Saturday 31 March 2006, 6.16pm

I am back~~~

It has been so long since my last entry. Wasn't really in the mood to blog. But suddenly eager to write something.

So firstly updates on what is happening in my life. Life in U.K is really getting boring and I gotta say I am missing home pretty bad. I have confirmed my return flight back on the 19 of June. Cant wait for it to come. Meeting up with fren back home and catch up on stuffs, singing K. But I will be back for only 2 months. I have been accepted by the Bank of New York to do an internship with their Depositary Receipts Division. It will be an invaluable experience for me as not only is the Bank of New York the oldest bank in USA, its also the world's leader in Depositary Receipts, accounting for 64% of total Depositary Receipts circulating. Their Europe office is situated in Canary Wharf. Really nice view from their office, overseeing London. What excites me about this internship is that they will allow me to do my own project and research and free course on Bloomberg, used by many financial firms to monitor securities.

Exams are coming up, from 8th May to 17 May. Need to start mugging, have already started on revision and hopefully the momentum will build up and I will be at my best during that period. After that, I have a few trips planned with Melissa. Cant wait. Finally able to go and enjoy ourselves, YaY!!!

Finally, I have to rant about my displeasure over the recent announcement of Civil Service Pay Hike by the government. I have to say their justification for a pay increase is flawed.

Pay should not be used to attract people to the profession. If a person is after wealth, he/she would naturally go for the best money in the market. If they want really people to be politicians, they should start in education, about the responsibility of the government, the honour of leading and serving the people, and stop stamping out any opposition.

Also, giving high pay does not mean that they'll get the best people. They'll just get a lot of people clamouring for the job, but would they get the best people? More so for politicians where character is as important, or even more then qualifications. I certainly wouldn't want a worker whom only works for money, without interest nor passion.

I (and society hopefully) view honesty as a virtue, not a trait to be bought. If I have to pay for honesty, then that's not honesty anymore. If someone has to be paid to be uncorrupt, what happens if the "other" side pays more?

We got to ask our Ministers if they would leave for private sectors if we don't increase their pay. If their answer is no, that means there is no need to increase their pay since they will not leave their ministers job. If their answer is yes, that means they are working for the money and not difference from employees from private companies and Singaporean should decide if we want to keep these people as ministers.

What's the difference between corrupt politicians siphoning money without anyone knowing and "incorrupt" politicians giving themselves a pay rise without any form of approval from an independent body?

Our leaders are paid much higher than other government, Bush is earning about US600,000 a year. Instead of comparing with the private sector, why don't they compare with other government around the world? Or issit because that would show that they are overpaid?I wonder....

I have to say that I admire the way Singapore had been run over the years, compared to regional countries. Even more so after coming to London. However, there are some policy and decisions made by the government that has really enraged me. The government needs to seek its citizens' opinions in some of its decision. I think the timing of the rise is questionable. Especially, its just after the increase in GST. I know many Singaporean oppose the increase from visits to many blogs and forums. The government need to stop taking Singaporeans for granted just because the elections is still over 4 years away.

That's all for now... Next time, I shall touch on how Singaporean men are suffering from the government's policies (non-civil service workers of course)i.e. NS commitments and government's policy on attracting so-called (cheaper) foreign talent is causing Singaporean men to be at an disadvantage when looking for a job in the private sector.

How about reviewing NSmen's compensation package??? =P

Saturday 19 Nov 2006, 2.55am

Long time no BLOG

Its been almost a month since my last entry. Just didn't have (find) the time to make any entries. School really make me tired. Always feel super shag when I come back. So finally today, I FOUND the time to make an entry. Firstly, quite a lot happened the past 3 weeks or so, some I have already forgotten. I shall summarize those that I can remember.

Firstly, the trip to Manchester was cancelled due to unfinished coursework and upcoming tests. Wasted as I was so looking forward to it (cos I can finally visit Old Trafford) and even gave up the chance to go for the Notts games. Sianz... Hope can go up soon, really want to see the greatest football ground in the world.

Also many things are happening in my life now... not only studies but other stuffs as while so time seem to pass so fast. Some of which I cannot say here.

On Friday, my Chinese hall pals and coursemates had a steamboat dinner in our hall. Really nice experience. Like a reunion dinner, remind me of the time when I eat steamboat in Singapore with my family and friends.

From the front left Melissa (Malaysian, Maths), me, Lawrence (Chinese, Maths), Wei Li (British, EEE), David Yang (China, Chem) and Daisy (Chinese, not from Imperial)
Also I had my first Singapore/Malaysia meal since I arrive in London. At eat a Malaysian/Singaporean/Thai restaurant in Chinatown. Not bad, I had Nasi Lemak. The serving was big but cost 6.50 pounds. Definitely the most expensive Nasi Lemak I have ever eaten, Singapore only S$1.90.
Really getting cold here in London too, not too keen on playing Football outdoors now, not played for almost a month too. Btw Football Manager 2007 is released, I got my hands on it already =D also got NFS: Carbon and a psp game, but not much time to play yet. Had a mini adventure on Friday nite as well. Went home alone from Canary Wharfs after missing the last train. Took 2 night buses to get back home. Thanks Lap for checking for me the bus to take. Realise Friday night is safe to walk alone at night cos many people are out partying so the streets were filled with people especially in Central London. So it wasn't too bad.
A lot of my friends back home and in Australia are having or gonna have exams soon, so gd luck to all of u guys and gals. Don't too stressed la... Get enuff sleep dun be online at 6am Singapore time please, night time is for sleeping. =P
Bye and take care.

Tuesday 24 Oct 2006, 1.20am

Share some funny clips

NTU Student survey - Funny comments

Kid devastated

Tuesday 24 Oct 2006, 1.11am

Share some nice MVs

光良 - 如果你还爱我

光良 - 第一次

周杰倫 - 退後

周杰倫 & Lara - 珊瑚海

Tuesday 24 Oct 2006, 12.45am

4 more days till weekend....

Hai... the weekend passed so fast. Had played football on Saturday at Hyde park. One of the worst game I ever played in my life. I will never play center defender again. It totally exposed all my weakness, eg. poor heading and concentration. Sunday watched Man Utd vs Liverpool at a local pub with some Singaporeans. Drank a pint of Strongbow, the worst beer ever. But it was a good match, Man Utd total dominated and deserved the win. That night we had a international food festival in the hall. I cooked Singapore Fried Rice with Vivian, Adeline and Wei Li. I called myself the Master Chief, but it was Vivian that reminded me to add more salt and chicken essence. I thought the rice came out not too bad. Made Adeline wash the dishes afterwards cos she didn't help during cooking =D
P.S. Thx, Adeline and Vivian for the milk u lend me.

Today tidied my room. Look much better now. The table is finally cleared. Yeah... There is even fruits on the table. Recieved a nice poem from Shi Wei today. Shall share it.

The furthest distance in the world is not between life and death
but when I stand in front of you yet you don’t know that I love you
The furthest distance in the world is not when I stand in front of you yet you cant see my love
but its when you undoubtedly knowing the love from both of you yet you cannot be together
The furthest distance in the world is not being apart while being in love
but when you cannot resist the yearning yet have to pretend that you have never been in my heart
The furthest distance in the world is not when you cannot resist the yearning
but is when you use your indifferent heart to dig a river that cannot be crossed for the one who truly loves you.

and in chinese

世界上最远的距离 不是 生与死
而是 我就站在你的面前 你却不知道我爱你
世界上最远的距离不是 我就站在你的面前 你却不知道我爱你
而是 明知道彼此相爱 却不能在一起
世界上最远的距离 不是 明知道彼此相爱 却不能在一起
而是 明明无法抵抗这股思念 却还的故意装作丝毫不把你放在心里
世界上最远的距离 不是 明明无法抵抗这股思念 却还的故意装作丝毫不把你放在心里
而是 用自己冷漠的心 对爱你的人掘了一条无法跨却的深渠

Sunday 22 Oct 2006, 12.50am

Weekend!!!

Finally weekend is here. This week seemed so long. Below are pictures taken during my trip around central London last Saturday and the visit to Canary Warf last Thursday.

The qualities of the image are bad due to me using hp camera. The first 2 were taken at Covent Gardens. The buskers there are good (better than Singapore one). The next one is the Big Ben taken at the Westminster Bridge. It was super cold that night. I was quite guilty that Melissa got sick after that night, should have insisted her to wear more... I realize that the London at night is more beautiful than during the day. Had fun that day. =D Would have taken more pictures if only I brought had my camera along.

Next 3 were taken at Canary Warf. Its like the CBD area in Singapore. All the banks HQ are located there. I was suppose to attend a talk by Barclays Bank but they didn't let me in cos I was wearing jeans. The staff was quite apologetic so I was fine with it. Saw a lot of students from other London Universities like LSE wearing very formal wears, me from Imperial wear until so casual. Hahaha... So in the end went on another sight-seeing trip. Hehehe... Canary Warf is really a very nice place. A lot of skyscraper not like the rest of London. I still prefer modern architectures.

Finally, this ridiculous image is created by a very boliao person whom I shall not name =Þ. I don't look like Kurt Nilsen lo. Argh.... Your eyes got problem.. =Þ

Tuesday 17 Oct 2006, 1.29pm

A Turtle's story

There was once a turtle. It does not know what to do with its life. So the turtle spend each day hiding in its shell. Sometimes, it tries to do something. But when the going gets tough it will once again hide into its shell. So the turtle developed a habit of giving up once things get difficult.

One day the turtle met this donkey. The donkey was running because it wants to run as fast as the horses around him. But no matter how hard the donkey tries, the horses are always faster. So the turtle ask the donkey why does it just give up. The donkey replied "if I give up, I will never be faster than them, but if I train everyday, who knows, I may just out run them one day."

The turtle learnt that by not trying it will never know the end result, even though sometimes the result seems so obvious from the beginning.

Ganbadai Turtle!!!

Sunday 15 Oct 2006, 8.15pm

The story of 爱

It started with 梁静茹 and ended with 光良.


Once upon a time, a boy met a gal. They fight and argued alot. The boy never thought much of the gal. Slowly the boy's feeling towards the gal changed. They went out together, but they continued to fight and argue. One day, during a fight the gal confronted the boy with a tough question and the boy reply with "do u want to be my girlfriend?" Tats how the story started....

They had a theme song, 勇气. The boy loved the gal alot, the gal loved the boy very much too. They were the perfect couple. They promised to be together till the end. They spent hours talkin about the future. What to name their children, what dog to get, what house to buy.... Love was so simple to them. They just want to be together. They just enjoyed each other's company.

Years passed, they both grew up. Life became more complicated. The girl wanted more love, but the boy is "dim-witted". He is slow to show his love. The gal demanded n demanded, but the boy always falls short of her expectations. However all these time the boy thought the gal understood his way of love. The boy thinks love does not need to be showed or said often, as long as he loved the gal from the bottom of his heart.

Time passed, the gal grew impatient and they querrelled more often. Finally, the gal told the boy that she no longer wanted to be in this relationship because she did not feel loved. The boy was devastated, he thought the gal understood his way of loving her. But the gal seemed to have found someone that loved her more, so the boy left heartbroken.

The boy loved another song 如果你还爱我 by 光良. A song intro to him by the gal. The song fitted what he was going through. He hope the gal really found someone that loved her. The boy still cares deeply about the gal. He still get angry when the gal do stupid things like losing her wallet. He does not want the gal to be sad. He wants the gal to enjoy her life as much as possible. He will treasure the memories they shared. He hope the gal will too.

As to getting back together, the boy do not want to think about it just yet.... Everyday he just hope the gal is happy and tat will bring a smile to his face.


~EnD~
DonKey and Turtle

Friday 13 Oct 2006, 5.05pm

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th. But heng got nothing unlucky happen to me. Last night never sleep properly again. Freaking noisy. Argh..... Anyways I solved this IQ question yesterday given by Shi Wei.

Albert Einstein wrote this riddle in the early 20th century. He said that 98% of the population would not be able to solve it. See if you can figure it out: There are no tricks, pure logic will get you the correct answer. And yes, there is enough information to arrive at the one and only correct answer.

In a street there are 5 houses painted 5 different colors. In each house lives a person of a different nationality. The 5 homeowners each drink a different beverage, smokes a different brand of cigarettes and keeps a different pet. THE QUESTION : WHO OWNS THE FISH?

Hints for solution:
1. The Brit lives in a red house
2. The Swede has a dog
3.The Dane drinks tea
4. the Green house is on the left of the White house
5. The owner of the Green house drinks coffee
6. The person who smokes Pall Mall has birds
7. The owner of the Yellow house smokes Dunhills
8. The man living in the center house drinks milk
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house
10. The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who has cats
11. The man who has horses lives next do the man who smokes Dunhills
12. The man who smokes Blue Master drinks beer
13. The German smokes Prince
14. The Norwegian lies next to the blue house
15. The man who smokes Blends has a neighbor who drinks water.

Good luck trying to solve this. I managed to solve it in 30 mins. Guess some of you may solve it in less time, but at least I am in the 2% that can solve it. =D

Wednesday 11 Oct 2006, 11.48pm

Start school

Firstly, no photos to upload for this entry. My Mathematics with Statistic for Finance course in Imperial College has officially started. The first week of school I have no tutorial and problem classes so just lectures to go through. The lectures till today are mostly things I have previously learnt. Courseworks have also been given out.

I was pleasantly surprised that I could do some of the proving questions even before it was taught in the lectures (the reading of maths books towards the end of my army days has paid off). Question like prove that square-root 6 - square-root 2 is bigger than 1. These type of questions require a higher degree of thinking and logic, these are skills that I would like to learn from this course not so much the mathematics skills itself.

One benefit of studying in a world renounced institution like Imperial (we are 9th in the world btw) is that major companies come here to hold talk and recruit students for full-time and summer internship jobs. Yesterday I attended a seminar by Goldman Sachs (the biggest investment company in the world). I was impressed by the number of MDs and VPS that attended the seminar. They were all available to interact with. I enquired about internships for first year students, it seems they only have a short 10 days program for 1st year students in the spring break so I may be applying for that. Next up is Watson Wyatt and Lehman Brothers. I missed the Citigroup and UBS seminars as they were not held in school. I realized that I must attend more of these talk in order to know what big multi-national companies look for when they look for employees. The fact that I am not bonded by a scholarship gives me the chance to apply for positions in these big companies.
My plan for next summer is to find a local (Singapore) bank or investment company to do summer internship. The chance of getting a local banks is higher compared to multi-national companies as I am still in the first year. It will be my springboard to get a high profile second year internship. May ask Jason to help me look out for lobangs in UOB since he is working there.

Almost forgot, this is for Jason n Shaun, I saw this girl in maths that looks 95% like Hildya. =D At first I thought it was her, but she is taller.

This few days, I have been listening to 93.3fm and Liang Jing Ru's songs. Really bring back some nice memories. I missed my younger days back in secondary school and JC. Life in London is boring even though there is so much to do. I make myself busy so as not to feel bored and depressed. Really hate the weather here. Always raining and there is no shelters. The friends I made here have been great. But I still miss my friends back in Singapore. I miss K-BOX and PARTYWORLD too. I missed the food back home, UK food really sucks big time. Its sandwiches all the time and all there other food are tasteless, chinese food is best. Listening to Jing Ru's "最想环游的世界" and "勇气", going to bed liao. 我想环游的世界, I dun want to stay in UK. This 3 years will pass very quickly. =) Can't wait for June to come. I need 勇气 too........ 勇气 to survive this 3 years.

Oh yea, I watched the Jay new MTV with Hebe today. Very sad ending. "Even though I have changed, its already too late......." Nitez.

Sunday 08 Oct 2006, 12.55am

Picnic @ Hyde Park

Today was a super shag day. Played mahjong until 3am in the morning than had to wake up at 9.15. Had to trouble Adeline to wake me up =D really tired. Than walked with her to school to meet the rest of the SingSoc. Played football and ate sandwiches. The air in UK is so cold I played for one half and my head is aching like mad. Managed to score a goal but than overall I played like shit liao. After the footy game and I went with Joanne and Edwin to Chinatown and ate lunch there also. The restaurant is call the Laughing Buddha. The meal was 4 pounds, but the serving is very big.

Joanne, exchange student from NUS. 3rd year student. She is like on a year holiday as she is only required to pass the course.

Chin Jie, my BMT and SISPEC buddy. Studying Engineering. Made a good pass for me to finish during the footy match.

San May, Singapore Sports Gal of the year 2003, my OGL during the Imperial chalet. Look alot like Shu Ying. Doing medicine. Very fit and sporty looking.

This is a statue taken in front of Lilywhites (a big and cheap sports shop in London).

This is taken at a cross-junction near Chinatown. Look like Japan, with all the neon advertising boards.

Sleepy. Gonna sleep liao. Tml can wake up latez. Will be going Chinatown again late on with my hall mates.

Friday 06 Oct 2006, 5.20pm

My Room

Suddenly had the urge to post pictures of my 120 pound a week room. Its not big but enough to put all my stuffs. The first picture shows my study table (I m gonna use that alot during the term...). Second is of my bed and the notice board. (Note the poster on the notice board, got it after I joined the Anime Club during freshers' fair).

Oh... btw the way I forgot to mention the freshers' fair, its kinda like the CCA fair in Singapore. I joined so many I cant even remember what I joined =D. What I can rememeber is Singapore Society, Anime Society, Mahjong Club, Finance Society and Football.

Finally the last pic is that of my sink and wardrode, where I brush my teeth and keep my clothes.

Gonna go get ready for the Mathematics Department freshers' party.

Wednesday 04 Oct 2006, 3.30pm

First Entry

This is my first entry since reaching London. My internet was banned on the day I arrived in the hall, because of overuse of bandwidth. Its so ridiculous, kena banned on the first day. The ban lasted 48hrs so I only got back my connection on Monday nite.

Anyways I went for my halls boat party down Thames River on Tuesday nite from 7pm till 11pm. It was not too bad. Finally met the Singaporean gal in my hall. She was suppose to be in the hall but I only met her during the party.

The above pictures were taken on Friday my first day in London. Surprisingly Londoners park their cars in the middle of the road. The road sign is of my hall n the church is beside my hall.

Eating in Marina Mandarin the nite before I left, so expensive $300 plus and not nice.

These photos are taken during the boat ride. The first one is with a french gal, Sophi. She is a french living in Finland, quite cool. The next one is my french buddy, Fabian. His english is limited but we share some common interest. The next few are my malaysian n chinese friends Daryl and Lawrence. The second last one is my singaporean friend. She is an MOE scholar (i think =D) . The last is a group photo of the rest of my frens in the hall.

Last set of photos is the poor qualities pictures of Big Ben n London Eye. Tats all for todae.