A story

Was pleasantly surprised that My Paper (我报) has some meaningful articles every now and then.


Just wanna share one such article (or rather, story) that I came across yesterday.

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A professor went to his philosophy class one day carrying a huge glass jar and 3 containers, and placed the jar on the table so that every student could see. He then opened the first container containing golf balls and filled the jar with the balls to the brim. He then asked the class if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

Smiling, the professor opened the 2nd container containing pebbles and proceeded to use them to fill up the gaps in between the golf balls. He then asked the class if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor then opened the 3rd container that contained sand, and further filled the gaps in between the pebbles in the jar. He then asked the class if the jar was full. The students laughed.


The professor then went on to say, " This glass jar represents your life. The golf balls are like the important things in life, such as your family, loved ones, health, and your passions. The pebbles represent your job, house, car and other material wants. The sand represents all other minute things in life."


"You should spend more time looking after the golf balls first, for they make your life full even without the pebbles and sand. But if you fill in the pebbles and sand first, you won't have space for the golf balls anymore."


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Amidst the hectic schedule we follow everyday, be it working or studying, what should our priorities be? How often have we used the excuse of "busy" to turn someone else down? How many people have compromised on family, loved ones and health in the pursuit of wealth?


Take care of the golf balls first.
The rest are just sand.



Just some thoughts.

Saturday

Was actually so looking forward to yesterday, cos me, HH and WL (and janice and WJ) were supposed to go eat the 1-for-1 high tea at Hotel Rendezvous (promotion ends July). End up reach there there's no place for us liao so had to be on waiting list.. and the manager told us if we had no reservations then chances of us getting a table are very slim.

Disappointed, we decided to go to The Cathay to eat Billy Bombers instead at 4pm. Glad that WJ was able to join us after all due to a last-minute cancellation of his meeting. Ended up spending much more than expected (bill came up to about $25-$30 pax) though we din manage to eat the high tea ARGGGH. =(

Went in search of a pool place after that. Janice finally arrived and joined us at Supercue at Parklane at 515pm though originally we said to meet 245pm at PS (she called at 330pm to say she just woke up. wats new hahaha). Played a couple of games and left the place cos HH said the place too crowded and "no feel". So ended up took WJ's car to clarke quay and played at a much better place.

At about 830pm we went to the Central to eat dinner. Had really nice japanese food at Waraku. Thanks to WJ for the treat! felt abit paiseh though cos supposedly is to celebrate his bday but end up having him treat us.

Overall it was still an enjoyable day, despite not being able to eat the high tea..janice coming late and not joining us for dinner..and going home instead of going to chill after dinner.. Still glad to meet up with Janice and WJ to know that they're doing well. =)

Shag

Went for my very first overnight cycling with Rayner, Weichern, Eeyang and Chunwei last Friday. Was supposed to meet at east coast mac at 8 pm but end up rayner, eeyang and chunwei are all late so it was around 10 plus when we finally set off from the east coast food centre.

Was initially quite worried cos it started drizzling just when we began our journey, but thankfully the drizzle maintained light as we made our way through ECP and towards changi village, passing the seemingly endless stretch of park connector beside changi airport.

Reached Changi Village at around 2330 and proceeded to have supper consisting of nasi lemak, bbq stingray, hokkien mee and 红茶龙眼(its a very nice dessert! try it!). Set off again at around 1230 despite the persistent drizzle (and sore butts) and began the 2nd part of the journey. Passed through Pasir Ris (Downtown East really changed alot omg!!), then tampines, then bedok reservoir. The overhead bridges along the way posed a challenge against our trembling legs as we struggled to cycle across them.

Towards the end of the trip when we were nearing weichern's place at kembangan, the triathelete weichern purposely took us on a de-tour which had a tormentous stretch of uphill ride!!! my thighs nearly cramped but i was proud to finish the entire stretch hahaha. Reached weichern's place at 0300 and had a game of mahjong, where wc lost $20 to rayner lol.

Set off back to ECP at 0700 for mac breakfast and to return the bikes. Was really a torture to cycle back with our sore butts, aching thighs and hands (from gripping the handles the whole night). Took cab and reached home at around 0930. concuss.

Overall it was a very enjoyable (and of cos shag) experience. wouldn't mind trying it again sometime soon! =)

Yujia's Bday

Went to 爱情海 last Saturday after my commencement to for 08 outing to celebrate Yujia's birthday. The place was quite ulu and it took us quite some time to find it cos none of us had been there before.

Overall the place was quite cosy, and each person has to pay a cover charge of 14++ (for weekends) that includes one free drink. Good thing is that you can just order a drink and sit through the whole night and listen to the performers (the audience can submit their requests of songs and the performers will decide which songs they wish to perform).

However, one song tends to take up 15 minutes. 5 minutes for the actual singing of the song, and 10 minutes where the performers chatted with the audience (or amongst themselves), taking the time to rest their vocals. Moreover, towards the end when the more dua pai singers performed, they ignored the audience's requests most of the time and just sang the songs of their choice (which was when we decided to leave hahaha). Not a bad choice of place to just sit down and chill =)

After that went to 85 market at Bedok for dinner/supper of grilled chicken wings, barbequed seafood, fried oyster and bak chor mee to conclude the outing. Was great meeting up with the 08 gang again, especially since everyone's so busy. Good to be able to finally see bingde despite his seemingly packed schedule.

Photos!

the performers: 仙艳，冠华，志诚

Drink and fries

Cuihua, Rayner, and me

Yujia and Wendy

Bingde the big boss

I realise i use the "twist" sign alot hahaha
But so does everyone! =p Bday girl

Rayner the organiser

News

Waiting for a dinner appointment with jiayang later so thought i'll do a little blogging instead of admiring the pouring rain outside lol.

An update of things that has been happening recently:

1) Malaysian Politics

You can't miss it. It's on the news EVERYDAY. As quoted from TODAY's news comment,

"A mongolian model is blown to bits with explosives. Allegations are made of an illicit affair, of bribery in a defence deal, of a dinner in paris. A PI points his finger at DPM who strongly denies any involvement. The detective then retracts his statement and disappears. An opposition politician releases grainy videotapes of a top laywer purportedly trying to fix judicial appointments. Charges of sodomy against the politician. Masked policemen arrest him."

That, in essence, is malaysian politics today.

Instead of focusing on the more important macro issues such as helping the people with the escalating living costs and petrol prices, the mud-slinging from both sides simply refuses to stop. My sympathies for the people.


2) Transport

Yes, ERP is gonna be known more "affectionately" as "Every Road Pay" very soon. Could never really agree with the policy in the first place, though it does seem to reduce road congestion and increase travelling speeds in the CBD. The idea seemed simple. Traffic jam? Make the drivers pay money to deter them from using the road. As a result more cars are being diverted to other roads, causing traffic jams there. And as a result of that more ERP gantries are set up along these roads as well. Perhaps soon I'll see a gantry just outside of my place soon, since the road always jams in the mornings.

Added to which, petrol prices are at an all-time high. So people champion the CNG as the answer to the search for cheaper fuel. As a result? CNG tanks are in short supply and prices shoot up faster than petrol (though up to now its still more affordable cos of the better mileage). Basics of demand and supply.

So amidst all these rising prices, what should the consumer do!? Take public transport! At least that's what the government's been advocating all these years.

And then increase public transport fares.


3) Movies

Personally, I don't see what's the hype around Red Cliff. Sure, its directed by John Woo, one of the most acclaimed directors in Asia. Sure, its cast consists of some of the biggest stars in Asia. Sure, the movie consists of 2 parts that makes up a total of 5 hours. Sure, the movie is produced from an overwhelming budget of $80 million (or was it 800).

But, so? In my opinion its just publicity to get more people to watch it. For me, having read the Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, I'm not planning to watch.

More interested in catching the Dark Knight after all the hoo-hah surrounding the Joker's outstanding performance. Shall see whether it's another publicity trick =p

Hellboy 2 was not bad though.


4) Sports

Ronaldo. Too much talk. Too much money. I like Man Utd, though I'm not an avid fan. And I say, just let Ronaldo go, get the money, and get some more good players. What's the point of having a player that has no heart to play for you anymore and who's incurred the wrath of the fans? Sure, he's a great player. But that's all there is.

Commencement

12 July 2008.

After 4 long years, I'm finally a graduate from NUS!!!


The ceremony was basically the same as previous years, with some videos being shown, some speeches given by the dean before the graduants go on stage one by one to receive their degrees (actually its just a symbolic empty casing).

On a sidenote, I'm glad I finally got to know the person who sat behind me during exams all these 4 years! Kinda funny since its the last day we're gonna be in NUS, but then again, its better late than never hahaha.

Anyway here's the photos! Din manage to take alot cos the place was bloody crowded =/

My Bro
My "graduate" dad hahaha=pMy mum
Family shot
erm.. trying for artistic shot =pCandid shot
Hansen and me.

Jeff, Me and Jiahui

Yimin, my Primary school classmate!

Fellow AEOs!

A sense if achievement. A sense of pride. An unfulfilled promise. And another chapter of my life closes, accompanied by the start of a new chapter. =)