continued: the forum

Hey pple, check this out.. the channelnewsasia online article abt last night's forum. actually there weren't 450 students queuing up to ask questions, but there are many. i think they meant 450 students attended the forum, which makes more sense.

what i did last night

Went for this forum today. would be sitting alone if i didn't bump into pak at the entrance. (pak is a very hot model who did adverts for singtel, pacnet, etc etc.. most recently he's in the baby formula thing showing on tv right now, as the father. but that's besides the point..) anyway, we had to sit in the 3rd row from the front, cos the LT was very crowded. good to see that there are many pple still interested in such topics.

And these are the speakers for today. Steve Chia was supposed to come, but pulled out last min.. man..
And i was less than 3 metres away from Mr Chiam See Tong!! he was the last one to arrive, but the audience clapped and cheered wildly for him.. haha.. 22 years in parliament. always genuine, always sincere in serving the community. respect..
And here is the panel of speakers for today's forum.
From left: Ms Indranee Rajah, a PAP MP for Tanjong Pager GRC.
Mr Chia Ti Lik, Assistant Organizing Secretary, Workers' Party
Mr Kelvin Fu, chairman for the forum. Arts Yr 2 student
Mr Chiam See Tong, opposition MP for Potong Pasir SMC. Leader of SPP
Ms Cherie Lim, graduate from NUS Dept of Political Science. currently director of EKA Training group.

Quite an interesting forum. some good questions raised, some light and funny moments. like once when there was a persistent buzzing sound halfway into Mr Chiam's speech, and he lost his balance a bit and forgot what he was saying. then he joked, "the opposition rallies always get disturbed..." and the audience burst into laughter..

and of course there were some hot topics to be discussed. like the issue of pinning upgrading with elections, whether it's fair for the ruling party to use/withhold certain funds to "discriminate" against opposition ward residents.. the remarks by SM Goh abt lifting the party whip on eric low and sitoh yin pih.. the state of the opposition in singapore.. the diversity of opinions VS integrity of party discipline.. no one talked abt foreign talent though, nor abt fee hikes and rising costs of living in singapore. i guess undergraduates have different expections when dealing with politics. I wished the debates were more robust, but i guess the elections is not full-blown yet. looking forward to see if there will be contest at my ward. can't wait for all the rallies and walk-abouts.. finally i am of the age to vote!! i'm old enough to exercise my right as a citizen of this country, to express my will and desires and direction for the future leadership of singapore!!

28 March 2006: 57.3kg

one of the best matches i played.. ever!!

unbelievable.. i scored twice today.. in the same match.. haha.. never scored more than one goal in a formal match since jc i think.. such a wonderful feeling..

anyway, to tell the story from the beginning: the Merrill Poppers (don't ask me why they came up with such a name..) had a match at ahmad ibrahim sec. the pitch wasn't that wide, but was fairly well-maintained cos it's under also SSC. but we had two guys MIA, and we had to play with 9 men first, and hope they turn up later. i was kinda shocked when the captain said that, but i think we will just suck it all up.. haha.. was psyching myself up when the opponent kindly offered to play 9 men too. mixed blessing i guess, the size of the pitch was quite ideal for 9-a-side. but it means the opponents get to swap their players around to keep them fresh, a tactic which they exploited to the maximum..

anyway the match got started, and our team settled in earlier then the other. but as usual, we can't finish in front of goal. the opponent was no push-over though, unlike the previous match.. they are able to move the ball up to our half in good counter-attacks. and then they scored a goal..

**i realise that technique, skill and teamwork are impt components for a good soccer team, but once the spirit is broken, the team cannot function properly anymore. this thought just struck me midway thru the first half.. something that i'll remember well..**

we still played well even after we conceded the first goal, and i didn't make many mistakes (which really astounded me..) the captain set a target for us, not to win, but to have 5 good shots. i won't call it a defeatist mentality, but i felt rather encouraged by this goal setting. after the half-time break, i kneeled down on the pitch and prayed. very hard. i asked for God to make this game a victory for us, and i promised to commit fully to Him. and right after kick-off, i won the ball with a good tackle, and passed the ball to the right flank. they moved up, and scored a goal!! i didn't catch who scored, but suddenly our team felt uplifted, and i know that somehow, it is God at work.. but abt ten mins later, the opposing team scored again and restored their lead. but still we laboured, and i no longer worried abt my lungs. (i was coughing pretty badly for the past few days.) and then they scored again.. that was demoralising.. the team just suddenly looked lerthagic and listless, the effect of being 2 goals down with less than 20 mins left.. but still i laboured.. there was a short moment of doubt, a questioning of faith, but i cast it aside and kept on going.

and miracles do happen.. ken and i chased after a long ball into their penalty area, and both him and the defender went down. the defender couldn't get cleanly kick the ball away, and shouted for the keeper to collect it. but he didn't know i was behind ken.. and so i did a slight shoulder drop, and tapped the ball towards the keeper's left. it wasn't hard enough though, and two defenders chased after it.. i stopped breathing for that few seconds, and watched as the ball roll slowing past the goal-line.. PHEW!!!

at that point there were 10 mins left in the match. bcos of my goal, my team suddenly found our strength and belief again. and it's bcos of me.. i've never been in such a scenario b4.. but the match has not ended, and we are still one goal down.

and miracles still happen, when u least expect it.. a quick run down the right flank, and then a cross which sailed over their defenders and our strikers, and suddenly the ball is at my right foot! instinct took over me at that point, and everything seems dream-like. i controlled the ball and pushed it to my more powerful left foot, shifted my body to face the goal, looked up to see where the goalkeeper is positioned, and i whacked the ball! all i can remember is an image of the keeper diving to his right with the ball eluding his outstretched hand and narrowly went it.. at the bulge of the net, i turned around and jumped for jubilation!! goooaaalll!!!! what a feeling!! nothing can be exchanged for it, not even a commonwealth medal.. i couldn't believe it at all.. i was on the verge of tears, and struggling to stand up straight.. haha.. and the glory is all Yours..

even though the match ended in a draw, i think He wanted me to learn a lesson: that if i wanted a victory, i can't just depend on Him, i had to fight for it too.. struggle and still believe, still have faith.. =)

saturated by music today..

was quite a beautiful day.. went to watch a piano performance put up by students of the conservatory. my first time at victoria concert hall, if i'm not wrong.. quite an old place, and i dun think it can compare to UCC. guess that's why the esplanade was built. anyway, the piano performance was quite overwhelming. some pieces were deliberately gruff and jarring.. not quite the soothing kind of music i was expecting. though the piano duets were an eye-opener. it reminds me of the synchronised diving i saw on commonwealth highlights. the coordination, someone taking the lead, the controlled pace.. quite cool..

i can never be a musician.. never tried, and i dun see me doing music in the future. during the performance, i had this thought: to be a musician, one must be sheltered from the harsh realities of life. he/she doesn't have to worry abt living expenses, nor clearing the laundry, etc etc.. cos it's difficult to make a living out of it.. what will these students be doing after they graduate from the conservatory? teach piano? there are already pple doing that.. and it's not as if this is venice.. they will still need a lot of effort to be world-class.. i was just telling grace b4 the performance abt me spotting lionel tan on bus 95 a few times, at abt 5pm. (guessed he finished teaching his class, and was on his way back) and also at engin canteen. one of the four in the T'ang Quartet, here is a truly world-class musician. i should know, cos i watched one of their performances last sem. nothing short of stunning, i got to know first hand why they manage to wow audiences worldwide.. but if u do chance upon him, you can't really tell..

but i think the environment plays a part too. there's no point trying to "manufacture" musicians. the govt can't always follow its formula.. i just bought a compilation cd of antonio carlos jobim, one of the originators of the bossa nova. very cool album, 16 of his best-loved compilations, including girl from ipanema. listening to it right now, perhaps that's why my day is quite beautiful.. he was born in 1927 in Rio de Janeiro, and grew up at a time when there were so many kinds of music in brazil. the french impressionists, the american jazz, not forgetting the afro-brazillian sambas.. he combined elements of all these styles into a fresh new sound, and thus bossa nova was born. of course there were Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa, and the american Stan Getz.. together they created a sensual, melodic music with a muted pulse that soon swept the world..

but i guess there's no point comparing, no basis at all. i'm just rambling my silly thoughts.. it's tough to try to be world's best at so many fronts, esp when we are so small at the first place. well well..

conserve water!!

Yesterday was World Water Day, and the Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim was at dunman high school to launch a 10-litre Water Challenge with the students. Let us all take part in this challenge. Take a look at this website to get more information on how to conserve water in our daily lives. It's very easy!! =)

oh, dunman high was the winner of the PUB Friends of Water programme for its work in promoting water conservation..

The Queen was here for a visit...

and almost all the motorcyclists in the traffic police were outside the Istana.. haha

This is how a heart breaks - Rob Thomas

Don't you wanna go for a ride
Just keep your hands inside
And make the most out of life
Now don't you take it for granted

Life is like a mean machine
It made a mess outta me
It left me caught between
Like an angry dream I was stranded

And I'm steady but I'm starting to shake
And I don't know how much more I can take

This is it now
Everybody get down
This is all I can take
This is how a heart breaks
You take a hit now you feel it break down
Make you stay wide awake
This is how a heart breaks

Don't you wanna go for a ride
Down to the other side
Feels so good you could cry
Now won't you do what I told you
I remember when you used to be shy
Yeah, once we were so fine
You and I why you gotta make it so hard on me

And I'm sorry but it's not a mistake
And I'm running but you're getting away

You're not the best thing that I knew
Never was never cared too much
For all this hanging around
It's just the same thing all the time
Never get what I want
Never get too close to the end of the line
You're just the same thing that I knew back before the time
When I was only for you

This is how a heart breaks - Rob Thomas

history lessons are meant to be learnt

The US government, in a bid to fight against terrorism, took unilateral actions to drive out an enemy in a "pre-emptive strike". It claimed that Iraq illegally possessed weapons of mass destruction, and had to be disarmed by force.

However, these unilateral actions were not legal, as they did not have the approval of the UN, and caused a great deal of hurt among other nations. Many protested, including some of the US' close military and economic allies, but to no avail.

The military invasion was nothing short of amazing. Using "Shock and Awe", with simultaneous air and ground assaults used to break the spirit of the Iraqi forces swiftly.

Right now, the US government is taking steps to cover up its mistakes and solve the growing problem in Iraq. To this day, weapons of mass destruction has not been found. Violence persists within the country. I wish them all the best. Only when there is a peaceful Middle East can there be peace in the world.

V for Vendetta

Vendetta (noun):
1. A feud between two families or clans that arises out of a slaying and is perpetuated by retaliatory acts of revenge; a blood feud.
2. A bitter, destructive feud.
[Italian, from Latin vindicta, revenge.]

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot;

I know of no reason, why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot."

the end of poverty.. how to achieve it ?

went for a world bank-linked workshop organised by USP last night, kinda interesting. the speaker was a prof in geog and was very lively and energitc, though he didn't really say anything new that i didn't already knew. but he added in a lot of interesting anecdotes. like how lowly paid the civil servants in some SEA countries are. (a perm sec of 30 yrs civil service experience is paid US$22 a month!) and how this plus lack of education infrastructure plus a bit of culture adds up to make certain countries being a haven for sex trade..

1.1 billion,or 1/6 of the world's population, live in extreme poverty!! these are pple living on less than US$1 per day!! if u are thinking that these are pple living far away and doesn't affect u, then i pity ur soul. if all you are concerned with is thesis, projects, essays, finding part-time jobs, etc etc.. then i think u should wake up and see what is happening around in the world, things that will ultimately affect us. eg, all it takes is a haze to make many singaporeans unable to go to work. the low per capital income in other countries forces officials to be corrupt, resources to be depleted, forests to be burnt illegally, lack of alternative methods, etc.. it doesn't make sense, but it links up!

the ever pessimistic WWF says we are using 1.2 Earths worth of resources to sustain ourselves now, and will need 2.0 Earths by 2050. so the next time u leave the tap running, or have silly water games, think abt this: 1 in 6 pple have no access to safe water; 2.4 billion pple do not have access to adequate sanitation.

pls take a look at this website, it won't take long. just some pictures with a few words. first8.org.

Google Video!!

Caught this video from Google Video (still in beta version).. really cool.. click on the title above if u want to see an enlarged version. many videos there, including the Singapore Rebel film by Martyn See, spoofs of NKF, visa adverts, etc.. Go watch it guys.

A Few Good G-Men

A beautiful recreation of the climactic courtroom scene in "A Few Good Men", displaying the power and potential of the the Half-Life 2 game engine.

A Few Good G-Men

drifting..

yesterday was International Women's Day

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies.

Few causes promoted by the United Nations have generated more intense and widespread support than the campaign to promote and protect the equal rights of women. The Charter of the United Nations, signed in San Francisco in 1945, was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right. Since then, the Organization has helped create a historic legacy of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.

Over the years, United Nations action for the advancement of women has taken four clear directions: promotion of legal measures; mobilization of public opinion and international action; training and research, including the compilation of gender desegregated statistics; and direct assistance to disadvantaged groups. Today a central organizing principle of the work of the United Nations is that no enduring solution to society's most threatening social, economic and political problems can be found without the full participation, and the full empowerment, of the world's women.

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Went little india for dinner, at a nice cosy place called jaggi's.. north indian cuisine. not that spicy, a bit sweet a bit salty, kinda nice actually to try out new stuff to eat. though there was a bit of unhappiness when we are made to pay extra cos some of the food was spoilt when some of the drinks was spilled over them.. oh well..

oh saw this car b4 we went to the restaurant.. nissan 200SX!! my first car in my Need for Speed 2:Underground.. haha.. cool right? i wish i can buy this car after i get my licence.. oh pls make it happen..
and i finally bought a pair of trackpants!! and it's very close to what i had in mind.. haha.. $28 at the sci bazaar. shall find a chance to wear them soon.. =)shall go to sleep early, waking up at 3:30am to catch barcelona vs chelsea.. =)

Tristan & Isolde

Saw this poster at the cinema when i was there watching movie, and saw the trailer, which looks interesting. and then i saw a dvd of it at hmv, apparently some opera. turns out it is a tragic love story from the medieval times during the reign of king arthur.

after googling for while, it seems that it's a very well-known tale, one of the most influential medieval romances.. a love triange (of course) btwn the hero Tristan, his uncle King Mark, and Isolde who is supposed to be King Mark's wife. well well.. another movie to look forward to..

hmm.. the leads of the opera dvd doesn't seem to protray the essense of a love story.. hmm..

sigh..

it's such a wonderful feeling to get when i see a person light up the moment i appear out of nowhere. the tingling joy when that person laughs at my lame jokes and clownish antics.. and declare that my presence is much appreciated.. everything else is forgotten. the ozone depletion, the palestinian conflict, not enough pple for soccer, worldwide poverty, homework, money, elections, pimples...

but it can be tiring at times, esp after a long time trying hard to keep it up, to always be in high spirits when it is not so inside of me. and it sounds uncharacteristically selfish of me to say this, but sometimes i don't get anything out of all these.. am i really a fren? or just "someone"?

i finished my PE!!

And this is our "graduation lunch"! went to Han's with kenneth, jedrick and his fren. we decided to make it a bit more special since we won't be going to SOL for a while. Then when we walked back to board the bus, somehow we walked inside the building instead of outside. and by god's grace, we saw this mini goalpost thing going for $2.90 only! since we won't be coming back to TCT anytime soon, i just bought it lor.. hee.. almost everone guess that it costs more than 20 dollars.. and to answer some qns, it comes in PAIRs of course.. and we'll use it for soccer, not hockey or handball or whatever..

This is the thing..
Played soccer on sat. though there weren't a lot of pple , we still had fun. =)Shall pray harder for more pple to come join us.. hee..

I went go-karting just now!!

had quite a lot of fun.. haha.. initially when shujie was briefing us and told us it will only be abt 10-15 mins (for $25) jason was so shocked that he didn't want to try it out anymore.. after much persuasion, i managed to get him to try. and what a 180 degree change in attitude after that! he was so excited abt it. talk abt adrenaline rush.. see lar, you should do more of this guy things.. haha.. oh i did an interview of him using my phone. those who want it can request from me..

glad to see shujie there at the meeting point. my sec sch/JC fren, almost forgot his name.. haha.. and he drove us there. and was so kind to drive us back to sch, even though the rest of them went tiong bahru to eat. and he lives in punggol too! blk 165A, i think it's opposite my block.. hmm but i dun think i'll be trying go-karting anytime soon.. quite expensive.. maybe next time i'll get some pple to tryout paintball or something.. =)

A satisfied jason posing in front of the track..

I passed my final theory test today!!

was the first to complete it, then i rushed down to the computer terminals to get a prac test date. the system says that the next test date (for pple booking today) is 3rd july.. shocking.. but when i viewed the other dates, there are a few slots here and there in june! so i booked 2nd june, plus the required 6 lessons for stage 4 and 5. then on the bus journey back to sch, i was thinking if it's possible to get earlier test dates. maybe the system didn't show earlier test dates cos my 6 lessons finished just b4 june.. so now here i am at my own laptop exploring the dates.. and i managed to get 25th may!! there was actually 18th, but i wasn't fast enough, and 10th, but too close to the end of my exams, i won't have time to take 6 lessons.. so here it is, my practical test date - 25th may!! pray for me, guys!!

i finally cut my hair today!!

told myself i will do that after i "raise" enough money from selling some shares. made a loss of $50.. but thankfully the rest of my portfolio is doing great so far, so i'm very much in the green. (or is it blue? hmm..)

i went to 2 career fairs today. that is 2 times too many for a person who already has a job waiting for him.. haha.. was walking back to my hostel after the meaningless animal course, then saw the billboard, so decided to go take a look since i can't take a nap anyway. had coffee during the break. i can't take coffee.. shall stop myself the next time, even if it is free.. anyway this yr's career fair was much better than last yr. there wasn't that much insurance/financial planning companies, but real companies like chartered semiconductor, DSTA, DSO, PSA, Bloomberg, AMD, A*STAR, ST, etc etc.. i took a few car decals from the navy booth! for my future car.. and for jason too.. haha.. then i went to the suntec one in the afternoon, cos grace wanted to take a look. so disappointing.. there are more booths abt higher education than abt jobs.. thankfully i'm not one of those pple who are abt to graduate with nothing on their horizons.. i dunno what they are going to do, man..some pple never see fireman this close b4.. (taste like watermelon lor!!)

my girl and i (showing now!!)