I've many other things that I can write about - shopping, ktv, girls' nights out, commencement, bitching (a very frequent topic, or rather, subject kept popping up lately), unemployment, suay bumping into Missus HLQ, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day (which usually ends in the early morning for me haha, and the the next "day" begins after a few hours of sleep on the same day), what's most important to me? Easy. FIFA World Cup.
I watch World Cup, breathe World Cup, eat World Cup, drink World Cup, sleep World Cup, and probably even shit World Cup.
Although I don't watch all the 3am matches (cause sleeping at 5am is really too disrupting to my day), I watch all the news - let it be 1pm, 6.30pm, 10pm, 11pm - for World Cup news and the goals. I read the newspapers (never have I been more diligent in doing so). My favourite website of the moment is the FIFA World Cup official site which I also diligently surf regularly for new articles, updates and photos.
I even have a centrefold of the newspapers, which is an excellent schedule of the FIFA World Cup, stuck right in the middle of the wall in the living room. My family ordered cooking gas one day, the delivery man saw it (the schedule's so big that it's hard to miss anyway haha) and started talking about the World Cup with us hahah. Seems that the FIFA World Cup can even bring strangers together.
After each match, I enthusiastically fill in the score and start to predict how the rest of the tournament would go. Like who will probably win this game, then who they will meet next blah blah blah.
The next couple of days will be interesting as the remaining 8 teams battle it out on the field for a place in the finals.
I am currently depressed cause I might be missing both the Germany/Argentina and England/ Portugal matches due to gatherings. Always try to arrange my appointments such that I don't miss any important match but it's not always possible. =( But well, friends always still come first. World Cup comes every 4 years. 4 freaking long years!!!!~ *sob sob*
For something that one has been waiting for 4 years, the FIFA World Cup is too painfully short. Just a month since it first started, the final will be on (Singapore time) 10th July 2am and the 2006 World Cup will come to an end. But all good things must come to an end. It's inevitable. I just hope that the withdrawal symptoms won't be too jialet.
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Yes, da man ought to be happy. And yes, like what Melis said, I'm an Ah bui supporter! hahah but I'm the only one who can call him Ah bui. I even tick my own sis off every time she addresses him so. heehee.
Ronaldo finally inscribed his name into football's history books on 5pm, 27th June 2006 (Tuesday) at the FIFA World Cup Stadium, Dortmund, Germany by scoring a record-breaking 15th FIFA World Cup goal in the match against Ghana, to take him clear of Gerd Muller as the tournament's all-time top scorer.
At the 5th minute of that game, a well-weighted pass from Kaka allowed Ronaldo to sprint clear of Ghana's defence. Though faced with a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, he remained cool, calm and collected. He ultimately left Richard Kingson sprawling with a clever shimmy, dragged the ball round the keeper and, with a defender rapidly closing in, flicked out his right boot to send the ball home. His 15th goal. It was classic Ronaldo. No doubt, it was Ghana's worst possible start to this match as Brazil took an early lead. But it also marked a historical moment.
His 15th goal!
Afterwards, da man reflected on the achievement: "How do I make history? It's tough, difficult, it's not easy. You need a lot of sacrifice and a lot of work. This is the product of many, many years of effort. What do I want from now on? More, more and more. I want to keep scoring, as I still have much left to give."
Yes, I would agree on that. He ought to try for more. Cause there's this bloody German fellow called Miroslav Klose who's chasing behind him at 9 goals, and who would most probably score more as his country proceeds on in this tournament. The only hope comes this Friday as Germany meets Argentina, and hopefully gets eliminated. Wahahaha. That's not my evil twin. That's just me. HA.
To read about all his 15 fantastic goals which cemented his status as one of the game's all-time greats, go to this article at FIFAworldcup.com: Ronaldo the record-breaker (27th June '06).
.: Next Brazil match (against France): 1st July 2006, 9pm, Frankfurt, Germany :.
And I like this photo! hahah Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos were flying!!!!!
¶ 8:02 PM1 bling blings
Damn funny as usual. =)
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*yawn* I've more to say but time's not on my side right now. Another day! Auf Wiedersehen! ¶ 2:05 AM
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Like nose-bleeding H-O-T!
HOT!
HOT! HOT!!
HOT! HOT!! HOT!!!¶ 12:41 AM
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Da man is back!Yes, my Ah-bui is back.
HA. Let see what they have to say now. *smug*
Let us look at the goals that night:
46’: Just when I thought that Japan would carry the lead into the half-time break, Brazil struck. Ronaldinho crossed for Cicinho (a very well-placed header) to head back across goal, where Ronaldo ghosted into space to nod home. Da man's 1st goal!
Now that Ronaldo has joined Gerd Muller as the joint-leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup finals history, the record was held by German legend Muller achieved during the 1970 and 1974 tournaments. That's like damn long ago. So if Ronaldo beats this record this WC, perhaps it would also be long before another fella comes and breaks it.Man, I hope that this would not be his last goal too. But I guess he does have a good chance to score again in the next match against Ghana in Kaiserslautern on 26 June. And I hope that he gets back to form soon. If he still can, that is. He's better now than during the previous matches, but still quite far from 2002 FIFA World Cup. But nevertheless, as happy for him as his team mates. =) =) =)
¶ 7:03 PM3 bling blings
Know what does that phrase mean??
It is "I want to go to Brazil!" in Portuguese (which is Brazil's official language)!
Well, at least according to this free text translator site. HA.
No doubt, Quero ir a Brasil partly because of the country's famous football team. At least the sports was the main way I was first properly introduced to the country.
Football is the most popular sport in Brazil and has a major effect on Brazilian culture. Advertisements often feature youngsters playing football on the streets of Brazil. They are not kidding. Football is the favorite past time of youngsters that can be found playing football on the streets. I want to see that for myself. See if every kid on the streets has a football stuck on his foot. See if each of them is a Pele or Roberto Carlos or Ronaldo or Ronaldinho in the training. See if 9 out of 10 kids on the streets really play better football than a player on the England National Team. Ok, maybe a bit exaggerating. But you get what I mean.
Besides football, other aspects of the Brazilian culture are also as rich. For instance, music. Who hasn't heard of samba?! It is widely viewed as Brazil's national musical style and undoubtedly the most internationally famous form of Brazilian music. Another genre, which although isn't as popular in Brazil as other parts of the globe, is bossa nova. You might be surprised to understand that bossa nova is actually a derivative of samba. Such passionate music must have arisen from passionate people. I like passion. It's infectious.
And then there is the biological diversity! Forgive me, I was a biology student haha. Although Singapore also houses tropical rainforests, due to the necessary development of our country, our rainforests are mainly sceondary and there isn't much animal diversity. But Brazil has the largest mammal diversity in the world, with more than *gasp* 500 described species! And there's probably many yet to be discovered. Moreover, 66 of these species are endangered species and 40% of the threated taxa belong to the primate group. Our nearest cousins!!
And when we talk about Brazil, anyone, ok la, maybe just biology students, would have thought of the Amazon Rainforest. This bloody big piece of moist broadleaf forest in the Amazon Basin of South America represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and contains the largest and most species rich tract of tropical rainforest that exists! How could Singapore forests compare?! Just look at some of the animals habitating there. Soooo cute.
And lastly, I saw this in an advertisement last World Cup (2002) and it's so maginficent that it kinda stuck in my mind.
Ok, I'm no Christian, not going to embrace the religion in the future and definitely not a believer, but imagine this! Looks like a hug of 30 meters from Jesus Christ, doesn't it??
This is the Rio de Janeiro statue, Christ the Redeemer, or in Portugese, Christ o Redentor. It's spectacular, isn't it? I know that there are loads of such breath-taking statues all around the world. But somehow one like the colossal statue of Zheng Ho at Xiamen fails to attract me. I guess a religious one somehow gives the statue an air of mystery, hence increaing its appeal. Like gigantic statues of Buddha, such as those almost 2,000-year-old Buddhist masterpieces in the central province of Bamiyan, including the world's tallest standing Buddha (50m). Well, when they were still around anyway. They've been demolished by the Afghanistan's Taliban Islamic militia some years back. Urgh. What a pity.
I read somewhere that it’s frequently said that God is brazilian. The real truth is unknown, but at least a piece of him is in this statue. Towering above the marvelous city with open arms for, giving it forever a permanent hug. From one hand to the other, measuring almost 30 meters. Since it was placed on top the 710-m peak of Corcovado mountain in 1931, this figure has been one of the most famous symbols of Rio, as well as Brazil. It stands at 38 m, weighs 700 tons, and is visible night and day from most of the city's neighborhoods. From the top, the view is nothing short of heavenly. The entire city spreads out in a magnificent panorama during the day, glittering and magic after dark.
So cool, isn't it? It's like the city is always protected by Christ the Redeemer (Brazilians are mainly Roman Catholics).
I can't imagine what would we have if Singapore wants to have such a impressive monument. The statue(s) of Sir Stamford Raffles looks diminutive in comparison. The Merlion guarding the Singapore River's bigger and representative of our country, but still relatively miniature. It's like Bukit Timah Hill beside Mount Everest.
And speaking of a peak to put a statue on, Brazil has Corcovado mountain that stands at 710m. Our Bukit Timah Hill, highest point in Singapore, has a mere height of 164m only. If we put a colossal statue like Christ the Redeemer (38m, 700 tons!) on top of Bukit Timah Hill, would it flatten at the sheer weight of it all?! HA. There goes our hill then. Gulp.
Finally, O Brasil parece como um país bom. Pergunte-se quando eu finalmente terei uma possibilidade ir aí? Mas talvez necessitarei recapitulo em meu frist português, considerando que todo o mundo aí fala esta linguagem. Ou acabo de ligar um brasileiro. HA.
¶ 2:55 PM2 bling blings
Enjoy. =)
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My Brazil booked their place in the Round of 16 after overcoming a tough challenge from Australia with a 2-0 win just now in Munich (Germany, 6 pm). *thank god*
It was such a stressful match for me that I could hardly breathe properly. The reason being that Brazil wasn't exactly in top form in their previous match against Croatia, and I wasn't sure how they would perform today either. Moreover, Australia beat Japan 3:1 previously. Though Japan's hardly even in the league of Brazil, I didn't think that the Aussies would even win Japan, being unable to qualify for WC for 32 years. At least Japan was qualified 4 years ago.
But Brazil still won as expected after taking the lead four minutes into the second half through Adriano, but they had to survive one or two nervy moments before substitute Fred sealed the victory with a tap-in in the 90th minute. And while their win against the Aussies isn't altogether convincing, their second victory ensures their progress to the second round, with a game to spare. It's enough. For now.
My man Ah-bui still isn't doing too well though. Continuing signs of fatigue. Maybe he can no longer do it. Just like Raul. Or Zidane. Or Figo. Seems that they are all facing the same fate. But Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira still started the match with the same team that had defeated Croatia in the first game with Ronaldo keeping his place in attack. And luckily at the 3rd minute, Ronaldo finally gave a glimpse of his magic early on, controlling the ball on his chest on the edge of the area and lobbing it over his head for Kaka to volley inches wide. Not sure if this is enough to silence the less than complimentary headlines following his first appearance at Germany 2006 though. 
And just like the 1st match, he was substituted at the 72th minute for Fred. Who managed to score Brazil's 2nd goal in the 90th minute. The 1st one occurred at the 49th minute when Ronaldinho found Ronaldo on the edge of the box and the Real Madrid striker squared to Adriano who cut inside onto his left foot before striking the ball through Scott Chipperfield's legs and inside the near post.
Now I've never heard of Fred before this WC so I did some checking and found that he is a forward in the Brazilian team, with a prolific goal scoring record in his short club career. He holds the record for the fastest goal in Brazilian football history, timed at 3.17 seconds (wow that was damn fast). And he is currently playing in French champions Lyon after being courted by many big European clubs. And bloody, he's only as young as us! That makes him a year younger than Kaka. Though his looks are not at all convincing. haha.
Now Brazil only has one last match against Japan before going onto the next round. I've seen the Japs play. A Brazilian triumph should be a piece of cake.
And talking about why I like Brazil, ohh look at them. Ohh aren't they adorable??
Talking about the Asian teams, of course, my fave is Korea Republic. For their determination and never-say-die spirit on the field. I caught the match between France and Korea at Leipzig, Germany, and was estastic that they fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with France!
Thierry Henry scored an early opener at the 8th minute and honestly, all had looked bleak for the Koreans then. The French made more attempts at goal and seemed to keep the ball from the Koreans pretty much. But I knew that the Koreans would continue fighting hard and that an equalizer was very much possible. And indeed, the day was saved for all Koreans at the 81st minute as Park Ji-Sung cancelled out Henry's goal! The point salvaged here places the Koreans at the top of Group G with Switzerland. =)
¶ 2:31 AM2 bling blings
Ok, to be exact, if we look at the statistics, England only made 23 attempts at goal, but honestly it had felt then like at least 100.
Come to think about, England only had 2 successful goals out of the 23 attempts. That gives a percentage of a mere 9%. Trinidad and Tobago made only 7 attempts and 3 nearly went in. Especially the one at the 45th minute when John's header looked to be going in after Robinson came out and missed another cross, but luckily for England fans, Terry managed to hook the ball off the line. If England didn't manage to put in any goal that night, and neither did Trinidad and Tobago, Terry would have been the hero of England.
And we had fun trying to decide who was the ultimate screwer of the game on the England side.
At first, it was a pretty tight draw between Owen, Crouch and Lampard.
Lets look at pretty boy Owen 1st. Just to name a few of the screw-ups he had:
6': Crouch laid the ball off for Lampard via Beckham's cute dummy and the Chelsea midfielder fired a shot at Hislop. The goalkeeper failed to hold it but Owen stumbled as he tried to latch onto the rebound.
56': A fantastic free-kick by Beckham made its way to an unmarked Owen but he guided his header wide with his last contribution of the match.
No wonder at all that the English fans started chanting for Rooney's return to the field. And indeed, Owen was switched at the 58th minute for Rooney. Not that Rooney had any contribution to the goals, but I admit that his return to the field spurred the English team psychologically and England noticeably upped the tempo. 
After Owen left, it was a tough fight between Crouch and Lampard for the title of the "ultimate screwer of the game on the England side". And it was so cute cause they seemed to alternate to screw up. Don't believe? Let's look at the statistics for proof.
41': Joe Cole clipped the ball to Lampard in a great position, but his side-footed volley went over the bar.
43': Beckham crossed to an unmarked Crouch eight metres out, but he volleyed well wide of the mark.
61': Beckham set up Lampard, though his flying volley attempt did not trouble Hislop.
77': Rooney linked up well with Crouch, who freed Lampard but his shot went straight at Hislop. Lampard had yet another strike 60 seconds later, this one fizzing right across the face of goal and wide.
Even the commentator of the game said something like Lampard could shoot until midnight and he would not have a goal. And at that time, it was only 6pm in Nuremberg, Germany where the match was held. Gosh, that was funny.
But of course, we all know by the 83th minute who won the title of the "ultimate screwer of the game on the England side". Cause at the 83th minute, just as Trinidad and Tobago looked set to be hanging on for another famous draw (they drew with Sweden too, unbelievable), Beckham crossed for Crouch who headed in the opener. No robotic celebration from Crouch this time and England’s enormous relief was evident. There was finally ONE goal after the 101 futile attempts at goal. And I understand Crouch's happiness. He just turned from being England's screw-up to England's hero. On the other hand, Lampard must be damn sad la. 
So in the end, Lampard was awarded the title of the "ultimate screwer of the game on the England side" this morning by me and my sisters.
But I must say that Gerrard's goal at the 91st minute was superb and managed to save some face for his team.
As for Trinidad and Tobago , they emerged with huge credit, if no points, for giving Eriksson's side such a scare. I don't know about the rest of the world, but they just got my respect.
¶ 2:25 PM7 bling blings
Anyway like they say, the World Cup doesn't begin until Brazil plays, so *hurrays* the FIFA World Cup 2006, Germany, has finally begun!
I love the Brazilian team. For someone like me who loves a good-looking hunk anytime anywhere, my utmost support for the Brazilians always surprises people. Cause everyone with eyes will know that there's no cuties in that team. Well, that fact has of course been slightly changed by the presence of Kaka in this World Cup, but we'll talk about him later.
And surprise, surprise, my fave player is always Ronaldo since I 1st saw him in World Cup 1998. I also adore Roberto Carlos. And Ronaldinho. All who are nowhere near "handsome" at all haha.
But I really love the Brazilian team. Not only are they all world-class players, I admire their spirit on the field. They are the only ones who find it possible to smile or even laugh in the middle of the game whenever they accidentally lose the ball to an opponent or fail to get a pass from a team mate.
They are good and they know it, but they do not show it. They are not high and mighty like the English players. They seldom lose their temper and they are friendly to their opponents. They show on the field what I know as excellent sportsmanship. And when they play, they dance with the ball and moves often are unexpected. I like to watch them play. Often mesmerized by their actions on the field.
So I am happy when they won Croatia in Berlin and are temporarily at the top of their group with Australia. But a final score of 1-0 is slightly disappointing, with Kaka kicking in the sole goal at the 44th minute. A minute before the interval, AC Milan midfielder Kaka curled a left-footed shot past Stipe Pletikosa and into the top left-hand corner of the net. The win gave Brazil their eighth consecutive success in FIFA World Cup™ matches, a new record.
The Brazilian team made a total of 13 attempts at goal but a well-organised Croatia side rendered all those futile. I could only breathe easily at the end of the 90++ minutes of play, with fear that Croatia might cause a draw anytime in the 2nd half.
Ronaldo didn't look too good that day. He didn't fare too well either and was subsituted at the 69th minute by Robinho. Reports stated that he was taken to hospital in Frankfurt after starting to feel unwell after they had returned to their Konigstein base after the 1-0 win. Luckily he returned to join the squad after medical tests cleared him and he was expected to train normally on Thursday. I hope that he'll do well this World Cup too. He needs only 3 more goals to overhaul Gerd Muller’s long-standing 14-goal record as top scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup. What an honour it will be to win this. =)
And if he goes back to form, he will rebuke all opinions and criticism on his, ahem, weight. Apparently, even the President of Brazil himself has questioned whether Ronaldo is overweight recently. I shall not protect my fave player on purpose and tell lies with eyes wide open cause anyone can tell that he is FAT. Has been so ever since I can remember. Though well, it has been a growing problem. No pun intended.
But if he can still play well with that tyre around his waist, hey I'm not complaining. And neither should anyone else.
Back to Kaka. He has been voted by a local (as in Singapore, not Germany) newspapers as the best-looking fellow in this World Cup. In case, you don't even know who he is, let me give you a short description I read in today's Straits Times, Life:
"Kaka is not a kind of shoe like Bata or some sort of spread you put on your bread like Kaya, although he has schoolboy looks which make girls go Gaga. It's the name of the player who's in superb form for Brazil at the moment."
Hmm if you ask me, while he's not the type to draw a 2nd look from me, standing at 183 cm and weighing at 73 kg, this midfielder who plays for AC Milan is definitely, with no doubt of any at all, the most yandao in the Brazilian team la. HA.
Kaka celebrates after scoring 1-0 for Brazil during the Brazil v Croatia Group F World Cup soccer match at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 13, 2006.
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It's our dear Diana's 23rd birthday!
Oh no, did I just say her age out loud?!
No fear la, dear, we are just as young. Ahem.
Anyway, everyone, lets wish Diz:
And here's a 
from all jiemeis!
(Seeya all on sat =D)
¶ 4:22 PM3 bling blings
It's 2am now and I just finished watching the match between France and Switzerland.
It wasn't really exciting at all. France and Switzerland played out a goalless draw in their opening 2006 FIFA World Cup Group G match in Stuttgart, Germany. And the closest they got to the goal came was when Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta's free-kick bounced back off a post and Alexander Frei failed to convert the rebound.
But then Barnetta tried to kick the ball back into the net and sent it to god-knows-where in the end.
If you look at the statistics (well, you can easily get information off the Official Site of FIFA World Cup), the attempts at goal weren't that bad. I was quite disappointed with France though. Organisation was poor and attempts, though slightly more numorous than the Swiss, were feeble. Seriously, I look at them and tried to logic how they won the 1998 title. All I can see is that perhaps they may be repeating their tragedy at the 2002 World Cup, Korea where the French team fell at the first hurdle, eliminated after a first round in which they neither won a game nor scored a single goal.
But it was nevertheless super fun to see the referee Ivanov Valentin from Russia handing out the yellow cards.
He gave out a grand total of 8 (France: 3, Switzerland: 5) for goodness sake! Even Zidane had one, for taking the free kick before Valentin blew the whistle. So funny.
I hate it when I sacrifise my sleep and there is no goal.
But, but but, my fave team of the century, Brazil, is playing their 1st match in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin, in less than 15 minutes' time!
Gosh! So excited! Oh man, I wish that they will win Croatia as expected and thrash them, say 5 goals, and make up for the previous yawn-inducing match.
Football and Brazilian life go hand in hand. Brazil have won the FIFA World Cup™ five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002). I was so sad when they lost in 1998 to France. So delighted when they kicked Germany's ass in 2002.
Ahhhh starting liao. Go, Brazil!
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I had a bloody hangover!
Most paiseh conversation I had ever have:
Gim Mao, I chose to believe you. 我相信你! Even though, everyone else said it was just a stupid pick-up line or it was too bloody dark for you to see. Ahem. ¶ 12:39 PMGuy : So you are from Ngee Ann
Poly too?
Me: ??
Guy : Cause this is a Ngee Ann Poly party
what.
Me: *freaking out, thinking "to lie or not to
lie"*
Me: .... (lie or don't lie...lie or don't
lie..)
Me: Hmm nope. I'm not from Ngee Ann. I just graduated
from uni. *damn paiseh* (go away la, didi. I'm older.
你看错了.)
Guy : 84??
Me: huh????????
Guy : you are from 84??
Me: (ohhh 1984! he asking if I was born in
1984. Orhh.)
Me: (damn. wrong again. older than that.)
Me: Hmm no, older. (decided to be very frank
haha) 1983.
Me: You are from 1984?
Guy : ya.
Me: Oh so you are 22. I'm 23.
Guy : You don't look like 23.
Me: You also don't look like 22 what. You look 18.
(bloody true)
Me: (started talking to a guy friend whom I
just knew that night and was just standing beside me. hadn't talk to him at
all before that. but was in a paiseh situation now and he looked like a
lifebuoy.)
*still talking to Guy now and then*
Melis: (was talking to Guy's friend Gim Mao)
Hey, he said you look like 18.
Me: *stretched wings, flapped a bit, flew to the
clouds*
Me: 谢谢! (proceeded to shake hands with Gim
Mao. Don't blame me. I was high. Even higher after hearing that
comment.)
Me to Guy friend: He said I look like 18.
Guy friend: Too dark la. He can't see
properly.
Guy friend promptly subjected to a chain of physical abuse by me.
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But well, I'm used to my abrupt changes in taste. HA. Besides I like my new blog skin! Ahhh I'm a whore for all the blings blings in the world. From earrings to necklaces to rings to handbag charms to belts to bags, almost all my stuff screams bling. That day Dia and I went shopping for Swarovski crystals to make earrings and I was just telling her how I can just look at the crystals all day long. At the end of the trip she had to agree too haha. Swarovski crystals are bloody beautiful!! *blissful sigh*
To be fair though, I got all the blings on this site from GlitterGraphics that was recommended on Verglas' blog a while ago. =)
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I think it probably shocked, or rather, to put it frankly, disgusted, all other fellow NUS students when the 2 advertisements for NUS Business School were aired on tv. Ok, to be exact, I should be an ex student now but still, when I first saw the ads (I think I saw the angmoh one first. still it won't make any difference. the feelings were the same.), an amazing mixture of emotions came to me! I felt like puking and laughing at the same time. Damn tough ok. I could have choked to death on my own puke as I laughed out loud.
Don't be mistaken. I love the times spent in NUS. I think it's a pretty campus. My major complaint would be that they should have flattened Kent Ridge Hill a bit more before building the campus on it! I couldn't stand all the uphills and downhills! They make the shuttle bus journeys like roller coaster rides! Worse still when I couldn't board a bus and had to walk. The distance's quite short but who likes to walk uphill. They should also have put more handles on the shuttle buses so that there's something to grab onto when standing on the bus! Otherwise it's like going on a roller coaster ride without the safety bar - absolutely lethal. And it would be better if the Science canteen was a lot more bigger to house everyone during the lunch peak hours. And they could have added the POSB ATM machine at Science foyer much earlier, and not only a few months before I graduated. And it would be nicer if the tuition fees weren't so high, if 151 was double-decked, if seats at LT 26 weren't dropping off, if the Milo van came much more often, if LT 32 wasn't on a hill, if there wasn't so many stairs,.....
Ok, maybe I've more complaints than I thought hahah but still, I enjoyed myself there.
And yes, I do think that our national standard of education is high and well-recognised internationally. But the ads were too much la hahah. They were so exaggerated that they became funny. Especially the angmoh girl exclaiming "I am going to Singapore!" when she received the acceptance letter from NUS in the ad. I couldn't believe it la. Which angmoh would wanna come here when they've all those famous universities in the angmoh countries? Unless of course, they couldn't get into any of those. Or they couldn't afford to. At least the other ad was cute. "Not very far what!!"
I just realised that some kind souls put both ads on YouTube. I guess they figured that everyone else around the globe need some laugh. Here's the angmoh one and here's the korkor one.
Oh anyway back to the podcasts, there are 2 as well: the angmoh one and the kor kor one. I bet every single NUS student is thinking the exact way as Mr Brown too. HA.
"I am going to Singapore!"¶ 4:08 PM
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It's true.
And bad things don't always happen to the bad only.
It seems unfair. Perhaps. But I always think that life's fair in its own way.
Perhaps life's not easy now, but you don't know what's to come for the next 50 years. They might be sweet.
Life's good now but you can't say for sure 50 years down the road.
I'm a firm believer of "Everything happens for a reason". Whether good or bad.
Heard of the butterfly effect? The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or, for that matter, prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different. The idea here is the same: a seemingly non-significant event might ultimately cause or prevent a major event from occuring.Everything happens for a reason. ¶ 3:04 PM
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Job titles have gone too far. Remember the soda jerk? Well, maybe that's a little before your time, but there was once a guy who worked behind a lunch counter and we called him a soda jerk. I suppose today we'd call him a carbonated beverage specialist.
Of course, there aren't lunch counters anymore; there are coffee houses as far as the eye can see, and they're manned by people called baristas. What the hell is a barista? Let's be honest, a barista is an over-educated, disillusioned slacker who pours your overpriced coffee.
It's not clear exactly when the coffee guy became a barista, but it's yet another example of how the political correctness of the '90s went too far. What started as a movement to promote equality and understanding just spun out of control. I'm all for letting people feel good about themselves, but the kind of self-importance implied by stupid PC job titles goes too far.
1. Secretary
You remember the secretary; she probably worked for your father. I suppose we changed the title to throw the guys a bone on this one. After all, no guy wants to call himself a secretary. But I'm not so sure that administrative assistant is a step up. Now we have a job with an unclear description that is gender neutral. Is that really progress?
Better title: Coffee maker able to do light clerical work with a pleasant phone voice.
2. Prostitute
Here's the oldest of all old titles. I don't know what was wrong with prostitute. Sex surrogate is descriptive, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather be a prostitute. Sex surrogate sounds like a less-than-sexy backup plan.
Better title: A girlfriend working on an hourly rate who doesn't require dinner, flowers, foreplay, or talking about your day.
Better title: Failed actress or model, who met some interesting people and decided, "What the heck, I love sex, so I might as well get paid for it."
4. Garbage man
I don't think there was anything wrong with garbage man, but maybe some people thought there was a stigma attached to the title. This new title is all about self-importance. It's not waste, it's garbage. Waste is something you could have used, but chose not to. Garbage is something that you want far away from you. The word "removal" is just plain unnecessary, since it's clear that garbage shouldn't stick around. But engineer is what really goes too far. What kind of engineering is involved? None. You might as well call them waste removal accountants.
Better title: A person who doesn't have to shower before work.
He used to be a fireman because only men were allowed to do the job. Sexism? Not if you happen to be the 300-pound unconscious guy that a fireman is pulling out of a burning building.
However, the addition of the word "fighter" makes the job sound much tougher, which is nice but unnecessary. If fire is in your job title, we know you're tough.
Better title: Always-alert super-fast driver with excellent axe and hose skills.
2 bling blings
Speaking of "nong nong ago", digression 1st. Which is what usually happens when I blog: I wanna blog about this thing, but blog halfway will start thinking about another thing, and the content of the entry changes almost completely. HA.
See? I can even digress from my initial digression. Hohoho.
Ok, so speaking of "nong nong ago", Singapore Idol 2 has been a blast so far! I love it right from the start showing some of the, hmm lets say, unique people in the auditions. Like Mr Nong Nong Ago. He was so earnest! That was what made his performance more bearable. Mirror Boy was funny too! Eh, though me and my sisters had a tough time guessing his sex. Yes, even tougher than hearing him sing. He is a girl la! I still can't believe that he's a boy. Unless I see his *ahem*. But wait, where is this going. I freaking DON'T want to see his *ahem*. Ok, I'll just take it that he's a boy. Couldn't stand the other two though: the Kungfu rapper and S'pore Cowboy fellows. Maybe the Institute of Mental Health is currently seeing to their enrolment liao.
Can check them out at Booting Stars. If you dare.
My fave so far?
Gotta be Jonathan Leong. I never thought that I would say this cause he is not my type, but this 23-year-old is HOT. He can seriously belt a mean tune. I love Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty, and Jonathan's rendition of "If You're Gone" was brillant. The other 6 guys that night at the Piano Show were good nevertheless, but not as impressive. I honestly only perked up when it was his turn. I'm so glad that he's in. =) =) =)
I was just reading my sis' "Seventeen" and the last page was an article on "17 Things That Make Him Sizzle". The 3rd thing on the list was "Musicians - drummers, guitarists, singers. There's just something about musicians that makes us go weak in the knees". I can foresee the heads of many girls ndding in agreement to this. Musicians are HOT. It's like a fact. And Jonathan who can sing and has a band of his own fits exactly and that makes him hot. Confidence exuded when he sings is a plus. Why must I graduate this year?! Urgh.
So guys, go pick up a guitar today. HA.
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Hmm, pondering if I should still say what I intended to when I started this blog entry. HA. Especially after the digression (or rather Jonathan Leong, or can I just call him Jon haha) which lightens up my mood. =)
Recently I met up with a lovely friend of mine. No kidding when I said that she's a lovely girl. She is the kindest person I've ever seen in my life so far. She is one person who can make me feel guilty for not doing enough for this society. She doesn't just talk about doing charity. She goes all out to do volunteer work. Sometimes I think it's a bit crazy, considering that she has to juggle between studies, family, boyfriend, friends, tuition and volunteer work! She's like busy 24/7! To the extent that sometimes she falls sick due to lack of sufficient rest. I once asked her why not to do a bit less volunteer work such that she can have more time to herself, but she never even considered it.
So I met her for lunch a week ago and something that she said to me made me at a loss for words.
She said, "我觉得你是那种随缘的人， 但有时候会有一点无奈。 是这样吗？你会有这种感觉吗？这是你给我的印像啦。"
I was completely stumped for words.
I errr-ed and ahh-ed for a whole minute. My eyes strayed all over the place while my brain frantically tried to do some thinking. But no thoughts came into my mind.
Finally, I just shrugged my shoulders and still couldn't say anything.
Did she see wrongly or do I really give people this kind of impression?
I seriously dunno.
Like what I said. I was stumped. And still is.
¶ 7:30 PM2 bling blings
