Doped!!

At Radioshack, a local electronics store, we were asking about phone services.....

Dae(a korean Radioshack staff): Is your phone unlocked? Let me see it..

Jon passes his Nokia 5310 to Dae, and Dae examines it in awe...

Dae(Shouts to another radioshack staff: Hey dude! Come take a look at this phone man! This is sick!!!

Dae to Jon: Hey dude, this phone is DOPED man...

DOPE: Slang for cool, outta this world, amazing, blow ur mind kinda stuff....as we interprete it to be....

Hello Seattle!!

After a tiring and seemingly neverending flight, we finally arrived in Seattle. It was cold, gloomy and wet, with some snowflakes falling from the sky to make us enthralled for a moment of time before facing the cold harsh reality once more. Spent most of the day setting ourselves up at the apartments of those who are ready, and looking around the university district, finding out what's there to do, what's there to buy, what's there to go to. In the afternoon we went to TARGET, a departmental store in the US to buy household and kitchen items for those who didn't bring their pillows and blankets, pots and pans up. Everytime we enter a building, we are thankful for the warmth that embraces us, for the weather and long journey has taken a toll on our body, and it is only a matter of time before our body finally drains the adrenaline out from the excitement of being in a totally different realm in the world. In a place where the sun rises at 8 am and sets at 5 pm, friendly people bring happiness and joy to the sad and gloomy atmosphere that surrounds the place. Locals never fail to attempt to strike conversations with the horde of Singaporeans that exudes a distinct foreign taste, tramping through their grounds. Tomorrow is Orientation day and admin day to settle some admins stuff. 3 more days to getting my own apartment, to finally settling down. Stay tune for the photos!!

Good bye Singapore!~

And So It Is~

So, im finally left with 24 hours in the tiny little red dot. Many people say I will have loads of fun. Fun here, fun there, fun everywhere. But today one person told me it would be an experience of a lifetime, one that is life changing, one that will lead to character building, and one that I will remember for a long time to come. And I will remember that, and take it with me to Seattle. For all the fun I could have, it is definitely not entirely what I am looking forward to during my exchange there. I would definitely be looking forward to new challenges, to points where I'll be tested beyong my limits in physical, psychological, social and academic terms. I would definitely be looking to "see the world", one that is much larger than what we see in our myopic eyes. And so it is, the time has finally come where a new beginning will unfold, and I will be taken onto a path where only God knows its turns and outcomes. And so it is, I'm leaving on a jetplane, and I'll see everyone again in 7 months!!

"You will receive, and receive abundantly...."

"You stand tall physically, but stand tall for God too....."

Merry Christmas!~

Christmas Eve turned out to be a traffically uneventful day, but in the end, alls well and we might have even done some good in the wrong. Spent lunch loading myself with sashimi and sushi at Hannabi with the More Supper Less Badminton gang, who are planning to send me off on Thursday morning in the Wee hours of the night after their overnight mahjong session. What a lovable bunch. After lunch we almost adjourned to T3, but wisely chose to go LAN gaming instead, something I've not done in ages and may not do for quite a while. After that, rushed off home to go for another Christmas Eve dinner celebration at a parent's friend's house. Its been a busy christmas, and tomorrow's gonna be another busy day with my relatives coming over for lunch and meeting sarah for tea plus Christmas dinner with my small group. I guess this is probably how one would be busily spending christmas when he/she will be leaving right after it. Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone!

Do you know the true meaning of Christmas?

O Holy Night~

Hairdresser~

Maybe its just me, or maybe its the word "xiu". Hell I don't even know what the word means, but I think it means to trim. I assume that trimming in hairdressing terms is to make neat the hair presented to the hairdresser, without a drastic change in length of the hair. And to "cut short" would mean to cut by an amount such that the length of hair that is short. Apparently when I went to the hairdresser today, she took off more hair from what I have left on my head. So maybe if "xiu" is cut short, trim would be "xiu xiu"...haha!!! It seems that she takes pleasure in cutting my hair. It seems that guys must all leave the hairdresser with short hair, if not they weren't there for a haircut. Before me, there were two guys who cut slope and had their sideburns trimmed. Perhaps she was experiencing a post hair cutting rampage syndrome. It probably seemed even wierder to her that she didn't have to use the shaver like machine on me, only using scissors, clips and comb. I have to say that my hair now has a rather Asian taste to it, something that I would prefer not to have. Like trying to look cool but not cool at all. Its kinda hard to communicate with the hairdresser what one wants, especially when there maybe cultural differences. Like before she cut my hair, she asked me " U wanna Spike?" Almost everytime I go to the hairdresser, I get that question. Maybe I should reply "Eh Auntie, what you see is what I go out with." When I find a hairdresser that can understands me, I'll definitely stick with him/her.

Nostalgia~

Somehow I think I am going to miss home despite my self proclaiming ability to be quick to adapt to new environments. I couldn't think of any other reason of this 1 week spell of home confinement that God gave to me. He knows that I would be going out alot more if I am up and running, and would not be spending quality time at home with my family, my room, my bed, my furniture, my floor, my table, my..........I'm just probably being too analytical with my current situation. Arh whatever. With theoretically 6 but practically 3 more days to go, I am 80% packed my bags and ready to go. But I have to admit that because of my stomach condition, it is quite unfortunate that I in the dying moments of the hours I have left in Singapore am unable to savour her exquisite cuisine like the OH LUA, CHAI TAU KWAY, HOKKIEN MEE etc. Furthermore, i haven't really met all the friends that I want to meet before I leave. It will only be my regret that I will not be able to meet up with them. Moreover, there's still IPPT to clear b4 I leave, and MINDEF has left me with no other date other than 26 Dec 1700hrs to clear it. Oh man, this is so damm last minute, it can't be any more last minute. In 6 days, I'll be halfway across the world, freezing my ass off, finding my bearings.

God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Agonizing Pain~

It was 4am Thursday morning, when a queasy feeling in my stomach forced me outta my sleep and outta my bed. After a quick unload in the toilet, I tried to go back to sleep, but I started to get chills and my muscles started to have spasms. Then almost instantly, the fever set in. When morning came, my dad brought me to the doc, and she told me I have some serious food poisoning. And I almost wanted to self medicate. She gave me some jab immediately which purpose I know not of. At that point of time, anything the doc gives me sounds pretty good. So i spent the rest of the day in bed, using up 1 roll of toilet paper for the 10 times i've visited the toilet, and had to cancel 2 meet ups I had on thursday. It was the same case for friday, just less the fever and the improved appetite. Today, I think I went less than 10 times, but more than 5. haha! But woke up feeling much better today, albeit the stomach cramps that persevered throughout. Nonetheless, I was able to finish my meals today and had the craving to indulge in a bowl of campbell's cream of chicken soup ( I noe i shouldn't). Something that i'm quite pissed...I lost 4 kg in 3 days. Girls, this is the best weight loss program ever, if you wanna lose weight. No pain, no LOSS. It took me a helluva effort to load myself to 70kg, only to lose all the hardwork in 3 days. Destruction is always easier than construction. Give me another 2 more days, and I think I will be up and running again. Even if I'm not, I will have to, as I realised I'm only 12 days away from the exciting journey which I haven't even started packing for. Crap crap crap (hahaha!!) So for all the crapping in the world, I've prob done more in 3 days than the entire year. And its not something you would wanna do. Trust me.

Guitar-less~

With 2 weeks left to go before I leave Singapore for the longest time of my life, which to me is a taste of life outside the lion city, I finally started preparing my packing list, something which I've perpetually procrastinated for over a week. I know that there are many things i'll have to bring over. But after today, what I have thought is "many" is seriously understated. When I look through the list again and again, trying to think whether I've left out any item, I can't help to notice helplessly that "Hamon's Takamine Acoustic Guitar" is not an item included in the list. I've made a decision about a week ago not to bring my acoustic guitar to the US, after making some enquiries to STA and Northwest Airlines and also looking around for a hard case for my acoustic guitar. I'll probably not want to lugg too many things around especially when I'm travelling. I'll probably be able to get my hands on a guitar when I'm there. I'll probably become super rusty (and my guitar strings too) when I get back from the States 6 months later. I'll probably forget how to play a guitar altogether...... I'm going to spend the rest of my time in Singapore catching up with friends and family, and its time I start spending time with my Takamine and my Line 6 duo (electric guitar and pedal), cos they too are my friends who are there to entertain me when I'm bored and sing music to my ears when I am stressed.(Please don't think I'm mad when i start personifying my guitars..haha!!) I'm gonna miss them, and I'm definitely gonna miss playing on them.

Thermal Fatigue~

Thermal fatigue is defined as the premature fracture of a material or substance due to cyclic stresses caused by temperature changes.

The weather recently has been cyclical with repeated periods of rain and sunshine. In this weather, people will inevitably fall sick, and I have unfortunately fallen victim to this vicious weather.

The Week~

Besides the settling of GIP stuff like collecting of my US visa which looks way cool, probably due to the fact that I had this phobia of the embassy rejecting my application, I had Cheers Doubles tournament every night, coupled with supper after each match, which we seriously thought that there is more weight gained from the supper than weight loss from the matches. Well, this year managed to get to the Quarter finals, at which we lost to Rocky and Aman, who went on to clinch the Men's doubles title. Competitive badminton has always been something I look forward to. The sense of satisfaction that one gains from it whether you come out victorious or beaten doesn't really matter. Its the "shiokness" that gives you the kick.

Yesterday, was supposed to meet my sports camp Programmer group Ah Choos for an afternoon drinking session at Brewerkz then eat XO Fishhead beeehoon at Holland. In the end, we ended up drinkin coffee and eating toast at Ya Kun and eating dinner at this sushi place which was not too bad. Caught The Heartbeak Kid after that too! It was a very gd laugh, albeit it being an R21 film and those under 21 won't be able to catch it. I seriously or rather comically for that matter, recommend this movie to all who are mature in the eyes of the law. Be prepared for some crude adult humour and if u don't wanna go into the movie and muttering "HUH??", I suggest u read up on some "positions". ehem.
Ended the day eating cloud number 9 from ben n jerry's, something so outrightly sinful. You just have to see the picture to understand why.

Today, I volunteered for a community service project called Operation Homeworks coordinated by the Habitat for Humanity organization. We cleaned houses of old folks in Chinatown. And trust me, it was extreme cleaning man. I have never seen anything like that in my life before, and can't imagine people staying in such dilapidated conditions. At times you cringe at the sight of bedbugs crawling all over the place, or the ultra thick layer of dust that has collected over eons on a surface, or the strong smell of urea that fills the air in the house but you know that you have to do something to help these pple, and to do so we would have to control our disgust or fear of these stuff. It was truly a humbling experience and an eye opener for me.

Just came back from the RJBT farewell 07 and I would have to say that the captains did a very good job in organizing a very meaningful farewell for the seniors. The videos and the sights of camaraderie within the current team which Sarah and I noticed and us being J6 this year certainly brought back good memories of the past made us miss those days that were truly the days of our JC lives. Tomorrow, it would be filling in in bass guitar for Upper Room service at 730 am, followed by Ushering for main service at 1030 am, and then rounding up the day with a bbq at Rachel's place for Joel's and my farewell from the Shineforth band.

A Rainy Day~

Its pouring like its not gonna stop pouring outside. Has been raining since noon, and my guess is that its going to rain the day off. What does it mean when URA rejects appeals for parking fines? It means that they could smell the rat from a mile away. That sucks, so ok, I'll have to pay my $30 parking fine for the 5 minutes that I left my car at Serangoon gardens. Maybe I should have just left the car for the entire day, and i might have felt better after that. What does it mean when your mum gets facebook? It means that she's tracking your every move, checking out all your friends, looking at which girl you're talking to and who you are poking all day(pun NOT intended). It means, you can't do anything on facebook that your mom doesn't know abt. Not that I'm doing anything worthy of being guilty conscious, but its just kinda scary now that you noe ur privacy space has just shrunk to the size of a pea. What does it mean when its raining and you're stuck at home with nothing to do? It means more of these...enjoy:)

"Without Music, Life would be a mistake"

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Another Fulfiling Day~

The first thing I did when I woke up was to on my computer. And luckily, it was the right thing to do. The leasing agent of the apartment in Seattle replied us with certain official documents to sign. We had to send these documents and payment for initial deposit by express mail. So since I was going to the US embassy today to collect my passport with the approved visa(always tot it might not be approved), I called Jonathan, my roommate to go settle it today. Thus, went to bank to get bankdraft for the deposit, then went to meet Jonathan and Juanita, another girl going for GIP to eat lunch, then went to US embassy to get my passport, then went to post office to send the thing via speedpost. It costs us 37 dollars worth of stamps to send the damm thing to the US can u believe tt?? OMG. After that, went home to take a rest before heading down to SBA to play Cheers Doubles Open 2007. Finished the day with a nice plate of Beef Sheng Mian.

MAHJONG~

I always feel that mahjong can be played without the involvment of money exchanging hands with equal amount of fun and enthusiasm put into the game. I think I have been proven right today despite the fact that some people might choose to believe that the element of money adds in a little bit more "thrill" into the game, and some even believe that money is the whole point of playing mahjong. If you have read the LIFE section of The Sunday Times today, you will understand my conviction. It is perhaps that those who have tasted that extra bit of thrill by playing mahjong with money have been desensitized such that they can't play mahjong without money. Are we living in such a money oriented society that it has to permeate every aspect of our lives? Can't we have a little bit of good clean fun? (money quite dirty lah..pass through many hands). Nevertheless, I think mahjong can be quite a gd activity amongst friends that requires certain amount of intellect and stimulation of the mind. So.....anyone out there play mahjong without money....pls jio me!!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow~