hong kong feb 2008 - days 2 to 5

day 2 - Wong Tai Sin Temple, Victoria Peak
day 3 - Macau (Senado Square, St Pauls, Casino Lisboa and Venetian)
day 4 - Giant Buddha, Yuen Long
day 5 - HKU (met Jiahao)

other than some minor descriptions, let this be a pictorial post =)

Spent some time praying here...


At the Peak Tower


Is it really effective? I tried though...


Lost $400 here. Luckily won $1500 at Lisboa to offset this


Cable car reopens!


The fog made this visit the most 'memorable' one.


My type!!! If i say i accidentally snapped her, would you believe??


Hong Kong University - had a great catchup with JH


Their iconic main building


Had a Cafe de Coral breakfast here

aunt preferred the tour package way of travelling. But i believe this is highly up to own preferences. I like free & easy, because i get to mingle with the locals and go to places i really want to. Hope they enjoyed the trip though, the weather wasn't at its best (it was cold, wet and gloomy). My temper wasn't so good on the last day, because my parents just keep buying and buying, even just before departure. In the end, even taking the taxi was a problem.

bought a nice (my opinion la) bracelet for myself onboard the flight back home. It cost more than anything i bought in HK... but it's nice for formal occasions.

hong kong feb 2008 - day 1

some of you might be aware this trip was intended to bring my parents overseas (for the first time).

so i'm not experimenting new stuff or places, but just going to places i covered before.

some quick unusuals:

- i ate six meals today - breakfast (mac), brunch (on the air meal), lunch (wanton mee), dessert (xu liu shan), dinner (duck rice) and just awhile ago, supper (gong zai mian).

- i have a shop under my name, and it's related to something i'm really not familiar with.

I wanted to find a shop with my big name on it for long time...

- my places of stay is moving downwards - mar 07 was at Prince Edward MTR (Metropark MK), dec 07 was at Mongkok MTR (Ah Shan Hostel), now it's at Yau Ma Tei MTR (YMCA).

- my room sockets tripped because i played too much with the aircon controls. Oops...

crane toppled at NUS

the year of 2008 is kinda wretched.

had my math tutorial at S16, then took the long winding A1 to Biz for my MNO1001 tutorial. It was a normal bus ride, until the bus turned into Law Link (around 2.10 PM).

as i sat with Steve and looking towards the Biz bus stop, i saw a large white crane falling down, with the highest end falling towards Biz1. I thought, maybe someone was lowering the crane. But the speed at which it came down was too fast.

since i was in the bus, i couldn't hear anything. But i can see people at the bus stop staring at the mess less than 8 metres behind them. And the force of the fall split a tree, and parts of that tree went down on the motorcycles in front of the bus stop.

if you see the scene, those people at the bus stop are very lucky. And fortunately, nobody appeared to be standing at the linkway to the bus stop, which bored much of the impact. The linkway is almost gone.

I waited for my friend last week at the same linkway. PHEW..


See the mess in front of the bus stop too.

dining at waraku

it was a long time i met up with them for a (no-stress) meal. The last time was in Sept 2007, before sh!t started. Maybe there's some small gatherings in between, can't really remember. This time, we went holland again - wanted to find out the route to Waraku East Coast, but my mind slipped under a heavy load of to-dos. My poor advice saw the car going all the way to Fort Road, then turning back to Carpark C. =x

the ambience is excellent this time - no bustling marketplace of the typical Waraku dining scene. I managed to book a private room, with a view of Long Beach's entrance. Had to remove our footwear before entering too.

had a short chat after dinner, the car driver voiced out the concerns of NS. Every man gotta go through it, so bite the bullet with bravery. It's really where boys come out to be men, minus a few screwed up cases. After you come out, we can start discussing about what men really do - work and girls!! =x

limited photos with me, so the rest of the photos will be posted by the rest.

They called lots of curry, i stuck to my favourite paper steamboat


Dining in comfort - large table with own air conditioning control

my HTC touch's camera is really notches away from U600. Should i bring my U600 out again??


i'm few days away from flying off, but much work has been piled up. Scary. No, i must do something about it.

weekend happenings

had a short time in sch on friday, because i went for curry fish head after lecture and tutorials. Steve had his brother's car in campus, so we took bus B to Kent Vale to get the car. Was my first time taking bus B past the Engineering faculty. After 1.5 years of being a student.

we had the curry fish head at whampoa market. Thought the stall was opened by Steve's relative (he's a Sim), but unfortunately not. We got sambal kang kong, additional duck and roasted meat from another stall to complete the whole package. Not bad. We each paid $11.50 after factoring in the sugar cane drinks.

Steve recommended his clan - Uncle SIM


I think i'm WOLS. But...

saturday was really busy to the max. Morning was my exciting kayaking session. Too bad HK was doing in-camp range, but we still enjoyed the 2 hours of sunbathing. Our forward paddling is improving as we practise; especially towards the end we paddled so mechanically, like well oiled machines. This session, i brought a camera out to take ourselves in action. Quite a hassle because i have to bring a belt pouch, then put my U600 into a ziplock bag to keep out the water. The belt pouch was completely wet after 2 hours, luckily there was the ziplock bag.

a girl from a dragon boat saw the camera, and told her friend to look. lolz... so funny meh..

Preparing to set sail in our bandits


This is PA Water Venture Kallang


Tanjong Rhu in front of us, Indoor Stadium on the left and Sheares Bridge on our right


Heehee


Sailing to Sheares Bridge first


mn, remember this place from the movie. haha..


Current below the bridge is normally strong...


The other side of Kallang Basin - Indoor Stadium/Cosy Bay

after the kayak i rushed down to class. Didn't had full attendance for class, and i spent $11 on cab for a 1 hour tutorial. Not quite worth, but anyway the tutorial was light-hearted. Dozed off on the bus home, because i was really dead tired.

the night was spent with my sec school friends. Had fun playing the "fishing" card game. Teacher was very helpful especially when i know nuts about gambling! Then wenqun, his teacher and me went geylang. Not hanky panky ok, went there for some snacks. Had the mee sua. Good man.

I think i cannot show this photo because of teacher in the background.
But never mind la, hor?


Geylang treats. Yum yum...

sunday was started late because of the late supper. Spent 1-2 hours sorting out my finances, which was in a mess. My savings dropped alot because i didn't track my spending timely enough. Have to put back the spending asap....! Then went to do my banking at the various banks, went to Suntec's money changer. Sneaked over to mn's place to slack. What a lazy day...

etc

some random post. The past 2-3 days were spent on school work. I think there's still so much more to complete though.

went back school yesterday to complete my CS3261 and CS2301 assignments. There was a CNY dinner buffet for SoC students, but the amount of food was more for a group of 15-20. But gotta admit it, my team mate QJ and i got there late =p

since i had only $0.20 with me, and DBS atm nowhere to be found nearby, i went out to eat. Eventually decided to have my fantastic noodles at Lau Pa Sat. I still like the thinly wined soup. But for some time it's (still) quite a challenge to have a meal in Tanjong Pagar, because of past memories. Somehow these memories will always linger around. Have to live with it.

had a friendly chat with an Indian worker on 960. He mentioned about the bus captain driving the bendy bus - a small sized lady with a pleasant smile. And when she sat inside the driver's cabin, i couldn't see her head from the back! When she initially started on the route, many people at the bus stands were turning heads to take a proper look. Quite a wonder.

My U600 is in cold storage... but i still like it.

zw just told me that xinyan just passed away. She came across to me as an excellent junior and acquaintance during poly days. It's rather sad to see someone young passing. Hope her loved ones can be strong.

wo huo ding le!!!

this year's chinese new year was kinda boring, in summary.

for the 1st day, i overslept at home and got groggy.

for the 2nd day, my family went back to Johor, to visit relatives. I didn't, but i couldn't sleep after they left. So went to the airport and did some work at mac. Evening was at the theatre watching CJ7.

for the 3rd day, i went to bai nian (earlier post), and thereafter back home to sleep. Mn la, go see flowers also don't want. =p

for the 4th day, woke up late. Did a lil' math at woodlands mac, then had family dinner. My eldest aunt from Kluang came, so didn't go out after that. But managed to meet my kopi-mates and had a joke with the favourite kopi-soh.

boring hor? Worse of all, although i did bits of work, the work continues to pile. And pile. I'm worried for my HK trip in 11 days, because i might end up bringing my books along. NOOOOO!

Got my bro to fix the bugger before leaving Singapore last Fri


Back to school (not my school actually)


Steve wanted to enquire about a course, but the counter was unmanned.
Was rather disappointed.

my bro is leaving next week for some jungle-luvin' time at Brunei. I've not seen the place before, but heard the place is extremely boring. Well, just get it done with and come back.

meanwhile, good luck to poly peeps for the exam papers! To that someone, better study ok. Othewise NI HUO DING LE!!

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please do contact me if you're interested. The topup amount is negotiable.

interesting thoughts

part I
this morning was an intellectually stimulating talk when i went over my ex-superior's place for a visit.

i heard much of defence policies, to viewpoints of various countries economically and politically. As F joined in, topics such as stocks and bonds came in as well. I'm interested to see what China's $1 trillion foreign investment can do for me.

the most intriguing point was on the lowest class of Singaporeans, or any similar class in any country who experience the widest income gap in times of affluence or difficulty. I personally do not support the use of social welfare systems in Singapore. Our diverse culture will cripple the reserves - imagine locals not working because they think they are the superior locals and deserve free money no matter what. There's no free lunch in this world, unfortunately. Nobody would want to support these freeloaders by paying higher taxes and what not, too.

the next important point is - no matter what, most of the men in the street will not starve. Because of the strategic investment in education. The only worry is whether our fellow young are forward-looking. Will we realise the importance of education? Will we attempt to study hard and as far as possible, then create valuable opportunities for ourselves and loved ones (children, spouse) in future? Not overstating the important of education, however other traits of being a good player in the world's economy? Global view, borderless mindset, just to name a few.

as a young reader these might not matter, right? But as the country evolves into a city more unrecognizable later on, we cannot be sitting in a well and know nothing. Those xdd and xmm who gathers in a pack and roam around shopping centres all day long, playing PSPs and what not should wake up. There's a distinct difference between 'parents supporting you' and 'you living off parents'. Unless you don't mind being part of the vicious cycle.


part II
the university admissions are open for CAT B (poly) applicants. Do spend a few minutes reading more from NUS, NTU and SMU websites.

my personal advice is not to be very selective for the various degree programmes. Just shortlist what your personal interests lie in, but do not forget to include the degree programme that is linked to your diploma. The common fallacy is to drop out the associated course during university admission and apply for something else. The mentality is simple - *i'm sick of xxx, why study xxx again?*

this is the cold hard truth - switching to an unrelated field of study is risky. You have a lower chance of getting it, unless your results are extremely good. The course requirements are not easy, although you might feel it's in your interests. Interests and studies sometimes cannot be mixed because of potential effects of poor results, etc. What's worse, by not including the related course you lose all chances of admission. For example, leaving out Computer Science when your diploma is IT/BIT etc. Think twice, think thrice.

then there's another group of peeps that are afraid of getting the rejection letters, or handling the tough interviews. If you never try, you never know where you stand. Very sad if you give up without giving a fight.

another group prefers to work. But then again, the cold hard truth - very difficult career advancement with only a diploma. If you are a person who thirsts for personal progress, you will never be happy with a diploma. Going full-time immediately is better than having part-time arrangements for studies. Unless you're going into certain industries, such as financial advisers or stock brokers.

cj7

well, it was really short at 1.5hrs. It didn't seem like a real comedy either.

i believe the same hardship felt by SC is happening right now, in their society. The disparate balance between the rural poor and urban rich.

the most touching moment was perhaps the part where SC died. I could hear many packets of tissue being opened. I can also recall the industrial accident my father got into. Quite a parallel with the movie, except the movie was added some laughter with the ET. But when the accident happened 3 years ago, i didn't laugh.

SC's "son" is a female, which is a shocker to me.


i just feel moody now, so that's all for the review. Maybe the food was lousy. Maybe something else. The more i try to do something, the more it screws up. So, just forget it. However, take good care of yourself because everyone is falling sick around me. Good nite peeps.

Angela Zhang - 亲爱的，那不是爱情

教室里那台风琴
叮咚叮咚叮嚀
像你告白的声音
动作一直很轻
微笑看你送完信
转身离开的背影
喜欢你字跡清秀的关心

那温热的牛奶瓶在我手中握紧
有你在的地方我总感觉很窝心
日子像旋转木马
在脑海里转不停
出现那些你对我好的场景

你说过牵了手就算约定
但亲爱的那并不是爱情
就像来不及许愿的流星
再怎麼美丽也只能是曾经

太美的承诺因為太年轻
但亲爱的那并不是爱情
就像是精灵住错了森林
那爱情错的很透明

那温热的牛奶瓶在我手中握紧
有你在的地方我总感觉很窝心
日子像旋转木马
在脑海里转不停
出现那些你对我好的场景

你说过牵了手就算约定
但亲爱的那并不是爱情
就像来不及许愿的流星
再怎麼美丽也只能是曾经

太美的承诺因為太年轻
但亲爱的那并不是爱情
就像是精灵住错了森林
那爱情错的很透明

太美的承诺因為太年轻
但亲爱的那并不是爱情
就像是精灵住错了森林
那爱情错的很透明


italics made into new ringtone =)

etc

monday and tuesday were rather normal - went to school, sat through the lectures and tutorials. Except for tuesday, when i woke up at 6.30am to amend my Business Correspondence letter for final draft submission. It has been a long time when i could have such discipline to wake up early and do my homework. Previously, i would tell myself to wake up early, yet failed badly. Tuesday was a long day, stayed in school until 7pm. Then managed to jio my friends to Simlim for a meal.

then came CNY's eve. Had work in the morning, but woke up at 7.30am! With only 15mins after brushing my teeth, washing my face, etc i had to cab down. Expensive by $3+ after the fare hike, but it's better than being late.

then wanted to have bkt with mn, but the kopitiam was closed. My apologies k =) Had Loy Kee instead, then went to chiong supermarkets. Had my dinner twice!! haha... enjoyed the day.

Bu Neng Shuo De Mi Mi

kayak is out for this entire month, because my army friends have a 18 day in-camp training (high key). Good luck to them, i wished i can join in too. It's even better if the ICT is outside Singapore, maybe ROC? lolz..

can i appeal to other friends to go for the 1-star kayak certification? The course is 9-5pm over a weekend, at People's Association Sea Sports Clubs (SSCs). The stuff covered include:

- types and parts of a kayak
- safety guidelines (eg kayak preparation, minimum of 3 kayaks, demarcation lines)
- practical (90% of the course): lifting/carrying, launching, forward/backward paddling, stopping, rotation, sideways movement using classic/J-draw techniques, stern rudder, rescue and/after capsize drills

i think the main psychological fear is in the capsize drills. Trust me, it's easy to capsize and perform recovery. Furthermore, it's done in groups of 3. Just do it properly, the friendly instructors are watching out for safety. And bring along sunblocks, because just 2 hours in the sun will turn anybody dark.

after the 1-star certification, the demarcation area will be in Kallang Basin. After 2-star, the demarcation area will be further at Esplanade, which means paddling all the way down to the merlion! What are you waiting for, just gather a group of 3-4 and go for training!

heavy snowing in China

some of us might have heard of heavy snows in China at this moment.

the chaotic scenes are extremely unfortunate. It's a combination of under-preparation and high amount of traffic - everybody is heading home for Lunar New Year.

although some of us dislike Chinese nationals due to a variety of reasons, it's good to know what's happening around us. I must say that whether we are Chinese from Singapore or China, it doesn't matter. Put those petty incidents away, and look at their national efforts. Singaporeans are far from being nationalistic. Some even want to run away should disaster strikes. Shame on us.

for those who have not visited China at all, you should, quickly. For one reason, environmental damage. Some sights can never be seen after great amounts of human intervention in nature.

Snow in Shanghai (source: Jianshuo)

Jianshuo's blog the part on why snow caused power failure is pretty surprising. The destructive power of frost.

News from China

jason's wedding

he's the first in the army group to get married. Really fast, but i believe he will benefit the most if he wants children asap.

Menu


Hmm...


Hong Kong mates

i overslept; having a headache now. Argh...

school's starting

actually, it didn't stop. But it stopped in my state of sickness.

printed everything, but there's still a lot to accomplish. Next week is CNY, but not in the mood to take a breather.

spent half a day today to assemble my new rig - dual core processing finally. No regrets not getting the E8400 because the E2180 is really sufficient for my needs. Saved $200, hehe. The RAM bling bling looks good with green and red LEDs to show activity. Just did an organ transplant for my server; a small CPU upgrade to Pentium M 730J and 1GB more RAM.

New stuff on the block


Artistic picture by bro


At night


Bling bling RAM


Balls Tracer rounds

but i saw something shocking - the capacitor near the DIMM slots is bloated. Looks like the overclocking and heat and 24x7 uptime were too much for the internals to bear. Changed the exhaust fan and swapped in a better chipset cooler immediately. All overclocked settings went back to standard.

next is to mobilise my brother to solder in another new capacitor, and purchase a RAM cooler. Fingers crossed...