++ はじめましてみんな- さん ++

++ So What's Up For the New Year? ++

2012-01-02T12:37:00.003+08:00

It's been awhile since I last posted. Reason is purely because I am not motivated to keep this postings running, but I'll do it, you know, keep it as an online journal and maybe update for the sake of reminding myself (yeah, I forget a lot.) And God, I'm surprised that there are still readers, and quite a number of them.

So it's in the early afternoon of the second day of a brand new year, and maybe it's still the first at some other corners of this planet. Girlfriend still in dreamland, and here am I, typing this blog entry. Looking back at the new year resolutions for the past year, I noticed that I didn't accomplished a number of them. Out of 18, I'm less proud to say that I failed a total number of 11 resolutions. You know when they say that one writes his new year resolutions just for the sake of writing, it's kinda true. Maybe you could look at yours, and tell me how many you've managed to done it. May God help us on that.

So, what's up for the new year?

1. Attend every cellgroup meetings.
2. Save up. (Figure in head.)
3. Travel (Taiwan sounds nice.)
4. Hit the gym 1X weekly.
5. Get another placing in university.
6. Get a scholarship (hopefully.)
7. Family outing 2X monthly.
8. Bromance outing 1x monthly.
9. Lesser use of vulgarities.
10. Be happy.

I will probably add more if I can think of it and when I'm certain where I would be heading to. But for now, that's it.

On another note, I checked out the ORD app on my iPhone, and guess what? I'm at 29%, that's about one third there! It still seems freaking long though.

++ Feast for the Eyes. ++

2011-11-30T18:06:00.006+08:00

It's been a while since the last post.

Anyway, here's a list of titles to look for, as of December eve, the first two movies are still on-screen, so catch them if you can!

In no particular order:

1. You're the Apple of My Eye/那些年，我们一起追的女孩 (8.5/10)

2. Puss in Boots (7.5/10)

3. Real Steel (9/10)

4. The Thing (6/10)

Tower Heist (7/10)

++ Monday, 14 November 2011. ++

2011-11-14T21:59:00.002+08:00

OMG. I miss my curly hair.

++ Counting Down. ++

2011-10-17T19:26:00.005+08:00

Counting down - 12 Hours.

This feeling sucks, it's like the first day of enlistment, having went through the PTP/BMT phase and POP-ing, but it's not the end, yet just the beginning of more to come. Some friends of mine are already booking out on their first day, and here I am, complaining and questioning God why I am placed in OCS, and not some other slacker units. I heard that OCS is 10 times more 'siong' than BMT, while SCS is only a mere 2-3 times, at times, I asked myself how the heck am I going to survive.

And the answer is.. I don't know. I really don't know. But I know I just got to do it. Even if it's not for myself. I'm going to make my family and girlfriend proud, I got to show that Peiyi didn't make the wrong choice 15 months back then.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11

Step one is probably to get through the 3 weeks confinement first.

God bless me.

-

My blog posts got cranked up, to solve the problem, I deleted the previous one and this was it:

++ Sunday, 16 October 2010 ++

For some reasons, heading to OCS in a while's time seems so surreal.

Anyway, just a mental preparation:

I know that this 9 months would not be easy.
Lots of tekan. Lots of outfields.
To sum it all up- Tonnes of shit.

But I know at the end of the day,
I won't have any regrets.
Even if I fall out (choytouchwood),
I know I've tried my best.

The prestige, the honour, the glory and the pride that follows the 9 months of hardship. I just pray that this will pass-by as quickly as possible. Ah! How I wished that there was a magic button!

-

Anyway, some pictures from our Hong Kong trip!

++ To Lead. To Excel. To Overcome. ++

2011-10-16T00:39:00.002+08:00

After an awesome trip with girlfriend in Hong Kong, the next morning - there in front of me on the monitor screen, staring blankly at my face:

1. You are posted to OCS (ARMY WING)
2. Your vocation is OFFR CADET(CBT)
3. Your are to report to: Safti Military Institute, Warrior's Hall

Unfortunately or fortunately. For one, I wanted to enter a slack unit, and just laze my remaining 20 months of army away. For another, I hoped to challenge myself, physically and mentally; Bullseye - OCS. Contradiction. State of confusion. FML.

Looking back in my BMT life, the unbreakable bond we have forged, the shit we went through, and now, everyone was posted to different units there could ever be. Riflemen, armour, signals or SCS (Specialist Cadet School) and for some lucky bastards - Military police or Police OCS. BMT has taught me things, stuff I know that I could learn nowhere else and skills, not only in military terms, but socially too, working with comrades, especially with those selfish asses in the platoon.

Now 4 months later, this feeling of uncertainty is back. The sense of stepping into another unknown land, only recognising a few heads, it's just like BAM! Back to ground zero. Only to find myself going to suffer hell for another freaking 9 long and torturous months.

Lots of things to prepare, especially when I'm heading to SAFTI-MI for the very first time as a cadet, still got to carry all those military belongings and documents back to my new camp, and more importantly, mentally preparing for the unneccessary 3 weeks confinement (FML) and shits-to-be, including those countless tekan sessions, route marches and outfield-camps (WTF!). OH GOD, I should stop reminding myself. It's totally bringing my mood down.

9 Months. 0 Motivation. I wonder how the hell am I supposed to pass through. Oh well, day by day, I guess. Got to find some motivation first. Probably when I throw the peak cap, and my dear mum put on the rank on my Number 1 uniform!

But that's 9 months later. 9 MONTHS.

Sigh. BIG SIGH. God save me, please.

++ Counting Down to POP: 6 Days. ++

2011-10-02T00:46:00.002+08:00

Title says it all, and I can't wait.

The next blog entry would most probably be after my passing-out as I'll be booking in tomorrow evening, hmm yes. It'd be fun (definitely not referring to the endless parade rehearsals and 24km march.) Yes, it'll be fun.

On the previous Friday, it was our last BMT book-out from the beloved Pulau Tekong, so we had to clear our cabinets, and hell, what whole bunch of stuff we had to carry back home! Mine was estimated to be around 25kg, so it kind-of sucked big-time.

And anyway, I definitely can't wait for my Hong Kong trip! YAY.

(time to sleep)

++ Food for Thought. ++

2011-09-21T22:12:00.008+08:00

It's been quite a while since I did a food review. Anyway, since national service is turning all the recruits into hungry monsters after book-out. Here's a list of restaurants, which serve different types of cuisines to satisfy your palate.

-

Shin Kushiya @ Vivocity
Serves awesome Japanese-style grilled items. Excellent ambience (if you're lucky enough, you might get the window seat with the Sentosa-island view) and great service too. I think I mentioned, but I'm just gonna do it again - This is by far one of the best Japanese resturant I've been to.
Must try: Grilled Cow Tongue, Pork Belly, Sashimi-don
-

Cedele @ Ngee Ann City
Definitely recommended for health-freaks/organic-food-lovers, as their tagline suggested "Eat well & Be well", eat all if you can, without guilt. Despite their appearance here since God-knows-when, I've only been to this restaurant once. And hell do I strongly recommend their -
Must try: Mushroom and Beef Salad (above)
-

Hansang @ Holland Village
Recommended by a friend, Hansang serves awesome and authentic Korean cuisine. The best thing is that the sides are unlimited and free-of-charge (Yes, I know.. Singaporeans.) And you get the utmost fun of grilling your choice of meat(s) yourself! Just prepare to spend quite a bit here, 'bout $40++ per pax.
Must try: Ginseng Chicken, PORK (Pork Belly, above)
-

-
The King Louis @ Vivocity
Headed to this western bar & grill for my first anniversary with Peiyi. Serves awesome meat, in mega huge portions. We ordered a Queen's meal fit for 2, but I could say it's pretty enough for 4 man too. Great ambience. Some tips: if you do advanced booking, you'll get a sofa seat. Awesome.
Must try: Pork ribs, Lamb Chops (included in the Queen's Meal)
-

Max Brennar's Chocolate Bar @ Vivocity
What is more awesome than having some desserts, say a chocolate pizza with a cuppa after lunch? Indulge in a world of chocolate, maybe to an extend that I'm skipping chocolates for a month. Warning: Extremely sinful. But well, once in a while, right?
Must try: Chocolate Pizza

And that is all for this round of food sharing.
Oh! And if you know of any places which serves awesome food too, please do share as the saying goes, good things are meant to be shared. Right?

++ Movie Marathon. ++

2011-09-19T11:11:00.006+08:00

Feast for the eyes.

1. Crazy Stupid Love (Rating: 8.5/10)

2. Horrible Bosses (Rating: 8/10)

3. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rating: 8.5/10)

What's Next?
Maybe Smurfs and Johhny English Reborn!

-
On another note, I had food poisoning. Yes. After booking out, I suffered from diarrhea and vomitting, gastric pain soon follow after. So I got a medical status till Thursday. But I guess I'm going back on Wednesday, because we have a 16-km march the next day. Sigh, I'll see about it first, but one thing for sure, I'm gonna miss the Hand Grenade throw! DAMN IT.

++ 3 Weeks to POP! ++

2011-09-18T13:26:00.003+08:00

Yes, just another few more weeks, Orion 03'11 Batch will be throwing their jockey caps along with several other companies on the Marina Bay floating platform. It will be a really joyous occasion, especially after 4 months of basic military training (Note: Although the term "basic" sounds noob-ish, please note that it's kind of tough in fact.) and the killer 24-km march. The 12-km march already took half of my life, so I can't imagine what this doubled-distance marching would do to my old life.

Just a few more high key events to clear.
- Urban Ops (if it is)
- Hand Grenade Throw
- 16-km March
- 24-km March

After that, probably an overseas trip with dearie and my friends. Yup. But the confirmation is taking forever. Sigh. And on a not-so-bright note, what's POP seriously? It's not even ORD. POP is just the start of more shit to come. But shit or not, I know I've to get through it.

-
Crazy Stupid Love is AWESOME. Go watch it if you havent!

++ Marchin' On. ++

2011-09-07T12:43:00.002+08:00

Field camp is finally over. Yes. Another high key event cleared till our long awaited passing-out parade which falls somewhen along early October. But what awaits us again after, is another long stretch of journey till we finished this national service. The process seems so long, so far to reach. According to the ORD Countdown iPhone App..

We've cleared 13%. Only 13%.
Well, that's saddening to hear.

From the very start of our army days, we were told to find our source of motivation. Some being wanting to be fitter and tougher at the end of 2 years. Some being wanting to learn new life skills. But for me, and probably as well as the vast majority, I want to protect my loved ones. My family. My girlfriend. My friends. During field camp, 2nd Lt. Brandon enforced on this point, that now it's our turn, as every Singaporean's son, to fulfill this national duty for the country.

Children having fun, while we are holding guns.
Have you ever wondered, why must we serve?
Because we love our land, and we want it to be free.
(Meh. More of we are forced to.)

For those guys who haven't served yet, maybe you're working now, maybe you're studying now or maybe you're sitting at home ~~rotting~~. Just enjoy it to the fullest. Don't complain when you get extra homework and stuff, cos' nothing beats having your freedom taken away.

P.S. I know I might sound weak, but I'm just expressing my feelings. And yes, I'm super unmotivated to serve, but what has to be done, must be done.

John F. Kennedy once said, "Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men." Yes indeed, that was and still is what the Lord promises us too, that we will have eternal life in Him, but sure do we know, that the process, that this journey we have to walk is not easy. We face obstacles to overcome, challenges to test our limits and to test our faith.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith;
be men of courage; be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13

I'm sure the remaining 87% will be full of trials. Oh well.
I still got smiles and laughters to defend back at home.

Don't give up, Thomas Chan.
Cos' I know you can do it.

-
On some side notes,
1. 4 More weeks to POP! Hey guys, let's go stink up the whole train, the new extended stations of Circle Line is opening on that day too.

2. Thank you Mum for washing all my clothes (I know it sucks) and all the love you have given to me. You're totally the best.

3. Thank you dear Peiyi for sending me off to Tekong almost every single time. I love you to bits. And oh! The letter for my field camp. <3

4. Horrible Bosses is awesome. Watch it if you haven't!

5. SIT TEST this coming week. FML.

++ Countdown to ORD: 666 Days. ++

2011-08-13T16:26:00.003+08:00

I know it's indeed too early to countdown now, but with just a guage of how many days left to ORD, it's obvious that for one, a long stretch still awaits before the lovely pink IC comes back to my possession.

The official BMT phase just started a week ago, with the daily trainings getting tougher and there's no such option called 'quit', the only way is to prep myself, be it physically or mentally and just "suck-thumb". But just like my section leader says, "exactly 8 weeks more to go. Seems long but but we already completed 9 weeks!" Yes, and I've always believe that every book-in day brings the ORD date closer.

Can't wait to throw my jockey cap and shout "POP" at the floating platform. Well, that's definitely one event that every recruit is looking forward to.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

-

Anyway, Captain America was awesome, do watch it if you haven't, and be sure you stay for the scene after the credits!

++ Weekly Movie Marathon. ++

2011-07-23T10:32:00.007+08:00

As you might or might have not noticed, I've been going on a movie marathon (uhh, sort of) every week. Well, entertainment for the army boys, other than going to clubs where the girls try every means to dodge 0.5cm-hair-guys and the tendency of getting one is close to zero. Not that I want to, I already got my girl, so please stop inviting me. Main point is still avoiding trouble though. And anyway, I seriously think that movie theatres are a better alternative to spend your pathetic monthly allowance on, other than the overly-overpriced junk food.

Skip the talking, here's what to watch or not to.
In a reverse chronological order:

1. Bridesmaids (Rating: 7.5/10)

2. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II (Rating: 8/10)

3. Transformers, Dark of the Moon (Rating: 6.5/10)

4. Green Lantern (Rating: 5/10)

So what's next on the to-watch list?

Nothing but the muchly anticipated Marvel movie - Captain America. Green Lantern was a total letdown, and hopefully, this coming superhero would be able to save Marvel's ass. Well, and it really seems like I'm watching more movies after I enlisted.

++ NS Life. ++

2011-07-16T09:28:00.002+08:00

Looking at my previous post, dated almost 50 days ago. Maybe that's the reason I did not blog as much nowadays. Limited usage and internet access in camp, drop-dead-tired mode caused by daily activities. Uh.. What else.

Anyway, army life as one could ever expected there to be - tough trainings, loss of freedom, strict military discipline, rules and orders to be followed. We have to wake up at 5am (Oh God, I know) and lights out at 10.30pm. And what awaits us for another brand new day, is just another same old set of physical activites. Due to military confidentiality and saving my ass from unwanted trouble, I am not going to reveal much. But since I'm in the PTP phase (yes, I failed my NAPFA. ZZ.), what we're doing everyday focuses most on our physical fitness, strength and endurance, so we can go through another 9 weeks of BMT (Basic Military Training) later on.

Life at Tekong couldn't be much fun if my buddies are not there. From strangers to become bunkmates, from bunkmates to friends, friends to buddies. Maybe that's the only thing that is keeping me sane, we encourage each other to fight on, to improve, most importantly, we endure the same shit together. In the military, no one is alone, so I believe, unless you want to isolate yourself from the rest.

On a pretty side note, I got a silver for my second IPPT, not bad eh? Considering that I failed badly on my first one. Initially my 2.4km run timing was 14.55min, but after two weeks of training, I managed to get a 11.31min. Perhaps the real reason is the idea of booking out early kept running in my head during the run. What now, is to maintain my silver status, and aim for a gold!

This two years will be tough, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Moreover tough times don't last, do they? But one thing I'm sure of is that: Tough men does.

Fight on! Orion!

++ Twice the Awesomeness. ++

2011-06-01T12:32:00.003+08:00

You know the thing about sequels is that 90% of the time, they never match up to the original, not even close, and some even fall short to the point of misery and teeth-gnashing (Okay, that is really exaggerated). Worse still, a rookie director has taken over the reins. Kungfu Panda 2 - is one of the exceptions.

The beginning of the movie shows that goofy panda Po has settled into his role as the Dragon Warrior protecting the Valley of Peace with the Furious 5. But all of this is threatened when the antagonist, evil Lord Shen plans to conquer China with an unstoppable weapon that will destroy kungfu once and for all. During the journey, Po searches for his real identity, a question of who he is and where he comes from, in order to gain an inner peace with himself. Only to find out that Lord Shen has a strong connection to his past.

Awesome animation, their sceneries with the ancient-designed buildings, lush greeneries and beautiful backdrops bring the story into a whole new level. But seriously, what lesser can you expect from a first-class animation studio? Kudos to the A-list of voice actors who breathe life into the characters too, though I seriously think that Jackie Chan (voice for Monkey) is super under-used.

Action scenes are choreographed nicely, it's bigger and more exciting than the original, especially the finale show-down, where Po worked together with the Furious 5, Master Shifu and the legendary Masters - Oxen and Croc. It's also more heartfelt and touching (between goose father, Mr Ping and Po.)

The only downside is that it's only 83 minutes of film-time. Considered short for such an awesome movie. A spectaucular sequel. Probably the best Dreamwork's film besides How to Train Your Dragon. Go watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Rating: 8/10

++ As We Go On. ++

2011-05-26T23:24:00.004+08:00

Somewhen 3 years ago, I became a student of Singapore Polytechnic.
I felt lost for no one I knew was here, a man in an unknown land.
But then, I thought. Who wasn't? Everyone was new to one another.
Break-time came and everyone went off. Lonely me had to go alone.

Far away, a guy with weird hairdo, someone with curls on his head,
He was alone too, so I went over and said, "Hey what's your name?
Wanna go for lunch?" With an overly-excited voice, he said "Sure."
And from that moment, we became friends. Good mates. Even buddies.

Then a hobbit joined in, shorter he might seemed. He was popular.
I remember everytime we were heading to classes, he'll disappear.
Friends everywhere. Popular kid he is. Maybe cos it's the height.

Then another came along, a guy with piercing just below the lips.
A taller kid, those equipped with packet of smokes and a lighter.
Second year, he chosed CG over 3D, so we're in different classes.

Then, there is this skinny boy, who likes to jump and run around.
I recalled, there is one day, he slipped and fall off the stairs.
Blood flows. Serve him right. See if he dares to repeat it again.

There were times we talked and joked and even quarrelled so loud,
the whole FC6 was staring at us. The five of us. Its embarassing.
There were times we baked, cookies that is, and made a huge mess,
I remembered because you all turned my mum's kitchen upside-down.
There were times we worked together, trying to work out projects,
even though we didn't manage to complete it, we had fun doing it.

Those were the times when we played together and fought together.
Our final year projects was tedious with lots of trials and errors.
We didn't give up and we continued and we encouraged one another.

In a blink of an eye, it all passed, we were putting on our gown,
combing our nicest hair. The time came when we set foot on stage,
shook their hand and get our 3 years of hard-earned certificates.

We have graduated and I know we won't be seeing each other as much.
So if you're reading this right now, I'm wishing you all the luck,
all the hope, all the faith and all the best for your future paths.

Our film name is called "Brothers". Maybe it's not because of them,
not the idea nor story plot, not the characters nor the designs,
it is us. It's always been us. This road has forged us a deep bond,
an unforgettable relationship, and I'm honoured to be with you all.

Brothers we were, and forever shall be.

++ On Stranger Tides. Aye! ++

2011-05-23T19:15:00.003+08:00

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the fourth movie in the franchise, preceded by (in chronological order) The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. But that doesn't mean you have to watch the other PotC movies to understand what is going on, it does however, contains plot elements from the previous ones.

The only PotC film not directed by Gore Verbinski, On Stranger Tides was led by ROb Marshall, and we could firmly say that he did it good. Dropping out two key protagonists, Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom (as they both refused to reprise their roles) and drawing inspirations from the novel "On Stranger Tides (1987)" by American author Tim Powers, the fourth installation is as captivating as the previous three.

In "On Stranger Tides", veteran actor Ian McShane plays the main antagonist and the notorious pirate, Blackbeard who pit himself against Jack Sparrow (Sorry, There should be a "Captain" in there somewhere) in the search of the fabled Fountain of Youth. Somewhere along, Jack crosses path with the one-legged Barbossa(Geoffrey Rush) and even his old flame Angelica(Penelope Cruz) appeared.

And thank goodness, Jack Sparrow isn't getting old. He's still very much a delight to watch. Maybe in the extent of, if Johnny Depp isn't casted in the next movie, PotC audience will probably drop by 50%. All in all, "On Stranger Tides" is a decent summer blockbuster, with several fun delights, not to mention the hilarious one-liners. Worth your bucks.

ARRR!! Be watchin' this movie, you dirty landlubbers! (Attempt to speak pirate language fail)

Rating: 7.5/10

++ Happy Birthday to Myself. ++

2011-05-19T20:22:00.002+08:00

In a blink of an eye, yours truly is turning 20. Before I start blabbering on anything, I would like to sing myself a birthday song. No, not the one that start's like "born in the zoo". So here goes-

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to Thomas..

Happy Birthday to me.

After the clock strikes 12, I'll be no longer listed as a teenager. Aww.. That's pretty saddening, I know. Welcome to the 20's, Thomas Chan. (And for God's sake, grow up.)

Tomorrow will just like be any other day, wake up at 9am, look at the clock, sleep, try to wake up 10 minutes later, look at the clock, HOLY SHIT IT'S 12PM. Will be going out with my (B)Romance though. Can't wait for it!

Anyway, my facebook wall will probably be flooded by people's wishes. YAY. How fun, I wonder how many I would get this year.

++ Food Hunt (I). ++

2011-05-14T14:02:00.011+08:00

The most basic survival instinct for human is probably to eat. It is simple to acknowledge the fact that people live to eat. However as humans take the norm food for granted, we constantly search for the better to fill our stomachs. So have I. In this post, I've gone to fulfill this great commision for my dear tummy.

Now, here is 5 to start with.

Note: The ratings awarded are not inclusive of other factors like service, ambience nor price. It is based on the food item itself.

1. Johor Bahru's Bak Kut Teh

What's: Bak Kut Teh
Rating: 7/10

The crucial point to a good pork rib soup, better known as Bak Kut Teh is in two parts - the meat and the broth. Unlike in Singapore, which our soup base is based more on the Teochew style, with a light colour and more peppery, Johor's Bak Kut Teh is darker, and with added medicinal herbs, thus creating a stronger flavoured soup. Their meat is tender, and do try out their pork trotters and assorted vegetables too.

2. Lenas @ Nex

What's: Hamburger Steak w/ Pancakes
Rating: 8/10

A sub-branch of MOF, and it's better in fact. Have a taste of heaven when you place a slice of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup in your mouth. Not to mention the hamburger steak and the scrambled egg. Definitely a must try.

3. Hog's Breath Cafe @ Robertson Walk

What's: Garlic Steak w/ Calamari
Rating: 3/10

Located at Robertson Walk, an area well-known to attract streams of foreigners, but if this is the kind of food they're eating, I've no other say. The steak is dry and has a rough bite to it. The only food edible on the plate is the calamari, that's how bad it is.

4. Nandos @ Tanglin Mall

What's: Half-Chicken (on maximum spiciness)
Rating: 9/10

Comes with 4 different level of spiciness level, I decided to take on my guts and ordered the highest level. And please, it's not even spicy at all. However that's not the point, the chicken meat is so tender and smooth, but there's a tinge of burnt on the skin, but it's awesome. You get to choose two sides, the coleslaw was average but the olive rice totally deserves an award or something. Double MUST try.

5. The Coffee Connoisseur (TCC) @ Centre Point

What's: May's High Tea Set
Rating: 6/10

What else beat lying on the couch and lazying your afternoon off while having high tea with your loved one(s)? I love the raisin scone, it's irresistable delicious. I even eat the crumbs after that, but not to the extent of licking the plate. The salmon biscotti and strawberry pudding are awesome, as well. Oh! And do note that this promo item set is only available on the month of May 2011.

++ Fast 5 Cars - My Picks. ++

2011-05-11T22:58:00.007+08:00

The Fast and Furious, an action franchise involving illegal street racings in different parts of the world - Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, and not to mention - Rio de Janeiro in the latest installation.

In a total of 22 exotic cars featured in Fast 5, I've picked out five dream cars that I want to get my hands on (in my dreams).

In no particular order:

1. Koenigsegg CCX

2. Nissan GT-R

3. 2010 Lexus LFA

4. 1966 Ford GT40

5. Honda NSX

That's about it for the eye-feast!

In my previous post - my take on Fast 5. Do check it out if you haven't!

And for God's sake, catch the movie already in the theatres!

++ Five times the Speed. Five times the Awesomeness. ++

2011-05-10T21:50:00.004+08:00

Fast 5 is the fifth installation of the Fast and Furious series, and as an action junkie and ardent fan of racing cars, skipping this whole F&F franchise is probably the most dumbest thing I could ever do. I am sure now you know most movies sequels or remakes do excite fans, but ended up as a disappointment and failure to match up with the original. Film goes from bad to worse as the series dragged on. Most. And it's definitely not Fast 5. I would even argue that this is better than the first.

Continuing from where it left in Fast & Furious 4, Dominic was sentenced to 25 years jail and there was the bus chase involving Mia and Conner. Upon succeeding in rescuing Dominic and dodging countless authorities, the trio soon becomes the most wanted criminals. In order to break free, the gang tried to pull off a 100-million dollars heist, while getting their tails chased by federal agent, Hobbs and corrupted drug lord, Reyes. Spoiler ahead: Expect a twist of fate though.

The cast is wicked. The visual effects are mind-blowing. The music totally rocks my socks off. Perfect blend of humour and action. But to be honest, the story-plot isn't as powerful but Justin Lin's directions made up for it. Big kudos to him. And not to mention the orgasmic (Sorry, can't find a better word) car lists and it's a hefty 21 of them, which includes the 2010 Lexus LFA, Koenigsegg CCX and not to mention, Dom Toretto’s trademark Dodge Charger.

Basically, its five times the adrenaline rush. Five times the entertainment. Watch it, even if you're not a fan, you'll be surprised.

Rating: 8.5/10

++ Ding Dong, Here comes the Death Bell. ++

2011-05-09T11:04:00.003+08:00

The top 30 students in Woo-Sung High School face death as they are brutally murdered one by one. A voice warns them that they'll all be killed unless they can answer who is the murderer and why he is killing them.

A sequel to 2008's Death Bell, the second installation is good as a "stand-alone" movie, as there is little, if not, no linkage with the predecessor. Knowing that normally sequels doesn't go as well, (maybe that is why) Director Yoo Sun-Dong recruited Park Ji-Yeon of popular girl's group T-ara to play the role of the main lead, Lee Se-Heui, also the step-sister of Tae-Yeon, a high schooler and swimmer who was found dead in a pool two years ago.

Expect no heart-attack moments, for this flick doesn't really falls under the horror category, but more of the slasher-thriller type, for example- box office hit "Saw". Truthfully, this film is not clear-cut enough, the character development is in a mess, and I don't even know who's the main character until nearing the end. Again, there is totally no anticipation nor surprise-factor at all, scenes are boring and predictable, and what make it worse are the lifeless and uninteresting characters - Yoon Si-Yoon and acting-veteran Kim Soo-Ro are major dissapointments.

P.S.- I've seen reviews that both Death Bell films hold the similar plot and killing methods, just with different casts. So if you would to watch either one, don't waste your time on watching another.

Rating: 4.5/10

++ Life as a Telemarketer. ++

2011-05-05T21:24:00.002+08:00

The title makes me sound like I've been sitting at tables, making repetitive phone calls all my life. But hell no, as of now I've already worked for 3 consecutive days at market research company, Xpressworks. So basically, I'm given a stack of similar survey sheets and I'm suppose to call up offices and residences for their responses, currently we're doing a perception study about the Government's Budget 2011, (and trust me that it is god-damn long, respondents had hanged up my call halfway through the survey and I've to re-do all over again.)

There's a daily quota of 15 completed surveys, which is kind of difficult to hit, I only managed to hit it today. Well, nice try Thommy. After you hit the quota, the company will reward you with additional pay per piece (after the quota), besides the hourly pay of $6. Or either, you could pack your bags and hit the sack early. But AISH, it still sucks.

Anyway..I'll be leaving this repetitive "hell" next week, so it's just a few days left. Hang in there Thommy!

P.S. I really regret not to pester the Starbucks store managers to give me a job there, for a person with tiny-wee bits of hyper-activeness, sitting at one spot is nearly impossible. How I hate office jobs, GOSH.

++ Hail the God of Thunder! ++

2011-05-03T21:46:00.002+08:00

Thor was much more better than I have expected. Way more. But again, what less would you expect from a comic-turned-movie Marvel film? First there is Spiderman, then Incredible Hulk, and then there is Iron Man, now there is Thor.

Probably the first blockbuster of the year, it has certainly set the bar very high. With mind-bending effects, great sounds, dynamic story plot, and the best of all - the actors. Chris Hemsworth and award-winning Natalie Portman definitely knows how to bring the characters to life, and certainly brought the script into a whole new level. Not to mention, they compliment each other perfectly.

There is plenty of humour when Thor was cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, and in a way, it's a good contrast of the serious mood in Asgard.

And if you're planning to watch the movie, stay on for the after-credits scene! I won't reveal anything right here, but I would tell you it does definitely play a role in fitting the Marvel movies together.

And the truth is, I seriously don't mind watching a second time. Now it's up to Green Lantern and Captain America in keeping up this standard, and by then, it'll be an awesome Marvel season.

Thor is definitely a winner. Hail the Avengers!

++ One Hell of a Ride. ++

2011-05-02T22:19:00.003+08:00

The very literal tagline: "Get Ready for One Hell of a Ride" and you better get prepared to waste your hard-earned money. Bad storyline, horrible effects, stupid and senseless fist-fights, lame car-chases, terrible script. The awesome trailer (no sarcasm intended) is probably created to mislead and fool people into watching the movie itself. Beautiful blonde, handsome guy shooting people on a cool ride, well.. You might as well watch the trailer only, all the nice action-moves are packed there.

I wonder why would someone actually spend money to watch this, sorry I'm going backtrack for a bit, I wonder why would someone actually even download it and waste 104 minutes on this piece of messed-up film. Well unless you like graphic violence, cursing, satanic rituals or nudity (do note that this is a M18/R movie), there is no other point.

Not to mention the acting, Nicholas Cage looked bored all way through, and this is probably his worse acting job up to date. His hairdo is ridiculous too and for someone of his talent and standing in Hollywood, Nicholas Cage.. If you really need money in the future, I'd rather you star in a Care Bear movie or something.

Actually I do think the title - "Drive Angry" makes lots of sense. You ended up 'driving angry' back home, realizing that your time and money is gone to waste.

Conclusion? Worse than Scream 4, two words - DON'T WATCH.

++ Make Every Second Count. ++

2011-04-28T18:33:00.003+08:00

Movie synopsis:
An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. (IMDb)

Though not as popular, Source Code is definitely quite THE movie, with not much exaggeration. With a certain resemblance with "Deja-vu", Source Code leaves the audience to who is the culprit and anticipate what happens next. Everytime the protagonist hit the Source code and revisits the another dimension, the characters and story development doesn't hit a stop, but continues to build up constantly, till it hit the climax of the movie, allowing audience to get a better attachment to them.

Storyplot is intellectual and well-built up, it avoids being predictable and concurrently, a smart movie. The effects, to be honest, isn't great like Avatar, but the script, the role-playing exceeds all else.

An awesome original thriller/suspense movie that you would like to catch at the cinemas. Well, another downside is that it's only 93 minutes long. But trust me, it's definitely worth your bucks.

++ This isn't a comedy, it's a horror film. ++

2011-04-25T12:37:00.005+08:00

People live, people die and you'd better start running.

The fourth installation of the horror franchise, Scream 4 hits the cinemas the previous weekend, but do expect new twists for new rules come with a new decade. Despite being in a series of movies, Scream 4 is perfect as a stand-alone movie, for I didn't watch the previous ones.

Fans rave about this movie, I read reviews about how the "Scream 2 is average and Scream 3 is a disaster, and this makes up for the awefulness", again I didn't watch those 2, so I wouldn't comment as much, but more of Scream 4, as an individual (movie).

It sucks.

Some scenes were enough to make you jump off your seat, but most of the film time it is pure "lame". The storyline lacked real conviction, character development was so-so, it felt like some were just included as fillers, or as potential candidates as the Ghostface, or as the brutally murdered victims. The gore was overused - I don't see how killing a single person, would result in a room, literally painted with blood. There are more F-Bombs than I could count and *mild spoiler alert* the choice of killers are ridiculous and unbelievable. The whole movie seems like a eff-ed up High School Musical horror version, which fails to find a good balance between humour and horror, instead mixing and creating one huge, miserable mess.

The title of this post was cited by the killer aka "Ghostface", but truly, this movie is utterly terrible, it is better well-off as a comedy. I would rather watch Justin Bieber's movie.

++ The True Easter. ++

2011-04-24T21:45:00.005+08:00

Have you ever give a thought what does Easter means? Is it just another day to recieve those decorated eggs or watch the bunnies hop around?

My dear friend. Besides the widely-celebrated Christmas, Easter is another joyous occasion to celebrate about, perhaps more than Christmas. Sometime twenty centuries ago, Jesus Christ was crucified and died for the sins of man, and on the third day, risen from the grasp of death, making this a foundation of Christianity faith.

This day symbolizes a complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught, and not just another rabbi or religious teacher, a Son of God who died on the cross and shed blood for us. The final sacrifice which brings man closer to God, it is through Him that our sins are forgiven, that we will be risen with Him and share the glory of God.

John 11:25 cites:- Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. - 1 Peter 1:3

Easter is a day of new beginnings. It is a day of hope. And to celebrate life, an everlasting life, through Jesus Christ. You know, brothers and sisters, Easter isn't very much about the bunnies and eggs, though it is nice to have them around, but let us not forget the real meaning of Easter.

More reads:
Resurrection Story Summary

++ Enlistment. ++

2011-04-19T23:46:00.003+08:00

"MINDEF dropped a bombshell today in everyone's letterbox...", as one of my friends said. And with no surprise, I just got mine right in the freakin' mailbox earlier today, with the heading:
THE ENLISTMENT ACT (CHAPTER 93)
ENLISTMENT NOTICE (FULL-TIME/OPERATIONALLY READY NATIONAL SERVICE)
What comes to my thoughts: shaved hair and face paints, the weird taste of sweat and mud combined, tough trainings and workouts, picking up soapbars. Army. What one could ever get inside is probably no more luxury, no more looks, plus strict exercise regimens doesn't make it better, at all.

For your information, I will be enlisting in 10 June 2011, when I'll be heading to Pulau Tekong, and probably get my hair shaved on the first day. I'm kind of thinking about jail-life right now. It would be tough, those 2 years, everything will be put on test, my limits, my determination and strength, not only in terms of physically, but also mentally and spiritually, my relationship with my family members, with my girlfriend, people around me, my new army mates. Not to mention that life is full of trials and obstacles, which moulds you into a better person, hopefully. And there's always a saying, "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going." Right? I've to brainwash myself that army is a free training program which makes myself tougher, and the result- a transformation. A man.

Whatever it is, when life gives you lemons, eff the lemons and make some lemonade out of them. So during this time that I've left before enlistment, I'm so gonna go enjoy myself, an overseas trip maybe?

Dear pink IC, I'll definitely miss you.

++ Trip to Universal Studios Singapore. ++

2011-04-16T17:21:00.010+08:00

11.04.11 - It was dearest "12nd" birthday, well it's actually 21st, but Peiyi couldn't figure out why she's still so "young-at-heart". But anyway, as a partial birthday gift, I brought her to Universal Studios Singapore, a newly-opened theme park located within Resorts World Sentosa.

So unfortunately..It rained.

Dissapointing sky

But it's okay! We were joking that it's just morning dew, just that all of a sudden, it became quite uncontrollable. Nah, I didn't curse God, I didn't dare to, I thanked Him instead, after the short shower, the weather cooled by quite a bit, and all of the rides are opened again shortly after.

So basically here's an idea what this place looks like.

You will need this. Trust me.

It's pretty amazing inside, the buildings and the props are beautiful, it's as if you're in another dimension.

Castle of Far Far Away

Ancient Egypt

New York City at your doorstep
Enough of the scenery already, the ~~limited~~ rides here are pretty awesome too, from high-speed roller coasters to wet boat rides, though it's mostly catered to thrill-seeking youths.

Here are three MUST take rides at USS.

1. Battlestar Galactica (Obviously) - Probably the star attraction of the whole theme park. This ride comes in two tracks - Human(red), with jarring banks and turns, while the crazier Cylon(blue) features cockscrew loops and cobra twists.

2. Revenge of the Mummy - Psychological thrill ride which winds through a pitch black building, with sharp turns, sudden reverses and drops. This ride will leave you hanging to guess what's next.

3. Jurrasic Park Rapid Adventures - Expect rapid currents and turbulent waters when the innocent ride goes terrible wrong. Oh! And prepare to get wet. Very wet.

More tips and suggestions.

1. Get a poncho for the wet rides, it's available at one of the pushcarts around. Who knows you might need it if the weather screws up too.

2. Catch those awesome live performances and shows. Timings are available at the venue itself.

3. Lockers are free of charge for the first 30 minutes or so, ridiculous fees like SGD$5 for 20 minutes will be charged thereafter.

4. To avoid the crowd, go early. Most rides require less than 15 minutes of waiting time or so during off-peak periods.

5. Take pictures with those mascots walking around, it makes beautiful memories.

6. Book early online, as it's a first-come, first-served basis, and be sure to check out the promotions some credit-card companies are offering.

7. It's a SPECIFIC one-day ticket and there is strictly no refunds of ticket or whatever. If it rains like hell, God bless you.

8. Watch those movies first, so you know what's happening.

All in all, Universal Studios Singapore definitely does worth a spot on your travel planner, or if you're a local, no harm supporting the economy a bit, right? I heard a few more other rides is one it's way to USS, probably by next year or so.

++ Omph. ++

2011-04-15T13:18:00.002+08:00

Make-up really do wonders.
But isn't this a little bit too much?

++ Feast for the Eyes. ++

2011-04-01T12:36:00.008+08:00

I had quite an eye feast recently, and since I haven't really update on movies, I figured out that it's time to do so. Listed below are films I "feasted" on, from 4 months ago.

1. Gulliver's Travel

Ratings: 5.5/10

2. Black Swan

Ratings: 9/10

3. Great Great World

Ratings: 6.5/10

4. World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles

Ratings: 7/10

5. Rango

Ratings: 8.5/10

So there you go, I will update mroe frequently, since I got an abundance of free time. Adios~

++ Pray for Pastor Vincent. ++

2011-03-29T13:07:00.004+08:00

Newton Life Church's youth pastor, Vincent Lim is undergoing a high-risk heart surgery as and when I'm typing this now. Let us join hearts and pray for this dear brother, may the Lord's peace and blessing be with them Vincent, the surgeons, Emily and his family members, and friends. If you would, my friends, please do pray for his quick healings too. For dear Father knows, I've always believe that prayers work.

And I'm so gonna look forward when he stand on the stage and start preaching God's words again. With lots of love, dear brother.

-
On a side note, as you all might know, it is holidays for the graduates currently, which is equivalent to an abundance of free time. I've applied for jobs at two nearby Starbucks outlet, one at West Coast Plaza, with not much crowd, and the other, which I just applied a few days ago at the newly-opened Clementi Mall, a stone's throw away from the train station, and one might've expected, it's crazily crowded. If time allows, I would apply for Baskin Robbins at the same location too.

Jobs aside, I'm doing a few 3D projects with my babe, working on lighting challenges, I would do the texturing and she would take over for the lighting of the scene. We're working on our second "child" now, it wouldn't take as long as 9 months, but it might take quite a bit though, for we're working on our individual portfolio and works.

And anyway, we celebrated father's 58th birthday last Sunday.

-
More events to come:

Rango outing with Bromance.
Badminton with Poly-mates.
Beach party with oldies.
Small group outing.
Triple dating.
Peiyi's 21st birthday.
And lot of datings with dear.

Yeah, so this is me signing off. Adios~

++ Pray for Japan. ++

2011-03-17T18:29:00.003+08:00

Newspapers, news reports, online articles, radios, almost every media you might came across is reporting about the tragedy in Japan nowadays. As all might know, on 11 March 2011, Japan was hit by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. To make things even worse, first there was the radiation exposure, then it started snowing yesterday crippling rescue works. People are being forced to evacuate in the bitter cold weather, with shortages of water and fuel, what now? The death and missing toll has topped 11,000 and counting.

I thank God that my relatives living in Japan are safe for the time being. One family got evacuated and I pray that they would be able to settle down as soon as possible, and that the radiation would be contained. (It's at red-zone currently.)

I also urge everyone to keep Japan in their prayers, continue to pray for them, as I always have believed that prayers do work and it actually does. That's the least you could do. Or if you might, look up for the list of organizations you could donate to in your local newspaper.

Heatwaves, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis.. With this quake adding to the list of recent natural disasters, I wonder what's next? For all you might know, world's end is coming.

++ Tuesday, 15 March 2010. ++

2011-03-15T00:47:00.003+08:00

We missed the first, but I hope we could do the third.

++ Just a Quick Thought. ++

2011-03-11T00:55:00.003+08:00

After attending NYP's graduation show, two kind of feelings hit me - Amazement. Fear. I was awed by the quality of their work. Their animations, their ideas, their drawings, all seems to be so "high-level". To be honest, my works cannot even compare to them. It's not that I am not confident, but truth is not always pleasing to the ear - the standard is just not there. Industrial recruiters would definitely place them at a higher priority than I.

I don't know if joining SP at the first place was the correct step, but I guess I shouldn't be saying this at the very last phase of poly-life. Moreover, my gradshow is only a few hours away, there's no time to worry about this (and probably too late to regret and whine about it.)

But since it has come to this, it's time to beef up my portfolio!

++ What a busy week it will be. ++

2011-03-07T12:35:00.002+08:00

Rushing for grad show preparations that is. Yup, our Singapore Polytechnic's graduation show would be at home turf's auditorium, just a stone throw away from Dover station, from 11 to 12 March (Yes! It's this weekend!)

So get your tickets now! Wait a minute, you don't need one.

But anyway, I attended the Digipen's talk a few days ago, alone.. It was inspiring that Digipen was one of the top schools (for game-related mostly, and sadly, but I figured out animation would make it somehow), at the same time, fearful of their strict and rigorous curriculum. I rather see it as a preparation for the industry rather, I know this route is gonna get tough, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going, right? Their deadline for submission is a couple of weeks away, so I got to rush to hand in my portfolio too.

So much things done.. and so much left..

Just to keep myself organised (and a reminder)

- Print Namecards.
- Graduation Show.
- Hardcopy Portfolio.
- Online portfolio.
- Digipen's Application.

- Pool Outing with Bromance.
- Bake a Cake.
- Badminton with classmates.

++ Thursday, 17 February 2011. ++

2011-02-17T22:43:00.001+08:00

++ Food for Thought: Taking for Granted. ++

2011-02-16T12:17:00.004+08:00

Last night, I was reading about William A. Ward, author of Fountains of Faith, one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational maxims and one of his famous quotes struck me greatly: God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"

Indeed nowadays, human beings have forgotten how to give thanks. The busy and hectic lifes have slowly transformed us to take the things around us for granted. Our houses, jobs, and even relationships, stop and think, do you take all of these for granted? Have you ever stopped to thank that your body is moving, that your mind is thinking, or that your eyes are reading this sentence right now? Do you know? There are so many people out there who do not have a roof over their heads and not enough food to eat, and I still wonder, why do people complain about how small is their apartment or what's for dinner. As a christian, I am ashamed to say that I still do that today, complaining about my work, the blemishes on my body and even the same Ol'fried fish my mother is cooking for dinner. But what is this compared to those children suffering in other parts of the world?

People tend to start cherishing things only when they know that it is going to slip off from their hands. And we all know that it is too late by then. Is it a need for them to be gone until we noticed how big it would have affected our lifes?

Give thanks not only before meal-times, but also when you wake up in the morning and hear the birds sing, when you looked into the mirror and see God's creation, when you walk to school or when you drive to work, when you meet your friends or your loved ones. It all comes down to this simple action.

So my friends, why not start giving thanks and start cherishing those things you have taken them for granted today? Give thanks to your families, your friends, give them little gifts now and then, or it might be as simple as pinning up a "Thank-you Mum" note on the fridge or giving a pat on your friend's back. Give them a smile, be a blessing to someone's life, and you would be surprised how your little actions would brightened up their day.

Life is a gift. Never take it for granted. - Sasha Azavedo

May the good Lord bless you.

++ Saturday, 12 February 2011. ++

2011-02-12T16:22:00.002+08:00

I promise I'll update this blog after I finish this FYP shit up.

What's left is to add the darn audio,
render the god-damn clip and burn it.
Pass it up to MDA, and it's done.

Simple as ABC. (If only.)

++ Rain, Rain. Go Away. ++

2011-01-31T22:31:00.002+08:00

4 DAYS. That's how long it rained.

Counting down to the Chinese's most celebrated period of the year, a mere 2 days and the rain is not gonna stop. According to weather forecasts, this festive dampener is here to last, at least till Sunday. Businesses, tourists, shoppers are all affected by the rainy weather. Sales were widely and hugely affected during this Chinese New Year, and are reported to dip by 20 percent.

Tell me who's not affected by the rain? Putting the "nice-weather-to-sleep-in" aside, people have no mood to work, no mood to step out of their doorsteps. Umbrellas, wet floors, damp shoes, accidents, flu, I have enough of them.

Now, when is this rain gonna stop?

++ World's End? ++

2011-01-27T21:28:00.004+08:00

Today's morning, a group of us talked over our early lunch, let's see what we've covered, places to buy clothes, going everywhere, how terrible are the noodles, but nothing struck me as the last topic we discussed - World's End.

Once again, this issue surfaced at the lunch table. Volcanoes are erupting, ice-bergs are melting, sea-levels rising, global warming happening all around the globe. 2012 perhaps? Some people believed that the world would end 21 December 2012, some presumed there's a major change in world order or a revolution coming on, others have no doubt that this is a complete twaddle. And who knows why the Mayan calender and the Prophecy of Popes have no records after that date?

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." - Matthew 24:36

Indeed, no one knows, but the one who created all this knows. I admit that I feel a tiny bit of depressed throughout the discussion. 2012? I'm only at a tender (well, not so) age of 21. The truly legal age to watch R21 films! Nah, that's a joke. But tell me truthfully, who wants to die so young? Well, not me definitely. There's a whole lot achivements, goals, aspirations that I want to accomplished, getting a good job, earning huge bucks, driving luxury cars, travel around the world, getting married, have children, and the list just goes on and on, the last being, you know what? Die. Die naturally. Not getting killed while driving away from collapsing buildings, boiled by magma, or getting flooded by a 50-feet tsunami.

"Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"" - Matthew 14:31

As a believer of Christ, we are promised the life we would have after death, the eternal life. Believing, it's just that simple. But why am I sitting here wasting my brain cells doubting? Judgment Day, the day when Jesus Christ would once come forth in full view of every single creature.

"11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sits on it. ... 12 And I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held. And all were judged according to what they had done. 15 Those who did not have their name written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire." - Revelation 20

And this is the Word of God.

But before that, it's high-time we cherish all those around us and live our life to the fullest. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever," said Mahatma Gandhi, one of the wisest man who walked on earth.

But to be honest, I got to get this book - "1001 Food You Must Eat Before You Die".

END

++ Monday, 24 January 2011. ++

2011-01-24T23:44:00.002+08:00

It's not easy, but I'll try.

++ Sunday, 23 January 2011 ++

2011-01-23T00:25:00.003+08:00

NO PROJECTS ANYMORE!
(Nah, just kidding.)

I am on the final stretch of my entire poly-life now, I can't possibly throw in the towel. Coming upon a sentence a few days back, I can't recall whether it was from some motivational websites or facebook statuses, but it goes something like this.

"Whenever you think of giving up, think about what you have been fighting for all this while."

There are so much things, so many duties I am fighting for currently. Project works, examinations, religion and faith, and all those relationships with all those who held dear to me. Sometimes my body tells me to just give up, just sit back and enjoy. Why go to church every single Sunday morning? Why study, why work? The voculabary of negative thoughts filled my mind.

Thank God. I'm not giving up.

Demo reel by 1st February and a completed FYP by 9th February. Including school-related issues, everything seems so difficult, it takes determination, it tests my patience, my strength, but nothing is impossible. Life is full of trials and obstacles, but what doesn't kills you only makes you stronger.

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

Time to beef up, Thomas Chan.

++ Animal. ++

2011-01-18T23:48:00.003+08:00

This song totally rocks my socks. Enjoy!

What are you waitin' for?
Take a bite of my heart tonight.

++ Monday, 17 January 2011. ++

2011-01-17T23:14:00.003+08:00

The past few days are all spent in front of my computer, with Adobe Photoshop opened on my desktop, a Wacom tablet on my lap, and maybe with a tub of ice-cream on my desk, texturing my life away. It is so called my "department" for my Final Year Project(FYP), as that is what I am mostly in-charged of.

For those who are not really 3D-inclined, texturing means adding characteristic to an object, mostly in forms of colors/materials to give it a more interesting look. Well this is just my definition of what texturing is.

And unfortunately time isn't on our side, I don't quite recall when it was, but anyway, we were approximately 3 weeks away from the deadline. Ironically and literally, the four of us will be dead (or screwed) if we can't finish this project by then. We will finish it. Finish it good. You wanna do a war-cry, Benny?

Just a peek on what we are working at.

Yeah, just to let you know, I'm blaming FYP for the pimples on my face, as I've been sleeping late working on it. Anyway, the weekends were fun, oh did I tell you, my dear Yip and I have passed our half-year mark! That's right, that's SIX months! But compared to those couples who have stood through storms, and overcome all sorts of marriage problems and..Wait, we are not married yet, my bad.

Yip, let's do 60 years, shall we?

We had church service and dinner with her cell group members, then we headed to Esplanade, seated right behind the spot where I confessed to her six months ago. We talked the night away, I hope through this little conversations, I'm able to understand better about her thinkings and such, work to improve myself to be a better boyfriend, and hopefully, a better person.

On another topic, I got so much things marked on my schedule for January, can't blame it, Chinese New Year is just around the corner!

On yet another topic, nowadays I feel like I'm thinking too much, feeling so dazed, being such a worrywart about every single thing. Sigh. I'm praying for this.

This is Thomas, and I'm out.

++ Dear Family and Friends. ++

2011-01-13T11:31:00.014+08:00

You awesome guys definitely play a huge part in little Thomas' life. I do not know the actual reason why I started writing this post, maybe it is I really feel blessed, and I truly thank God for these people. In one way or another, you all have definitely change me, my way of living, my way of seeing things. So without furthur ado:

Maternal relatives.

Paternal relatives.

My siblings in Christ.

Siggraph Asia Volunteers.

4e1 Besties.

Internship Buddies.

Poly Mates.

Travel Buddies.

My Loveliest Peiyi.

And, how can I ever forget my Bromance!
(Thinking of that, we didn't take any photos with us all together before! Chak Chak Mo!)

P.S.
(1)If I ever missed out any of you, I apologise but it truly doesn't means that you are not important! :)

(2)Sorry for the really long post.

++ Monday, 10 January 2011 ++

2011-01-10T23:53:00.003+08:00

After the passing of New Year, everyone is getting sick. In the trains, during church services, at school, basically people is having loads of tissues stuffed up their noses or coughing their lungs out. I got the latter. Days of coughing aren't fun at all, sore throat follows and all those shit happens, and it's still not stopping. At the very least, it beats puking at 2am, for your info, I got a really bad fever straight after the New Year. Blame it on the booze! Damn you.

Thank you dear Yip for taking care of me, and ended up falling sick a few days after. You know, she's so cute to sing me to sleep. But only when I'm down and out? Come on baby, you gotta sing me to sleep everyday!

So here's a few selected highlights I went through the last few days.

Dating at West Coast Park. Finally, I get the chance to bring a girl there, I always see couples here and there, and wondered when's my turn.

En Yun's Matrimony on Saturday, Congratulations again! Have a really blissful and blessed marriage! And I always pray that God will walk with you two through the end of times.

Danzation 2011 to support Karen, I've got to (better) know Lex and Basil that day. It's so awesome to make new friends. We had Chicken Chop Spaghetti for supper. Two thumbs up, yeah?

Church plus cell-group, I'm so glad that dear Yip joined us! Now the people in the church wants her to come again next week! Haha.

Medical Check-up with Waiyuen and Chien Yi (another new friend!) It took about 3 hours plus-minus, the IQ test was freaking long, but I'm glad it's done and I got Pes A.

So yeah, that's about it. Let's end this post with this picture:

The stars with Tertiary Group.

++ Tuesday, 4 January 2011. ++

2011-01-04T23:10:00.001+08:00

Mum, we are drunk!

++ 2011: New Year Resolutions. ++

2011-01-03T11:43:00.002+08:00

Supposedly to come up with a list of resolutions a few days ago, but I got really down with fever, there's still a slight tinge of sickness in me, but thank God I'm getting better. Well, that leads to Resolution Number One.

1. Thank God.

2. Bible reading everyday.

3. Exercise and keep fit.

4. Enjoy army.

5. Get a driving license.

6. Learn drums.

7. Help others.

8. Save money.

9. Spend more time with my loved ones.

10. Be a better child.

11. Be a better brother.

12. Be a better boyfriend.

13. Be a better friend.

14. Travel.

15. Learn Korean.

16. Come out with a SOLID portfolio.

17. Graduate awesomely.

18. Be less grumpy (which leads to the first resolution).

-

18 New Year Resolutions. Can I do it? May God help me on that. God helps those who help themselves. Gotta work on it! YEAHH!

“Cheers to a new year and
another chance for us to get it right.”
- Oprah Winfrey

++ My Top 5 Movies of 2010. ++

2010-12-30T11:12:00.008+08:00

Movies definitely made it to one's part and parcel of life. People go there all the time, be it with their special someone, families or a bunch of good friends for their entertainment value. In Singapore, an average movie ticket cost SGD$7.50 on weekdays and SGD$10, on weekends, but that doesn't stops movie-goers. According to web statistics, 4 years ago, the average number of movies watched was 3.7, and 4 years later, it became twice as much.

I'm proud to say that I watched way more than that. This year, so far I've watched 27 films, excluding "Gulliver's Travel" which I will be catching tomorrow afternoon. As a media student, I would say this money is well-spent, as it's categorised under education. We actually found ourselves criticising after watching the movies.. 职业病.

Without furthur bullshitting, here's my top 5 movies of 2010.

5. How to Train Your Dragon

A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

4. Eat. Pray. Love.

A married woman realizes how unhappy her marriage really is, and that her life needs to go in a different direction. After a painful divorce, she takes off on a round-the-world journey to "find herself".

3. Hello Stranger

Just like thousands of Thai couples, during the 9 days holiday of Songkran festival, a guy and a girl choose to visit Korea for their own specific reasons. They did not start the trip to go together, but end up returning back home together.

2. Toy Story 3

The toys are mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic right before Andy leaves for college, and it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned and to return home.

1. Inception

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception.

So that's it. My top 5 movies of this year. Wait, maybe I should add this.

Most Memorable Movie.

June Havens finds her everyday life tangled with that of a secret agent who has realized he isn't supposed to survive his latest mission. As their campaign to stay alive stretches across the globe, they soon learn that all they can count on is each other.

(Summary taken from IMDb.com)

++ Review for 2010's Resolutions. ++

2010-12-29T23:13:00.003+08:00

A year ago, I listed out 16 resolutions as a target for me to achieve in the year 2010 and since this year is ending in a few days time, I figured out that it's high-time to put them onto review.

1. Start reading the Bible everyday.
No excuses, I better start doing this. Today.

2. Exercise and keep fit.
Ongoing, on and off though, not regular.

3. Be a better role model for my brother.
I asked him, he replied, "I don't know." Which means no improvements.

4. Have better self-control on my temper.
For this point, I think it remains unchanged.

5. Save money.
Definitely, no. Gotta work on this!

~~6. Go to church cell group at least once a month.~~
Checked! Now I'm a regular in my cell group, thank God!

7. Cherish what I have.
After having Peiyi, I think I've neglected my closed ones, especially my mother, it's time to spend more time with her.

~~8. Learn how to cook and improve my baking skills.~~
Checked! I can whipped out a few edible dishes now.

9. Learn guitar.
Switched to drums instead.

~~10. Travel.~~
Checked! I'm fortunate to be able to travel this year - Langkawi and Seoul.

~~11. Brush up my Photoshop skills.~~
Checked! Gotta brush up more though.

~~12. At least 1 Outing with friends per month.~~
Checked! Definitely, I'm going out with my friends (and girlfriend) often.

~~13. Re-furnish my house.~~
Checked! I think it needs furthur improvements though.

~~14. Get some new clothes, for God's sake.~~
Checked! Too much clothings in fact.

~~15. Learn a new language.~~
Checked! Not actually learnt, but I'm beginning to pick up more Korean.

16. Change my bad habits.
Like digging nose? Nah, just kidding! I don't think this is specific enough.

Completed: 8/16

I will come out with a new list, probably before this year ends; by tomorrow.

++ Seoul Trip - First Impressions. ++

2010-12-28T20:58:00.004+08:00

It was about 6am when our flight reached the Incheon international airport. The 6-hours direct flight nearly took my life, as a more-hyperactive-than-usual person, I don't sit well in one spot, it's a must for me to move around, or wriggle my butt, but how in the world am I supposed to do this in a darn cramped economy-class seat. God! Anyway, did I tell you about the return flight? It was way worse. Seriously, I rather spend a little more to save my life.

The five of us (Wangting, Yizhen, Weijie, Francis, and myself) got our luggages, and head towards the convience store to get some munch and get a T-Money (or T-card), it serves as a cash card, which can be used for travelling around, and buying things in selected stalls.

First impression: Their cigarettes are damn cheap. On average its at W3000 per pack, which converts to around SGD$3.30. For those who doesn't know how much it costs here, its more than 3 times the price.

Hyehwa, our next stop, it's over where our first accomodation is. So we got into a subway and headed over.

Spider-web.
First impression: Despite there are no laws that say no-eating on train, they are incredibly neat and clean. Note: People do eat and drink in trains. For your own information, you get fine for consuming in Singapore trains. Yes. We are a FINE country.

Alright, we got out of the train station.

First impression: It's freaking freezing! Everyone was literally smoking from their mouths. The first few days are bad, but surprisingly, I adapted quite quickly. I seriously thought I would catch a cold and walk around with tissues stuffed up my nostrils. I didn't even wear my down jacket which I bought specially for this trip.

I quickly whipped out my gloves and stuffed my hands in. It's cold nevertheless, but it helps greatly. We walked around trying to figure out where our hostel, Backpackers INSIDE is located. And thank God, we found it quick.

Korea's sun.

You know all that time, I had this wrapper with me. I was wondering where I can throw it away, I look around and found no bins.

First impression: There are few bins in Seoul, more recycle bin. That's a good idea actually, Singapore definitely should have this. As a green city, I don't see people reducing wastage, reusing materials and recycling stuff.

I was thinking of putting the delicacies of Seoul here, but I figure out that it would be too long for a post.

++ Merry Christmas to You. ++

2010-12-26T00:47:00.004+08:00

Indeed, time flies. A year has passed, and it's time to greet one another, a very Merry Christmas. Maybe I was a tiny bit late, as the time is 0050 of 26th December at the moment I typed this, but no harm wishing it as a 'belated', yeah?

Wishes from people's mouths, Merry Christmas here and there, but do they know the true meaning of Christmas? It's not merely gifts or presents, candy canes and beautiful decorative lights hanging on trees. Some might know it's the birth of someone. But unlike any other babies, the One born over 2000 years ago in a filthy sty of Bethelem was unique. He was not created by human parents; born out of a virgin, He had a heavenly pre-existence. Jesus Christ, that is. But do you know who He is? The True Light, The Lamb, The Bread of Life - The Saviour of mankind, "that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Throughout this year, God really showed me much. He has taken away from me, and provide me with newer, better things, be it physically, mentally, spiritually or in any other humanly-possible terms.

God gives. God takes. God's name be ever blessed. (Job 1:21)

He has given good to me.

Number one, I am complete. I wouldn't say I am perfect, humans do have flaws, but at least I have a pair of eyes to see the colours of the world, the wonderful creations of Him. A pair of hands to feel the softness of the grass, a pair of legs to run across fields, a pair of ears to hear the sounds of nature and those music made, a mouth to sing praises. A nose to smell those wonderful scents of the earth. And to those leftover parts I didn't mention here..For God's sake! Don't be jealous! You are important too.

How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 31:19)

A wonderful family and awesome friends, I wonder how many kids are born in broken families, or even abusive families. Although I'm born with no silver spoon in my mouth, or servants and maids awaiting me, I always thank God for this Christian family I'm born into. My friends too, those buddies who have grown up with me, those project mates working together with me, train with me, and withstand all my crap. I just want you guys to know that you all has played a huge role in my life. Continue to do so, as I believe good friendships doesn't end in a year or two, it lasts forever.

Last but not least, you know, I pondered what's the best Christmas present I had just now, and I just can't think of any things better than this. I don't even think of it, but on the afternoon of 31st May 2010 came a troubled girl dressed in purple with jeans (apparently it's supposed to be formal, but she didn't know it). Her smile seems forced, her body is without a soul, she is gloomy and maybe she even seems unfriendly.

But something just isn't right about this girl, despite all those negative things and thoughts, why does she shines in my eyes? Alright, alright. I admit it was kind of a love-in-first-sight thingy, but I know it is a man's job to bring a natural smile back to her beautiful face.

Looking at almost 7 months back since we met, and 5 months of being together, I think I did a pretty good job eh? But to be honest, thank God. Thank Him for this female companion - Yip Peiyi. You know, it's like Eve to Adam, Barbie to Ken, Nala to Simba, Fiona to Shrek, Patrick to Spongebob (Wait, take that out), Minnie to Mickey, Daisy to Donald, Angel to Stitch...*gasp* You get the point.

And above all else, blessed be the name of God. Amen.

++ Seoul Trip - Back to home. ++

2010-12-23T01:22:00.004+08:00

This is Thomas Chan reporting in Singapore, after a 9 hours flight delay at Incheon Air-port and 6 hours of travelling time, I'm finally back home. 돌아 왔어요! (Basically means I'm back.) Thank God for that, cos' 12 hours in the plane is NOT fun at all. Definitely not, not in the ecomonic class, where seats are darn cramp and no, I'm not fat, I just need some stretching.

Anyway, blame it on the fog.

The 10 days in Seoul weren't wasted at all, not even for a bit. Everyone had fun, volunteering, making new friends, eating pork and drinking soju every other night. Yeah we basically have that on almost all the days, from Day 1 to 10 - Pork and soju. I wonder if I had grown an inch or two, horizontally. But that's what Seoul is about, yeah? You gotta eat - Pork. Holla.

Once a classmate who went Siggraph too, Yizhen said, "Thank God, I'm not halal." Amen, praise God. I totally agree with that.

Pig trotter anyone?

Nah, that's just one, we got a hell lot more.

Part two to be up real soon.

++ Countdown to Seoul. ++

2010-12-10T14:34:00.003+08:00

I started counting at 10 and in a blink of an eye, today is the day I depart for Seoul, with my poly buddies, Wangting, Yizhen and Weijie. It's gonna be a 10 day trip, the ~~main~~ purpose is to volunteer at Siggraph Asia. To meet people, have fun, to eat good food, is no doubt the main point of this trip.

And it's gonna be freezing, I hope I'll survive, but too bad if Kim Jong Il decided to drop a bomb down there. Nah just kidding! But seriously good Lord, I pray that the tension between the two disputed borders would ease, and there would be world-wide peace. War is totally no joke, why kill, when the people can have world peace? There is no reason to spill blood. We are humans, why exterminate our very own breed? Why can't the leaders sit down and talk nicely over a plate of kimchi? Damn.

So anyway, I haven't finished packing my darn luggage. Still have bits and pieces to stuff in. I hate taking the plane too, the air pressure always gets me.

It's gonna be my virgin experience taking the plane without my family, touching snow falling from the sky (if Snow City doesn't count) and eating the legendary kimchi (and skewered pork belly. Count soju in too!) from its' land. It would be my first "White Christmas". Sigh, but seriously how I wish my loved ones would be going along- My parents, brothers and my yippy. No doubt, I will be missing them. Nevermind, we shall have one real soon! Shall it be Taiwan?

May the Almighty protect and bless this journey.
May His Spirit be with me on the way,
and may He lead me back to my home in peace.
Those I love, I commend to His care.
He is with them, I shall not fear.
As for myself, may His presence be my companion,
so that blessing may come to me and to everyone I meet.
Blessed are you, Lord, whose presence travels with His people.

Amen.

And, may a Korean santa give me some gifts. Amen.

++ Annyeong. ++

2010-12-06T22:56:00.004+08:00

Thomas 입니다, 만나서 반갑습니다.
(Thomas imnida, mannaseo bangapseumnida.)

Basically means I'm Thomas, nice to meet you. It's been several months since I last touched it. My self-study Korean book, that is. As of the time I typed this sentence, its 4 days left to my Seoul trip, I've forgotten 90% Korean I learnt, and it's high time that I pick it up again.

Yet to pack my luggage.
Yet to print my namecard.
Yet to exchange money.

There is still project work to clear up, having little mood doesn't means I don't have to do. Schedule is tight, so much things to do. So little time. Sigh. Good Lord, please give me the ability to organise myself better.

And you know what's funny? All of this time, especially it's only 4 days left, excitement should be exploding in my mind right now. It's Korea man. Don't I wish to go there all the time? You might see Girl's Generation on the streets. Sunny! Aren't I all hyped over this?

Yip Peiyi.

I don't even remember the last time we parted for 10 days. Maybe there isn't even any. Army? I might not be even able to see her face for weeks. She told me last week, that she should look for someone who had their national service. I thought and replied, "can't blame it on fate." Break or last, I always thank God for Peiyi. Once I asked her, why she chose me, the reason given was that she had stamps all over her eyes. Joking or not. Never did it once crossed my mind that's the reason I chose her. She is special. One.

When I come back, she'll soon be leaving for Genting with her friends. I'm not allowed to go, maybe it's better than ruining everyone's holiday. You know, I prayed that God will make her choose the right choice, and she decided to go. As much as I wanted her to stay, I don't want to hold on. Everyone needs space.

Please promise that you will take care of yourself.

And I trust that those going with her will look after one another. Initially, I was kind of paranoid of her, with another female, going with two guys. I prayed. She chose. I respect her decision. But trust me if my girlfriend gets hurt in anyway, I'm gonna break your limbs. She thinks I'm joking around, sadly I'm not. I go great extents for revenge. By hook or by crook, as long as it does the job. Been there, done that.

God. Maybe I should start living the proper Christian life.

On another note:

Had dinner with Peiyi, family and grandma on Sunday night. Oh. Here's my two bestest loves of my life.

++ Saturday, 5 December 2010 ++

2010-12-05T00:55:00.002+08:00

Friday night - had steamboat dinner with dearie's cell group members.

Saturday night - had an intro dinner with the Siggraph people.

It's so awesome to meet new people.

Thinking of that, weekend is gone without touching my project. Sigh. Why can't weekends be longer? Maybe it's a good idea to implement 4-days work week, yeah? I bet I could get a third of Singapore's population to sign a petition on this in a single day. Sometimes it's even hard to get a good rest on weekends, time literally flies, and in a blink of an eye, it's already Monday.

Anyway, Korea Siggraph trip in 5 days!

++ Call of Duty: Black Ops ++

2010-12-02T00:05:00.009+08:00

It is with no surprise, that within 24 hours of "Call of Duty: Black Ops" release, it sold a combined total of of 7 million units in the US and UK market, surpassing that of Modern Warfare 2 and establishing a new record for the largest entertainment launch. (Stats by Wikipedia)

Black Ops, seventh installment to the COD series.

"Epic. Top-notched. Definitely one of those Games of the Year."

Retail price: $85.00 (at Comics Connection)

Rating: M (Strong Graphic Violence)

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8.5/10
Longevity: 9/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Overall: 9/10

Being an avid FPS(first-person shooter) fan, it's just difficult not to get my hands on this game. Black Ops is the second "Call of Duty" game I ever had, the first one being the fifth installment - World at War.

Black Ops is the first to be set in the Cold War, and it features an insanely intense storyline, being held captive and interrogated by unseen captors, you are bombarded by questions about the locations of a number station. Players progress through the story mostly through flashbacks of Alex Mason, special forces operative, in search of information. There's plots and twists throughout, which really spices up the whole game up.

Story-mode aside, "Black Ops" features the popular Nazi Zombies mode from the World at War, and other incredibly fun multiplayer modes, both online and local-offline, including the Dead Ops Arcade and Wager matches, (which I haven't try it out yet, the gameplay looks fun though.)

The voice acting and sounds lend a great deal to the overall game experience too. The music tracks fit perfectly according to the events happening, and well, it's truly an easter egg - always full of surprises. For say, it is literally music to your ears.

Texture looks pretty awesome, although at some parts they took quite some time to load up and some other minor graphical and technical glitches. But it's tough to notice this kinds of blemishes, when a grenade is ticking right beside you. Aye? Also featuring new 3D experience, however the frame rate would suffer greatly, wouldn't really recommend it for the maximum game experience.

Still, Call of Duty: Black Ops provides plenty of fun. Definitely recommended, even if you're not a fan of the COD series.

Well actually.. You will become one after the credit-roll.

++ Checklist. ++

2010-11-30T22:53:00.004+08:00

In 240 hours, yeah don't count, it's 10 days, I'll be on the airplane heading for Seoul. The heart of South Korea, that's where this year's Siggraph Asia is held. It's gonna be a real fruitful trip, widening my horizons, establishing new contacts, and probably learn how to survive in a negative-celcius condition. May God truly bless me for that. I've this strong anti-feeling that I would walk around in the darn cold with nostrils stuffed. On a not-so-funny note, I pray that the tension between the North and South would lessen (God! At least for the period when we're on their lands!) Nah, that's a joke. I'm all-out for total world-peace, although anyone who has a mind to think, probably knows that this is beyond the bounds of possibility.

Putting those aside, a real quick checklist for this trip.

Here goes:

Down Jacket
Parka
Lots of Cotton Shirts
Thermal Garments
Checkered-Scarf
Sunscreen
Lip balm
Heating pads
Gloves
Some good jeans
Lots of Socks
Boots

Passport
Money
Credit Card
How to speak Korean
Camera
Handphone
Umbrella
Toiletries, including tons of tissue
Garments

Name cards
A photo of my mum and girlfriend

And, uh... probably my SNSD album.

I'm still deciding whether I need a fleece hat or a pair of ear-muffs. The need to spend so much money.

*Sigh* Just to save my ass from the cold.

++ This is Good. ++

2010-11-24T21:29:00.002+08:00

While searching the web, I came across this story, which was told by my pastor several times before. It is truly interesting and amazing, so might as well share it.

-

An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.

As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"

"What do you mean,'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."

-

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28)

Situations may not always seem pleasant while we are in them, but the promise of God is clear. If we love Him and live our lives according to His precepts, even that which seems to be bleak and hopeless will be turned by God for His glory and our benefit.

God knows. Trust in Him.
And I always pray that He will show me the way.

++ How Far We've Come. ++

2010-11-23T21:18:00.003+08:00

Having watched all seven, well six-and-a-half episodes of Harry Potter, including the latest "H.P. and the Deathly Hallows", it kind of reminded me how far those main leads have grown, becoming seasoned actors and actresses, developing strong characters within themselves, and not to mention, grown into much mature and beautiful people. With not a single hint of doubt, someday they'll be in the professional league, where all the huge shots are.

Talking about money sense, people as young as twenty-something, to mention some, Chad Hurley, Andrew Gower, not to forget, facebook-creator Mark Zuckerburg has already carved their names on the youngest millionaire's list. Younger? Justin Bieber. Love him or hate him, I bet everyone knows he has the money to retire - now. The average age of the millionaires is dropping, people (kids rather) are earning their huge bucks and living the high-life, real young.

Applying it to me, I always ask myself this three questions: What am I now? What am I doing? Where am I heading?

I don't envy or am jealous of their successes, I rather see them as a target, as an aim. Born with no silver, golden, or platinum whatsoever spoon in my mouth, I've to work my butt up. Well, thank God for this family, my dear mother especially, whom suffered so much, bore me and painstakingly raising me and my brother up. I swear I'm gonna give her a good life, and by the way, I'm not about to waste my life away.

Life is precious, and it's all about taking chances. Grabbing opportunities. Helping the ones in need. Giving back to the society. Having fun. I got big dreams too, to earn big bucks, live the high-life, to travel around the globe. The target. And don't tell me I can't do it, because I will, and prove you wrong.

"One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching."

And I will make damn sure, that mine's gonna be an epic blockbuster movie.

++ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. ++

2010-11-22T21:41:00.002+08:00

Storyline: 5.8/10

Visual Efx: 8.9/10

Sound Efx: 8.5/10

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series always fail to attract me, to grab one of them and actually read it. I'd watched the previous six installations though, and the 7th one - Deathly Hallows Part I, is kind of disjointed. For some moments during the screening, I can "catch no ball", it's either I am slow to find out what's actually happening in the movie, or I am half-asleep throughout, I see little linkage connecting this to the other six.

Where's the magic? Those awesome and cool spells that always attracts the audience, I see little. I'd admit after "Chamber of Secrets", I've little expectations on the next coming Harry Potter movies.

Well, on the brighter side, the iconic trio, Harry Potter(Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger(Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley(Rupert Grint) do have some good acting skills. To be honest, although I'm no Harry Potter die-hard fan, I caught every series and looks like from all those Harry Potter series, the three have really become seasoned actors and actresses. Not to mention, that the visual and sound effects also feature some impressive and powerful moments, just to mention one, the chase scene - where the trio escaped from the Death Eaters. All nicely done-up.

P.S. The story of the Deathly Hallows is interesting too. (Nah, I won't spoil.)

For 145 minutes of screen-time, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I" is dull, draggy and dry. I seriously hope the second, which is the grand finale that rounds up the whole series, would be way better than this part.

-

On a side note, there's two really irritating movie-goers sitting darn right behind me and discussing what would happen next, what is this, what is that, et cetera. It doesn't means if you read the bloody book, you can spoil this whole god-damn movie.

++ 123rd Days with Peiyi. ++

2010-11-16T20:44:00.003+08:00

Time flies, well. Literally. Our 4th Month Anniversary just happened to be the 123rd day of us being together.

Headed to Orchard for some photography and dinner at 鹿港小镇 (by the Asian Kitchen).

Ahh yeah, this is my dearie posing with a plate of roasted duck.

Had Ben & Jerry's for dessert. To be honest, it was the first time I had it. Too much Haagen Daz and cheap ice-creams. So yeah, it was definitely an awesome night, too much we got to get back home early. Piles of assignment.

And I always ask myself, what's next? 4 years? 40 years?

On a sad note, I'll be away in Seoul for our 5th Month. Aish.

++ A Due Date with Megamind. ++

2010-11-14T23:49:00.007+08:00

The title sounds purely absurb, but I did caught this two awesome movies this weekend - "Megamind" and "Due Date" respectively.

Our group's presentation went well, uhh.. not bad at least, and watching an animation film is the best way to unwind, re-charge and prepare for the next lap. Spending almost every single and lovely moments in the god-darn second home of ours, the computer-lab. But that's another topic altogether, back to Megamind.

Animation: 9.3/10

Storyline: 8.5/10

Verdict:
Undeniably, other than "How to Train Your Dragon", "Megamind" is one of Dreamwork's best animation production. Brilliant concoction, awesome combination of humour, emotions, plot and animation. Definitely recommended.
-
When one movie is enough, you go for two. This time with my Bromance buddies.

Storyline: 7.0/10

Visual Efx: 5.8/10

Sound Efx: 7.3/10

Verdict:
Other countries rated this movie as "R", I wondered why Singapore put it as just "NC16", when the content is so, well you know- strong language, drug use, and especially the high sexual content. (But we enjoyed it anyway.)

Seeing Robert Downey Jr. known better as Tony Stark or Guy Ritchie in those action-packed movies, acting in "Due Date" is plain wierd. He's good though, I'd say better, together with Zach Galifianakis and Sunny, the masturbating bulldog, the trio makes a comical kick-ass combination.

Well, they totally got the "Bromance-factor" in them.

++ Thursday, 12 November 2010 ++

2010-11-11T20:59:00.002+08:00

Gonna practice for the presentation. Our group is the first to present somemore. I thought it's good though, the ealier you do it, the faster it would be over.

But..Hope I don't stutter in front of the crowd. Improvisation, hmm..I better get a script or at least know what I'm talking about first.

Movie outing tommorow! Watching Megamind with my poly-mates.

Bromance outing on Saturday! Due Date - totally awesome for bromancing.

++ Tuesday, 9 November 2010 ++

2010-11-09T11:22:00.006+08:00

Final Year Project is taking it's toll on me. Well, slowly. It's only the 4th week into the semester, and sometimes I just felt like doing nothing. But I can't, it is my responsibilty to lead and organise the group (I found out that director does not equals to leader. God), and I always wanted to finish it good.

We finally had a schedule planned for the whole semester, so far, so good. I hope that the four of us are able to keep up with this planning, do it well, present this piece of project, get an ~~good~~awesome grade and graduate TOGETHER. We are definitely not leaving anyone behind, nobody wants to anyway.

Things to do *by this week*
~~- More concept art~~
- CA1 Presentation
~~- Romance Outing~~
- Bromance Outing
~~- Gym~~
- Quiet time
- Read a book
- Read baking recipes
- Copy them
- Bake something

Well, I don't know if I have enough time to accomplish all of this tasks, but I'll try my best to clear the important ones first. And thank God for the cross, my loved family and friends, for I'd break-down without them.

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

- 2 Corinthians 12:10

++ Social Network w/ 4e1 ++

2010-11-07T23:19:00.005+08:00

Another secondary school class gathering, and here we go, let's watch a movie.

Storyline: 9.0/10

Visual Efx: 6.1/10

Sound Efx: 7.0/10

Have you ever sat down on your couch and wondered how the number-one website started? Yes, that's right - Facebook. The creator, well so-called, (go check out the movie if you like to find out more), Mark Zuckerberg, just like any other students in Harvard. One fall night in 2003, there's this idea that popped inside his head and quickly worked on it. What begins in his dorm room, soon becomes a global social networking site, with no doubt - a revolutionary for communication.

Six years later, with more than 500 million friends currently, Boom. With a current net worth of US$6.9 billion. Ladies and gentlemen, may we put our hands together and welcome Mark Zuckerberg, the youngest billionaire in history, the creator of Facebook.

The Social Network is more of how Facebook started and how Zuckerberg got into conflicts and law-suits with his partners. It is definitely not a movie on himself. Actually after Zuckerberg was told about the film, he responded, "I just wished that nobody made a movie of me while I was still alive."

But still, it's out. Great for general knowledge, at least now you know how the website you logged-on to 3-hours per day started.

++ Floods in Alor Star. ++

2010-11-04T11:51:00.004+08:00

ALOR STAR: The floods in Kedah claimed the lives of two young sisters yesterday, bringing the total number of fatalities in the state to four since Monday.
The situation in Perlis is still precarious with two-thirds of the state inundated by floodwaters, while in Kelantan it is easing up.

To date, however, more than 33,000 victims are being housed in relief centres in the three states.

Taken from New Straits Time:
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/33_000inshelters/Article/#ixzz14HYrSLKy
-

Alor Star, the route we took to Langkawi (the bus terminal and jetty is situated there), got flooded by heavy rains on Monday. Luckily, the six of us went there last month, and not this month. If we head to Langkawi at this period of time, who knows what might happen. Luck? Fortunate? Maybe not. I'd rather say - God's grace.

I urge you, readers to also pray for those who are affected, be it those locals or foreigners, that they would recieve no harm and return home safely, and may the flood reside real soon. May God show mercy.

Condolences to the deceased's families. May God bless their souls.

You know, sometimes testimonies state that God work in wonders. At those time, I don't understand even a bit.

.. Maybe this is what they meant.

++ Tilt-shift Photography. ++

2010-11-02T11:14:00.004+08:00

(Taken on instantshift.com)

Maybe one day I should do something like this,
it's so fascinating.

It's a small world after all.

++ Escargots? Ewww! ++

2010-10-31T23:59:00.004+08:00

What's for appetizer tonight? Escargots! Are you not kidding me?

So, I finally had the chance to try out this exotic dish at Jack's Place for my grandmother's birthday dinner. To be honest, I ordered this because I'm not the one paying, my parents are! So heck it- Half a dozen of snails please!

FYI, they ain't cheap at all. The ones at Jack's Place costs $9.50++ for half a dozen.

The dish basically came with two important tools (of torture, nevermind, they are dead anyway) that will greatly assist you in this journey of eating this pesky land snails - Snail tongs (for holding the shells) and snail forks (for extracting the meat).

Finally, it came - six shells filled with nasty black stuff in each hole. Grabbing and holding one shell using the tongs, having doubts whether they taste like rubber or dirt, I gave them a sniff. Ahh, garlic and herbs. Empowering smell. Jeez man, guess I have to put it in my mouth. So using the snail fork, I carefully poked it and try to extract the meat out, fearing that the fragile mollusc would tear, resulting the meat to squirt and splurt. I proceed this step with extreme caution, slow, steady, twisting a little here and there, and out it came.

Without thinking I placed it in my mouth, gave it a little chew, it doesn't taste as bad. My father was probably exaggerating when he said that it tasted like junk. It's chewy, most people said it taste like chicken, actually it's the "bite" that feels like chicken. You know, the feeling when your teeth interact with your food. The after-taste is strong though, I would described it as mushrooms soaked in herb-sauce for a century. To be honest, the taste is still in my mouth, as I typed this - THIS, approximately after 5 hours. (Gotta use Listerine later.)

I would like to try this dish again, perhaps at other outlets. I heard "My Secret Garden" near Bugis serve good escargots.

P.S. Sorry, if this post sounds like a big fuss eating escargots, it's my first-try and just wanna share my delightful experience.

++ Saturday, 30 October 2010 ++

2010-10-30T23:12:00.002+08:00

For some reasons, this Saturday night is so screwed-up.

FML.

++ Thank God, It's Friday! ++

2010-10-28T21:07:00.004+08:00

Week 2 of school is ending! And guess what? It's Friday! It's such a blessed day for everyone, after such a long and tiring week, people are finally able to do what they really want to do - be it slacking at the couch, catch a blockbuster-movie, take the kids out, romantic dates, shopping with bffs. People, it's time to reward ourselves!

But.. Uh-oh! That means 2 more weeks till assignment deadline, we are on-track though, doing concept art and finalizing the very last pieces of the story plot. However on-track is not enough, I want to be ahead. Gotta work on it!

On another note, I would be able to get time off starting from tomorrow night. Phew, and another 2 days, it would be another really long week, lectures and projects, God. What a loop it is!

But whatever it is, thank God for Fridays!

++ My God is Awesome. ++

2010-10-25T16:12:00.002+08:00

For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 - KJV

++ My First Days of School. ++

2010-10-21T10:28:00.006+08:00

Lectures, lunch and FYP(Final Year Project) meetings, that's most probably what my school life is about now.

Now that the FYP deadline is revealed - early February, which would be about 3+ months from this day, everyone have to work extra hard. Oh my, especially me, I have a SIGGRAPH trip to Seoul and probably a Taiwan trip in December, and that would be 2.5 weeks ready to be strike off from my schedule.

Our story-plot is in the finializing process, still adding bits-and-pieces to wrap up the whole story. For the style, we're still researching about it, concept art is not enough, to be honest, I think our group is kind-of lagging behind. Got to work on this.

-

To-Do List

~~- Update Tutor about story~~
~~- Character Design/Concept Art~~
~~- Watch movies for research~~
- Overall concept art

~~- Email hotel about room enquiries~~
- Settle accomodation for Seoul
- Confirm Taiwan trip

~~- Should I go TG outing?~~
- Romance outing
- Bromance outing

- Photo-shooting trips
- Make a photography portfolio

~~- Bake a Banana Cake~~
- Learn to use yeast
~~- Improve on my sugar toast~~

++ Langkawi Trip. (IV) ++

2010-10-18T22:22:00.006+08:00

DAY 4

The morning sun arose once again, and like all great things, it must come to an end. And that's right, 9th October marks the last day we had in Langkawi. After the buffet breakfast, everyone returned back to their own rooms to prepare for check-out. Alvin/Youling went to do some last-minute shopping at the nearby area, while Victor/Jesline had some rest, the latter was down with sickness during the trip, but I'm glad she had fun, despite all those fevers and throw-ups.

Peiyi and I finally had some time to sit down to enjoy the sea-view from our hotel room. We(actually, everyone) upgraded it from "Superior" to "Deluxe" just for the sea-view, and for the sake of not letting it go wasted, might as well take some time off, and just look at the sea of Langkawi and Kuah town.

Welcome to Tompy's Room. Sorry, a bit messy.

The sea was literally like a painting. Every thing was still.

Sea-view from Room 615

The clock striked noon, we did our check-out, headed for lunch at Marrybrown, went on a leisure-walk near the famous Eagle Square area. Sun was exceptionally hot, and the whether was quite humid. Everyone was sweating. Luckily, there's shade in a park, and we decided to have a stroll:

A stroll at the park.

We took the boat-ride back and fortunately, it wasn't half as bad. I had my ear-pieces plugged to block out those recurring, monotonous unpleasant sounds. God, I totally hate those noises. We rushed for the coach back to Singapore, our taxi was going at 100km/h and cutting lanes. Thank God we managed to get on the coach (and survived the car-ride.)

Hours later, there we are. Back in Singapore. Home sweet home. I lagged for a few days actually. It's just that my body and mind had to adjust to the sudden change of surroundings. Oh well.

Langkawi trip was fun, it's the first time I travelled overseas without my parents. Yeah, I made some new friends, and I would definitely love to hang-out with them, or maybe go on another trip again. (We were thinking Phuket.) And I do miss the feeling of living under the same roof with my dearie.

Those few days are totally awesome, all thanks to you guys! :)

++ School. Starts. Life goes. On. ++

2010-10-17T21:24:00.004+08:00

Poly-life officially starts again tomorrow, after 4 months of internship and 2 months of holidays, although I'd met up with my group members for projects and such in school, 2-3 times per week, the feeling is just different.

School is starting. Officially. New lecturers for new modules, everything will be going according to the time-table, canteens would be swarmed once again. School life. I bet I would missed it when I graduate. Who wouldn't?

(In an average person point-of-view): Hot chicks in short skirts, ~~good~~cheap canteen-food, walking around in campus with flip-flops, tons of on-going activities, pocket money from parents, hey! You surely wouldn't get to experience this type of life again, yeah?! (Yes, unless you repeat. I wouldn't like the idea of wasting my life though.)

Having fun aside, this last phase of my poly-life is important - Final Year Project. I'm gonna finish it on time, and finish it good. Not to forget NAPFA too, speaking of that, I actually bought a chin-up bar earlier, which I would most probably install it tomorrow.

And heck the shit. I'm aiming for gold.

++ Life as We Know It. ++

2010-10-16T12:40:00.005+08:00

Storyline: 7.0/10

Visual Efx: 6.3/10

Sound Efx: 7.1/10

Classic romance-comedy plot - 3 years ago, Holly(Katherine Heigl) and Messer(Josh Duhamel) were set up on a date by their mutual friends, Peter and Alison. The date ended in less than an hour, soon tragic unfolds, Peter and Alison were involved in a car accident and passed away. In their will, the Novak's had named Holly and Messer as owners of their house and the legal guardians of their year-old daughter, Sophie. Reluctantly, the two moved into the Novak's residence to take up this "chore" - to raise Sophie. Things happen in-between, internal-conflict sparks, resolutions, chemistry comes in, love blooms, you know what.

"Life as We Know It" is a sad romance-comedy, that has little parts that will touch your hearts. This 114-minute movie makes you think, it goes deep into your mind and makes you re-wind your memories. Are you like Holly, who's too obsessed in being annoyed at little things? Have you ever been a jerk like Messer? In a situation like Messer, would you choose career over your loved ones?

Definitely worth your bucks. Good for the family, great for friends, perfect for couples to watch.

++ Langkawi Trip. (III) ++

2010-10-15T12:07:00.005+08:00

DAY 3

After a night of partying at Victor and Jes's room, eating junk, talking crap, and laughing till we drop (actually, it applies to Jesline and Youling only), soon it's the 3rd day in Langkawi!

We had more sight-seeing, our gang headed to an animal farm (where I rather re-named it as "Deer Farm", cos' the only animals I saw were deers), and then to the cable car, a star-attraction at Langkawi.

700 metres above sea-level, have you ever wondered how high is that? Gravity on earth - 10m/s. 700/10 = 70 seconds. If you'd jumped off platform, you get to enjoy 70 seconds of free bungee jumping before you ascend to heaven. Cool? No wonder Jesline was crying all the way up, but we're all grateful that she suggested this ride, even when she didn't quite like the idea of sitting in a cabin hanging on a steel wire.

Splendid view.

Not to mention that the air is damn fresh too.

Padi field! Had an awesome guide, who showed us around, and explained the process of harvesting rice, interesting plants (one which smells like petrol) and the uses of herbs. Tongkat Ali! Who needs that anyway?

Peiyi and I head to the ~~bitch~~beach, while the other 4 went to admire sea creatures at the Underwater World. Langkawi really live up to it's name as the Paradise Island, the beach is endless, the white sand beneath our feet is powdery, not to forget, the clear blue waves - I marvelled at this beautiful scenery - God's creation. How great thou art.

The Supers walked hand-in-hand down the beach, collecting sea-shells, letting the waves rush into our feet, without realising, the skies turned into a beautiful hue of orange - It's like those drawings we used to draw when we were kids, the sun hiding behind the hills, the sun is setting. Romantic.

I say, let's marvelled at God's creation.

It's so dinner-time, when we had a spread at a seafood restaurant in Pantai Cenang. Butter prawns, steamed fish, lemon chicken, sambal kang-kong, hotplate toufu, and hot steamed-rice. I hope I didn't miss out any food. It's the last dinner in our Langkawi trip (but it's the first we had a proper one). Oh! And the size of their tiger-prawns! The size of your forearm, they are totally as big as lobsters! "Country bumpkins", the locals might've thought when they saw us looking so excited at the sight of the prawns.

We headed to the hotel soon-after.

++ Eat. Pray. Love. ++

2010-10-14T16:25:00.004+08:00

Storyline: 7.9/10

Visual Efx: 7.3/10

Sound Efx: 7.8/10

Let yourself go, eat, pray and love. After an unhappy marriage, which ends up in a divorce, Liz Gilbert(Julia Roberts) decides to embark on a journey round the globe to find herself.

Iron Man, Toy Story, AVP (Alien VS Predator), Phobia, but "Eat, Pray, Love"? A romance comedy? It's so out of place, and I don't even remember the last time I watched this certain genre. What's come into my mind? Mushy stuff, flowers, wedding-ring, girl cries, slaps and good-byes, and then find another guy, with little chance of re-union with the old, and the whole story repeats itself.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Despite the poor ratings for "Eat, Pray, Love", I absolutely love this film, a full 2-hours of masterpiece, perfect real-life story, perfect screenplay (Julia Roberts is totally awesome), and the perfect ending.

Watch this movie, you won't regret it.

++ Langkawi Trip. (II) ++

2010-10-12T22:54:00.004+08:00

DAY 1

Stepping down from the ferry, seems like the greatest thing I ever done that day. After the longest 90 minutes of my life, watching the darn clock dangling at the front ticking my life away, Jesus Christ!

Finally.

First stop - Jetty Point. We got into our rented car, a 7-seater Toyota Avanza, with our dear driver, Alvin driving us around (safely) in an unfamiliar island. Our hotel is our second stop, after settling the checking-in of rooms, we headed up for a rest. A well-needed rest (and bath), 12-hours of journey time, can't be more draining than that, huh.

We went to random places after lunch at KFC, Snake Sanctuary (where the only audience is the six of us. Pathetic, I know.), stopping at places to admire the beautiful sceneries, and shopping the rest of the day away. Although there's not much seriously, typical products, nothing interesting, but wait, a can of beer for RM1.80(SGD$0.75)?! Holy Molly. Our hotel fridge is so gonna be stocked (and not finishing everything in the end.)

Time for bed!

DAY 2

"RINNNGGG RINNGGG! RRINGGGGG!" Thanks for the wake-up call, Victor! Dear yippy is still sleeping, so might as well take a bath first. At the hotel restaurant "Flamingo", there's a huge spread of breakfast buffet waiting for us, and there's this really interesting "Egg Bar" that serves quite a variety of eggs - omelette, scrambled, sunny side-up, and the 6 of us totally spammed on this. Eggilicious!

We had the Kilim boat ride for today, where it would take us around the north-eastern part of the island, exploring the bat cats, fish farms, the crocodile cave (but too bad it's closed, because of the high-tide), and this really open-water area where we could see what Langkawi are famous for - eagles, soaring into the blue sky and feeding near the water surface.

Kilim Boat Ride! Definitely worth the bucks!

Beautiful oceans, fascinating rocks and islands, not to ever forget the cool winds that messed up everyone hair.

Ohh, and I'll gladly be your driver for the day.

If I remembered correctly, we had Kenny Rogers for dinner. I ordered the Tangy Chicken Pasta. Totally wierd taste, I bet it's cooked in a way to suit the residents' palates. But I cleaned out the plate in the end, yeah. Had supper party at Victor and Jes's room, before heading back to Room 615.

++ Langkawi Trip. (I) ++

2010-10-10T14:32:00.006+08:00

"Welcome to Langkawi, Spiderman!"

It was an awesome day, the 7 of us had a feast for our eyes, lots of sight-seeing and interesting river-tours, admiring the sunset at the beach. After a scrumptious seafood dinner at the Pantai Cenang district, just a couple of minutes walk from the beach. We were heading back to our 7-seater Avanza (with the sexy whistle-like lock-sounds), when I heard someone welcomed us on our 3rd day there. Peiyi and I were wearing our Superman couple-tees (Spiderman?) by the way, but that's beside the point.

Langkawi, the Island of Reddish-brown eagles, a natural paradise with swaying palm trees, endless sandy beaches and cool-blue ocean waters. Not with a single doubt, that one must visit this lovely tropical island at least, once in a life-time. Although the 12-hours bus-and-ferry rides from Singapore, kind-of "killed" everyone, it's definitely worth it.

Langkawi: Beach on High-tide (Captured w/ iPhone 3GS)

(To be continued.)

++ 8 Random Facts. (Part II) ++

2010-10-05T11:38:00.001+08:00

I remembered I did this a while back then, and now here's another 8 facts you might want to know about me.

1. July 15 marks a special day for me. I'd never forgot how nervous I was when I tried to grab her hand, actually the scene is still qutie vivid in my mind. We started this relationship ever since that day. Thank God for blessing this and what's more to come. And, she's none other than Yip Peiyi.

2. "Bromance" - A close but non-sexual relationship between two (or more) men, a form of homosocial intimacy. Made up of Waiyuen, Zhirong, and the Chan brothers, Timothy and Thomas(myself), we talk and share everything under the sun. They are like my brothers, and yeah, we're that close. Long live bromance!

3. I have high hopes for my future, not necessarily only in money terms. Just one thing for sure: I'm definitely not gonna waste my life away.

4. My favourite food includes Sirloin Steak w/ Good Ol' Black Pepper and MOS Burger corn soup. Good food is better than sex.

5. I have a wierd sense of smell, when I was a kid, I smelled almost everything before I touched them. And, I can smell things that people can't. Plus, I absolutely hate the stench of carparks.

6. I have a mild case of claustrophobia, it's possible linked to my hyperactiveness when I'm young, I don't sit well at a single spot.

7. I hate to get touched at my throat.

8. The sound of sport-cars(F1, not included) make me excited. My fourth dream is to own a Lamborghini Murciélago or a Ferrari F430. Or a more realistic choice, a Mazda RX8.

++ The Other Guys. ++

2010-10-04T14:31:00.004+08:00

Storyline: 5.9/10

Visual Efx: 7.1/10

Sound Efx: 7.3/10

Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

I say, let's just face it, a 5-year could predict the storyline, the script is terrible, and the plot is just plain weak, the only thing that they did right is putting Will Ferrell on the spotlight. Together with Mark Wahlberg, they are totally ready to kick some ass. Their acting chemistry is unrivalled and it brings their humour to a whole new level.

The jokes (mostly, crude and sexually-explicit) are kind of lame, but it gets into you. "I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!" - I admit it's stupid, but the whole cinema was roaring with laughter.

In conclusion, definitely not the best movie of the year, but I would only recommend this if you want a good laugh (and spare cash.)

++ Food Review: Cosafe @ Chjimes ++

2010-09-30T21:10:00.010+08:00

Address
30 Victoria Street
#01-11 Chijmes Singapore

Tel: +65 6339 2276

Ambience/Setting - 7.4
Food & Beverage - 6.4
Value - 6.3
Service - ~~7.5~~ 10 (Biased-viewpoint. Opps.)

Cosafe is a maid-themed cafe, located at Chjimes, it's just a few minutes walk from City Hall MRT Station, so it shouldn't be quite a hassle to find your way here. The cosplay concept is noticeably from Japan, where it features waitresses, dressed in French maid costumes serving the customers. Other than this, it has got nothing else to do with cosplay.

(But that doesn't stop guys from flocking down here to ogle at the maids. Actually, I kind of believe most male patrons visited Cosafe, not for the food.)

Customers can either choose to dine al fresco(/outdoors), or indoors, a dimly-lit area, with neatly-placed tablewares and an impressive collection of wine. They do screen live events(EPL matches, F1 etc) too.

I visited Cosafe twice (non-peak and peak seasons), with different batch of friends, and at both occasions ordered different dishes (all pastas, in fact.) As a pasta lover, I've to say that their pastas are of a high standard - to start off, the pasta are al-dente, this seems to be an easy task, but not many restaurants/cafes are able to cook their pasta to perfect doneness. The cream in Carbonara isn't overwhelming, the beef and seafood are nicely done up too. Plus!

Must try: Pasta Pescatore, Grain Fed Beef Linguine.

-

Kurobuta Burger (SGD$18.80) - Serving is perfect for an average eater.

+ Taste infused well into the meat.
+ Salad goes well with the burger.
- Meat is tough.

-

Service-wise, the maids are friendly and they greeted me on both periods, when I entered and left. Even when I leave for the restroom, they will smile and nod lightly. On the table, they always make sure that the cutlery are placed at the correct positions, even when they are serving, they are meticulous to details, as to which sides the dishes and glasses are placed.

(I do hope that this comments are not biased, as most of the time, we're served by my girlfriend. Opps.)

Ohh! Plus, they will kindly obliged to request of having your photo taken with them. Definitely another point for Cosafe.

Ahh yes, I decided to post this again:

Isn't she cute? OMG! :D

Great for (guys) night-out/gatherings.

P.S.
Just don't get too friendly with my girl.
See no touch.
Yes, it's a warning.

Thank you.

++ Motivation. ++

2010-09-27T19:02:00.002+08:00

NAPFA test is around the corner, which to be exact, less than 2 months. If I don't get a Silver or Gold, I'm getting in for the extra 2 months training. You heard it? It's two damn months! I surely do not want to waste them, I would rather take the (wasted) time,

(1)to work and earn some bucks (for marriage. No, I'm not kidding. I've been saving up since Primary school.)

(2)to do some extra projects and beef-up my portfolio (for future, for career.)

(3)And above all, to spend more time with my loved ones - My family, my friends and my Yippy (cherishing them, spending quality time together.)

SO, no way I'm getting the extra training. Motivations. Mind over body. I'm aiming for Gold. Even if I don't reach the sky, I could touch the clouds.

Per Day:
1). 150 sit-ups
2). 150 push-ups
3). Jog on spot - 4 mins
4). Jump - 4mins

Per week:
1). Gym
2). Swimming
3). 2.4km run (2X)

I know I can do it. Fighting!

++ Thursday, 23rd September 2010 ++

2010-09-23T23:37:00.003+08:00

Went for a second luggage hunt with dear yippy today. Looks like they don't sell smaller checkered luggages in Singapore, and I'm lazy to hunt for more, I think I'll make do with the Hush Puppies one.

Countdown to Langkawi Trip - 12 Days.

Swimming tomorrow! Can't wait, it's been a century since I last swam.

++ Wednesday, 22 September 2010 ++

2010-09-22T11:02:00.004+08:00

My iPhone finally came back to life! Actually, it's replaced. But whatever, I'm still happy that it's able to restore back to my previous back-up. I found out that everytime the iPhone is sync-ed with the computer, it automatically do a back-up copy. Yes, I'm slow. >_<

Note to self: Sync iPhone to computer oftenly.

On second note, had a little luggage hunt with dear Yippy. There's a few I like, but nothing beats pulling a checkered luggage around. Looking for a checkered luggage is so first-priority. Had dinner at Hot Tomato Express. Nom.

Countdown to Langkawi Trip - 13 Days.

To Do List for the week:
- Project Meeting
- Return DVDs to library
- Watch "My Blueberry Nights"
- ~~Swimming~~
- Pool
- Gym
- Bake a chocolate cake
- ~~Pay for air-tix to Korea~~
- ~~Luggage-shopping at Chinatown~~

++ Mayim@Northpoint // Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant ++

2010-09-18T19:35:00.005+08:00

I am fortunate enough to try out 2 chinese restaurants for the birthdays of the parents of my girlfriend and I. It's quite some time since I did food reviews, but suddenly this urge to introduce good food came again.

Mayim
Address:
930 Yishun Ave 2 #02-01/05
Northpoint Shopping Centre

Tel: +65 6758 3168

---

Ambience/Setting - 7.1
Food & Beverage - 6.6
Value - 6.2
Service - 5.3

Even on a weekend afternoon, crowds never fail to fill this restaurant. Their dim sum is top-notch, that's what I heard. We tried some assorted dumplings, including their famous Xiao Long Bao. However, it's quite a disappointment, the skin breaks easily and the soup base is too oily.

The ambience is based on ancient Chinese dynasty designs, with decors like huge traditional lanterns hanging above the tables and classic Chinese table wares.

Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant
Address:
207 River Valley Road #01-51/53
UE Square

Tel: +65 6235 8779

---

Ambience/Setting - 6.4
Food & Beverage - 6.9
Value - 3.8
Service - 6.1

Location is a huge problem when it comes to Ah Yat, there's no train services operating in the vincity and there are limited buses. We ordered a set dinner, which includes Suckling Pig, Shark Fin Soup, Abalone Glutinous-rice and King Crab w/ Salted Yolk.

Portion-wise it is definitely enough, but to satisfy the taste buds is another thing. Weighing the price in, I wouldn't recommend the dinner courses, even with promotions whatsoever. But I heard they serve good dim sum, might give it a try at their other branches.

Shark Fin Soup (Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant)

Their signature dishes includes Shark Fin Soup and Xiao Long Bao, since I didn't tried the latter(at Ah Yat), Braised Shark Fin Soup - it's a must try at both outlets.

P.S If you have a heart for the dying sharks, just eat it occasionally, for the sake of pampering your taste buds.

++ Two Month's Anniversary. ++

2010-09-17T12:43:00.002+08:00

Two months had passed since I first hold her hands.

We went to check out some travel packages, caught Resident Evil: Afterlife, and had dinner at Aston Specialities. By the time, we queued up and filled our bellies, it's already late, so I sent her back. In the end, I missed my last train and had to take a cab home. I remembered on the day I confessed to her, the last train went off too. My facebook wrote: "Romantic until miss last train, owning bo?" But it's so worth it, even just spending another second with her.

(Sorry, abit mushy - Hair standing.)

Still, and as always I pray that God would be the third-person in this relationship, and may He always walk with us.

Can't wait for the Langkawi trip next month! <3

++ Resident Evil: Afterlife (3D) ++

2010-09-16T12:17:00.004+08:00

Storyline: 7.6/10

Visual Efx: 8.9/10

Sound Efx: 8.1/10

Stuck in a virus-infected world filled with undead, Alice(Jovovich) joins a group of survivors who wants to re-locate Arcadia, a beacon of hope, while under the watchful eye of the evil Umbrella Corporation.

Like any other zombie movies, there's always a hot mama kicking hard, right in the middle of their half-rotten asses. Swords, dual-pistols, and even *SPOILER* shotguns loaded with pennies (who could ever thought of that?) Alice and their friends can't be more ready than that. But that what's they thought.

Resident Evil: Afterlife is the 4th movie of this series, and it's the first game-made-into-movie in 3D:IMAX Experience. No doubt, after the Avatar effect, this movie is the next 3D movie you should catch in theatres. With real 3D screen- popping effects (No, I'm not talking about you - Alice in Wonderland) and good sound effects. Get ready to experience lots of scary surprises.

If you have not seen the previous installations, it might be confusing, but the story will unfold itself. All in all. Catch this movie. You wouldn't regret it.

++ Planning plans. ++

2010-09-14T18:25:00.005+08:00

Work:
- Final Year Project storyboard draft
- Carnival Rides/Characters Concept Art
- Complete modelling of Viking Ship

Work, work. I pray that we can finish the FYP (on time), and more importantly, finishing it good. I want no crap nor bullshit in my FYP. We can do it. I believe we can. Believing is not enough. Think good. Action is the key.
Schedule <- very important.

Activities:
- Wang Ting's birthday celerbation
- Badminton & Pool
- Bowling
- Gym

Activities with friends, always good for more bonding. Those people are some of the most important people in my life, and I don't want to lose them. Moreover, good friends are worthy to last a lifetime. Yeah?

Travel:
- Oct -> Plan Langkawi trip
- Nov -> Taiwan trip (not confirmed)
- Dec -> Plan Seoul(SIGGRAPH) trip

Planning for your own travelling w/o your parents is quite a chore. A fun chore. It's exciting, and the Langkawi trip is my first trip without my parents tagging. Time to be independent. School's starting, and I bet we'll be (trying to) follow tightly to the schedule and slogging our guts out for the FYP. The trip is just nice to relax out with my dear and friends.

Movie Marathon:
- ~~Resident Evil: Afterlife~~
- ~~Hellboy II: The Golden Army~~
- The Spiderwick Chronicales
- My Blueberry Nights
- Iron Man
- ~~Pink Panther 2~~

Time to clear out some movies. They are such awesome things for chilling out, taking a break from work, grabbing some chips, and planting my butt on the sofa.

++ Bromance Night-Out. ++

2010-09-11T21:55:00.005+08:00

What an awesome night we had. We embarked on a journey from Clementi to Somerset, to Dhoby Ghaut, Clarke Quay and City Hall. How tiring it was, but how fun.

Took some real Bromance photos(lol), like cam-whoring in the public toilet, including the real public toilet - the fountain 12 stories up at Orchard Central.
Ahh, here it goes:

We head to Esplanade to chill-out, with the music and all. The banglas were so hyped. They were totally swinging their bodies and clapping. It was an amusing scene, but I'm sure everyone enjoyed the music. Waka waka eh ehh!

And surprise! We had dinner at Cosafe@Chjimes, where my dear is working. Had Grain Fed Beef Linguine, Kurobuta burger, Gambas "something" pasta and a pint of Tiger beer(Wahaha, we're laughing how ZR was an illegal drinker, and sending it to STOMP.) Didn't expect to get such a huge discount too. But anyway, it's great to see how she's working well. And not to mention, she looks totally cute in her outfit. Spazz! <3

We should totally hang-out again soon. Bromance and love. <3

++ Love Revolution. ++

2010-09-08T21:24:00.004+08:00

"Yes, I know."

This song is for you once again.
I want you in my life, my dear Peiyi.

++ Things to Do. ++

2010-09-04T23:24:00.002+08:00

- Gym
- Pool
- Badminton
- Cooking/Baking
- ..and get better at it
- Read the Bible
- Baptism Celebration Lunch
- Start a written journal
- Spend time w/ yippy
- Bromance night-out
- Meet-up w/ poly-mates
- Concept Art for FYP
- Get present for mum
- Clean up study-room
- Photoshoot trips
- Short overseas trip
- Plan SIGGRAPH trip

There I go. Got my brain sorted out.

Time to get organized.

++ Movies movies, more movies! ++

2010-09-02T20:33:00.004+08:00

Percy Jackson, and the Lightning Thief
72 Tenants of Prosperity
All's well ends well too 2010
Alice in Wonderland
How to Train Your Dragon
Clash of the Titans
Iron Man 2
Toy Story 3
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Shrek Forever After
Knight and Day
Despicable Me
Inception
The Sorcerers's Apprentice
Avatar: Last Airbender
Salt
Step Up 3
Frozen

18, and still counting.

I'm so contributing to Singapore's media industry.

Among all these, the most memorable movie was Knight and Day. You might know why. It's such a big step for me (and thank God, I succeeded.)

++ Frozen. ++

2010-08-30T00:32:00.005+08:00

Storyline: 7.3/10

Visual Efx: -
(The film was shot entirely practically, meaning no sound stage or green screen or CGI. The actors were truly suspended over fifty feet in the air on the side of a real mountain in Utah.)-IMDb

Sound Efx: 7.2/10

Frozen is dramatic thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seats. Like any other Man vs Nature movie, some classic examples like Titanic and Open Water, it makes you wonder what will you do under these seriously screwed circumstances. Hanging 50 feets above the ground, with absolutely no one in close vicinity, going all out against the snow storms, fighting the frostbites, there comes the ultimate dead-or-alive question, what would you do?

This is one of the few movies that will go in-depth into the characteristics of the main characters. At about 100 minutes of film-time, Director Green sure knows how to keep the audience's eyes glued to the screen. With an original intense storyline, and a few gory scenes, Frozen is definitely not for the weak-hearted.

If you like Jaws, you would definitely LOVE this.

++ One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism. ++

2010-08-29T19:10:00.005+08:00

And now why do you wait?
Rise and be baptized,
and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.

Acts 22:16

And I finally did it, on the 28th August 2010, getting immersed in the pool - The washing of regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).I'm glad that those whom I invited came, to witness my second birth in Christ - My Mummy and Aunt Laoshu, my dear Peiyi, my "bro-mance" buddies Waiyuen and Zhirong.

Baptised by Senior Pastor Abraham Lee w/ Rev. Choo.

I don't know what's with the face, but one thing's for sure, the water is freezing cold!

++ Step Up 3. ++

2010-08-26T22:11:00.003+08:00

Storyline: 6.9/10

Visual Efx: 8.1/10

Sound Efx: 9.1/10

No extraordinary storyline. It is predictable, just a bunch of young streetdancers competing for the First Annual World Dance Jam. But what drives the viewers to watch this film, is probably none of this. It's the dance. It's a pity I didn't watch it in 3D. The effects are way better, on one sequence which has Moose dancing on a water-flooded stage, and on another, where the House of Pirates had a head-on with their rival team, the House of Samurais, they had those amusing LED lights on, and it's just totally in-synch with their dance moves.

Director Jon Chu has definitely chosen his dance crew well. The Santiago Twins(Martin and Facundo Lombard) totally rock the stage with their synchronized fance moves, and Vlad(Chadd Smith)'s robot dance is so mesmerizing. The movie's dialogue is really cheesy, a thumbs' down, but it's enjoyable, there's humour in it, at least.

This movie is so spectacular. Trust me, you would feel the urge to attend dance classes.

++ Am I not right? ++

2010-08-24T18:56:00.002+08:00

While trying pack up some books, tidy up my cabinet, just making the room a more conducive environment, I found out that some of my stuff are gone. Without a second thought, I went to look for my mum, she's always the first for me to approach when I can't find my things.

1. She places it somewhere else.
2. She ate it.
3. And the most possible scenario: She threw it.

I swear on my mum's name, she didn't even bother to ask for my permission to throw my stuff. I mean, it's mine, alright? Stop throwing my stuff, without asking me. Rage got the better side of me, and I shouted at her. She apologized but I didn't bother, I slammed the door shut, I grabbed a book, I just, needed some quiet space. For God's sake, she unlocked the doors and confronted me. I was so pissed off.

I even dreamt of apologizing to her when I'm taking my nap. But am I wrong? Okay, whatever it is, I went and apologized to her. I thought I saw tears in her eyes, she asked me if there's any use. Any use. Earlier, she apologized to me for throwing my stuff, is there any use? Look, I can't get it back now, it's all gone. Even the ticket stubs of the first movie, my girlfriend and I watched together was gone. I thought of keeping it for memories sake. Do you not know those pieces of paper means so much to me, and now it's gone.

Am I not right?

P.S. I love my mum all the same, but it's this habit of her I can't stand. (And God, it's even her birthday today, totally..wrong timing.)

++ It's over. ++

2010-08-19T23:49:00.004+08:00

The countdown has somehow reached zero. I didn't even really catch it, time flies so fast, it's as if last month was the first day in ST Electronics. We had the orientation, training programs. So much things happened, people left, and new ones came, and today, it's our turn to bid farewell to this company.

It's been awesome, working in ST Electronics, definitely a rewarding and fruitful journey. Skills and knowledge were gained, and I bet they would be applicable, one way or another, in my Final Year Project, which is around the corner. The colleagues were patient in guiding us along, and it was great fun working with them, and friends who made this internship much more interesting. And not to mention, I've found someone! (Before that I was complaining everyday, Clementi to Yio Chu Kang is a killer-journey. God.)

However, after today, I won't be able to see her everyday. Even if we meet every Friday, it will be a small test for us, National Service would be the bigger one, but life is all about trails, tests and obstacles, right? But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I believe if we're really meant to be, neither great winds nor storms would be able to seperate us.

It's all pre-destined, thank God.

And..What's next to come? Final Year Project. Another obstacle, yet another chance to improve ourselves. Fighting!

++ はじめまして みんな- さん ++

++ So What's Up For the New Year? ++

++ Feast for the Eyes. ++

++ Monday, 14 November 2011. ++

++ Counting Down. ++

++ To Lead. To Excel. To Overcome. ++

++ Counting Down to POP: 6 Days. ++

++ Food for Thought. ++

++ Movie Marathon. ++

++ 3 Weeks to POP! ++

++ Marchin' On. ++

++ Countdown to ORD: 666 Days. ++

++ Weekly Movie Marathon. ++

++ NS Life. ++

++ Twice the Awesomeness. ++

++ As We Go On. ++

++ On Stranger Tides. Aye! ++

++ Happy Birthday to Myself. ++

++ Food Hunt (I). ++

++ Fast 5 Cars - My Picks. ++

++ Five times the Speed. Five times the Awesomeness. ++

++ Ding Dong, Here comes the Death Bell. ++

++ Life as a Telemarketer. ++

++ Hail the God of Thunder! ++

++ One Hell of a Ride. ++

++ Make Every Second Count. ++

++ This isn't a comedy, it's a horror film. ++

++ The True Easter. ++

++ Enlistment. ++

++ Trip to Universal Studios Singapore. ++

++ Omph. ++

++ Feast for the Eyes. ++

++ Pray for Pastor Vincent. ++

++ Pray for Japan. ++

++ Tuesday, 15 March 2010. ++

++ Just a Quick Thought. ++

++ What a busy week it will be. ++

++ Thursday, 17 February 2011. ++

++ Food for Thought: Taking for Granted. ++

++ Saturday, 12 February 2011. ++

++ Rain, Rain. Go Away. ++

++ World's End? ++

++ Monday, 24 January 2011. ++

++ Sunday, 23 January 2011 ++

++ Animal. ++

++ Monday, 17 January 2011. ++

++ Dear Family and Friends. ++

++ Monday, 10 January 2011 ++

++ Tuesday, 4 January 2011. ++

++ 2011: New Year Resolutions. ++

++ My Top 5 Movies of 2010. ++

++ Review for 2010's Resolutions. ++

++ Seoul Trip - First Impressions. ++

++ Merry Christmas to You. ++

++ Seoul Trip - Back to home. ++

++ Countdown to Seoul. ++

++ Annyeong. ++

++ Saturday, 5 December 2010 ++

++ Call of Duty: Black Ops ++

++ Checklist. ++

++ This is Good. ++

++ How Far We've Come. ++

++ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. ++

++ 123rd Days with Peiyi. ++

++ A Due Date with Megamind. ++

++ Thursday, 12 November 2010 ++

++ Tuesday, 9 November 2010 ++

++ Social Network w/ 4e1 ++

++ Floods in Alor Star. ++

++ Tilt-shift Photography. ++

++ Escargots? Ewww! ++

++ Saturday, 30 October 2010 ++

++ Thank God, It's Friday! ++

++ My God is Awesome. ++

++ My First Days of School. ++

++ Langkawi Trip. (IV) ++

++ School. Starts. Life goes. On. ++

++ Life as We Know It. ++

++ Langkawi Trip. (III) ++

++ Eat. Pray. Love. ++

++ はじめましてみんな- さん ++