A Paler Shade of White

Slowing Down

Mon, 18 May 2009 23:46:07 GMT

With a hectic pace of life, it is ironic that we only slow down when we're sick. The long weekends no longer serve as a break but rather an opportunity to play catch-up with whatever work that need to be done (granted that it could be argued that its the person doing the work). Its been a long time since I caught the flu, fever, cough and the whole shebang and while I am lying sick at home on the first day, I am partially glad that I finally have some time to take it a lot slower and just rest. Partially because after 2 hours of "resting" I got restless. I could not sleep 'cos my body is too hot (pardon the pun) and cold at the same time. Being wrapped up only serves to increase my core body temp but not doing do make my extremities go numb. I could not concentrate on reading and neither could I play any games either for the same reason. So what did I do? I stared out of my widow for prolonged period of time of that equates to about 15 minutes. I went down often to buy myself food, drinks and other miscellaneous stuff. Anything to kill the time.

Its strange that now I've time to actually rest, I can't do it. Thankfully the fever has gone down to about 38.2 making me a little more lucid to think straight and allow me to do some work.

One reason why I don't write as often anymore is that I'm simply to tired (and lazy to do so). After a 12 hour day at work, I come home and all I wanna do is to just slack. I can empathise with people who used to tell me when I was working at the boardgame cafe that all they want is a "brainless and fun" game after a long day of work.

Driving has been great. The freedom it affords really is boundless at the moment. I don't have to squeeze with like 10,000 other people in the train nor do I have to deal with silly parents who refuses to compact their baby pram even though the kid is being held snugly by the mother. I don't have to deal with people blasting their oh-so-horrible-music in my face anymore. What I do miss though it the freedom to read on the bus.

Okie. Back to work .....

Driving

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:44:21 GMT

So .... I finally bought a car, albeit a second hand one, on the 12th of March. Rather, I received the car on the 12th.

It's one of the things that I told myself back in 2006 that I'll do by 2008. While I'm a little late on that promise but I still made it good. Forking out the cash was a little painful though but I had saved enough to afford a down payment and still have enough reserves to last me for a while. I must say that even thought I've driven in the years since I came back from Australia, I never really felt a much pleasure in driving those cars. However, this changed somewhat for this is MY car and it has given me much pleasure since. I had even missed driving it when I was away for the cca training trip up north and I am most glad to be able to sit in it once more and drive around.

Strangely, I've yet to take a photo of it. Of the car I bought in Australia, I only have one singular photo of it left after my HD crashed all those years back. Well, this is definitely a moment to remember and I will take a snap shot of it soon. For the moment, its enough to know that I've a car to call mine after all these years =)

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:16:18 GMT

I can't really think of a title for this post. There are things on my mind and yet I've no idea of where to start and more importantly, whether I would want to finish writing about it. Since this is a place for random thoughts, I might as well just write it down so I could just get it off me.

Every year I look forward to the tenth week of each term as that's where I could take a little break and not worry so much about dealing with work. Of late my tiredness has taken a toll in my teaching. It has affected the "person" that I am in class and it bothers me that I cannot function at my best (or at least my perceive best). I want to engage my students but the end result is usually one of a vicious cycle. Questions that are directed to students are not answered and as a reaction, more questions are asked and it continues to go unanswered. More questions, silence and then boredom. sigh. The ironic thing is that with each passing year, I've seen how the off-handedness and spoon feeding dependency of students bring them towards fostering a habit that is not very conducive for learning and studying. I try with the following batch to make certain changes in order to wean them off such dependency and yet, not only would I fail to steer them in the "right" path, I would start adopting rigid methods in which to combat this problem. The end effect is that I find myself becoming a little less effective in carrying out my work and that affects my morale and .... yeah, so the spiral goes.

Then again, it all boils down to perspective.

On a side note, I've realised that my climbing capability is probably round the 6A region. Still lacking in technique but I learn as I go. One thing I would like to do well is to learn how to shift my body around effectively so that I would be able to evenly distribute my weight. However, when I'm on the wall, thinking about how to shift my body around comes secondary to the fact that I am expending energy and strength holding onto the wall and hence. Its always a pleasure watching people move so gracefully while climbing and I hope to one day be able to do just the same. Recently returned from a trip to KL with the kids and I must say that the gyms and climbing parks there are definitely "A" grade quality. The only one I found odd was the rock wall at Genting. It seem a little out of place and at one point of time, there was even a sizeable crowd watching us climb! It does not help that there was a barrier between us climbers and the general crown. That made me feel like I was some caged animal on display and the public were there snapping away with their sony cameras going "ooooohh" " ahhhhhh".

After 3 days of intensive climbing, the third phalanges of all my fingers on my left hand, plus the fleshy area just below the thumb of both hands and both my forearms are now protesting against the strain I put them though. Oh well, no pain no gain I guess. it had been fun and I would very much like to do it again.

Quick Thought

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:23:08 GMT

I said before that this will come in little pieces but I never said how far these pieces would be hahaha.

I better write them before I get lazy and busy.

Was typing a message and a usual, my fat fingers would slip and press another button causing another word to appear instead. Usually its a normal word or gibberish (depending on what's in the T9 phone dictionary) but this time round I'm somewhat surprised when the word "klingon" appeared. Imagine that the dictionary would not have words like playstation stringed together but actually have "klingon" as one of its official word. I can imagine the person who designed this probably added words like "nemoy" and "spock" into it as well hahahaha.

Speaking of which, when is that damn new Star Trek movie gonna come!!??!??!

Ok ..... 2 cents for now.

Taylor Swift - White Horse (with lyrics)

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:02:16 GMT

I've been listening to this fantastic girl ever since one of my student sang it as an introduction to Literature Night last Friday. I could not believe what a great voice my student has and I must say I was utterly enthralled in that short min or so. So since there are still so many "fans" who linger still round this blog, this is from me to you.

And did I ever mention that I really really love acoustic music? No? Well now you do =)

43 Weeks

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:09:15 GMT

It has been 43 weeks since the last post and I believe by now, no one visits this blog anymore. Its a good thing I guess for I had always wanted this to be somewhat of a blog that is visited little by strangers and less so by friends.

Life has been hectic. Hectic to the point where words no longer flow out as easily for my mind it always pre-occupied with something else. I would play games to take my mind off everything else and the only reason (ok 2 reasons) why I spend so much time playing is because 1) I don't have to think too much and 2) its a lot more fun than writing words ;p

Its been a while and I guess there are things that we can't stay away for long. Writing is one for me I guess. And reading too. I'm beginning to find a certain balance in which old passions are once again rekindled. I'm reading once more though on a much slower pace than before but i am at least reading.

I sleep early these days too for the demands of each day takes a steady toll upon my body. Hitting the big 30 seems to be like a big milestone that is not felt in one day but rather over the weeks and months. I've been running on a regular basis and while it does contribute to my physical tiredness, I do feel good when my ipod tells me that my personal best for the km is steadily decreasing. At the current moment, I clock 4.55m. Not to bad for an old man who struggled to pass his ippt and had not done long distance since 2003. Its in the plans this year to do a full marathon. Speaking of exercises, I'm also looking to do a level 2 certification in my rock climbing. Unfortunately I don't really get to train often on the high wall and my endurance plus technique still suck somewhat but i'll try and get as much time in as possible. Looks like 2009 will be a busy but also a keep fit year for me =)

Blogging brings back memories. There are days where I wish it was like 2006 once again. oh well ...

Taking things slow and easy ... the revival shall come in bits and pieces as well. =)

Being at Starbucks

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:50:10 GMT

For the longest time I have not done work at one of my favourite Starbucks spot - Raffles City. Today I'm back once again and for the first time since November, I'm back at a seat that I had spent one November morning reading "Food of Love" by Anthony Capella (hmm which sadly now I don't have much time to read all the books I want these days).

This is the seat or rather the image above the seat. I used iphoto to take this so the angle was kinda odd.

The skies turning kinda dark and it would seem that it would soon rain. Pity. Its been such a good day so far before the need to do work sets in. Oh well .... I guess i'll just have to get back to it or rather get back to trying to start doing my work ;p

Definitely, Maybe

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:01:17 GMT

I say it once and I say it again.

Life has taken a turn. A turn in which sometimes we never ever look back. Almost anyways. I think about the times and the reason for setting up this blog in 2003. I cannot believe that it has been 5 years now.

What has changed? Everything but strangely, nothing as well.

Life, as elusive as ever, seldom gives us a direct hint as to what to look for but on the days that it does, it provides a refreshing look into something old. It gives us a new perspective into life and provides that tinge of being rejuvenated.

I found mine for this particular period. Have you?

I apologised for not writing about my life, my thoughts and my dreams anymore. T'is strange especially when I promised myself all those years back to write about my days and thoughts so that in the future, I'll remember what it was like all those years back. I used to back all these memories up but I stopped doing that a long time ago believing that the world wills as it is, what will be should be and will be. Plus that I got lazy as well. ;p

And so as I dance and breathe and sing amidst the bed of thorns, I learn to love and take things into stride.
_____________

It has been a while since I saw a movie that moved me. Well, it moved me a little but I guess sometimes its that little push that we all need to get going again. I hope this is the "little push" I've been looking for.

I had love the part of the movie where Ryan Renolds finally replied to the question why he had kept the book for so long.

"It was the only thing I had left of you"

But this one rocks my world

"I want to marry you because you’re the first person I want to see when I wake up and the last person I want to kiss before I go to bed every night and when I saw this hands I knew that I wanted to hold this hands for the rest of my life. I want to marry you because if you love someone as much as I love you that is the only thing you can do. So will you Ummmmm… Marry me?"

Ah ...

Knowing the World Through Music

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:45:45 GMT

For all of you chappies who were not born in the 80s =)

A Missing Piece .... Or Is It?

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:05:36 GMT

I went down to my old time comic store today after an absence of almost 4 months and I find it in a midst of a renovation. What I noticed as well was that the miniature cupboard was cleared out ... along with my dragon!!

Now that piece of mine was memorable as I remember spending almost a week painting it up. Holes were drilled and pins inserted to make it more durable followed by layers and layers of paints to provide the necessary shade and colour tone. That was all in the summer months of 2001 just before I left the country for Down Below. When I left, I had left the piece behind as a display. In the years to come, it was relegated to the bottom shelf as whole armies of a specific race/type was displayed to portray the idea of impressiveness (and to sell more minis to the public).

This was all well and good as I soon forgot about it being there entirely due to me being away. However, all of that changed today as I noticed the usually packed display case now displays a gloomy, dusty and EMPTY shelves! My first reaction was "OMFG!! Is my dragon still there??!?!?!?!" Of course it was not. I asked the shop attendant and all he could say, or rather do, was shrug. He offered to ask the guys who cleared the shelf out. At this moment, it kinda struck me - I had left the miniature there for so long only to visit it once in a while and I had pretty much lived without it for a very long time. Thus it actually really does not matter if I found it back. I told him to forget about it and somehow when I said it, a chapter of my life kinda closed itself. Gone are my painting days where I guess now is something I might not re-visit again in the near future.

So now I shall bid thee formally good bye until maybe the inspiration might once again strike me.

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:21:35 GMT

Gone are the days where I would have time to both think and write about my life and the on-goings. Sadly, these days are somewhat behind me now. Some days I find myself too tired to do anything else after work and all I want to do is to just go home, eat something and either read (much less now) or play games on my consoles. It would seem to me that I have settled into a routine and life has become as such. Gone are the carefree days. Then again it might just be me and what I do with my time.

sigh.

I think constantly about how and what to do for my next lesson. what is needed, how effective would it be etc etc. Writing a weekly and monthly reflection on my work makes me feel just drained to even want to write in this journal. Right now even as I type this, I find myself grasping for words to describe how I feel and at the same time, I keep thinking about what needs to be done when school re-opens next week.

These days, I would "run away" to the rock climbing wall and just ... climb. To wear myself out with aches and pain so as to divert my mind off planning for the next lesson and thinking about my students. Even at the orientation this time round, I took somewhat a backseat and just could not be bothered to mingle as much. Being a CT with problematic kids, while does maybe let me learn how I could handle them better, is becoming a pain right from the start.

bah ....

Just a Kiss ...

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:31:00 GMT

Today marks the climax and closing of the English week and I must say that its been pretty impressive so far. I was at the concert and had for myself a really really good time. There were many talented students amongst us and I am equally impressed with them all. There were times during the concert that I wished I had some of their talents especially in the musical sense.

As the concert wore on, I began to remember what it was like to be 17/18 once more. To be involved in events and concerts and to have pals hang around. I remember my days with the concert band. Sitting with fellow mates at the benches playing tunes after tunes. I remember the days of school camps where silly things were done. I remember the times after a performance where we would raise a toast to mark the hard work and the successful end . I remember what it was like to be .... alive.

haha. sounds like I'm 'dead' at the moment. Maybe I am. My time as a student has passed. Such days are nothing more but a whisper of a memory only to be recalled on the most rarest of days. Have I sunk into the role of a boring history teacher already?

I don't know.

But what I do know is that history always repeats itself and the kids today had gained a priceless treasure in which days to come, provide a great sense of comfort and longing as mine is doing to me now.

I learn. I live and I love. Sometime, that is all that matters =)

Sometimes all we can do is just to keep breathing and await with abated breath what life has to bring.

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:13:53 GMT

Talk about simplistic writing and opinionated worldview ;p

Changes

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:32:23 GMT

It's strange to feel the passage of time itself. I was munching on a kueh lapis just this morning and it hit me. I used to like this stuff when I was younger. I don't anymore. I was trying to recall the reason but can't think of a specific event that would point me towards the reason. I must admit that I don't really recall how long ago was it that I had last liked eating it. I just ... stopped. The next thing I knew is now me recalling I stopped liking it a long time back.

This got me thinking on other things too. I used to like this lotus paste bun when I was younger but that one I recall why I stopped liking it. My grandma, when she found out I liked it, bought it all the time like almost everyday. I kept eating it till of course one day when it was simply just too much and so I stopped.

Recently, I noticed a change in my running pattern too. When I do short distance, I would like drop my left arm down and swing my right arm when I'm running. Its as if I do it as an attempt to slow myself down to a more manageable pace. I would only swing both arms when I am either sprinting or running long distance. These days I just ... run. I'm somehow not used to just swinging my right arm anymore which is kinda strange especially now that I am saying that I am not used to it anymore. Weird.

Reflecting upon these, I could somewhat feel the passage of time. Of how I could recall what I had liked/not liked ages ago. I felt my age even more so in a recent incident at home. I spoke to an old friend about it and when I mentioned that I feel my age, he agrees as he too suffers from a somewhat similar incident at home. When we were younger, such problems were never our concern and somehow it now is. When had we assumed so much responsibilities without knowing? It is a sobering act when such realities hit you full on the face and things that were left simmering or hidden finally surfaces itself. I must say it's most ugly indeed. It gave me a new perspective to things and I find myself avoiding it. I find myself in denial that I have not witnessed such an ugly sight. Yet, the reality slowly sinks in as I begin to lose all forms of trust and credibility.

Will history repeat itself? Sins of the father? Does that run through? Despite that we would claim to be different, would we really be different?

If I were an evil overlord ....

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:08:51 GMT

Now this one little line out of 140++ of them really caught my eye:

7. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

Finally ... the evil one learns ;p

Another good one:

46. If an advisor says to me "My liege, he is but one man. What can one man possibly do?", I will reply "This." and kill the advisor.

51. If the beautiful princess that I capture says "I'll never marry you! Never, do you hear me, NEVER!!!", I will say "Oh well" and kill her.

Lifehouse You & Me

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:53:35 GMT

This has been a favourite video/music of mine for sometime now. I still remember watching Grey's when I heard this song and how I had tried to listen to the music amidst all that was going on. I remember looking in the screen of my lappie then at someone sitting right behind me. =) Good memories all.

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:13:34 GMT

This is getting old.

I'm getting old.

Days go by and I wonder where all the time has gone. Silly question.

This place is getting old too. Been 4 years and counting. Started back in the good ole days where it was not a fad and no one would think about looking for things like these.

Its getting old.

I'm getting old.

The Mutt ....

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:31:01 GMT

Its getting somewhat disturbing when my dog actually manages to steal my quilt under my nose several times during the night. I have no idea how he actually does it. All I do recall is that he would “sometimes” (depending on whether he realises I’m awake at that point) nudge me to allow him up onto the bed, other times he’ll be sleeping at the edge of my bed without me realising that he had climbed on board. Mostly I would realise when 1) I feel cold or 2) I kick him (unintentionally) halfway through my sleep.

Somehow I find myself amused and disturbed that he is invading into my sleeping time. I get like 5 hours of interrupted sleep and its making me want to just go out and buy another doggie bed so that he’ll stop feeling cold (or shameless by just sleeping on my bed without permission) and hence stop nudging my hand/face.

Right now .. I’m just tired and cranky.

Fine. I’ll go buy the doggie bed when I pass by the shop next. That way the girl can stop pawing him out from the original doggie bed and maybe he’ll finally leave me in blissful sleep.

Sigh … animals. ;p

Battleships Are Forever - Locally made game

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:59:40 GMT

Now it is always encouraging to hear and read about people who has the passion to make a difference. Being a gamer myself this is something I will most herltily support. The only thing is that im running a mac and now wish that he made a dmg file too instead of just a normal .exe

Sigh. I'll have to use mom's lappie on the sly then if I ever wanna play the game.

Hardest Game Ever!

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:57:55 GMT

Monster Hunter Freedom 2

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:25:01 GMT

Guess what I've been doing this holiday besides going away. Yup. I spent it playing games. ;p

Its a sleepless night for me and hence for once in a long time, I decided to write a review of a game I've been playing heaps during this holiday month (or rather ever since I got my new toy about siz weeks back heh).

Games have always been an important aspect of my life and it had been so since I had my first computer. Heck, it had been so since I was eight when my dad bought the first non-Parker Brothers board game. While work may have put a dent into the amount of time I could devote to playing, it has however, not dampened my interest in such. Once a gamer, always a gamer! mwahahaha.

Monster Hunter Freedom (both episodes) is a RPG game for the the PSP platform. I will use the word "RPG" here loosely as it does not conform to traditional understanding of the term. There are no experience to be gained, no level ups, no increment to health nor characteristics and no random enemy encounter. Like the title suggests, you hunt monsters. Ok while that is the gist of the game, there are a lot more to just hunting monsters. The essence is still, in part, exploring the various maps or, if you wish, hunting grounds. There are plants to be harvested, ores to be mined, little furry (some bigger than others) animals to be hunted for their meat, pelts and horns, bugs to be collected. All of these which are invariably used to make potions, bombs, weapon coatings and most importantly, armour and weapons. The crafting of such weapons and armour form the main basis of the game. As you hunt bigger and tougher monsters, the rewards, other than the triumphant feeling of having best a powerful creature, comes from what you can carve of its body. All of these material contribute to the makings of over 140 armour and weapon types.

Now, as the game is somewhat a non-traditional RPG, it might put off some of the purists gamers who believes that RPG should stay truly as it is - a leveling up of your hero's stats. If, in some what, this non conformist approach does not bother you as much then the next obstacle to overcome is the management of the controls itself. The game is not exactly the most friendly when it comes to the movement of the camera view. There is no auto lock on when combating an enemy thus requiring you to constantly manually move the camera to a favourable view and more often than not it requires a certain finess of you left hand which might leave you feeing a little awkward as you contort your fingers to get the job done. However, with much practice (talking about in the tens of hours) the controls gradually become familiar and it does not present itself so much as a problem. The camera view also presents another problem as it has everything to do with perception and aiming of your weapon. Still, once you are familiar with how your weapon works (in this case there are like 8 differnt types of weapons which provides a good variety to suit the player's taste) it no longer presents itself as a liability.

While it may seem that this game is hard to master, the system itself however, does provide an increasing mission difficulty. For example, the quest are rated by a number of stars and only by clearing all the missions of a particular star, say one star in this case, would it then unlock the the missions of the next higher difficulty - the two star missions. It is also possible to repeat a previously completed mission in order to gain more material or to familiarise yourself with the layout of the hunting ground. Of course, as the missions grow in difficulty, so does the reward. The amount of satisfaction gained in being able to complete a difficult slaying quest akins itself to winning the lottery. Well at least I feel that way especially when my character was brutally bullied into submission but with each defeat I learn their fighting patterns and adopt new strategies which finally brings me to my final victory over the accursed monster.

Besides just going on quests, there is something called the Pokke farm where you could develop by paying Pokke points gained from quests. The development of the farm yields more material in which could be used in aiding your character on his or her quest. My favourite of the farm is Trevor's Boat. There you have a Felyne (some sort of a cat) adventurer who when sponsored by you goes looking for treasure in the known world. The animation when you send him off on his quest are quite fun to watch. From a mundane slow rowing of his boat to an inspired burst of speed and also the sinking of his pathetic little canoe where the Felyne valiantly meows and struggles to stop himself from sinking.

This game itself is NOT for the casual gamer. The amount of time spent playing it could it easily total 100 hours and more. Some hardcore fans reported as many as 400 hours spent refining their character. The amount of depth this game has is tremendous and if a non-traditional RPG is something that you've always wanted to try, then MHF2 might just be the right game for you.

Home Part Deux

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 02:14:26 GMT

I was out yesterday at amk and decided to grab a quite breaky before the movie and I had always loved the bread from Subway. I knew there was one around the area and hence headed towards it and ordered my all favourite bread - Parmesan Oregano. What I was most disappointed was to see the measly amount of herbs sprinkled onto the bread. It was little enough that it made no difference from that and the normal Italian bread. It had ABSOLUTELY no taste of the herbs whatsoever! Throughout the entire meal, I comtemplated on if I should launch a general complain about the quality of the food and it struck me - Who do I complain to? I was never much of a person who makes a big fuss about the service I get (unless its exceptionally poor) or the food that I eat (I just don't ever visit a bad bad place again) but this is Subway we're talking about so its not some any other place! sigh. Anyway just a rant. I'll look into the matter prob later today.

Anyways, Taiwan as a whole had been a good place to visit. There were lots of things to do outside of the cities . Strawberries were coming into season and we had almost gone picking if we could. Loads of beautiful places, fantastic sunrises, clear blue lakes and towering mountains. Loved it all. Most of what I do like is the FOOD!!! My god! The chicken cutlets were HUGE and salty!! LOVE LOVE LOVE! hahahaha The milk "sha bing" was wonderful too that I had gone round the country looking to compare which city or rather which night market had the better ones. Too bad we can't get much of these stuff around here (maybe in Little Taipei?)

Hmmm don't know why but I kinda lost my train of thoughts while typing halfway. My mind wonders with the though of food and games ... shrug. Oh well .. no matter then. Will write when the mood strikes once more =)

Home!?

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:40:14 GMT

Its been a good couple of weeks away and i had started to immerse myself in
the culture of the country and have grown
to love the local cusine. the people were likewise a group whom i found friendly and mostly helpful and it made my time there.

coming home is alwaya a bitter sweet thing mainly that i do miss home and its familiar scent i somehow wish for a change in my environment every now and then to keep my life interestiny. at the same time, i love being familiar and take much comfort in things and envuronment that i know well. for example when i was on the train to amk this morn, the crowd makes me feel squeezed for space but yet at the same time its a part of home and things are. i can be pisse
unhappy or what nots but i still feel the comforts of home. it was good.

write more later as i'm using my pda to write this n its starting to get tiring. that and i've a movie to catch ;p

Dec is Here ...

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:33:33 GMT

I can't believe that its actually December. The month that I've been looking forward to the whole entire year!!! Yay!!

Ever since missing out on the June holidays due to some crappy useless induction program, December has been the month I've been looking forward to. More so especially when I have a trip planned and I am glad to be leaving the country for somewhere colder and give me a fresh perspective on life and what it has to offer.

However, this week itsef has been somewhat pensive as there is this fuss from my campmates that I've not been called up and thus generated a buzz and a look into the reason why I was not called in. I spent the last couple of days getting ready to receive a call. Even if I do get called back (which is on a VERY VERY short notice) i still need to settle some admin matters especially that of taking leave from school. While it maybe the hols, it does not mean that I can be called up as and when ... There is also the matter that if I were to go in 2 days late, it might not even be counted towards my 10 year cycle and that would really suck.

Shrug.

At the moment, I am stlll doing work though its somewhat towards the minimum. My days are free ... and devoid of acivities especially when friends are still at work and colleagues are all away. So that pretty leaves me much to myself and I suddenly don't know what to do with all the free time (except for work). I am reading, playing my games, going for runs and yet there still heaps and oodles of time to kill. I could take afternoon naps but somehow it won't be as satisfying as I'll just feel lazy ...

Ah. .. cant wait for next week to come where I'lll just fly away =)

To be 17 once more ....

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:42:31 GMT

I was taking the long walk into school when the thought hit me. I remembered how it was like to be 17. Somewhat carefree, not much worries about life except for assignments, exams and the occasional girl problem. Life was easy. Life was fun .... and I was broke.

Ah ... then it hit me. While it may have been good but somehow living each day with a limted amount of funds was just not fun. There had been books I had wanted to buy, gadgets to own and places to go but all these were hampered by the sad fact that I was limited by the size of my bank account (and of course the upkeep for hte girlfriend). While I had time, I had nothing I could do with it. I could, urgh, study but I rather take up a course like cooking or painting or something else to keep myself busy and learning about other things than logical arithmetic progression.

Now that I am working, I am actually enjoying it so much more than when I was a teenager. True, there were many good days of bonding and experimentation. However, it is somewhat not as satisfying as being able to use your own purchasing power to BUY things that I want. There opened up a bigger world of opportunities the moment my bank account became flushed with the renumeration of my hard work (ok ok .. some days were hard at all heh).

The school holidays are here and while it may only come truly once a year, it is a time to take a good break, go away somewhere, buy new toys and new shoes and new clothes and new whatever. Investments are also another thing that is giving me a good amount of pleasure, especially when its doing well. There is almost nothing like watching your money grow.

Of late, while my expenses had been high, the feeling of it being well-spent remains. Like my new macbook for example, am still very happy with it and I think I might never be going back to a window based platform (except for work). My new bundle of joy - my PSP, has been providing me with heaps of entertainment.

Another thing is that while we are 17, our life experiences are somewhat limited and this is further reinforced by my recent interaction with a student. A 17 year old with assets he call himself. While he may have assets but somehow there still lacked the level of growth and empathy for his fellow men. He's a nice kid but somehow he still has a long way to go. Shug. oh well ....

So heres to working and earning a living.

And heres to looking forward to what the world has to offer to me when I'm in my 30s, 40s, 50s till my 80s =)