Today is the badminton day where the OG has been planning for about 2 weeks. We finally got a few people down to play badminton together for about 2 hours, and I have no idea why I’m getting lousier at the sport. I can’t seem to hit as well as last semester. It’s also a shorter duration. In the past we played for 3 hours straight.

After badminton I went for a short 2.4km run. It wasn’t fast and it wasn’t a good speed but at least I did the distance. 6 rounds round the school track. And then I went to bathe.

We then walked to the student lounge to slack and they were trying to decide where to go for the night. Nobody could make any decision as usual. Ended up they went to Bugis, and I just went to a duck rice stall to have a nice dinner before heading home. I think it is an interesting idea to drive out to find food at night. It’s a good way to destress and spend time with people too.

I’m super tired because of the run and badminton exercise today, so I’m going to sleep soon.

I love the bread with ham and cheese.

I had a wonderful day today. I enjoyed a small McDonald’s breakfast today and it is so cheap to buy it in school. Big Breakfast meal costs $4.50 only. The wonders of being a student. So many perks. I think the company is great. Enjoyable but short time spent on breakfast, and then I had to go to the lab to continue doing my work.

I didn’t manage to finish my lab yesterday and I was feeling real rotten about it. When I went there today, I worked really hard and within 3 hours, I have got it working properly less a hardware fault that I should probably rectify. So yes it is a great day since I manage to complete what I wanted.

I think the studying enthusiasm is starting to return and the engines are starting to turn too.

And my contact lens came off when I put eyedrops today. Stupid. Had to revert to specs and luckily nelson found one of my dropped lens. The other was on my hand. Thank God. I think I still have much to catch up in terms of lecture notes. Haha.

I love duck.

EE2001, something to be dreaded. It’s a project mod, only 3 hours a week (of lab), and its 6MCs. Which means you spend a lot of time working on the project, and it is not during normal hours. Which is why almost everyone of us can’t finish the mini project in a week. Not to mention that the software doesn’t run on Vista, else I could have done it in the comfort of our own home.

Now that the deadline has been pushed to Friday, I would then have to go tomorrow morning and try to solve the problem, failing which I will have to spend Thurs afternoon doing it and Friday morning. And then the dreadful presentation on Friday 11am, to get the 10% of CA marks that I think I deserve.

Not to mention that I have a whole lot of other things to do like catch up on EE2007 and EE3408. And assignments to hand in and the stupid EE2007 Mini Project next week too. The number of projects seem to increase. I guess the holiday mood has just died. It’s time to go back to full speed ahead to survive the semester.

It’ll be busy, it’ll be tough, but it’s the same as every semester and I will finish it and enjoy my one month holiday in December.

Yesterday was the first time that I attending the Natsu Matsuri. Natsu Matsuri is basically translated as summer festival, and it is a day where people all over Singapore go down to The Japanese Primary School @ Changi to look at a school fair. There are many people, guys included, wearing the yukata, or the kimono-look-alike meant for summer wear.

Before I went there, I had great expectations, but sadly I think I was too late. The queue was so long that when it nearly reached my turn for the okonomiyaki, it SOLD OUT. Gosh it’s like what I’m looking for. The other queues are so long too. I didn’t get to eat the food that I want. The udon, the okonomiyaki, the Japanese pancake Tayaki, takoyaki and many many other Japanese food! Omg I’m feeling so disappointed now because I didn’t get to eat. So very very disappointed.

We didn’t play the games too but just went to look at the performance and had a beef don shared amongst 4 of us. And I don’t think Natsu Matsuri is a good place for one to look at girls. It was a great place to listen to Japanese though, and I felt happy to be able to recognize a whole sentence. A little kid tugged his father and said “Onaka ga suita”. Which means “I’m hungry” or literally “Stomach is empty”.

I think everyone’s not very used to Natsu Matsuri yet, or maybe it wasn’t as enthusiastic, else it would have been more fun. The driving around was fun too. Haha.

At night we drove Mazin home, and the rest of us went to Bukit Timah for supper which was actually dinner because I didn’t get to eat the Japanese food that I wanted. *Curses and swears*

I still reached home about midnight. Overall it was a very nice experience, and I am glad that my friends accompanied me there and that they also are interested in Natsu Matsuri themselves. Next year, I’ll be there earlier and eat all the food!

I went to watch Up in 3D today with Hui Ying. We went to Vivocity to watch the movie since it’s the nearest to school because she has to go back for lectures at 4pm. I think it’s a good experience watching it in 3D, although the amount of 3D parts was actually very minimal.

I quite love Pixar’s animation movies. I like the love the old man has for his deceased wife. I like how he continued to persevere because of his wife’s dreams, and how he actually made it so that he fulfilled his wife’s childhood dream of going to South America. And it is so beautiful that the book his wife uses to record her “adventures” was in the end filled with photos of two of them living life from when they got married to when they became old. I like how she was happy to be living life with him, and that every single day can be an adventure even with simple events happening. And how wonderful it feels to be cherished.

After the movie we just walked around for a little shopping, and I really enjoyed myself even though I wasn’t buying anything for myself. There are so many shops selling girl clothing and there are so many clothes in each store. Shopping centres are really built for women! Haha.

There’s this nice fried veggie “cake” thing called Happy Veggie (iirc) and it tastes really nice with the chilli, even when I don’t really like vegetables. There’s no veggie taste at all. And she bought me a cream puff which I haven’t eaten yet. Reminds me of Zettai Kareshi since the girl is a pastry chef who makes delicious shuu cream (cream puffs).

Then on the mrt ride back to school, I got a delightful surprise. She got me this eye drops because she noticed that my eyes are always dry when I wear contacts in school after an extended period of time. I was super touched can? It’s a nice gesture that I really appreciate. She says she sees my eyes red until she feels uncomfortable looking at it. Haha.

After school the freshies and I went to Bukit Timah market for dinner and I tried the ONE TON mee. Ok la. It’s the wanton mee only. The expressways are so jammed at 6pm, it’s a chore to drive anywhere further. I didn’t manage to have enough stomach to eat the tau hway with tang yuan though. So very much wanted to eat it.

Although I didn’t do much today, I felt tired but enjoyable. It was a great day and I loved every minute of it.

私は　だんだん　あなたの事　が　大好き　です。いろ　いろ　ありがとうございます。

Every semester during the first few weeks, I’ll normally set myself some goals to attain for the coming semester. In the first semester of study in NUS, I wanted to aim for First Class Honours, so I went to aim for a 4.5. In subsequent months, I tried to push myself harder. In the 3rd semester I wanted to pull myself into First Class Honours category, and after I managed to do it, I got more motivated to push harder in the 4th semester.

In my 4th semester I tried to aim for a 5.0. It was the best time for me to try such a nearly impossible feat, in a way to prove to myself that I can do it. I had 5 modules and one of it I was intending to S/U. Although I didn’t need to in the end, I didn’t manage to get a 5.0. Even though I was nearly there, I felt really horrible because I didn’t get what I worked so very hard for.

I once told myself last semester that I won’t do it again. I won’t aim for a 5.0. A somewhat impossibility and there’s plenty of effort to put in. But come to think of it, once you attain a high standard, it makes no sense to aim for lesser. So this semester I’ll once again put in effort and try to get a 5.0, although I wouldn’t be too upset if I couldn’t get it. This time, it is just not so vital or important anymore.

I want to be able to balance my work and play. I want to be able to enjoy my university life. I want to be able to coach my friends to achieve the success they desire, to let them see that nothing is impossible. To let them feel hopes and dreams and that life is great because dreams can come true. To guide them and myself on the correct path as I search for my meaning of life.

I guess I want a whole lot more than result this semester. And I want to get it done.

Haven’t been actively blogging, and I guess I should really get used to spending some time detailing my thoughts down as the days progresses. I’m finally in my 3rd year of study at NUS and there’s only 2 more academic years to go before my commencement (graduation), and I’ll then be part of the working force, earning money and contributing to the economy. And I’ll be one step closer to all my dreams, which will come true.

I’m taking 6 modules again this time, the workload should be much heavier, but I’m sure I’ll be able to cope. I just need to find the balance and then make sure everything can fit into the plan. There’s just so much more to consider.

I’ve also been enjoying myself whilst studying. Just yesterday a few of the freshies and councillors went to watch GI Joe in the cinemas. Followed by more people joining and then dinner, games of pool and tau hway for supper. It was a fun and enjoyable outing and I think it’s the start of a great semester.

Don’t really have much time to continue. I want to sleep already.

あなたのこと　が　好きなんです。

So we decided that the Uniqlo website seems so nice that we wanted to go see for ourselves and maybe buy some stuff. I once saw the sandals that looked fabulous on the website. Or the blazer. Or the casual polo tee shirt.

In the end Uniqlo is just a lot of hype. It’s like an average casual clothing store. Some of the clothes are quite nice, but generally nothing to be so excited about. I didn’t buy anything, especially when the store is so crowded. I like to have lesser people crowding about and do my shopping. Haha.

After uniqlo we walked around in Ion.. Trying to find a hat for the ENGIN Bash in September, but I don’t know what type of hats are suitable. Plus it would be a waste really to not wear it after the Bash. But anyway I got a pair of sunglasses for fun. It’s a cheap one so it’s like a treat for working 2 weeks at NUH.

How do I look? Anyway I updated my facebook display photo. That photo looks a lot better in my opinion.

And we went for ice cream at the Level 1 ice cream place in Ion. In my opinion I prefer other ice cream outlets, although it may be considered “cheap” le for 3 flavours at $5.60. Venezia’s comes to mind when I think of other ice cream outlets.

Looks nice though. And don’t know why they give me 2 spoons. There’s no one to share it with. So sad! Hint hint. Haha.

Tomorrow’s the start of the school semester le. All the best to everyone and may we have a fun and mugging-field semester. Let’s all work together!

Today is the 44th Birthday of the country I was born in, the land where I toiled for 2 years trying to protect it, the place where I met new people and built friendships, the place which taught me my life’s greatest skills and experiences, the place where I got into and got out of relationships, growing along the way, becoming the person that I am now, Singapore.

Happy Birthday Singapore.

I think Singapore has been great for me. All the bad experiences became a learning point where I grew up and changed myself (hopefully for the better), which led me to greater experiences of my life. The turning point of my life was probably from Bukit Panjang Government High School, which I once felt a great dislike for it. However, it was the place which actually turned me around, so it has been a great place for me.

Life became great at NJC. I made my best friends in NJ and till this day, we never fail to have a mass conversation everyday if we’re online. I had my first academic success in NJ and I felt I belonged very closely in a CCA for the first time in my life. I was in Angklung where we spent countless hours practising for the numerous occasions, and spent time planning as a Treasurer in Exco. I also had my first long relationship. I had the best teachers and had a great time there.

Then National Service came. When you learnt that it was actually fun to get tekanned. BMT was just alright, going through the motion, and then getting sent to SISPEC. Going into BSLC was probably a blessing. Going into ASLC when I didn’t want to was also a blessing. Getting into Guards when I absolutely felt sian of going for another course (Guards Conversion Course) also became a huge blessing. It seems that when life pushes me into things that I didn’t want to, life became better. Becoming a section commander and a Guardsmen and then being selected as Assistant Platoon Sergeant was probably the best thing that happened in my life. The first time we all realized we were mad was that we actually smiled and enjoyed it when the CSMs keep doing this:

Too slow. Go up and change into Long 4 and come back.

Too slow. Go up and change into admin and come back.

And the cycle continues. It was in GCC and we were laughing when we went up the stairs. A mad burst of energy when we all actually felt happy to be together being whacked. Then going into Alpha and taking Platoon 1. Becoming a real section commander with 6 men. Becoming Rawdy company. Becoming Rawdy Brotherhood. When you can say the CB word in front of your fellow sgts and actually meant it as a name, and we all will reply smiling.

And it continues even when you ORD. You go back meeting your NS buddies and feeling great.

Then I got into NUS. Continue to pursue academic success for the sake of not wanting to regret not studying properly. And then my life changed again when my NS brother got me into Great Eastern Entrepreneurship Program. I changed my perspective and became a mini motivational coach (subconsiously) to some friends around me. I set my goals in life and pictured my life in the future. I changed a lot during this time, becoming more extroverted and possibly more matured.

And here I am now, happy where I am. Life has been a great long journey for me. A journey of experiences which make me appreciate life even more.

Thank you Singapore for being the place which made all these possible. Thank you for family and friends.

And I’ve come back from 6 days of ENGIN O Week 2009. I belonged in Geek House and Delta OG. The best house in ENGIN O Week 2009. I’m currently in the midst of uploading all the photos. Gmail is pretty active with many notifications on being tagged and photos being commented upon. It was a great 6 days of my life, and this time the freshies were more enthusiastic and they are mixing amongst themselves right from the start.

We went through a boring FIC (the councillors cannot go so stuck at McDonalds eating ice cream), then boring sponsorship talks, then flag day which was a little boring also, and then we came back on Wednesday and had fun till Saturday morning! We played games on Wed morning, War Games in the afternoon, night games at night where I couldn’t join since I’m one of the station masters. Then thursday where we had external hunt followed by Engin Got Talent at night. Then Friday was Sentosa and then Finale Night at PGP’s MPSH. Then we went to Mc Donalds at West Coast as an OG and talked and played and then we went back to ENGIN and didn’t sleep thru the night. And then it was Rag in the morning.

And I actually felt sad when I saw them leave one by one. Ivan, Cheng Ying left at the grandstand. Dion at the bus stop. Grace hopping into a cab she suddenly hailed. Dwayne, Benjamin and Cheng Liang going seperate ways as Nelson, Qin Qin, Hui Ying and I went to Xian Xue’s car to Clementi. I think it was a fun O week and I’m looking forward to meeting them for lunch in school!