THINGS ARE STARTING TO GET A LITTLE BIT COMPLICATED.

IS IT FAIR?

WHAT IS FAIR?

IS IT WORTH IT?

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY.

TWO CHILDISH AND BORED PPL ON FB CHAT ( PART IV )

yes?

hey

haha

nothing

just wanted to see u online

fullstop

ahhahahhaha

idiot xia

haha

lol

wun die to be on fb right

in case i wan to tok

to u

Lol

abt impt stuff

wa

so cute

like CARD

lol

wad so cute

i thought you tio block

ed*

nothing's more cute than her

haha

OOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Cos i fb chat too much..

TWO CHILDISH AND BORED PPL ON FB CHAT ( PART III )

dots

i think i'll make ******* a card ba

woohoo

dear *******

lol

so u know how far is planet uranium** from the sun?

(** omg i totally thought uranium was uranus zzzzzzzzz)

whats with your prevy ideas?

thats exactly how far i feel our hearts are apart

lol

so what you want me to do

I was ******** **** **

its *********** ****

haha

hmmm...

i think i will not be able to express my thoughts fully and aptly online

so i shant tok too much

haha

qt cool wad

my literature

haha

ok la

hmm...

its decent only

how bout my xiao rou idea

nice right

LLOLLLLLLLLL

what xiao rou thing?

the xiaorouxiaorouxiaorou crap ah?

haha

cannot la

she dun have nickname starting with xiao

no

i mean

how bout my xiaorou thing

not bad right

super corny

omg

my idea

its not bad

haha

you good at pao-niuing

XD

seriously

better than wen xiang

HAHAH

thanks for the compliment??

yupz

i shld try one day

haha

you can repost this

hahahaah

good idea

TWO CHILDISH AND BORED PPL ON FB CHAT ( PART II )

hmm..

yj leh

she not busy right

she dao me

cos i called her pig

i think she blocked me liao

Lol

nice

i like

hahaha

srsly

she gets on my nerves recently

haha

cmi

ok la

i think hai hao

lets ignore her for 1 year

HAHAHA

ok

anyway

she will be gone for half a year

so we can save half the energy

LOL

hey repost this

XD

super jian

i think quite fun

wad

the above conversation

repost it on your blog

Lol

i think she'll block all of us

XD

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TELL A WOMAN.

Funny Agent II

Now u know my agent is funny, but wait, the story is not over.

Received mail today from DBS and yes, the 剧本 had to be continued with ANOTHER funny incident. and this time, the thing is that the cheque "bounced" OMG and upon reading the letter, the reason was clear.

THE CHEQUE WAS DATED 17 / 06 / 07 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG DIN NOTICE IT WHEN I SAW IT!!!!!!!!

LOL. now hafta contact my funny agent again.

KOI CAFE

Went to chinatown after work today w junhao with the agenda of confirming the Genting trip, but in the end nv did, as we decided to wait for a fourth person if possible.

So in the end the zhong dian became to try out the KOI cafe bubble tea LOL. haha it was a nice drink, with the first few mouthfuls being great. I tried the traditional one known as 珍珠奶茶 with 70 % sugar, while junhao ordered the 100% one to fufil his wish of being 甜死. hahaha. in the end there was really SOME difference as the 70% one was a little more "water-ish".

I loved it AT FIRST because there is a special quality in the 奶茶 that was different from most normal stalls. its was finer and smoother, the milky feel was refreshing. the pearls are mini-pearls and are indeed chewy and was QQ (qiqian XDXD)

However, I started to get sick and full of it soon (after half a cup). there are too many pearls as well, too many for me to enjoy the milk tea. Therefore, the conclusion is to order the SMALL cup instead of the medium which i did today. that, tgt with less pearls, would be just nice.

And in the end, after being chased by the security guard at Chinatown Point off the stage, we sat at Mac's till 10pm and CC-ed with talk abt.... yup u guessed it right, UNI.. LOL

TWO CHILDISH AND BORED PPL ON FB CHAT

what happened to the girls?

nothing happen

no girls ah?

wad tokin u la

have la

zz

your FOC

oh ya

got your one and only sweet neighbour

u run alr?

thank you!

(help my neighbour thank u)

have u tasted her b4?

ya

how u noe shes sweet

YA

OR HORR

i mean your first question

ORHORRR

haven't tasted her b4

ORHOORRRr

too late

Lol

tsk tsk

2nd Run

After feeling aches in areas such as my shin and thigh after the last jog, i rested a while until i continued with my "progressive training" yesterday evening.

I went for a longer distance so as to force myself to run more, because if a ran in smaller loops nearer my place i would be more likely to have thoughts of giving up. I ran from my hse to one more bus stop beyond the eastwood stop. den took a u-turn there and ran back. took abt 29 minutes including traffic light waiting time.

Last week, i took a 15 minute jog at a slow pace and thus i decided to speed up a little and up the distance too. At first, it was all right, until i slowly began to feel stitch and tiredness at abt 20 minutes. As at that pt of time i was still nowhr near my place, i could force myself to not stop and jog/run all the way back to the start point.

haha, it had been a while since i felt this tiredness after a run. although it is not easy cos i have lost the momentum of running for qt some time alr, it is a good feel to be able to complete it, knowing that the next run would be an easier one =)

Next time, probably wednesday or thursday, whr shld i go? i hate to wait for traffic lights at junctions, it stops ur momentum. zz. back to the stadium?

德明.加油!

Had an early lunch today and surfed fb for a while. feeling bored, i clicked on ying jie's profile and the first thing i saw was her brother's note <好校长>. the first few lines mentioned DUNMAN HIGH SCHOOL and thus, interested, i took a look. wow. 16 ppl alr like this note since posted at 1129 am today. its one and a half hr ago.

The content of his note was based on this report:

好校长

做新闻记者跑教育线超过20年，和我工作最密切的是各校校长，从小学到大学，不少，已经成了好朋友。

　　华人常说：“不怕不识货，只 怕货比货。”西方人又说：“要橙和橙比，苹果和苹果比，不能橙和苹果比。”做新加坡人最好，东西文化交融兼备；做记者更好，有无数人可以比，有无数校长可 以比。而且，因为长期在教育线，“路遥知马力，日久见人心”，我可以有很长的时间去看一位校长，凡我认为是好校长的，一般不会看走眼。因为，他们是经过无 数比较后，而且是同类比较，被证明是最好的。

　　去年在“华校校史联合展”的活动“校长论坛”上面演讲的五位校长：圣尼各拉女校前校长李宝丝、华侨中学前校长杜辉生、南洋初级学院院长郭毓川、道南学校校长陈俊敬、德明政府中学校长孙振炜，都在我的校长名单，名列前茅。

　　过去几天，我在为八方文化创作室把五位校长在校长论坛上的讲话，结为一本名为《华校发展的回顾与前瞻》的书，做文字润饰和校对工作。他们的讲话，让优秀校长的身影，再一次跳到我的眼前。

　　其中，杜辉生校长与孙振炜校长的“交锋”，尤其令我难忘。

　 　杜辉生是率领华侨中学从上世纪七十年代的风雨飘摇到九十年代能与莱佛士书院平起平坐的英雄。他对一代华校生把自己不如意的日子，归咎于华文的态度，不敢 苟同。他说：“我们要感恩。如果今天办得火火红红的特选学校，没有当年那个局势，那样的处境，如果一切都是一帆风顺的话，我们没有今天。”

　　他因此对华中的未来有所期待。他公开要求德明政府中学的孙振炜校长“加把劲”，给华中一点压力，“让华中不断提升，创造双赢的局面”。

　　孙振炜虽然年轻（38岁），面对前辈（70岁）的挑战，极有技巧。

　他说：“北京奥运会前，我去中国，看到一个很大的广告牌。画面是一个非洲籍的短跑选手，上面写着英文标语。我对这个广告标语为什么用英文写，感到奇怪。 在中国看到的英文广告，通常错别字蛮多，但是那个没有。那个广告标语说“The person to beat is not the one in front but the one inside.”“要超越的人不在前面，而是在里面”。这正是德明办学的理念。如果有一天，我们真的超越华中，那是我们努力的结果，但不是我们努力的目 的。”

　　社会景象，经常让孙振炜感觉“在繁华中感到空虚，在朴实中觉得幸福”。他说：“身为德明校长，我认为学校不需要越办越大，越办越堂皇，可是必须越办越好，越办越温馨，越办越像一个家。”

　　他用这样的话，回应杜辉生的期待。什么是好校长？这就是！　　

Not bad eh! im long knew Mr Sng was a outstanding individual. PSC scholar studied at cambridge. Principal @ age of abt 36 - 37. but these words were really good. i sincerely hopes and believes he means it. if everyone in the sch were to have such thoughts, dhs would be an even better home for all.

Not that i dont feel at home to dunman.

I admit i felt the sch spirit better than in hwa chong than in dunman high. plus the fact that i was a councillor perhaps. during my stay in hc, albeit only two yrs, i loved the sch a lot, the atmosphere, the ppl, the place itself, esp the class benches and the sch events. there was much more fun than in dhs, due to the higher flexibility and lower level of "discipline".

But, looking back now, it feels that dunman high is actually more 亲切, more 温馨. there is just a very special feel to the place. a feeling of home, which is not as strong or even absent at times in hc. Thus, i conclude that dunman high has been a home for all dunmanians. for example, when there was this homecoming in the first day of sch 2009, ppl flooded back and i could see many photos floating ard on fb. much more ppl frm dhs would seem more interested in sch happenings than hci ppl, from my perspective. Which is what i define as a successful attempt to build a strong relationship with the students.

I feel warm and glad that there is such a trend.

德明.加油!

Change / Don't Change

If you feel out of place because you are different from the rest around you, will you change?
If someone tells you you should not behave or think in such a way, will you change?
If you think you are still single because you are not _______ enough, will you change?

There would be times, when someone else points out / criticises one of your actions / beliefs / thoughts/ behaviour.

Will you change.
Or SHOULD you change?


I think it should be flexible, but at the same time not changing your core values/principles which guide the way u live every single day.




I believe some ppl, would think that im inflexible, cos i hang on to some of my beliefs very strongly.

The best example, in which others would feel im inflexible (although they do not confront me directly but i can feel it and i know it) is in army, when i choose to do almost everything the right way, when most others, esp subordinates are trying to force their way to the other end, the "by left" path. I dont take magic off, i do what superiors ask me to do, i dun ask ppl to sign book in book out book for me, i (try to) keep my area neat and tidy, i go to office on time, i go route marches in full field pack and sing all the way, i (usually) dun escape from my responsibilities, i keep my phone on 24/7 and pick it up in the wee hours, i try to be strict with my guys (which din work out in the end but they know how i work).

However, I do not change. Which leads back to my point that what you do, should not clash with your beliefs. Because it is my core belief, to do what is right. I may not have won any "best soldier of the month award". I may not have gained my superiors' recognition in the face. I may have been hated by some of my guys. I may have been laughed at by some ppl, why work so hard we are all NSFs? BUT, i hung on. and i ORD-ed. with a stronger belief. And i know i contributed, and i did the right thing.


Another one thing which i stuck to faithfully is not to "cheat" in school. Although this is less obvious to ppl ard and they dun really ask me to change haha. I don't know why, and when. it should be in primary sch, i did "cheat" b4. it is not totally intentional. i rmbr i was taking a paper and i looked up. my classmate was holding up his paper and i (ok, i think it was intentional) saw his answer for one qn, i wrote "can" and he wrote "could". i forgot CAN had a past tense! then, i changed my answer. I had felt guilty my entire life doing that. zz. i can still rmbr who that classmate was. omg. from my memory, i din ever cheat again alr, at least not intentionally / consciously.

The most obvious one, was my reluctance to ask ppl about SPA. well, for those in the same year as me, you would know what im talking abt. Science subjects had practical exams (called SPA) which counted towards 'A' lvls, and diff class had diff days and timing for the SPA and it is like widespread mass cheating. no further explanation needed here. i admit i heard the topic of the physics SPA Skill A before the test, becos my classmate was like declaring too loudly behind me. other than that, however, i ran away whenever ppl talked abt it, i covered my ears, and i nv ever asked anyone abt the topic of the practical. Cos i dun believe in cheating. 是你的,就是你的. 不是你的,就不是你的. perhaps, it was conpounded by the way the cheating was done, so much it was disgusting and vulgar.

Even when i was awarded more marks than i should have been, i always went up to look for the teacher. 是你的,就是你的. 不是你的,就不是你的. you shld not get more marks than you deserve. very often, esp in maths tests in upper sec, i owned up to this additional errors by teachers. once, in jc bio, i rmbr vivdly, that the tchr gave me a score of 49.5 that meant a pass, but i added and realised it was supposed to be 49, which is a fail grade. hahaha. i went to correct this mistake with the tutor, even though in the end there was moderation so didnt really fail.


okay i AM digressing from the original ideas i had, so lets get back on track!

what im trying to say is that, how does a person know what to change and what not to change. some friends recently gave me answers such as, im like this, this is who i am, and by changing, its not him/herself anymore. Is this a valid reason? is it that he (by default not implying the gender of my friend, just lazy to type he/she all the time) shouldn't listen to opinions because it will not be him anymore?

Changes should be considered, unless as i mentioned, it clashes with your CORE VALUES, which will be embedded in your brain and no matter what u do it will affect ur decision making process.

Take an example. my friend, who most viewers will know who im refering to, feels that he is not a person who can relate to strangers easily, and can only be more open to closer friends. and he terms meeting new friends and socialising with ppl u just met as ZHUANG SHU. which i have to disagree. Firstly, i dun think his CORE BELIEF is to be not shu with ppl. wat kind of belief would that be?? lol. i think thats it is just him unable to step out of his comfort zone easily enough bah. i would say, try it, go for a change.

in fact, i do not belief it should be termed ZHUANG SHU to PU LU for the future. maybe that is the agenda on some ppl's mind. but not mine. not to an extent of negativity. i learnt that it is impt to be able to be frenly, and open to others when the need arises. simply because, it makes u more happy and easier to communicate with the rest. smiling, and seeing a return smile is a good feeling. its and acknowledgement of your presence. dun think of the "zhuang shu" cos the "zhuang" makes it feel fake. use your true feelings, open up your heart and greet someone with sincerity. this is MY belief. wads wrong with doing so? i would only feel otherwise if that person is someone i dislike and i have to work with him, tt will be closer to zhuang shu. if u truely dun wish to make any friends, den dun.

it is not easy to take the first step to be more "extrovert". this change is not easy, at least for me. i am a quiet person, and i still am at times now. however, over the yrs, i have begun to know how to open up with less effort. when i was young, i refuse to buy things from vendors by myself. at the coffee shop, i would rather not eat and throw a tantrum than to buy roti prata from the stall on my own. and at the canteen, i have to think and meng repeat wat i order in my brain before telling the auntie my order. on the airplane, i was afraid of the steward / stewardess coming cos that would mean i wld be asked, "hi wat drink wld u like?". i would think apple or orange juice, apple should be better, because its easier to pronounce. orange is like harder and ang moh may not understand. so i meng whisper to myself apple juice apple juice apple juice and when the steward came, my sister sitting beside me wanted "coca cola please" and i was stunned and scared and confused that i forgot to say apple juice and said," ... same .. ", pointing to my sister. hahaha. but now, after growing up, taking up responsiblities in class, CCA and council, i realised its not that difficult! this change is necessary. i did not stick to my "timid" self cos "im like this". i gained more confidence of speech and presentation of myself.

This kind of changes, i prefer to term it "IMPROVEMENTS". Why not? if it improves you as a person, or a situation why not? it is for your own good, unless u are absolutely totally AGAINST it.

Another pt i pondered upon is that would someone who is single and remains single despite efforts to dump singlehood change himself in order to find the other half of their lives. it is hard to say. but i think, once again, unless it defied my CORE PRINCIPLES i will do it. some traits may be very YOU but not very socially acceptable. will u change then?

i think, as long as it is good for yourself, do it, make a change. make an improvement, and upgrade. listen to wad others have to say, they must have a reason to do so. think abt it, but dun do it at the expense of your happiness or values. do it beacause its the right thing to do, not because of peer pressure. do it with your heart, make a change. put in a little effort, for the BETTER...

Change, only if you should and want to.
Don't reject change because you dun want to change.

Funny Soccernet error.

haha just wanted to post this error i saw on soccernet, which i found qt amusing.






Ribery is Valencia striker? haha.

心跳

不,

不是一首歌.



而是,

好久没有这种心跳加速的感觉了.

好久没有脸旦发红,全身发热.



我,

终于,

又再一次



跑步了!!



after abt five months without running, due to my toe zz. i finally did so this evening after work. it was a good feeling overall. my aim was progressive training and today i just did a 15 minute jog near my place. in the meanwhile taking some new routes and going up to my old house region and taking a look. i aim to regain my fitness and lose weight. next up, will be jogging say 20 minutes, and thereafter increasing the distance, as a build up to singapore bay run too. although im only running 10 km this year, i definitely need training to go up to that distance without problems.

Looking fwd to rediscovering my love for running!

Update on what is there to blog

Here's a recap of what entries i owe this blog. removed some, and added one as well:

1. My sudden desire to marry and have kids at a young age.
2. My intent of buying a laptop.
3. Food (nice or not so nice) that i've tried recently.
4. Backstabbing - how, and what
   
5. EPL / soccer in general for next season.
6. NUS - camps, QET, tuition fees
   
7. Ping Pong - twice in two days.
   
8. Neo print taking - past & present
   
9. Update on Restaurant City's Progress
10. Going to the toilet at work
11. The blog that made me EMO last last last week.
12. Friends.

Funny agent

Recently, it has not been very happy for me (except new laptop!!). Yday, my agent made me laugh, no offense. HAHA =D

Normally, my agent sends me my monthly payslip and cheque for my salary via post ~ on the 10th of the following month. However, I had not received it even yday (16th) when i thought i could just be patient for another day and email my agent if it still doesnt come.

Then, i received a call in the morning. the agent called me to say that she was sorry and that her "boss is confused" and would send me my cheque soon. ok, i tot at least she knew that she owed me and i didnt mind of the delay, as i wasnt in urgent need of cash.

Then later on, she called me again and informed me that she will send it by courier service to my hse. i tot, wow, a little kua zhang right! send by courier a bit over. maybe she's guilty and afraid that i would think their service is damn lousy, (which honestly is qt bad overall) thus showed the urgency. i was pretty pleased at least the agency knew they "were in the wrong".

When i went home, my mum had alr signed for it and it arrived, within one hour according to the receipt. and it costed S$20 la!

But, the zhong dian of this whole thing is that my name was written wrongly on the cheque! omg. that means she spent TWENTY BUCKS on sending me a wrong cheque that i could not claim. lol the more i think the funnier it gets! haha. its total waste of resources to send it by courier and it ends up i cant bank it in anw. its like "why dun u send me by post and add that $19++ to my salary"! XD

haha, thus this morning i emailed her of this issue and suggested not to waste their money and it was ok to just send it by normal post. and she and her boss both promptly replied me, apologising, den saying that they wld send me a correct one and requested me to send the wrong one back to em. funny thing is that the agent, being Japanese, wasnt very proficient in english lang. and even wrote this line which i found particularly funny:

Dear Mr. Tan Kai Him,

Im very sorry.

My boss was careless. It’s his fault.

LOL! sounds damn funny and not what u would expect an employee to say of her boss to a customer! and note: my surname is STILL WRONG. and the boss also emailed me as Mr Tan. zz. srsly, they should do better. but im not pissed at all. haha. it is a little troublesome, but worth a little laugh! =)

[ i was just thinking, thus adding here. why she made so many errors, but she didnt give me an extra zero for my salary! 11 to 12k a month! as a temp! hahaha tt'll srsly be damn funny. ]

NEW LAPTOP!

hahaha. i was so po bu ji dai to use my new laptop that i bought frm the PC show. the day before going there i was alr very excited and cannot sleep well! lol. and then after buying it, i had to charge and set up so in the end it was only this afternoon i was ready to use it. decide to drop an entry here as well =)

haha. i always welcome new things with anticipation! im still getting used to it, overall its looks sleek and cool. esp sitting on my desk, it looks better than on the display table.

hehe oh yah, i bought the HP Pavilion dv4-1413TX which is the "main" promotion they are having. it is qt heavy, as compared to most out there but besides that it looks nicer than some other laptop models, of which i shall not name.

WOOHOO!

My intent(ion) of buying a laptop.

i din really wanna blog today cos once again, somehow, friday was a busy busy day for me! as compared to the four other work days. hahaha. however, i realised that if i dun blog about this today i might not get to do so alr, cos im 90% sure im going to buy a laptop tmr at the PC SHOW =)

First of all thank you ben for correcting my "mistake". i have an intent(ion) to buy a laptop.

I'm pretty excited over getting a new laptop. I regard it as partially a necessity, because:
- I'm sharing a com with my brother and its frustrating I dun get to use the com when i want to.
- Since I'm sharing, it will be hard to maintain this relationship as the workload for the both of us will be on the rise.
- Owning my own personal com will allow me to be more active for eg on MSN and organise my stuff better.
- I need a better com to work better for uni.
- If necessary, i can bring it to campus and work / study / surf the net.
- It is time to reward myself before hectic lifestyle re-begins again.

I was aiming to buy one at this PC show since some time ago, and im quite sure I would buy it tmr. at least thats my goal. lol. the other option would be to wait till the NUS deals are available. the plus point of that would be that the office and adobe stuff will be included, along with other gimics like perhaps mouse and stuff. However, there are limited options available and there is no HP/Compaq deal, this brand being one of my prefered choices.

After a bit of research, i am quite biased for either the compaq CQ-40 or the HP Pavillion dv4.





This HP deal is kind of the most prominent and eye-catching deal HP offers. i think the last it fair they had this offer as well. from S$1899, it is cut to S$1299 and it is one of my options. I have to take a look at it "live" and feel it before i can tell, cos ben, who has been there on thursday alr, defamed it. LOL.




Compaq looks like another good option as it is more budget, which is my lu xian. ranges from 999 to abt 1.5k, which is very reasonable and value-for-money. haha. the keyboard looks better to type with, and of cos, again, the hands-on im getting tmr will be the key factor to deciding which one im gonna choose.

Looking through many review/ reports, i also have this urge to ZA on a netbook. haha. cos it is cool and it is the new trend! ok not so new but its still HONG now. =) definitely not going to buy it tmr but maybe in the near future i can go for one, can let my dad use when im not using, or my siblings. and since it's so light it could be a good addition to bring along on a day out. maybe through NUS? who knows. haha. i think the HP mini is damn chio la. (of cos sony is the chio-est but my pocket isnt so deep yet) last time when it just came out in 2008 i was alr quite tempted LOL. Dell's minis are qt cool too! hahaha.

Ronaldo set to leave =(((

Manchester United have accepted an £80m offer from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.

A statement on the United website confirmed that a deal for the 24-year-old should be completed by the end of the month.

''Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

''At Cristiano's request - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

''Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice.''

双子星

能让我相信
被爱的理由...

Ping Pong - twice in two days.

with ten more entires to CLEAR, i guess i would have to start to accelerate a little and clear some of the easy and short ones first. This one will be about:

Table Tennis

well, my passion for this sport has been on since a long time ago. when i was young, still in primary school, my dad taught me this sport and i loved it a lot. when i got to secondary school, i even went for the school team trials, but of cos i didnt have the skill to get in, i was still very nooob then. haha.

luckily for me, my classmates were very interested in this sport as well and regularly after school i went to the table tennis room and played the game. it could be as frequent as an everyday thing. =) After a while, and a little guide from the more pro players, i managed to improve my game and my passion for it hiked as well.

i rmbr there were times when the guys in my class even played using the teacher's table or joined up a few desks after school. haha.

but after upper sec, there was little chance of playing ping pong alr, i changed to playing soccer as the guys in my class were more interested in it. only during a few pe lessons did i play table tennis again. Similarly, it was only during one period of time in JC when PE lessons were playing ping pong that i got involved in this sport again.

However, it is not difficult to re-ignite the passion for table tennis in many singaporeans. After all, it is the team of female paddlers that won the long-awaited silver medal in the beijing olympics 2008 and also it is table tennis that brings the most pride to our country in terms of sporting. When there is a table tennis match on tv, it is common to find our loyal supporters glued to the screen, supporting the team who is battling for our country out there. As such, table tennis is a rather popular sport (esp to watch) in S'pore. I would catch most of the matches broadcasted on tv.

As my brother is also very interested in table tennis, last year, near my ORD, we decided to try to book the tampines sports hall table tennis facilities. haha. it is qt hard to find table tennis tables open to public booking in singapore. and tampines is one place in the east that provides this facility. and after the first time, there were more to come. Since it is convenient to book and it also comes at an affordable price ($1.50 for a non-peak hour and $3.20 for a peak hour booking) i could introduce this to my friends.

After a few times, we got more and more interested in ping pong, esp during the period when chn 8 was showing PING PANG YUAN! ping ping pang pang.. LOL. We play almost every week nowadays. haha. i always thought singles were more fun, since in doubles the play lasts shorter and it is more difficult to play. however, we grew to realise that it is more fun to play doubles than singles, somehow. i guess it is more average and more exciting XD

Last weekend, i played table tennis on saturday morning with my brother. the last time we played, i lost out to him and this time round, i lost again. Very very narrowly. haha. on the 5th set i think i was leading my 4 points and in the end i threw away my lead and gifted him the victory with some unforced errors on my own. zz. most of the time i lost points with my mistakes. i guess i was pretty tired from all the smacking i've done throughout. LOL.

The pace at which we play were much faster than that when i play with the XCT ppl. cos the standard between me and my bro is very close and thus kind of more enjoyable, as i have to be on my toes, left and right all the time.

(Saturday afternoon, i was accompanying jh with kk to find jh's new bag (MATSUUUU!!!) and i guess i covered qt a lot of distance that day)

Sunday morning, i met ben yj wx for table tennis AGAIN haha and we had a good time. i managed to push and teach and motivate yj a little more cos i cant stand her sian diao face and lazy motions and reluctance to wake up. haha. luckily, my efforts were not wasted as she showed tremendous improvement to nearly match her "second best improved physics student award by mr chow in jc 2" HAHA. im glad and hope she can improve more and soon can defeat benjamin liao LOL. jkjk.

Anws, the point is that two consecutive days of table tennis had an impact on my ankles, as the sport requires lateral movement from left to right and to left again. i believe that i twisted my ankle along the way. not due to a sudden sprain but perhaps accumulated from table tennis and walking.

It was quite pain on saturday and i could not walk normally because resting my body weight on my sole is painful. i had to tip-toe a little to reduce the impact on my ankle. Luckily, the pain slowly subsided on monday and i can walk as per normal alr now!

i hope to continue my interest in this sport, table tennis. It is easy to play, dun require too much energy and free from the burning Sun too! haha. perhaps i can intro this game to more ppl and play in NUS. if not, i dun think there will be occasions where i get to play with friends not living in the east, due to the inconvenience.

Anyone interested? leave a msg =)

Going to the toilet at work

After popular request from Gum's loyal fans all over the world, I have decided to blog one entry out of the eleven i listed yesterday! I guess i cant bear to disappoint the 54,063 ⁰ ppl who urged me to have another entry. Thank you guy(s) for your encouragement, i shall present you, the entry with the BAO DIAN title of,

"Going to the toilet at work"!!!!


Well, at work, going to toilet means a lot to me.

For example, it is a way of aiding time to pass faster. On a long day, especially when there is nothing much to "CC", going to toilet provides a useful and effective outlet. Although it is not very far away from my seat, a period of say, five minutes could be spent from the entire trip if i take my own sweet time.

I will take my time to walk to the toilet, and since the pantry is just beside the toilet, most of the time i would bring my MUG (M.U.G <--~--> G.U.M) along and refill my water supply. then, i can take my time to walk towards the Gents door and prepare myself for entering the toilet.

Entering the toilet is not an easy task as well, there are a number of things to look out for, and many scenarios may occur. Normally, i would push open the door, using my fist, and the first thing: the basin/mirror area, check. urinals, check. cubicles, check. it is necessary to look out for these 3 regions for ppl and to prep myself for any possible upcoming scenario.

As i enter the toilet and look at the mirror, i can already check whether there is any person using the first and outermost cubicle via the reflection. Another way to accurately (most of the time) gauge the presence of ppl is, the smell.. haha. indeed there are some times when the smell is overwhelming and i will have to act fast, move fast, pee fast.

Okay, now as I have stepped into the toilet, i would proceed to the row of urinals. This is where i have to make the important decision of which urinal to pee at. Note: this case is whereby I am free to choose from four out of four unoccupied urinals.

------- I'm feeling thirsty after munching on my Subway cookies, brb, go pantry ---------

ok, so, to choose which urinal, i have to consider two factors, which i saw somewhr regarding urinal etiquette. i have to choose the one with the least chance of the next person coming in settling in just next to you. thus, the ideal choice would be the one at either end. however, some colleagues still do not observe the unspoken rule of urinal etiquette and choose to pee right beside you. well, i have only exp that once though. Additionally, the cleanliness of each urinal plays a role in my decision too.

If, there are ppl alr peeing when i just entered, i would have to make wise decisions on where to pee. if he is a "WEBE" employee, i would just pee at the urinal furthest away from him, look at my *toooot* or look up during the duration of urinating and hope he's done soon and leavews quickly.

Similarly, if im the only one there and another person comes in, i would hope to quickly empty the WHOLE BLADDER and zao asap.

Well, there is another case whereby when i first enter the toilet, i meet ppl of higher rank. Managers, as their appointment suggests, are manageable but directors and, too GENGAR (gan ga) generally. Thus, i would be likely to make my way into the cubicle instead of using the urinals.

However, if they are the ones who enter while im inside, I would again, have no control over wad they want to do/go.

After the pee, i would wash my hands, sometimes with soap (esp with H1N1 zzzzzz) and maybe wash my face if too tired. if would adjust my hair, adjust my shirt which tend to slant the my left more than to my right. den, i would dry my hands. the above scenario will happen when im alone in the toilet.

If there are others ard, i would most probably wash hand and "ZULU BRAVO" out.

To leave the toilet, i would walk to the door, and place my hand on the handle. However, not forgetting there are no mirrors in my office for me to peek at my own cute face, i will hold the handle, slowly open the door, and yet keep looking at myself in the mirror. Then swing the door open and leave this place full of decision-making chances. There was once, that i blocked another person's way as i was MENG LOOKing when he was waiting outside the semi-opened door. HAHA. GENGARRR.

After this BRIEF and SHORT introduction to the tactics i put in place when visiting the WC, i would move on to the body of my essay. Which is what i originally intend to blog abt anyway.

I observe that the ppl i meet in the toilet is very often the same old ppl! one guy from some other dept (i have yet to find out his name o.O) And also, the scariest part of a toilet trip, meeting the managing director (biggest in the company). I feel that i have an affinity with him as i tend to bumb into him very often on my toilet trips. haha. srsly, and i dunno why.

All right, i have blogged my ZHONG DIAN, which is that i meet the big boss very frequently in/ near the toilet. So there is nothing more to blog alr!

Thank you for your patience in reading this blog entry full of educational and commercial value!!!! XD I bet you must be thinking HOW ON EARTH did i think of such brilliant points to talk about right? Well, fret not, i might consider opening classes if there is a demand, so please voice your opinion.

Once again, thx for your time! if you did not read everything in detail, i suggest you do so =)

(^^^)

Breeding Mozzies

haha, after the meng blog trend last last week, this place seemed to have started breeding mossies. luckily the tagboard is a little bit "active" haha.

ok, i have much stuff that i wanna blog abt, but right now, im pretty much not in the mood to do so. thus, i will have a list to remind myself to blog in the near (i hope) future. this is also one motivation that i hope can keep me blogging!

(in no particular order of importance/chronology)
(bold = not blogged. italic = done)

1. My sudden desire to marry and have kids at a young age.
2. My intent of buying a laptop.
3. Food (nice or not so nice) that i've tried recently.
4. Backstabbing - how, and what
   
5. EPL / soccer in general for next season.
6. NUS - camps, QET, tuition fees
   
7. Ping Pong - twice in two days.
   
8. Neo print taking - past & present
   
9. Update on Restaurant City's Progress
10. Going to the toilet at work
11. The blog that made me EMO last last week.

Thats pretty much alr. haha as i kept on going the more things i thought of. Of course, most things that i wanted to blog about is abt army which i din at all.

BARRY TO MAN C !??!?!

omg im rather shocked by this:

From soccernet:

Gareth Barry has complered his surprise move from Aston Villa to Manchester City for a fee of £12m.

The 28-year-old England international was heavily linked with a move to Premier League rivals Liverpool last summer but the Reds were unwilling to meet Villa's asking price of £18m.

He has signed a five-year contract at Eastlands after 12 years and more than 400 games for Villa.

It is thought Barry will be paid £80,000-a-week at City.

City manager Mark Hughes is banking on Barry's experience in the domestic and international arena to take the club to the next level.

Hughes said: "Gareth is widely acknowledged as one of the top midfielders in the Premier League and that is a recommendation in itself.

"When players of his quality become available then you have to be in the market for them so we are absolutely delighted that we have been able to conclude this deal.

"The experience required to compete with the best in the Premier League is vital. With Gareth we get the experience of someone who has played week-in, week-out in the hardest league in the world.

"He plays at a level that has an impact on the game and we are thrilled that he is joining us.''

Hughes is keen to complete some more early summer transfer business. He said: "I was looking to get a number of deals done as soon as possible and we have had a great start with Gareth joining us.

"I hope we can conclude some more so that when we come back for pre-season training we have everybody fit and well and set for a successful campaign.''

Club captain Richard Dunne, currently on Republic of Ireland duty, welcomed Barry on board.

"He is a really good player and a player the Aston Villa fans will really miss, '' said the defender.

"It shows the pulling power of the club. It's the sort of signing the manager is looking for - players with Premier League experience who can push the squad on.''

Barry has proved to be adaptable over the years and that is a trait that Hughes believes will serve City well.

"I like players that have the sort of flexibility that enables you to change your tactics if you need during a game, and Gareth has that,'' he told the club's official website.

"He also has a range of passing that I am keen to introduce to the team, and he has got great delivery at set-plays as well. He will bring a lot to City.

"I have spoken to him briefly, and I will do at greater length soon. It is clear to everybody that being at City is going to be exciting in the future, and Gareth sees that.''

Barry, currently with the England squad preparing for a World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan on Saturday, said: "I'm delighted to be joining City.

"It didn't take much persuasion from Mark Hughes, they are heading in the direction I want to go.

"There is great potential here, and I'm sure there will be a few more additions to the squad this summer.''

Barry had been offered a lucrative new deal to keep him at Villa Park while manager Martin O'Neill and Villa owner Randy Learner had both said they would be willing to run down the 28-year-old's existing contract if it meant keeping him for another season.

Barry has previously expressed his desire to join a club in the Champions League but City finished six places and 22 points behind this season's top four, all of whom qualified for Europe's top club competition.

City did not even qualify for next season's revamped Europa League with Everton, Villa and Fulham claiming the three places for English clubs.

wa, with barry gone, how will aston villa cope? does this lead the way for the other stars like ashley young and agbonlahor to go? better not. villa is a strong team because of the current squad. they must try to keep their stars!

and 12 million? i would have expected more for a player of barry's calibre. who else can man c lure to their club? if they can get a few more signatures of such good standard, it will be interesting..

Ancelotti is the new Chelsea boss

From soccernet:

Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager.

The Italian succeeds Guus Hiddink, whose short stint at Stamford Bridge ended after Saturday's FA Cup final victory over Everton.

Ancelotti, who has long been linked with the Stamford Bridge post, left AC Milan by mutual consent on Sunday.

A statement on their official website read: ''Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce that Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to become our new manager. He has signed a three year contract and will start on July 1, 2009.

''Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions.

''He also had a highly successful playing career in those competitions and therefore brings unparalleled all round experience to the job.

''We are sure everybody at Chelsea will give him a warm welcome and we are all looking forward to working with him.''

Now, questions over who the person taking over hiddink is over, the new question is, can Ancelotti make a difference, or can he make THE difference? would be interesting to see changes in the blues side though.