Car tunes

I'm wondering why i like retro so much. Is it because of re-discovering something familiar that was hidden away in some secret cache in some depth of my brain?

Esp. retro chinese and oldies. 4 Heavenly Kings.

Well last time before i started pri school i used to accompany mom to work. Will seat in the front seat. She'll take me to eat Mcdonalds at the Yung Ho area (still stands there) where they had a driveway. Breakfast was big breakfast for $5 or hotcakes. we'll bring the stuff to her office and i enjoyed spreading the honey on the pancakes and eating the honey-soaked pancakes.

And she'll switch on 93.3 where they had all these tunes. Those tunes were the latest in the Chinese Top 40. And sometimes i can hum to these tunes. And sometimes she'll slip in a casette of the popular Hokkien songs, like ai pia zai eh yia.

Dad used to drive me around too. I remember one memorable time where we were zipping down the AYE-ECP where they had that magnificient stretch of viaduct along keppel where u can see all the cranes at the port. It was midnight and we were sending an uncle off, and on the way back.

The street lights that illuminated the highway and the night sky looked like two endless rows of heralds that stretched into the horizon, welcoming us - the only car. i felt like a king. haha. and playing night music on class 95 was excellent as well, especially when it's a fast song and we're going at 100kph. cool!

Scorpio

Wonder how much of this is true? haha

Your positive traits:
You're red hot passion makes anyone you date feel extremely wanted
Loyalty, to the point of doing anything to protect your lover
You are mysterious and charismatic - and you easily draw people in

Your negative traits:
You tend to be paranoid and think that the worst is going on with your lover
You turn cold and mean at the first sign of conflict in relationship
You sometimes become obsessed with dates - so much so that you develop jealousy early on

Your ideal partner:
Someone who will take the time to win you over. Not an easy task!
Is able to keep up with your carnal appetite...(omg...) lots of stamina needed.
Reassures you of their love and loyalty on a daily basis.

Your dating style:
Intense. You prefer to stay in with take out and conversation - so that no one else is distracting you and your date.

Your seduction style:
Hot. New partners have trouble believing that your libido is for real.You have incredible sexual intuition - you always know what your lover craves
A bit bossy. You know what you want, and you certainly aren't afraid to ask for it.

Tips for the future:
Don't be so secretive with your love - they want you the way you are
Let go of your jealousy. Your partner has chosen *you*
Spend more time alone, doing things you love.
It will help you be less obsessive.

Best color to attract mate: Dark red
Best day for a date: Tuesday

Your Love Life Secrets Are

Looking back on your life, you will only have one true love. You've been deeply wounded in the past, and you're still recovering from that hurt. You prefer a quirky, unique person to be your lover. You're easy going about who you're with, as long as they love you back. In fights, you are able to walk away and calm down. You are able to weather the storm. A break-up usually comes as a shock to you. You always think things are going well.

Seems like the YEP trip is still on

After giving up on the YEP trip on friday, i'm surprised that i still have enough people for the YEP trip.

All in all, a total of 23 people signed up, mostly from year 1 and year 2. at the eleventh hour, alot of year 2 gals signed up, interested as leaders. i dunno whether did they do so because they wanted it, or.. ?

no one has any idea of where to go yet. guess a meeting is necessary to sort out all the doubts. there's no leader, no coleader. not many people have experience. no one knows what to expect..

sigh. now for myself, i've divided between letting these people down, or further disappointing these people after all the planning has been done and nothing works out.

NTU Student survey - FUnny comments

"can you show me your chest hair in order to compensate for your bald head"...
"sexy, handsome, erotic"...

Times of your life

i got this email from nuanxin:

---

Fond memories For those who born in the 70s and 80s.

1. You grew up watching He-man, MASK, Transformers, Silver Hawk and Mickey Mouse. Not to forget, Ninja turtles, MyLittle Pony and Smurfs too.
I like Ninja turtles!! The TMNT now.. really isn't anywhere close

2. You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in Primary school during recess time. You will squat by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brush your teeth with a coloured mug.The teachers said you must brush each side 10 times too.

ok.. we did it in the canteen, and in a common sink area; some of us had to do "remedial" brushing i dunno why, keep seeing these poor fellas in the canteen when we were lining up. And there was a teacher keeping close guard. Mainly i did it to wayang haha

3. You know what SBC stands for.

Singapore broadcasting cooperation! Who watched wu suo nan yang before starring the chio xiang yun? haha..

4. You pay 40 cents for Chocolate or Strawberry MILK every week in class.

stupid milk never drink one. very disgusting to drink too. always put in my bag, got deformed.

5. You watch a very popular Malay dubbed Japanese drama on RTM1about schoolgirls who possess powerful skills in volleyball called Meoro Attack. (?)

6. You find your friends with pagers and handphone cool in Secondary school.

In secondary school.. pagers and hps were banned... =p. with detention!

7. SBS buses used to be non-airconditioned. The bus seats are madeof wood and the cushion is red. The big red bell gives a loud BEEP! when pressed. There are colourful tickets for TIBS buses.Theconductor will check for tickets by using a machine whichpunches a hole in the ticket.

8. Envelopes given to us to donate to Sharity Elephant everyChildren's Day. Did i give $1? under coercion?

9. You've probably read Young Generation magazine.You know who's Vinny the little vampire and Acai the constable.

10. You were there when they first introduced MRT here. You went for the first ride with your parents and you would kneel on the seat to see the scenery. Maybe i did?

11. Movie tickets used to cost only $3.50. Really?? Too young to watch it anyway.. the cheapest i know was $5

12. Gals are fascinated by Strawberry ShortCake and Barbie Dolls.

13. You learn to laugh like The Count inSesame Street. Watched sesame street though

14. You longed to buy tibits called Kaka (20 cents per pack), andDing Dang (50 cents per box), that had a toy in it and it changesevery week not forgetting the 15 cents animal crackers and the ring pop, wherethe lollipop is the diamond on the ring. Hmm among other "tradings" were the Dragonball cards! I love the 10c ice-pop and the 50c ice cream

15. You watched TV2 (also known as Channel 10) cartoons because Channel 5 never had enough cartoons for you. Switched channels whenever the cartoon i wanted to see appeared

16. Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, Famous Five and Secret Seven are probably the thickest story books you ever thought you have read. Even Sweet Valley Highand Malory Towers. I read Bookworm!

17. KFC used to be a high class restaurant that serve food in plates and let you use metal forks and knives.

18. The most vulgar thing you said was asshole and idiotand THE MOST EXTREME WAS 'super white'...you justcouldn't bring yourself to say the hokkien relative. Well! surprise.. sh*t was fairly common liao.

19. Catching was the IN thing and twist as the magic word.

20. Your English workbooks was made of some damn poor quality paper that was smooth and yellow. PETS coursebooks!

21. CDIS were your best friend (?)

22. The only computer lessons in school involved funny pixellised characters in 16 colours walking about trying to teach you maths. I didn't had any computer programmes.. so sad.. until p6

23. Waterbottles were slinged around your neckand a must everywhere you go. Got those 'suckable' ones.

24. Boys loved to play soccer with small plasticballs in the basketball court.

25. Teng-teng, five stones, chapteh, hentambola and zero point were all the rage with the girls and boys too...

26. Science was fun with the balsam and the angsana being the mostimportant plants of our lives, guppies andswordtail being the most important fish.

27. Who can forget Ahmad, Bala, Sumei andJohn, eternalized in our minds from the textbooks. Even Mr Wally & Mr.Yakki. What abt Miss Lala??? And Zaki and Tini in Malay Textbooks. And xiao ming and xiao hua in chinese textbooks! still got brothers da ming and da hua

28. We carry out experiments of our own to get yourself badges forbeing a Young Zoologist/Botanist etc. So super crap one la, we will study all of them in sec sch / jc / uni anyway.

29. Every Children's day and National dayyou either get pins or pens with 'Happy Children's Day 1993' or dumbfiles with 'Happy National Day 1994'.

30. In Primary six you had to play buddy for theyounger kids like big sister and brother.

31. We wear BM2000, BATA, or Pallas shoes.

32. Your form teacher taught you Maths, Science and English.

33. The worksheets were made of brown rough paper of poor quality.

34. You went to school in slippers and a raincoat when it rained,and you find a dry spot in the school to sit down, dry your feet,and wear your dry and warm socks and shoes.

35. School dismissal time was normally around 1 pm. Nothing later than that. How shiok!

36. There would be spelling tests and mentalsums to do almost everyday.And the dreaded ting xie.. then go higher levels got mo xie... argh... kept me from enjoying my monday's gao xiao xing dong

37. Your friends considered you lucky and rich ifyour parents gave you $3 or more for pocket money everyday. I think i got $1 everyday. food was cheap, anyway.

38. You see Wee Kim Wee's face in the school hall.

39. You freak out when the teacher tells you to line up according to height and hold hands with the corresponding boy or girl

40. Boys like to catch fighting spiders.

41. Collecting and battling erasers was a pastime for boys. Eraser battle - win by flicking your eraser above your opponent's eraser. I knew there were alot of erasers with assorted country's flags on it.. like "Jordan"

42. Autograph books were loaded with "BestWishes", "Forget Me Not", and smallpoems like "Bird fly high, hard to catch.Friend like you, hard to forget".

43. Class monitors and prefects loved to say "You talk somemore, I write your name ah!" Stupid prefects.

44. There were at least 40 people in one class.

45. Large, colourful schoolbags were carried.

46. You brought every single book to school, even though there was one thing called the timetable.

Spread this heart warming messagearound, youdon't get something like this very often.Never frown when you're down, you never knowwho's falling in love with your smile...

For those who are born in those days... remember the good old days?
For those who arent.... know what u missed out..?

Does/can the present be exchangable for the past?

U decide.

Puzzle

A puzzle of a thousand pieces,
i am nothing but one,
a clear shade of blue in the sky
incomprehensible on its own
but when pieced together
makes a picture so beautiful.

Lost in transition am i,
the picture still retains its glory
despite the absence of a brother
the rest will still suffice.
for those that form images and words
tell the story in the end.

Indeed, of what significance
is a piece to the thousand?
When others have multicoloured shades
with happy faces and events.

Terrible day

life is strange.

one day u feel so happy, and the next day u feel so sad.

it is so amazing to see how fast the mood changes.

somehow after the dfd test today i really felt out of place. felt like, oh, shit. what am i doing here.

i ponder about all the things i did in the past year and a half, and realise that some of them didn't make sense. most. if not all.

this world is so hard to understand. yet, this is the only world we have. the things in it, we strive to comprehend by the day, thinking we might have understood some of the world; but actually we are indeed so misled by ourselves. we do not understand as much, as we think we did.

at some point in time, everything becomes meaningless. what happened to be any successful operation, carefully and meticulously planned, painstakingly - suddenly seems so negligible. when you realise you're fighting for a cause that has been long lost.

when you realise you no longer have the means and abilities to achieve what you want.

No title for this

Am now halfway through my Suppositories notes. Finished the Advantages of Suppositories, Disadvantages, Desirable Properties, gone through the types of Suppository Bases, oleaginous, water-based and emulsifying; then gone through the 13 considerations when formulating a suppository: 8 wrt the base, and 5 wrt the drug.

I feel i'm getting stupidier by the moment.

Temperature range between solidification and melting
Contraction of base
Stability of base
Viscosity of base
Compatitibility between drug and base
Rate of drug release from base
Brittleness of base
Hygroscopity of base
Solubility of drug in base
Particle size of drug
Surface properties (wetting) of drug
Amount of drug in base
DV and pKa of drug
...

later on will go on to the 7 methods of testing suppositories and 10 physicochemical factors affecting bioavailabilty.

sigh. i think i'm not really catching up.
pr2101 (dfd)- too much, too much information to memorize.
pr2102 (pharm law)- don't understand. too much, too much to memorize.
pr2103 (stats) - starting to lose him, that @#$$% lecturer. he is getting more "grrrr", uploading the notes and tutorial questions one day before the lecture begins. why don't he just ES&D.
ec1301 (econs) - got 39/45. not too bad. hopefully can get a A- at least. my only hope.
gek2022 (samurai) - heck care liao after submitting the paper and film review.

work, work, work.

Some stuff from TuckSomBong.

...the doctors next door camping in the medical library!!

http://www.petebevin.com/archives/signals.html

So shiok!

Today was SO SHIOK!! haha. i dunno why.

1) Today woke up at 0700 and for once, i didn't feel so sleepy.. haha....

2) Came to NUS. Bought some tea, although i didn't really want any.. i was quite awake!! Even hopped and skipped along to LT20 as i bought the tea. haha.

3) Then sat in the lecture by Prof Eli Chan. And for once, i understood his lecture! and i dunno why. Even noticed a few mistakes here and there. And wrote down all the formulas, frantically flipping through past notes to get formulae. And for once, actually took out the calculator to actually rectify his mistakes, punching the numbers like some freak.

4) And i cracked so many lame jokes along the way about that question of his that he got wrong. Yes, because of a mistake he claimed why "they didn't change" the answers... he had to re-do the whole question! my maths teachers from JC and sec sch would have just marked a big fat cross on his paper. Straight Zero! Wasting everyone's time as usual. And we had to provide him with the answers.

5) Went to PS room after that. tried to revise something for dispensing, but somehow it didn't go in. did the powerpoint presentation for YEP trip. still feeling very shiok, left PS room and went to crap with constance and choonhan outside the room.

6) Left PS room. Went to YIH to meet ruixiang and nuanxin to sign the cca record card. Winnie was there with her friend and we had a nice lunch! =)

7) Came back to LT20. Then found out that i screwed up my dosage form prac, real big. haha but after reasoning with meiqi, who has this ability to laugh at anything for nothing, also felt damn shiok! haha. decided to postpone the prac to after the dispensing test.

8) Prac. Wrote all the stuff including the prescription register first. OK.. but my emulsion failed!!! SHIT!!! ok.. cos that was the first prep i did.. so try again. STILL FAILED!!! damndamndamn..

ok. move on to suppositories. YAY after what the TA taught me, my suppositories came out PERFECT!! so perfect i could cry.

then the emulsifying ointment. simple and clean was the word here. very straightforward.

ok, then left the emulsion. some oil of an animal's liver starting with H. Reputedly rich in Vitamin A. Asked for clean ceramic mortar, asked for clean conical measure - dry - then again i poured out 20ml of Halibut-liver oil, 10ml of peppermint water, and 5g of acacia. threw the acacia into the mortar, pounded it abit, threw in the oil, triturated.

then i prayed hard, this would be my last time.

took the peppermint water and poured into the mortar and then with the strength of a Silverson mixer i took the mortar and "arrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" began cyclical actions of a mad person. then for once i heard the "piack-piack" sounds of the emulsion that God has allowed to form and... wow. i stopped.

i think by now the TAs know me like some kid in kindergarten. Everyone knows my name.. all the three TAs and Ms Tan. dunno whether this is some special kind of treatment or are they super nice. haha. or maybe i'm just too lan4 that i keep coming back for "remedial" then they remember me. But good. All the TAs take turn to look at my suppositories and before i quit the place, Ms Tan also asked me, "how were the suppositories?" haha. i think they know i'm one person who cannot do suppositories.

Came home. Still so shiok! haha. dunno why.

Weird Al Yankovic - The Saga Begins

The utmost video for star wars and weird al yankovic fans. i'm both haha

weird al yankovic eat it

one of the nicest parodies from weird al! a classic.. haha

You're Pitiful - Weird Al Yankovic

Ladies and Gents, another classic by the Weird Al Yankovic.... haha

Samurai X - In The End

Excellent.

Samurai MTV

A song about samurai? but the moves are great!

The Last Samurai (edited)

Someone took the footage from the Last Samurai and added in the soundtrack. Quite crude, but nice.

Tasogare Seibei

The trailer for Twilight Samurai, a film i watched for my GEK2022 film analysis!!
Excellent love story!!
Jue dui hao kan ! =)

The GDP Equation

GDP = C + I + G + NX...

Good Dependable People = Constance + Inez + Grace + Nuanxin

S Club 7 - I never had a dream come true

One of the favourite songs from old secondary school.
Dedicated to all the old flames of old flames.

Everybody's got something
They had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday
That just seems to grow with time

*There's no use looking back or wondering
How it could be now or neither been
All this i know but still i can't find
ways to let you go

**I never a dream come true
Till that day that i found you
Even though i pretend that i've moved on
you'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You're the one i think about each day
And i know no matter where love takes me to
A part of me will always be
with you

Repeat *

Repeat **

You'll always be the dream that fills my head
(yes you will, say you will, you know you will, baby)
You'll always be the one i know i'll never forget
There's no use looking back or wondering
Because love is a strange and funny thing
No matter how i try and try
I just can't say goodbye
No no no no...

Repeat **

Somewhere in my memory
I lost all sense of time
And tomorrow can never be
Cos yesterday is all that fills my mind

Qian Li Zhi Wai

The new video from Jay Chou and Fei Yu Qing!!

Love and friendship, are they intertwined?

The Straits Times (Saturday), 14 Oct 2006, page S17 (Review)
True love? Look no further than friendship
By Tan Seow Hon, for the Straits Times

Excerpts from the article:

“While romantic love is what most of us gravitate towards, the happy secret is that true love may be found in other than what the ancient Greeks called eros or romantic love. Eros has been contrasted with three other types of love: philia (Friendship), storge (Parental love) and agape (God’s unconditional love as understood in Christian thought, or what St Augustine referred to as caritas or charity).

The sad truth, however, is that unfailing or true love of any sort between humans is a rarity in a postmodern world preoccupied with the self, where we are congenitally giving to our little goals of making ourselves feel good, and flee ant the first sight of trouble in our relationships.

Indeed, our unconscious emphasis on romantic love – seeing how the word “love” has been hijacked for this alone – sometimes belies self-centeredness and he preference for safe investments in that one person who would give love back to us, and who would hopefully prioritize us just as we prioritize him or her.

True, most of us profess that we do not think that romance is all we need… But our actions and thought patterns reveal the contrary. Finding one who believes in true friendship tend to be even harder than finding one who believes in true romantic love.

As C.S. Lewis once noted: ‘very few modern people think friendship a love of comparable value or even a love at all… to the ancients, friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves… the modern world, in comparison, ignores it.

But the very tone of the admission, and the sort of acquaintanceships which those who make it would describe as ‘friendships’, show clearly that what they are talking about has very little to do with Philia. It is something quite marginal; not a main course in life’s banquet; a diversion; something that fills up the chinks of one’s time.

Our downplaying of friendship in adult life is somewhat sad when, from our childhood days, we have had a tendency to veer towards a best friend. Most come to expect less of friends after disappointment and the experience of waning friendships as people go through different phases of life.

Still, most of us would not have any difficulty describing what we think ideal friendship consists of: Friendship involves free choice and particular persons; it involves reciprocity; the parties participate in it as an end in itself; it involves a commitment into the future; it involves a predominance of reactive rather than detached attitudes.

Of course, there exists friendships of varying intensities: Kant speaks of ideal friendships of disposition, in contrast to those of need or taste; Aristotle speaks of true friendships of character, in contrast to friendships of pleasure or utility. We do not share our deepest secrets with out business associates we may eat a satisfying burger with an acquaintance, but it is with our best friend that we think of sharing with great relish the description of our discovery of something mundane like delicious food.

That we de-emphasize friendship in adulthood should be a matter of regret, as friendship is potentially a rich relationship in which we experience true love.

In the West, there has long been two prevailing schools of thought about the value of friendship. The first was that friendship met one’s needs for human association and support, while the second was that friendship was a school of virtue in which one rises above instinctive self-interest and trains one’s character.

Perhaps neither view is complete. It is loathsome to treat another person solely as the means to satisfy one’s needs, as the friends becomes fungible like wads of cash: one wad is no different from the next; a friend becomes replaceable by another who can meet the same needs.

Nor can another human simply be someone on whom we practice goodness for our own sake, as our focus turns inwards to becoming good persons, when perhaps we do the infinite value of our friend justice only when compelled outward, relationally, by the other-directedness of love.

If it is true that love requires self-giving, putting others above one’s self and even laying down one’s life for others, it is unsurprising that we who count our interest first in a postmodern world run into immense difficulties giving true love to another human being. As one of my friends wrote even of her best friendship, she has seen ‘how inadequate Man’s love is, how small our means’.

At the end of the day, statistics aside, we cannot deny that our selfishness is one hindrance to finding true love. We may have all the opportunities in the world to know another person, but until we learn to prefer another, our budding relations will never fulfill their potential. May we remember Emerson’s words, that to form friendship, one must first be a friend. To find true love, be prepared first to love.

Fat is in!

I found this article in the New Paper quite interesting after a huge meal at Sakae Sushi.

The New Paper, 14 Oct 2006
Love your fat lover, he won’t stray
By Adam Hashiday, columnist for the New Paper

Excerpts of the article:

“Fat is beautiful. How do I know? Someone once told me that women are attracted to men who are confident and portray an image that they are in seventh heaven.”

“There are some who say that fat men make better boyfriends as they are happier people, and, more importantly, they will not sleep around.”

“There are several other advantages if your other half tips the wrong end of the scale. They are:
He will treat you like a goddess if you can cook as well as his mother;
Your mother in law will dote on you, knowing that you are able to feed his appetite, and
You can put on weight, too. He will not expect you to look as slender forever as you were in the wedding photographs.

The bottom line is that if your man has a six-pack on his tummy (and not in the fridge), then there is a good chance that he will stray and an even better chance that he can find a willing partner.

So ladies, if your man is fat, stop complaining. At least you know he is probably yours for life.”

Girlfriend <> than good friend?

Was talking with a friend today whose identity shall be protected from light.

Anyway, the topic branched out to relationships, and i asked him, is it better for two people in love to stay together in a relationship as boyfriend-girlfriend, or for two people to stay apart, but as the best of friends.

I dunno - the "best of friends" option sounds so secondary. Like earning duopoly profits when u can earn cartel profits. But then, his answer was quite shocking:

It is better for two people to stay apart as good friends instead of lovers.. firstly, they don't have to be at each other's beck and call, which allows for more free time and less stress. Imagine all the time saved, that was spent travelling to each other's places for... intimate rendezvouses. Imagine all the stress trying to solve each other's problems. Imagine all the heartbreaks suffered after quarrels.

I think it's quite a phenomenon that people are actually suggesting this. You want someone to love you, yet you want your own time, it's a total paradox. All along i had thought that if someone were to be your girlfriend (or "stead" as the ah bengs called it) you have to be with her side, like bees to honey. From observation, after the ah bengs get their "steads" out to Orchard on the night of a sleazy weekday, both of them will smoke cigarettes at the back of Ngee ann city, or some subway tunnel, hug, kiss, , , , , , .

And in the last few years, even the more educated secondary school and JC people striding proudly in their uniforms and their branded sling bags are also starting to emulate these ah bengs. They can be found also in Orchard road (without the cigarette), at places such as Lido, Takashimaya, Wisma atria, hidden beneath the surface of the earth, at exquisite cafes and fast-food restaurants, Swensen's, Ben and Jerry's, Marches, NYDCs.

The dating game is evolving, and it's evolving too fast like the rest of this world. Unbelievable.

with love and courage

in the midst of printing a gadzillion notes..

***

i seem to be standing at the crossroads and in my hand is a die with the words on its six sides:

"in love"
"as a good friend"
"lets wait it out"
"seriously, i dunno"
"i'm not ready yet"
"keep dreaming"

***

let's just be friends. sometimes, the feeling of being loved once is good enough ~

***

a very crude conversion of the oldie by Fish Leong - Yong Qi (courage).

(something like what Hollywood subtitles will put)

Finally made this decision
I don't care what others say
As long as you are as sure as i am
I'm willing to follow you to the ends of the earth
I know everything's not gonna be easy
My heart keeps rehearsing, to persuade myself
But i'm so scared that if suddenly you give up

To love, really needs courage
To face the rumours and untruths
But if your gaze tells me that you're sure
My love will have some meaning
We all need some courage
To believe, that we can be together
In the crowd i can feel you-
Putting your true heart into my palm

Should my stubbornness and resilience
In any case carelessly hurt you
Can you please gently remind me
That although my heart is too urgent, but i'm so scared of missing you

***

Labels: yong qi fish leong

maf weekend

hmmz... seems like the gals (and their bfs!) from hwa chong jc had a nice maf weekend!!
i had econs.
haha. but not too bad a weekend either.

i hope they will play this song during ps maf. haha. most prob they wont..

Toploader - Dancing in the Moonlight

We get it almost every night
when that moon is big and bright
its a supernatural delight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight

everybody here is out of sight
they dont bark and they dont bite
they keep things loose they keep it tight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight

*dancing in the moonlight
everybody's feeling warm and bright
its such a fine and natural sight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

we like our fun and we never fight
you cant dance and stay uptight
its a supernatural delight
everybody was dancing in the moonlight

repeat *

We get it on most every night
when that moon is big and bright
its a supernatural delight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight

repeat * (3x)

***

maf.. did nj have any maf before? i can't remember. maybe i ponned. ha. there must be something about hc maf that is so exciting and enthralling, and something about nj maf that makes me wanna forget about it.

maybe it's the word compulsory again. or maybe there wasn't even any publicity. or maybe we all considered the event too cheena. or maybe seeing the discipline mistress there i sian diao already. haha... disclipine mistress = Miss S***** Ph*a. rumored: not a force to be reasoned with. wields supreme power. until i entered the army, then i knew the exact phrase for this kind of person: RSM. (regimental sergeant major) of a parade square.

nj maf = pon = go home or coronation to play lan or mug. under cover of darkness of course, assume fire movement positions, through that hole in the fence.
sien...

***

didn't even know that friday was mid-autumn festival (maf). spent the night msning. ha.

then msn broke down somemore, i can only type one or two replies before everything i typed was "your message could not be sent". got me quite exasperated. haha. must be some stupid virus again.

lol, as i had still to finish the conversation, i used my subnick to type instead! haha so funny. all i could do was to nudge the other party and hopefully get some logical reply out of every subnick i typed. haha. luckily she did.

so i was there, typing for all the world to see. i felt like screaming to the whole msn world.. haha i have probably about 100-odd contacts.. any contact who was bored could see the rapidly changing subnicks.. hope no one sees what i wrote though.. haha

and the other party was like, talking to herself in one window. haha.. something like talking to a wall. damn funny.

***

everyone is starting to find love.. all my friends.

"is true love just found once in a lifetime?"

i once thought i had found true love, yet i was only loving an illusion that i had created myself...

and then i retreated, never to trust the whims of love again, instead living a carefree life, without any worries or thoughts, or sleepless nights.

then recently - cupid has yet dangled another carrot in front - yet, this is unlike so many other carrots that it has dangled.

they say, when a wandering nomad falls in love with a place, he will abandon his wanderlust that he has held for so many years, and finally settle down. is it the settling down feeling that truly represents love?

the feeling of simmering down, and giving up hopes and desires in exchange for the bringing up of a new generation's hope's and desires?

and am i willing to do so? do i have the capabilities to do so. i have never considered this question before.

a song to remember you by...

the "you mei you na me yi shou ge hui rang ni tu ran xiang qi wo" project:

cons must be mistaken if she thinks she's so unforgettable!!! haha.... okok

rationale:

i'm a musical person.. so i'm crazy about the thing ba.. i guess.. yar

and i'm lousy with names! VERY LOUSY. can see a person, have some rememberence of where i saw him before, but can't remember the name. so don't expect me to remember your name in the street. unless we meet very often. but i will say hi of course!

anyway, my memory of you is enhanced when we share songs, or sing songs together in kbox, or something else etc.. i think. e.g.

i remember jw by the first song she intro me in kbox: yi ran shi peng you. and many others.

bx: songs by the band, shin

constance: first song she sent me via msn in hall: total eclipse of the heart. it's an oldie and i remember this quite clearly cos i thought no one other me would appreciate this kinda stuff.

xuanwei: her fave song: zhu wo sheng re kuai le

evelyn (from sheares hall, block A): ben1 (by stephanie sun)

yeelian: tong hua - she played it in all 3 keys using my keyboard in hall and i was like WOW!!

mayi: hao xin fen shou - she sang in perfect cantonese once in a k-box, similar to the analog!

tiongphew: mayday songs, especially this one about a butterfly (forgot title) - sung at kbox.

sp from sheares hall exposure camp: rumors - lindsay lohan. that was the song for the mass / partner dance.

many of the chingay dancers - chingay song.

the list goes on..

so.. no one occupies a special place in my heart.. haha.. it's just something to help me remember you by.. =p

When There Was Me and You - Vanessa Anne Hudgens

taken from some high school musical, introduced by cons - finally i can remember her by another song other than Total Eclipse of the Heart.

quite a slow song, with minimal percussion (single drumset), and a piano for accompaniment. wonderful change of key in the middle and at the end.

the choruses show a nice contrast, i think she was trying to tell me that. just excellent. from the first part where the girl thinks that she's in a relationship - to the second part where she discovers that she's living in her own illusion after all.

illusions.. somehow, my mind flashbacks to those years long ago when i lived in my own...

***

(D Major)

D G A D
It's funny when you find yourself, looking from the outside
D G A D
I'm standing here, but all I want, is to be over there
G G A D A/C#
Why did I let myself believe, miracles could happen
Bm G A D
Cause now I have to pretend, that I don't really care

G A D A/C# Bm
*I thought you were my fairytale, a dream when I'm not sleeping
G A Bm Bm7
A wish upon a star, that’s coming true,
G A D A/C# Bm G
But everybody else could tell, that I confused my feelings with the truth
A
When there was me and you

(E Major)

E A B E
I swore I knew the melody, that I heard you singing
E A B E
And when you smiled, you made me feel, like I could sing along
A A B E B/D#
But then you went and changed the words, now my heart is empty
C#m A B E
I'm only left with used-to-be's, I’m once upon a song

A B E B/D# C#m
*Now I know you’re not a fairytale, and dreams were meant for sleeping
A B C#m C#m7
And wishes on a star, just don't come true
A B E B/D# C#m A
Cause now even I can tell, that I confused my feelings with the truth
B G
Cause I liked the view, when there was me and you

(G Major)

G D
I can't believe that, I could be so blind
???? D
It's like you were floating, while I was falling, and I didn't mind
Bm E C#m
Cause I liked the view
B E
Thought you felt it too, when there was me and you

Day 3, Week 7

watched The Last Samurai yesterday, film by Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. cried. cried. cried, cried.

not many films make me cry. this one did.

it told a tale of honor and bravery so good. it gave us a (although fake) glimpse into the Japanese culture during the Meiji restoration. and, it was a tale about love, old ghosts, honour, chivalry, loyalty, retribution and sacrifice. all the big words.

war is horrible. it kills people on both sides of the fray, and people outside the fray, regardless of whether they are warriors, legal combatants, or not.

to be a warrior, from the first day you must be prepared to die. horribly, tragically and ahead of your time.

if there were such men that behaved like the characters portrayed in the film today, the world would be a better one.

Stars: 5/5 - classic.

***

Weida was mentioning something about taking pictures and videos and amalgamating them into one big video collage to be shown at some Graduation Ball when we graduate. Reminds me of my own crazy ideas.. of mtv-making!

what do i mean? let's say: we just take any song: how about Dreaming of You - by Selena:

and we get any actress... lets say we get our lovely cons! whom we all caught serenadeing me and jw with her songs in the ps room today (while we were trying to study)

---

Camera facing cons, front view (in sleep dress, looking at the window from her bed).
Background: cons on bed, in what seems to be a bedroom
she mouths the words:
Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I'd stay up and think of you
And I'd wish on a star
That somewhere you are
thinking of me too

Camera facing cons, front view. Cons is standing and hugging her favourite teddybear / bolster / barbiedoll / whatever.
Background: black cloth, with a white moon shape affixed onto the white cloth ala sesame street style

*Cuz I'm dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be

(Goes back to original scene)
Then here in my room,
Dreaming about you and me

---

well i think she'd be dying to kill me ten thousand times with a katana after she sees this.. haha.. okok. lame.. wrong song to choose la.. wrong actress also.. btw if u can get what i mean by the above, congrats....

***

btw.. i made something like that, yeah script directions for an MTV, regarding the Rasmus' In the Shadows. it's 6 pages long, and i can't put it here. interested can get it from me. haha

why never to drink milo peng at 1:00am in the morning

...you'll get insomnia.

other precipitaing factors:
4h30 min of sleep from 6pm to 10:30pm
hungry
too many thoughts on your mind (dispensing test..)

yup, i still haven't slept a wink since 10:30pm.
and today's quite busy:

8-10am: dfd lecture, under new lecturer
10am-12pm: meeting joyce to learn how to use dreamweaver
12-2pm: watching samurai movie (can skip)
2-4pm: pharm law lecture, under new lecturer

thinking of having a day off.. maybe:

plan (1)
skip dfd lecture, dreamweaver, and samurai, and try to sleep from now until 12pm or 2pm. (about 7 h of sleep)

plan (2)
endure dfd lecture, and rush back to sleep at 10am. maybe can do abit of dreamweaver. but skip samurai and pharm law lecture.

either way.. the movie that they're showing during samurai must be scrapped. which is ok, since i've watched one japanese movie anyway and i can watch the movie during my spare time (hopefully) by lending it at central lib.

sigh. what's worse, i don't even show any signs of falling asleep at this very moment.

Dispensing Test

dispensing tests for me, are a 50-50 chance of passing. guess really need divine intervention to help me pull through this one.

(ok, i guess any group A people won't be reading through this one, if they repeat the test with the same stuff u guys zhuan dao lor. but anyway it'll be an open secret tomorrow anyway if you have good friends).

The stuff they give today are:
1) Emulsion
2) Suppository (with poison)
3) Cream

woo-hoo! just like what i predicted. the combo to kill. no CD though.

***

first 30 mins was spent on the write-up. i think i've never produced more horrendous writing in those 30 mins. hope they can read. very stressful, flipping through the lab manuals, the PC and all the other stuff.

Next, the Suppositories. The powder used was white, fine. Same thing - melt the theobroma (TB) oil, incorporate the powder inside, melt again until fluid - then pour into mould.

sounds very easy, huh? ok maybe i wasn't skilled enough.. or i didn't melt enough. In the end when all the first batch of supp had still some solid pieces in it in the molten theobroma oil "melted cheese", i poured it in nonetheless.

proved to be a failure. all the suppositories created this way were super-cracked and fragmented. didn't even form fully. luckily i had the common sense to melt half of the theobroma oil in the first batch, still can recover about 3 suppositories from the batch. praying hard that they don't fragment further.

looked up at clock, about 3:30pm. siao liao!! hurry on and do emulsion. quite successful. then went onto the cream. amazingly easy also. in fact, many people were already printing labels by then.

went to print label after weighting 20g of the cream. realised that i mistaken an official preparation for a non-official one when i typed out the label and looked over my shoulder (heh).
still, dunno whether my labels were correct or not. just typed out the main essentials.

then i went to take the suppositories out and found only 3 out of 5 survived.. sigh. time: 4:10pm. wanted to ask my lab partner for suppositories.. but decided against it. after all this is an exam.

then resignedly, i went to prepare the second batch. only did enough for 3. this time, don't care any more - just heat them to the point where i see melting, then try to incorporate the melted TB oil into the solid form. miraculously, i still managed to finish the suppositories. took them out 10 mins before 5pm.

sigh. no time to check my work, even though, everything was in such a mess. i think will either get marks deducted off like siao, or get a straight zero somewhere for some stupid careless mistake.

went back. felt quite dizzy on the bus. must be the frenzy and the adrenaline rush during these 3h. lay down on my bed and still found torrents of thoughts coming thru. and i think i still dreamed of the lab's events during my nap time.

haiz. after all that studying and preparation, what matters is still your ling chang biao xian...

***

clip of chinese dance concert on youtube that jw sent me.
i think the dance is quite... artistic.
but the music is horrible. it keeps repeating and repeating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRMmzC2oz_4

Epilepsy Care Group

went to volunteer at the epilepsy care group (ECG) on saturday, with nx. it was a rather old, 70's style building, at 26 dunearn road, sharing the building with 2 other charitable organisations. despite the torrential showers, and the bus breakdowns, we managed to make it there on time.

we were welcomed by the hospitable staff there, which were made up of people in their middle ages. most of the volunteers that came for this trip came with their families, like there was one guy who brought his girlfriend along, and one family arrived full force, with their mother, two sons and their daughter, who was about the same age as us. some of them were just regular volunteers, others, first-timers like both of us, who kept to themselves throughout the journey. there was even an old lady who spoke Queen's english all along the way and was quite vocal, never failing to entertain the whole bunch with her jokes (although sometimes quite lame).
thank god i had nx with me, really otherwise i too would feel like a fish out of water, alone.

transport was provided for by one of the volunteers. mission: to deliver mooncakes to the elderly. we had two locations to do so, 1) at blk 52 of this sin ming industrial estate, and 2) at this AWWA (association of women welfare's... something like that) elderly home at ang mo kio st 12.

we set off at 2:30, armed with about 100 boxes of mooncakes. each box of mooncake had 4 small mooncakes in it (and i personally tried and it was quite good), to save the elderly the trouble from cutting the mooncake.

first stop: sin ming industrial estate. the block comprises of one-room flats, like those i've previously seen in holland v during the lion befrienders project. gives the ghetto feel with those lonely, desolate corridors again, but nevertheless we were there to finish our task. it was brief - press doorbell, knock on door, shout a bit ("are you at home?") and if the occupant inside opens the door, we give them the box of mooncake, say something like "happy mooncake festival..." and then bid them goodbye without stopping for a talk or anything else.

however, most of them weren't inside their houses (gone to work?) or the house itself wasn't occupied at all (you can still see the plastic covering the handle of the new door). to save time, i devised some methods to work out if someone was inside:
1) check the door - plastic handle still there (no), no religious symbols (no)
2) check the pin-hole. my hypothesis was that, if light shone through the pinhole, then there must be a window open somewhere, and that an occupant must be inside. proven wrong by nx.
3) check the electricity meter. if it is moving, probably there is an occupant inside. rather accurate method.
4) ask neighbours. they're very helpful in this case, often telling us where their next-doors have been.

after a while, nx and i just kept staring at the electricity meter of every house we visited to test my theory. haha. all in all, we made such a din that people just opened their doors and waited for us to approach them. we didn't give to muslim families, though, which was a pity. the mooncakes weren't halal and it was quite paiseh to wake them up for nothing.

leftovers: about more than half. never mind, next stop: the AWWA social home.

we arrived at this block (can't remember the number) in amk. seems quiet on the outside but inside is bristling with activity. i would describe it as a Hall for the elderly.. yes something like Sheares hall, but maybe even better.

we encamped in the kitchenette and gave out mooncakes via the door. i dunno why they have to ask the elderly to personally walk to the door, probably it's to keep check (cos everyone can only have one mooncake). as usual, we didn't finish giving all the mooncakes.

we then went on a tour of the home. each room in the social home (?) has 3 beds for the elderly, who are segregated by gender. in addition, each room has 3 cupboards, one for each elderly, and a table for all to use. each room also has a small toilet facility, and a small kitchenette for cooking and washing. Every room has a number (like #02-3487). not a bad environment for the elderly i guess, having companionship (although maybe the occasional fight can occur?) in a room with two other people.

they also have a common lift lobby (the home spans 4 floors?) and some recliners for the elderly to sit on, on every floor. Amentities such as "indian movie" room, sewing room, kitchenette, cafeteria, "therapy room", etc were also found on different floors. quite a nice place! was especially amazed by the "therapy room". they had 2 massage chairs, scented candles, and uncovering this curtain there were 3 beds for them to lie on, massage-center style! wow!

also there were this group of people from ntu.. some ntu welfare association or something. they reminded me of what xinyi described in her csc "adventures", taking care of the elderly, taking them around, entertaining them etc. so life here ain't too bad after all.

in fact, nx told me about the relative sorry state of the elderly in Moral Welfare Home. "the elderly don't smile there". even when the volunteers visit them. "they feel like society has abandoned them." shucks. i dunno what to say upon that. in contrast, we visited a lady in the cafeteria. she was happily sipping away at her tea and watching the HUGE flatscreen TV at the end of the room. i guess she sounded quite happy.

after this was fall-out. took the train back from amk and managed to bore nx with some pharmacokinetics. haha.

K-Y

was trying to revise for tmr's dispensing test when an unanswered question from long time ago suddenly creeped into my mind..

***

in army, they keep tubes of this substance called K-Y jelly (draws sniggers from the guys).
primary use: lubricant for medical purposes.

http://www.medshopexpress.com/908841.html

according to the website, it has several ingredients:

Chlorhexidine Gluconate
Glucono-(delta)-Lactone
Glycerin
Hydroxyethyl Cellulose
Methylparaben
Purified Water
Sodium Hydroxide.

hmm.. was wondering, how does this thing work? using current year 2 pharm dfd knowledge.

given the presence of all these ingredients in the lab, can we try to make it?? hehe. *more sniggers*