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I am heading off for my Malaysia trip in a few hours time!

quite excited cos I havent went overseas for quite a while, and this is my first time really going to Malaysia for leisure. yes I know I am suaku.

I have no idea why are they meeting at Causeway Point when we are going via Tuas 2nd Link, the latter is much closer to my house. meet at Boon Lay MRT la (or Jurong Point) lol.

will be popping by KL, Genting and Malacca in 4D3N, so its really quite a short trip.

I will see what memorabila I can buy bah. and also have some stuff to check out for friends. hope I dont forget haha.

I am not bringing my notebook there and I have no idea how good the computers and internet access are at the hotels. so I may not be able to get proper internet access. I think.

see you back on the 29th!

actually not much happened even though the first week of the holidays are slowly passing by. real fast considering last week felt like a complete drag.

this week is the self-proclaimed relaxation week. there are no project meetings yet except today for CATS. next week meeting for OB and ITB and start discussing the MIEC/BCOMM1 project liao.

ITB project probably really needs 2 sessions to complete. somehow I am quite sure of it haha. first meeting is at hup song's house this time. $2 train fare and an hour to reach. dont know whats wrong with me to agree.

so this week I tried to get my passport done before I depart for Malaysia on 26th. it is a very dulan experience cos apparently they didnt receive my snail mail application that I sent on the saturday before CT week.

probably cos I never use stamp la, but I thought government should be more generous. nevermind. expected too much from our "self-reliant" government.

so on monday I went down personally to ICA building hoping to settle it. but they still gave me the same form I got online and ask me to put in deposit box. extreme dulanness.

so I pasted yet another passport photo (zzz about 1.30 each ok) and wrote my debit card details for the second time. then yesterday I realised they still havent debit the payment. so I worried those assholes didnt receive again.

then I call their hotline. waited 30 mins or so (same music and waiting time as starhub customer service worzxzx) then got this impatient lady talking to me. she claimed she checked and its processing.

it had better be true or else I think I wont make it for the 26th. I will be fucking pissed if that happens I tell you knn. seriously man.

anyway back to ITB. the common test was quite a breeze for me, except the part about the four software you need for e-commerce business. I only remember web server software and e-commerce software. even then I never write web server software down zz. must thank my IT background for being able to make it through haha.

then I watched 不良笑花 and 无敌珊宝妹. till 10 and 12 respectively. 无敌珊宝妹 is watch with melissa yesterday at her house. then she made the oyster mee sua (instant type) but still must thank her for the effort la hor =)

both shows are okay la. I wont say either is better than the other. 不良笑花 is a total laugh riot while 无敌珊宝妹 is see more for the song feeling cos the two sides keep owning each other lol. so go with either is fine depending on your taste.

now need go school for CATS discussion at 2pm. then later after that go to the newly opened FairPrice Xtra at the new Jurong Point haha. apparently both the B1 NTUC FairPrice and L3 FairPrice Xtra will remain open together except Xtra runs 24h and sell things like clothes and electronics and such while B1 runs as usual from 9am but sell more of groceries. so now you know haha.

..k I dont know what else I have to blog about already. when got things to write I will blog again haha.

lololol ITB common test is in exactly 2 hours' time.

the nescafe original I drank to wake me up just now kinda backfired. I am so goddamn jumpy now zz. can really feel my heart beating faster.

on my blogrounds a few minutes ago, I realised most people either hate ITB now or totally gave up on it. I didnt really want to give up on it, but I just cant absorb anymore stuff. the brainsponge© is saturated.

cant imagine preparing for ITB final exam. godlike dmg +999999999999999.

anyway MIEC was over at 3pm yesterday. was that about 20 hours ago? think so. anyway, I found the paper somewhat difficult. not difficult-till-fail kind of difficult, but the standard was there.

personally feel MCQ and true/false questions seems to be wanting to trick me, ready to jump on me any moment and laugh loudly when I lose that one mark for them. but I just cant notice if I got tricked. thank god it is less than half of the paper haha.

will be seeing dear later woohoo. long time never see her liaozxzx. at least properly la. I did see her for 5 minutes at ourspace yesterday but I am only getting the indemnity form from her.

okay that is for now. this may well be the last Oct 08 CT post. hope that I will post soon! most likely I would if not nuffnang wont give me ads lololol.

this is an absolutely hilarious song. provided you get it la. 500k views in a day is not a joke!

click on the video and view it at high quality in full screen. I never knew youtube videos could be this clear.

UPDATE: 780k views as I add the lyrics to this post at 11.50PM... 200+k additional views in a short few hours. and it is only this particular one among the hundreds uploaded on youtube.

this is the first single from The Lonely Island's debut album "INCREDIBAD". in stores 10th February 2009.

The Lonely Island is Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.

video features guest appearances by Molly Sims, Jamie Lynn Sigler, and Justin Timberlake.

the video is directed by the amazing team behind Saturday Night Live's Digital Shorts.



NOTE: Lyrics are suggestive. and it is probably really what it suggests. LOL.

Jizz in My Pants - The Lonely Island

Lock eyes, from across the room
Down my drink while the rythmn's boom
Take your hand and skip the names
No need here for the silly games

Make our way through the smoke and crowd
The club is the sky and I'm on your cloud
Move in close as the laces fly
Our bodies touch and the angels cry

Leave this place go back to yours
Our lips first touch outside your door
The whole night what we've got in store
Whisper in my ear that you want some more and I...

Jizz in my pants
This really never happens you can take my word
I want to apologize that's just absurd
Mainly I'll fault for the way that 'cha dance
And now I jizzed in my pants
Don't tell your friends or I'll say you're a slut
Plus it's your fault you were rubbing my butt
I'm very sensitive some would say that's a plus
Now I'll go home and change.

I need a few things from the grocery
Do things alone now most-a-ly
Left me heartbroken not lookin' for love
Surprise in my eyes when I looked above

This checkout counter and I saw her face
My heart stood still so did time and space
Never thought that I could feel real again
But the look in her eyes said "I need a friend'

She turned to me that's when she said it
Looked me dead in the face, asked "Cash or Credit?"
And I ...

Jizzed in my pants
It's perfectly normal nothing wrong with me
Oh we're going to need a cleanup on Aisle 3
And now I'm posed in an awkward stance
Because I jizzed in my pants
To be fair you were flirting alot
Plus the way you bag cans got me bothered and hot
Please stop acting like you're not impressed
One more thing I'm gonna pay by check

Lask week, I saw a film
As I recall it was a horror film
Walked outside into the rain
Check my phone and saw you rang
And I ...

Jizzed in my pants

Speeding in the streets with the red lights flash
Need to get away need to make a dash
A song comes on that reminds me of you
When I ...

Jizzed in my pants

The next day, my alarm goes off
And I ...

Jizzed in my pants

Opened my window and a breeze rolls in
And I ...

Jizzed in my pants

When Bruce Willis was dead at the end of 6th Sense
I ...

Jizzed in my pants

I just ate a grape and I...

Jizzed in my pants

I went ...

Jizzed in my pants (ok, seriously you guys, can we? ok?)

[Bridge]
I jizz right in my pants everything you next to me
And when we're holding hands it's like having sex to me
You say I'm premature I just call it ecstasy
I wear a rubber at all times it's a necessesity
'Cos I ...

Jizz in my pants
I jizz in my pants, I jizz in my pants
Yes I jizz in my pants, yes I jizz in my pants
Yes I jizz in my pants
I jizz in my pants, I jizz in my pants

a quick post considering I have some time now. call me busy or lazy if you want, but the above photo was recycled from the Final Exams from last semester minus the whiteboard title.

nothing much really happened between this really short period from my previous life post till now. so I will comment a little about the events leading up to BSTA common test instead.

even though it is an open book test, plenty of people still studied plenty for it, which really scared me a little. I have to admit I did not prepare that much for the upcoming common tests with this e-learning week.

I used the first two days relaxing and going out, only accomplishing my e-learning tasks on wednesday and thursday. this means I only have whatever is left of thursday, friday and today morning to prepare.

and considering friday is IS day, and that means my morning is gone...

I read through the notes a few times and did a few practices, but I keep getting stumped by the irritating probability questions.

luckily Kah Sing's class had extra lessons that their tutor, Mr Jonas was giving. I knew this by virtue of Hup Song, who knew it by virtue of Matthew. so thanks to the duo for letting me know!

the lesson did help, since the tutor used the time to answer our queries and go through a little about probability. so, instead of being quite unsure, I am equally sure and unsure.

today came, and I woke up early so I can do some practices for mean, median and mode. luckily I did, for it helped me spot some careless mistakes I tend to make. but I am in general pretty distracted cos of the nervousness of the exam coming in a few hours' time then.

the paper wasnt too difficult. everyone I asked agreed on this. it is probably the chance to score before the final exams rapes everyone from behind. and I hope I did that without too many careless mistakes.

and I realised I usually only post when exams are around the corner. I guess that is because it is the only time I am not occupied by all kinds of continual assessments or projects, and do not feel like doing other leisure stuff, like staying out, watching downloaded videos or just plain lazing about.

and this is where my blogging time come from.

I am kinda embarrassed to admit it (lol). now that I have a digital camera that is portable enough and so it is easier to take and transfer files, I hope I can blog more with photos, or rather, actually have some content to blog about.

I think this is all I have for now, since I really am not sure what other things I have. my mind is in a mess after BSTA. see ya at the next update.

NOTE: I have a Life post that was written just yesterday. do take a look if you havent.





==

Introduction and Prologue

2300 over words and 6 pages in Microsoft Word. this is how long my second post of the Singapore 101 series is. in case you forgot, it is a series where I discuss issues about Singapore that matter to me.

it is one of the main reasons I dont like posting often. it takes me a very long time to finish a post, thanks to the perfectionist in me. this one cost me 5 hours or so of common test revision time (zzz) in fact. but I am very proud of this work, since I really wrote my feelings into this one.
so I beg of you, please please please enjoy it.

this post began as part of the Life post, but eventually got too long that I separated it out. but thanks to blogger's lack of proper autosaving and my own clumsiness, the original one was lost, resulting in heck a lot of anger. This post is recreated from whatever things I can remember from yesterday, plus more things as I remember them.

I planned to postpone this at first, considering common tests is so near. but I thought I am going to forget what had happened if I dont do it soon, and my procrastinating self may well make it not happen. so I thought its better to finish it once and for all.

with that aside, the above four pictures are some of the developments going on at Marina Bay. on the top-left is the all-too-familiar Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, while the one on the top-right is the Marina Bay Financial District, which contains 3 office towers and 2 residential towers.

bottom left is The Sail @ Marina Bay, a residential development, and Singapore Flyer on the bottom right. there are also things like the Marina Barrage, Gardens at Marina Bay, the helix bridge and some other stuff that I did not include but which you can find easily.

these pictures will set the tone for this post since I am unable to post up what I have taken.

I took some photos with the Nokia 3120 Classic, which means photo quality is going to be average.

it is my temporary phone till Nokia N85 is more affordable. my K800i joystick is very insensitive and extremely insufferable by now that I stopped using it.

but the 3120c box did not give me any USB cable, and bluetooth is awfully slow. so I cannot really post the photos at least till I get the cable. sorry!

I will just continue in words and post the photos later, because I feel I have to write all of this down before I forget them.

==

Chapter 1: Paradox of Activity and Serenity - Development of Future Downtown At Marina Bay (DTMB)

I went to see Marina Barrage on November 21st (which also means I missed the HardwareZone HWC BBQ which I paid $20 for because I misread the date. damn!) by myself. its a sunny Friday.

exiting marina bay station exit B (exit A was closed half a year back for IR development), I am greeted by the hazy sunlight and the sounds of heavy vehicles passing by.

I made my right turn at the end of the short walkway (turn left for 402 to Marina South Pier, turn right for shuttle bus to Marina Barrage fyi if you wanted to visit) and followed the dusty trail to a makeshift drop off area for the wheelchair-bound. the 5 minutes trail is totally unsheltered and I am subjected to the sweltering rays of the afternoon sun beating down on me.

like the trail that led me here, this makeshift stand does not have a shelter, it was just a small section of the walkway sloped to road level, with a board with PUB's water droplet mascot that announces the departure and arrival times of the shuttle bus. just missed the previous one. I had to wait another 20 over minutes.

I took this time to take in my surroundings.

a flurry of work goes on in the construction sites. tall cranes lift heavy items from one side of the work site to the other. hardworking foreign workers looked on, ready to receive them.

for some of the sites, the concrete backbones of the buildings are already visible, ready to receive its glass claddings and become the majestic structures much like those in our current downtown today.

engines of the trucks and trailers roar under the pressure of the steel structures, sand, cement and whatnot it is carrying, cruising on the roads made uneven from the numerous heavy vehicles carrying these very loads like themselves.

I spotted a large fenced off area, with those bulldozers-with-robotic-arms and plenty of sand inside. trucks flow in and out of the area continuously. so that is why the trucks in the area appear in such high frequencies: the sand storage is so near the area. I guess these "bulldozers" load the sand onto the trucks, which will in turn bring them to one of the many construction sites in the area.

foreign workers in pairs and groups strolled on the sidewalks in their overalls, packets of kopi-o and cigarettes in hand, giving them the energy to make it through yet another day of hard work.

once in a while, one of them will pass me in their bicycles. these bicycles are far from being the top-of-the-end mountain bikes, but it sure does its job as an effective means of transport in this highly inaccessible jungle of construction.

while the entire place looked busy, the truth will slowly dawn on you that it isnt.

the foreign workers and heavy vehicles in the region have their reasons to be there: they are working. if you look past that, there are nearly no actual pedestrians on the streets, with the exception of the few people heading to Marina Barrage or the pier. And then, passenger cars are few and far between.

there is no reason to visit the place now does it? the facilities are still under construction. even trying to get to the shuttle bus pickup point is such a bitch (they could have moved it to the end of the short pathway from marina bay MRT station).

probably no one will go there to look at the works going on, but I guess not everyone is interested in noticing these small details. guess I am weird that way.

Even the birds near exit B of Marina Bay station, the last few patches of greenery in the area, are chirping peacefully. aside from the construction, the area is very much at peace.

what a paradox.

==

Chapter 2: The Past and Future Intersects - Ride to the Marina Barrage

the shuttle bus arrives after 20 over minutes. by this time, I am joined more than a handful of locals and foreigners, probably wishing to head to the Barrage just like me.

the minibus arrives and everyone duly hops on.

the Barrage, located at the western end of the reclaimed marina land, sits at the mouth of the river and the sea. the eastern end is occupied by the Marina South Pier, something created to replace the Clifford Pier that was ironically closed for Marina Barrage to be possible.

the trip brought us to the winding roads that lead to the previous Marina City Park. there are probably only two landmarks in that area in the past. the row of shops that includes kite shops, an arcade, bowling alley and pool tables, not to forget the steamboats. all of these face the wide open field that many families and friends had set foot on to fly the newly-bought kites.

well, that row of shops has since closed. in fact, even the road that leads to it, Marina Mall, was closed. the hoardings read Gardens By Marina Bay, a project by National Parks Board. judging by the amount of land hoarded up, which includes the land parcels around and including the old Marina Bay attractions, it is going to be one hell of a huge park.

I remember having my 2/3 class outing there only last year. a piece of memory gone just like that. I will really miss this area. one of the last relatively non-urban areas of Singapore.

the Marina Barrage was in sight by the time I recovered slightly from my reminiscing.

==

Chapter 3: Beginning of the Revolution - The Marina Barrage

yes, this is the latest infrastructural baby of Singapore. the marina barrage, newly opened only on the 1st of November this year, is a significant milestone in Singapore's quest for self-sufficiency in water.

envisaged by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in the 1980s after the massive clean ups of the Singapore and Kallang Rivers, the Marina Barrage is a plan 20 years in the making.

the barrage serves 3 purposes. it regulates the water level in the channel, preventing floods in low-lying areas like chinatown. it does this by draining water out when it exceeds 101 metres (gosh thats deep) by opening its floodgates.

on high tide however, 9 (or 7?) mechanical pumps will pump the water out of the channel via an alternative route, allowing floodgates to be shut and ensuring tide will never be a factor in controlling the water level.

speaking of 9, the whole design on the main complex of the barrage is shaped like 9. in chinese, 9 sounds like longevity, which is probably meant to be auspicious, much like our fountain of wealth in suntec city.

with the sea and river channel separated, the water inside the barrage is no longer subjected to tides, making it calm and ideal for water activities.

in five years time, after natural rinsing, the water in the channel will also become our water supply. the entire channel will become the Marina Reservoir. so please stop puking into Singapore River, even if you are drunk.

I first visited the top floor, where the big open field and the solar panels are. the open field with synthetic grass (lol) is ideal for activities. indeed there was some family event that day, with children with ballons and their parents roaming around that level.

being my usual curious-about-technical-details self, I ventured to the pump room area to take a look. too bad they wont let me in. I can only explore the touristy areas, even then there isnt a lot of touristy areas. there is this open fountain thing for children to play in, which I am not too interested.

then I went to the gallery, where I learnt more about Singapore's water history, the catchments and everything, which I roughly told you above. there is a cafe that I did not buy things from, knowing it is going to be more than overpriced.

I also walked on the marina bridge, which is on top of the barrage. the difference in the colour of the water in the future reservoir and sea is obvious. extremely. lol.

I also saw the boat lifter thing designed to move small ships in and out of the reservoir. cool enough, but apparently there is no way large ships can enter the channel ever again.

this is a huge change from the early days of Singapore, where Singapore, being an important trade route, means Singapore River is flooded with ships carrying goods, to be received by the toiling forefathers.

==

Additional Chapter: History Rewritten - Marina South Pier

I did not manage to reach Marina Barrage in one attempt. in fact it took me three. the first time, mel and I tried walking down from Marina Square towards Singapore Flyer. boy, was I naive to think we can reach from there.

second time round, we took the train to Marina Bay, learning from past experience. but we arrived too late. just late enough to miss the last (8pm on weekends) shuttle bus to the barrage. so we decided to visit the Marina South Pier via 402 instead.

but mel was quite uncomfortable. the foreign workers there are deprived. there is literally no females in this construction jungle. she had to endure many stares and ogles by the passing chinese nationals and bangaladeshis while we waited for the 402 for over 20 mins (again?) at the bus stop.

her unhappiness was reflected during our entire time there. at this juncture, I would like to apologise for having you join me on my wild goose chases.

it is also why this chapter is considered an additional chapter since it wasnt done on the same day. in fact, it was at during this trip that I noticed the unique atmosphere of the area, which I took greater note of during my trip to Marina Barrage on the 21st. so I dont know whether I should be thankful for this.

anyway, the Marina South Pier is relatively uneventful. it wasnt very big, in fact it felt smaller than Clifford Pier even. there was a restaurant and souvenior shop, some travel agents' stores, and not to forget the individual ferry operators.

there was a romantically lighted rooftop, but it still doesnt make up for the fact that this Pier looks pretty poorly planned for a replacement to such an important pier. first it was very inaccessible. also, there are no elements of Clifford that have been retained in Marina South Pier.

overall it is quite a disappointment and there is really not much to talk about that place. I did see Soh Li Yan with her husband and son getting on their car, but that really isnt any biggie.

took 402 in the opposite direction back to Marina Bay MRT station.

==

Epilogue

as I embark on my return trip back to Marina Bay MRT station onboard the shuttle bus (on the 21st), I kind of regretted not visiting the Marina Mall area more. as usual, we dont realise some thing's value till we lost it.

especially the Marina Mall district, most parts of the building had been torn down to make way for Gardens By The Bay when I visited on 21st. why couldnt it be preserved?

well, I guess this just cant happen in land-scarce Singapore would it? if we really preserved everything, we would have no space left for development.

Singapore had all along chosen development in favour of conservation. there is really nothing wrong with that, but the Marina Bay episode is perhaps one of my first few real shaves with such a dilemma, along with the likes of the old Boon Lay Bus Interchange.

Marina Bay is now facing the same fate like many of her siblings on our tiny island did: Modernisation. with all the best wishes garnered from the soon-to-be-lost memories many people and I have of the old Marina Bay, I hope this modernisation will turn out to be a good thing.

sorry for the long long long long long hiatus that I took. this term felt much faster than the last for me. its near the common tests (again) already.

I really dont know where all the time went. I just remembered having a BCOM1 oral presentation test 1 on week 4, BCOM email assessment on week 5, a slew of projects to rush for completion and presentation in week 6 and 7, not to forget yet another BCOM1 assessment for minutes on week 7 and tada I am at week 8.

actually I have a lot a lot to talk about, but I really kinda forgot as time continueed to flow, waiting for no one. so I really do apologise but lets talk about what I can remember.

==

BCOM

damn module. because it has no common tests and final exams, there seems to be an assessment every other week. I bet this is the main culprit for this term passing so fast. next term is worse with another oral assessment and a MIEC-BCOM1 integrated project presentation.

I think my MIEC tutor speaks better than my BCOM1 tutor, though. oops.

==

ITB

well, ITB PBL was fun, cos I was working with about the same group of people plus maycee. hup song was and still is a bottomless pit of entertainment. the only regret from this might be that the proposal was only awarded a B+.

the project felt very rushed this time round, compared to when I was preparing DSS. maybe because ITB was a more challenging IT module (nearly everyone agrees) than DSS was, maybe it was because I was the leader this time and failed to assign and get things done on time properly.

I have to admit work distribution should have been a lot fairer. but still, I would like to comment all of my groupmates (and myself) for managing to put together that proposal with the presentation in two full days (and then a bit of about three or four days).

the sheer amount of content in ITB is scary. all that knowledge about IT (hardware, software, network, security, blablabla) + website + databases. holy shit. and the common tests that will test on all IT knowledge aspects is coming next week. zz.

==

CATS

it was one of the rare times when I wasnt a leader (or a pseudo-leader) of a project. and I must commend the group for being very task-focused. we chose the Cultural Quotient project and eventually came up with a very good concept.

I am quite a devil's advocate of their concept at first, but just like IAC, by trusting my IS groups, they always amaze me. the young adults' perception of success in Singapore was really well done, just like this sensual thailand experience thing this time round.

basically we let the class experience thailand through touch, taste, smell and sound while being blindfolded. the tutor said it was a good concept too, though let down by a lack of microphones to hear the narration properly.

==

OBSE

I am the leader again, and honestly we didnt even start on this till the thursday of week 6. before that, everytime we see each other, we just say OB 怎么办？and laugh.

it was quite a braindead matter at the beginning of the meeting, but somehow there was a brainwave at 3+ pm and we quickly got to assigning tasks and to meet again on sunday in school.

eventually only hup song and I met, which meant I cancelled my job for nothing. but I used the chance to compile the data. after some polishing, we presented on the tuesday of week 7.

I must still thank the group for doing their own part, even if we failed to meet (which I am still not too happy about). that is the only reason we can finish this in a day plus.

==

Zack And Miri

that is the movie I talked about above. check out the non-approved (left) and approved (right) poster. notice what made the left one banned?

I thought it would be a sexual comedy, American Pie style. but it wasnt. other than the liberal use of the word fuck and a little bit of full frontal nudity here and there (it is really very little), it is very much a comedy romance about two best friends cum flatmates since primary 1 finally realising their love for each other. and how the people helped each other.

it is a really sweet movie overall. and the sexual comedy elements are not the main part of the movie, but rather a small part of the overall story development.

==

SITEX and Malaysia Trip

this time round, i went to a computer show to really buy something. I went to buy a new keyboard and mouse set for the MX3200 that failed cos I spilled too much water on it. I hope this one will be more waterproof lol.

I bought the Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000. it is nice looking enough, and the wireless receiver is smaller than a thumbdrive, so its easy to unplug the receiver and use the mouse with the laptop at home.

I also shared the cost of a digital camera with mel, the Fujifilm J150W. so when we go malaysia we can take photos. it is currently with her cos I realised I dont take that much photos and she can put it to better use.

speaking of going overseas, yes, both of us are going overseas from December 26th to 29th. KL, genting and malacca. I havent really went on a proper trip to Malaysia before, and since the price the NP I&E group gave was quite reasonable, we decided to go.

if you want I can buy you souveniors...

==

last minute rambling before I go okay?

BSTA, ITB and MIEC common tests coming this week and next! I am really quite worried. cos I am not too familiar with both BSTA and ITB. BSTA is worrying cos my maths had always been a total mess and I cant really do the tutorials. ITB is cos there is way too much to cover. and I just spent so much time blogging! die. I am worried about tests as usual. zz.

do check out my Marina Story below. it started out being part of this post but got way too long and the language used became way too different so I split it.

okay I shall end now. I have spent about 2 hours on this two posts man! thats why I didnt really blog much. cos I take a long time.