This blog is all about me, and anything about me. Be prepare to be loaded with lots of food, movies, music, grumbles and even some foul language. This is the place for anyone who knows me, even on the most superficial level. Enjoy and hope you know me better each day. (please adjust your display setting to Unicode)
Finally Feeling IT
Was browsing the Net when I came across some local anime-bloggers' review on movie version of EVANGELIONthat is being shown in local cinema recently.
And after editing the blog post on the movie of my friend from Japan (in Chinese, he is trying very hard to learn that), All the more I wanted to rush down this week or next week or anytime before it ends its show reel in Singapore.
However, I don't think I can.
First, I have got some major job hunting to do. I have 2 job application left hanging, and the deadline for submission is this weekend. Next, for example tomorrow, I've got recruitment talk to attend. These tasks are filling up schedule quite bad already.
Next, there's the farewell party this week.
Finally, and most importantly, quiz and exam is on its way. I've got a quiz next Thurs, and exam is in less then a month, with the last paper slightly more than 1 month away.
Yes, I am finally feeling it, the sort of pressure I should be surrounded by as a final year student. Fortunately, I am feeling it. If I only realise it any later, I can really kiss my graduation good bye.
I need IT.
// sprinkled by wing_0 @ 3/25/2008 11:13:00 pm
Along the Way to The Last Mark of this Race
After rushing in and out of the school's printing room for almost 10 times, and spending a total of 40+ (inclusive of wrong print), I finally submitted Final Year Project report to both my examiner and supervisor.
Along the way to this day, I think I had slightly less than expected of working time spent on it as I would expected.
It starts from 2 weeks ago, after I got back my report from my supervisor. It seems that I had quite a bit to edit, but it isn't that much work after all. 3 days later, I was done with the major bulk of the editing, and took on a guerilla warfare to battle the last bit of changes over the weekend.
I hope it was smooth because I had been efficient in editing, and not because I missed out a lot of other stuff.
In the mean time, I took a little time off to join a lunch gathering organised by International Student Centre, where by my friend from Japan is making nori-maki, most probably because his skill in sushi making was made know to the rest of the exchange student community after the sushi party a while ago. His skill is undeniable, his time in at his part-time job at a sushi restaurant had not wear out a single bit all these years.
Then again, this was a good time for me to gather people for a farewell dinner party for another Japanese friend of mine, which is going to be this coming Thursday. It will be more food and more karaoke at our usual place again. Can't wait for it already!
And I spent a little too much time in the end, chit-chatting with a HKU girl after the lunch gathering.
Next on was last week. First, there was Japanese Cultural Fest. Though I am no longer a committee member of Japanese Appreciation Club, I took it upon myself to help out a little, such as helping sai lou with tables (he joined the club and is doing quite fine job), filling up the mini-pool for fish-scooping games, and also by playing the games to attract some crowd.
Then, as shown in the photo above, there was the Soka Association gathering, organised by my friends from Japan, who are student of Soka University. This time, it is a okonomiyaki and takoyaki party. While the okonomiyaki was simple enough, tako-balls ain' that simple, and once again, the task was partaken by my friend who can make sushi, who incidentally also had done part-time at takoyaki outlet in Japan. While there were quite a bit of excess ingredient, it was just right when some were brought down to Staff Club to the guys waiting at their usual drinking session. There, I did some catch up with my guy friends from HK, and had fun meeting the guys from Korea.
And funny enough, the HK gal who tagged along, decide to order a Milo in the pub... making a very interesting way for me to enjoy my Good Friday weekend.
On Sunday, I decide to follow lou ma zi to follow lou dao to work (a way to tune down my father's workaholic style), so I could catch a ride to replenish some of the stuff I will need for my coming (fucking, irritating) mobilisation exercise.
And for lunch, I was treated with the best laksa I had eaten so far: the soup was so incredibly light for a coconut milk-based noodle dish like that. I am definitely bringing my beautiful friend to try this (getting lou dao to drive, of course) when she come over.
From all these, I was seemingly having too much fun, but I was not alone, when I talked to some of my school friends today at the printing shop also. The few of us are all going to have a quiz tomorrow also, but since it is MCQ + open book, 1 day is more than enough to prepare already.
Let this be the last stretch of fun and relaxation before I confront my last exam season of life @ NTU.
// sprinkled by wing_0 @ 3/24/2008 05:01:00 pm
Not Just Chicken Fingers: Chicken Brain as well
I had never been a person of nimble fingers. Bad handling, clumsiness, etc, are some of the things people will associate me to once they got to know me better.
But never had been a long-period of intense major accident-prone days, until recently.
1st, if you have noticed, I had broke a brand new soy-sauce bottle the 1st night it was back in my hall. As a result, I am not stuck with a ugly, plastic bottle.
Next, my soap dispenser. Yes. it had already some dent on it due to prolonged usage (2 years, a rather long period for my context), but it finally gave way when I dropped in on the floor before going for shower. The aftermath was horrible: having to clean up the whole floor; use scrotch tape to temporary prevent further leakage; going down to town to get a new one the next morning.
And today, while heating up some food for dinner (alone, sai lou went down to prepare his/my old club's event), I spilled the gravy onto the area near my desk/dinning table. I had to spent 1/2 an hour for cleaning up, only to found out it was still stinking with the gravy, and I had to spend another 1/2 hour to further clean up the mess.
But frankly, I can't really blame my clumsiness alone. These accident happened because of my haphazard way of preparing things.
For the sauce bottle, if I did not stupidly decdied to refill the bottle with soy-sauce on the thin latch outsdie my room, it would not have fell down on the floor. I would have swept down, if I had open the original bottle of sauce before hand.
For the dispenser, if only I had ensured I had a firm grip of all the 3 (shower soap, shampoo & conditioner) bottle, I would not have even drop it to begin with.
Finally for the gravy, the one preparation I did not took was to place a table mat/old newspaper over my desk/dinning table. If I had done so, I would be able to hold the oven tray horizontal at all time, and be mindful if any of the gravy is swirling too much. It was due to slanting the tray too much when placing the mat/paper down, I spilled the gravey and caused the smelly mess.
If only I did not think like a chicken, I would not have let my chicken fingers spoil the rest of the day. For god sake, prepare a little more before I start doing anything next time... before my child being the next and final things I could drop.
// sprinkled by wing_0 @ 3/18/2008 08:40:00 pm
Beautiful Friend
By right, this week should still be a busy week for me, editing my final draft of my Final Year Project. But somehow, I was too fast in working on it, and I managed to take my eyes off it and write here again.
And in doing so, I got a pleasant surprise from the beautiful stranger I met back in Beijing.
Admist reading her blog, I read that she is planning to come over to visit Singapore during May, just so that another guy and I from GIP are free to bring her around. Of course, I will be more than welcome to do so. In a way, I am fufilling my promise to all those whom I met in Beijing, that I will show them the same hospitality they shown me last time.
But it did not strike me, that whe we finally get to talk on Messenger, she pop right into here, the same way I did when I knew she have a blog.
As you all will always see on my intro paragraph, my blog is not only for myself. It has and always been a channel for others to know me better. Afterall, I am not too good in spoken words, always tends to be too quick and zealous. Here, I take a step back, re-look into things that happened, and jot down what I should remeber 10, 20 years down the road, show others what is really important to me.
And the best thing is, she read all the post in the last 4 years, right back to the days we met, and up to the worst days of my life so far.
The blog has served its purpose for one more person. While I may lost this stranger forever, I am sure I have just gain a beautiful friend that we will cherish our friendship that we have and soon to build on.
// sprinkled by wing_0 @ 3/14/2008 12:25:00 pm
Switch It Off
In the age of technology, everyone has a handphone, it just make everyone connected to anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Or is it not?
I was watching a stand-up comic by Hong Kong veteran comedian Michael Hui with my family tonight. The first topic I catched was the issue of handphone. Yes, it is such a nice thing to have for couple, but it actually kills the romantic part of dating. Now that people can connect to the loved ones anytime they want, guess what do they say most to each other? Trust me, nothing romantic at all:
"What are you doing?" "Where are you now?" "What time you coming back?"
I mean, where are the true words of concern like "Baby, how's your day?" or "I miss you very much, hope you are fine", etc. And even when you two are just next to each other, you will still be disturbed by SMS coming to your phone. And if you decide to switch off your phone, your friends will call you unfriendly, etc, etc.
For god's sake, there's 2 occupation in the world that needs to be on-call 24hr, one is doctor, the other is... ahmmm....
Maybe, it's time for us to learn to turn it off, and give our loved ones some dedicated time that they really deserve when we call each other our loved ones.
// sprinkled by wing_0 @ 3/09/2008 12:30:00 am
One Good Album
After clearing the first draft of my report, I'm finally back on track in terms of life. I have the time to prepare my lesson before classes, and now, finally to write something about the music I like.
I came across Joanna Wong after seeing her perform with her father (the producer of S.H.E.'s album) on the popular 康熙来了(as seen below). Joanna is only 20, but like the case of Nakashima Mika, she has a vocal beyond her age. While her record company compare her to Norah Jones and Lisa Ono (who happen to be the same record company as well), it is not exactly over-rated.
But indeed one common point between Mika and Joanna: both of them sing Live bare-footed.
Most of her songs in the 2 CD album, start from here, comprises mostly of English song, which she tends to perform with better feel to it, as compared to her Chinese tracks. I am not surprised, as she is educated in the West afterall. Like myself, I tends to express myself better in English as compared to Canton/Mandarin or Japanese, which I am exposed to most of the time, and why I insited on blogging in English.
But the best track, was her rendation of David Tao's 爱很简单. In her version, Joanna made the song hers, with a whole new touch to the classic love song cum KTV favourite. The whole song sound less commercial and KTV-friendly, which is one of the main distinction she wanted to made between her songs, and the general Chiense-pop genre.
She actually trashed her dad (also the producer for the album) for adding unecessary backing vocal to some of her tracks.
In all, start from here is like enjoying a machiato in the lazy afternoon, relax yet giving you the perk to enjoy the moment. Enjoy it, and you will love it.
// sprinkled by wing_0 @ 3/06/2008 01:40:00 pm
