The Dancing Sky. Not knowing what to expect, my JC mates and I were in for a big surprise at the National Museum last night! Studio Festi from Italy performed at the open area between NMS and SMU for the first Night Festival. If you remember the performance, Water Fools, at the opening of the Singapore Art Festival this year, this was something of similar grand scale, but it was up in the sky! The performance was befittingly known as "The Dancing Sky".Singaporeans must have acquired the taste for such audio and visual splendid, for the turnout was really good too! I was only able to see the dancers in the sky from afar...The graceful dancers glide through the facade of the National Museum, creating romantic images of magic...A closer inspection, you can see the performers hanging on the trapeze. Then planets carrying dancers floated in...On the ground, there performers danced to the tune of Vivaldi's Four Season...And dancing with fire...Dancing in a bowl of water, smooth like a fish...Finally, using the sprinkle to form a fan-shaped water backdrop, beautiful images were projected onto it...Some oriented motifs...The blue nymph...And brilliant flowers!Below are some clips of similar performance at Extravaganza Guadalajara 2008, enjoy! An End to Another New Beginning. It was official.Not sure how much impact I made in the past two years. Probably none. For three hours, two to three days a week, I felt more like a guest.But yet, I gained quite a bit. Neither am I sure when or how I can use what I gained. For now, I know at least I made a few people proud. =)The traditional photos at the staircase,And with the giant ceremonial bear!One of the best thing is to have accomplished it together with my dear. Before we take the next steps of our lives together, arm in arm.A moment for us to pause and celebrate!And I will leave the rest of the reflections to another day bah... hah. Inner Peace. I woke up an hour earlier today. I would leave an hour earlier for lesson, so I wanted to get to work an hour earlier as well.At 5.30 am, the air was fresh. It was dark and cool. My mind was blank but very much awake. I regained some of the inner peace which I had during the couple of days when I was on MC. It was some sort of calming feeling. I could take my time in everything and nothing would agitate me.Then, the early morning evoked some memories. These were memories of days when I was awake by 5.30 am. There was the BMT days at Nee Soon Camp. At this time of the day, I would be having my water parade and then marching to training shed near the cook house to wait for breakfast. There was the secondary school days. I would be one of the first few in school, to finish homework from the day before. :-P Sometimes the gates were not opened yet and I had to scale the low walls.As the train emerged from the tunnels at Redhill MRT station, the dark morning skies had turned to baby blue. The reminiscing mind was replaced by anxiety about work. And the inner peace slowly disappeared... Taking A Short Break. You may be wondering why am I blogging at this time of the day? Well, I am on sick leave at home. This is a much needed break for me. On the work front, it had been more than challenging lately. Having to juggle tasks of different nature, and wearing hats much bigger than my head. I constantly keep in mind the size of my head and try to do my best to fit into the hats I have to wear. But its not easy lah. I made a couple of mistakes due to my negligence. I am keeping myself positive. Hopefully, the hard work will pay off soon.On the home front, it had been smoother. After receiving the keys, we had the flat painted and cleaned thoroughly. As the new man of the house, I washed the two toilets, scrubbing every inch of the floor and walls, digging up the little corners of dirt. Thanks to my four years of staying in Hall One, I had plenty experience in washing my toilets. =p My future mother-in-law helped us with the kitchen. She did a splendid job in turning it sparkling clean. While my dear vacuumed and mopped the rest of the house. I think we had been extremely efficient. It took just one week from getting the keys to having a house as good as new. We even had a mini open-house. Of course, there wasn't much to see lah. Haha...Tho' it is better to stay home and rest than spread the virus around in the office, I can't wait to get back to action. There are more work to be done, and I couldn't really sleep in peace last night. I had several disturbing work related dreams. Hopefully I'll be fully genki by tomorrow. In the next few weeks, there are many more challenging tasks coming up. *ah choo!*Btw, its Jul the first, Happy Birthday Sister! Put Away That PSP. I read this article, "Put away that PSP and pick up a book" last week on myPaper.My little opinion this is that to each its own. But to begin with, perhaps his observation is a lil' flawed. While it is true at times many people are indulged in their hand-held gaming devices, there are also times when I see many reading papers (Today, myPaper, etc.) in the train. Some even tried reading when there isn't nuff room to stand! Of course, that will be another entry on its own. :pThe fact is we are living in modern times where we are spoilt for choices of things to do during our journey between places. Do you remember the times seeing many people playing the brick game or Tamagotchi in the train?Many new gadgets fill our hands from time to time, but the pleasure of reading is here to stay. Personally I enjoy my PSP. There are times I rather read a fiction book and get hooked to the story. There are times when I prefer to just glance thru' the morning papers to keep up with the current affairs. There are times I would read some technical or non-fiction books. There are times I want to rest my eyes and listen to some soothing music. And of course, there are times I like to not do anything but just sit there and look at my surroundings.I bet the writer did just that before deciding to write bout his observations. It is great to know he is a keen reader. I hope he will understand the need for a journalist to have unbiased opinions and to keep up with times. Coloured World. Today's horoscope reads, "Your friends are beautiful, but sometimes when they disagree with you, they make you crazy. Fortunately, when their perspectives are different from yours, you can usually avoid discussion about that topic. But not today. Even if it's a challenge to let it go, keep in mind that nothing good will come from direct conflict if no one is willing to change positions." I guess its easy to come up with such advices, since it is well-known that Taurus are usually seen as stubborn in nature. I wish I had read it earlier to remind myself how others may perceive my actions.When actions are accepted, Taurus are seen as determined and hardworking. And when they are not, Taurus are seen as stubborn and difficult people. While some people may never understand our true intentions, perhaps it is better to avoid putting ourselves into positions that fulfill this prophecy.It does not matter we live to become what our horoscope's description of us, or the horoscope's descriptions fit us accurately. Perception shapes the world. But please remember, in different context, our perception will change. Keys. As I tried the keys to the various rooms, I realised that this IS our very own. Today we unlocked the very first step in which our family unit started to take shape! Shop Shop Shop! Nothing like spending an afternoon shopping with two of my very very good friends. -smiles- It was the first time I did a "crazy" thing of taking leave for the Great Singapore Sale. Like the typical guy, I was the first to complete my shopping - within the first few minutes - and never looked back. And like all typical women, the ladies only managed to get one item for themselves in the entire afternoon. I suspect it was due to the difference in variety. Most people are unable to notice the subtle differences in a rack of slacks. Navy blue? Black? Elephant? Thin lines, thick lines? No lines? But with women's clothing... Wohhhhh... the colours, cuttings, styles, auntie-type, classy-type, young-girl-type, elegant-type, etc.In a way, it was good shopping with them. First, it prevented me from spending more than necessary. Secondly, it was a good form of exercise. Most of the time, I would involuntarily start to yawn. Thus, I had to actively participate in giving comments and identifying suitable and pretty clothes for dear friends. It proved another cliche observation that men's and women's taste differ. Tho' my suggestions were mostly rejected, I still had fun - till it got too crowded at the shoes section... Time for the shopping-male to leave some room for the all-terrain-workhorse-shopping-female.I hope I didn't offend anyone with my sincere and honest comments. Afterall, they were always aimed at the clothes. The people are always beautiful despite the non-flattering clothes. On the other hand, pretty clothes can really enhance their beauty and turn some heads. As the saying goes, 人靠衣装 mah. If not for my tired feet, I would really like to provide my service to my dear as well. Yet I enjoyed the alternate activity of watching Kungfu Panda. "The over-exposed awesomeness that blinds the eyes!" It was a chance for laughter and rest for my tired feet. Btw, stay till the end of credits for a short touching scene. I only found about it from IMDB. =(So, anyone else needs a male's opinion in the following weeks of the GSS? Do let me know. =) Thank You Radiohead! more productivecomfortablenot drinking too muchregular exercise at the gym (3 days a week)getting on better with your associate employee contemporariesat easeeating well (no more microwave dinners and saturated fats)a patient better drivera safer car (baby smiling in back seat)sleeping well (no bad dreams)no paranoiacareful to all animals (never washing spiders down the plughole)keep in contact with old friends (enjoy a drink now and then)will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in wall)favours for favoursfond but not in lovecharity standing orderson sundays ring road supermarket(no killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants)car wash (also on sundays)no longer afraid of the darkor midday shadowsnothing so ridiculously teenage and desperatenothing so childishat a better paceslower and more calculatedno chance of escapenow self-employedconcerned (but powerless)an empowered and informed member of society (pragmatism not idealism)will not cry in publicless chance of illnesstires that grip in the wet (shot of baby strapped in back seat)a good memorystill cries at a good filmstill kisses with salivano longer empty and franticlike a cattied to a stickthat's driven intofrozen winter shit (the ability to laugh at weakness)calmfitter, healthier and more productivea pigin a cageon antibiotics(Fitter Happier. Radiohead.)恒星的恒心，等你，等你。 Whinebag. I must have been ranting, complaining, and whining too much. So much that I have headache and feel myself surrounded by smoke.Like this episode from xxxHoLic...Ha ha ha... better watch my mouth. And The Moral Of The Story Is... When I shared this story, there were two messages I wanted to put across:1. The level of soberness may not determine the behaviour of a person.2. Always walk away when being provoked.I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions to who is the baddie in this case, "the guy who pushed" or "the friends who encouraged to chat with the girl". And I know its not big deal. It is common for people to chat up with strangers in pubs, and fights to occur in pubs. But I hope people can focus on the messages instead. Regardless of where it may occur... ;op High But Sober. When was the last time I was at Zouk? It must be during my national service days. In fact, that was almost ten years ago. The place was pretty much the same when we visited it just now. It was filled with young people, those of my age ten years ago. For old folks like us, it had been a long time since we drank. I was quite intoxicated just now. Yet, I'm still sober enough to pen this post. =pWhy would I wanna do this? It was because it had been quite an exciting night. We were all high after three jars of Long Island Tea. Out of fun, we encourage one of our friends to chat with this girl whose boyfriend had wenta the toilet. My friend merely asked for her name, and whispered a few words. When you get high, you tend to do some "crazy things". Tho' I think chatting up with someone is still quite sane. Surprisingly, when her boyfriend and his friend came back, they threatened to "whack" my friend. As we tried to explain that we were just chatting, the guy pushed my friend to the floor. This young chap, probably less than twenties, behaved like a hooligan. I think he was certainly still sober and had acted due to his big ego - he wanted to show that he was capable of "protecting" his friend. Luckily, tho' we were high, we were still sober enough to leave him alone and left the place.My thoughts to this is that people don't behave rowdy when they are high or drunk. Rather, people behave rowdy, with the excuse that they are high or drunk. In this case, the sober guy did the irrational thing of pushing my friend to the ground. While, we, who were high, kept our heads and not retaliate. We were certainly the more rational group despite the drinks we had. But I think we are really too old for this "clubbing" thingy. =P Aquatic Fantasmagoria. We were surprised by the size of the crowd that had gathered by the Singapore River... The French street theatre troupe, ilotopie, had kicked off the Singapore Art Festival 2008 with their unique performance on water.The early birds were nice enough to sit in neat rows at the front. Tho' I suspect maybe they were just afraid to be pushed into the river by those behind, so it was safer to sit! -lol- But those at the back rows were less considerate and stood throughout the performance. Thus, we had on stand on the steps from far, twist and turn our heads, so as to get a glimpse of whatever was happening, through some of the small openings among the crowd!The ilotopie is a collection of actors, sculptors, musicians and creators from France, with over twenty years of performance experience. The show they performed in Singapore was entitled "Water Fools". It was a show of ingenious contraptions that float on water, with performers on them that played with fire, and beautiful fireworks in-sync with the wonderful music. For moments in the show, I felt like the Singapore River was transformed into one of the famous rivers in Europe... perhaps the Thames - if only the Singapore Flyer was situated by the River too.Below are some of the contraptions I found on the Internet. Notice the man in the wheel below the woman? The contraption moved as he ran on the wheel like a hamster!There were this big bed and car...And this men cycling on water!The following is the description of this show on their website, "A field of experiences marrying new theatre with an ancient element. Solving countless technical difficulties in order to allow the actor to keep his expressive powers and his liberty of movement on the liquid element, we understood that each living image torn from its improbability made a new myth, from a single gesture and a single way of being ; thus a "water piece" for 15 actors and thousands of spectators was born. Actor-chimeras, fire joust, musical flights or incandescent machinery will then, carried on by masterly touches of light, colour and explosion, trace the ephemeral dramatic and utopian condition of mankind."Looking thru' the small openings, I could not really tell what the storyline was. I am guessing it was about the simple lives of man, and man mastering the fire, playing with fire, but ended up blowing themselves up (which was the most interesting part with the fireworks!). Well, the fireworks was the only thing which we were able to see clearly cuz it was so high up in the sky! Tho' the other thing I saw was plenty of beautiful girls around. hah.There were many people with cameras and video cam. I'm sure soon, one of those clips will make their way to youTube. In the meantime, enjoy this clip which I found of the same show performed earlier this year at Darling Habour in Sydney.If you had missed the show tonight, catch the live performance either on Sat or Sun at 8pm this weekend! Hopefully, it will be less crowded. =) Heat Wave 1 2 3. Recently, the heat wave has gotten a lil' too much to handle. My idea of paradise now is anywhere cooling, with a glass of cold drink (make that 2 or 3!). It had been a less than bearable for the past few days. My room faces the West aka 西赛. The air-con broke down months ago. That wasn't such a bad thing as I can save on the electrical bills. But my fan is also giving me trouble. My daily routine when I get home these days is to "jump-start" the fan! I have to hold it at a certain angle, in which the blades will start to rotate faster. While doing so, I also need to hold my breath as any slight movement will cause the blades to slow down again. For now, I will continue to "jump-start" it everyday bah. Have to save up for bigger things to come... The 28th Birthday Post. Presents fall in! *drum rolls*First, a tie and a pair of cufflinks from my parents!Next, a Levis Tee from my sister! Its the same design I wanted to buy the day before, only that this is a darker shade of blue than the one I wanted.And a pair of portable speakers from my dear! I think they look really groovy!Finally, a pair of really fantastic earphones and Kino vouchers from my buncha great buddies (yes, both items are from my wish list!)!!My good friend asked me whether I was abit disappointed with the gifts as it was no surprise. I told her, I wasn't a little disappointed at all. In fact, I am really happy to receive them. It is okay even if there isn't any presents cuz it is already so wonderful to have so many people to celebrate my birthday. Next year... no need presents for me le okay? ;opTaking pictures with those who gave me the nice presents!So what did we do? We did one of my favourite activity, KTV! For the four hours, I hogged the mic most of the time! In between we cut the cake!Chocolate Passion Cake!And giving out the cake! It was like giving out prizes hor? Hee.You can imagine how late it was after the KTV, the cake wasn't really big. Everyone was famished, especially Stitchy-Sop! She was thinking of eating up 阿豆 for dinner!Luckily, with the suggestion of my dear, we stumbled upon the Chiang Mai Palace at China Square Central. It was authentic Thai food buffet style! Really delicious. Yum Yum!! No pictures, but I remember the Tom Yum, Fried Tofu with Red Sauce, and this Beancurd Skin with Egg thingy, were all really good. Nice mango pudding for everyone to wrap up the dinner! But that wasn't the end yet!We took a nice stroll to this bar at SMU, a cozy place which XTT-KC and I found some weeks ago. Along the way, people had nice chat, let the food digest, and dear got plenty of information about choosing of Bridal package. Beers for the guys and magarita for the ladies. Well, I had to try out the magarita too cuz beer was too boring me!Once again, like always, I would like to shout out my deep felt appreciation to everyone. Life is never the same with you around me! -deep deep bow- Close of A Chapter. I declare "It's over!". No more writing and reading of papers, no more projects, no more late night classes, no more char siew bao dinner, no more spending annual leaves on doing assignments, no more exams! -throws confetti!- Wheeeee! Can. Shokudo Pasta. Had my dinner with girlfriend at Shokudo just now. We went to that outlet at Citylink, which sell Japanese Pasta. I think previously ZQ went to the other outlet at Raffles City.Perhaps as it was a Monday evening, there was no queue and we got our seat promptly. The ambiance of the restaurant gave me a Japanese High School/Slamdunk kinda feeling. I am not sure how to describe that. But my girlfriend disagreed. According to her, Shokudo means "canteen" in Japanese!After going thru' the menu for more than five minutes, we settled for pasta (they have curry rice too! Must try it next time!). There was great variety in the menu, pasta in different sauces.I ordered the Salmon Butter Yaki Ikura with wafu sauce.I am not sure what exactly is wafu sauce. It tasted of olive oil and parsley. Whatever sauce "wafu" is, it tasted so so. The salmon was not bad tho', the roe was fantastic. It tasted like little bubbles that burst in my mouth with the slights movement of my mouth. And when it burst, I could taste the sauce while the roe melted away. As it was the first time I ate salmon roe, I wasn't sure if it was supposed to taste like this. It was definitely different from what I expected.My girlfriend ordered Chicken and Asparagus with cream sauce.The chicken wasn't nice at all. In fact it was too tough for me. However the sauce was nice. It wasn't the normal cream you get with pasta. The pinkish cream tasted of tomato. Very refreshing indeed.Overall, the food was not too bad. I will probably return to try the other dishes. The service was really good too. Got the manager's attention with just a glance at him, and the waitress topped up our ice water promptly - the hallmark of good service!Good food, good service, deserves recommendation. =) High 翻天! Feeling so high that the sky flipped! The last concert I went to was to the Franz Ferdinand concert two years ago. After hearing about their previous concert, I was looking forward to a very high Mayday 五月天 show!We were seated at PB Row 24. I was there with Ah Fa and my girlfriend. Just before the start of the concert.Then the lights went out and the crowd went wild!Four troopers came rappelling from the indoor stadium roof!Then the band made their appearance! Hanging down from high above!石头 appeared solo with his guitar, like the God of Guitar.While the rest of the band made their entrance on the moving platform stage.And the rock concert began!From the very first minute to the last, everyone were waving their light sticks and jumping with the rhythm. 怪兽 and 石头 jamming away!Dueling each other at the top of the moving platform!A close up of 怪兽!And 石头!阿信!Then the crowd got even more high when they started running at the side platform to interact with the audience! Argh! I was so near yet so far!Each of the band members were introduced! Guan You, the quiet drummer, spoke to the crowd!怪兽 had the words "新加坡" Singapore drawn on his arms! Singapore was the first stop of their return tour before they start to work on their new album. The crowd definitely didn't disappoint them!The crowd went super wild when the band led everyone in the L.O.V.E dance!As they went on and on, the crowd never got tired! Then the band thanked the sponsors for the concert. The way 石头 pronounced the English names was really funny!And then it was time for the SOLOS!Even the keyboardist got the chance to show off his skills!The band also celebrated Masa's birthday during the concert!The band bowed and thanked the fans during the first ending.After which they came back for the encore! The center stage came down like UFO as everyone chanted the band's name and waited eagerly for their reappearance!And this is something special for my sis. She was that near to 阿信!The concert was really amazing! One of the best I had been. Almost every single song brought back memories of hostel life during the uni-days. Till next year, I will probably go for their concert again. The Inconvenient Truth. You probably know that April 22 is Earth Day. An event which maybe most Singaporeans were unaware, until we were drawn to attention by some of the shows in the media related to it. One of them was the Inconvenient Truth on HBO. If you remember, you might have seen it's trailer in the cinemas a couple of years ago. As a documentary-junkie, I decided to find out what it was about.If Al Gore was telling the truth, some of these consequences of global warming he highlighted were definitely startling. Quoting Mark Twain, he said "What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, it's what we know for sure that ain't so." Essentially, this documentary presented the statistics to draw correlation between CO2 emission and degree of global warming, the consequences of global warming (what already happened and what are projected to happen), and to inspire the viewers to do their bit to reduce CO2 emission.I thought for the benefit of those who had not watched it before, I will share with you the consequences he mentioned. Besides losing the beautiful glaciers in the world which most of us will never get to see in our lifetime, some other consequences are closer to heart:1. Heat waves were already killing people around the world. 35,000 people killed in Europe by heat wave in 2003. 1,400 killed in the same year by heat wave in India.2. Warmer ocean has caused stronger storms that devastated many parts of the world. Bigger typhoons and hurricanes, such as Hurricane Emily, Dennis, Katrina, were resulted from warmer ocean.3. Uneven distribution of precipitation that caused extreme heavy downpours in some areas (such as India and China) which resulted in floods, and droughts in some areas (such as Dafur and Niger).4. Thawing of ice caps will increase in sea level all over the world, affecting the coastal cities. Millions of people in Beijing, 40 million in Shanghai, 60 million in Calcutta, will all be affected. (Yup, Singapore no more.)5. Migration of mosquitoes, rodents, lice, ticks, fleas and other pests to areas which used to have lower temperature. They spread emerging infectious diseases to these areas.6. Rivers no longer reach the sea, lakes dry up. Glaciers in mountains that provide fresh water for up to 40% of population in the world will disappear.As Al Gore had said, this isn't so much of a political issue, but a moral issue. Global warming is a fact, not a theory. Never mind if you don't care about polar bears drowning or animals losing their habitat. I think for some of us who don't need to actively worry about feeding ourselves, we can spend some time to think about how global warming will affect ourselves and the rest of the people around the world. What can we do to help them and ourselves?I found this Top 50 List of Things We Can Do To Stop Global Warming. I think it is one of the standard list as it is published in several websites. I filtered it down to the items in which we, in Singapore, can do.#1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl) - CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.#2. Install a programmable thermostat - Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.#3. Clean or replace filters on your air conditioner - Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.#4. Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases - Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.#5. Do not leave appliances on standby - Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.#6. Cover your pots while cooking - Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!#7. Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full - If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.#8. Take a shower instead of a bath - A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow shower heads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.#9. Use less hot water - It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow shower head (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.#10. Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible - You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.#11. Be sure you’re recycling at home - You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.#12. Buy intelligently - One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.#13. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can - You will also cut down on waste production and energy use... another help against global warming.#14. Reuse your shopping bag - When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.#15. Reduce waste - Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.#16. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen - Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.#17. Eat less meat - Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.#18. Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates - Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.#19. Keep your car tuned up - Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.#20. Drive carefully and do not waste fuel - You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car maintenance.#21. Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated - Proper tire inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!#22. Consider the impact of your investments - If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out Social Invest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.#23. Share this list.I am not a SUPER-DUPER-GREEN enthusiast. However, I believe that many items on the list benefit our pockets and help in reducing CO2 emission at the same time. While we are unable change the politics and economic motivations of giant corporations, we can do our part. Collectively, we can secure a better future. THE Season to Taiwan. This must be THE season to Taiwan. Other than five friends from my department (read about their trip here, here and here), there were also a few others who went too (read about one of them here). I was supposed to join them for the trip. Unfortunately, I had to postpone the trip as my girlfriend who really wanted to go couldn't make it, as her best friend whom she really wanted to go with couldn't make it (that's a mouthful of reason!). Besides, last week was the important "presentations week" in school.But no worries, look what they got me for souvenirs! TADA!The nice red lantern ornament, for mobile phones, from Jax!In the center, that's the test tube from my shy neighbour. Inside, is a whiff of air from Taiwan and an environmentally friendly GREEN bookmark from 淡水. Why I think it's green? Cuz on the front it says, "航向下一个绿色岛屿" (Sail to the next green island).For a moment I thought of a wonderful vision of going GREEN and mistaken that it was from YeeYee, the GO-GREEN-Evangelist!And finally, the real souvenir from YeeYee is a bottle of 虎标万金油... or rather a look-alike. So duh to give me a bottle of medicated oil! But on closer examination, it is actually 唬标万金有, the spoof! In fact, it is a bottle of sweets!Once again, thank you for the souvenirs! The only regret, no 太阳饼 for me!!! Go Taiwan without bringing that back is like not going Taiwan at all... hah. I was told they had bought back some, but was finished on the first day, while I was away from office. =( Anyway after reading about their trips, it inspired me to complete my entries on TOML and my holiday to China. I shall do it after the exams! So stay tuned! Solemnization and Banquet Venues, Check! "By the power of Grayskull, I HAVE THE POWER!" Finally I can "drop another big stone off my chest" (eh... feel a sense of relief, 放下心中大石)! A few weeks ago, it was the big one - the flat. And today, the venues for solemnization ceremony and customary dinner. I would say we were in luck. If we went any later we may not be able to find a place. On the other hand, I am surprised at how fast we made our decision. No need to bargain at all. I guess we were not really in position to be choosy and visit more places. These couple of weeks we had been to several places and they were all booked. Besides, we did like this place. So why not? I think I'll keep the venues for the ceremony and dinner a secret for now. But I can tell you they definitely serve good food. Hopefully my guests will not be disappointed! I will share with you some pictures of the solemnization venue! Can you guess where is it?Thanks dear for walking around with me. So what's next? I guess its bridal photos and gowns. Or perhaps focus on the coming exams. The last hurdle before receiving my MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE!!! Roar Roar, Where Is Teamwork? Another weekend gone, as my struggle continued. This time, to finish the final few laps of this long race - the presentation slides. From the moment I woke up till 4pm, I had been doing the slides continuously, skipping breakfast and lunch. Hoping to finish earlier so that I can give enough time for the rest to consolidate the slides, as well as earning my rest after that.Little did I expect to get 'an arrow' from my team mate for me to consolidate the slides. I thought I earned my rest, I did my part? And I don't understand how he can arrow me to do slides when he himself is unable to make it for meeting tomorrow. So you do less by making others do more? I don't really fault him, I think there are some who can indeed do more to help. After all, there is at least one who contributed very lil' for the report - we had to do his part. I think it is fair that they step up and do their part now. Ever heard of team work?I understand what it means to be a team player. That's why I volunteered to compile the main report last week, knowing that they are busy with the other modules. However, that doesn't mean I should be volunteered to do the slides as well right? Having more modules and projects, means having to manage your time better. However, it doesn't mean using it as an excuse to shrug off your responsibilities. It is sad that gesture of good faith is taken as sign that I can be taken advantage of.On a side note, after watching a few documentaries about lions (while working very hard), I think that lions must be some of the most fortunate animals in the world. While the responsibilities of protecting the pride belong to them, the lionesses hunt for food and look after the young. Lions spend typically 20 hours a day on wiggly slump. And when they mate, they do so on an average every 25 minutes, day and night, without feeding for three or four days. When dinner is served, lions eat first, follow by lionesses and cubs. But the lousy thing about being lions is that each Maasai young man is supposed to kill a lion before they are circumcised. Not very good reasons to get killed indeed. Otherwise, lions are really the King of all beasts.Update [7 Apr 08]: Worked till 1am++ to finish consolidating the slides and creating a template for the formatting. Today, the team came together and finished it off. Great satisfaction from teamwork! Feels high when everyone (well 'cept one) worked together ahead of time. The Juggling Act. Last night a close friend asked me where do I get the energy for work and study. The truth is I don't. But I have no choice. I had already committed to them two years ago. And what made me commit was the thirst for self-satisfaction, knowledge, recognition and better job prospect. As it is three weeks and one examination paper away from this chapter of my education life, I want to reflect. Perhaps it'll also serve as some kind of reference for people considering part time studies. So what did I go thru' so far? Looking back, it feels easy - only because I have gotten used to the hours and demands. It does not mean I did well,but at least I don't see the need to grumble anymore. I remember at the peak of my commitments, I was juggling work, tuition, a Java certification exam, and my coursework projects. Understanding colleagues, understanding family, understanding friends. Subsequently, I knew that I could handle them all. I must admit with really limited resources, it was difficult to do my best in everything. Different tasks took the driving seat at different times. I have now taken 2-3-3-2 modules for the four semesters. Number of modules per semester represent number of nights per week for my 6pm to 9pm lessons. Some modules had additional lessons on Saturdays. Of course there were always be enthusiastic lecturers who stretched the time till 9.30pm or project meetings till 10.30pm. In this last semester, I'm quite used to having 3 modules that I have taken up a foreign language class outside. So what is expected to be done? The weekly lessons usually will take minimal preparation. There is no need to revise or perhaps you'll not have time for that. But you will need to read at least one paper in order to participate meaningfully in class. It is nice to see the Teaching Assistant put a tick beside your photo/name after you answer a question. It keeps you awake too! And before you know it, the mid-term break will be here. You'll need to start writing your term papers and end the storming within your groups. Nevermind you don't like your team mate's face or he/she talks too much. You'll need to get down to some real work. For some modules, there will be mid-term tests. I'll usually take one day leave to do the research and wrinte the outline for each term paper. Non-examinable modules means more coursework. You'll need to prepare for class presentations as well. That is when you find yourself working till 2am to finish the papers or to review the work of your team mates and consolidate those reports. But I have to say, a large portion of my time was spent on unproductive activities like surfing net. I usually reach home at around 10.30pm to 11pm. Once you pass those golden hours, the only thing you wanna do is sleep! Very soon, the end of semester will be here. What are waiting for you are deadlines, deadlines, and deadlines. Most of us find our finest hours during this short period of time. We have this ability to productively churn out lotsa work.So why should you do part-time studies or pursue further education? This is what I told a friend moments ago... You have to make sure that the main motivation for doing so is something achievable. Better job opportunities? Maybe. But rewards like self-satisfaction? How cool it is to have obtained Master of the Universe or fill up not Mr/Mrs/Ms but DR in that form? Those are more important reasons. Of course there will be sacrifices to be made, and risks involved. As long as you are reaping off the maximum benefit from that calculated level of sacrifices and risks, why not?So back to the question, how do you cope with juggling work and studies, family and social life? Just put in that 101% for that task when it is the most crucial. The rest of the time, 75%-80% effort is good enough. Or some might say, work and study smart, not hard. Sometimes I think what I will be doing if I am not taking part-time studies. I will probably be nua-ing anyway. Besides, now I can appreciate free time more than before...Having said that, I am sure many people have taken part-time studies before. In fact, most of my colleagues hold some sort of post graduate degree or diploma which they had taken part-time. I am sure they had better ways of juggling work and studies. Leaving you with a final thought: If they all can do it, why can't you? A Slap In The Face. Does the Singapore law protects one from being hit? Is a slap by a stranger considered as an assault? An incident on the bus this morning set me thinking.It involved a middle age man, who looked educated and respectable, and a primary school boy, who looked like he was half awaken. Apparently the man had ask the boy to move aside for him to get into the inner seat. And the boy might have been the rebellious sort and asked 'why'. What came next shocked me. After getting in, the man turned around and slapped the boy. Piak! It was awfully loud. And all the boy could do was to stare back and mutter some vulgarities. The man went on to say he hit him because the boy talked back. After the boy got off the bus, the man started to explain himself to the passenger seated beside him. Was there a need to explain his violent act against a helpless boy? Maybe it occurred to him that he was a big bully and had sinned.It strike me that whatever the man did was wrong. But I did nothing about it. Regardless how poor attitude the boy had, there was no need to resort to violence. And I asked myself what I would do if I were hit by somebody. Is there any way I can protect myself or seek justice? Is taking pictures of him and putting on Stomp the only silly thing a modern day victim can do? Or simply just blog about it? Is getting slapped such a tiny incident that we can't do anything and we let the bully thinks that it is okay to do so? I share the incident not to judge anyone, but to seek answers to all these questions.I guess the boy was too stunned to react. Rebellious as he might be, he probably did the right thing to walk away. But he is still young and impressionable. Once he is cooled down, he is probably going to share the experience with his friends and generalize his hatred against folks of the stranger's race. And I wonder how a stranger on the bus had changed his life... 2008 Birthday Wish List. Oh great, finally have a lil' time to review and reveal my 2008 Birthday wish list! I guess in some way it'll save my dear friends from cracking their brains on what to get me. Heh. Hey I know how difficult it is! Afterall, I engineered the acquisition of a few of your presents horrrrr. lol.Let me just copy-and-paste last year's list, review with some comments, and highlight what changed and what is added to the list.1. A chic Laptop Bag for 13.3" laptop.Why? >> Cuz my Fujitsu laptop bag is old and dull. Of cuz no need to get these high-end ones lah, I saw some really nice one at the Apple authorized store in Orchard Cineleisure as well.[Update: I got this for my birthday from you guys last year and it had served me really well! Thanks!]2. A bottle of Designer cologne.Why? >> Cuz what makes one smell man enough is not his perspiration. Which brand of cologne do ladies like best? You decide! I tried Davidoff Coolwater, Hugo Boss Emotion, GF Ferre, DKNY Delicious, so don't get me any of these.Latest comments >> Add Burberry Touch to the list of "already have" if you are still thinking of getting me cologne.[Update@31 Mar 2007: Just bought a bottle of CK Eternity today!]3. Apple IPhone.Why? >> Cuz it is slim, it has an amazing interface, it is one chic phone. Nevermind the fact that I can't use it in office, I will gladly use it as weekend phone.Latest comments >> It had been a year, and the IPhone had yet to be officially launched here. I guess the initial "want" is fading fast. Besides, I got a weekend phone already. =p But let's just keep this item in case anyone feels generous!4. An Apple MacBook or an iMac.Why? >> Cuz I am joining the Apple bandwagon. Cuz I read this and I wanna make the switch too!Latest comments >> I am thinking of getting the Lenovo x300 Thinkpad instead...5. A Nintendo Wii.Why? >> Cuz I was never a big console game player and my free Xbox is outta date. It's about time.Latest comments >> After doing a term project on Wii, I think I'll really wanna give it a try. Perfect present for my new house too! Heh heh. 6. A Cello or trumpet.Why? >> Cuz item six of my new year resolution review says I want to pick up a new musical instrument.Latest comments >> Hmmm... obviously I didn't fulfill all of last year's new year resolution. And this year's resolution is nowhere to be found. But it's still cool to pick up an instrument especially after the Nodame craze!7. Five good books.Why? >> Cuz I love to read if I have more time. Why five? No reason, just a random number, and I think five books will occupy me for quite sometime. Anything in your opinion are good? Don't be fooled, books ain't cheap either. =pLatest comments >> I have almost five books on my shelf waiting to be read or half read. Will try to clear them when I am done with all the projects (which is almost time!!). Kino vouchers are always welcomed. =)8. A Watch.Why? >> Cuz I have been told more than once that my watch is old and ugly. Tho' I beg to differ, I wouldn't mind something for a change. Would prefer a Frank Muller. But Tag Huer also can lah.[Update: My dear got me this for present last year. It was no Tag Huer but equally good! But always can upgrade one lah... still waiting for my Frank Muller or Tag Huer... wah ha ha ha ha...]9. A pair of Sony earphones.Why? >> Cuz nothing sound as good as that from the Sony earbud earphones. Crisp clear music brightens my mood. Tho' they spoil so easily, so are my ears, spoilt for only the best earphones.Latest comments >> Did you see my earphones? From black become metallic! Why? Cuz the rubber covers have mostly worn off! But it still sounds pretty good. Cuz its Sony. Maybe you will recommend some other brands? But earbud earphones please.10. A Clumper bag.Why? >> Cuz its nice but I can never spend such money on a bag. No pink, no green.[Update: Greyish green.. oh whatever. This is item 1! How smart of you guys to hit two items with one present! =) Thanks once again.]11. A Canon digital camera.Why? >> Cuz I wanna take some good photographs and I need a camera. I would prefer one from the Powershot family.[Update: I got this myself last year. Not a Canon Powershot, but a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. Very nice pictures, tho' much has to be improved on my skills.]12. A Nintendo DS. *NEW*Why? >> Cuz its the best selling video console platform in the world and I enjoy the cooking game! Wahahaha...Things not to get:Wallet, key pouch, pen, Sony PSP Slim.Why? >> I got those presents for various occasions last year and they are still working real fine!From the looks of the list, I can imagine what I will get. But please don't limit your creativity to this list! Finally, let me quote myself from last year's entry, "Seriously, I am not expecting any of these lah. Real-ly." ;op The Elephant and The Poopy Conversation. The folks at movieland are definitely getting super-perfecto muy bien at the CG thingy. And Dr Seuss was a genius storyteller as another one of his books hit the big screen. As usual, every little details fall in nicely together at the end of the show. Throw in a a bad guy who is dying to do the dirty job for free, an amazing who does an amazing imitation of kungfu ninja using his ears, many many fuzzy wuzzy animals, an incredibly funny knock-knock joke, and a feel good theme song which everyone joins in, every minute of Horton Hears a Who! shouts out fun and creativity. 4 outta 5 stars for this movie!! Regardless you are a small boy, a small girl, or a big one, you'll love it!Just before the show, I had a lesson on big bang while pooping. Ewww! Heh. Okay don't imagine that! Just focus on the story. I overhead the conversation between a boy (about 5-year-old from the sound of him) and his dad in the cubicle next to mine.Boy: Daddy, how does nature come about?Dad: Nobody really knows for sure.Boy: What about the very smart scientists? Don't they know?Dad: Well nobody really knows everything. Scientists do experiment and they believe it may be the Big Bang.Boy: Why don't they really know? Even Einstein also don't know?Dad: Physicists learn a small part and after many years they have the bigger picture.Boy: Daddy, what is it like during the Big Bang?Dad: It was the beginning of time when there was no matter. Everything was very hot and dense.Boy: What is dense? Is it like very heavy?Dad: Dense is like a lot of matter in a space. It is like when you put sand in a box, the more you put in it, the heavier it gets, the denser it is.Boy: Daddy, why are there dinosaurs? Are there like many dinosaurs, some plant eaters, some meat eaters?Dad: Dinosaurs come from cells. They slowly transform and become dinosaurs. Now are you done already? Can I wipe you?Boy: No, not yet...Now this kid is smart or what?! I'm equally impressed that his dad had bothered to explain the facts to him, instead of brushing his questions aside. He actually explained to him the and the Big BangEvolution theories! And the kid was able to understand, give some thoughts to them, and ask intelligent questions. Mind you, we are talking about a kid who still needs his dad to accompany him to poop and wipe him clean!!! I wish next time my kid will be just as smart and I wouldn't wanna be caught off guard when he asks me such questions.Not long after, the boy asked his dad about the words on the door of the cubicle. His dad said that it was graffiti and was very bad. Soon, the boy was reading away the words he saw. =) 0-Dong-30. Eighth win in last nine worldwide events. Fifth consecutive US PGA Tour win. Fifth Arnold Palmer Invitational win. I like what Tiger Woods said after his latest win, "I have to keep working and keep progressing," "And keep working on my game." As the news article says, 'It's not mistake he said "working" twice. With Tiger the win never stop because the work never ends.' I will work work work too! Even tho' I am a lil' too tired right now. 冲啊!!! No Taxi Stand No Stop. "Side solution to taxi woes". LTA finally realised the problems of its rule that forbid taxi to pick up or drop passengers in CBD other than at taxi stands. On the first thought, this rule seems to be logical to stop errant taxi drivers who stop whenever they like to pick up passengers, possibly causing accidents. And taxi stands make it safer to do so, as well as 'easier to pick up a cab' if there are sufficient taxis. But, all that is only on first thought and the logic stops there.LTA oughta think harder when making policies. Think twice or even thrice! Think carefully. Consider all stakeholders. Don't they learn SSM? =pOn second thought, mind you just tthe second thought, you will realise this rule is really illogical for alighting passengers. Let me give you an example, I took a cab to Maxwell Road Hawker Centre two weeks ago. Upon reaching the area, the driver said he couldn't stop at the hawker centre for me as there wasn't any taxi stand there. So I reached my destination but LTA forbade me from getting off! Isn't that similar to taking bus or train, you have to stop at certain designated place and walk?Well i wouldn't say LTA is ingenious in coming out with a quick way to counter the problem they created. The common cab driver had already thought of that for he dropped me off at the side road of the hawker centre, saying there was lower risk of getting caught.Well what motivated to write this post isn't just the fact that LTA had failed to consider thoroughly before implementing this rule, or that I had personally experienced the inconvenience. What motivated me to write is reading that despite their mistake, LTA refused to admit so and attempted to take some kind of credit for their quick dirty solution. Maybe I should specifically say its what the CE Mr Yam Ah Mee said which motivated me. He had "acknowledged that the two-week-old rule had inconvenienced some passengers," and said "We decided to further minimise the inconvenience while ensuring that safety on the whole is not compromised." Remember who created the rule that caused the problem? So should they give you a big fat bonus for minimising the problem you created? Perhaps some of you are saying I am reading too much into what he said. But the fact is such messages are usually carefully coded to give a politically correct answer free of all responsibilities and possibly getting a little credit for your crappy work. You have to read between the lines!While we start finger pointing, we know that we should not blame LTA as a whole but blame the person who came up with this rule. I was discussing with my friend that the person who came up with the rule isn't really smart. He remarked that much had to be said about the one who approved it! Ha ha... Va Va Vroommmm. As the 2008 Formula 1 season kicked off today with the qualifying round and race in Australia tomorrow, it is an exciting year for fans in Singapore! Personally, I followed the races on Sundays when they still telecast F1 races on free-to-air channel. But the passion for it slowly died when these sports are shown only on paid cable channels. Hopefully all these will change this year when the race comes to Singapore. The 15th leg of the 2008 F1 Season, it is cool to find details of the Singapore GP on the official Formula One web site! It is interesting to read about what the organisers think about Singapore in the "Destination Guide". Just to highlight a few..."Singapore is a clean city; in fact it’s so spotless that you can’t buy chewing gum, just in case the temptation to litter the streets is too great." I wouldn't say its spotless lah... no chewing gum is true!"If you’re a fan of Far Eastern metropolitan life, you’ll love Singapore. There are two renowned shopping/entertainment malls, the Marina Square and Sentosa Island." I always thought Orchard Road is the renowned shopping street. And Sentosa? It's boring leh, at least at the present moment."Cast your minds back to 1973, to the last motor race staged in Singapore. Back then, the Singapore Grand Prix was run on public roads for Formula Libre cars, but was axed after deaths in successive years." Bit of history which I wasn't aware of...I am still contemplating about catching the Singapore GP live or watching it at home in comfort (hopefully they'll air it FREE!!!). The thing about watching at home is that you'll get to catch all those exciting overtaking, hear the commentaries, see the pit-stops, monitor the whole race, and take occasional pee-breaks. But the watching it live... I imagine it'll be exhilarating! Maybe it'll be similar to watching the air show live - Breathtaking! At nearly 400km/hr, I think my hair will stand when they zoom past! Ah, but all of it is still part of my imagination. Maybe I'll sneak thru' to the track and watch the replay on TV. ;op