NUS module bidding... whicked sick...

ok i know i shouldn't be bitching about the system, seeing as i got my mods. but that's not the point. as the title mentions, this year's module bidding was WHICKED SICK... was looking at the next minimum bids for exposures, and some of them were damn shit high...

who the hell pays 182 for soci 1101?! WTF... i paid 1 point for the module lor... i'm not showing off (though it looks like it), but the fact of the matter is that this year's bunch of freshies is INSANE (barring those of my friends who took sound advice)... throw points like free.... oh well, they'll live and learn i guess. they'll learn that they need the points when they're gonna be fighting for mods against the likes of me (don't even think about showing hand hor)...

that's why i've told people before... bidding system, you curse the other bidders... balloting, you curse the system... since you're in NUS where they practice both, you basically curse and swear at everyone.

got 1 last module to bid for... and it starts monday... people want to fight with me? can... prepare to go for broke...

FOC video

yes. i have been assigned the task to create the FOC video. on one hand, i'm relishing the opportunity. on the other, there's so much expectation of it. ideas have been rolling around in my head, and a big thanks to everyone else who has given me suggestions to work with.

but (and it's a BIG but) i have 2 very major concerns:

1. have to exercise a LOT of self-control (and i really mean a lot). many of my friends know that many a time i can be extremely lame and/or corny, and that i currently listen to 3 major musical genres - R & B (rap inclusive), rock and christian music. so my song selection ability is also questionable. so a note to my co-producer lin yen: don't paiseh to tell me that i'm overdoing anything. i mean it. it's one thing to be aware of the possibility. it's another to prevent it happening.


2. that this video has to be GOOD. and i really mean GOOD. because it might just be the last one there is (if you don't understand why, read this - the July 18th entry ). that's what makes it all the more special. because it really has to be something that we can hold onto, to remember the camp by. even now i regret not going as a freshman 1 year ago. meaning that Refresh '05 would have been my one and only SWAPS camp.

well, there you have it. i'm working on the video people. and i really hope it turns out good. really. there's so much i want to put in, so much i want to add in. but that would make things messy and defeat the whole purpose.

Re-fresh 2005...

disclaimer: please excuse all banana-related phrases. it's not always intentional to pun.

Bananas. Yes, BANANAS. Orientation group with the best mascot award. my OG (3 cheers and 3 cheers and 3 cheers for BANANAS.... ). unfortunately, being a temp / floating facilitator (counsellor) at the camp just meant i had less time to hang out with the bunch of them. but they're a good group. and a committed one at that. i swear they did a superb performance for finale night.... "Ways to kill Sadako" *shakes head* you guys are classic i tell you...

so here's a shout out to all you guys:

Javen, Amelia, Yvette, Charmaine, Lin Yen, Siang Meng (you and your banana song... *shakes head*), Clement, Kitty, Jacinth, Nicole, Khid (you rock bro!), Jeanette, Chia Ling, Yi Tsun... hope i haven't left anyone out. *grin*

oh oh... and my SP 'Eve'... hope you liked the gift i gave you. the whole SP thing was fun, even if they spilled the beans on who i was (thanks to 'bimbo balls'). funny how things worked out... considering everyone thought you were my sister *shakes head cos still can't believe it*.... sorry i was a bit weird during finale night (with all the funny questions and all), but yeah... was nice getting to know you.

i'm glad i came for SWAPS FOC '05. i knew that i had missed something back in '04, and this was it. the camp that makes SWAPS what it is.

like Eugene said... we ain't the biggest (or the richest), but we're family. and that's what SWAPS has always been about. so thanks guys for making Re-fresh SWAPS FOC '05 something special.

hope to see everyone around school... whether or not we're from the same og or anything. and like i told the rest of the bananas... i'm always at the SWAPS table (if it's there)....

peace out...

return...

well for those of you who are wondering why chris has been so inactive lately, it's because i've been away. just got back a day or 2 ago. was a good trip... nice relaxing one...

chris will be flying under the radar again this week cos of SWAPS FOC... so there should be stuff to write about then... but only after about this time next week. till then you'll just have t0 watch this space...

Opportunity of a lifetime...

they say that some opportunities come around once. and that when they do we should take them. and milk them for all they're worth. recently i got one myself.

some of my friends'd know that i want to be a writer. and others would know that it's not as easy as it seems. but what every writer needs is that one chance. that one opportunity. that first step into writing.

i just got a job. a good one at that. one that'll make me a writer (and hopefully a good one). i have about a month or so. to help in the production of a book. ok fine, so maybe it's not a fiction book (something not what i'm quite comfortable with), but it's an opportunity nonetheless. an opportunity to be published. an opportunity to see my work in PRINT (even if i'm just a ghost writer).

and like all jobs, this project has a deadline. i have to finish it before school starts. hopefully i can get that target achieved. that would make it quite something. to have my name in print. to have my work published.

opportunity of a lifetime? i think so.

such is a day in the diary of chris...

In all fairness...

results are out. a bit surprising, a bit relieving, but in retrospect, i'd say i got what i pretty much deserved.

you know how people always say God if fair / just? and yet He's supposed to be really good and all? well... i guess my results are a kind of illustration of that (in my opinion anyway).

ok... i received a super blessing in the form of an 'A' (still can't quite believe it), at the same time passing (barely) a module i thought i'd fail. so i got my wish of passing all my subjects, with the A as a sort of bonus if you like. but in the end the CAP still stays the same (ok, so it went up by 0.04), which to some might be surprising considering that the A would've pulled it up considerably. but it all evens out i guess. and i've come to realise it's more or less what i deserved. and that's why God is fair. because in the end the overall result (the CAP) is what reflects my effort. not individual modules (though they make up the CAP).

so... *shrug*

Thanks God.

The ball is round...

the ball is round. one of the stupidest (and i mean stupidest) phrases ever to be heard in football. but it underlines a very important meaning which the stupid phrase doesn't quite explain - that anything (and i mean anything) can happen in a game of football. most people can pretty much guess what i'll talk about next - the topic on blogs, forums and any form of media anywhere - Champions League 2005 Final. *cue groans*

right. so i waited for a week at least in the hope that this whole load of post match analysis and 'expert' opinions on what went on and the parallels to life (and previous finals) that can be drawn from it before saying my piece. but apparently, epics such as this one aren't quite so easily forgotten.

but anyway. back to the phrase - the ball is round. pretty much explains the whole match outcome doesn't it? that anything goes in a final? that (sometimes) the formbook goes out the window? or does it?

nothing is certain. milan's "6 minutes of madness" is a testament to that. to lose from a 3-0 at halftime lead? it can only happen because the ball is round. and uncertaintity is what dreams (and underdogs) are made of. because they're not expected to be where they are. like Lyon's charge into the later stages of the tournament. hardly anyone (apart from maybe the french) expected some lesser-known FRENCH club to reach the quarters. or in the case of the Dutch, for PSV to nearly snatch an upset (over 2 legs no less) over finalists AC Milan. conventional wisdom dictates that the final 8 would include (perhaps) the English, the Italians and the Spaniards, maybe even the Germans, with one or 2 'lesser' teams as the make-weights. and who would've though that relegation strugglers Everton would make it into the Champion's League qualifying phases for next season by getting 4th in the EPL? doesn't conventional wisdom dictate that they should be fighting off going into the Championship instead of the Champions League?

so this season's champions league has been pretty interesting. kind of like the last one (where Jose Mourinho's Porto beat Monaco in the final). common perception and expectation dubbed that to be more of a UEFA cup final. because who expects the portugese to play the french in Europe's biggest club tournament final?

when you look at all this... liverpool's "back from the dead" win. the run into the knock-out phases by lesser clubs. the unpredictability (and hence excitement) of a top footballing competition, where the tables don't match the conventional wisdom. everyone looks for their own reasons and justifications. some people say it's luck. some say it's 'kelong' (read: rigged). some just say the ball is round. what do you say?

Chris' Art of Supermarket Shopping

right. so some of you might know all this already (good for you then). since this hols i have (perhaps unwittingly) volunteered myself as free labour for my mum and grandparents, i am now my mum's consistent supermarket companion, among the resident house clerk (type letters, fax stuff, photocopy stuff etc). in the words of D, "a slave for 3 months"). i don't really mind. cos it's my mum and all. just that the bit about supermarketing...

the skills listed below unfortunately are not totally guaranteed (also because i haven't quite mastered them yet). i know it may sound ridiculous to some, but the things you do when choosing fresh fruit and vegetables can be rather weird...

1. tap apples. those that are of higher pitch often are better (more ripe perhaps?). of course other things like colour and size come into play.

2. hit watermelons. higher pitch often better. apparently cos there's more 'water' in them.

3. smell honeydews (they actually give off scent). the ones that smell good (i can't explain, smell 'em yourself) are the good ones.

4. pomelos should be weighed (by hand no less) for water content. heavier = more content

that's all i can remember (till i go to the supermarket again anyway. which should be some time this week). i'll update it as i go along. i hope i haven't unleashed some craze about vandalising supermarket produce.

but get this. i HATE going to the supermarket. cos doing all that stuff makes you look like a total nut (especially if you're caught on tape). why does everyone say going to supermarket is fun? ok, interesting? maybe. embarrassing? perhaps. fun? *gives questioning look*

i do it because my mum expects me to. and even if i didn't want to i'd be dragged anyway. sure, like F said, i'm just being a good son. but all it does is cement my mama's boy rep (not that it's a totally bad thing).

but just get this. to me supermarketing is something i'm ok with (doesn't mean i like it). i do it because i have to (just like other things in life). and fun is not a word i associate with it.

Mother's Day thoughts by a Mama's boy...

haha. thanks to the good ms tan, i have been reminded that i have been neglecting this blog *bows in apology to faithful readers (if you exist in the first place)*.

righto. so it's mother's day. here're some constructive steps i took to give a super anti-climax to it.

1. wake up in the morning and DON'T wish her, and if she reminds you, just say you forgot.

2. don't answer when she asks if you got her anything (when you actually did).

3. proceed to get scolded for *apparently* not getting anything for her.

4. when you get the chance, sneak into her room and put the gift on her bed

5. under NO circumstances admit that it was you who got it (though she probably would have figured out)

guess that gives you a rough idea of how my mum's mother's day went. thanks to JF and JK for helping me pick out the flowers.

such is a day in... the diary of chris

Angry Rap...

As i stand on the corner looking out at the street,
you'd be helluva surprised who i'd think that i'd meet.
It's him that damn f***er, enemy no. 1,
i holler at the b**t**d
you better get ready to run!
i reach for my pocket and pull out a .45,
so you better run fool if you wanna stay live.

the voices in my head, them talking to me,
one tells me i should make this f*** history.
the other one says that's not how it should be,
if you do stuff like this you'll never walk free.

don't act, better think twice,
cos you're gonna regret when you pay the price. (x2)

i think to myself i can blow out his brains,
and let them damn birds just eat his remains.
better to do something and do it well...
then again we'd probably end up together in hell.

that thought strikes my mind and i'm like 'awww f***'
thinking about consequences sure as hell sucks.
i put my gun in my pocket, chase him real quick,
catch up to the b**t*rd and give his balls a good kick.

don't act, better think twice,
cos you're gonna regret when you pay the price. (x2)

don't act, better think twice,
cos some things ain't worth the sacrifice (x2)

as i walk back to the corner, to that bit of the street,
i think to myself 'man that was sweeet'.
i walk and i whistle, to "Gangsta's Paradise"
and congratulate myself i didn't take emeniem's advice*

-fin-

*note: i think emeniem's advice would've probably been to kill him. but i'm not saying Mr Mathers condones it. it's just something in his songs. i listen to rap a lot (as you can tell).

p.s. you know you've got the writing thing in you when you can wake up in the morning and this stuff just comes out.

It's DONE!!!!!

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! *composes himself*. yes. it. is. done. JS1101 project is FINALLY over. FINALLY. i can finally start STUDYING (can't believe i'm actually saying that but...).

there's this great sense of relief that the project is finally submitted. worked all the way up to the deadline. which is SCARY. but no choice *curses, swears and grumbles about footnoting and bilbliographies in general*. i seriously considered burning all reference materials we accumulated in the course of the project. a bonfire woul've been nice. but in the end just settled for throwing the whole lot into the bin (so it wasn't as dramatic as i liked, but that final "thunk" seemed decent closure to this whole thing).

I HAVE TO HIT THE BOOKS *tries hard to psycho self*. this sem is TERRIBLE. only because of the fact that i've been TOTALLY slacking. and the grades show it. though i have to admit the Soci grade is an exception.

so yes. i promise i shall FINALLY get down to mugging.

such is a day in... the diary of Chris

Philosophy (again)...

righto. so i've been doing philo stuff again. and now we're onto this french dude called descartes. it's really cool cos you see where the 'matrix' concept comes from - Descartes' dream theory. it's all quite fascinating... on how he tries to (dis)prove everything in the search for the 'absolute' truths which are best described in mathematical and other such formulas...

i would go into the whole thing about this argument of his 'first meditation' but that would drive some people nuts i guess....

then there's the second meditation. which questions the human existence... and essentially boils back down to the 'i think therefore i am' principle... and the whole thing just is to prove it. which Descartes does brilliantly i might add...

i'd better stop or i'll get myself in trouble *prepares to dodge rotten flying vegetables*... i figure if i did ramble on and on about it... then there'd be lots of people doing this... *runs screaming and throws himself out the window* or this... *bangs head against wall*

right. *climbs back in* so if you wanna find out what the whole thing's about... leave a comment (and an email add or something).

such is another day... in the diary of chris

My Favourite Song...

there's this song that i really like. not because of anything in particular... but the lyrics are just so apt (those who read the other blog'll know what i'm talking about). they aren't the most accurate, but they capture the essence of the situation and well, the say a lot. especially the 2nd verse. it only struck me how relevant it was when someone asked what i was doing in school if i had no classes on...

so i present to you... 'Wonderful' by Everclear

Verse 1:
I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope it's over when I open them

I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
And make everything be wonderful again

I hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
I hear them scream, I hear them fight
They say bad words that makes me want to cry

Close my eyes when I go to bed and I
Dream of angels who make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say that
Everything will be wonderful some day

Chorus:
Promises mean everything
When you're little and the world is so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now

Na na nana........
Please don't tell me everthing is wonderful now

Verse 2:
I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it's all okI have to laugh so my friends wont know
When the bell rings I just don't want to go home

Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I don't believe you when you say that
Everything will be wonderful some day

Chorus:
Promises mean everything
When you're little and the world is so big (so big)
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now

Bridge:
Na na nana........
No. No. I don't want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now.
No. No. I don't want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now.
I don't want to hear you say that I will understand some day
No. No. No. No.
I don't want to hear you say that you both have grown in a different way
No. No. No.No
I don't want to meet your friend
I don't want to start over again
I just want my life to be the same
Just like it used to be

Somedays, I hate everything
I hate everything
Everyone and everything

Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now.
Na na nana....

No. Please I don't want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now...

No. Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now..
Na nana..
Everything is wonderful now...

New stuff

hey hey... got myself a laptop (finally) after all of mum's pestering. frankly it's only cos she wants to use it for something. but well, she subsidised it so... *shrug*

anyways, life's been pretty good. this semester's turning out good... stuff falling into place though i think i'm a little less focused than last semester. but we'll see... hopefully my work'll be ok. CCA wise, life's been fun (in SWAPS it always is. to me at least). had a quite a bit of difficulty churning out the publicity poster thingy for Open House. but got it done in the end. Mad props to Gene, Justina and Farah for all the help. and to justina, i've got 1 word - RESPECT. you've got amazing patience to do those posters. seriously. sorry about that 'perfectionist' thingy that day and my (in)famous 'prepares to dodge flying rotten vegetables' line. i use it all the time in msn conversation... with JH and Oddz in particular *wide grin and runs for cover to avoid rotten flying vegetables* (what did i tell you? ALL THE TIME)

p.s. looking for quotes from the movie Constantine. especially those by Gabriel.
such is a day in... the diary of chris

Song

From Green Day's Grammy winning Best Rock Album 'American Idiot'

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Ah-ah,ah-ah,ah-ah,aaah-ah
Ah-ah,ah-ah,ah-ah

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line of the edge and where I walk alone

Read between the lines of what's fucked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone
I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Till then I walk alone

Ah-ah,ah-ah,ah-ah,aaah-ah
Ah-ah,ah-ah

I walk alone
I walk a...

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me'
Till then I walk alone

Blog Surfing...

right. sorry haven't kept you guys updated on what's up with me lately....

just got back from Perth, where we went for CNY break... and while i'm at it, Happy New Year to all you people out there... yes i know i'm late, but screw that...

so i've been blog surfing. can't say that what i've been reading is pretty. well, in another sense it's all just pretty... pretty depressing and thoughtful... now i'm not saying that's a bad thing... depression basically is a familiar topic and well, when you see depressed posts on blogs, you kinda learn to take it with a pinch of salt. because most of the time people just use their blogs to rant... now i'm not saying i'm not taking the depressed posts seriously. i am, really. but i'm not going to be super worried or anything...

well, enough of my incoherence. got 2 papers due soon... one for philosophy and another for Political Science. oh well, whatever lah... no point stressing myself to death...

such is a day in... the diary of Chris

bring out the confetti and streamers...

right. so i've been missing for a while. cos i've just moved house. and there's NO internet or TV... so, yes... anyway, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! *cue celebrations, streamers, confetti etc*

and thanks to everyone who made it special. though i have to admit you guys did pretty badly trying to hide your intentions. but i still think it was great you did what you did... thanks loads.

and so i'm 22 now. i'm soooo getting old.

such is another day in... the diary of chris

Damn Damn Damn Damn DAMN!!!!

Grr... this sem is soooo not going well... just got my tutorial allocation results. and they ARE NOT nice. ok, it's not that i gotten rotten slots (that i can MAYBE) live with. but i only got allocated slots for 2 out of 5 modules... damn damn damn damn.... and whatever slots are left aren't that fantastic. trust me, you DON'T wanna know...

Screw balloting....

Philosophy Man...

haha. well. things have been pretty ok for me. really. i'm serious. and i've had one of the best lectures (this is going to be one FUN sem)... on the subject of... yes, you guessed it - PHILOSOPHY (*ding ding ding* "give that man a prize!")...

so anyway, yes. after today's lecture i have been trying desperately to withold asking (somewhat) stupid questions. because it will:

1. lead to everyone getting irritated with me and that would lead to...
2. get myself killed (just like that idiot Socrates)

but it just opens up SOOOO MANY interesting questions!!! and you can't help but want to ask (at the risk of getting on others' nerves of course). this is going to be one fun module...

such is a day in... the diary of chris

SC1101E and then some... PS1101E actually...

right. so today was back-to-back lectures in LT 11. Soci and Political Science. so first up, Sociology...

so what did i learn from Sociology? that there are lots of different guys (like Marx and Parsons)... who have different views (only slightly) about Structural-Functional Theory (i can't believe i'm actually revising online. WTH). some i'm wondering... why am i studying this? apparently cos SC1101 is supposed to be interesting. Let's say i'll let you guys know what it's like at the end of the sem. there's stuff about Marx and some crazy stuff in the readings about Freud. but say what you like and if you think Sociology is common sense (it partially is), sometimes the obvious things (the ones that seemingly come so naturally) are the hardest to explain because we take for granted that they're so... self explanatory.

Political Science...

well. i'd have to say political science does have it's interesting aspects. power, legitimacy and authority? there's a thought... how one leads to the next. it's something to think about (then again isn't everything worth thinking about). and that without one the other cannot exist (properly anyway).

so that was my day (in school sense at least).

such is a day... in the diary of chris