felt the tremor

I saw the fan shaking from side to side seated next to my pc. Imagine the kind of destruction when one is at the heart of the earthquake zone. Scary!

the following is a breaking news update taken from Channelnewsasia.com at 645pm
Breaking News
Powerful 7.6-magnitude quake strikes Indonesia's southern Sumatra; no tsunami warning issued; tremors reportedly felt in various parts of S'pore

looks like I am going to have to skip my run for today. It is a jolly good idea to take a break. I really need to rest those sore knees and my bad back is killing me. These are the all-u-can-get free body aches you get when you get close to 40. Touch wood! No broken bones thus far!
For now I will have yet to mark this loads of writing. Bite the bullet and concentrate!!!

one day to go before Manic Monday

I have an extra hour of sleep in the morning. This weekend is by far the most relaxing. I do not have to rush through work like always. However, I do have a bad feeling about the weeks ahead. The unforgiving schedule and having the final year exams inching closer, everybody must be and should be at least a bit worrisome. All I ever want is to have the day come faster so that we can get it over and done with.

Last night F1 qualifying race was entertaining to watch. The tv live telecast gave different perspective on the race and the ESPN commentators were really cool. For starters, commenting on a race is not the easiest thing to do.

Rest well my friends and have a productive weeks ahead. Revise and revise and keep revising. Do ask questions to clear doubts when unsure. :)

Wednesdays aftermath

I brought 1eb up to the comp lab today hoping to take advantage of my regular comp lab slot booked for the week. GUess what? There was indeed a clash. Mr Faizah was having his CPA revision with 4TB. As we spoke, the ebs were stalling on the 3rd level with their bags ready to storm the lab.
It was halter skelter after that as I was desperately seeking for a comp lab. Mr Chua who was holding his counseling session at the library comp lab was nice enough to leave the room and accommodate us at the last minute. My utmost gratitude goes to Mr Chua for being kind to us.

After that the online comprehension quiz ran as per normal. Instead of the usual one-on-one comp usage, four to five learners have to share a single workstation. I give it a 6/10 for their efforts even though the results were not very promising. A majority of them were more engaged in socialising than completing the task I wanted them to accomplish at the end.
Note to self: next time, have a contingency plan. Remember to wear a clown suit to entertain.

The evening night study session was a short one since I requested Cedric and Jon not to come in the evening. Their time will be of better use if they were to study at home. The hassle of them traveling back and forth is definitely not worth the time and effort. I did promise them that I will cover whatever we were about to do in the evening tomorrow during normal class hours. Issue settled. While I was about to step out, Suthan popped by and he needed some clarifications with several EBS questions. So Mr Woo and I went upstairs and we went through those tougher questions with him. A short 20 minutes session appeared to be sufficient for him, however I thought differently.

back to work on a Tuesday

It took me several hours to pick up the pace at work. My mind was willing but the body was weak. I was suffering from caffeine deprivation. All week long, I have abstained from a usual cup of coffee and tea in the morning.

The sight of Mr Woo did cheer me up in the morning. The prodigal son has returned! I must admit that I feel a lot better having him to firefight alongside with me. I am glad to have such an alliance. And I do cherish and appreciate him. Good friend, good company :) (I hope I do not sound super GAY)

I am ready to hit the sack and get rested for a long day tomorrow as I will undertaking the night study shift 2 tomorrow I hope to be of some use this time.

Saw this watermelon sitting on top of a shelf in NTUC today. Guess what? This baby cost 500 bucks. Yup. My question is what can you do with it besides eating it? Cut out skin and use it as a helmet perhaps?

less than 12 hours left to the holiday weekend

The long weekend passed like a flash of lightning. Soon we will meet one another at work. Cherish whatever left to the weekend and brace yourself for a hell week. Yup it will be a fire burning, ass flaming, bones shattering, hair raising week.
The sun has taken a backseat since noon and it has been rather breezy and cloudy all day. An ideal time to chill out with a glass of wine with a nice book to read on a beach.

songs that touch the soul

a rendition of zhang yu sheng's Da Hai (Sea)

Nite study aftermath (Wednesday)

To my surprise, at about 7:30pm Cedric, Jonathan and Shaowei turned up. It was a fruitful session even though we could only cover 3/4 of the practice theory paper. Siva came by all drenched just to collect the practice paper. I respect her efforts. I hope this time round, God rewards those who put in the extra effort to study for a subject. :P.
NCC training was helter skelter due to inadequate turn out (attendance). It was evidently clear that we need to inject passion and re-adjust our unit from bottom up. Let us keep our fingers cross and pray for a better week.

First night to night study

Time check 4:41. 20 minutes to night study. I am prepared to see zero turn up by the 4 Tech for EBS revision. :P Standby and ready.

Haze is back (Thank you neighbour)

The haze is back at full force. The air outdoor is dry and as the smell of burning lingers. I am planning on staying indoor for now.

I hate Mondays

Something shitty is bound to happen on a Monday. I had a lousy day and I am not going to mention names or recollect in writing. I should focus my energy on something constructive, like looking elsewhere for a better future. I will and I am going to find a better place.

Classical + hip Hop (New Age Music)

Here is another duo whose mixing classical violin with hip hop.
They are giving Nothing But Stringz a run for their money :)
Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you the BLACK VIOLIN

If they were to come Singapore, I will go see them. You betcha boots I will. :P

Violinist + Hip Hop

Watching them makes my hair stand. I so am impressed. Take it from someone who knows how tough mastering the violin was. Yup Done that.

Future Coffee Table Top (Interactive table top by microsoft surface)

The part when she places her camera on the table top, it automatically extract all the pictures she took. And transferring media from portable devices from on to the other requires a slide of a finger. Impressive! I wonder how much will Microsoft retail one of these surface interactive table-tops.

Warm and humid afternoon ( 20 hours to Manic Monday)

Weather is unbearable. According to the igoggle weather report, it says the current weather is at
31°C | °F
Current: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: S at 14 km/h
Humidity: 79%
The humidity factor is responsible in making you feel sticky all over even seconds after you get out from the shower. Cloudy skies omitting the sun does not help because there are hardly any wind. The air remain stale. If only we had eco friendly air conditioning. Here is a "what-you-need-to-know" about air-conditioners, http://ezinearticles.com/?Eco-Friendly-Air-Conditioning&id=1199431
Time check 2:05pm. Sept holiday is coming to a close. This is by far the fastest holiday week that I have had since I started on the job. :( Can you freeze time? Like Hiro Nakamura in Heroes?

Darksider (launch date: Jan 2010 on Xbox 360)

Hey Wei Song, you may want to check out this Darksider game .

One more day to go to Work Beginnings :(

I have sufficient rest today. I have periodically taken short naps through-out the day. I feel more energized than ever right now. I should stay up a little later tonight and be extremely produdctive. Is that the right term?
TO do list:
1. Iron work clothes
2. Plan next week's lesson
3. Draft the NCC write up for school mag
4. Monitor progress of RC
5. Improve my boxer skill in Fight Night 4
6. Pay my bills
7. Check this year in-camp training schedule

Friendship quotes from

inspired by a post, I went ahead to look for these friendship quotes.
1. "A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

2. "There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money." ~ Benjamin Franklin

3. "Money can't buy friends, but you can get a better class of enemy." ~ Spike Milligan

4. "A true friend stabs you in the front." ~ Oscar Wilde

5. "Marriage is a sort of friendship recognized by the police." ~ Anonymous

6. "An old friend will help you move. A good friend will help you move a dead body." ~ Jim Hayes

7. "Give me one friend, just one, who meets the needs of all my varying moods." ~ Esther M. Clark

8. "Love is blind. Friendship tries not to notice." ~ Anonymous

9. "I have lost friends, some by dath, others through sheer inability to cross the street." ~ Virginia Woolf

10. "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." ~ Thomas Jones

11. "I got a lotta best friends. Some o' them I don't even hardly know!" ~ Archie Bunker

12. "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." ~ John Leonard

13. "We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately." ~ Benjamin Franklin

14. "Friends are God's ways of apologizing for our families." ~ Anonymous

15. "Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and have her nonsense respected." ~ Charles Lamb

16. "You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." ~ Winnie the Pooh

17 "Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." ~ Mark Twain

18. "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one." ~ C.S. Lewis

Plurk.com

Thursday aftermath

I thought I could get a replacement for my spoilt xbox 360 at the Comex show. According to the Comex publicity news, my defective console is worth 20 bucks for the trade in. Pathetic!
The elite model is retailing at $499 and that lucky fella, Teo W S got one today with a 40 bucks discount, after trading in his version 1 of Xbox. And he got a free Fable 2 game. He must be fiddling with the game right now. Lucky guy!

4 days left

it took me about 40 minutes to cover the 2.5 km distance. At some point of the run I was practically crawling like a tortoise and dragging my tongue on the ground. A clear indication of my stamina. this tells me that it is time to intensify the exercise routine. Round 4 DING DING DING!

Time check 8:05am. I am back at the office this morning frantically trying to clear as much work as I can. I just saw Mr Chin and Mr Suhaimi walked passed. They came back on using their vacation to coach the Sec 4s. (one word that sums it all about them "Dedication")

mid week of Sept holiday

Time check 10:33. In less than 10 minutes I will be attempting the same running route for the 2nd time. My target is to cover an extra bus stop distance. I should and I must push myself to complete this run. I hope all the pain and suffering pay off before my IPPT window closes.
Ear phones plugged in and all psyche up now. Here I go! Wish me luck. If you should see a dead cow along Sin Ming Ave, be sure to get the cleaners to clear the carcass before it causes a massive jam.

finding me

The story of my life is best described by this song by Vertical Horizon.

I like the lyrics to the chorus
**************
Don't tell me
How to be
'Cause I like some suffering
Don't ask me
What I need
I'm just fine
Here finding me
******************
Here's a live version of that same song. Not too shabby for a live performance.

afternoon run - installing run 2.0

Caps Lock (Previously known as Captain's log)
Day One of September break:

I got some work done in the morning and I met up with people and we had a mini-revision and practice outside the staff room. Even though there was little significance but I thought that it was a fruitful practice.

At 2pm I am already loitering in AMK hub. I was at the Funzone for a little while .The Guitar Hero 5 game sure looked inviting. My wallet said "No". After that I was off to a movie and music CD shop. It took me a long time to decide not to spend 49 bucks on another blu-ray disc. I held on to a Cirque Du Solei blu-ray disc for like 10 minutes and I was walking in circles and after that I decided to return it back to where it belonged. While I was exiting the shop, I got a stare by the shop attendant whose likely to think that I was a nutcase.

Alrightie! The time check is 18:03. I am going get going for my run. Today I am "planning" to cover Bishan Park 2. I will be taking the outer lane closest to the main road. If you see me, remember to wave. (installing run programme 2.1 and leg muscles version 3.0)

Exam Strategies

Big day tomorrow for the N-tech, 'N' levels Listening comprehension for English Language and Mother tongue. My advice is to spend a little more time going through the options in the multiple choice questions. 70 percent of the time, you are aware of your mistakes, you just overlooked them. Slow and Steady ok? Go 4TA Go!!!

Working after-hours on these days

I was given on a period of relief at EC today. I was surprised to see how much people have changed. Amongst those familiar faces were Jun Wei, Katheejah, Hafiq, Dennis and Sahara. Dennis was in his usual skin, negatively reinforced. Hafiq was with his gang seated right in the front. Jun wei was engrossed with Chinese composition writing . Sahara was in between conversation witn his pal.
Katheejah waltzinto class after the bell. The first thing she asked me was if I remember her name. It was one of those sick games to constantly remind old people like 'mua' that my memory is failing.

For some strange reasons, my brain was at 100% at that time. I got her name right for the first time in my life. Ha! That defining moment reminded me of this song by Celine Dion, "It's All Coming back to me now".

Its All Coming Back To Me Now - Celine Dion

Greeting Card Sales Team

Brutal on PS3 in early Sept 2009

Enterprise Day (4 September 2009)

breakdown
- $8 for stationary holders x5
- $2 for chupa chups x4
- $4.40 for marshmallow cookies x11

Total damage - $14.40 (not bad)

down with the sickness

I have been feeling unwell since the day I got back to work. Tell tale signs like a sudden change of voice and some difficulty in swallowing, lead me to believe that I am getting Sick-er. The orange Lozenges in my mouth must do the trick for now. If this fails then it is time for plan B - Salt bath for the mouth.
(Information taken from http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/sore_throat.htm)
A doctor's visit is necessary to rule out a more serious condition, especially if any of the following are present:
* Sore throat or hoarseness lasts for more than several days.
* Sore throat causes severe pain or difficulty swallowing or breathing.
* Blood in saliva, sputum, or phlegm.
* Rash
* Enlarged or tender lymph nodes in the neck.
* White or yellow patches or pus at the back of the throat.
* Fever of 103°F (39.4) in infants under 12 months or 101°F (36.3 C) or higher in babies under 6 months.
* Excessive drooling in children.
* Contact with someone who has been diagnosed with strep throat or mononucleosis or if there is a reported outbreak in your community.
* Sore throat but no fever.

The seventh month burning of the incense and hell currency, added with the recent dry spells in the afternoon made the air dry, smokey, humid and stale. The afternoons are unbearable. I can imagine how learners struggle with staying awake during those times.

You should only start watching only after 1:41 :P when you see Zhou Bi Chang.

Wednesday

One of the tracks taken from her new Album. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you Zhou Bi Chang.

Holiday endings

I am sifting through a pile of work and watching the early episodes of 'Allo Allo as we speak.
I wonder why did I not enjoy the series as much when I am much younger. My mind must have evolved. I must say I comprehend the jokes a little more now. :P