My time at Kumon...

I should've posted this post two days ago, but I've been a busy man. Enlistment is tomorrow, and I've been doing some last minute shopping/packing/hair cutting. So, guys, sorry for the late post! This is dedicated to you people at Kumon whom I've met and been with for 8-9 months.

Think I'll go with a individual thanks to each and every single one of you I know. Might leave people out by accident, so don't kill me over this! Let NS do it instead.

Colleagues:


Mr Yang: Big Boss! You've been a good employer for all this time. I don't really talk to you often, but my impression is that you can be scary at times when you're angry, although it's only towards the students. However, I can tell that you have the students'  best interests in heart, and I highly respect you for that. Good luck in your endeavours!

Elaine: The “大姐大” of the centre. You sort of represent an elder sister persona I don't really have. It's always great talking with you and joking, along with everyone else. Stay nice, send my regards to Wiz. And thanks for the shirt. It's awesome.  Will keep in contact!

Uncle Yang: You're probably the eldest friend I have. Always joking with me, sharing advice and giving me wise words. Take care!

Aunty Nancy: You were probably the nicest person I ever known so far, always offering a helping hand to all of us in need. I'm very grateful to you. Take care of yourself, Aunty Nancy! Thanks for the sushi treat back then. =)

Vivian: Hi Vivian, you're the first person I really know apart of KY and Leslie in the centre, since you're my mentor. My first impression of you is the silent, mature person, and I didn't really talk to you much earlier on. But I know that you're a friendly individual who's always helpful, and we sort of became friends eventually. Stay awesome. =) Keep in contact!

KY: Ah, basket, no need say so much about you. Always tell me I'm some weird animal every single time. Will without doubt hang out with you even more than usual. Ciao. =]

Leslie: Late night suppers with you after work last time was always enjoyable. Too bad you "vanished" soon after. Take care, man. Meet up for a meal of something when I book out.

Henry: First time I met you was during dinner when KY intro-ed you to me. Pretty nice guy, and we became familiar with one another when we were moving centres, when you started making fun of me like KY. Was a pity you left early. Stay cool.

Evelyn: Very nice person to talk to, friendly, and always smiling. I always enjoyed chatting with you at random moments. Sort of a little surprise when we later realised we both came from Pei Hwa. Hope to see you around randomly around this small island again!

Valerie: I didn't really talk much with you before, but we worked together during the centre moving. It was funny seeing you and Henry design the "maze table system", which is being used till now. Good luck out there!

Anna: Chatting with you was always pleasant, and we would share some jokes, while you would give me little advices about NS, since your son is still in. Take care!

Xue Hui: I've only seen and talked to you for once or twice, and I can feel that you're the peppy, nice person.  Well, most people I know from SMA are like that. Stay nice, and see you around!

Yao Cong: First time I met you, you had the grumpy grumpy face on, so I thought "Oh, I better don't mess with this guy", but after that, hanging out several times with you, I find out that you're easy to talk to, and also very friendly. "Cong-ge aka Admin Manager-Dream-On", take care, and see you around!

Kang Hao: Hao-ge! Sort of became friendlier with you after graduation, since both of us are working on almost every working day. It's cool to talk to me, and sometimes make fun of you a bit as well. Now you're in NS. Take care, and don't overwork yourself in there!

Peck Har: Started talking to you after I always started marking, while you did Liberal. Best impression of you was when you replaced me once. Another impression is when you came in with Seoul Garden smell, only to be made fun of by me. Thanks. Stay nice, see you around!

Poh Ling: I know you as the girl with a phobia of lizards, and imitating your screams are the best entertainment outlet I could have. Ok, joking, stay friendly, see you around!

Wei Fang: First impression of you is that you are helpful and friendly. You always try to help when possible, and also engage in small conversations. Take care, and hope to see you about!



I'd like to talk about my students, but on second thought, it's not good to disclose children's names in a public blog. Plus, I'm lazy. Take care, everyone. Hope to bump into any of you, somewhere, sometime. Stay handsome/pretty/sharp/nice/friendly. =)

If you feel the need to keep in contact, add me on Facebook, or on MSN at palmofgloom@hotmail.com.

Countdown

So, I'm enlisting on the 23rd. 1 week left. Really, really, SIAN.

To all the friends I talk to, but seldom meet up with, please do remember me and meet up when we could try to . To those that I often see, keep in touch. Let's hang out whenever we can afford the time.

I'm still planning to work out daily till 21st. I'll let my body rest on the 22nd, go cut my hair and stuff.

This Saturday will be my last day of work. I'll put up a thank you post for my colleagues then.

Still feels unreal. O_O

Sinful foodzzzzz

Popeyes yesterday, Nihon Mura sushi buffet today.

Dang, I just threw part of my weight loss plans out of the window. >_< Although I'd still be trying to lose weight through NS, it's just sad how I succumbed to temptation. I'm... contradicting myself, aren't I? Lolz.

ANYWAY, for people who haven't seen me in ages, here's a little photo documentation for you all. Don't tell me there's no change, lol. Garry practically told me there wasn't any difference in me back then when he saw me. Brooooo, how could you say that?

Left: 96kg ; Right: 76kg

Looking through old photos, I keep on wondering why I didn't do this weight loss right from the start. I regret not starting earlier. Had I done so, I would've lost till my ideal 68 by now and started maintaining it. And I wouldn't have looked like a pig in clothing in those pictures.

And you could understand my whining about fat foodzzz and such.

I mean, I've been working hard to reduce my weight down to a satisfactory level. And results have shown, and I just went and did stuff that contradicted it and might reverse that situation. I feel so... guilty about it.

Tomorrow, I shall push my limits during my morning run and try to burn more calories and waste more energy. 68 is my target for now. Go go go! Shall also cut down on fatty food for the week. 

Support me, friends, family. I shall cut down to 65 in the end and maintain it. Mark my words. I will never be fat in my entire life again.

Prelude to National Service

Haha, soon, I'll be on my "vacation" to Palau Tekong Besar, undergoing a 19 week "service" by our country's finest. To be honest, a part of me is looking forward to it, while another part of me dreads the freedom that's going to be taken away from me.

2 weeks left! I can't believe how time flies. I've spent most of my time working, or staying at home, doing stuff like cleaning my room and also my personal physical training. This month is the only time I must properly enjoy myself. Too bad a lot of my friends are having their final semester exams this month, so seeing them properly is sort of out of the question. Been hanging out with whoever I can call out now, mostly with good ol' Ern. Awesome buddy to hang out FTW.

So I've been asking myself why I still work although I should be having fun outside? Well, actually, my workplace is a pretty cool place to hang out. Colleagues are awesome. Some students are also very awesome. I'm going to miss them when I leave. Seriously. >_< It's too bad I can't take the liberty of suddenly taking leave to meet up my Primary School mates, who are having dinner tonight while I'm working. They're an awesome bunch too. I enjoyed the one primary school gathering I went to. Pity I couldn't attend most of the others due to school and work commitments. I'm too busy a guy. >_<

As for family, I know I can get to see them every Saturday, so it's not that bad.

Sigh, I really can't bear to part from civilisation. NS just takes that away from you... To those who are having exams soon, do your best. I'll try not to die in NS. Already two casualties just this week. Hope I'm not the unlucky next, haha... Then we can meet up. =)

Super food?

For quite a bit, my mum's been making me some fruit + water mixture that she told me lowers blood pressure and such. Because it tastes good, I've been consuming it occasionally since last year. I read the labels, and turns out the mysterious red goo I've been consuming is called "Mulberry Vinagar". Vinegar is something I already have ideas of what it is, but mulberry? First time I saw such a word. So it's up to Google to answer my questions.

Mulberry (also the name of a tech company which I don't have any idea does what) is a fruit. According to several sites, it is not just a normal fruit. Like an apple, it's a SUPER fruit. It aids in digestion, regulates blood cholesterol levels, helps treat diabetes, lowers blood pressure, people consume it after surgery to heal faster, and pregnant woman drink it after delivery etc etc. I remember there were still benefits like it being rich in a large varieties of vitamins that boosts metabolism and such, but I can't remember all of them.

So, yesterday, my mum bought a tank (exaggerating here) of it, and I started drinking it twice per day. Hopefully, it helps in my weight loss, since its benefits seems to do that as well.

Super food number two is the apple (which ironically, is the name of yet another tech company we ALL happen to know). The adage "An apple per day keeps the doctor away" is no mystery to most of us (One iPad per day sounds awesome). Thing is, I've been reading up on apples' benefits because I've been consuming it in place of other snacks like potato chips, chocolates and all the junk food you can think of.

Apple peels or as we call it, the apple skin, is extremely beneficial to the health of the everyday man. It has weight loss properties imbued within, can lower cholesterol, and is a good source of insoluble fibre which will send you to the toilet everyday for your regular dump. The flesh is a good source of Vitamin C, and contains some weird chemical (forgot the name) that can make you feel full, even though 95kcal worth of food usually can't do that. People like me, who have used apples to substitute my meals and snacks, can effectively tell you that it's extremely useful if you're trying to lose off the fats you've built up.

So yeah, the two super food above should help me more and more in my weight loss crusade. It's been tough recently, but it's time to start gorging down the fruits and reducing the fats.

Random thoughts... again

Today, I sort of went shopping for some clothes with my amazing mother. So despite the fact that I'm still getting smaller, I just decided to get some clothes my current size, because I decided that a) my super baggy clothes really make me look fatter than I really am. b) baggy clothes really really can be uncomfortable when they feel like they're falling off every second.

So I selected some, my mother selected some. But today's topic is not about that. The clothes have a story, but that's for another day.

So these few days, my weight loss has been a minor topic among my colleagues. By 'minor', I mean that it's a topic that lasts 3 minutes tops. They were surprised that I've lost 19kg, and some had told me that I already look fine with all the weight gone. My grandma herself even said it's already fine. I got a slight bit of reassurance from all of their words. I didn't expect to stop my routines, but I thought that maybe I could try easing up on them.

At least till this afternoon.

The thing about shopping is this. When you're shopping for men's clothes, other men are also around you shopping, so I can immediately grasp the fact that even though I got smaller, I'm still more "king-sized" than average guys. Which means I probably still have a long way to go.

Sort of a let down for me. I guess that even if I lost a lot, the main thing is in losing what needs to be lost. And I still haven't currently reach that target. Disheartening, but reality is like this. It was partially my fault that I got fatter and fatter back then too.

Now, all I can do is to try losing more, and more, till I reach my target. Got to do my best, and do what I can do now.

Cardio increase

Starting from yesterday, I increased the amount of my workout. From 3.2km per day + 150 sit ups -> 4.2km per day +200 sit ups. Plus, I try to walk as much as I can as possible. Cardio is effective, good for the lungs, heart, blood pressure, cholesterol control etc. etc.

So that makes my first workout (the 3.2 +150 as I call it) done for 9 weeks 2 days.

Come to think about it, when I first started my workout, 3.2km + 150 sit ups were tough on my body. I curse the distance everyday back then. Then when I got slightly used to it (like I said, you can NEVER be fully used to exercise), I told myself that I'll increase my workout when my weight goes down to 80kg. I procrastinated till I got to 79kg when I finally started the increase.

Got to say, it's tough. The first day I started it, I surprisingly managed to withstand the 4.2 km workout, but today, the second day, I very almost vomited violently.

However, once the "hangover" got away, I got the thrill, the sense of achievement. I can do this. I'm going to get lighter.

Oh yeah, I've also managed to do a few pull ups, but sadly, with the lower pull up bar only. Hopefully I'll be able to use the higher bar soon. But it's an achievement.

Nowadays, I try to walk whenever I get the opportunity, just to increase my cardio intake. I'm a big eater, see. According to a calculator, I can only indulge in 1600 kcal of food if I want to lose 1.5kg per week. So increasing the amount of energy spent even if it's a little, to me, is very important.

Right now, I'm 78 kg. Starting from 96kg, to me, this is a huge difference. But if I were to want to meet national standards in BMI, which is to say, 22.9 in Singapore, I'm going to have to be 68kg or lesser. So 10 more kg to go. I know BMI is only 33% accurate, muscle mass volume is heavier yadah yadah... but I want to become smaller. I'm not the kind of guy who wants bulks of muscles. ;)

So here we go. Wish me luck. I'll do my best!

P.S.: I realise that for once, I'm actually following my every year's new year resolution of losing weight, haha. That's seriously a first! :P

BATAMMMMMMM

A little late on the update, haha, but here goes

9th July. The first time in 8 years I'm going overseas (unless you cheat and count Sentosa). To me, I thought, hey, a little exposure, lots of fun. Why not?

The ferry ride there sort of upset my stomach. On top of that, all our seats were scattered, so it was hard trying to distract myself from the discomfort. Reaching there was good though, in more ways than one. Another country which I've never visit before: Indonesia, Batam.

I must point out that the air wasn't exactly the cleanest, and we've been warned by every single tour guide to be cautious of pickpockets and those ninja kidnapper taxi drivers we think only exist in scary stories. But I loved the hotel. I loved the shopping, and most of all, I loved the bonding.

To me, this trip is sort of pointless if not for the right crowd of people.

Oh yeah, there was this funny mini-adventure that happened.

I was heading down one floor to find some of the others, since we were all scattered to different rooms on different floors. As I enter the elevator, I realised that the key card is needed to activate it. Since Ern (my roommate) needed it, I decided to use the stairs. So ignoring the "Emergency Exit", I opened the door and entered the stairway.

Turns out the door was one-sided. Which means, you can get in, but you sure as hell can't get out. Being calm, I decided that the first floor's door should be two sided, and I should be able to get out. So climbing down, I reached the sixth floor, where the door was open due to some damage. I got in the elevator and just purely waited for the elevator to carry me to the first floor where I can give Ern a call at our room to come fetch me.

Good thing Michelle, Nicholas and Cheryn were there, wanting to head to McDonalds for desert. While they headed to the washroom, I checked out the first floor's emergency exit door.

Turns out it was one-sided as well.

Guess I got lucky. (Y)

Moral of the story: Don't use anything with "emergency" on it UNLESS it's really an emergency.

Will update you guys again soon, if anyone's still reading. Ciao. :D

Running in the rain~

While doing it, I felt an urge to share my "first experience" with people who are still reading my blog. It was something I had prevented doing at all cost after all, and I did it today. I didn't do it by choice. I was halfway through my jogging when the drops fell, and I thought "Fuck it!" and decided to finish off the other half.

Running in the rain! In dramas, it would be romantic, melodramatic, and scenes of "running through the rain to find the dejected person whom you happen to be in love with". For some slightly realistic and practical people, the rain would serve to "wash off your sweat", the wind "cool you down as you run" and such. The unhygienic would say, "If you are thirsty, raise your head and you have a drink". So yeah, plenty of advantages right? You practically levelled up as a man!

Now let me explain why the hell it sucks.

Running in the rain means that while you are moving at slightly higher than normal velocity, you are going against water. For those who swim, you know that water can be a bitch when  you try walking through it. In other words, although it is on a lesser scale, there is water pressure pushing you, making you lose your stamina and balance. Next, with rain, humidity increases in the air. Oxygen intake is lessened, resulting in further stamina sapping.

Wind is awesome, but not when it's blowing rainwater into your eyes while you run. For those wearing spectacles, it'll be covered in water, and visibility will be near zero. So if you fall down while the floor is also slippery, ouch.

As for the rain cooling you down, it is an unhealthy procedure, and should never be done. Do you all know the purpose of warm-up exercises? It's to help your body feel the activity, and also to strengthen your joints to cope with extra stress incurred. When the rain cools your body down while you run (and warming up is most important in jogging), your body involuntarily cools down, and it might result in joint pains. It is also bad for the heart. I mean, everyone should have learnt from a young age that cooling your body down rapidly after exercise is bad for the heart, and have even killed people.

So yeah, now you know. My shoes are also now wet and I certainly hope that they dry off before my jog tomorrow. Well, I'm never likely to run in the rain anytime sooner.

First checkpoint target

80kg by 9/7/11. 'Nuff said, let the exercising and dieting continue!

Weight loss programmmm

And today, after weighing myself out, I realised that painstakingly, torturingly, 10kg has been lost! I've come a long way, 5 weeks and 3 days. Now 11 more kg to go, and I'll look normal. Hmm, it's a curious factor as to how I would look with that much weight lost...

Now, how the hell did I achieve it?

I guess the deciding factor came in around... 1 month plus ago?

"Dear Mr Lim Zi Hao

Your NS checkup has shown that your blood cholesterol is slightly above acceptable levels. Please consult a Polyclinic or personal physician to monitor your blood cholesterol level for health purposes.

Love,
CMPB"

Or something along those lines.

Anyway, I consulted a Polyclinic. The doctor's instructions were simple. Exercise more, no fast food, no egg yolks, no seafood...

WAIT A MINUTE. I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT SEAFOOD.

So after that, I waged a full out war against my body, watching what I eat, exercising daily. First, to reduce my cholesterol levels to healthy levels. My next checkup will be on July. Hopefully I will be able to touch prawns after that.

But I discovered a new love in apples, which I learnt, are rich in Vitamin C, reduce blood cholesterol, and the peel has the effect of helping in weight loss and healthy digestion. I'll probably be eating more and more apples for the rest of my life.

Another reason I've been torturing myself is that I've been convinced I might actually look good without all the fat.

You can start laughing now.

Anyway, after hearing that, my motivation actually increased. I can be quite vain also, haha.

I've been running 3.2km daily, 150 sit ups daily, and I walk home from work on workdays. And trust me, I hate running. You can never get used to jogging. It tears your lungs apart, makes your entire body warm for a few hours and sometimes makes you want to puke. But I'm going to continue. Because I've got the motivation to go on.

Well, I'll be updating my progress again soon. Like I said before, support me morally!

What I've been up to...

This has been a very busy, but fruitful week for me. Photos might come in later. Let's start with Tuesday, because Monday was an eat/sleep/chores day.

Tuesday was SP Buddy. There were two workshops: the make-up workshop and the photography workshop. I was with Try, Sakinah, Gajesh, Nicholas, Gibson and Zainol. We made a bang, of sorts. And I saw some old faces from previous workshops. Overall, it was sort of fun with the ACER gang, while doing our job.

Wednesday and Thursday! These two days were really fun, really awesome. It was the ACER recruitment days! I was in charge of presenting what ACER is to them, and while doing so, I really relived many pleasant memories. Ren Sen, Cheryn, Zainol, Heng Khit, Garry, Chi Kit and Pearlyn were the awesome people there, with us hanging out while working. Some of the new people look peppy, and awesome, while others are nervous, afraid and frightened. It was fun seeing so many expression in these two days, and we had fun talking and doing "friend friend stuff".

So now, I'm still on my weight loss regime, having hit a minimum of 87kg for now at my lightest. That's 8-9kg lost, folks! I still have quite a long way to go, but support me morally! I'll fit out of my recent clothes soon. My pants are already all feeling really baggy. Size 38 -> Size 34, people!

I'm going to do what I can for now, for my endeavors, and I'm looking forward to more events before NS. Do talk to me when you all are free, the chance won't come after I enter Palau Tekong Holiday Resort with a haircut deal after all.

The difficulties of losing weight

After enduring 3 1/2 weeks of daily jogging, my weight had dropped from 96kg -> 89.5-90kg. The final target is 74kg, where I won't be overweight anymore. It's a long way to go, but I'll get there, eventually.

It's almost been a month, so I thought I'd document the trials and difficulties I encountered...

1) Dragging your ass to the daily exercise regime.
This part is tough no matter how used I get to it. I will always be too lazy to go out for my daily 150 sit-ups + 3.2km jog, and every single day, I'll think about skipping it. It's a good thing I haven't succumbed to temptation though. I've even almost dropped the routine several times due to flu and backaches. However, the routine gave me a new mindset: If I were to skip a jog, I would feel a sense of unfinished business and guilt, so much that it would rob me of my sleep. That's what kept me going.

2) Denying myself the high calorie food
It's no secret that I'm a big eater. All my friends and family know that. Even in weight loss, that's a fact. However, I've been substituting my in-between meal snacks with apples and oranges. As I have a slightly high blood cholesterol, vitamin C in both of the fruits will help lower the blood cholesterol. Furthermore, they are high in dietary fibre, which aids in digestion. Another tip I used is to drink more water instead of soft drinks. It gives me a false sense of being full, and zero calories are input to my body. Besides, it also cleanses my body, as I have read in several websites for tips. Whenever I eat anything remotely high calorie, I would berate myself for the next few hours, sometimes till the next day. Another thing that sometimes takes away my sleep due to conscience.

3) Confidence
This one is a mental problem. You see, after 3 weeks of losing some weight, my mass suddenly became very constant. It doesn't go up, but the bad thing is, it doesn't go down. I've been told by family and friends not to be impatient, as fast weight loss is unhealthy, and results aren't supposed to come fast. Thing is, to me, when there are no results, I feel like my efforts aren't working out, and they affect me, sometimes making me want to give up. It's a good thing I still have my common sense about, telling me that as soon as I dropped all my routines, I'll go back to becoming fatter again.

Above are the problems I faced, and it's a good thing I have solutions right now for them. The encouragement given to me by family and friends were really great. Whenever I hear a "You've lost weight!", it gives me more reasons to run daily and keep to a healthy routine. Thank you, all of you.

Now then, I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I won't give up so easily. Even if there are little or no results, I'm going to go on, no matter what, as health is always important.

Change

I realise that I need to break out of my shell. I mean, I'm the kind of person who's so inactive in life, my friends seldom take the initiative to even talk to me on MSN. I'm the one who takes the initiative, and I'm really envious of people who finds it naturally whenever their MSN rings up a notification. I mean, I feel surprised everytime it happens. And I'm almost always on MSN.

I guess confidence is one factor. I don't have much of that. I mean, I'm not handsome, good looking, cool, or whatever. I'm a fat, uncool kind of guy? Dunno if I'm bitching about myself too much, but maybe that's how people think. I don't dare to warm up to people, and I don't dare to talk much to people I don't really know. It's a problem to me, actually. When I try talking to people I don't really know, scenarios come to mind. "What if he/she thinks I'm an idiot?", "What if he/she doesn't want to be my friend?", "What if she thinks I'm flirting although I am not?". Etc, etc. And when I make new friends via events, it's probably the first and last time I meet the person. When I try talking to them on Facebook/MSN, the same questions above comes to mind. And I withdraw into my shell. Again. Seriously.

Physically, I need to change too. I've been jogging for 2 weeks straight now without letting up (and the daily jogs will continue), with a major changeover in my diet. Thing is, I find the weight loss too slow. I've been given advices by really great pals, who told me to take my time, and that weight loss should be taken of delicately, less it does harm to my health and all that. But I'm impatient. I keep feeling that if I change myself physically, maybe, mentally, I can change too. Perhaps to be more confident. They probably won't understand since they don't have my inferiority complex, but much appreciated advice, guys! I need to change, and every single action to me counts.

Like Obama said, "Change".

Countdown to graduation!

Graduation's in 4 days!

Feels so unreal. Got the robe, the tie, the shirt, the pants.

Be there if you can, people. I need the photos to reminisce about when I'm old and rotting.

Loss

I always thought that you would be there, but I guess that I took it for granted. In my memories, you would protect me, care for me, love me, bring me everywhere, treat me and teach me. You were one of my hero. The strongest person I know in my entire life.

Even when you were claimed to be a 'gone case', you hung in there, exceeding expectations, giving us hope that you could still be there, even if it is just a bit longer.

My regret was that I was unable to see you in your last moments, even though I knew that you were holding on with your last bits of strength. Even though I know that you had wanted to see me. It is a regret that will last my entire life.

I lament myself at the lack of tears I shed. I kept on asking myself why I didn't cry, even though it hurts so much. Even though with all my heart, I wanted the you in my memories, strong and steady, to come back to us.

You might have forgotten a small incident from when I was young. When I was 11-12, you brought me to school, and saw a boy insult me. After I attended my lessons, you proceeded to follow the boy and made him apologise to me the next day. In my heart, from that day on, you were my hero.

We had a lot of disagreements before, but now that I'm grown up, I see that almost all of those were my fault. But now, chances to apologise are gone.

Everyone loves you, and you'll be engraved in our memories forever. Rest well. I promise that I'll keep the family together.

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The Singapore General Elections this year has ended!

Somehow, I've seen a lot of views in the matter, and it's funny how the younger voters and reacting to politics as though they had cared about it before this. How shallow. The GE is not the Great Singapore Sale. It's an event that will decide the country's well-being for the next five years. Don't be naive.

There are those who think voting is a "trend" and votes for the opposition just for that. What are you doing? Buying an iPhone? No, what you're doing is deciding the country's future. "Every vote is sacred." Make the vote for the party that will act in your best interest, or your next generation's best interest. You're the ones in the work force, or will soon be in the work force. This affects you deeply.

But also, some parties are giving quite impossible promises. "The education system is faulty. We will let each classroom have only 20 students to a teacher.", "We promise that the cramming of MRTs during peak hours will be reduced." blablabla.

Looks nice on the surface? Let's see. 20 students to a teacher will mean doubling of school sizes and teaching staff in EVERY school in Singapore. Cramming of MRTs being reduced means that there'll be MRT jams, similar to traffic jams on the roads, which will cause more disquiet. The inefficiencies suddenly seem to be there, don't they? Don't get me started on the people who keeps on complaining about foreign talents. I'll be insulting their intelligence, and trust me, people whose intelligence gets insulted by me are on the very low end on the thinking level, since I'm not exactly a smart guy.

And also, like Garry said, I laugh at those who act like they felt pity that George Yeo stepped down, though they don't even know his status prior and accomplishments.

To be honest, I feel that this GE has shown the ugly side of many Singaporeans, and how we often lament, complain and groan.

Or maybe that's simply what democracy is.

3 Years!!!!

3 years of Polytechnic life sailed through already. Right now, along with everyone, I'm waiting for the results to come in during March 22nd, and further notifications regarding the graduation ceremony.

It was a good three years. To me, I've gained a lot of things. But also, I've lost quite a bit. Equivalent exchange, I guess?

Year 1:
New class, new beginnings, new friends. I tried my best to make friends in Polytechnic, because my Secondary School life was miserable with little friends. As a result, I think I might have tried too hard. People didn't like it because I was overenthusiastic, and so I started to change myself bit by bit. It was for the better, I guess, but the first year was really when I underwent soul searching, and trying to understand people as well as dealing with them. I won't say I mastered the act completely, but I managed to get the basic points down.

I joined the Skates Club too, and engaged in a hobby I would never forgo. Although I UNOFFICIALLY quit at the end of the year, the skater in me is still here. It was also there that I experienced my only camp in SP. It was a great experience, because (I know this sounds pathetic), it's like one of the few camps I ever participated in all of my school years. I managed to know some friends, like Sam, Noelle, Yun... friends that I probably will seldom meet up again anytime sooner. But it was great knowing you guys.

Year 1 passed with me losing some naivety, but with newfound social knowledge. Sometimes, I wonder if I should keep some of the naivety?

Year 2:
Boy oh boy, this is the most impactful year out of my 3 years? As I signed up for the Teaching Factory option, I would reunite with some old classmates, and knew some new ones. I regretted knowing a scab, whom I thought was a good friend. In the end, all he did was care about himself and I understood that not every friend will return equal respect to you. So a lesson learnt about dealing with people. However, I also managed to make a few friends whom I am sure will remain in my life for quite a long time. So yeah, it was still fruitful. Ernest, Jonathan, Garry and Chi Kit, I'm talking about you guys.

Other from classes, the other community in school I joined was the SP ACERs. It was a club I never regretted joining. New friends made that in the end, became my good friends. We underwent several events, of which Escapade was the most amazing. I got to know Zack, Sen Rong, Cheryn, Madelyn... and also Escapade's entire Inspira 2009 gang. Through Escapade, I also managed to know Sophia, who is my "monster daughter", and "send" her into SP.

It was a year with ups and downs. I daresay that it was indeed a year that was like a wave.

Year 3:
Dramatic, really extremely dramatic, haha. Ok, firstly, at the start of the third year, me and Haikal organised the SP ACER junior training camp. The camp was successful, and I once again made many new friends. While that happened, old friends also rebonded, and gotten closer. I got to know quite a few awesome people as well.

Escapade 2010 was also a bitch. Though 2009 was more fun, 2010 was also peppy, in a sense that we managed to do our best and achieve what we want. Everyone was happy at the end, albeit tired.

Other from all that, the second semester, consisting of the TF module, had me, Ern, Jonathan, Garry, Chi Kit and Vishinu in one project centre. We became great friends, and made an effort to understand one another. I was guilty at being incompetent during a joint project with Garry, so I would like to thank this chance to thank him, and also to apologize to him.

The final semester was as I said, dramatic, as I fell in love. It was purely one sided, and I blame myself for not exerting enough effort due to cowardice. I gave up in the end, with the understanding that it was fully my fault. Friends like Zack and Suxann was really key people in cheering me up back then. It took a while, but I got back on my feet. And once again, it was an incident that matured me.


I wish to thank all the friends that known me, met me, even had just one single conversation with me throughout these three years. It's a little hard to list all of your names, but trust me, I value every single meetings I had with every single one of you. You've all been a major part of my life. SP will forever remain as the most memorable three years in my life which I will carry with me.

Thank you, and also, though I must say it is regretful, Goodbye.

Updates

Yo sup, all!

Unofficially graduated from SP FUUUUU!~

My era in MDC is officially over, and I'm now just waiting for results for my final semester. And the graduation ceremony.

Other from working at Kumon, right now, I lounge during my free time (which I have a lot of), because I really have nothing else to do. Wanted to skate, but it's raining like hell.

I hate this rotting feeling. Like I said, stagnant lifestyle, but even going out costs money now. Transport fares are expensive! Haha, even though I say that, I still go help out with ACER roadshows.

It's been lonely too. But there's nothing to do that doesn't cost money. RAWR.

Entertain me, folks!

Fake? Or Real?

I guess that sometimes, certain people can be too much of a bastards in our eyes, but they might not be really that way. Let's say, me. I indirectly acted in a way today that showed that I don't trust my friends, although that wasn't my intention. My intention was just that I didn't like what they were doing. There's a thin line, but people often don't see it there.

Another example of misunderstandings. You talk this person A, and he replies you in monotone or weirdly, or even no response. You, according to common sense, assumes he has attitude problems. Ever occur to you he might be shy, or unconfident of himself? Or that he doesn't know what to say, or how to reply? Nope, we assume the worse case scenarios. He/She has an attitude problem. Even I do it. Guilty party Number 1. *Raises hand*


Things like this happen in society everyday. To me, it happens a lot. For example, I don't talk much during work, not during Japanese lessons. While MAYBE (not sure) my colleagues/classmates might think that I have issues, the simple answer to it is that I have nothing to say to them. I don't know how to react when they try to socialise. It seems rude, but basically, I am just not confident of myself. I have nothing to bring out to them anyway.

Sometimes, when we say that people are "fake", let's think. Maybe, they are trying to make a new "real". Criticizing may bring them down. Not everyone's as mentally strong as you, you know. They try to make a new image because you (in other words, we) don't accept them for who they are naturally.

Maybe, just maybe, we should be forgiving.

Sorry.

Hi

Happy Chinese New Year! Like Chi Kit said, hope all your angpows are the same size as me! :]

This is the suckiest CNY I ever had. The others can almost also be put into comparison.

That aside, I have this nagging feeling recently.

My chest feels empty all of a sudden. It feels like something is missing. I don't know what the hell is.

OK, maybe deep down, I do, but on the surface, I have no idea what is causing this emptiness. I hope I can find out when I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

I need to fill it up after all.

Despair of loss

Times when you realise you're close to losing something close to you are really the times your emotional strength is put to the test.

The worse is when nothing can be done about it. The loss is determined. Waiting for it and hoping it won't come soon. Standing there sadly, watching, holding back the tears. Sadness enveloping the surroundings. It sucks to know you're going to lose something close to you. The pain, the heart's sudden clouding. The powerlessness.

I'm not strong. Every human is weak. It's because we have companionship. Friends. Family. We have those to get through. To become stronger. When you might lose one of them... how would you feel? I'm especially weak. I don't want to lose anything. I'm greedy, aren't I?

Please, God, grant me that little wish.

Seems like my CNY this year might not be so good at all...

:O

Well, 2011's been nothing less than tiring!

A new year may represent new hopes and dreams, but to be honest, most people's routines don't change much. Take me for example. I still clock in at 9am every morning to MDC and draw my F1 designs with Garry everyday. Geez, talk about unchanging.

Can something exciting happen already? Like MDC catch fire or something (JUST A VALID EXAMPLE).

Open House and Spinnovex was so amazing. The MDC bros all got booths. Me and Garry had to tend to the Solid Dispenser and a Gap Clearing Wheelchair. 9 hours of standing up do explaining per day. SIMPLY AMAZING.

But I gotta admit, the FYPs of other people were awesome. Rapid DIY Transporters, simulators left and right and amazing R/C helicopters. It was a great Open House. Though I wish I had more time to take bus tours to disturb my ACER buddies.

Aftermath was a bitch though. Due to too much popcorn and cotton candy, I got this annoying ulcer which caused me so much trouble. I couldn't open up my mouth fully, chew down completely, and it hurts to boot. Till now, it still isn't fully recovered. To add to the pain, sore throat followed. You could imagine the pain now.

2011 had a lot of burdens that were carried over from 2010 too. There are just... things that haunt us wherever we go. I hope I can get it over with.

Ciao, folks. ;]

New Year, new dreams, new hopes, new beginning, new me

Somehow, the New Year came by with a bang! (since there were fireworks at Vivo where we were). Seriously, we caused a commotion, haha. The party streamers sure were sticky!

Happy 19th birthday, Haikal!

We had party streamers, a small cake (which I got smashed at!) and fireworks. Sitting around, chatting, sleeping at the streets. Haha, this is New Year 2011.

Now then, the new year is here! Resolutions to be made, a whole new year to look forward to.

I finally managed to move on, everything faded like the fireworks. Sorry for worrying all of you for the past year.

My NY resolutions:

1) To skate more and more
Like Haikal would say, if sports were to be your hobby, you can be healthy while enjoying it. I agree. I recently really got hooked on to inlining again. For some reason, the passion is more than before. Maybe it's cos I got a bro who's progressing even further than me though he learnt it two years later than me. Nonetheless, I'm going to skate more!

2) Lose more weight
This is a yearly resolution for me, haha. I managed to lose some weight compared to last year, due to lack of time to eat, which is a bad way of losing weight. I should start to lose weight healthily. Skating more is a plan. Maybe gym? I'll have to see how it goes~ Anyway, NS is coming soon. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

3) To make as many people laugh and smile as possible
I enjoy it when people are laughing or smiling because I did something. It always feels like a great achievement when I raise people's spirits, even if it is for a short moment. I want to make the people around me happy. This is a tough task, but the fact is that anyone can do it, and I might as well be that "anyone".

4) To not neglect friends
Sometimes, I realise that I accidentally isolate certain friends when I stick to another clique too much. Big no no. Every friend is important. I will treasure every single one of them, as I know some of them treasure me too.

5) To learn how to cook healthy, exotic, cost effective dishes.
I want to be in the food industry. No secret. I need to start learning how to cook healthily, but cost effective. The main focus is to make the food still delicious after all that.

6) Not to annoy anyone
I realise I can really annoy people sometimes. Time to stop that!

7) To be less sensitive.
I recently got wind of the fact that I can be sensitive. I really do need to get that part of me into shape. I get affected by trivial matters, and I can really get upset due to it. Time to stop that~

8) To save up more money and not spend it quickly
I realise that it's not that I cannot save up money. I can do it, but I can also spend it pretty fast. I'm an adult now, and I should value money. With that said, I've got to limit my expenditures! Eat cheaper outside, and don't give excuses to spend!

Well, can I live up to my own expectations? Let's try.

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!! Hope you all have a great 2011!

P.S.: I realised that my birthday this year will be 11/11/11, ahahahahaha...