Proof that I’m at Pulau NTU

To be honest, this is the first time that i’m using something called Windows Live Writer. That’s why i’m posting this actually.

But of course that can’t be my only reason rite?? Since i’ve got a phone with a *decent* camera and since i had nothing better to do when i was at Pulau NTU during lunch time, i’ve decided to snap some stuff to share here about this very lonely place at the far west of Singapore.

 

There. This is the place where i actually worked. Codenamed SIMTech, and has been around for like centuries or something? You’d know why if you read on.

Out on the way to lunch there’s this very nice building (?) with like a garden going up the roof. I think is our equivalent of SDE department. But SDE where got so chio. 

Alrite on to my work. Above is the polishing machine, otherwise known as The Grinder. (I gave that name to it myself). Unlike those we use at the undergraduate lab in NUS, this one can mount magnetic polishing cloth, and if your samples are prepared to size using epoxy (which unfortunately cannot apply in my situation), you can just let the machine do the work.

So which engine will you join if you want to know more about polishing metals and polishing your boss’ shoes? Material Science Engine of course. After a half an hour job, you can see your face in the Stainless Steel. Tough job ok, you get blisters.

 

Research institutes are highly advanced place with sophisticated machine and top-notch technological advancement. NOOOT. The com I use runs on Windows 98, rendering my USB drive useless and the only way to extract data is to use FLOPPY DISKS!?!?!?! i cant even get them on the market. C’mmon man, i bet one bottle of chemicals in the lab can get you a better desktop.

 

And lastly, just some very interesting observations that an NUS student will always make when they visit NTU.

“uhh, soooo, how to name the halls arh?”

“ohh i know know of a super creative way!! why don’t we name them Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3 and so on!!! sooo easy to remember!”

“wah you so smart! how about the canteen leih?”

“uhhh, how about Canteen 1, Canteen 2, Canteen 3 and so on??”

“wahh you really smart and eciffient. just like the gahmen.”

September

September is quite a special month actually. Quite a number of songs being written on september (Greenday, Earth Wind Fire etc) and it's quite special to me too :D

coz der's 2 special person in my life whom i'll blog about in september especially towards the end. So here goes:

Dear Sis,

Thanks for the wonderful stay in Sydney, really enjoyed it. saw the reddish dust that you all are bathed in, and maybe this is indeed one of the most extraordinary birthday gift that you can ever have. HAHA! anyways, Happy Birthday and have more birthdays to come!!! can have more births also. HAHA!



From Your Ah Boy. *like the pic*

. . . . . .

The other person is none other than pretty girl herself :D went out to have a simple lunch together for our second year anni and the food was good!!

We ate some sashimi as you can see from below and the famous Black Pig Tonkatsu at the restaurant (unfortunately, it looked too good so we gobbled up before we remember to take any pictures). If we visit there again we'll take a good pic for it :)

Ayye :D

Feeling Blue

Nope. not because tomorrow is Monday. I think it's because of the impending doom that i'm going to graduate soon, and the nagging feeling of lousy FYP results coming up.

Since Friday i've been bugged by this feeling that the project is going to take a blardy long time to finish. rather agitated by it cos it's only 8 MC but i have to do the workload of a 10/16 MC. then there's the have-you-got-a-job nag.

It's really easy to say 'dont worry for tomorrow' but it's blardy hard to do it -.-

sometimes sighing is the only thing one can do. seriously.

User is Busy at the Moment

Term is nearly half gone, with term break coming up next week. have been really quite eventful and study has really been very hectic.

actually, i can't really say that it's HECTIC. it's sort of like a nagging feeling that you somehow know you're just delaying time for the really bad thing (exam) to happen. well, FYP is sort of like haunting my life now with my supervisor chasing my tail (it's actually a good thing). Studying has always been like this. sigh really miss my IA sem.. stressless siah...

But, still managed to steal some time for some social stuff... so here are some pics =)


Apparently, the Dead Sea Scrolls came to singapore. TBH, it's like 3 fragments and the exhibition really cost quite a bit. mainly it's cos of the venue larh. heard that it costs about 1.1 mil just to rent Arts House for a duration of 3 weeks. 1.1 MIL!!!! can get a house in bukit timah liao.


They don't really have that much scrolls (most are still left in Israel) and the rest are either Bible translations or really very old manuscripts like the one above. It's really very inspiring how people copied Bible texts last time. And for the particular example above, the fonts were sooooooo small they look like they're printed instead of copied.


Ok then move on to totally unrelated issues. TGIO was GREAT THIS YEAR!! i've never enjoyed it that much.. hahaha coz i did something really quite out of myself, as you can see from the pic. Did a tribute band to the King of Pop and the rest of the pics are all on FB.


That's me right there, grinding my sample to a mirror finish. in case you don't know, my FYP is on corrosion of stainless steel and this is one of the instance that i needed to grind and polish the surface of the steel to get a good SEM image. Actually this is one of the few times that i'm going to grind in NUS coz the rest of the time i'm attached to pulau NTU.

It's called Pulau NTU for a reason - no phone reception and takes a typical Singaporean about 1.5 hours to get there. But the equipments there are really much better (cos i'm attached to the research institute).

But well, i found out some motivation to go there since last week - nothing beats a good bowl of Sarawak Laksa at the end of a hectic day stuck up at NTU. this is one of the 2 branches which actually sells AUTHENTIC sarawak Laksa. miss it sooo much i've been having it like 3 times last week?? SHIOK!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTSSSSSSSSS~~~~!!!!!!!!@!#$!@#%!%~~~

Getting Old

Lately, i've found myself listening to old jazz and getting injured by doing minor exercises. That's surely a sign of getting old i'm sure, and i had to go for acupuncture and suction cups called Ba Guan. coz my back just sprained and it hurts quite a bit. HAHA

yes i'm getting old i think o.O

P/S i've decided not to post the video or photos here coz it might be a bit disturbing. but you can still watch it on FB haha.

Catching Up

Alrite, i never thought that year 4 will be soooo hectic. actually i did think of that before but i guess sometimes mentally prepared isn't enough. But anyhow, i've posted some interesting photos, above of which i digged from my library 3 years back, and below, of which i took it just recently.

it just reminds me of how time flies so quickly, spent in hall and NUS. in just a blink of an eye, 3 years passed just like that. It was good memories and i'll keep it well :)

Up

Since i havent been posting stuff, and i did watch some movies, so i shall post about my latest one which i caught in the cinema.

Initially this was a movie which sort of hooked my interest because the little boy was so cute. But then, some ppl watched it and commented about it being quite flimsy so i cast it aside (learning from the Harry Potter experience). However, some OTHER people watched it and say it really is the nicest animation to day. Which really piqued my curiosity how come there's 2 opposing camps.

So i decided to watch it for myself. Sort it out for myself. And hence watched it i did. So this is my verdict: watch it. It's really nice, especially the first 20 minutes. i dunno how come people call it flimsy i find it really, really touching especially from a guy's point of view. i won't be surprise if someone teared in just the first 20 minutes. Just imagine how you'd feel by playing your life through from childhood to old age in a flash.

Overall the story isn't really THAT fantastic but i really was quite touched, not by the little boy in the end, but by the old man. Hahaha how ironic. so its really nice and i'm looking forward to watching district 9 but i dont seem to see any cinema showing it. ZZZ

2012

Of course i dont believe that by 2012 the world is really going to end. Maybe it's tomorrow. Maybe it's year 3000. But i really like the trailer a lot... the hopelessness of the monk and how when it comes, no one will be able to escape.

Except of course, if you have the assurance to eternal life.

The Sensation of Gliding

When you grew up in a small kampung like 7 Mile in a small town call Kuching, it's not uncommon to never heard of what a roller blade is. For that matter, we only have bicycles and i can't remember how many stuns i pulled with it when i was young.

So when i first get to see this set of wheels, it really looks VERY cool. but that was when i had already gained a fair bit of age, and pulling stuns sort of compartmentalized into one corner of my life labelled 'Please-do-not-try-this-at-home'. that changed a few years ago, when i bought myself a pair as what you've seen above. and of course gotten some motivation to learn something new and exciting :P

And so it was. Roller blading has been always fun for me - glide on the road. sort of like skiing but slower i guess. skiing can send your heartbeat to explosion when u rush down the slope.

Looking forward to the next blading session =)

Public Enemies

I havent been to the cinema for quite some time now, the last time was when i watched transformers i reckon. So this is the first time i went to the cinema since i came back before the school term starts. Oh yes, i forgot to mention i watched Harry Potter's crappiest film. So that means this is the second film i watched since i came back. Btw, Harry Potter was so bad i just ignore reviewing it and refuse to acknowledge that it screened in the cinema.

Anyway, we're talking about Public Enemies here - a film with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale: what can go wrong right? well, actually it can. For a quick synopsis: it's another story about police and thief during the Great Depression where robbing banks seems like an easy way out to earn money. well just that it was based on a true story.

It's also a love story between Dillinger and Billie (Depp and the Marion), and how they eloped from the police. So, what went wrong? i would say that it is just personal preference but i find that the way they film the movie to be a tad too boring. No climax or tense music, just plain ol shooting like you're using a handycam.

The film depicted that the robbery was just this kind of legitimate way of earning (not a lot of) money, and that without morality you can't really tell the difference between a legal job and an illegal one. Sometimes without an absolute you just can't tell whether things are just plain black and white or are they grey.

Well, it's not bad a movie. though its not really mindblowing or whatsoever, it's still worth your money (which, i hope, you havent spent on watching Harry Potter).

Chopin in F Minor

It's just sublime.

Orientation

Alrite i havent posted in a while. Actually i'm just going into the 0th week of school (yar there's this thing call week 0) and that's it. i'm finally a lao lang year four who is now staying on 7th floor.

it's been 3 years in NUS and this is the final year that i'm here. sometimes it's just a bit fast i guess, but all is good. in fact, this year probably will be the slowest to pass (?) since it's the last year.

have quite a bit of mixed feelings coz i dont really want to graduate, but at the same time i want to graduate. HAHA. i'm sure some of you'd have felt that as well when you graduated no matter from where.

well, i'll just leave the post here now and come back when i've got more stuff to post. haha.

Back, Packed

Just a little update here and then. i've came back from Aussie to Malaysia and now to Singapore, in my little (new) room.

Also packed with quite a few stuff to do - transcribing, teaching, studying, do FYP selection etc etc. Quite a handful of stuff actually.

Oh well, it's gonna be the last year anyways.

The Wizardry of OZ

Let me start this post by really thanking God that i had the chance to visit my sister down under for about 2 weeks without any agenda (!) other than to visit her. Previously i've been there before, but both times were bogged down with agendas (marriage etc) so this is the first time that we actually go and have some fun in Sydney. Thank God that she was also on leave when we came so we have a free tour guide as well as food critic in town. =P

Well anyways, i believed i've taken a small break and posted some HDR previously, so i shall type more on this one and put some pictures here and there. We actually arrived in Melbourne for a few days before taking the journey up to Sydney. (No camera in Melbourne hence no pictures) After which my sis decided to bring us to do the tourist thing - i.e. to tour around town with a cheap day-pass. it's quite a good concept actually, to pay a fix amount and go to as many tourist spots as you can in ONE day around town. we managed about 5? But it was good - like the wildlife center and the aquarium.


Other than seeing some of the iconic animals in Australia (which i later found out, really are everywhere in Australia), we also managed to take a tour around Opera House which was quite cool. But of course, i could never miss out the OZ jet boat ride. It was really one wet experience as the jet boat took us around the harbor and riding waves of ferries and private boats.


However, the fun really starts on the second week (to me at least, haha) when we took a 4 hour trip up to Snowy Mountain. We ended up staying at a very scenic little town called Talbingo, which wasnt snow covered (i was half expecting that) but has frost every morning. Nonetheless, another 30 min drive up to Mount Selwyn will have my eyes sore blinded by snow. For some 山芭佬 like me who has never seen snow, its quite an excitement actually.


Talbingo is hidden somewhere but this is that sort of scenes you get at the little town. It is also here that i've found out that in the countryside of Australia, there's a loooot of wild animals everywhere. we spotted kangaroos like packs residing on the hills, dead wombat (shucks) as a victim to roadkill, emus striding beside the riverbanks and tons and tons of birds. The birds especially, are really very chio so took a lot of pics of them.



No this is not the house that we stayed in. it's just a random house on natural trail we found on the way and decided to slow down and have fun. build a snowman and took some pics!


Other than building snowman, we went to ski as well. really quite fun, a bit like roller blading but much, much faster. haha. crashed a few times before getting the hang of it and ski like a pro.


Overall it was really a very fun and enriching trip. Once again, i want to thank God for this opportunity and also my sis for letting us stay at her small little house and showing us her little darling Casper. I kinda miss his mischievousness. =)

Sydney

I have finally taken some time to post some pictures here online... that's coz it really takes some time to edit the pictures but at least there's something that i came up with =)





these pictures are taken on a sunny afternoon so i guess the lighting isnt that good ultimately. hope i can post some more when i have the time.

Across to the other Continent

After some time spent in Melbourne, i've finally arrived at Sydney and finally get my hands on a 450D to take some pics. I still have another week to go here, and will be going up to Snowy Mountain next week.

Meanwhile i've managed to tour around town and took some pictures, and few days ago i've managed to find my way to this place called Red Leaf Pool which is near the bay. So here are some pics

Some red flower outside my sister's house. It was so red i just had to take the pic.

So here it is, Red Leaf Pool. Those houses you see will cost you more than a few million for 'The View' i.e. Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Another view of the Red Leaf Pool which i find is just magnificent.

This pic was taken on a sort of perimeter bridge which they constructed for people to swim. So i was not walking on water. HAHA. 

And finally, my nephew Casper, who is quite simply a huge dog even though he's only 1.5 years old. 

PS yes i have indeed taken pictures of the famous Opera House and the Harbour Bridge but i havent had time to process it. Probably posting the HDR when i get back to Singapore.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Lately i havent had the time to catch up on blogging coz i was really quite busy going around places and visiting relatives. It has been quite a hectic week and i've decided here to post about the most recent movie that i've watched before i zoomed off to other activities which i will be doing. (actually, its mainly also coz of the slow com). 

Rite now on to the movie. I believe its the most anticipated movie of the year after the tremendous success it enjoyed in the first episode. I dunno about you, but i grew up in the era where Optimus Prime was my hero and Bumblebee was still a Volkswagen Beetle. So when the first movie came about i couldnt wait to watch it. Actually i couldnt wait to watch the second as well, so i watch it on the first day of release HAHA. 

It really doesnt have much of a meaning actually, (well other than some very curious questions like how come the robots spawned is always a decepticon and how a decepticon can be 'trained' to become a good boy lol) but nobody watches transformers to think about these kinda things. It's about the action. 

And the action is awesome. AWESOME. i think Michael Bay is ingenious in his ways to capture specific moments and slowing them down to dramatize the whole scene. The fight scenes are gracefully choreographed (my favourite scene being Bumblebee vs some dragon-like Decepticon) with superb fluidity. Not to mention Mr Optimus Prime donning the armor not unlike those of the GN arms. Even though the plot is a bit lame but with the action and some bits of humor here and there, this movie really made my day =) 

Alrite i shall not reveal anymore details about the movie just in case you havent watch it. And do yourself a favor, watch it in the cinema. 

PS i will try to upload some pictures that i took here, hopefully by the next post. 

Cold

I havent been to winter for so long i've forgotten the chill that rings in your ears when you step out of the airport.

ok peeps, arrived safely at the HINI (pronounced Hee-Nee) capital yesterday, with a temperature that chills to your bone. But i guess it's not that bad actually, since i managed to sleep soundly.

When morning came, the first person i saw is a construction dude working on my relative's kitchen and he told me that MJ is dead. Well, i wasnt much of an MJ fan but actually who involve in music at this age isnt? so the day finally came.

anyways, tomorrow we'll be taking another flight to Sydney (HINI second largest capital) and i'm so cold my feet is freezing when i'm typing this. lol!

The Opposite of A.I.

Everything seems rather fast when you don't pay much attention to them - especially time. It's been a whole six months since i first started working at a company called BD and yesterday, it all came to and end.

Many of my course mates also ended their industrial attachment (IA) yesterday, though i know of some whom they call themselves the 'unfortunate few', who has been forced, willingly or unwillingly to extend their IA over another period of time. IA, as it is, has traditionally been regarded by students from NUS (not NTU coz it is compulsory for them to take IA) as some sort of 'boost' to their resume when they come out to work. At least you have some working experience to show your future employer and if you are attached to a huge company or some prestigious company, you might get a chance to be offered a job with them.

Coupled with the economic crisis right now, it's even more important for undergraduates to show some initiatives or have some recommendations from their previous working place to perhaps, secure a job when we come out from our institutions. It is also ironical, due to the economic crisis that companies hires IA students - cheap, willing to be SK warrior, work OT without OT pay. I had a friend who worked in a construction company previously as an intern, and after he left, the construction workers REFUSED to do his job even though the pay is higher. It is THAT bad.

Which led me to a lot of thanksgiving to do. My company has been very nice to me - most evidently in my hospitalization of the chicken pox disease. Not to mention being a huge company, the fringe benefits were quite good - buses to all over the island once your work is over, buses to pick you up when u come to work, company outings and free food during meetings. And of course, there is the project assign - which leads me to lesser SK and more time spent on solving the problem given to me. And the people there, whom i find myself bonded to quite closely after 6 months of joking around and having fun together.


In many ways, i believe that only God will know what is best for you. this wasn't the first company that comes into my mind when i apply - salary is low, Tuas is so far away, medical company sounds boring and irrelevant etc etc. So it ended up being one of my lower choices of companies which I've prioritized to apply, but through His guidance, and more so His grace, i ended up there nonetheless. I can honestly say that throughout the 6 months, i enjoyed it more than i could imagine.


What i want to say at the end of the day is, it was a great 6 months spent - having fun, found myself again, learn new things, make new friends, have chicken pox etc. Now holidays are finally dawning on me and i'm looking forward to it!

Slumdog Millionaire

Much has been said about this film before i watch it. Not a typical Indian show which features loads of dances and songs almost equivalent to some sort of musical, this is one show that you really shouldn't miss. Initially I've heard it from a friend about this show which features some Indian dude winning 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' because he knew all the answers and because he experienced all the questions in it.

What a strange but interesting plot. So i've decided to give it a go and it really didnt disappoint - living up to my 'expectation factor' actually. Here's a brief summary - a boy named Jamal Malik went on to 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire', won 10 million rupees in one night, got arrested, and explained to a police officer how he got all his questions answered. What i find the movie attractive is that: initially i tend to want to know what kind of questions that were asked, but i gradually find myself gravitating towards the beautiful life of this honest, sincere chaiwalla's life. And my favourite scene came at the last part of the movie, where Jamal finally found the most important thing in his life, and never let go.

Though this 'love-honest-destiny-blessed' themed show carries a very Forrest Gumpish taste, it still appears to be slightly fictitious to me, whereas Forrest Gump actually can be imagined to be a real true story of a person. Btw, Forrest Gump is arguably my favourite movie of all time and space. Unlike Forrest Gump, which is largely Christian based, Slumdog exhibits religion in a more subtle manner, ascribing it mainly to desiny.

What struck me the most when i finished the film is that - he and his brother both chose a separate path, one leeching after the riches of this world, while the other clings on to what is true to him. And it only dawned on me after the show that even though both of them were always together, the brother was the guy who always resort to petty crimes and thefts to earn money whereas he always work his way up.

Which led me to ponder about what Paul has said, "when gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them." (Romans 2:14-15) The conscience which eventually made his brother realised the reality of desitny.

It really is a nice film, and i really think u'd miss out if u miss this =)