Went for mdc yesterday despite feeling tired... We had dinner at Guild House (a rare event unless one of my senior who has the membership card comes for dc) and I realise that Guild House only admits faculty members who have membership cards. So I was wondering how are they going to earn money? My senior told me that it's the exclusivity, ambience that lures ppl to dine there and u will be surprised how good their business is.

Talked a lot of crap during dinner. Got to find out that my yr 5 seniors are planning a trip to europe after their final mbbs. Still in the midst of planning but they seem to favour eastern europe so that they need not spend too much money compared to places like italy... And K, as usual, was suggesting to other yr 5 s to go trekking but was met with lacklustre response... haha.

MY is so fun to be with... Her suaning , crappiness really perked up my spirits... and her laughter brings much joy to all around her... While sending me and my friend home, she gave us some dental tips ... hmm... I knoe the real reason of why brushing teeth at night is so important... Bcos when we are sleeping, we tend not to enough saliva production for the neutralisation of acids produced by bacteria as well as killing the bact...

Finished reading Antrax... Just can't get enough of Terry Brooks' books... gonna get hold of his latest series... The ending for the second book was sad: one of my favourite character died in his attempt to "kill off" Antrax.

AMTM 2 is gonna end soon... I like Shandi a lot ! Her transformation from a total geek to an elegant model with good fashion sense is jaw-dropping... She really makes everyone sit up each week with her photoshoot... Too bad she didn win the competition... Yohanna has good looks but her body structure is too squarish/ stiff such that she has to find ways to hide it!

Weeks of physical inactivity has taken a toll on me! I was playing badminton for the first time since school reopened and had to take several minutes of rest in between the hour-or - so game. My opponent, with superb techniques and strokes, had me running around all over the court , expending all my available energy. Never had such a intense workout for quite some time ! Felt extremely good after the badminton game even though my skills did not quite match up with my friend! Fortunately, my friend didn't quite mind my "inadequacies". It's always the fear of embarrassing myself and feeling of inadequacy that pose a stumbling block to me playing sports... FOr once, I had to improve my arm strength or the angle I hit the shuttle cock... My shots are usu low range and high vertical height!

Looking foward to the next badminton game ! and rollerblading lesson conducted by JB next tuesday ... totally free of charge! Hopefully I won't sustain any more injuries ... But it's exactly the mentality of being extremly careful with everything I do that I ended up sustaining more injuries than anyone!

Just about to finish reading Book 2 of The Voyage of Jerle Shannara... Looks like it's another reading day ahead! I dun have the habit of speed reading, that's why I usu take quite some time b4 completing one bk. Arrgh.

Met Vincent at BV mrt station while on my way home... We were talking, talking and then I asked him whether he's free to accompany me to Pasir Ria Community library to borrow some books...

Vincent introduced to me some good fantasy books by Terry Brooks + David Eddings which I started reading upon reaching home. Managed to finish one book and couldn't keep my hands off the rest of the books... Looks like it's another wasted weekend doing no school work. Those books r addictive and it seems like the interest in reading has been rekindled in me... Hopefully this interest won't fade out too fast...

Vincent treated me to Mcdonald and both of us ordered Mc Spicy Meal... The service was bad... I had to make 2 trips to the counter just to get an adequate supply of chilli, curry and barbeque sauce which the counter-girl had conveniently forgotten to ask... I was kind enuff not to give my my irritated look when I thought of the meagre pay they r earning...

Dinner talk rangesdfrom Vincent's first aid moon-lighting to school work to everything under the sun... I commented that learning more about sexually transmitted diseases really scare the hell out of me (ok, just an exaggeration but u get my drift..) and his reply? I am going to make sure that my future wife goes for a full body clinical examination + complete serological tests... I was amused by his reply and couldn't stop laughing for some time... Yah, I kind of agree with him partially, esp in this zhao1 san1 ta1 si4 era where infectious diseases are spreading like wild fire...

Sometimes, we got to know a person well enuff and not jump into hasty conclusions of a person's character, etc... Most of the times, Our impressions , views r just too tainted to trust...

Much as i love Singapore, I agree with what Gupte, an accomplished journalist who quit his journalist job at the straits time recently has written about his working experiences. For those who r interested in reading the whole article, pls obtain from me the link.

Gupte's article exposes the inadequacies & bureacracies of the region's "BEST" newspaper + the arrogance of Singaporeans The basic tenet of good journalism is journalism ethics which I am sad to say that our newspaper lacks. My friends and I had own fair share of bad experience when interviewed by a certain journalist about our science project back in Sec3/4, in which our words were quoted out of context. In fact there was one sentence that we did not recall saying. Similar experiences were echoed by another friend of mine, who was interviewed when the inner workings of a certain church in sg was explored. Her words were badly maimed that there was not a tinge of truth in what was published in the newspaper. Not that it makes a big difference / outcome to me and my friends, but it reflects how much we must catch up in order to match up with the journalistic standards set by other counterparts in the world.

JB, I update my post very regularly, right???

Just read Christine's blog and never thought that one can write so much about brushing of teeth... My views: It's important to brush ur teeth at night as oral microbes are very active at night, fermenting glucose... IN practise, I try my best to brush my teeth at night, but occassionally, ahem... skipped brushing at night bcos i fell asleep right after dinner!

Brushing in the morning is a definite must... Sometimes, the person i sat next to on the mrt train will yawn and the odour is enuff to knock me off my seat and seek refuge elsewhere... So to be considerate to all commuters, one should make an effort to brush one's teeth every morning...
=)

Just another crap post... Beginning to be crappier!

Dear Blog,

I realise that many ppl are agonising over cg groups and I feel glad & grateful that my cg group was formed so readily without much trouble, negative emotions etc... I am taken aback by many unusual cg groupings and i can't help but feel that friendships are so fragile , human relationships r complex and human beings are complicated creatures...

Really hope that eventually everyone will find their cg group and there will be no overnight grudges bore against another party bcos of rejection, etc... (but I guess that's not very likely bcos it's human nature to feel sore and bitter bcos of our deep attachments.)


May all sentitent beings be free from physical and mental sufferings
May all be well and happy.


With Metta ,
Nicholas

I found a new channel u show for me to go crazy ... Bi Xue Jian... Definitely not Jin Yong's best books but at least much better than Wei Xiao Bao and Fei Hu Wai Zuan... Bi Xue Jian will keep me occupied for the next month or so...

Still considering whether or not to go for a weekend meditation retreat...

Phew! Yesterday mdc's presentation went smoothly without any major glitches. I was so afraid of screwing up the presentation that I re- read my printed stuff on Kamma, making mental notes on what points to elaborate on... As a result, the nearly two hours presentation just passed swiftly because I have too much to cover... In fact, I was rambling on and on without much pauses and I mispronounced some words, perhaps due to my nervousness!

Yesterdauy was also my first time leading the opening and closing ceremony which I realise isn't as hard as what I initially thought to be... Only that I must keep reminding myself to hit the gong at the start and end...

I feel rejuvenated every dc meeting. It reaffirms my beliefs and strengthens my resolution to continue the Buddhist path. The support from Sangha is incredible... I always feel inspired by a few of my seniors who has so much morality and equanimity in them. In contrast, I am still battling my inner demons, questioning myself constantly about some questions... =)

So Huang Na's father finally broke his silence yesterday, "begging" the public not to exert any more pressure on his family... He refused to reveal the amount "earned" from public donations... Nor carry out his promise of donating 50% of public donations. I am beginning to feel repulsed by his behaviour and trying to resist myself from stereotypoing mainland Chinese as greedy, mercenary...

In the first place, Huang Na's father shouldn't have made the promise of donating 50 % of all the public donations if he doesn't intend to carry out... It has been estimated that around 10000 ppl attended Huang's funeral ... It's not hard to calculate how much he has earned from the wake... Probably more than 150k, enough for him to become a millionaire when he returned back to China. Initially, they even wanted to bring back those Hello Kitties back to CHina, ( pobably to sell? I dun knoe) but after the public outcry, they decided to donate those Hello Kitties and leftover fruits, citing that it's not Chinese custom to donate Bai Zing. This lame excuse is virtually unheard of ...

Huang Na 's father and mother actions and behaviour have squandered the public's sympathy . and Yes, I am disgusted with his behaviour too! and puzzled by the public's irrationality.

Had my weekly dose of Singapore Idol yesterday night... Yesterday's performances were such a letdown and the judges' comments offered nothing constructive or meaningful to help improve the idols' performances. In fact, I think it's the exact same comments (very strong, very powerful vocals... der)

The judges seemed to adore Taufik a lot while at the same time, deriding sylvester's bad pronunciation. Week in week out, the "idols" churned out songs that were virtually unknown/ unheard of in our era, so there's not much of a comparison to make... The novelty has worn off and their performances r beginning to become stale.

I had a long sms discussion with my friend who insisted that Sylvester is a big Joker with lacklustre singing talent and awful mannerisms (Remember the signature "finger-pointing")... So there's an anti-Sly camp out there hoping secretly that he will be voted our this week... Ha.. But I kind of support Sylvester Not Because of the support-underdog-mentality but because he has the most potential to break into the Chinese Market and certainly the most marketable among the idol finalists. His vocals isn't that terrible ... so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Whether or not he can sing is not important... What's more important is to have crazy young fans willing to fork out their savings to buy cds and vote for him...

I am kinda sick and tired of Huang Na- related news, most certainly blown out of proportion. Now, the public is apparently unhappy with Huang Na's father for not disclosing the amt of money he "earned" from the wake and not keeping his promise of donating half the sum of money to charity.

The Huang Na incident, I feel, exposes the irrational behaviour and hypocrisy of Singaporean society... Instead of donating to charities that will benefit those who are suffering from debiliating conditions, they donated large amount of money to a victim's family whose family members are not in any financial difficulties. So who to blame when Huang Na's family decided not to donate and keep the money for good? Just blame yourself for your irrational behaviour!

Just when I thought that I have enuff of anime movies- Sky Captain, Sharks Tale, etc, here comes the Incredibles, a film that had me riveted to my seat and laughing from the start to the end. Yes, it was that good . Dare I say, it’s even better than Shrek 2 , A bug’s life, anime all of which I enjoyed too. My $8.50 was well spent! What a long time since that happened ok, the plot wasn’t as jaw-dropping as sixth sense, but the lively and witty dialogue, coupled with interesting characters and superb animations left audiences wanting for more…At least the jokes were definitely not as slapstick as Sharks’ Tale!

I shan’t reveal the plot lest I spoil the fun and excitement of movie-goers. Only that the characters have superpowers … Maybe it’s my fascination with superpowers since most movies I enjoyed Spiderman, X man, etc involved some kind of supernatural phenomenon or powers. On this note, I noticed many similarities bet The Incredibles and other superhero movies… Like the “weapon”, the machines… Ha, just couldn’t resist leaking out some bits and pieces of info about the movie…


The Incredibles was the third movie I watched this week, the most no. of movies I watched in a week… ok, I knoe it’s extravagant and my pockets r almost 99% burnt but I treat it as a form of post-exam celebration…

I haven’t been doing much these few days, slacking at home, chilling out with friends, etc. I haven’t been doing much exercise and need I be reminded of the the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle? =)

Just when I thought that I have enuff of anime movies- Sky Captain, Sharks Tale, etc, here comes the Incredibles, a film that had me riveted to my seat and laughing from the start to the end. Yes, it was that good . Dare I say, it’s even better than Shrek 2 , A bug’s life, anime all of which I enjoyed too. My $8.50 was well spent! What a long time since that happened ok, the plot wasn’t as jaw-dropping as sixth sense, but the lively and witty dialogue, coupled with interesting characters and superb animations left audiences wanting for more…At least the jokes were definitely not as slapstick as Sharks’ Tale!

I shan’t reveal the plot lest I spoil the fun and excitement of movie-goers. Only that the characters have superpowers … Maybe it’s my fascination with superpowers since most movies I enjoyed Spiderman, X man, etc involved some kind of supernatural phenomenon or powers. On this note, I noticed many similarities bet The Incredibles and other superhero movies… Like the “weapon”, the machines… Ha, just couldn’t resist leaking out some bits and pieces of info about the movie…


The Incredibles was the third movie I watched this week, the most no. of movies I watched in a week… ok, I knoe it’s extravagant and my pockets r almost 99% burnt but I treat it as a form of post-exam celebration…

I haven’t been doing much these few days, slacking at home, chilling out with friends, etc. I haven’t been doing much exercise and need I be reminded of the the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle? =)

Sharks Tale was highly entertaining bcos it's CRAPPY... U dun need much determination and BRAIN POWER to sit through the show... Just relax and enjoy ! Quite Grateful that we chose sharks tale over Before Sunset as there were some parts i was stoning... Come to think of it... I haven't been watching much movies with "great depth" ... Sky Captain, Harold and Kumar are beginning to be my kind of shows... Maybe I should start getting more brain stimulation from "deep" shows like 2046??

The Forgotten looks very promising when I was watching the preview... But reviewers slammed the movie for its ludicrous and disjointed plot . DUn think i will be wasting 8.50 on this movie, though I like Juliana Moore a lot...

I'm currently doing some research on Karma and rebirth... Hopefully, the presentation on 22 Nov will be a thought provoking one! Initially, I was planning for a sutta but there were many requests for a karma presentaion... SO decided to push the sutta study to a much later date...

Surprisngly, I'm getting hooked to Singapore idol, a show that I have previously spoken against. Yes, the contestants r not esp outstanding, of course nowhere near the American Idol standards, but still... come on... it isn't that bad as what some ppl make it out to be (maybe except for Jerry Ong). Taufik has produced the most marked improvement over the weeks, even surpassing Olinda, whom many ppl regard as the most promising rare singing talent... I hope he wins the competition. Olinda is on the brink of elimination but her absence won't be missed by me... Yes, Olinda can hit the high notes but somehow, there is always something missing in her performance that I can't really pinpoint... Even if she were to win the competition, she would be difficult to market...I feel very sorry for Leandra whose spunky attitude and bubbly personality I thought would woo many voters... Unfortunately she was eliminated before Daphne who had a strong fan base despite her lacklustre vocal talents... She tried to pull off a Mariah Carey "stunt" two weeks ago but failed miserably and I was cringing...


I feel that we, as Singaporeans (sorry for the overgeneralisation), tend to belittle our local talents, our institutes, etc ... If we do not support our local talent, who will?

NUS is ranked 18 among the world institutes, and many of my friends laughed it off, commenting that it's almost a farce... Ya, i am sure many out there may share the same sentiments... Unless we start feeling proud of our own institute, we faced the risk of being looked down by others overseas...

My 20th Birthday was especially memorable... =) A BIG Thanx to everyone who has made this birthday so special! I appreciate your efforts ...... u guys rock!

Finally, the much dreaded cas r finally over!!!