... This is the third Sunday. Let's see.. been pretty negative for the past month..
Blehx! X.x No more. Thankfully, this week was MUCH better than the rest.. Lets hope it stays that way.. =X
Monday (21/2/2005):
Haha! Seems like a weird way of blogging.. Dating things down then writing the day's event.. More like a diary heh..
Let's see.. Monday as usual, except it was a even week, meaning that I had to go to school 3 hours earlier than usual (had to leave home by 9), because even weeks = addition lessons. The culprit? IAC (Individual And the Community. *Yawns*). My late streak continued late into this week.. but i have been turning in earlier, so I managed to be a tad bit ealier (getting to school that is).
Although I'm still late. Heh! ^_^
Oh yeah.. somehow I got to school earlier on Monday.. Forgot why. Anywayz.. this particular IAC was my last (Thankfully!!! No more early lessons on Mondays!! Yay!). We had to give our group presentation on two things, namely our project and an assignment (discussion about a certain topic, blah blah blah...). With that presentation, my IAC project was cleared. Seems like the lecturer was pleased with our group's work.. Hopefully it's another AD (Distinction!) to the score. After other groups' presentations, we all left, at around 11:50am (or so I think).
As usual. The lunch crowd beat us to the seats in the canteen. Thankfully I managed to spot my friend and grabbed a seat with him.
Oh heck. Ever since Monday my handphone was going bonkers. Never happened when I was using the StarHub line. Damn Singtel. Getting complacent huh?
What do I mean by going bonkers? How does taking half an hour to send a message and two hours to receive them sound to you? Bonkers enough?
Finished lunch, sat around chatting for a bit, then went for OCom lessons. I was supposed to listen as 8 of my classmates gave their own presentations, but I was busy writing two self-reflection essays (300 -350 words) for both IAC and OCom. Easily done within an hour. After Ocom, came S & W.
Rock on! "Final" S & W lesson this week! Yahoo! Two good things happened this Monday. (Which is damn rare) Ran around the track as usual.. did the usual warm-up, did some gym-work and lesson's over.
Headed home after. Was supposed to work on my Programming project, but was watching the soap opera's final episode, so.. again, procrastinated, and went to bed shortly after.
Projects left: 2/3 (IAC down, 2 more to go)
Tuesday (22/2/2005):
Hmm.. Today was a good day.. Can't really remember why.. but it was good..
Oh yeah.. was ecstatic when I heard my classmates saying that practical lab that day was canceled.. that would've meant the early release at noon and free lunch at home. But, unfortunately, thoughts of free lunch was dashed to pieces as our "ever-so-cool" lecturer said calmly: "Who says it's canceled?! Your lab test is the next practical lab after this!"
Great.
So, stuck in school, ate lunch, finished lessons at 3. Went home after. Didn't feel so bad 'cause it felt just like any other Tuesdays.
Wednesday (23/2/2005, Fifteenth day of the First Lunar Month):
Oh yeah. This week's Wednesday was different from the rest..
First lesson EPS. First time ever (since this semester anyway), I attended this lesson with that "Zen" feeling. Meaning I didn't feel rushed, to the extent of being almost "peaceful". Or maybe I was just getting used to it. Who knows? *shrugs*
Onwards to other lessons. The day passed like any other.. Except during Maths lessons. Everyone hated the lecturer, so when I got to class there was this movable white board set against the door to refuse the lecturer entry. Somehow he wasn't smart enough to push away the door by himself. He had to ask someone else to do it for him while waiting outside for like a minute.
Near the end of the day, my friends wanted to eat "tang yuan" at the nearby food centre. Being the "united" class we were, everyone was asked to come down. They even asked our lecturers to come along, which one of them did and subsequently paid for it..
Hehe.. Free food! x-D
F.Y.I.: "Tang Yuan" is a riceball (2 kinds: with and without fillings) that the Chinese eat on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Don't ask me why. I forgot. And if I'm not wrong there's another occasion when we eat it as well!
Ah well.. A few things happened when we were at the hawker centre.. Signs of good luck was showing then.. First was the table number, which was 143.. I don't know the exact details but Ahmad (our class's only Indian) said that it stood for "I love you". I'm not sure if he was right.. But nevermind that, the better part was when the bill came. Apparently it cost exactly $28.80 for the bowls of riceballs..
F.Y.I.: The Chinese are very superstitious when it came to numbers. 2 was taken as a symbol of "doubles", or pairs, which means having wealth or harvest doubled. Which is good. 8, when pronounced in Chinese, is "ba", which is sounds similar to "fa", which subsequently means "prosper". Good signs? (However slight that may seem)
Went home well after 6 pm.
Thursday (24/2/2005):
Woke up feeling damn tired. Didn't feel like going school.. But there was 2 hours of AEL lecture on Thursdays.. So I had to drag my half-dead corpse to school..
Sorta broke down there. Couldn't keep my eyes open during the lecture.. Went home at noon (Which means I ran away from Maths lesson x-D ).
Anywayz, there were other reasons why I ran away.. Those reasons were:
1) I had my Programming Report 2 to submit on Friday.
2) Wanted to play more games. x-D
3) Of course, was tired.
So, I got home at around 12:30 pm.. and lazed around until it was nearly 2. I spent the remaining time (until dinner anywayz) playing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on the PS2.
Worked on my Programming project after dinner, all the way until 2 am. Finally got all the basic game functions running pretty well.. Now all it needs is final touch-ups and other advanced functions. Hock Soon (my project partner), who "did nothing", agreed that he worked on the second half of the project.. so.. my part in the Programming project was "over".
Slept at nearly 3.
Projects left: 1/3 (2 down, only OCom left to go)
Friday (25/2/2005):
My favourite day of the week. Like most other people's. Having lessons late in the day was an added bonus, especially so since my CCA (Compulsory Curriculum Activities), Astronomy Club, was late at night.. (Of course! How else do you study the stars, except late at night?)
The lessons were over before I knew it.. and went on to meet Alvin, tg and bl (Recently I seem to be hanging out with them more). Went for dinner at KFC at Bukit Tmah Plaza. Poor service as usual..
Ack.. =X never liked KFC much.
Headed back to school for astro. Was informed of a upcoming astro presentation the next week. Great. One more project added to the list.
Got home by 11 pm.
Projects left: 2/4 (One more project added: Astronomy presentation)
Saturday (26/2/2005):
Woke up VERY early today (At 5:30am). Had an S & W attachment to fulfil (Wayyy cool. What is this? A parting shot?). That attachment sounded simple. We had to trek from Ngee Ann Polytechnic to MacRitchie Reserviour.
Sounds simple? Wrong. No wonder why they said we'd most probably be going home at 12 noon. (4 hours from the time we were supposed to meet)
We had to walk several streets over to Bukit Timah Hill, and from there we begun our 12 Kilometre trek through the hill (Yes, lots of uphill climbing involved) to the road connected to MacRitchie, and then onwards through the nature trails in MacRitchie.
I wouldn't have given a damn. After all, once a while, getting a breath of fresh, "mountain" and "forest" air is good right?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
...
It rained. Heavily.
Does someone up there hate me or something?
So, with the rain combined with the sweat we were making, not to mention the muddy floors and the train-like progress we were making (Nearly non-stop trekking and pretty fast too), we smelled like... Well. I don't think I have to describe that. Use your imagination.
*Oh ya, being the proud beast I am, don't criticise me about thinking the speed as fast. When the leader did choose to take a break, we had to wait 5 - 10 minutes for the last person to catch up. We were not that big a group, either. (There were about 50 people)*
Went home smelling like.. *Insert imagined smell here* Little wonder no one wanted to sit near the end of the bus (because that's where I chose to sit). Fell asleep several times on the bus (3 hours of sleep does that to anyone). Somehow that seemed to make my journey home that much faster (the sleep that is)..
Cleaned myself up as soon as I was able.. Smelling like @%^*# and having been soaked in the rain for approximately an hour and then an air-conditioned bus trip (which dried me up 'cause it took nearly an hour), of course any sane person would choose to hit the showers immediately..
Shortly after, I went out with my parents and my sister for a late lunch and some grocery/fish shopping. Seems like a good day 'cause my dad was in a good mood (or maybe he hated Sundays as much as I do? =X )
Late at night, I used up my remaining energy to create my own OCom power point presentation (everyone has to present, and it's my turn next week). And as luck would have it, my time slot of OCom clashes with the time that O' levelers were supposed to get their results. Oh well.. Guess I can't be in school to see the second batch get their results..
Anywayz Saturdays are good. They're always good. That the government took away Saturday as a working day for civil servants means they agree with me.
Saturday is good.
Projects left: 1/4 (3 down, 1 left to go! Although the Programming project is not officially over yet.. that worries me alittle)
Sunday (27/2/2005):
This week's Sunday was pretty good. Good as in it seems normal, just like any other day.
Woke up at 3 pm.. My intention was to wake up at 11 am.. but went back to sleep even though I managed to wake up at 11.. house was pretty quiet.. why?
My Family's Whereabouts today:
1) Father - Home tending to his fishes
2) Mother - Malaysia on a One-day trip, organised by the CC's (Community Centres)
3) Eldest Brother - Working. The workaholic he is.
4) Elder Sister - Home watching a boring HBO show. She stopped halfway through (which means she agrees with me?)
5) 2nd Elder Brother - Away on a Navy Expedition to Iraq for 3 months. Yet to be back. (He's safe, don't worry =) )
6) 3rd Elder Bother - Outside home, probably with his girlfriend.
7) Younger sister - Attending a course that was supposed to help her think better. Something which spans over 10 weeks, every Sunday for approx. 10 hours each. Costs $3000. Waste of money I think. You don't pay someone to help you think better.
8) Me - Just woke up, hit the PS2 shortly after. (At home)
So in summary, only me, my dad and my sis were at home today. Very quiet, just the way I like it. We managed to "stay out of each other's way", so no conflicts occured.
At approx. evening time, my sis went out to fetch my other sis home, and wj came to my house to do his self-reflection essays. (And to return a pair of shoes I loan to him)
After our late dinner (which started at about 9 pm and ended at 10), I was at the computer until it was 12+ midnight. Went and took my shower. Have been writing this blog since.
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Alright.. Once again here ends of the week's summary. Seems to be pretty quiet this week.. The silence before the storm? I hope not.. =X
P.S.: Sorry for my grammatical/spelling errors in this and the last post. I'm lazy to look over the entire draft and correcting them.
P.P.S.: Hey Jon, sorry about the MSN thingy. I know I was supposed to be online at evening time, but I didn't.. Hope you don't mind! =D
P.P.P.S.: To all Secondary School leavers collecting their results tomorrow (or rather, today, technically, since it's 2 am on the 28th of Feb): Don't fret over your results if they're not as you expected! Even if you (touch wood!) score really badly, don't worry about it! It's not the end of the line for you! There is always a way out, and a way to obtain success in life.. you only have to find it and claim it when you have the chance! And Congratulations to all those who passed with flying colors! Cheers!
P.P.P.P.S.: Yes, leaving school is a hard thing to do, especially having been there for the past 4-5 years.. But life goes on, everyone has to move on.. Just keep the good memories in your heart and go back occasionally to visit your teachers/juniors while they're still there.. For those who feel like they've been "rejected" by the school.. know and remember that it is equally hard for the teachers there as well..
*Haha.. so many P.S.-es x-D*
Let's look forward to another great week!
Weeks left in Poly Year 1, Semester 2: 2 (Gonna be a Year 2 student soon).
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Another Sunday
Let's re-cap as we did last week =D
Monday (14/2/2005, Valentine's Day):
A lonely day for us single buggers.. *Sigh*
Was late as usual for school.. only that this time I was late for a talk, about choosing MicroE as a diploma to pursue for the rest of my polytechnic days. (All ECE students have to rank 1 - 5 diplomas, in the order of preference, to pursue, namely, Avionics (20 positions), Computer (140 positions), Computer - Alpha (40 positions), Telecommuniciation (180 positions), and finally, MicroE (100 positions).)
Kinda weird 'cause.. in the classroom where they held the talk, there were students giving out paper flowers (OK, V.day, i can understand) but along with that flower they handed out mandarin oranges. And they're not even in pairs. (I mean, if following the New Year tradition then everyone should get a pair, right?)
... o.O
Ocom lessons came after, and we had to draw lots, to decide who was going to present their "Formal presentation" first. I drew a placing for myself on the second week, which sits with me just fine. ('cause the others were either the first or the third week. Middle placings are always good.)
Thereafter comes our weekly favourite, Sports and Wellness! (Maybe the athletes would like it, but the lame routine we have to go through weekly would've put anyone off)
Then I realised that I forgot to bring my shorts.
.
.
.
.
..
...
....
Had to run around the track in my jeans. On a hot day. Wow.
Thereafter I attended a talk, which introduced the above mentioned diploma courses.
Went home after. I think I stayed up late to play games.. =X
Tuesday (15/2/2005):
Fore-note: From Tuesday till Friday, I was consecutively late for classes for half an hour each. (Reason: Couldn't get myself to get up, despite the annoying alarm clocks blaring away.)
Tuesday was.. fairly quiet.. which is normal for a Tuesday. Therefore I like Tuesdays. (One of the days I get to be released earlier anyways. =P)
Hmm.. oh yeah.. had to stay up late writing up my second draft of my IAC project report. Slept for 4 hours. (No wonder I couldn't get up.)
Wednesday (16/2/2005):
EPS2 lesson came first. Rushed to complete our "way-behind-time" projects. Soldering was damn ugly.. Ack.
ACCA Lecturer didn't turn up for lessons. Instead she asked two separate lecturers to relieve her. What a waste of time.
We couldn't understand the first lecturer's way of speaking, while the second lecturer just wanted to show off his "pen-mouse".
Now I'm beginning to love my ACCA lecturer for her straight-to-the-point and clear lectures.
Last class was at 4 pm. Had to stay in school until 5 pm to meet pu with my IAC project members to finish up on the project. Then stayed for 2 hours, touching up on my IAC report and the power-point presentation that we were supposed to present on the following Monday. (Some friends of mine told me that they were not required to present their projects to the class. I hope it is the same in my case.. *crosses fingers*)
Oh yeah.. was heading home after school when it happened. (REALLY late 'cause I was doing project and all) I had to wait for like half an hour for the bus 157.
Got really, really annoyed, 'cause the sky was still bright when I got to the bus stop.
As expected, the bus was packed. I was entertaining the thought of catching the next bus, but think that since it was peak hours, it wouldn't have made a damn difference anyways.
So I got on, and accquired a 10-by-10 inch space on the steps of the front door.
Really comfy. And yeah, the air-conditioning was like in "tip-top prime condition". (<- If you know what I mean)
Was really fed-up with everything then.. 'Cause the issue of choosing a diploma to pursue was breathing down my neck since Monday. To add insult to the injury, my lecturer told us that job prospect for engineers in the near future was bleak. So it didn't bloody mattered which course we chose, 'cause there was no "better option". Instead he told us to should what we liked so that we can pursue the diploma that much easier.
Heck. I don't even know what I like.
Back to the bus trip. The bus went for like another 2 or 3 bus stops before it stopped to allow a middle-aged man onboard. (and yeah, he took over my 10-by-10 inch space on the door steps ; ) ) Apparently the bus driver was one of those "can't-survive-for-a-day-without-saying-something" persons. He started complaining about the traffic, about the peak hours, about the way the bus was jam-packed, and everything that was worth complaining about, he complaint. (I think he was talking to the middle-aged man who got on)
Felt like rolling my eyes at his whining, but something struck me back then. I was doing the same to Alvin earlier this morning. And so, I decided that, heck, I ain't any better off.
So I kept my peace.
The middle-aged man started chatting up with the driver, and that was when the driver said something I think I'll remember for a long time.
He said (in Mandarin): "Look at what life has become for us un-educated people. We earn $30 dollars a day, and our break time is only in a matter of a few minutes before we get back to driving the bus. Back in the old days, they paid us $10 dollars a day, but then at least, back then, Chicken Rice or Wantoon Noodles only cost us, what? 50 cents? But what about now? A plate of rice or noodles costs at least $3 or more! What do they expect? We still have families to feed you know? No wonder less and less young people wanna drive buses anymore.. Just a moment ago before I left the bus interchange, 2 out of the 10 157's were un-manned, while another didn't set out at its predetermined time. That's why you guys waited about half an hour to get on, right?"
I felt like got slapped. Right in my face. But somehow that slap was.. great.. Like a fog cleared my mind. Went home feeling great.
Went to sleep at 2 am again. Had to wake up at 6 the next day. Yummy. X_x
Thursday (17/2/2005):
Nothing worth mentioning on Thursday (I think). Just another day..
Friday (18/2/2005):
Afternoon classes on Fridays! Attended the first lesson of the day, and got depressed. (lolz!) It was PP2, and I realised that most of my class have already started on their own programs, while I have yet to do anything. And I have to hand in a report on the following week. Yipes!
Drew a skeleton man, changed the background colors. I think that was all I did. X.x
Finished class @ 5 pm (Was Maths after PP2). Met up with tg, bl and alvin for dinner, then we went for astro.
Was a clear sky that night (rare event). Managed to peek at Jupiter.
After which we went home.. but stayed out late 'cause we wanted supper.. and we sat around chatting about "the old times" and getting nostalgic and all..
How I miss the old secondary days.
Which makes me wonder why we humans always takes things for granted, only to regret it the day we lose it. *Sigh*
Saturday (19/2/2005):
Woke up in the afternoon, at around 3 pm. Was supposed to go house-calling today, but since we stayed up so late the day before, forget it.
Instead we went to Alvin's house to play mahjong. (lolz!) The four of us were newbies, so we invited Wei Xiang to teach us.
Learnt a heck of alot about mahjong. And damn. My luck was really bad.
We got addicted to the game and played all the way until Sunday morning, 6 am.
Blehx. X.x
Sunday (20/2/2005):
Oh yeah. My "favourite" day.
Went to sleep at about 7 am in the morning. Woke up at 4 pm in the afternoon.. (Nasty habit of sleeping late and waking late)
Ah.. yes. A classical scenario which explains why I hate Sundays so much.
Was playing a game on the PS2. (A.K.A. Minding my own business) My dad was changing the water of the fish tanks in the house, when he forgot to turn off the water supply which he left in one of the fish tanks.
Results: "Massive" flooding of the house.
The dining room was flooded, along with the kitchen area, especially under the table where we store our "garbage". (Can't classify them, so "garbage" fits nicely)
Helped to clean up the house.
As if it wasn't enough, while I was clearing the water under the dining table, my dad said sh!t like: "Hey you stupid idiot, can't you clean up the area near the carpets first?"
Ahem. Excuse ME! Was it my fault that you friggin' conveniently left the hose running in the tank? Is that the way you talk to your son? Is that the way any parents talk to their child? (And oh, this is like, one of the nicer "names".)
So. Fine. I shut up, out of respect that he's my dad, that he is the sole bread-winner, and that he owns the house.
Then he said thrash like: "Why can't you guys help to look out for the water for me?"
And I retorted: "Which brings up a good question: 'Why do you rear so many fishes?'"
Apparently that pissed him off. (Oh yeah, for your information, In my house we have like, 17 fish tanks, 2 gigantic ones, 6 large ones, 2 medium ones and 7 small ones. Number of fishes? Unknown. Jasmine tried counting once. I think she said 500+. That was back in the year 2003.)
He kept quiet for awhile. I thought he was seriously considering my question. (Given that he once asked me whether I think he should get rid of some fishes. Stupid question. The answer is obvious?)
How stupidly naive I was. Perhaps he was right in calling me an idiot.
He said: "Haizz, Other people, like our neighbour, has their sons rushing to help their fathers clean the fish tanks. While I have 6 children who wouldn't lift a finger to help me. And somemore they must say 'lan-jiao wuay' instead of helping out. Maybe I should try my best to get two more children into the family."
*For your info, "lan-jiao wuay" is dialect for "fucked up words" (<- That's the best I can explain)*
Well. So now I'm the unfilial son. CCCCOOOOLLLL!
Question and Answer Time!
Q: How many fishes does my family have?
A: Erm, currently? Maybe 200+?
Q: How many fish tanks does my family have?
A: 17, if you disregard the sizes.
Q: How many fish tanks does the neighbour have?
A: One? or maybe 2.
Q: How many fishes does the neighbour have?
A: Unknown. But how many fishes can 1 or 2 tanks contain?
End of Q & A Session.
Well. So, you, as the father, like fishes, so the rest of your family has to develop a liking to fishes along with you? I absolutely hate fishes, and there is absoluting no friggin; reason why I should help you change the water.
Do I hear someone say "Filial Piety"? F*** "Filial Piety"! I wouldn't mind helping him change the water, but the are like 17 fish tanks to cover. What? Am I born to be his friggin' slave or servant? Just say so. At least shatter the illusion that I'm your friggin' son. Thanks.
Yet another Sunday. Wonderful life O' mine.
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End of Week's summary.
For those of you whom I have told that I do not like Sundays: This is the reason why. And this probably the only time I'll ever write/say something like this. And oh. It's not just my dad. Everything else goes bad on Sundays.
Does any of you have dads/moms like this? Share your experiences with me, so that at least I can know that I'm better off than someone else. That'll make me feel way better.
Monday (14/2/2005, Valentine's Day):
A lonely day for us single buggers.. *Sigh*
Was late as usual for school.. only that this time I was late for a talk, about choosing MicroE as a diploma to pursue for the rest of my polytechnic days. (All ECE students have to rank 1 - 5 diplomas, in the order of preference, to pursue, namely, Avionics (20 positions), Computer (140 positions), Computer - Alpha (40 positions), Telecommuniciation (180 positions), and finally, MicroE (100 positions).)
Kinda weird 'cause.. in the classroom where they held the talk, there were students giving out paper flowers (OK, V.day, i can understand) but along with that flower they handed out mandarin oranges. And they're not even in pairs. (I mean, if following the New Year tradition then everyone should get a pair, right?)
... o.O
Ocom lessons came after, and we had to draw lots, to decide who was going to present their "Formal presentation" first. I drew a placing for myself on the second week, which sits with me just fine. ('cause the others were either the first or the third week. Middle placings are always good.)
Thereafter comes our weekly favourite, Sports and Wellness! (Maybe the athletes would like it, but the lame routine we have to go through weekly would've put anyone off)
Then I realised that I forgot to bring my shorts.
.
.
.
.
..
...
....
Had to run around the track in my jeans. On a hot day. Wow.
Thereafter I attended a talk, which introduced the above mentioned diploma courses.
Went home after. I think I stayed up late to play games.. =X
Tuesday (15/2/2005):
Fore-note: From Tuesday till Friday, I was consecutively late for classes for half an hour each. (Reason: Couldn't get myself to get up, despite the annoying alarm clocks blaring away.)
Tuesday was.. fairly quiet.. which is normal for a Tuesday. Therefore I like Tuesdays. (One of the days I get to be released earlier anyways. =P)
Hmm.. oh yeah.. had to stay up late writing up my second draft of my IAC project report. Slept for 4 hours. (No wonder I couldn't get up.)
Wednesday (16/2/2005):
EPS2 lesson came first. Rushed to complete our "way-behind-time" projects. Soldering was damn ugly.. Ack.
ACCA Lecturer didn't turn up for lessons. Instead she asked two separate lecturers to relieve her. What a waste of time.
We couldn't understand the first lecturer's way of speaking, while the second lecturer just wanted to show off his "pen-mouse".
Now I'm beginning to love my ACCA lecturer for her straight-to-the-point and clear lectures.
Last class was at 4 pm. Had to stay in school until 5 pm to meet pu with my IAC project members to finish up on the project. Then stayed for 2 hours, touching up on my IAC report and the power-point presentation that we were supposed to present on the following Monday. (Some friends of mine told me that they were not required to present their projects to the class. I hope it is the same in my case.. *crosses fingers*)
Oh yeah.. was heading home after school when it happened. (REALLY late 'cause I was doing project and all) I had to wait for like half an hour for the bus 157.
Got really, really annoyed, 'cause the sky was still bright when I got to the bus stop.
As expected, the bus was packed. I was entertaining the thought of catching the next bus, but think that since it was peak hours, it wouldn't have made a damn difference anyways.
So I got on, and accquired a 10-by-10 inch space on the steps of the front door.
Really comfy. And yeah, the air-conditioning was like in "tip-top prime condition". (<- If you know what I mean)
Was really fed-up with everything then.. 'Cause the issue of choosing a diploma to pursue was breathing down my neck since Monday. To add insult to the injury, my lecturer told us that job prospect for engineers in the near future was bleak. So it didn't bloody mattered which course we chose, 'cause there was no "better option". Instead he told us to should what we liked so that we can pursue the diploma that much easier.
Heck. I don't even know what I like.
Back to the bus trip. The bus went for like another 2 or 3 bus stops before it stopped to allow a middle-aged man onboard. (and yeah, he took over my 10-by-10 inch space on the door steps ; ) ) Apparently the bus driver was one of those "can't-survive-for-a-day-without-saying-something" persons. He started complaining about the traffic, about the peak hours, about the way the bus was jam-packed, and everything that was worth complaining about, he complaint. (I think he was talking to the middle-aged man who got on)
Felt like rolling my eyes at his whining, but something struck me back then. I was doing the same to Alvin earlier this morning. And so, I decided that, heck, I ain't any better off.
So I kept my peace.
The middle-aged man started chatting up with the driver, and that was when the driver said something I think I'll remember for a long time.
He said (in Mandarin): "Look at what life has become for us un-educated people. We earn $30 dollars a day, and our break time is only in a matter of a few minutes before we get back to driving the bus. Back in the old days, they paid us $10 dollars a day, but then at least, back then, Chicken Rice or Wantoon Noodles only cost us, what? 50 cents? But what about now? A plate of rice or noodles costs at least $3 or more! What do they expect? We still have families to feed you know? No wonder less and less young people wanna drive buses anymore.. Just a moment ago before I left the bus interchange, 2 out of the 10 157's were un-manned, while another didn't set out at its predetermined time. That's why you guys waited about half an hour to get on, right?"
I felt like got slapped. Right in my face. But somehow that slap was.. great.. Like a fog cleared my mind. Went home feeling great.
Went to sleep at 2 am again. Had to wake up at 6 the next day. Yummy. X_x
Thursday (17/2/2005):
Nothing worth mentioning on Thursday (I think). Just another day..
Friday (18/2/2005):
Afternoon classes on Fridays! Attended the first lesson of the day, and got depressed. (lolz!) It was PP2, and I realised that most of my class have already started on their own programs, while I have yet to do anything. And I have to hand in a report on the following week. Yipes!
Drew a skeleton man, changed the background colors. I think that was all I did. X.x
Finished class @ 5 pm (Was Maths after PP2). Met up with tg, bl and alvin for dinner, then we went for astro.
Was a clear sky that night (rare event). Managed to peek at Jupiter.
After which we went home.. but stayed out late 'cause we wanted supper.. and we sat around chatting about "the old times" and getting nostalgic and all..
How I miss the old secondary days.
Which makes me wonder why we humans always takes things for granted, only to regret it the day we lose it. *Sigh*
Saturday (19/2/2005):
Woke up in the afternoon, at around 3 pm. Was supposed to go house-calling today, but since we stayed up so late the day before, forget it.
Instead we went to Alvin's house to play mahjong. (lolz!) The four of us were newbies, so we invited Wei Xiang to teach us.
Learnt a heck of alot about mahjong. And damn. My luck was really bad.
We got addicted to the game and played all the way until Sunday morning, 6 am.
Blehx. X.x
Sunday (20/2/2005):
Oh yeah. My "favourite" day.
Went to sleep at about 7 am in the morning. Woke up at 4 pm in the afternoon.. (Nasty habit of sleeping late and waking late)
Ah.. yes. A classical scenario which explains why I hate Sundays so much.
Was playing a game on the PS2. (A.K.A. Minding my own business) My dad was changing the water of the fish tanks in the house, when he forgot to turn off the water supply which he left in one of the fish tanks.
Results: "Massive" flooding of the house.
The dining room was flooded, along with the kitchen area, especially under the table where we store our "garbage". (Can't classify them, so "garbage" fits nicely)
Helped to clean up the house.
As if it wasn't enough, while I was clearing the water under the dining table, my dad said sh!t like: "Hey you stupid idiot, can't you clean up the area near the carpets first?"
Ahem. Excuse ME! Was it my fault that you friggin' conveniently left the hose running in the tank? Is that the way you talk to your son? Is that the way any parents talk to their child? (And oh, this is like, one of the nicer "names".)
So. Fine. I shut up, out of respect that he's my dad, that he is the sole bread-winner, and that he owns the house.
Then he said thrash like: "Why can't you guys help to look out for the water for me?"
And I retorted: "Which brings up a good question: 'Why do you rear so many fishes?'"
Apparently that pissed him off. (Oh yeah, for your information, In my house we have like, 17 fish tanks, 2 gigantic ones, 6 large ones, 2 medium ones and 7 small ones. Number of fishes? Unknown. Jasmine tried counting once. I think she said 500+. That was back in the year 2003.)
He kept quiet for awhile. I thought he was seriously considering my question. (Given that he once asked me whether I think he should get rid of some fishes. Stupid question. The answer is obvious?)
How stupidly naive I was. Perhaps he was right in calling me an idiot.
He said: "Haizz, Other people, like our neighbour, has their sons rushing to help their fathers clean the fish tanks. While I have 6 children who wouldn't lift a finger to help me. And somemore they must say 'lan-jiao wuay' instead of helping out. Maybe I should try my best to get two more children into the family."
*For your info, "lan-jiao wuay" is dialect for "fucked up words" (<- That's the best I can explain)*
Well. So now I'm the unfilial son. CCCCOOOOLLLL!
Question and Answer Time!
Q: How many fishes does my family have?
A: Erm, currently? Maybe 200+?
Q: How many fish tanks does my family have?
A: 17, if you disregard the sizes.
Q: How many fish tanks does the neighbour have?
A: One? or maybe 2.
Q: How many fishes does the neighbour have?
A: Unknown. But how many fishes can 1 or 2 tanks contain?
End of Q & A Session.
Well. So, you, as the father, like fishes, so the rest of your family has to develop a liking to fishes along with you? I absolutely hate fishes, and there is absoluting no friggin; reason why I should help you change the water.
Do I hear someone say "Filial Piety"? F*** "Filial Piety"! I wouldn't mind helping him change the water, but the are like 17 fish tanks to cover. What? Am I born to be his friggin' slave or servant? Just say so. At least shatter the illusion that I'm your friggin' son. Thanks.
Yet another Sunday. Wonderful life O' mine.
-----------------------------------------------------------
End of Week's summary.
For those of you whom I have told that I do not like Sundays: This is the reason why. And this probably the only time I'll ever write/say something like this. And oh. It's not just my dad. Everything else goes bad on Sundays.
Does any of you have dads/moms like this? Share your experiences with me, so that at least I can know that I'm better off than someone else. That'll make me feel way better.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
A week's delay
.. Don't know why.. Don't feel like making a blog entry for the past week.. Anywayz, it's only been a week? Seems like a month to me.. so many things seemed to have happened since..
Okay.. let's start from Monday..
Monday (7/2/2005):
The two weeks of rest (Study break and Exam week) are finally over.. And thus its back to school for another 5-6 weeks' worth of lectures/practicals/projects. Heck. Projects deadline poppin' up everywhere.. *Sigh*
Went to school for classes. Class started at 10 am. But I was late by nearly an hour. (Woke up late 'cause alarm clock failed in its purpose. =D )
Boring day.. finished off with Sports and Wellness.. had to run around the school campus (supposedly 3.6 km)
Forgot what happened after. Lolz!
Tuesday (8/2/2005, Chinese New Year Eve):
Classes at 8 am. Woke up at 8. Travel to school takes about an hour.. and so... I went to school. My former school. Hua Yi Secondary School.
And was late again.
Got there at about 9 am. The CNY concert was over.. as was most of the teachers.. for the fewthat were left, we seeked 'em out and grilled 'em. Ok, we just chatted for abit, joked around and finally left the school about 1.5 hours later.
Went to KFC to have lunch. Then went home to play games. Played till early morning ( 'cause stayed up to count down to the Year of the Rooster).
Boring life. Spent most of my "first Rooster day" asleep. Not that I missed much anyways..
Oh yeah. Nearly forgot.. My niece came visiting =D Cute lil' babe.. I should be able to get her picture up on Friendster one of these days soon.. Name's Brendel. (I think so anyways)
Wednesday (9/2/2005, Chinese New Year, Day 1):
Like I just mentioned, slept through most of the day.. Woke up at around 4 pm?
Missed nothing, 'cause my dad decided to stay home for the first day.
Nothing to say.
Thursday (10/2/2005, Chinese New Year, Day 2):
Went house visiting today. Visited my aunts (Don't have much uncles, now that I think about it). Grabbed Ang baos =D
Went to Alvin's house at night. Karin and co. came shortly after.. Played cards till near midnight, then we all went home.
Can't think of anything to write. Blehz. Could be one of the reasons why I didn't blog.
Yet another boring day.
Friday (11/2/2005, End of Holidays, back to school):
Hmm.. went to school. Should've skipped. Programming lecturer didn't wanted to teach anything because: "Only half the class is here." 2 hours wasted. Afterwards, another 2 hours spent on Maths doing Maths Online.. Thankfully bluffed my way outta class.. went home an hour earlier. =D
Went to the movies at evening (6 pm). Wanted the catch "Constantine" at 6:30, but the tickets for 6:30, 7:00 and 9:15 were all selling out fast.. the only available seats were the front row. So we took the 9:45 tickets. Had to wait 3 hours for the show..
Lolz!
But was worth the wait. Show was pretty good (for an action film anyways). Was pretty funny with the vulgarities and all (Thankfully Singapore Censorship Board didn't cut 'em out. Would've taken the fun outta the show).
Didn't sleep till morning again.
Saturday (12/2/2005):
Woke up in time for dinner. Time was around.. 6 pm? Yeah.. getting a really bad habit of staying up late and waking up late..
Finished up dinner and went visiting my niece, Brendel. Played around for a couple of hours, then went home.
End of day? Hmm..
Sunday (13/2/2005):
Woke up in the afternoon. Went to VL's house for house visiting.. Played alittle bit of Mahjong. Won twenty cents!! Lolz!
Yeh. Nothing much to write about.
Maybe gonna do my project report or play games or sleep. Can't decide right now...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK! End of week's summary!
P.S.: Just realised I just couldn't pen down the crappier parts of my days down.. Else the blog would be that much longer.
P.P.S.: Apparently a timid lil' mouse has grown to be quite the fierce tiger!! Good luck in your love life, dude! =D
Okay.. let's start from Monday..
Monday (7/2/2005):
The two weeks of rest (Study break and Exam week) are finally over.. And thus its back to school for another 5-6 weeks' worth of lectures/practicals/projects. Heck. Projects deadline poppin' up everywhere.. *Sigh*
Went to school for classes. Class started at 10 am. But I was late by nearly an hour. (Woke up late 'cause alarm clock failed in its purpose. =D )
Boring day.. finished off with Sports and Wellness.. had to run around the school campus (supposedly 3.6 km)
Forgot what happened after. Lolz!
Tuesday (8/2/2005, Chinese New Year Eve):
Classes at 8 am. Woke up at 8. Travel to school takes about an hour.. and so... I went to school. My former school. Hua Yi Secondary School.
And was late again.
Got there at about 9 am. The CNY concert was over.. as was most of the teachers.. for the fewthat were left, we seeked 'em out and grilled 'em. Ok, we just chatted for abit, joked around and finally left the school about 1.5 hours later.
Went to KFC to have lunch. Then went home to play games. Played till early morning ( 'cause stayed up to count down to the Year of the Rooster).
Boring life. Spent most of my "first Rooster day" asleep. Not that I missed much anyways..
Oh yeah. Nearly forgot.. My niece came visiting =D Cute lil' babe.. I should be able to get her picture up on Friendster one of these days soon.. Name's Brendel. (I think so anyways)
Wednesday (9/2/2005, Chinese New Year, Day 1):
Like I just mentioned, slept through most of the day.. Woke up at around 4 pm?
Missed nothing, 'cause my dad decided to stay home for the first day.
Nothing to say.
Thursday (10/2/2005, Chinese New Year, Day 2):
Went house visiting today. Visited my aunts (Don't have much uncles, now that I think about it). Grabbed Ang baos =D
Went to Alvin's house at night. Karin and co. came shortly after.. Played cards till near midnight, then we all went home.
Can't think of anything to write. Blehz. Could be one of the reasons why I didn't blog.
Yet another boring day.
Friday (11/2/2005, End of Holidays, back to school):
Hmm.. went to school. Should've skipped. Programming lecturer didn't wanted to teach anything because: "Only half the class is here." 2 hours wasted. Afterwards, another 2 hours spent on Maths doing Maths Online.. Thankfully bluffed my way outta class.. went home an hour earlier. =D
Went to the movies at evening (6 pm). Wanted the catch "Constantine" at 6:30, but the tickets for 6:30, 7:00 and 9:15 were all selling out fast.. the only available seats were the front row. So we took the 9:45 tickets. Had to wait 3 hours for the show..
Lolz!
But was worth the wait. Show was pretty good (for an action film anyways). Was pretty funny with the vulgarities and all (Thankfully Singapore Censorship Board didn't cut 'em out. Would've taken the fun outta the show).
Didn't sleep till morning again.
Saturday (12/2/2005):
Woke up in time for dinner. Time was around.. 6 pm? Yeah.. getting a really bad habit of staying up late and waking up late..
Finished up dinner and went visiting my niece, Brendel. Played around for a couple of hours, then went home.
End of day? Hmm..
Sunday (13/2/2005):
Woke up in the afternoon. Went to VL's house for house visiting.. Played alittle bit of Mahjong. Won twenty cents!! Lolz!
Yeh. Nothing much to write about.
Maybe gonna do my project report or play games or sleep. Can't decide right now...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK! End of week's summary!
P.S.: Just realised I just couldn't pen down the crappier parts of my days down.. Else the blog would be that much longer.
P.P.S.: Apparently a timid lil' mouse has grown to be quite the fierce tiger!! Good luck in your love life, dude! =D
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Late, late, LATE entry
Boo yah! Phew! I didn't realise that I've been neglecting my blog. And it's now 6 am in the morning. A Sunday morning. *Sigh*
Anyone out there who hates Sundays as much as I do?
Plenty of reasons for me to hate it..
1) It's a Sunday. Naturally the next day is a Monday. And Mondays means "Back to school" or "Back to work". Boring.
2) It's a Sunday. That means it's a family day. I don't know who the heck designated Sundays to be family days. That means crowded places, screaming kids, squeezing adults, and my goodness, with CNY (Chinese New Year) around the corner, it's gotta be worse.
3) It's a Sunday. That means most of my family members get to be in the same house together. That's a good thing, but it turns bad 'cause the relationship of people and noise is directly proportional. More people = More noise. More noise = Irritation. You get the picture.
It's like.. it's noisy enough having only 2-3 people in the house. Let's not mention having 6++ people in the house. It's terrible..
Blehz. Whatever. Can't help it.
Alright! Today was a good day. Reunion dinner with my "outside" families, the C & P people (Chicken & Poo <- Who thought that up?!) and my own "Bird" family (o.O supposed to be "Bert", but, ah well. =P).
Lolz! Seems like the people in these two families are whack. If you think so, you're right.
Nothing's more nuttier than hanging around with these dudes.. Hang around long enough and you get affected. That's to say, you go nuts as well.
Overall, it was great.. having a dinner with old friends is nice.. 'cause we get to keep in touch and all.. act lame.. have a good time and all.. Letting ourselves go and really bring the house down. Heh. =D
(Uh. Yeah.. there was this part where Alvin's chair got "stolen" and the girls "laughed in unison". Everyone else in the restaurant was like looking at us. Duh? o.O)
I think these kinda gatherings are great.. but.. is there anyway to stop 'em from burning a hole in my pocket? T.T
Gotta run.. People are beginning to wake up now.. While I'm off to sleep.. =) Heh. Seems like I'm learning from good ol' Count Drac. Bad habit! (Crap.. Can't kick it outta my system.. Help!)
Anyone out there who hates Sundays as much as I do?
Plenty of reasons for me to hate it..
1) It's a Sunday. Naturally the next day is a Monday. And Mondays means "Back to school" or "Back to work". Boring.
2) It's a Sunday. That means it's a family day. I don't know who the heck designated Sundays to be family days. That means crowded places, screaming kids, squeezing adults, and my goodness, with CNY (Chinese New Year) around the corner, it's gotta be worse.
3) It's a Sunday. That means most of my family members get to be in the same house together. That's a good thing, but it turns bad 'cause the relationship of people and noise is directly proportional. More people = More noise. More noise = Irritation. You get the picture.
It's like.. it's noisy enough having only 2-3 people in the house. Let's not mention having 6++ people in the house. It's terrible..
Blehz. Whatever. Can't help it.
Alright! Today was a good day. Reunion dinner with my "outside" families, the C & P people (Chicken & Poo <- Who thought that up?!) and my own "Bird" family (o.O supposed to be "Bert", but, ah well. =P).
Lolz! Seems like the people in these two families are whack. If you think so, you're right.
Nothing's more nuttier than hanging around with these dudes.. Hang around long enough and you get affected. That's to say, you go nuts as well.
Overall, it was great.. having a dinner with old friends is nice.. 'cause we get to keep in touch and all.. act lame.. have a good time and all.. Letting ourselves go and really bring the house down. Heh. =D
(Uh. Yeah.. there was this part where Alvin's chair got "stolen" and the girls "laughed in unison". Everyone else in the restaurant was like looking at us. Duh? o.O)
I think these kinda gatherings are great.. but.. is there anyway to stop 'em from burning a hole in my pocket? T.T
Gotta run.. People are beginning to wake up now.. While I'm off to sleep.. =) Heh. Seems like I'm learning from good ol' Count Drac. Bad habit! (Crap.. Can't kick it outta my system.. Help!)
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
The "Ultimate" long yet short post
AAARRRRRRRRRGGHHHHH!!!!
My computer needs reformatting again... T.T What the heck?!
My computer needs reformatting again... T.T What the heck?!
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