Some people can be reall inconsiderate. It's 2:09 AM now, and I can hear Tommy and Minh screaming and yelling as if someone is being raped. But nobody is being raped. They are just having fun with their PS2. Not sure if Andrew is part of the gang bang as well, but the noise is much louder than the noise from the dancers who were learning how to count last week. Hope they shut up soon...

Rather uneventful days lately. Apart from Phoenix Fest last night, where the highlight of the event was Lord Long dancing to She Bangs (the Robert Remix). Also found out that some guys from Mech Engine race their F1 car at the car park nearby during the night. Shall try to catch a glimpse of it one day. Heard it is (*#$-ing fast. Claims to reach 100 kmh in 4 seconds. Is that fast or what?

"This is my domain!": a very suitable quote from an American Idol contestant...



Now, let's go through the interesting stuff in my room, shall we?

1. 15" LCD Samsung monitor. Yeah baby yeah. I like it. And yes, that's my blog on the screen. I have no life.
2. 14" Sony Trinitron TV. It's even smaller than my monitor. But it still delivers my doses of American Idol, soccer and Survivor.
3. A free fridge given by the makcik from Block 3 in my second year. Old, but hey, it still works. You should check out the ice compartment inside...
4. Where the slacker sits.
5. My T610 handphone.
6. My stack of notes that I need to study. Does not include my FYP readings, which is that white blotch on my table.
7. Bag from BAT which says "We challenge you". Erm, I pass.
8. Trainspotting poster. My motto.
9. Where the slacker retires for the night.
10. Look closely. See that brownish "thing". That was from tea. Yummy.
11. Delorean. Modified to be powered by rubbish instead of plutonium of course.
12. My CD player from 1998 that I use to listen to radio. When I listen to radio.

Coming up soon... (maybe), my FYP lab. Stay tuned.

Also, I am worth US$1,986,060.00

Watched the first half of Bayern vs Real Madrid, and it was obvious that Bayern was the much better side of the half. Too bad for them when I found out that they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid, who had a lot of chances to score own goals for Bayern.

Having slept at 430AM, I was happily woken up at 850AM by my PhD student to go to the lab to run tests. In a way, I was happy because I really wanted to settle these tests so that I can get this FYP done with. But, subconsiously, i wanted sleep! Took a half hour nap before rushing off to lab. By the way, my results came out sucky. Sigh.

Went to gym today after a... 3 month lay off. Was with people like Lord, Oli, Damien and Glenn. Very, VERY intimidating. So I stuck to the beginners corner and did simple 25 lbs weights, etc... while watching the rest do, hmm... 60kg weights. Yes... you can pick up your jaws from your bruised feet now. However, arms are killing me now. Had a really tough time trying to scrub my back while bathing. Da bian (u know who u are...), how man? Sakit...

Sign of old age maybe?

RH server crashed again... what else is new.

To all those who are at Table 8, aka my table for DND, PAY UP YOUR 45 DOLLARS NOW!

ChinYi just called to remind me about it. Oh... so THAT is how she sounds like....

Concept plan approved! Yes!!! Higher chance for graduation in two months...

Time to recap for this semester...

EE4408: Silicon Device Reliability

Midterm on the 1st of March. Time to study. Who understands EOS/ESD Human Body Model etc?? Help!!!
I don't understand what the new lecturer is talking about... Help!!!

CN4223: Thin Film Technology

Better buck up. Reality hit home when we were going through our tutorials today and I realized I was trying to understand half of the answers only. Help!!!

EG1401: Law

Time to read up. Been slacking too much. Help!!!

EE4001:

H.E.L.P.!!!!!

Question: How do you tell that you should be studying?
Answer: When 19 of your MSN contacts are on busy mode.

STUDY TIME!

After the death of my Nike sandals, it is time for a new one. Reluctantly of course. Thanks to FatBoySlim... so, decided not to go for style, and instead, to go for the basics. Got a Teva 50 dollars sandals in the end. Cheapest one around also. Not as uncomfortable as my old Nike, but, it works.

The Germany soccer jersey looks quite nice. But it costs 80 bucks for it. And if I want a name behind it, like Ballack, it would be 120 dollars. A 50% increase for the name. Forget it. I'll rather get 4 Billabong t-shirts instead.

Had a photoshoot of my old second year class today after law lecture. Actually supposed to be taken by an Engine Club rep, but I think it will take forever for them to reach our class. So, we took our own picture, with my trusty digital camera, and here they are...





And here is a picture for the guys out there... courtesy of our opportunist photographer.... CENSORED. For privacy sake, hehe. Don't wanna embarass him. Yes, it's a him.

Just found out that Ah Joo didn't get picked for IVP Takraw. To get past all the strategy talk, politics and crap, all I can say is "Such is life". I can understand why he is pissed. Almost everyday, I see him walking around like an old man, legs aching, being whacked here and there, skipping lectures, coming back late from trainings... and he got relegated to a linesman. He has decided not to go for trainings or for the IVP games.

I say... YEAH, SCREW THOSE MO'FO!

Reminds me of hockey... same thought went through my mind then.... SCREW THOSE MO'FO!

Hmm still not reply from the company I went for interview 2 weeks ago. And after all the applications and talking at job fair, prospects don't look too good for me.

NOBODY WANTS ME!!! BOO HOO!!!!!

I must remind myself not to let all my clothes pile up, and iron them all at once. I just spent 1 1/2 hours ironing all my clothes! That is about 15 shirts and t-shirts. My knees almost died.

Time for a rest. Phew!

deekay Feeder Goldfish Agility 8 | Strength 10 | Stamina 4 Battle Rating 22 Origins deekay was purchased at a national chain Pet Super-Store Can your fishy beat deekay ?

I don't know what it is, but everyone seems to have it, so I MUST HAVE IT TOO!

There are two guys in Block 6 practising their dance moves. Maybe they don't realize it, but when it's at night, it is very quiet. And I bet the entire Block 5 can hear them counting. Congratulations. They can count to 8. We are convinced. Now shut up!

You are the grammar Fuhrer. All bow to your
authority. You will crush all the inferior
people under the soles of your jackboots, and
any who question your motives will be
eliminated. Your punishment is being the bane
of every other person's existence, because
you're constantly contradicting stupidity.
Everyone will be gunning for you. Your dreams
of a master race of spellers and grammarians
frighten the masses. You must always watch your
back. If only your power could be used for good
instead of evil.


What is your grammar aptitude?
brought to you by Quizilla

More updates on the PhD student... on Monday evening, on my way to class, I waited for the lift at the ground floor of E4A. When the doors opened, out she came. She saw me, mumbled a "hi", and looked back on the ground before scooting away. Even Oliver said she looked scared to see me. Am I really that scary? Maybe she thinks I'm stalking her. Please, if FYP were ungraded (yeah right), I won't even bother.

Seems that encountered hit the right chord in her. Today, went to look for her at her office, and after 2 weeks of trying, she dropped out of the sky and plonked in her seat. And not only that, she was so nice as to compile the results we obtained in Excel format, as well as some RAW format files that I need to extract. Hmmm... I think I still have some work left, hope to do some tomorrow. And leave with one big chunk next week. That should be the last thing to do.

Revamped my resume to be ready for the Job Fair. Tried to cut down to two pages, but even removing all my secondary school ECAs won't help. It's stuck at 2 1/2 pages. I guess it's still acceptable.

My toe nail is starting to bulge. Signs that it is going to come out. Also, the skin is detaching itself from the nail. Hmmm... very interesting sight indeed. Even after witnessing this amazing phenomenon for the umpteenth time.

Some new updates about DND pageant. The guys and girls lists are out: for the hunks, we have Aaron, Lord Long, and two other insignificant first years. For the girls, we have Puisan, Meiyi and Adele. Last I heard, we are still short of one girl. Lord Long being picky over who he will catwalk down the isle with I guess. And why is there only one final year? My batch can't be THAT bad, right?

Thesis writing has come to a sudden halt. Just ran out of steam suddenly. Can't get myself to start writing the chapter on past research. Studying SDR is also a headache. Especially the chapter on Hot Carrier Effects. Sheesh. Nothing seems to be getting in. And worse still, after checking the past year papers, I found out that there were NO FORMULA LISTS! So, we are going to do the memorizing game again.

Was speaking to SIEF about the job market. Apparently, microelectronics industry is picking up. Economist Eric Choo agrees too. However, he says stay away from computers and consumer electronics. Consumer electronics... that's just about everything. Anyway, heard that some of our seniors are working at SIA as aircraft engineers. Interested in that. Only thing is that I will have to go for yet another four year training course, where I will be given an allowance of around S$1,300 a month. Hmmm... 1300 will be a bit tight. And for four years. But, still worth considering. Only problem is if they will want me.

Staring my at DeLorean now... it's starting to gather dust. Gotta dust the bonnet, wing doors, the interior, the flux capacitor...

Still no sign of my PhD student. I'm getting really impatient now...

Anyway, yesterday went for a karaoke session at Clementi. First time in four years. The place is quite new, and the songs are quite good also. My only complaint is that they had only two songs by Robbie Williams: Eternity and Better Man. Went there with Junda, Yee Seng, Wanying and Jinsheng. But we were joined by Yvonne and Wanying's friend, Alvin later on, while Yee Seng went to the airport to pick up his girlfriend.

Oh yes... Jinsheng's favourite song: Michael Learns To Rock - 25 Minutes.

hug from behind - you like to feel what the other
person is feeling and see things how they see
them. you tend to be serious and emotional.


What Sign of Affection Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I am now officially the weakest guy in Raffles Hall after losing to Eric Choo in armwrestling. How embarassing. And in front of everyone during tea. Never mind, at least I can safely say I was a match against him in soccer. So much for a deft left touch huh? Haha!

HnF Day just ended with a supper, where we had an arm wrestling royal rumble. Avneesh was easily the undisputed champion for arm wrestling. He was beating the likes of Shaun, Heshan, Eugene, Glenn, Damien and Aaron even after so many rounds. Haflway through, Prem yelled out for me to go against Joanne Lee. Hmm... I think I would have lost...

I was in my room last night just back from lecture, and just had a nice bath at around 10pm. Was reading up on stuff that I was supposed to know, since I studied them last semester. But as usual, everything was given back to the lecturer.

Anyway, Fear No. 1 dropped by and asked if I could follow him to the hospital cos the takraw ball hit him in the eye. Was quite red also, so I thought ok, why not. Brought some notes to read since I know that it will be about an hour wait for the doctor. But, when we got there, the nurse said that it would be FOUR hours of waiting to see the doctor. Considering the fact that NUH is privatized, I was expecting better service than this. I think it is almost as bad as some government hospitals in Malaysia. So no choice, had to wait. So we were chatting and then decided to have dinner at kopitiam. Without his contacts, Fear No. 1 was as blind as a bat. He thought that the cover for a container to pack chilli sauce was the saucer for keeping chilli. And apart from that, some other blur moments from him. We were talking to kill time, and I didn't even touch my notes. But I found out that he was also in St Johns last time before coming over. And we were talking about some funny and gross moments when he was on hospital duty and me on North-South Highway duty. Just when I was going to die of boredom, luckily the TV was switched to ESPN! And all the while we were watching The Days Of Our Lives...

After arriving at 11pm at NUH, he finally went in to see the doctor at 3AM. Found out that the doctor was from RH before. Was the same guy that David Tai was telling me about before. JCRC, Phoenix Editor, Committee person of the year, and a medicine student. Wow. After seeing the doc, Fear No. 1 had to remove the contacts from the other eye. So, now he is really blind. When a nurse called him from a distance, he thought it was another nurse and went up to her instead. I don't know if it was coincidental, but the nurse he approached was younger, and better looking. Haha. Guys instincts. Luckily I was around at that time, or else Fear No. 1 will be walking back blind.

Reached back to my room at 4:15AM. Had a quick shower, and zonked out for the night.

Today, interview time. Arrived 50 minutes too early. Sigh... so I bummed around there and read some papers before I got called in. Didn't seem like an interview to me. No technical questions, and most of the talking was done by the interviewer. Explaining to me the job scope, what to expect, how the company started out. Wrapped everything up in 40 minutes. Okay, been a long day. Time to sleep.

9AM lab tomorrow morning. Fun fun fun!

Anyone remembers Dungeons and Dragons? Try this out:

I Am A: Lawful Neutral Human Fighter Paladin


Alignment:
Lawful Neutral characters believe in the triumph of law and order above all else. It does not matter whether the leader is for good or evil; the leader will be followed, because the order they provide is the most important thing.


Race:
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.


Primary Class:
Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn't to say that they aren't intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.


Secondary Class:
Paladins are the Holy Warriors. They have been chosen by a God/dess to be their representative on Earth, and must follow the code of that deity, or risk severe penalties. They tend towards being righteous, but not generally to excess.


Deity:
Helm is the Lawful Neutral god of guardians and protectors. His followers believe in vigilance and preparedness, and are always ready for whatever confronts them. They wear plate mail, sometimes with gold embossing, with an open eye set into the breastplate, and an open-faced helmet. Helm's symbol is an open eye in a gauntlet.


Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

And I get 3/11 correct! Thank you Justin Timberlake for making 2 out of my 3 correct predictions. Hehe.

And the sound engineer for the Grammys is in deep trouble after screwing up Celine Dion's performance.

After all the hype about teams like handball and takraw bringing us the gold, the team that actually delivered the gold is an unexpected and under-rated team: softball. Good work guys.

And I better say some positive words about takraw, in case I get screwed. Haha. Overall, I think we did well. A few nerves at times, but overall, we did everything according to the textbook. Best comeback was the second regu against TH, where we came from 18-11 down to win 22-20. What a heart attack. This kind of stress we can do without, guys. Haha. But, after scraping through against Eusoff, I guess our luck just ran out against TH. After winning the first set so convincingly, I had some slight hope that we were going to wrap it up. Indeed, even a takraw ball is round.

Overall, it was a thrilling game all the way to the finals. Better luck next year...

And here are MY winners of the upcoming Grammy Awards. Mine, not the panel's.

1. Record of the Year: Where Is The Love - Black Eyed Peas & Justin Timberlake "Nipplegate"
2. Album of the Year: Justified - Justin Timberlake "Nipplegate"
3. Song of the Year: I'm With You - Avril Lavigne
4. Best New Artist: Evanescence with 50 Cent a close 2nd.
5. Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Dido - White Flag
6. Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River
7. Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Matchbox Twenty - Unwell
8. Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals: Christina Aguilera & Lil' Kim - Can't Hold Us Down
9. Best Pop Vocal Album: Justin Timberlake - Justified
10. Best Dance Recording: Kylie Minogue - Come Into My World
11. Best Female Rock Vocal Performance: Michelle Branch - Are You Happy Now?

Please note that some of my choices are due to my limited musical knowledge. So I might not know all the other nominees. Hehe.

Had McDonalds breakfast this morning after law tutorial. Not very filling. That's enough McDonalds breakfast for this semester then.

It's time to move on...

Eric sent me a website from Sheares Hall, showing a flash presentation of their soccer team to encourage Shearites to go down and support them this evening in the game against RH. From there, we went into quite a long discussion about how RH is in the state it is in now.

From my humble point of view, I would like to say that there are several activites that we can EASILY do without. What is the point when we have a committee with half-baked members producing half-baked results? Some activities are totally redundant, while some can be merged with other activities to form just one activity. And here are the nominees for extinction, in no particular order:

1. External Affairs Liaison (EAL)

What do they do anyway? I think a few years back, they were in charge of Rhazzmatazz. Now, the question is "What Rhazzmatazz?" Or is it something that happens once every two years? So, what does EAL do in between? Get free points? And here it is, nominee number one: EAL

2. Computer Gaming

Outsiders who see this will think of this as a joke. The only stuff that I think they have done are to organize the Inter Block CS, Warcraft, bla bla... and set up servers for CS. I really don't know what to say about this... let's just scrap it! And point to note: this is a SPORT. Exercises your fingers...

3. Arts and Graphics (A&G)

If I am not mistaken, they are supposed to improve how the hall is by making it more pleasant to look at. Over the past years, we have seen really nice stuff like that mural behind Tasty Corner, the emblem at the stairs going up to the office, that big metal "thing" outside SCRC room, and the paintings in the "library". Since then, their job scope would be to make some abstract metal candle holder for formal dinners, or some origami for some funny occasion, and what have you. And more often that not, this sets a collision course between A&G and the organizing committee or the minor committee. If A&G doesn't do something really concrete, I say we scrap this crap. Hmmm it rhyhmes too!

4. Welfare Committee aka slaves aka waiters

I pity this committee: they are the most under-rated committee... EVER. They serve players with water, they wash up after suppers, they clean up the mess left by people at suppers... and they are hardly appreciated. So, I suggest that we scrape this, and let the other committees take care of their own mess. We don't need specialized waiters to serve drinks during IHG when each sport has a truckload of reserves sitting at the sideline, all ready to serve their first team players. Also, if committees can organize suppers, they can jolly well clean up their own mess. Also, with the mail sorting being done by the tyrant in the office, I guess the welfare committee can pack their bags now.

5. Raffles Hall Volunteer Corp (RHVC)

Seriously... do we need this? Fullstop.


There we have it, the five nominees. However, special mention must go to Store Committee and Archives Committee. Let's form a new committee called: Store and Archives Committee (SAC)! Archives is always complaining they don't have a proper room to store their stuff. Store has loads of space to offer. So let's just combine these two committees and instead of two half-baked commitees, we get a really efficient committee. Or so the theory goes.

Last weekend on our way to Clementi, Shaun said that the new OAC MM came up to him and asked "Does anybody in hall know how to get to Kota Tinggi?"

....

What I have suspect is true. If we break the trend in one year, that's the end. There is no continuity anymore. Last year, there was no Kota Tinggi trip. This year's MM notices that and, without asking, assumes that there is no such thing as a Kota Tinggi trip. Maybe the MM is too arrogant to ask seniors. Maybe the MM is too blur to know. Not just the OAC MM, but other committees as well. This year, we don't have a female volleyball team, I am betting that we won't have one next year too.

But then we come to the other side of the argument: Why bother trying to squeeze our hall and field a team when we just don't have players? Just look at KE7: no team? screw it. I like that attitude. What's the big deal about IHG? There are many other important things in life too. Like one of my friends in Eusoff hockey, a VERY influential and scary player, said "Sometimes, we have to put our priorities straight. IHG is not top of my list" when I asked how come he didn't go for IHG hockey this year. Obviously, CNY is higher in his list, as it is on mine. I guess what the volleyball team did was correct also, don't bother trying to form a team when we can't. However, the fact that this is happening is a sad sign of what is happening to RH: it is dying a natural death.

After four years here, I am beginning to question all this "Raffles spirit" talk that have been drilled into our innocent minds in first year. We didn't need this when I was in ACS(I), and I think we were more together back then than how things are now.

Ok, enough rambling. I'm getting old

Does anybody know if I can get a Singapore driving license using my Malaysian driving license? I heard something about if I take the theory test, then I don't have to take the practical test to get the Singapore license. But I also heard something aabout having to surrender my Malaysian driving license. Anybody knows anything?

Hmm, still no sign of my PhD student. Sent her two emails, no reply. Called her, she's not in. Did the ground open up and swallow her up? I hope so... Anyway, been keeping myself busy and fantastico! I have completed Chapter 1: Introduction for my final report! I hope there is enough smoke in there to totally knock out my supervisor and examiner cold.

After running with an empty stomach a few weeks back, I now know how it is like to run with food still in my stomach. Not just food, but, quite a lot of food. Feels worse actually. Point to note: Two hours after dinner is NOT enough. Make that three hours from now on.

Survivor on Monday, a breather on Tuesday, American Idol on Wednesday and Thursday, and Survivor again, tomorrow. I am NOT going to get any work done at this rate. Some guys are in a singing mood, and they are bring the roof down. GIVE ME BACK WILLIAM HUNG! At least he is better than these guys singing. Well, slightly better.

Speaking of "Hung", here is his website. There are true fans out there...

And with 32 contestants left, my favourite would be Matthew Rogers. Not only can he sing, but he has a good personality too.

Got a cough. Thanks to those who generously gave it to me.

Tucked myself into bed at 220AM last night. But somehow, could not sleep until around 3AM. Strange, that was the first time I could not sleep properly. Must have too many things on my mind.

Today's RH vs TH soccer match was something like Gillingham vs Chelsea. Amazingly, we managed to win 1-0. The goal was a bit of a fluke. But, who cares?!?! Man of the match was definitely Tweety, who single-handledly brought RH into the finals. I think we won because the final years were down. Yeah... has to be. And our Final Year Inter Block Games will be starting soon. Block Five will have yours truly, shaun, jinsheng, joo, sandhosh, long, joyshwin, and some others who may crash the team. Sorry joyshwin, but you will have to be second choice keeper to jinsheng. Haha.

Speaking of soccer, lots of transfer happening these few days. First, Reyes off to Arsenal. Then Paul Robinson will be moving to Tottenham with Jermain Defoe. Lualua is going off to Everton. Leeds is going to die, and along with Paul Robinson, I'm betting that Mark Viduka will be leaving too. Poor Leeds.

Jin Sheng came into my room a while ago, saying that he just wasted one hour. Curious, I asked why. All of a sudden, his face lit up, and started to talk enthusiastically about how he played the Star Wars game and how he has to replay one hour of the game because of a screw up. It's a wonder how the simple pleasures of life can really make one person's day...

I just rubbed salt on a big, irritating ulcer on my lower lip. Was expecting some excruciating pain, but then.. it never came. Ok fine fine, it was a bit painful, but not like the type of pain that I felt like... when I got hit on my toenail (ouch). Having finally done what I thought I was never able to do, I wonder what the big fuss is all about. Haha.