New Blogger

And I lost my luggage on the flight from Boston to New York. Congratulations America, for making me believe in your system that little bit less.

Fuck this man. Getting pissed off. Only good thing is that my girlfriend has to get a whole new wardrobe. ARGH!

lip
ranting

Economics

On the growing US trade deficit between China and the US.

Awesome.

lip
ranting

I hope I get an A for Investments

I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.
I hope I get an A for Investments.

lip
ranting

I'm Done With Finals

What the fuck is wrong with Blogger?

I posted twice, and both times I got this big fat 0 on my damn post.

Can't be bothered anymore.

Shit. Anyway, Alex and Jesse, on my way next week. See you guys soon!

lip
ranting

Overheard at the UofC

http://www.overheardattheuofc.net/

By not coming to class, you are all breaking your social contract with me and that makes me want to break my social contract with you by giving you awful tests and pop quizzes you are sure to fail. So, without the social contract, are we just all running naked down Ellis Street, then? ARE WE?

- core phy sci class of nearly 100 with only 20 students in attendance

TA: What's a good number between 10 and 16?
Student: …Twelve?
TA: We're going to want either 13 or 14.

- problem session for calc 130s

"Death is not a phenotype, it is just the end of your experiment"
- overheard in bio class.

Guy: Ugh....Honors Analysis is like Suicide 201: only for those who failed 101.

--Overheard in Crerar

lip
ranting

Why Economics

It's times like these (right before an Econ final) that I ask myself why the hell did I study Economics.

And it's articles like these

http://www.zambia.co.zm/articles/friedman.htm

http://www.freetochoose.net/article_1.html

That remind me why I chose it in the first place.

Forget the math, the math is just for proofs, the ideas behind are the real fun and substance that Economics is based on. Now I just wished Chicago focussed less on Math and more on actual Economics.

from http://www.mskousen.com/sknews.php?id=202. Left, George Stigler, Milton Friedman and JK Galbraith.

lip
ranting

Time flies

And time goes on flying forever and ever.

This quarter has been, in one word, hectic. Between 5 classes, girlfriend, friends, roommates, I have no time for myself. No time to blog, no time to reflect, no time to play Dota, no time to chat with my friends.

I feel sad. It's 2:34 am now, and I'm blogging again after a long long time away from home. I've hit the ground running, sprinting even. The first week was a maze of settling in, moving stuff, Ikea shopping etc. etc. Then came 5 classes. Even with 3 100 level classes, the workload is still immense. 2 Problem sets due every Monday, German homework every Tues and Thurs, Blue Chips on Wednesday, Banking presentations to attend... I'm dying.

But strangely enough I'm revelling in this challenge, to prove that at the end of the day, I can survive stressful periods, I can work 24 hours without rest, I can do well in everything that I challenge myself to do. And that is the real reward, a deeper understanding of yourself.

Then again, a blink of the eye, and week 7 is here. That's a long long long long long time. I'm surprised how long it has been. I'm happy in Chicago, I've never been happier in a long time, and really, it has to do something with that little smile the creeps up on my face whenever I think of the life I share with someone I love.

And that, is all I have time to be thankful for. A short spiel in the middle of night, before I immerse myself back into Deutsch.

Indeed, it's better to have love and lost, then never to have loved at all. And it's better to love and be loved, then to have loved and lost.

lip
ranting

Pictures

First snow in Chicago... In October.. WTF

Stitch, the new guy in the house

Chicago Autumn

Some car in front of me, holding up his rear door with wire.

2 rainbows. Or as UChicago students say: Double Internal Reflection

After one of the worse lightning storms in Chicago, a tree stump remains on campus. 30k people without power in the south side.

Tired girlfriend.

At Ikea. Don't ask me what she was doing...

Something I said offended her. Haha. @ Seven Treasures at Chinatown

Hanxue outside ethel's @ Lincoln Park

lip
ranting

Pictures!

The living room

My Desk

My Room

My Bed

Dining Room

lip
ranting

I have no internet

Thus, my blogging is limited to when I bring my laptop to school AND I have cleared all my work and email for the week. i.e. Now.

I think I'll take 5 classes this quarter, Econ 201, GRMN, BIOS, Music 103 and BUS 35000. Essentially, GRMN, BIOS and Music are supposed to be "slack" classes for me, and hopefully, I can direct most of my energies to BUS 35000 - investment from the GSB. Taking classes at the GSB is really really fun, the lecturers use these high tech computer touchpad thingys, and there are cushy armchairs for ALL students, and the textbooks cost $170 +++ (it ended up $270 wif the course packet and etc). Shite.

Then again, I need this class to buff my resume, because frankly, not being in an RSO sucks big time now, oh well. We'll see....

I like my room, it's nice and homely, and we have a PS2, so I forsee my GPA going downhill. I love my bed nice big bed too:)

Meanwhile, blogger refuses to let me post pics, so I'll post my pictures of my room when it is less on the fritz.

lip @ Chicago
ranting

I hate sick people

Quoted from Mark Musch - BioSCI 12107

W Vallen Graham -TA

Some test questions:
(1) THE EXPERIMENTS OF GORTER AND GRENDEL PROVED ONE VERY IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT MEMBRANES. DESCRIBE THEIR EXPERIMENTS IN DETAIL, INCLUDING WHAT TECHNOLOGIES THEY USED AND WHY THEY WORKED, AND TELL US WHY THEIR EXPERIMENTS WERE SO IMPORTANT. (8 POINTS)

(2) DIAGRAM OUT THE EVENTS THAT OCCUR TO STIMULATE THE RELEASE OF INSULIN FROM SPECIFIC CELLS IN THE BODY. (5 POINT) PLEASE INCLUDE IN YOUR ANSWER THE SPECIAL AREA THAT THESE CELLS ARE FOUND IN AND WHAT ORGAN OF THE BODY THIS IS FOUND IN. (1 POINT)

ranting

Friends

Just a short note.

Sorry to all the friends I haven't had time to meet up with over the break. I'm really sorry.

Been busy with the gf, and family, and other less mundane stuff such as WC3 and blogging and other friends. I just don't have the energy to bounce around breakfast lunch and dinner for 7 days a week straight.

I love my friends. As many of my blog entries have so clearly put across. And without friends, I'll be less of the person I am today. And become less of the person I want to be.

So thank you, one and all, for being my friend.

lip
ranting

OMG Lee Hsien Loong. is Worlds Highest Paid PM

For those who can't read chinese: Our Prime Minister earns 380'000 per month. More than George Bush, more than Tony Blair, more than Angela Merkel, and 126 times MORE than Hu Jing Tao.

WTF OMG! And of course, the government will "justify" the high wages due to the "specialised" and highly "difficult" job of PM (more difficult than balancing the opinions of 300 million people and deciding on whether to attack Iraq?)... AFTER ALL, as PM of Singapore, you only have to convince your own party members.

And this comes amid a time when the PTC decides to raise bus fares again, and the rich poor divide grows. Hello. Mr. Prime Minister, can be more Zi Dong or not?

Fuck man.

lip
ranting

Average Asian

I found this funny. And a bit racist. Oh well:)







lip
ranting

I'm Bored

Instructions: Answer the questions by clicking play on your music player and paste the song title for each question. Set they player on shuffle so you don't decide, it does. NO CHEATING!

1. You're being chased by a giant squid: Who Am I - Brandy
Identity Crisis?

2. You meet Itachi for the first time and you scream: So Simple - Alicia Keys
ermm... Doesn't make sense

3. You see Batman at the beach and he proclaims: When it's Over - Sugar Ray
Okay... When it's over you'll kick my ass?

4. You dance in the rain to: No Such Thing - John Mayer
Yup. I'll never dance in the rain.

5. The Monster has his poison claws to your neck. "Any last words?" You choke: Captain's Hook Pirate Ship - SQUARESOFT (From Kingdom Hearts)
Ok. My music from game CDs has got to go.

6. Your surfing music: Oh Happy Day - Sister Act
Very nice =p

7. You have your own anthem: S.M.D.U (Smack My Dick Up) - Brock Landars Snowboard Generation
Yeah!!!! WOO HOO!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

8. Michael Jackson sits down on a bus beside you. He says: Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Okay. Dude, CUT OFF THE SURGERY ALREADY!

9. Your secret crush asks you out. You reply: Undiscovered - Ashlee Simpson
Yes:) I'm an undiscovered gem of a date. muhahaha

10. A bear starts to attack you. You cry out: Magic Stick - Lil' Kim f. 50 Cent
Yeah, I'll need that.

lip
ranting

Thanks to Andy

lip
ranting

Facebook is now officially scary

Definitely some privacy issues here.

It has recently come to my attention that, in addition to the the apparently controversial addition of the mini-feed and news-feed, Facebook has introduced a new "feature" whereby you automatically consent to allow them to sell or give any of
your information to anyone. It was very sneaky of them to introduce this at the same time as a much more noticeable update. Fortunately you are given the option to remove this taciturn "consent," by following this procedure.

1. Log in to facebook.
2. Click "My Privacy" on the left edge of the window.
3. Under the network, "Everyone" click "edit settings"
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the heading "Facebook Development Platform" and uncheck the statement that says "My information may be used according to the restricted Terms of Service."
4. Click Save.

Whether or not this actually prevents Facebook from using your information is anyone's guess. It is almost funny how far Facebook has gone here; for a good laugh you should read these "restricted Terms of Service."

If you care about privacy, please spread this message as much as you can and forward to any listhosts you are on.

--Ryan Winters

lip
ranting

Ice Skating=p

Today a very interesting coincidence happened at Fuji Ice Palace.

In case you were wondering why I was in the West side of SG, well I was accompanying the gf to ice akate, at the same time, proving that I don't fall 90% of the time on ice.

So as we were going through the gate, I was showing my student's card/SAFRA card to get a discount on the entry fee. And guess what? The guy who's ISIC card was taped on the glass panel of the cashier was my classmate in RI!

Lawrence apparently left his ISIC card at the counter when he went to skate 2 weeks ago (probably with a girl, or ogling a girl, or whatever), and it was his face I saw staring back at me from the glass panel.

Freaky.

P.S. Congrats on getting into MIT for PHD/Masters dude:)

lip
ranting

Gathering:)

Had a nice gathering last night with friends. Imagine: everyone studying Economics, Biology, Chemistry and Math 4 years ago is now doing Economics, Microbiology, Medicine, International Relations, Management etc etc.

Very very interesting.

lip
ranting

the GF is coming back:)

Tml night. yay.

On another note, means that tonight might be last mambo, and definitely no more alcohol for me:).

Last week, I just realised my alcohol tolerance has risen 10 fold. Imagine - 3 jugs of stella, 1 beer tower, 1 sampler, 2 LITs, 1 rum + coke, a few lychee martinis and the flaming lambo.

Wow.

lip
ranting

Clubbing in SG

You know you have matured when

1) You go clubbing, and the most interesting thing that happened is talking to a couple and urging them to get married. WTF.

On another note, my bank account has taken a huge knock. Shit.

lip
ranting

Blogger Sucks

WTF is up with Google and blogger? All my entries are like ruined. WTF? New code? And i can't log in with my Gmail account. Some serious shit is going on.

And to quote a anon. commentor on another blog

and you're intelligent? singaporean snobs, thank god i left the country (and i'm not even singaporean!). you guys have been nasty since i stepped onto the island, always thinking you're better than everyone else in asia. shame, grow up people. what goes up must come down.

Very true.

lip
ranting

Back in SG

call me @ 96749273 =)

lip
ranting

Friends

I know I've posted this a lot of times, but then again, sometimes, we all need a reminder.

Friends and family are the most important things in our lives. Relationships with people, how to get along, how not to hate anyone, just being genial etc. are some of the most important life skills we get as we grow up.

Sadly, when we enter the work force, when we are studying, we seem to forget about the term friends. I know people who view others as "competition" - oh! that guy is competing with me for the post of senior manager, or - oh! I must be friends with him because he's going to be successful one day.

What happened to good old friendship?

I wish life never became the rat race it is now, and we can all sit around a table, drink long island tea and talk over prata and eggs. Or just chill at each others' house over night, a game of mahjong, a supper of mee goreng pattaya.

These are the memories I look forward to reliving and sharing with my gf when I'm back in SG:).

Happy Birthday, Singapore. Home.

Whenever I am feeling low
I look around me and I know
There's a place that will stay within me
Wherever I may choose to go
I will always recall the city
Know every street and shore
Sail down the river which brings us life
Winding through my Singapore

Chorus:
This is Home, truly
Where I know I must be
Where my dreams wait for me
Where that river always flows
This is home, surely
As my senses tell me
This is where I won't be alone
For this is where I know it's home

When there are troubles to go through
We'll find a way to start anew
There is comfort in the knowledge
That homes about its people too
So we'll build our dreams together
Just like we've done before
Just like the river which brings us life
There'll always be Singapore

Chorus(repeat 2X)
This is Home, truly
Where I know I must be
Where my dreams wait for me
Where that river always flows
This is home, surely
As my senses tell me
This is where I won't be alone
For this is where I know it's home
(For this is where I know, I'm HOME)

lip
ranting

Chinese for English people

from a forum

Wo Ai Ni and Ni Hao are Mandarin not Cantonese. Any easy way to remember \"I love you\" in madarin is pronouncing it as three nouns in English \"Wall Eye Knee\".



lip
ranting

I am sorry

I will try harder. And I will be the person you deserve.

我的天是灰色我的心是蓝色
触摸着你的心竟是透明的
*你的悠然自得我却束手无策
我的心痛竟是你的快乐
其实我不想对你恋恋不舍
但什么让我辗转反侧
不觉我说着说着天就亮了
我的唇角尝到一种苦涩
我是真的为你哭了
你是真的随他走了
就在这一刻全世界伤心角色
又多了我一个
我是真的为你爱了
你是真的跟他走了
能给的我全都给了
我都舍得
除了让你知道
我心如刀割

lip
ranting

My license plate number is...

903 0264

lip
ranting

Postsecret of the Day

I feel sorry for these people. I hope I never have to say that, because relationships matter.

lip
ranting

Math

Calvin will probably kill me for ruining math.. but this is HILARIOUS!

:)



Courtesy of Simply Life

lip
ranting

My take (or rather, Talkingcock.com's take) on the Mid East Crisis

from talkingcock.com

lip
ranting

I am Singaporean

Watch the new movie by Colin Goh... Singapore Dreaming, out on September 7th.

lip
ranting

I am a responsible boy

Those who know me know that I have a little leftover from my Christianity days in my wallet - a little card with "I am a responsible boy" on one side, and "I am a responsible girl" on the other.

So on this card, it reads:

1) The parents of my girlfriend place their trust in me, I will not violate it.

2) I will respect my girl friend as I expect other men to respect my sister.

3) I will respect womanhood because my mother is a woman.

4) I will not ask my girl friend to do nothing that I would be ashamed of if my mother found it out.

5) My gf has given me honour and pleasure to her company

6) It is wrong for me to expect more in payment for this date

7) my gf will be a wife and mother some day. She must be an example to her children and the pride of her husnband. I will help her to be as pure and decent as I want my own wife to be.

8) Manhood means strength of character as well as body. Lack of self control is a sign of weakness. I want my gf to know I am manly.

9) God is everywhere, sees everything, knows everything. Darkness may hide me from people, but it cannot hide me from God.

Some points: Ignore point number 9, because frankly, I don't really want any religious or biased views. In fact, the current debate over PMS (pre-marital sex), (not pre-menstrual stress), is mainly the conservative Christians versus the liberals. Well, the conservative Chinese are in the Christian corner as well, but throwing religion into this debate is just like throwing eggs at me. - messy and useless.

So it is with some interest that I observe the contents of my wallet today. A leftover from my 14 year old days, together with a square consumer good manufactured from latex in India. (which of course, has remained in there for a very very long time. My roommate gave it to me:).

After being in America for sometime now, I realise that there is something magical about putting 17-19 year olds together, away from home for extended periods of time. You start hearing groans and creaks from above your dorm, and shouts and (shhhhhh) sounds from right next door (personal experience). And the entire college dorm environment is just sooo... convenient for quickies - closet -check, room, -check, classroom -check (at night). Especially with free booze and frat parties and you have the classic ingredients for an episode of girls-gone-wild or college-drunk-parties.com. And what makes it even more acceptable is that it is SOOO prevalent, and going by the "fitting-in" culture of college life, everyone just starts accepting and stop criticising.

Which brings me to a very interesting point about PMS. Many people are still against it, but then, they gradually start accepting it, with pressure from friends, bfs, - you know, the hey, why are you so uptight? and so uncool?... and frankly, I don't know where I stand on this issue anymore.

Maybe it's the male thinking. A hard to ignore (pardon the pun), extension to your body that just sticks out (really really pardon the pun) and is so obvious. (okay now, stop it). After all, the abundance of porn and the internet means that guys jerk off at least once a day (Admit it). So they start wondering what sex is like, and what it's all made out to be.

Gone are the days where people wait till they get married. Frankly, I'm a realist. I don't expect my future wife to be a virgin. That's a commodity that's as rare as a good voice from me. And with the current "Sex-sells" catchphrase in marketing and on MTV today, you're going to find younger and younger children who know about sex - hell, last I read, some 11 year old in Britain was already having sex with her 12 year old bf.

And so you brag to your friends about it. (isn't that what all guys do). but what if you really really love someone? Would it cheapen a relationship? Some say PMS makes a relationship stronger. Others say it doesn't. Frankly, I believe in the latter - after all, if you spend all the time having sex, very soon, u're not going to enjoy walks by the beach, or swimming in the pool. All you're going to want to do is to just have sex 24/7, or until it drops off.

So it's not healthy for a relationship or is it? I don't know. Married couples have sex because there is a strong trust and respect already in place. In PMS, the respect is lost, and the girl doesn't trust anymore. That makes for a lousy marriage in my opinion, and would be gone faster than Rachel and Ross's marriage.

So what is it? That guy wants sex- and also wants to respect the girl. The girl doesn't -but wants to prove she loves the guy. Where is this tit for tat, pull and shove going? Nowhere. The best cure I can think of for all American college kids is to place them in military bunks -12 to a room. Then, they'll just find a broom closet to have sex in.

On another note - went swimming in a german public pool yesterday. Couples making out in front of Children in the pool - GOD, i don't wanna know what's in the water. And Danya (my colleague's child) is very very cute. It's amazing how children can be so irritating at 10 years old (my brother) when they're family, and so adorable when they're not.

Then again, children is a blog topic to be put on hold - till I'm 25 at least:). Wait a moment, I already have a draft :-).

lip
ranting

Absolute 2006

Because I have to do this.



lip
ranting

Singapore - Thoughts

I had an interesting discussion this morning with my colleague on Singapore. In brief, she's a German lady married to a Singaporean. It was an interesting debate on the Singapore school system that started my train of thoughts - about how she moved away from Singapore because her daughter needed to go to school, and the Singapore school system is too restrictive and too competitive. Of course it is.

That's why we have scholars. And thats why we have the PAP.

Singaporeans don't get a chance to think much. By that, I mean independent expression of their own ideas. Most of our thoughts are curtailed by the government - in its quest to keep dissenting voices down, the school system has suffered, changing from one which children have vivid imaginations and can argue and think critically, to one where rote learning and memory work is valued over creativity and critical thinking. Result: A society where there are invisible boundaries for each and every single citizen - where no one bothers to voice their opinions because of the climate of fear - fear of prosecution (aka mrbrown), fear of being ostracised... Just plain fear.

Of course - The PAP will say - HEY! We allow dissent (with conditions a: That it is within the party, b: that you don't air your views to the media to show PAP solidarity and c: you better listen to those people who have the surname Lee).

Then again, when I read in the Sunday Times FRONT PAGE - about the PAP secretary general Lee Hsien Loong at a PAP gathering, I wonder why party news is in a National Newspaper. And the headline reads- BATTLE BEGINS NOW FOR NEXT POLLS, SAYS PM.

PM. Not secretary General of the PAP. PM. PM Lee Hsien Loong.

And poor Sylvia Lim, a Temasek Polytechnic Lecturer, can only air her party opinions in Worker's Party newsletter. Then again, SPH may just be the publishing arm of the PAP - A BIG party newsletter publisher.

Called the Straits Times.

Excuse me while I puke over my computer.

And a few pages in, is an article on Mr. Li Hongyi, who garnered a PSC scholarship to study at MIT. Excuse me. Why do we need to know about this certain Mr. Li Hongyi? Oh!!!! He's the PM's SON!!!! Of course the party needs to know about him wayyyy before he ever enters politics - it's the party newsletter after all!

I'm disgusted and sick of Singapore. Be sure, I'm going to vote WP in 2011. And if I ever earn enough money, so I can pay my lawyer fees when I get sued for defamation, I will join the opposition:)

This is what happens when the government allows critical thinking and dissent only among the top 2% of the population. You get a body of drones working, and the top minds leave Singapore.

At last count - 15000 Singaporeans studying abroad (according to Confluence 2006). And I bet you, not all 15000 are going back to the Sunny Island we call... Home.

lip
ranting

Free Music on the Internet

This blogger is posting free albums online for downloads. While I'm against music piracy (seriously I AM! All my albums are bought off BMG or amazon)=p, I'm not against a little testing...

Hopefully he's based in a country with not so strict piracy laws, like Sri Lanka, or DPRK.

Good luck to you.

lip
ranting

After Minister's sons become pre-enlistees

According to ICA, on average, 100,000 pre-enlistee passport holders have their passports extended annually.

To avoid this inconvenience and cost, MINDEF has decided to remove passports-controls for these NS-liable males and allow them to be issued with passports of full validity.

This means, pre-enlistee passport holders will no longer need to renew their passports once every 1 or 2 years. - CNA /dt

Seriously, a long overdue move my the SG Gov.

lip
ranting

Hello

Haven't updated this site for a week...

Anyway, some new developments: I am currently almost $1k in debt =p. However, I'm surprised and appalled at the Citibank Customer Services. Ok, situation is like this:

1) I have to transfer money between 2 Citibank accounts based in the US. I am in Germany now, and I can't do the transfer online, because I do not have a SSN (Why is this always so necessary), and thus, I have to go to Citibank, swipe my card and enter my pin to transfer money.

2) Now, in Germany, the situation is totally different. There's Citibank GLOBAL Transfer - Catch is, I need to be a US citizen with a US account. *sweat drop*. that's fine, so what are my options?

a) To write a cheque in dollars - and cash it to the said account over here. Fees - Exchange rate fees, + service fees. Not worth it.

b) Wire the money - I need to withdraw cash in Euros - Then all the exchange rate fees will set in... Wtf.....

In short, I'm screwed.

lip
ranting

Sportfrende Stiller

lip
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I am Singaporean..

lip
ranting

54, 74, 90, 2006

1 und 2 und 3 und 54, 74, 90, 2006
ja so stimmen wir alle ein.
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein
werden wir Weltmeister sein

Wir haben nicht die höchste Spielkultur.
Sind nicht gerade filigran.
Doch wir haben Träume und Visionen
und in der Hinterhand nen Master Plan.
Für unseren langen Wege aus der Krise
und aus der Depression,
lautet die Devise nichts wie rauf auf den Fußballplatz

1 und 2 und 3 und 54, 74, 90, 2006
ja so stimmen wir alle ein.
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein
werden wir Weltmeister sein.

Die ganze Welt greift nach dem goldenen
doch nur einer hält ihn fest,
so ist das nun einmal.
Die ganze Welt spielt sich um den Verstand,
doch der Cup bleibt in unserer Hand.

1 und 2 und 3 und 54, 74, 90, 2006
ja so stimmen wir alle ein.
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein
werden wir Weltmeister sein

Beim ersten mal war es ein Hammer,
beim zweiten mal war es Glück,
beim dritten mal der verdiente Lohn
und diesmal wird¢s ne Sensation.

1 und 2 und 3 und 54, 74, 90, 2006
ja so stimmen wir alle ein.
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein
werden wir Weltmeister sein

54, 74, 90, 2006
ja so stimmen wir alle ein.
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein
werden wir Weltmeister sein

(Translated Chorus)
1 and 2 and 3 and 54, 74, 90, 2006
we all join in such a way.
With the hearts in the hand and the passion in the leg
we will be world champions

lip
ranting

Guys versus other Guys

There seems to be some sort of friendly competition going on among guys. It's like it's almost unspoken that each guy will try to better the rest:).

Must be the alpha-male/Neanderthal mentality that still exists in the guy's brain.

lip
ranting

4 more weeks

That's 1 more laundry day.

1 more rent day.

62 more baths.

31 changes of underwear.

6 changes of pants.

4 more grocery days

23 more work days.

and counting down.

lip
ranting

Photos

Took a drive up to a mountain yesterday in an MX5 convertible with my boss. It's interesting to ride a convertible. Rather low, and quite powerful, and quite nice too. I want a convertible.


I have a package from the US:)


Look! It's FOOD!


Spaghetti!

lip
ranting

Devil's Advocate

10 Things the Government has done right:

1) Singapore is ranked #2 in the World Competitiveness Ranking according to the AT Kearney's Foreign Policy Article. Now, Competition means that prices should be low and consumers should be facing competitive prices in the market. Of course, inflation is always present in any economy, so if the Prata Man revises his prices up by 1 cent, then Singaporeans would also have to revise their income up by the same percentage. It's called, "real income" versus "nominal income".

2) In Singapore, 48.5% of the total population is employed. It is ranked 12th in the World in terms of employment vis a vis total population. In the labour market, 3.3% of the population is unemployed, a far cry from the 10 +% in Germany. Now, we are an Asian country, so in comparison to other Asian countries, we are on a comparable standard.

CIA's World Fact Book says:

Singapore, a highly-developed and successful free-market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP equal to that of the four largest West European countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession, by the slump in the technology sector, and by an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, which curbed tourism and consumer spending. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports, and internal flexibility led to vigorous growth in 2004, with real GDP rising by 8% - by far the economy's best performance since 2000 - but growth slowed to 5.7% in 2005.

Now, the citizens complaints:

1) The wage gap is increasing. The Government is "not doing enough" to help the poor in Singapore. To this, there are two questions.

a) Who are the poor in Singapore? Is the poor those able to afford healthcare? Or those who are not able to afford that brand new spanking hi-fi system that your neighbour has?

Response: The government has in place a social welfare system - Medicare, CPF etc. that tries it's darnest to secure the living standard of the retirees. Now, we aren't as poor as people in Africa, but we sure are going to raise hell if one doctor's appointment costs $20% of the monthly budget. And so we have "needs based" financing, and this comes under fire too, because, who are we to draw the line between who is needy and who isn't? Who? A Civil SERVANT? Don't make me laugh. The line has to be drawn, it has to be done by someone, and whether the cut of is 25% or 20%, there will be disgruntled citizens who feel "left out" of "progress".

b) Press Freedom. According to "Reporters without Borders", Singapore is ranked 140th out of 167th countries in the 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index.

Response: So we want press freedom. As Lee Hsien Loong said (jokingly I hope, though not in the same "joke" as Mahathir), what if we have more opposition members in Parliament? "Then I have to think of ways to FIX THEM, . . . and this will distract me from my work" (paraphrased). Now, I challenge other citizens, who likes to be wrong? Who likes to be stood up to, and challenged, and debated against? (Maybe Wong Shi Ming), but then again, Asians in general are non confrontational and would rather seek mediation then outright debate. Think whether the American System would work in Singapore. If someone 50 years your elder comes along and gives you advice, you'll be branded a "Fucktard" if you dare stand up against your elder. It's Asian roots, Confucian values etc. etc. In short, PATERNALISTIC GOVERNANCE i.e. I'm smarter than you, so listen to me, Your Father.

And of course, we all knew how Germany and Hitler turned out.

The truth is, Singaporeans hate to lose face. We hate to be proven wrong, and we want to be right in everything we do. That is why my Mum has such a big ego (yes mum, you do), that is why I hate to be judged, that is why Philip Yeo exists, that is why Sim Wong Hoo lost Creative's lead in the Harddisk MP3 player market to Apple. (Remember the Nomad Jukebox?) That is why Aztech lost it's lead in Thumbdrive technology. When on top, Singaporeans get complacent. They get comfortable, and they rest on their laurels.

Of course, I could go into the whole tirade about the Judiciary system and how it affects Singaporean mentality (essentially, a jury system encourages political participation and critical thinking - and the ability to bring a case to court easily would be much better (a value judgement)).

Which is why, I admire people who have the guts, the ability, and the daring to dream big. You call them cocky, you try to put them in their place, but in the end, they follow their big dreams and end up in a place further than you'll ever be in.

So, what does this have to do with Press Freedom now? In a nutshell, everything. The government requires it's aura of invincibility to stay intact, in order to push and cajole the country towards economic progress, and to do that, it requires acceptance of its packages, its price raises, its schemes and "pay-more-everywhere". While the layman points to $125 bn in reserves and wonders why a small bit can't go to him to help offset the inevitable inflation. Economics and public policy is not that easy, and frankly, there will always be dissent in any country. The thing is, while other countries accept dissent, Asian countries in general seem to abhor dissent, and focus on Confucian "harmony". Bullshit.

There will always be dissent. But whether dissenting voices are heard, and whether they influence government policy is another discussion altogether.

Think about the 60s, when the US was embroiled in Vietnem, when Muhammed Ali was against the draft, when there were mass protests in the Universities. Now, I think the students are realised - the government does what it does without giving a shit about what you think. They think they know best, we think we know best, what gives?

So Singapore, loosen up, let the dissenting voices be heard. We all feel better that way, and continue to do the job. Dissent is essentially a "complaint department" of the country, and who doesn't know what Singaporean's favourite hobby is? You say democracy doesn't work, and thus it hasn't been tried out. Well, one day, if the Worker's Party leader Sylvia Lim doesn't screw up as big as Dr. Chee has, then Singapore would be a Bi-party state, and frankly, I would like that to happen - if only to give ordinary Singaporeans a platform to voice their dissent.

Until they realise the government doesn't give a damn to what you think:)

P.S. I'm not participating in Partisan Politics, just expressing my viewpoints on Political Theory and Social Thought =p

lip
ranting

The Government screws up again.

And so we read mr brown's column in TODAY newspaper and a press secretary for MICA (the Ministry of Information, Communication and the arts, Ms. K BHAVANI, drafted a reply that accuse mr brown of being a "partisan player" in politics.

Some quotes:

Our IT plans are critical to Singapore's competitive position and will improve the job chances of individual Singaporeans. It is wrong of mr brown to make light of them.

Lemme see, I know of a few dads who are out of jobs precisely because they went into the IT industry. Furthermore, I'm assuming this was in reference to mr brown's satire about the cashless system embedded in our bodies, which we know is HUMOR. and frankly, if the government screwed up once by asking as to go into the IT sector, they might screw up again. (Biotech sector anyone?)

I've been doing Swiss Market Research, and Singapore is NO WHERE CLOSE to where the Swiss are, and they have hundreds of patents, hundreds of GLOBAL players in the Biotech industry. e.g. Novartis, Phonak and they have Technopark Zurich, Technopark Winterthur, Technologiezentrum Linth and Schaffhausen Industry and Technology Center.

We have autocratic Philip Yeo and Biopolis. Score Switzerland 1, Singapore 0.

Furthermore, that comment on mr brown's autistic daughter is totally insensitive and totally CRAP. I know, these Civil Servants are likely to be PSC scholars, who have no EQ, who skip army and who think they own the whole world. You know what? You are wrong. You may have a high IQ that places you in the top 1% of the world when you are primary 6, but when it comes to the age of 36, the ability to get along with people matters more than how fast you can calculate and how much about the universe you know.

I understand where the government is coming from, with the need to raise living costs and at the same time, maintain its competitiveness in the world AND at the same time, make sure Singaporeans are not left behind. But the action of 1 civil servant just serves to highlight how high handed and how self-righteous these government officials can be. Being a future public servant, I'm ashamed.

And to think my CEO just joined the PAP. No contest in the East elections of course, but mark my words, the younger batch of Singaporeans are fed up with the PAP and LKY style politics. We are educated in the ways of Arendt, Polanyi, Hayek, and other Political Theorist. We have the education and we are not afraid to challenge the government, because the world is our oyster.

So to convince these Singaporeans to stay, these intellectual bourgeosie, and to drive the economy into the 21st century, well, it is time to take a look at the management of the country, to see if the executive is responding to the people's needs, and to be more democratic (which DOES NOT EQUAL CHAOS), and less high handed.

Until then.

lip
ranting

Michigan Football Movie

lip
ranting

How Happy I Am

You Are 92% Happy

It's unlikely that you know anyone happier than you. You know how to be happy, no matter what life throws at you.

How Happy Are You?

Your Love Style is Pragma

You believe love is logical - or at least it should be You've thought a lot about what you want from someone And to say you have a checklist would be an understatement You may even have a plan for how you will fall in love All you've got to do is meet the perfect person!

What's Your Love Style?

ranting

Dr. M Speaks

And we have comments like:

"Bring it on Malaysia!"
"bomb singapore?does he have the guts?or should i say the brains?"

Come on. It's a joke. But then again, if MM Lee made such a joke, we would be embarrassed too. And frankly, my respect for a prominent politician and great ex-leader of Malaysia has just gone down.

lip
ranting

Fuck Switzerland

Why must your damn National Languages be GERMAN, FRENCH, and ITALIAN?!!!!

And all the data I need is in those 3 languages.

Go Google translation software.

Sigh.

lip
ranting

Switzerland Market Report

So here I am slogging away at my Swiss Market Report, due at the end of the internship. Some interesting facts I have learnt thus far:

1) Switzerland has the world's 7th highest GDP Per capita.

2) Switzerland is known for watches, machinery, biotechnology and finance.

3) Switzerland has nice mountains.

4) Switzerland's capital is Bern.

5) Switzerland is probably the best example of direct democracy - citizens vote on everything - from whether the minister should wear white, or whether the country should join the EU.

6) Which brings me to the interesting point that Switzerland is probably the closest example to Marxist communist model today. I'm talking about the real Marx, not Maoism, Stalinism, Leninism or other forms of "suppresive" politics in the world.

I should probably do International Studies, or Politics. I loved my course in Social Sciences, maybe I'll do an intro to IS course to see how much politics I actually like.

Then again, I hate the nitty gritty details of politics, and frankly, all you have to succeed in Politics in SG is to be called a Lee and wear white.

Hey! I've already done that:)

lip
ranting

Absolut 2006

It's just not happening.

UChicago organises a party every year for incoming US students (OMG, I'm using the word incoming, i'm actually feeling pretty USified)... and this year, my batch has not risen to the occasion and done anything of not yet.

Shahidah is now the one running the show, and of course, with our supposed chairman and social chair running off to Thailand. Then again, I ran off to Frankfurt, so let's not invoke the pot/kettle/black argument.

And Kenneth is in Chicago, Calvin is in Chicago, Huiling is in Chicago, Huiying is i-dunno-if-she-wants-to-be-in Chicago. Thong Kai is touring Europe with his girlfriend.

That leaves, Ivan, Shahidah, Kaval, Yikley and Waikeong.

Let's see, who do we have now? No one!

Kudos to Shahidah though. I'm doing absolutely (pardon the pun) nothing at all.

lip
ranting

Exercise

It has come to my attention that my physique, though nothing to shout about, is becoming even more "nothing to shout about".

I attribute this to American food, and Bartlett dining hall. You always talk about the Freshman 15. (For the uninitiated, it is the 15 pounds you CONFIRM CHOPSTAMP GUARANTEED put on on your first year in college.)

My roommate happens to be a wrestler, and so, we have a weighing machine in the bathroom.

I remember when I first went to Chicago, my bodyweight was 160 pounds. Or 72.7 kg.

Now, it is 170 pounds. 77.3 kg

A TOTAL FUCKING WEIGHT GAIN OF 4.6 KG.

My BMI used to be a respectable 21.7. Now it's a staggering 23.1.

Overweight is at 24.9, which is at 83-84 kg.

I think it is time to start my exercise regime again. I used to swim every week. OK YOU GOT ME! (blardy hell) .. change that to every MONTH. But I did go roller blading very often, especially with Sharleen in those days... and after that, I went running and blading alone.

I hate running, I love blading. Blading gives you the sense of speed, and you can get to Parkway and back in half an hour. Furthermore, it doesn't kill your knees. I MUST bring my god damn blades to Chicago with me.

And in the Winter, all thoughts of exercise just get thrown out of my head. Dammit.

Gone are the days I ran 2.4km in 9.15. Gone are the days I ran a marathon. Well, those days are going to be aim again, to exercise more, and to run the Chicago Marathon. (shit, I MISSED THE REGISTRATION DATE) -oh, apparently there's a registration cap of 60000 runners. Dammit. I want to RUN!

Looks like I have to persuade my ice skating gf to start blading:), if not, I will just go blading every Sunday along Lake Shore Drive alone. And the exercise regime will start now!.

Shit. Did 100 push ups. I'm too tired to type. Bye

lip
ranting

Chicago Sears Tower Plot

And so the terrorists have decided to blow up Chicago Sear's tower after bringing New York's WTC to the ground in 2001.

If they had succeeded, it would make 2 in the family who have seen skyscrapers go down in America, after my Mum's Manhatten trip in 2001.

This shows us that we still live in a dangerous world, where the rules of terror are becoming more and more... fluid.

Then again, it may just be an intelligence mistake by the US government, which wouldn't surprise me.

lip
ranting

Video Broadcast

Video Quality Kinda Sucks. I used DivX Compression. Anyone can suggest a better compression?

lip
ranting

New Creative Webcam

And so I bought a webcam.

:) And I bought Creative. Bad CHOICE. It took almost an hour to set up the damn camera with all the drivers... But the result is one very happy girl, one amused sister and mum, and a very very angry boss.. ooops.



Balls to you!





lip
ranting

Cool Mums

6/20/2006		8:06:24 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		hello
6/20/2006		8:06:24 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		who is this new girlfriend?
6/20/2006		8:06:37 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		smth like that
6/20/2006		8:06:39 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		haha..
6/20/2006		8:06:47 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		who
6/20/2006		8:06:55 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		girl la
6/20/2006		8:06:56 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		then?
6/20/2006		8:07:01 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		her name is wincy
6/20/2006		8:07:05 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		the artist i sent u the pictures of
6/20/2006		8:07:12 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		from where huh
6/20/2006		8:07:17 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		HK/SG
6/20/2006		8:07:19 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		lol.
6/20/2006		8:07:30 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		RGS RJC girl la
6/20/2006		8:07:35 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		good lah i am not objecting
6/20/2006		8:07:43 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		go for ti
6/20/2006		8:07:47 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		at least not black right
6/20/2006		8:07:48 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		ehh
6/20/2006		8:07:53 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		sounds like what sis would say
6/20/2006		8:07:59 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		how tall huh
6/20/2006		8:08:05 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		about ying's height
6/20/2006		8:08:06 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		1.7
6/20/2006		8:08:21 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		nice
6/20/2006		8:08:21 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ok lah approve
6/20/2006		8:08:45 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		...
6/20/2006		8:08:47 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		need u to approve one meh
6/20/2006		8:08:48 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		haha
6/20/2006		8:09:02 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		i think she'll earn more than me in the future though
6/20/2006		8:09:05 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		if i'm stuck in IE
6/20/2006		8:09:06 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		but take it easy this time huh
6/20/2006		8:09:07 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		sian
6/20/2006		8:09:09 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		duh*
6/20/2006		8:09:32 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		be positive lah

6/20/2006		8:09:59 AM		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		ling-		she wants to learn drawing from u hahaha..
6/20/2006		8:10:24 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		good good
6/20/2006		8:10:50 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		next time i probably have studio
6/20/2006		8:10:50 AM		ling-		Lip Jin: Frankfurt		she can paint too

Imagination

My imagination has been running kinda wild since ermm.. this morning. It's amazing how I can be so obsessive about a single thought. You can call it "single-mindedness" in a euphemistic sense, or rather, I might just have OCD. You never know:).

And yeah, I realise I can't take stress on stress's own terms. I can stay calm, but at the same time, I just want to get my plate cleaned up and all the excess annoyances done with. I think I thrive under stress, but then again, I prefer not to be stressed out.

And the gf sure knows me well. ARGHH... =p. And I realise that many of my closer friends know me very very well too, from my idiosyncracies to my penchant for moodiness and general idiotic-ness.

Sigh. Phone bill is going to be $600 bucks this month. Fuck.

P.S. Some people are Java idiots. I hate it when Firefox crashes due to a Java Error.

lip
ranting

Working in Frankfurt

Somehow, I feel that working in a Govt Agency is sooo... Boring.

It's all paperwork, and it's about mixing and matching, and looking through databases, and creating opportunities for firms to talk to each other.

Problem is, if the firm itself is looking to internationalise, it should already have it's own resources and it's own drive in looking to internationalise. Oh well. So what we are doing is just... ermm.. paperwork.

Kinda sad.

lip
ranting

I need a webcam

lip
ranting

Cooking and Buying Groceries

With much difficulty over the past week, I finally managed to find myself the Kaufhof - or in English - a supermarket.

And an egg in this Supermarket is Super expensive - 33 cents. Which works out to around 66 cents in SGD. Awesome.

Thank God for a Lebensmittel (a smaller supermarket) near my place, and now I have to figure out where the hell to get washing detergent from, because I didn't find anything in the Kaufhof - or maybe, it wasn't in the food section.

Talking about food, I've decided to subsist on peanut butter and bread for my entire stay in Frankfurt, until I looked at the receipt and saw that Erdnusscreme - Peanut butter - costs €2.99 for 350g. Which wouldn't last me for a week. Ouch. And Bread costs €1.29. double ouch.

Compared to a Bratwurst for €2.50 and a coke for €1.30, I think I'll have to survive on Peanut Butter and Bread.

Dad, send money.

lip
ranting

WM 2006

Which by the way, stands for World Cup in Deutsch.

People have been asking me how Frankfurt is like. Frankly, (pardon the pun), rather boring.

Here's why: Although it's the World Cup, firstly, I'm not all that interested in soccer, and secondly, it's boring to watch soccer without friends. Being in Frankfurt alone just means you have to find things to do on your own, and after awhile, that becomes kinda tedious. Sigh.


Fressgas - the "eating street" of Frankfurt.


My quiet little Esslinger Strasse - Outside my window.

Oh! And I managed to cook my self-recipe dish. After buying luncheon meat, eggs and sprouts, well, I managed to cook myself a delicious noodle dish!



1) Boil noodles with sprouts
2) Fry egg with luncheon meat
3) Fry noodles with egg and luncheon meat
4) Add oyster sauce.

Tada! Cooking by myself never seemed so... satisfying:)

Trying to persuade the girlfriend to come Frankfurt:) haha. Poll the audience here: Who thinks if 4th of July is a Tuesday, that everyone should take leave on Monday 3rd of July? Comment! :)

lip
ranting

Frankfurt!

Life in Frankfurt is great. I'm having loads of fun, and the people in the office are nice, and most importantly, IT'S THE DAMN WORLD CUP!

But then again, by the time the matches end, I'm already back in my apartment:). Oh well.

Just a peek into my life.




My little room in 11 Esslinger Strasse, Frankfurt.




My office, with my window seat and my own research corner. I'll be doing market research on Austria and Switzerland, I think:)



The office when empty. 2 cubicles for Annette and Elena, and the office for Tim. =)

lip
ranting

In Frankfurt

Short post, because my internet here costs around $2 euro for 15 minutes.

1) In Frankfurt, lugguage with all my business stuff inside still in London. I have no shirt. I shall report to work on Wednesday now. Maybe I'll pop by Hugo Boss and get a shirt. Hugo Boss store is just beneath my workplace.

2) Missing my girl in Chicago. It's an awesome summer with World Cup and Internship, and just an important piece missing in the puzzle.



Back together in SG in 9 weeks time. Sigh. It's always the distance. Why why why?!?!?

:) To hell with popular opinion, because what you think doesn't matter to me. (Actually it does, so please don't think bad thoughts:)

3) HANXUE!!! My damn wireless router. Please!

And yes, it's true.

lip
ranting

A look back

1 year on, and I'm done with 1 year in Chicago. I'm off to Frankfurt on Sunday, and I'm finaly done packing my life into little boxes.

Packing is such a bitch, especially when you have bought so much stuff over the past 8 months you kinda forget how hard it is to bring everything back. I came here with 3 suitcases, and I leave with 15 boxes and 3 suitcases. Talk about consumerism.

Meanwhile, my collection of junk has increased. (weighing scale anyone?) and I also have an ironing board, and various little things that make your life convenient and you don't really care about until you start moving them. Then they suddenly increase in mass and bulk, till all you can do is curse and swear.

I'm excited for Frankfurt, but I leave Chicago with a sense of ... loss I guess. But then again, we will have to lead our own separate lives again, till the day comes when we are back together.

Cheers. it's 2 am, I'm done packing, having a car is just GREAT (though everyone clamors to use it, I get first option though:). Life is just awesome.

See you later, Chicago.

lip
ranting

Car Problems Part 3

And so my car is gone yet again.

Yes. The battery died. I tried jump starting it, it died after I switched off the engine. Then it died in the middle of the road while on the way to the mechanic.

Thank god for Brian and Alex who helped me all the way. Thanks to Adela, Ming and Jason too, who helped me through this shitty period of car troubles.

A car is just like a gf, after a break down, or a break up, you need your friends beside you to recover.

Thanks all. I'm just so lucky to have friends.

lip
ranting

A Look Back.. Reflections from a 2LT

Taken from one of my archives: Reflections from week 7 of EOAC. EOAC is the Engineer Officer Advanced Course, where we are prepared for higher level positions during our reservist days. I think EOAC has played a huge part in my motivation for learning, and in Uchicago, some of the motivation is lost. Perhaps it is time to find out what really motivates me to learn, to find out more about myself, and to conduct myself in a social way, without sacrificing moral dignity and integrity.

****************************************
REFLECTIONS WEEK 7

This week is the last week of EOAC. Having gone through 4 exercises and currently undergoing the 5th and final exercise, I have decided to reflect on what has happened these 7 weeks. I regularly jot down notes on my PDA, reflecting on them afterwards and providing a good source for the weekly reflections. So here, I present my points of reflection and of learning for the entire EOAC.

1. Learning has taken place when we are given time and space to absorb and reflect.
This point is actually taken from CPT Tan Han Siang (39 S2) on the illumination board. Often during the course, we are bombarded with information and regularly are expected to cough up detailed information at crucial moments (e.g. number of doctors in BCS, size of BSA etc.) Also, given the fast paced nature of the course, we are given very little time to absorb and “feed-forward” what we have learnt from the previous exercise. Given more time and space, I feel that we would be able to give a better account of ourselves during the exercises.

2. Presentation skills are critical to projecting your knowledge.
We may know and understand our plans entirely; however most of us are unable to present our knowledge well. The outcome of this is that we may know and understand, but we may not SEEM that we understand. This is congruent with my point at the beginning of the course, where I stated that knowledge is giving the instructors what they want to hear. I still stand by my statement, for the basic mission of an instructor is to make the trainee understand. We are better off regurgitating answers we already know then to go through the process of finding the answers ourselves. In short – reverse engineering would be beneficial if the answer to the question is undisputable, as are most answers in EOAC.

3. Give information as and when required to SPECIFIC audience.
There is a crucial difference between presenting to instructors, presenting to peers and commanding and ordering our soldiers. We are expected to present model answers during our presentations to our instructors, however, we must realize in a real situation, the best we can do is only to give the best plan we can come up with during a limited time frame. No matter how hard we try, we can never come up with the perfect plan for the instructors – there will always be holes in our plans, no matter how miniscule. After all, the basic job of the instructor is to play devil’s advocate to the trainees. In the name of improvement, this has to be done, but balance must be struck in combusting a plan and praising the good aspects. A plan can be 80% solid, but too much focus on the 20% not-as-good aspects can really dampen a student’s morale.

4. Visualize and have a clear picture prior to giving a presentation.
This has to do with presentation skills and understanding of your own plan. Many times in the course, the plan is an amalgam of different people’s ideas and thinking. There is a huge challenge in understanding the different points of views and presenting all of it as your own plan. I find that holding an OC appointment in exercises is more of a team leader in directing everyone to collate information and ultimately to formulate your own ideas around the framework provided.

5. Process VS Product. Learning Journey VS Outcome
There is often a struggle between wanting to achieve the outcome quickly (the product) and going through the steps in sequence (the process). I tend to be impatient and go for the product as fast I can. Often I would miss out certain information, but mostly I am able to reverse engineer the process (rationalize the plan). The drawback to this is that many of my peers discount this as cheating. My response is that the end state is more important than the process; the end is more important than the means. I firmly believe in results, and the process to obtain the result can be placed at a lesser priority.

A point: I still firmly believe in the ends. However, not all ends justify the means; no amount of evil will make the end a "good".

6. EOAC has many different personalities, and every one has gained maturity and experience since OCC, allowing greater appreciation of the course.
The diversity of the trainees is greatly reduced in 53 EOAC, being an all NSFs course. Plus points include being totally engrossed in the work (due to fewer influences and also understanding each other very well since our cadet days together. There is a bond in the course forged since 03/03 EOCC. Antics happen everyday, and the atmosphere is very relaxed since no one really needs the top trainee to further their career. The drawbacks include not having the diversity and experience in the course, as CO 30 puts it “The blind leading the blind.” This has placed more emphasis on the instructors to teach many basic issues and knowledge to us. Kudos goes to the instructors for doing that well.

I also feel that with new maturity gained from 1 year of ground experience, everyone is subtly different since OCC days. There is a greater appreciation of NS and the national service requirements. The greater hope is for the infusion of this spirit into our men during our tours in ICT.

7. Instructors should not impose their system of beliefs or mnemonics on us; rather help us develop our own competencies and principles.
This point came about as I felt the instructors are trying too hard to impose their own tools and thinking methods onto us. Among the 4 instructors, there is disagreement and different schools of thoughts. Everyone should recognize that we all have our own beliefs and our own methods of thinking. The thinking tools and “fishing rods” are a good exposure, but we all should be given the chance to formulate our own mental maps and choose which tools we want to utilize. There is no point in forcing everyone to utilize MTEOT, OAKOC, MAP, ASK etc etc. These are useful tools, but everyone has their own mnemonics, their own systems and their own choices. Having our own choice to make is what makes us inherently human. Ultimately, S3 35 said it best; to take away what we understand from the course, and leave the rest behind. Everyone has different points of views on situations, and as I like to say, we can only “Agree to disagree” on many issues in life. There is no black and white, only shades of grey in everything we do.

Finally, I would like to sum up the course with quotes over the 7 week period. Here they are, from the gems to the profound, from the inane to the explicit. For your enjoyment, please.

“I agree with both of the first three people…” –Yongtong

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be” –Douglas Adams

“Wise men thinking alike, fools seldom differ” –Proverb

“Live life as though everyday is your last day…” – CO SOCE

“As a military officer, your actions in the field will show your guiding principles…” – CO SOCE

“We tend to perceive what we expect to perceive” –Int. Analysis by Hanting

“Put your plan into writing; prevents mistakes from falling through the cracks” –MAJ Michael

“When you see what you think, you know what you lack. Externalize your thoughts.” –Mr. Soh

“A good leader inspires his men to have confidence in him. A great leader inspires his men to have confidence in themselves.” –MAJ Low

“I wanted to be somebody, I should have been more specific” –NOBODY

“Your motivation for planning should be the lives of your men…” –MAJ Chang



51/03 OCC
03/03 EOCC
01/04 CBRDCC
53rd EOAC
2LT LEE LIP JIN
****************************************

And so... A chapter closes in my life. Till 2009 for my first ICT! 39 SCE!!!!! Chiong Sua in Gas Mask. Pride.

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ranting

Another Computer Crash

It has happened again. My computer has crashed.

Yes, this is the 2nd crash in a year. The last time, my hard disk died, this time, my OS had some start up problem. A few funny error messages and refused to start. Well, so I just reformatted my entire computer.

Turns out, I backup my university work regularly, so I still have all my readings and my lecture notes and my essays. However, I've lost all my pictures (those in Chicago and Europe) and all my music (which I need iPodsoft to recover, because most of it is in my iPod), and virtually all my programs.

Now I need
1) Microsoft Office XP (which I will buy from Campus Computing tomorrow. Surviving on Office 2003 from my roommate now)
2) Adobe Premiere Pro
3) Adobe Photoshop
4) Adobe Acrobat Pro
5) Nero
6) STATA (some statistic program)

I'm more pissed off over my missing pictures than anything else. Sigh.

P.S. Lucky I have Kenneth "warez" Goh around.

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ranting

Living Life Vicariously Through Others.

P.S. Memorial day sale is just horrible for my wallet. I blew $400 on Calvin Klein shirts, Dockers, Banana Republic and shoes. Then again, if I shopped on a normal day, it would have cost me $1.5k:)

So Cheerz! And off to work I go!

More Pictures.






I miss my cool friends from Singapore. It's amazing we are still close even though we are scattered around the world (Quote from Chan Lek on ZL's blog.)

Read about their cool adventures all over Europe! ZL's Blog and Kevin's Blog

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ranting

Perception

We often form opinions of people we never met, or have a fleeting impression of. We form impressions, opinions, we judge... And I know I have been on your weighing scale, and I have been judged to be either

a) A bastard, if you take me from a superficial level
b) A friend, if you know me.

And frankly, to those who judge before they know me, please don't, because I don't judge you. People matter too much to form barriers even before you have reached out a hand to know someone. It's America, the culture, the way of life... The self-centered mentality, that says I know best, I trust my own judgement, to hell with what you think.

Sometimes, judge less, feel more. You form your opinions of me based on what you know for less then a year, and with my interactions with people you know for a longer period of time. I say fuck you. If you can't see things from 2 perspectives, you already formulated your own selfish opinions.

Why am I writing this now? Frankly, because I'm sick and tired of what I hear sometimes. Seriously, if you want to spew shit about me, go take it somewhere else. Come say it to my face. And we'll talk.

Or maybe everything here is just a figment of my imagination now. I don't know. We know most people here from our time back in secondary school, JC and we have opinions formulated back then. People change. Give them a chance. Why hate? Why judge? Be open minded, be interested in personal relationships, and frankly, form friendships, and not acquaintances that say "How do you do.." and that's that.

Sometimes, I just want to be alone.

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ranting