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29.4.08
/ 11:40 PM i've been reading up on channelnewsasia.com on singapore's news, esp that concerning Mas Selamat's escape. and apparently im quite irritated after reading the reports. wah piang eh, you expect that kind of reasoning to get citizens to calm down? pls lah, can dun tok so much not? can everyone save all the kbkb-ing, save all the "its-not-my-fault" and "its-the-system's-fault" into something more concrete like getting that bugger caught can? ----- peasants are always forgetful, as long as their stomachs are full. ----- the other day, my friend from vietnam was asking me: friend: "ah cheng, how big is singapore compared to US?" me: "erms, not even 0.0001% that of US land mass" friend: "hmm, den why isit that your leaders' pay is 4 times that of President Bush? Is his work 4 times harder than that of Bush?" me: "hmm, im not too sure about that. but apparently that's the best way to keep them uncorrupted and to retain the best talent" (and i started telling him those stuff that i've learnt in PA in Singapore eg, lack of alternate government, good economy, good track record and responsible PAP leaders etc...) friend: "singapore and your people must be very very rich, perhaps even richer than US to be able to give your leaders such high salary!" Are we? |
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27.4.08
/ 11:59 PM MY FIRST BACK-PACKING TRIP!!!! yeps! im back from my first ever back packing trip alone to the 3 gorges!! below is my itinerary: 19th apr 10.30pm: 36hour train journey from hangzhou to chongqing! passed through zhejiang, jiangxi, anhui, hunan, guizhou provinces before reaching the destination!! 21st apr 8.30am: finally reach chongqing! spent the day cleaning up and shop around the city; 9pm: board the passenger "cruise" (it was a rusty passenger boat transformed into a 3 class cruise) --> off to 3 gorges!! 22nd april: reached fengdu, or the chinese city of hades, heard the tales and myths surrounding about hell and the netherworld. 23rd april morning: reached baidi town!! those who've read romance of 3 kingdoms before will know that this is where Liu Bei entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang and died. in the afternoon, we reached kui2 men2 xia2!!! WAH!!! its god damn magnificent!! i was so touched by what i saw that i nearly teared 念天地之悠悠，独怆然而涕下, that's exactly how i felt!!! this is kui2 men2 xia2:  23rd apr night: reached wu1 shan1 county, spent the day visiting little 3 gorges and mini 3 gorges. At night. i had a wonderful dinner with another singporean and british backpacker. It's really a surprise to see another singaporean on the same boat as me!! and he taught me lotsa stuff that i'll always remember. spent the night drinking with them hehsthis is wu1 xia2 in the morning!  24th apr: reached xiling gorge and visited the famous 3 gorges dam! i've always believed in the proverb 人力胜天, and the construction of this dam really proves this point. nothing is impossible as long as we believe in it and work hard for it. it may take years, even generations, for a dream to come true, but the hard work that's being put in will not be wasted. 25th Apr: took a 21hour over-night train back to hangzhou, fell sick along the way, spent the night vomitting and shivering in cold sweat :( 26th april: reach hangzhou in the afternoon half-dead... oooh! i must add this!! on my way back, i saw the old city walls of Xiang Yang!! yesh!! that's where Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan fought heads and heels over for, and for those Jin Yong fans, that's where Guo Jing and Huang Rong fought the Mongols!! Finally i saw it on the train!!! =D its an exciting trip! the time spent planning for the trip, seeing all that i've planned goes smoothly, with cock-ups here and there that requires my own instinct and wit to solve on the spot (most of the time money will solve the problem). scared? of course la! all alone leh!!! when you're all alone by yourself, the only thing you can do is to survive, and find ways to make your own life a little bit better. and to make life a little bit better for yourself, the first thing one should do is to have an open heart and treat others a little bit better meeting friends along the way to kill boredom; listening to new and intersesting stories from fellow backpackers and mainland chinese; bearing with the sichuan ah peks in my room who spat, smokes in the room, worst of all, they urine without aiming!! grrr, made the whole room stinks! that's how i fell sick!!! still, the people in my room treats me nice! taking into consideration that those lao ah peks come from village and are already of old age, i tolerated their actions, smiled and chatted with them. in return, they treated me with nice fruits they brought from their villages! haha! then there was this old couple in my room, i make it a point to greet them every morning, and in return, they treated me with milk, fish and fruits!!! heheee!! and it felt really nice when they call me "小伙子" or "娃娃！来，这个给你吃" and the train attendant thinks that im very “潇洒"! woots!! but i dun really think im that brave, there's this 25year old british girl who'd been travelling since last august, all the way through eastern Europe, across Russia and Siberia, down Inner Mongolia into China! when she used up her money, she'll stop at wherever she is and start earning for her own expenses! Then she'll continue with her trip! and the fellow singaporean backpacker taught me lotsa stuff, though not I don't exactly agree with what he said, but what he said does make a point. Most Singaporeans don't dare to step out of their own comfort zone, we simply can't stop calculating and calculating, in the end, we lose lotsa opportunities which we could have seized by just taking the first step out! And a year later, i see myself backpacking in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar visiting my friends for my grad trip! =) |
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19.4.08
/ 1:34 PM you'll never know how far you can go if you don't take the first step out: 一个背包走三峡 我行我素我自乐 byebye, cya in a week's time! |
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17.4.08
/ 11:23 AM at the age of 24, i'm learning to play guitar i'm learning chinese chess i'm learning to be a better drinker i'm upgrading my badminton skills i'm learning to play table tennis which i gave up 12 years agoi seriouly wonder what i'm good at... :/ ah! i know, i'm damn good at eating, i eat lots and lots everyday!! one big bowl of 牛肉拉面 + 白饭 + 小盘鸡 = my dinner!! yummm!! =D |
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16.4.08
/ 12:26 PM "Singapore to enjoy full mobile number portability from 13 June" - from channelnewsasia website wooohoo! steady lah! when i come back i can change my mobile operator lo! i've been tolerating with M1's i-don't-know-how-they-calculate way of charging me with high handphone bills every month! coupled with ther lack of rewards, i'm quite fed up with M1 already! Starhub and Singtel's student plans, wait for my return!!!! =D exams for spring term is over! time for backpacking trip to the 3 gorges! :) |
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14.4.08
/ 9:02 PM wakaos! seriously, when you're overseas, DO NOT LISTEN TO EMO SONGS!!! examples of such emo songs: - 你是我的唯一 (this song is the ULTIMATE EMO SONG!!!) - 落叶归根 - 背影 - 纯真 - 普通朋友 - 我们的故事 Read their lyrics and you know why! couple with the sad sad sobbish music, it makes you feel like jumping into 西湖 lah!! blardy hell, and it doesn't help somemore when you're preparing for your exam in a dark, cold room, with light drizzle outside in the middle of the night at 3am!! :/ Better listen to songs like 孙悟空，阳光宅男, 将军令 more! |
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13.4.08
/ 11:51 PM what is good? what is bad? attended general history of china class 2 days ago I started to wonder what makes a good man? 什么是好人？怎样做一个好人？ Liu Bei threw his son to the floor to gain Zhao Yun's loyalty, abandoned his family time and again when he was defeated, yet he was named as "仁义之主" Cao Cao reunified northern china, implemented policies that benefitted the people, yet he was named as "乱世奸雄" Tang Taizong was an excellent emperor, but he murdered his brothers, forced his father to abdicate the throne in his favour Han Wudi's merits lasted even till this day. Yet this same man forced his own wife and son to suicide, caused thousands of people to die in his anti-Hun campaigns... Ming Chengzu built up today's Beijing and encouraged Zheng He's exploration to SEA. Yet this man forced his own nephew to death... Xiang Yu was known as a ruthless conqueror, but this man truely loves his woman, sincerely cares for his soldiers... 好人也好，坏人也罢，我认为，他们都是孤独的人 ----- 很多时候，风光的背后，其实是孤单 也许，背得起孤单的人，才有资格成为英雄 |
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8.4.08
/ 4:11 PM 浙大模拟联合国 (Zhejiang Universidy Model United Nations): Yeps we had a scenario play of UN Security Council yesterday during our PS lecture each of us was to represent one country of our choice, I chose Indonesia! hehs the topic of discussion was on Kosovo's application into UN. had a great discussion and debate! at end of the whole discussion, there was a prize-giving ceremony, and i was given the "最有风度奖" (the speaker with the highest demeanour and grace)!!! haha and I was the only international student in the class to be given an award! Before I left the class, my lecturer told me, "今天表现很棒" !!! hahaha, I didn't let Singapore nor NUS down eh... =p |
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7.4.08
/ 11:57 AM "perfume as music or memories, in your mind to stay a painting. Aroma invisible, colorless, without attributes, it can live forever capture a moment or a person. It is a feeling, an attitude, a calm expression. " - John Galliano |
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6.4.08
/ 10:40 PM This song is definitely the sweetest and most touching song of year 2008 so far! I've listened to it for 150 times today!! Brings back lots of fond memories... :) 吴克群 - 为你写诗 作词：吴克群 作曲：吴克群 爱情 是一种怪事 我开始全身不受控制 爱情 是一种本事 我开始连自己都不是 为你我做了太多的傻事 第一件就是为你写诗 为你写诗 为你静止 为你做不可能的事 为你我学会弹琴写词 为你失去理智 为你写诗 为你静止 为你做不可能的事 为你弹奏所有情歌的句子 我忘了说 最美的是你的名字 爱情 是一种怪事 你的笑容是唯一宗旨 爱情 是一种本事 我在你心里什么位置 为你我做了太多的傻事 第一件就是为你写诗 为你写诗 为你静止 为你做不可能的事 为你我学会弹琴写词 为你失去理智 为你写诗 为你静止 为你做不可能的事 为你弹奏所有情歌的句子 我忘了说 最美的是你的名字 我什么都能忘记 但唯一不忘的是你的名字 我什么都能忘记 但唯一不忘的是你的样子 hahaha stupid things that guys do when they fall for someone :) |
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5.4.08
/ 3:18 PM Just read Uncle Bing's blog-post regarding the student accomodation issue. In fact, I'm one of those affected as well, despite having "priority" as returning SEP student and the max of 40 cca points. Being an international exchange student myself now, whenever i compare the system in China, esp how we were treated here, versus that of how international students were being treated back in Singapore, i'm filled with envy! some things for example: - we have to make our own way to the university. People in Singapore will think that its an easy thing to do, but that's not exactly the case in China, when the airport is far far FAR way from the main city. - there's no way we can get prior information about the University. We know nuts about hangzhou and the Zhejiang University and we have to explore everything ourselves! - I had to live without internet access for 3 weeks! their IRO did not prepare any plans for us other than accomodation. Their response to our internet access problem, "oh, you can go to 网吧 on the streets for internet access" :/ - to make things worst, we had to finish our module allocation by the 2nd week of school - to make things even WORST, there was no proper orientation for us. When we ask their IRO on this, their response, "oh, we'll give you a booklet and a magazine. As for friends, 一次生，两次熟嘛。再说，交流生主要目的就是交流嘛" in short, no friends, no idea about hangzhou? please settle yourself! - don't know the way? don't worry, 路在嘴边 - don't know the system? 久了就习惯了 In NUS, there was proper orientation; NUS website was comprehensive; 2 years protection for ALL international students despite the lack of rooms; I even remember that NUS IRO had a proper gathering session for all exchange students. So really, treasure what you have in NUS. coz you're REALLY very much LUCKIER than the others in other overseas (esp asian) universities ----- As for the residential system, I can understand that OSA is trying its best in solving the problem. After having some experience with bureaucracies and adminstrative systems, I can understand their plight. as such, i shall not kao beh too much about how OSA should work. Rather, I would like to share my personal account on Zhejiang University's residential system. Unlike Singapore, Chinese Universities' students come from all provinces of china. As such, their policy is this: everyone will be given a "bed". note the word "bed", coz i'll explain more later... Firstly, accomodation is divided CLEARLY between international students and local students, these 2 gps of students DO NOT have to fight with each other for a shelter. There are many types of residences. for international students, 2-3 blocks of hostel were set aside for them. these blocks had all the best facilities in every room, with one bed per room. For other "extra" international students, Zhejiang University had some estates/ property outside of the main campus, which will be given to these students. I'm living in one of these buildings now. It's older, facilities are lousier as well. But the general living condition is ok. You can choose not to take up their rooms. If so, you've gotta find your own accomodation. Full Stop, no arguments. Now for the case of the local students. This is their plan: Zhejiang University have no such distinction between halls and residences. they called them as "hostels". beds were allocated via a central system, and everyone will be guaranteed a "bed". better rooms have 1-2 beds, which were mostly allocated to senior students; mid-range rooms have 4-6 beds, mostly allocated to year 2 students; lower-range rooms have 8 beds, mostly allocated to year one students. Of course, prices differ from good to low range rooms. Every hostel is to listen to the Central Admin unit, no hostel is to make their own rules or allow any 'backdoor policy'. (hmm, compare with our RHAPS? Compare again with our hall vs residence?) Since everyone will be given a "bed", and that beds are given according to seniority in school, cca points are not necessary. (both pros and cons here) This is the BEST part: once allocated a "bed", you have no right to kao beh, you can only accept or decline the offer. If you choose to decline, you'll have to find your own shelter somewhere somehow, regardless of who you are! full stop, end of story! As the total number of students stay around the same every year, all that Zhejiang University admin needs to do is to reshuffle the local student names from hostel to hostel, take out those who've left, promote those who're in senior class to these rooms. For IS, its even easier! firstly, Zhejiang Uni WILL NOT take in too many international students to the extent that there isn't any accomodation available for them. The school admin will always leave some rooms available for last minute surge in the number of IS. Everything is centrally planned. Of course there are problems such as formation of international 'enclaves' vs local 'enclaves', allocation based on seniority and not credits, little room for negotiation, presence of backdoor practices going unnoticed etc. But I think the good points of this system is that its easier to manage under a centrally controlled body, with individual hostel not able to practise their own decision making other than day-to-day administration. Also, the clear distinction between local and IS is a good way of reducing conflicts when it comes to room allocation as well. Of course, for such policy to work, the University TOP administrator had to limit the number of students (esp IS) entering the university. Everything begins from the TOP, and it snowballs down to the people below to solve the problem. |
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4.4.08
/ 11:48 PM Exam in 10 days time! i have only ONE examinable subject in this spring term!! =D oh!!! had a soccer match with NORTH KOREANS this morning it ended with 8-7 (with our team slacking in the middle to let them score 4 goals from 5-nil to let them get back some face + a sibeh kelong referee who only blow whistle on our team and extended the gameplay from 30 mins to one hour!!!!) its both a fun and also a disappointing match for us. for all of us in our team (we called ourselves theUN team coz we comprised of pple from S.Korea, Vietnam, S.America, S'pore, Africa, Germany and Australia), its our first time playing with North Koreans! However, its disappointing due to the kelong referee and the refusal to admit defeat of the opposite team, due to them insisting that they are older... so in the end, they "fixed" the score at 7-4, claiming that they won, during the drinking session after the match. Well, for the rest of us, we adopted the attitude of "you say what, what lor". we played for fun, but since u treat it so seriously, then ok lor, let you "win" lor... As agreed earlier on, the winner team will buy 3 cartons of beer, the loser team 5 cartons of beer. We bought the 3 cartons, but coz none of us "lost" (coz its a friendly match, as insisted by the "opposing" team), so no one bought the 5 cartons. and the north korean team captain expressed personal disappointment too, coz in our team there're S.Korean players, which they regarded as part of a "korean nation". wahhh, diplomacy, politics, history all compressed in a friendly international students' soccer match. As you can imagine, the drinking session after the match was calm and cordial on the surface, with tension under wraps. But ive to admit, North Koreans really have lotsa fighting spirit, at their age of average 40years and above, there was no sign of shag-ness in them throughout the whole game. maybe that's the reason why North Korea can sustain till this day. they don't and will never give up. neither do they admit defeat.... Pride... |
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1.4.08
/ 2:44 AM I heard about this description of someone who'd sabo-ed my friend when he was back in his home country. eeeks, what a disgusting person!!! 明明做错事还不肯承认，竟然能当着什么事也没发生过, 让别人收拾自己留下的烂摊子。然后还装出一张“我为你好”的嘴脸，教训别人！最可恶的是大家竟然都认为他是好人！ fwah, if you've such people around you, better run far far away from them! but most of the time, these people are so good at acting, you wouldn't even know that they've "eaten" you up! *shivers* ----- 对于“莫须有”的事件 最好的答复也只有“天日昭昭”了 ----- time will tell but my character don't like to wait for things to happen leh, how ah?! hmmms.... 有心的话，就可以等 有心去做，一定会有好结果 ----- suki dayo? wahahahaha!! ----- haha looking forward to the "united nations" vs north korea soccer match this friday! winners and losers both getta drink 8 cartons of xi hu beer! wahaha! most importantly, perhaps its a once-in-a-lifetime experience to interact with north koreans! :) ----- meanwhile, im planning for my own backpacking trip to 3 Gorges in mid april, been reading up and doing the calculations for the trip! Xi'an and Yunnan trip is undergoing initial planning stage as well!!!! wooots! 新加坡脚逛大陆!!! ---- btw, i must say that Singapore's bilingual policy is really a far-sighted move! it makes it damn easy for singaporeans to go many many places in the world without fears of language barriers. at a personal level, i've helped to resolve many conflicts between europeans and local chinese due to their language barriers. and really, though LEP education that i had in JC was very tough, but it really made me understood lots about chinese culture and able to communicate more with the locals, esp in times when we ran out of topics to talk about, den all the Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Dongpo, Hong Lou Meng, ROTK, Zhu Ziqing, Xu Zhimo gets the conversation going again! hais too bad the LEP syllabus had been cut, it was really a bitter-sweet memory... Saying that, i must admit that in comparison, my standard and understanding of chinese culture, history, literature etc, is perhaps only half of the locals' standard. if you really want to "hun4" in a place well, esp in china, i think you really gotta understand, respect, appreciate and practise their culture, what the chinese call, "ru4 xiang1 sui2 su2", speaking and understanding their language can only get you through the short term. -----I miss mui3 fan3, fried hokkien prawn noodles, char kway tiao, oyster egg lots!! :( |
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