monday, or maybe not really slacking. Did housework and iron my working attire and all. Went around my neighbourhood and explored while I went to buy lunch and all. During dinner time, went to join my fellow housemates for some 扣命 BBQ dinner. Oil and salt was free. And the worst was that it is not that cheap. Blacklisted this hawker for good. Unless he makes some changes to the food he serves, we shall not patronize him anymore.

Dishes with free oil and salt

The killer BBQ... 夺命烧烤!

For Tuesday, no more slacking at home. Since Evi also not working yet, both of us went to 七浦 for shopping. This place is a mega clothes shopping area. Girl’s heaven I would say to be the best way to describe it. Many shopping centers filled with clothes, bags, belts and accessories. The best of all, everything is at distribution price. No item is more than 100 yuan. Bought some Polo tee and off we went to Ikea as Evi wanted to get a mini-table and mirror. On the way there, passed by Shanghai Stadium and Shanghai Indoor Stadium. Also along the way was the Reebok Basketball Garden. It looked like some US basketball zone where all the pros play. Someday when I free, maybe I’ll just go there and join in the fun. At Ikea, everything is some familiar as everything was almost 99.9% matching of Ikea Singapore. The décor, the arrangement and of course the café which sold Swedish Meatball and the hotdog bun. That ends Tuesday’s shopping.

On the way to 七浦

Finally... 七浦!

Shanghai Stadium

Shanghai Indoor Stadium

Reebok Basketball Park

Evi in search of her small table

Finally Wednesday, my first day of work! Met Mdm Tao at 娄山关站 then she brought me to the shuttle bus stop. The most unfortunate of my house as my shuttle bus stop is located so far from my house. But luckily it is still near MRT station. Thank God! At that place, saw Jiamin who is from the previous batch of GIP working at Schering Plough. But sadly, her job scope and mine very different, so can’t get much help from her. Once I reached Schering Plough, I was brought to HR department to settle admin. Little did I know that I have to go through some weird self study module which talks about practices in pharmaceutical plant. Following, I met my supervisor, Mr Zhang Jian Zhong, a sixty year old engineer. First task for me was to read ISO manual on compressed air for a meeting in the afternoon. The meeting was damn scary before Poh Hoon came in. Everyone was speaking in Shanghainese. How am I supposed to understand that? Meeting was also no different from a warzone, everyone was shooting one another. After meeting was more reading. At 4.20pm, everyone started to shutdown their com and packing. I was like, aren’t we suppose to knock off at 4.30pm? How come everyone was already packing? Then I realized that the shuttle bus will leave the company at 4.40 sharp. After work, I chiong down to Century Avenue to buy a cake. It’s Edwin’s birthday! Trying our best to hide it from him, we off all the lights at home and hide in every corner of the house. Once cue from Yee Chwan was given, everyone appeared with the cake. First birthday celebration in GIP Shanghai and definitely many more to come.

Ops team with Edwin

Housemates + Adam

Work for me has become rather a routine though with a slight amount of unpredictability. Daily work includes reading of manuals, research online to solve problems, lab experiments or visit to production section for checking. Thursday evening, my boss gave a welcoming treat into Schering Plough. He asked “So what do you want to eat? I only two choices for you, either Thai or Western.” I choose Western. And end up, we landed at Hooters Shanghai. Then I realized that my boss is actually a regular of Hooters. By chance, it was happy hour. Thus whichever beverage we order is 1 for 1. Singapore Hooters is filled by loads of Minah, here is different – 100% locals. The first girl who served us was named April. When I saw the menu, I was shocked. Everything was so expensive. But thank god I am not the one picking the tab. Poh Hoon ordered all the expensive dishes like crab and steamed prawn and many others. Then when our beer came, April took some salt and put it on the napkin. I was like rather surprised that it actually is done so that our beer mug will not get stuck onto the napkin. Very impressive idea. Then the seafood was being served, however we do not need to peel them ourselves instead April did all the peeling. Woohoo… Handsfree seafood eating. Then it was their shift changeover, they did a dance over the whole restaurant and April was taken over by Jolin. All the while Poh Hoon keep talking to the both April and Jolin, as both of them are very interested about expat life in Shanghai. Then suddenly Poh Hoon told Jolin it was my first time Hooters Shanghai and she started clapping her hands which led to the rest of the Hooters girls’ attention and they started clapping as well. Then Jolin told them it was my first time here and all of them wanted to sing me a song. Jitao tio stunned! After the song, heard from Poh Hoon that it’s the norm. When the bill came, the whole dinner plus drinks cost 500 over yuan. Poh Hoon also gave a 100 yuan tip for Jolin. Wonder how much exactly does Poh Hoon earn.

Ang Moh at Hooters

Hooters Beer Mug

Did IR analysis with Mark in the lab on Friday. Can feel the presence of Prof Zaher and realized I forget a lot of stuff on IR analysis. Lucky the samples were prepared by Mark. The machine quite irritating, every step of computer command requires a password. Too much hassle to operate a simple process which could be replaced by just one simple button. TGIF… Work ended and we headed to Origos at 南京东路 for dinner. Pizza buffet for just approximate 8-9 SGD. Dirt cheap. Food was decent. There’s satay, pizza, bbq stuff and loads more. What’s most horrible is the grass like veggie. Taste was yucky to the max. For Edwin, it was the blue coloured ice cream which was actually peppermint flavor but I guess the colour is kinda wrong. After which we made our way to Metersbowne, a shop endorse by Jay Chou, Angela Zhang and Wilber Pan. They got very nice transformers shirts and whole shop is going on a promotion on buy 1 get 1 free. However, the shirt I like does not have my size. They only have the smaller sizes. Are PRCs so petite? Weirdz… After which home sweet home. Embrace the weekend!

Sample preparation for IR analysis

Origos Pizza Buffet! 49 Yuan!

The more worth it food

This taste like grass... Yikes!

Edwin's horror -> blue ice cream

Metersbonwe

I want to get this! But no size... Partly due to clearance sale

Random Pic with Expo Mascot

Day 4 & 5

2009-08-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

First Saturday in Shanghai, with the internet up and running, no one slept early. So everyone woke up late the next day. And so our day started with us going down to Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. The size is approximately 5 to 6 of our Singapore Science Centre. First in it was this mega fake animal and plant area. Everything looks very realistic. And there’s even a waterfall within the building. Rather impressive I should say. The rest of the museum has most of the stuff what we have. One special area will be the sports area where they use technology to create device to help them train in sports. No wonder Singapore sports… Haiz… There is one rather special exhibit, the flowing tap with no inlet. But actually, I realized there is an inlet just that it is covered by the outlet. Walking the whole museum is damn shag. No joke. After which Evi went for pedicure and the rest of us went for dinner. Once Evi was done, all of us left for home together.

Exterior of Science & Tech Museum MRT

Background of Science & Tech Musuem

Earthquake Sensor!

Fake Safari

Fake waterfall

No inlet? Where water come from?

CBE Unite! Ancestors of DNA!

Feel the power of Science?

Time flies, day 5 already. I left early in the morning to join my boss for golf, while the rest went to wait for Estelle as she just arrived from Singapore today. Golf no pics yet, no one to take for me. Firsthand experience in golf is not as easy as I thought it was. It is not about swing you club at maximum velocity and smacking the ball. The more you desire to smack, the worse it gets. Rather focus on the swing and let the ball just be in the way. Everything is a very graceful motion. Of course, for a beginner like me, I think I suck at it. Many thanks to Poh Hoon (my IA Company Plant Director), he paid for all the expenses during golf and lent me his son’s clubs, plus he taught me how to play. He said I have to control all of the urge to smack the ball with all my might in order to play well. This sport is really about gracefulness and body movement; even a strength free shot can let the ball fly far if you hit it correctly. I tried earlier with a big swing end up the ball just fly say 20 yards. Totally horrible. Actually I hit horribly, but actually some of the “regulars” hit not as well too. They simply use golf to vent anger. Slowly I improved and hopefully I can play better golf when I return to Singapore.
After a simple lunch with my boss, went over to meet the rest of my housemates at Carrefour. More shopping of household stuff and then its time to get home and rest.

Day 3

2009-08-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone woke up early miraculously. Apparently due to the much awaited internet service man to get us online. Haha, but sadly, things weren’t that smooth afterall. Our dear internet service man only arrived slightly after lunch time. And finally after 10mins of fiddling, everyone’s online! Woohoo! However, we have one problem. We need to bypass the legendary Great Firewall of China. Then for like 15mins, everyone was hunting for proxy servers to bypass and we did. Having this accomplishment, we went to fill our stomach and shop around. Then we went to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum station to meet Guo Jian (Yee Chwan, Andrew and Edwin common friend). There he brought us to some tailor which Andrew made his complete suit. That place was a mini Dhoby exchange. Has loads of pirated stuff aka A 货.

When our stomach rumbled, it’s time to move. And there we were, 吴江路. The famous 小吃 street of Shanghai. The food there is really very good. We tried 烧烤 and 小扬生煎. Both equally good. 小扬生煎 when eating will have this juice that will spurt out, so the technique to eat is to suck out the juice after making a small puncture. The queue is always damn long and the BBQ queue is no better. The BBQ oyster was heavenly together with the China style mutton satay and beef satay. To top it all up, we ordered chicken heart and scallops which were another must eat as well. With our stomachs filled, we walked from吴江路 all the way to 人民广场. Basically a very busy area in Shanghai with its train station having 20 exits.

烧烤!

小杨生煎! Very juicy!

Atas public toilet which has a nice exterior but horrible interior

A simple walk across人民广场, we reached 南京路步行街. Basically this place is the Orchard road of Shanghai. Loads of expensive stuff and branded goods sold here. There is even a shop endorsed by Jay Chou. Then we went to this 汤包馆 to have our dinner. We ate this 汤包, which is a bigger version of 生煎. Taste really good and filled with juice. Next time go eat maybe bring a straw. Hehe. We ate 小笼包 as well, but it is not that fantastic. Think must seek for the better ones somewhere. Then we walked toward the Bund but sigh, it is sealed up for renovation in view of 2010 Shanghai Expo.

步行街 landmark

江南一绝? Overhype ba... Typical PRC 吹牛

Menu of 汤包馆

Interior of the menu which show the different 包 they serve

Entrance to Bund Sightseeing Tunnel which is not recommended by locals

So we headed to a Clarke Quay look-alike place in Shanghai. It is called 新天地. Nice environment for drinking but its pricing of liquor is even nicer. Thus all we see is expatriates and no locals. After visiting that place, it spells the end of the 3^rd day in Shanghai.

Landmark fountain at 新天地

Shanghai Day 2

2009-07-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

Day 2 everyone snooze till about noon? My roomie Edwin being the latest to wake up at about 11.30am. Then after dragging our feet and everything, we went to a place called 回味 which was introduced by the seniors. The description given to us by the senior was "you walk down this street, the most lok kok eatery you see is 回味". At this eatery, it really look super run down, however, the food was cheap and good. 5 of us paid 36 Yuan for a meal which is approximately SGD1.80 per head? And it was damn filling. Yee Chwan ordered his favourite 番茄炒蛋 which soon become our favourite as well. We also had 宫保鸡丁 which is filled with salted peanuts, 红烧鱼片 and 家常豆腐. Very very nice food and Andrew suggested we come here more often, especially when our wallets are thinning.

回味 dishes

After filling our tummies, 5 of us (Estelle have not reach Shanghai) made our way to the police station. The route towards the police station is mad. Comparable to a route march i guess. Brings back memories during army as well. After "hollan" for 1hr plus, we finally found the police station which looks like a bank. See pic below and you'll understand.

Bank look alike police station
Random pic taken during "route march"

Then we bought our super power EZ-link card at Century Park metro station. If you thought Singapore EZ-link card is one powerful tool, you haven't seen how advance Shanghai is. Singapore EZ-link card only allow you to take bus and MRT whereas in Shanghai, this transport card allow you to take all public transport, i.e bus, metro, train, boat and taxi. Singapore has also the timer to tell you when the train arrives by the minute, but look, Shanghai goes right into both minutes and seconds, plus it is very accurate. Uber ownage! Oh ya... In the metro/MRT, there is this signage which caught my eye as well. Direct translation of English can be quite dangerous.

Shanghai Transport Card
Train Notification System
Lousy translation

In the evening, we went to 陆家嘴. That is where all the very beautifully constructed buildings of Shanghai are being constructed. We went to 正大广场 to have dinner. With so many choices available to us, we finally decided to eat 大家乐, one of the cheaper restaurant in this atas district. This restaurant serve food like 港式茶餐厅. I ordered this pork chop rice which tasted very nice. Since our house short of utensils, we decided to stunt the disposable utensils home for us to use when we need to eat takeaways or maggie mee. Our chief stunner Yee Chwan took 2 butter knife, 1 fork and 1 spoon. 强者! Then we split up to do our own shopping after our meal. I went to Popular Book Store to buy a China Travel guide for me to travel whenever I have the time. After that we went for mini shopping at supermarket together then head back to the apartment as this shopping complex is super big, about twice the size of Plaza Singapura and at least 3 levels taller. Damn shag after shopping. Must go home rest leg and prepare for the next day.

东方明珠 Eastern Pearl
Bread Talk in Shanghai
Pork Chop Bake Rice... Sedap!
Andrew's Aladdin lamp steak saucer
Not pencil mark, just scratch fingernail, will have marking
正大广场
Popular Bookstore Shanghai
China Travel BookNightscene of skyscraper

GIP Shanghai Day 1

2009-07-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

After months of waiting, it's time for me to go for global immersion program in Shanghai. I barely had much time after the YEP trip to Cambodia. And here I am, in one of the most establish cities of China, Shanghai. Want to thank Eugene for organising a sending off for me at the airport and thanks to all who came, Andy Wong, Alvin, Amanda, Xue Jing, Theresa and Lam Yarn. Of course not to forget Sok Fang whom i went to meet in the airport as she's working there.

NPCC Pals
Top Row (L to R): Lam Yarn, Theresa, Eugene, Alvin
Bottom Row(L to R): Andy Wong, Amanda, Me, Ruibao, Xue Jing

My Family

The whole group of us from CBE boarded the China Eastern flight to Shanghai. Though by half of the journey, we kinda regret opting for this cheaper alternative instead of slightly more expensive Singapore Airlines. Besides having the wait in the airport for approximately 1hr, the flight was kinda bumpy as well. Worse... when i asked for my favourite red or white wine, the flight attendant replied... “先生，我们只有啤酒”. Kinda turned off. We arrived at Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport and waited for the rest of the people on Singapore Airlines to arrive. After which, we made our way to NTU Shanghai Office at 张江高科 where we had our breakfast. There were a variety of them such as chicken porridge, xiao long bao, you tiao and soya bean milk. However, the stunning thing that i saw on the package was like wow... Look at the pic below and you'll understand. It sounded so vulgar!The vulgar brand name

Breakfast Set: Vegetable Bun, You Tiao (must tug of war it to eat) & Soya Milk

Now it's time to head to my apartment in Shanghai for the next 5month plus. It's located at 龙阳路万邦都市花园. Prior to the trip, we were told we have only one toilet in the apartment which is going to be shared by 6 people, namely myself, Edwin, Yee Chwan, Andrew, Evi and Estelle. Finally after one super long stretch of walking, we reached our apartment and saw our landlord. Everything in the looks fine, very well equipped. TV, fridge, microwave, aircon, dispenser and washing machine. Then we took a look at the toilet, found an additional plus point - electric toilet bowl which look like those you find in Japanese hotels.

万邦都市花园

Maglev Station
Kitchen
Meeting Desk ( The single chair is for Andrew(house rep aka Xiao Liu))Bedroom

After all the unpacking, no one was hungry so we proceed to Metro to buy some stuff for our apartment. Hell scary... The stuff there was ultimate expensive. That will be the last time we wil buy anything from there. Lesson learnt for the first day. Die die must compare prices before buying, no hurry. Being 萝卜头 once is enough, must be street smart liao. Then we went to a fake Ajisen outlet and ate some food. Miraculously, the waitress forget to count in Yee Chwan and my food when calculating the bill. Maybe things are likedat. You win some you lose some. Then we headed back to the apartment where we continue unpacking and played Winning Eleven on Playstation 2. Yeap... I brought my PS2 slim to Shanghai. It totally bonded us, even Evi is super pro in the game, some of the guys in the apartment are no match for her. And after the game. It's time to turn in!Stuff we bought from metro

More stuff

Chicken Chop Rice (which I ate for free at fake Ajisen)

Night time enjoyment: Winning Eleven

Youth Expedition Project: Project Inspirion

2009-07-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Starting this entry first. Complete in a while. Shanghai updates will be done first!

In search of diahorrea bird!!!

2009-05-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

Finally the dreaded, horrible, disgusting, wicked sick (the list goes on) exams are over. Though it was three core modules, but well... any form of preparation was easily destroyed by our "fantastic" profs. Cheat sheet that was practically useless and open book which we may need to tear the book in order to find what we need to solve the problems. But well, it's over.

Now back to the topic. Just went to Calvin's (aka Ah Chern) place to get my car serviced. Flush the engine oil and replaced with Calvin's reccomended Voltronic Engine Oil. Replaced the old $15 spark plug with a $70 iridium spark plug. Did a car wash inclusive of vacuuming of the car interior. Happy with the new outlook and internal boost to my car, drove the car home feeling satisfied. And guess what... My most dreaded enemy appeared! The diahorrea bird! Of course it wasn't only its appearance, it did an air raid on my bonnet! One big splatter of excretion. Grr! This was only one of the incident that diahorrea bird did on my car. In NTU MAE carpark where i suppose alot of diahorrea bird reside, everytime i park there, 85% of the time, my car will sure be stained by their air raids. At CEE carpark, i wasn't spared as well. Omaha people have asked me why i never wash my car, part of it is thanks to diahorrea bird. Even if i wash the car, diahorrea bird will make the condition back to square one. Sigh. Thus must search and make sure that i don't get harass by diahorrea bird.

Lyrics of Background Music

2009-02-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

Gundam 00 - Trust You

Flowers sway in the wind as if they are dancing
So that the rain moistens the earth
Even though this world is alive, coming closer together
Why do people hurt each other?
Why do partings come about?

Even if you go far away
You're still always right in the middle of my heart
While they remain completely buried by that kind smile
Even if I feel pain
In fragments of you that I held, because we're still connected
I believe that we can meet again
I'm waiting for your love

I love you, I trust you
I want you to share your loneliness with me
I love you, I trust you
Even in light, even in darkness
Because we're together, we’re able to believe in each other

No...
Please don't leave anymore

Anderson Secondary School Homecoming

2009-02-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

Ooops, something long overdue. Anderson Secondary School has it 3 in one mega event on the same day 24th Jan 2009.

1. CCA Openhouse
2. Opening Of Indoor Sports-hall
3. Homecoming of Ex-Andersonians

CCA Openhouse has been a routine, however this year, we had this special police van on display which amazed many of the people who were present at the openhouse. As usual, NPCC put up PDS performance and i have to admit that the performance was quite well done judging that the squad had only one month to prepare. This event is probably the one and only day which all Anderson Officers and Cadet Inspectors will be wearing their uniform. To top this event up, my recently graduated cadets also came back to help out. Many thanks to you guys!

Being busy with the CCA openhouse, i missed the opening of the indoor sports hall. But nevertheless, i saw many old pals who came back to Anderson Sec after so long. Ex-squadmates Benny, Andy, Daniel, Kevin and Coreen. Ex-NPCC seniors Jeffrey, Thiam Wei, Tammy, Cheng Hao, Hong Ping, Chuan Chee and Choon Mei. Ex-NPCC Juniors Jessie, Germaine, Hairi and Azizi. And of course the lovable batch of 2008 NCOs. I personally think this is a good initiative by the school to bring back Ex-Andersonians and let everyone have a mega-gathering. At least, everyone will feel attached to their Alma Mater. I had a long chat with my former sec 2 maths teacher and PA club teacher in charge Mr Ow. Without his guidance throughout my secondary school days and his advice when i needed help during JC days, doubt i could have reach this far in my life. I couldn't forget all the teachers whom have given me loads of help while i was in Anderson Sec. Namely: Ms Yeong MK, Mrs Goh, Mr Alan Choo and Ms Ong Lay Hong. One of the reasons why i still keep going back to Anderson to help out in NPCC is because i really gain alot out of Anderson and the only way i can contribute back will be by helping the next generation.

Me, Mr Sim, Ms Sham, 2 Police Officers, Ms Leow, New TO, Mr Koh, Weihao

Anderson Secondary School NPCC Unit

Ms Leow, Xianhui, 2 Police Officers, Me, Ghim Yang

Serving Anderson Secondary NPCC for 10 Years: Xianhui, Me

2008 NCOs(From L to R: Farah, Hazwani, Fiona, Yuxuan, Patricia, Ying Yu) & Me

Chuan Chee, Choon Mei, Hong Ping, Me, Xianhui

YEP Recce Trip: Cambodia

2009-01-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

It's been one week since i returned from Cambodia. A very fruitful trip i would say. Never would i have imagined myself to become a group leader for a overseas community involvement project. Would like to thank Eugene for giving me this opportunity for doing so.

The recce trip started on 26th Dec 2008. Sarou, a Cambodian friend introduced by Collin, picked me and Eugene up from Phnom Penh International Airport. This marks the beginning of the days in Cambodia. The city is not as developed as Singapore but its hustle and bustle is comparable. We first went to the Royal Palace which was flourished with loads of "gold". A very impressive sight as shown in the picture.

After which, we went to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. The site was where the Khmer Rouge tortured and interrogated all the high ranking officials and the highly educated. The information and the pictures of the people killed during the Pol Pot Regime, mixed emotions ran in me. I questioned myself, how could such merciless thing happen in Cambodia. How can someone manipulate the minds of the people and commit such acts that cause tremendous fear in the minds of the innocent. A whole generation was being wipe out and the wealth and prosperity of the country was being destroyed together. Whenever the power struggle occurs, it is always the innocent people who are affected the most.

After visiting the museum, we were then brought to meet the director of Sarou’s NGO. I was very pleased with meeting the director where he shared with us the aims and directions of the NGO. I was pleased to learn about the how much influence the monks have within the Cambodian population and also how Man is so dependent on trees for livelihood and other uses. From his words, Man has truly brought about much harm to the environment. By clearing the forest, short term gains has been achieved with the onset of long term aftermaths. The trees are crying yet for Man selfish gains, Man has chose to ignore the cries and howls of the trees. From this, I’ve seen another area of help the people of Cambodia need which has never crossed my mind at all. My impression of helping people all came from education, technology transfer and teaching of new skill. Conservation of natural resources/environment is something new and has long term benefits instead of the usual stuffs like house-building.

The next day, Eugene and I paid visit to the killing fields accompanied by Naro, another of Collin's Cambodian friend. The silence of the place send chills down my spine. This place was an execution ground for the commoners during the Khmer Rouge Regime. I paid my respects to the innocent people who died under the hands of the merciless leaders of the Khmer Rouge. In the afternoon, made trips to the Russian Market to check out on possibility of logistics purchase and went to Singapore Embassy to get their contact details. Day 2 ended with a good meal at Tsar Char(Old Market).

Day 3, the real highlight of the trip. We woke up at 5am in the morning and made our way to Sarou's village. Sarou's mum greeted up and offered us noodles for our breakfast. Next we proceeded to tour around the village. It was a Sunday so there was no school, so the children are all at home helping their family with the newly harvested rice. Then Sarou brought us to his family's rice fields where his siblings are catching mud-crabs in the dried up rice fields. This is something that Singaporeans do not get to experience. We continued walking around the village till it was lunch time where the mud-crabs which were caught was cooked in a soup. Sarou then introduced us to his father, whom is the director of the school of their village. We had a hearty chat, then Eugene and I went to tour around the school. The people living in the village are very happy with their own way of life, but Eugene and I felt that the villagers main source of income come from the rice the grow which could be susceptible to external factors such as market demands and weather. The children would rather go back to help in the rice fields than to further their studies which could better the lives of their family. This spurred the both of us and we certainly feel that to bring in a team to help them better their education will certainly give them great help which Sarou agrees totally and wish that we can come with our team as soon as possible. After which we left for Phnom Penh.

Jiahao and Elmer arrived the next day and all 4 of us proceed to Siam Reap. The following day, we visited the ancient monuments of Cambodia. An eye opener for me and i was really impressed how such a magnificent architectural site can be preserved so nicely. One solid day was spent in the Angkor regions and we went back Siam Reap for dinner and ice cold beer which was really cheap at 50 cents per glass.

We proceeded back to Phnom Penh the next day and count down for the new year. Not as happening as compared to Singapore probably due to their culture. Fireworks were fired at the harbour in front of the Royal Palace which was an awesome sight.

The next day started with Jiahao and Elmer touring Phnom Penh and Eugene and myself recceing for hospitals all over the city. Thank goodness the hospitals provided ambulance services into the villages as well which saves us alot of trouble. Eugene and I also checked out one more NGO which provided training for the people who are injured/crippled by the landmines so as to allow them to get an income for themselves. We meet with Naro for dinner and it marked the end of the recce/travel trip.

Finally back after a whole chain of events.

2008-11-28T05:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since i updated the blog. Yes, the most dreaded exams are finally over. Not really hopeful about the results though. Actually over this period, bad things have happened and such. The most significant being the death of my grandmother.

Since young, with both my parents being busy with work, the only who was taking care of my daily needs, cooking lunch, waking me up for school and accompany me to wait for school bus. Thus i am very close to my grandmother. Her death certainly had a very big impact on me. Everything was going fine and she was recovering from her previous problem of digestive tract infection, but a viral fever took her away from mortal world. The sight of seeing her draw her last breath was horrible for me. However i am thankful that i am able to be with her till the very last moment. My mum mentioned that actually she have a feeling that it happened earlier in the day because many unusual stuff happen in the day. A distant relative living in China who did not call for 1 year suddenly called, her eyes were twitching the whole day and me and my sis not performing well for our exam that particular day.

Would like to say thanks to everyone who showed concern to me throughout this period and help me recover from the impact of the incident. My deepest appreciation to all of you guys. Without you guys i don't know if i will be able to get by this period. Thanks once again.

Get well soon

2008-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

To my 97 year old grandmother, hope you recover real soon. Everytime i visit you in the hospital, i see you in pain and there is nothing much i could to help you, i feel super helpless. All i can do is to pray for your speedy recovery. Thank you all, staff of TTSH for taking good care of my grandmother. Get well soon ah ma!

Mugging ghost festival

2008-10-26T03:34:00.001-07:00

Yes... It's the time of the year again. Everyone will be rushing for free seats in the library, free benches along the north and south spine. The moment you leave one seat or bench, some vulture like muggers will be ready to pounce on that vacancy. Since it started, i'm also in the mood to study as well. Usually will be mugging in school till late in CBE discussion room or LWN library. Exams coming, no wonder everyone is on mugging mode. Thanks to mugging buddy SK accompanying me during mugging sessions, with occasional inclusion of Alan, Seng Long or Marcus.

However, sometimes when mugging gets too boring. Special things may happen. Especially in CBE discussion rooms. From falling off chairs, singing "牛仔很忙" and watching Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. CBE admin staff Mariyam and Yong Ling must have had a good laugh if they've played the cctv tapes, because i myself couldn't stop laughing whenever such stuff happen as well. All the best to everyone who is preparing for the Sem 1 final exams!

1 super crazy flowchart of all the bio-processes on metabolism contributed by SK and myself

SCBE IYG 2008

2008-10-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

On monday, together with Alan and Seng Kiat, we took part in the SCBE Inter-year Games 2008 for basketball. Miraculously, we came in third with our mediocre skills and horredous teamwork. Worse still, upon reaching the basketball court, we realised that our team-name was "Mao Xiang's Brothers". Really one super stunner. All thanks to us for forgetting to send in a team name during the registration period. But well, played as per normal just that passing wasn't as great and i was being closed down/marked tightly by the defence. Made quite a number of open shots yet missing a few easy shots. Kinda disappointed with myself. Could have played a tougher role and barge my way to score easy lay-ups. Must also change my selfish plays to allow others to score. Till then, hope my skills continue to improve and will get selected for ISG.

Me, Alan, Seng Kiat and Jian Sheng(secret reserve)

7th National Guppy Championship

2008-10-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

Went down to visit fellow friends of Guppy Club Singapore during the 7th National Guppy Championships. Concurrently, Betta Club, Pleco Club and Goldfish Club were also holding their competitions as well at Serangoon CC. First thing i did was to say hi to my mentor aka Uncle Henri. Very friendly old man who has teached me alot in this hobby.
Each category and class yielded many beautiful fishes with many winning entries from Guppy Galaxy and Guppy Centre. A eyeopener for a mediocre like me. Hope i can achieve their standard in the near future. Till the next GCS gathering, will be working hard on my fishes to up their standard.

My Mentor: Uncle Henri

RREA Full Reds

RREA Red Lace

Half Black Pastel

Blue Grass

Outrageously stupid taxi driver!!!

2008-09-07T05:33:00.001-07:00

Everything was fine today until a stupid taxi come bang my beloved Vios from behind. Was travelling to Chai Chee to give tuition via PIE. Upon negotiating a bend region after the exit to Sims Ave, all cars slowed down and i did the same. Then i suddenly heard a loud braking screeching sound and before i knew it... My beloved Vios is hurt. Grrr!!!!!!!!! Head on impact from that taxi onto my rear bumper and boot. The reverse sensor cover also came off. My bumper this time round got cracks instead of dents. The whole rear of my car was badly damaged. The feeling got worse when i saw that the taxi was totally unharmed! Took down the cabby's car plate number and exchanged contacts. Drove off to continue with tuition. After tuition, called the cabby to tell him that my friend David, who is a car mechanic, will call him soon to settle the problem. This idiotic cabby said this to me... “小弟弟，我的车都没有坏，怎么可能我的车会撞到你的车？”“是不是你的车已经坏了，想要我来赔偿！”Upon hearing this, i was super heated up. What nonsense theory is that? He obviously banged my car, then now he is trying to say that i am trying to con him into paying. Can't believe how brainless some people can be. Think i am a little kid and can bully? I'm afraid not.

To the stupid driver... My lawyer will contact you soon... You shall pay for the damages to my beloved Vios! And for goodness... Not every youngster is as dumb as you think!

Me and my crazy runs!

2008-09-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

People who know me since secondary school days would have known that i'm not someone who loves running back then. Especially thanks to my P.E. teacher, Mdm Lim aka Wu Bai (because she really look like the Taiwan rock band star Wu Bai), her favourite line of "run 10 rounds" makes me sick of running. Every run in school was really dreaded, even up till JC under the hands of Mr Lim Kok Wee and Mr William Chua. Running was really something which i hate up till that point.

Things start to change when i entered army. Running initially was still bad till i met my khakis in running, Valent and Bay Gan Boon. Both of them encouraged me and pace me along the way, build up my confidence in running and constantly running with me in camp. Then came the first hurdle to conquer which was the Army Half Marathon 06. 3 of us conquered it together and i've finished my first long distance run. In the past i thought cross country was difficult, but it seems to be no challenge after that run.

After the run, i realised that my secondary school buddy Herek was also into running as well. Since he lives near me, we often train together so that we can be prepared for the races. Many of the races especially the Standard Chartered Marathon 2007, i really owe it to Herek for all the encouragement and pushing me towards the goals as many a times i wanted to give up due to the excruciating cramp in my calf muscles. Thanks buddy! It has always been a pleasure running with you.
For the year of 2008, have cleared 3 runs so far, of which 2 of them are horrible. PAssion run was great, good route, good organisation. Army Half Marathon was horrible. Insufficient isotonic drinks at the water points and a horrible route. A so called new route was created so that we can run to the Marina Barrage. But this new track was horrendous, pod holes everywhere and the terrain was very muddy. The latest run being the Nikeplus Human Race. Being a run of shorter mileage, certainly attracted many to participate or rather too many. The whole route was so jammed up that no one could run properly. Worse still, some of the people who joined the event are not keen to run. They end up having a nature walk creating a super impenetrable "barrage" that hinders movement. Perhaps the organisers would want to revise the route so that there is a wider path for people to run.

Many would have asked, why pay money to torture yourself. The thing i would say about this runs will be the sense of achievement after completing the run and the friendship strengthening during the run itself.

Next up: Standard Chartered Marathon 2008!

People mountain people sea

"Barrage"

Yun Long, Me, Eugene

My achievement so far!

Minds addiction acts on me again!

2008-08-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

As the title mentioned, just can't get enough of minds. Eugene, Elmer, Ming Feng and myself met for dinner at Chinatown, Dallas Chicken which was a KFC like outlet which served nice fried chicken. A sure to return visit with Eugene most probably after Standard Chartered Marathon 2008 and whack the fried chicken buffet. After which went for dessert at 记得吃. They served many dessert with their speciality being mango desserts. After which, we strolled down to Minds Cafe Boat Quay, NTU NPCC favourite hangout.

The games begin! Started off with Bang! By right this game is played with a sheriff, 2 deputies, 3 outlaws and 1 renegade. However, due to shortage of "manpower", it became 1 sheriff, no deputies, 2 outlaw and 1 renegade. Thus a 3 v 1 situation is formed and Eugene was gang "banged!" because he was the sheriff. So we decided to pause this game till more "manpower" arrive. We decided to play ticket to ride then. While setting up, senior project officer Kian Wah appeared. Continued with ticket to ride and while playing fireworks from fireworks festival went off and we got a good view from the minds cafe itself. In the end for ticket to ride, i finally end up victorious! Roar! Can't wait for the next minds outing.

记得吃

Fireworks from Minds Cafe Boat Quay

Me and Kian Wah building transborder train express!

Me, Kian Wah and Elmer

Destination: Vietnam, Saigon!

2008-08-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

After a busy hectic week in school, finally found some time to do an entry for my escapade in Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon. Before the monotonous and ever boring semester start, decided to go for a R&R trip to Vietnam from 29th July to 1st August. Went straight to Singapore Budget Terminal to board Tiger Airlines which was delayed for 1hr. While waiting for the flight, there was this guy whose name was called on the PA system as he was the last passenger. The funny thing was he ran into wrong gate, then after realising it, he charge toward the correct gate and finally manage to board the flight. And so, after 2hrs of flight, I touched down at Ho Chi Minh city. Very nice place and the people are very friendly. First headed to the hotel to check in and then made my way Phang Ngu Lao to book day tours which cost around 15 USD per tour. Oh ya, forget to mention, most of my travelling within Saigon was via foot. One of the highlight of day 1 was the cuppacino i had at Highlands' Coffee. The coffee aroma was fantastic and it was very smooth. After walking/shopping around Phang Ngu Lao for a while, time for dinner. Never would i have guessed that upon my main dish is served, the whole street went into pitch darkness. And out of the blue, i am having a candle-light dinner with my friend, who is a guy mind you. The restaurant staff are very well prepared, they layed candles all over the place. As it was raining, candle keep flickering and every effort was tried to keep the flame from being extinguished. After which, bought a can of "333" Beer which taste alot better than Tiger Beer.

One day passed and it's day 2 now! Very excited to go to Cu Chi Tunnel. The legendary tunnel which the Vietnamese used to "own" the American Soldiers during the Vietnam war. Before reaching Cu Chi Tunnel, had a stopover at a lacquer-ware factory. I was sure impressed by the paintings the made. Unbelievably beautiful I would say.

After which, continue the travel to Cu Chi tunnel. There I saw the famous tunnels, the booby traps the locals made, how the locals make weapons, craters formed by American bombs, a spoiled American tank and many more. I also got a feel of how "big" the tunnels were and ate what they locals ate during that period of time. Initially itchy to fire shots from the weapons of that time, but on second thoughts, with bullets costing 1USD per piece, I rather shoot them during ICT instead.

After Cu Chi, it was back to Saigon. Travelled around the city attractions on foot. Went to KFC for lunch. They served in a plate which was last seen in Singapore like 12 years ago? After which, went to Ben Tham Market, basically Chinatown Market of Singapore, tonnes of stuff to get, ranging from dri-fit shirts, Vietnam local specialities, lacquer-ware, bags and many many more. Then I headed down to Saigon Central Post Office and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Finally headed back to Ben Tham vicinity for a sumptuous dinner of Vietnamese Pho aka Beef Noodle. Super tasty, Singapore's beef noodles unmatch for this local delight. After dinner, shopped at Ben Tham Night Market then head to Kem Bach Dang to have ice cream! Super cheap and nice! The ice cream was packed in a coconut and the taste was heavenly! Definitely a must eat!

Now come day 3, my friend manage to capture a shag look of me when i went down for breakfast. Then came the visit of Mekong Delta. The travel to Mekong Delta from Saigon was 4hrs. Along the way were padi fields and village civilisation. Upon reaching Mekong Delta, boarded a bumboat which brought me to the Cai Be floating market. Locals were trading on boats and they hang what they sell on the front of their boats. Intersting eh? Something that you can never find in Singapore. Up next was a visit to a nearby island where villagers made peanut/caramel sweets, coconut candy, rice crispies and rice paper. After which, the boat brought me to a second island where i had my lunch of Vietnamese pork rice. Taste was not bad, but certainly not filling enough. After lunch, the village band together with singers amazed us with their traditional Mekong music. I was kinda surprised because within the band, i saw a guitar, so how traditional was that. Nevertheless the music was good, the singing was good too. Mekong Delta tour then ended with a visit to Vin Long City Market. Reaching back to Saigon, my pho craving came back, thus went back to Pho 24 outlet for pho. Made some last minute shopping at Ben Tham once again, then headed back to my favourite ice cream shop. Finally back to the hotel and snooze.

At last, the final day in Saigon, did last minute shopping and sight seeing, had pho for lunch again. =P Then it was time to head back to Singapore. It has been a great time in Saigon, i don't mind coming again!

Area 6 ATC

2008-08-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

25-27th July was Area 6 ATC. For the first time in my NPCC life, i was tasked to take the role of teacher officer as my officer in charge was unable to attend the camp. So as usual did a barang check in school before moving out. Then slowly made our way into campsite. Met lotsa old friends like Ah Ber, Taiwei, Kee Chin and Clarence. Also met the 4 other members of my gang of 5, namely JJ, Nana, KK and Sze Herng. Of course met new faces such as Yong Jun, Guo Jing, Wei Yi, Bing Xiang, Michelle and Chong Xian. 31st HOBTC Area 6 HOs also gathered with me, Andy Wong and Hoe Yee making appearance. Camp started with logistic drawing followed by tent pitching. All thanks to National Camp, we have to pitch a total of 200 tents. My cadets already got problem to pitch up 1 tent, needless to say about pitching 200 tents. But thankfully, the remnants of tents not built up was cleared by the J08 batch of Cadet Inspectors the following day. Day 1 had nothing much with just a mock campfire after dinner. For instructors, what we did was to do catching up with one another.

Day 2, first activity was PT and it was taken by yours truly. This batch of cadets had a feel of what was coming as i took them for PT last year as well. I decided to spread out the workout to warm up all parts of the body so as to prepare the cadets for the strenuous day activities in the day. Exercise ranged from push-ups, crunches, tuck jumps and of course my personal trademark..."Buddha Clap". After PT, the TO who was suppose to cook breakfast did not wake up on time and I have to double up as cook and make breakfast for all the instructors. Made my standard French Toast, Sausage and Hashbrown for everyone. Activity cycles kick start right after breakfast. This time round, thanks to Kenneth who took over as lifesaver, i manage to stay on land and become the chief safety officer for the whole day, call sign "Sierra". Activity cycles were rafting, fire-starting/shelter building, treasure hunt. After cycle 2, Nana came back looking exhausted. She suddenly called my name then collasped onto the ground. She was running a temperature which is likely to be from heat injury aggravated from her heart problem and she forget to take medicine the day before. She was all pale and in a daze, with me and Andy Wong trying our best to help her recover from that state and cool her down. Nana finally manage to recover and i forced her to go home, which she reluctantly did after a while.

After which was pre-campfire. Campfire pit wasn't ready, so i played an Area 6 "1 Gun" game which ended with some cadets having to do "I ask my love" live version. Then came campfire proper. The darn firewood just won't burn, so me and Kee Chin went to down the fire itself and tried to make the flame bigger. Xianhui and Calista helped in soaking the firewood further with the newly purchased kerosene and Weihao and Ghim Yang furiously chopping the firewood to make it smaller. Out of the blue, 100% of Anderson Sec instructors become the "fire" team. In the midst of all these were action songs such as Epo E Tai Tai, Friendship Dance and Father Abraham. Campfire ended with a high note, with instructors singing the song "Home" for closing. After campfire, instructors continued with Kee Chin leading the game "Om Jit Jit Om Jit". Rasydin and Liyana were easily confused during the game and almost went into stage of forfeit.

ATC went on to day 3 where everyone packed up their barang barang and made their way out of campsite, back to their various school and of course... Home Sweet Home... To the rest of my area 6 CIs, HOs and TOs... See you guys next year!

Area 6 cadets gather for camp opening

Makan Makan! Yum YumThey build a raft "Titanic"Liyana aka Maria giving a lesson on fire startingArea 6!!!

My Sec 3 cadets

My adorable Sec 2 cadets

Instructors of Anderson Sec

Xian Hui, Ghim Yang, Me, Weihao, Calista

Exco Minds Outing

2008-08-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

A night where it supposed to be all members outing but ended with only members of the exco appearing. Nevertheless, laughter and "scheming" acts filled the whole night. All members of exco were present minus Ming Feng, Anne and Hoe Yee.

Paying $16.90 for a sumptous and filling meal is definitely worth it. For me, it was 1 x cheesy fish and chips (comparable to Fish & Co), 1 x coke float, 1 x brownie together with 2 hours of gaming. Jane mentioned that the cheesy fish and chips she ate very sinful, so decided to eat only half but in the end... She ate the whole plate. She mention the same thing for brownies, but in the end... The result was the same!

After filling up our stomach, "Let the games begin!" We all started with Citadels followed by I am The Boss! For citadels, Jane suffered the fate of being assasinated and theft for a couple of rounds and myself being robbed when i was most rich. Kian Wah was like a fortune teller, keep trying to predict what character i pick, and he was right 70% of the time, salutes! At the end of the day, Alvin emerged victorious.

Next was I am the Boss! The mindscafe staff did some explaining and we started with all our scheming and scamming. I think we did not play to the maximum fun level this game gonna bring, but still, we enjoyed it! Eugene started plotting all the evil schemes to get as much money as possible, then everyone else did the same thing and scammed money all over the game table. Eugene had the last laugh, being the winner of the game with me and alvin coming in second.

Looks like 18th exco is very fond of Mindscafe, thus we should visit mindscafe again soon k? Confirm, guarantee plus chop fun!

Citadels Role Cards

Kian Wah, Alvin, Jane, Eugene, Elmer, Me

Bosses of 18th NTU NPCC EXCO

Campblast 08

2008-07-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

After months of preparation and frustration, the all awaited Campblast 08 has finally come to an end. Blood and sweat were put in to make the event happen, and indeed it happened thanks to the many diehard warriors of NTU-NPCC, namely the main comm and the many many unsung heroes who came in to render their services. My salutes to everyone.

Prior to camp start, alot of worries that a 9 participant camp would fail but nevertheless, these 9 brave souls never fail to impress me and showed me another aspect and view point of having a freshmen orientation camp. Compared to Nueve which was fast and furious, Campblast has this warm and personal touch which welcome our freshmen in another way. Being the chief GL, if i were to do it Nueve way, i would gone round tu tu tarik every single one out there. But in the end, it did not happen this way, rather i introduced the murderer game which got everyone thinking. Apparently, every single round of murderer, my murderers always get caught damn easily. Perhaps the group has bonded well and able to predict what is the murderer's next move. Not to mention, my divine healer, Eugene, who manage to save his life 2 times and once for Huiping.

The main highlight of the camp, which was the forest adventure @ Bedok Reservoir Park. I personally tried it and it was WOW! One whole facility which require very little or rather no supervision at all. More like a self-service thingy. Ziplines across the reservoir was cool because usually ziplines are usually across pebbles instead. The camp was also filled with games throughout together with cycling around the whole NTU campus. One night before the cycling which all seniors did the recce, we challenged the audacious CBE/SBS slope in NTU which even bus drivers can have their bus' engine stalled. Some of us made it, some of us din, but still, 1 x good effort i would say.

Everything went on smoothly and here it is... SP night, which i wasn't directly involved, due to my position in my self created "Scandals Investigation Branch" better known as SIB and i know there are people who are waiting for their every opportunity to sabotage me. In the end, i became chief music director... Cool eh? Haha... When the group was playing muscial chairs, i stunned everyone by playing the song "Only You" by John Lennon. Soon after, i seek "clearance" from my committee heads to plant a sabotage mission on our two SP night host. I made them sing the david tao and jolin tsai duet. Peiying was very spontaneous but haiz... our dear Kaixiang... You disappoint me! I gave you the hallmarks of all opportunities and you squandered it!!

All in all, I had fun in the camp. Shag but fulfilling! Good effort everyone.

Me and my 10 year buddy

GLs and Freshies!

Nueve 08

2008-07-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

4th July 2008 marks the end of Nueve 08. It has been a fun filled 5 days minus the EM103 quiz i had on wednesday.

For day 1,everything starts to kick into place. The cheers, the freshies and the spirit of Omaha. Ice breakers to get to know everyone followed by orientation around the school for the freshies. Day ended with initiation night which got everyone dirty but well, not as dirty as what we had last year, which got me washing my hair for almost 40mins.

Day 2 went off with pool games which everyone had fun dunking each other in the pools, station games which had everyone packed with flour all over their body and last but not least, the every scary fright night which got many screaming and screeching to cover their fear. Fright night was really well done with the effort of many individuals to make it a success.

Day 3 was the day i went MIA just for that dumb quiz for 20mins which made me mug like nobody's business the whole of day 3 morning. Only manage to join in for SP night at Changi cottage and the ice skating at Fuji Ice palace at JEC. Overcoming my all time greatest fear thanks to the big fall which fracture my arm badly when i was primary 4, i manage to put on a pair of skating shoes and start throttling on the side of the skating ring. It wasnt easy, seeing the ice floor really bring back the horrendous memories that year. To my delight, i walk with greater confidence though many a times, i had small falls here and there. With the encouragement of my friends, i slowly improve on the walking and true enough things are getting better. The experience was good.

Day 4 was all about amazing race and everyone was travelling everywhere hunting for clues and completing tasks. This is the day where got people misunderstood me for my actions. Really disappointed. Shan't mention much, just want to say, for every action that i do, i have made serious considerations before making decisions.

Day 5 is the finale of camp, spirits were at the max especially at cheerathon. Finale game end up being water bomb fight between the seniors. But nevertheless was very fun.

Nueve 08 was a successful event, hope the bond and friendship between seniors and freshies can maintained as long as possible.

Projects upcoming

2008-04-14T10:09:00.001-07:00

Right now is exam period. After exams will be time to venture on to my different aquatic projects.

1. Cherry Shrimp Tank
2. Apisto Veijita and Apisto Agassizi
3. Tidy up guppy section(getting messy due to the 5 different strains)
4. betta?

That's all for now. Will post pics soon.

In loving memory of an old friend

2007-10-22T00:38:00.000-07:00

This morning heard one piece of really sad news, an old friend of mine passed away. At the vibrant age of 21 where adult life has just began, fate has deterred him from going on, drawing away the lifeforce from him.

Looking back at the old days since secondary 3, when we had fun in magic the gathering, basketball and of coz the crapping about our teachers and definitely the familiar "yellow bird" song. The numerous laugh along session will be missed.

A real dear friend faded away and a companion lost. It is really hard for me to accept that you've gone just likedat. You look perfectly alrite on friday when i saw you for tutorial, with your usual jokes and laughter filling the tutorial room, but just a short moment after the weekend, you've left us stranded.

You will be dearly missed my old pal and you'll be remembered for sure. Rest in peace old friend.

In loving memory, Cheston Chik Cheng Rui 21/10/2007

Something to ponder

2007-10-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all, something for you guys to think over.

For a patch of grass,

10 cows take 10 days to consume all of it.
15 cows take 5 days to consume all of it.

How many days does it require for 30 cows to consume all of it?

Kinda interesting and our standard proportionality method of solving fails! Those with the answer, lemme noe in the comment box. If cant solve, dun lose sleep over it! Hahahaha...

Tutorial 10 Laplace Transformation Solution

2007-10-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

Heyo, here's my solution for laplace tutorial 10. Please bear with the bad handwritting... Goin thru the maths is not as easy as how leslie says. Any queries let me know! =)

Laplace Transformation Tutorial 10

Physical Chem

2007-10-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

By request of many omaha pals, this is the notes by our Prof Vincent "fee" Chan for CH1002. All the best for physical chem test on 18th Oct.

CH1002 Lecture Slides

First post

2007-10-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, blog up and running. However first post is totally not about myself or my aquatics. To all my omaha pals, the following link below will be the solutions to tutorial 9. Hope it will be good reference to you guys! =)

CH1006/BG1006 Tutorial 9: Laplace transform