Canada :)

Check out the size of the pepperoni pizza in relation to the laptop. HUGE!

The inside of Conestoga Mall, the mall nearest to our hotel.

Read the poster. Bizzare.

Snow covered tree in University of Waterloo. The snow makes the place beautiful, much more than it actually is. Drab brown buildings, dull architectual designs.

AVP R

Don't watch AVP. Don't. The first one was bad, this one is far far worse. Unless you like Days of Our Lives crossed with some brainless, plot-less action flick taken with Blair-witch-project style camera angles, stay far, far, away from this piece of shit.

And to think it cost me CAD$9.95 to watch it. Canada has "amusement tax"; you pay the government for the privilege of amusing yourself. Maybe the profits from this tax goes to social welfare to feed those who can't afford to feed, let alone amuse themselves.

It's 8pm now and I'm tired. Japheth's already sleeping. Jet lag?

Christmas gifts

What I got for christmas :) Thanks Gwen. I'm still wearing the smurf shirt. Haha, didn't perspire at all, so, er, no need to change. Makes a good undershirt here =)

HELLO from Canada :)

I'm sitting in my hotel room in waterloo, Canada. Yes guys, I'm finally here. A big thank you for the people who sent me off in the airport, and for the very happening days before my departure. Check out facebook for all the pics :)

And Gwen darling, I miss you =)

Here're some pics!

transit at heathrow london, and our first night in destination inn, waterloo

the send off at airport :)

last sunday in herald :)

today. new year day with EVERYTHING closed.

GBH

I read about the date rape drug, GBH, last night. No, I do not intend to use them. It's just that a recent toy recall was because the toy converted into GBH when indigested. Strange how I make to insert such disclaimers now because of some newly gained audience who'll think I'm some bastard just cause I talk like one.

Ah but then again, Gwen blogged that behind my seemingly superficiality, lies, more superficiality. Haha. Here it is:

If there is one virtue I like most about him, it is his honesty. Behind those seeming superficiality is still superficiality. Shocking? Yes. But goodness, he’s so honest with appreciating God’s wonderful creations in the female species that it’s amazing. Compared to those hypocritical shit that tell me they don’t give a hoot how their girlfriend looks or the size of her boobs and all that matters is her heart, I rather his blunt honesty.

..followed by some praises that I'm too modest to put up. HAHA. Anyway, I don't have her blog's address. She refused to give it to me. Wait, I'm turning into Jeryd. Enough about Gwen.

Back to GBH. So, I googled it last night before I slept, and had the weirdest dream. I dreamed I scored grades G G B H for my four modules.

G G for java and information systems
B for singapore studies
and H for math.

What's H? In my dream, H means I failed, but the school mercifully lets me pass on the condition that I receive only half the modular credits. Haha. Sounds like a good deal ya?

Sigh. I hope for a D for math.

Oh and I've no idea what's G.

SIA

Singapore Airlines

Fly the don't-get-too-friendly skies

Singapore Airlines inaugurates the Airbus A380, the world's largest jet, with a seven-hour flight from Singapore to Sydney. To the chagrin of those who forked out $15,000 for one of 12 private, double-bed-equipped suites, the airline asks its passengers to refrain from having sex. Says first-class passenger Tony Elwood: "So they'll sell you a double bed, and give you privacy and endless champagne, and then say you can't do what comes naturally?"

British Airways Part 2

Fly the oh-gross-oh-gross-oh
gross-get-it-away-from-me
skies

On a British Airways flight from New Delhi to London, first-class passenger Paul Trinder wakes up from a nap to find the corpse of a woman who had died in the economy cabin being placed in the seat next to him. Upon complaining about the incident, Trinder - a gold-level frequent flier who logs 200,000 miles a year with the airline - says he is told he will not be compensated and should just "get over it."

tired

Shanghai makes me tired. I've no idea why, but even though I'm sleeping a lot more than when I'm in Singapore, somehow I just don't wake up feeling as rested. Maybe it's the extensive shopping that's draining me. Haha. Actually maybe it's more of the cold.

I came to Shanghai intending to work on a java project that, to put it nicely, is due soon. Some might say it's long overdue. But .. ah I'll just take it that I have till 28th december, the date of the next swc meeting, to get it done. It might be my passport back to hall when I return from exchange, so I need to get it done, by hook or by crook.

Being in love makes you lose all good sense. Hrms, wait, that sounds like infatuation. Okay, being in love makes you lose all sense of what one should and shouldn't do in a courtship. Remember me saying in a previous post about loving but expressing that love sparingly? Well, that all goes out of the window now that I find myself being in the position of romantically loving someone.

A strange fact about people is that sometimes we only like what others want. That's how fashion trends get started, and also how girls become popular. Guy A gushes to Guy B about Girl L and Guy B gushes to Guy C and Guy D and it spreads like wildfire.

Girls will never turn away chivalry. That makes chivalry one of the most effective ways of winning a girl's heart. Combine it with sincerity and charm, and you'll seldom find a closed door. Lack charm? Load up on the chivalry. It works. Beware of becoming suffocating though. Show concern for the girl, not smother her with attention. Treat her like a lady, not a baby.

Scheme, but Scheme with some cunning. Don't scheme, and get caught. Unskilled scheming insults your mark's intelligence.

I should publish a book - Unsolicited Proverbs by Shaun

I miss good beer. I've been drinking tsing tao and bud. I want my erdinger, my hoegaarden, my little creatures.

I've not cursed in a while.

I've not climbed in a while.

Greetings from behind the iron curtain

I was about to tuck into my steaming hot plane dinner when a housefly buzzed above it. Absent-mindedly I waved it away before it hit me - why the heck is there a housefly in the plane?! Imagine the poor fellow boarding the plane in sunny singapore only to find itself in winter shanghai 5 hours later. Should be quite a shocker to say the least.

Anyway, I'm sitting now in my mum's living room in Shanghai. There's no internet in my room unlike the previous years where there was wireless. Apparently the wireless didn't work out so well.

I know my writing sucks. It's always like that after I stop writing for a while. I'll get it back soon. China banned blogspot though so I can't access some blogs to read amazingly profound posts punctuated with "..." like how I used to do in secondary school. Ah well. I'll make do. Wikipedia's blocked too.

I'll be back soon folks. Catch you guys on msn.

gwen

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Now playing: roy orbison - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
via FoxyTunes

how time crisis 2 should be played

Click for full view
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Now playing: Blur - Tender
via FoxyTunes

Over

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that my examinations for this semester are OVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

:)

I'll fail my maths though. =\ Some divine intervention please?

Californication

Modern day Dorian Gray, witty, funny and a show totally lacking in morality. At least that's the impression most people will get from watching the pilot. Gratuitous flashing of boobs and sex scenes bordering on soft porn do nothing to help the series' image.

In fact, many pro family activists lobbied against the show and caused some advertisers to boycott it; which is ironic really, considering the show, Californication, puts across some of the most heart warming displays of realistic parenting, love between a father and a daughter, mother and daughter(the parents are separated), and how even sexual debauchery, marijuana smoking and incessant drinking can not come between a man's love for his child.

Look hard enough into Californication, and its virtues start surfacing. The sex scenes are gimmicks really, to hook you into the show before passing on moral values such as responsibility and good parenting.

Ok gotta go. Maths tomorrow.

stompAIDS

According to this poster ..

We should engage in mass orgies to stomp aids.

Studying blues

I've been mugging, or rather, trying to mug. What's new. I'm still refusing to touch my maths but I think I'm going to cave soon. Japheth's grand scheming plan of mapping our stats module to waterloo doesn't look like it's going to work. Some insurance is in order.

Anyway. Mugging has been done late at night at the Biz faculty. Here're some pics by request of Gwen who has been bugging me since last night to blog about our studying.



Or maybe she wanted to world to see how she resembles someone famous:



Oh, the photos were taken using my new SE w910i with only a 2mp camera, so pardon the quality. Speaking of new phones, my n73 very intelligently backed up only slightly more than half the contacts due to space constraint on my SIM card. I understand if there's not enough space, but at least tell me! So.

If your name starts with a letter after "M" and you're my friend, please text me your name and contact number. Thanks. (Yes, Qingwei, if you're reading this. Please sms me.)

Blood

Check out the Hooha cafe along Pasir Panjang Road. They claim to have the best steaks in the region, and I must agree; they have the best steaks in the price region - $32.90 for a 200g cut of tenderloin.

The steak comes unmarinated, with a choice of the usual sauce offerings - herb, garlic, mushroom and their much touted black pepper sauce which I tried. I'm not particularly impressed with the sauce but I must say the steak was cooked, in my opinion, to near perfection. I ordered mine the usual medium rare and was slightly disappointed at the lack of oozing blood upon first cut. That was soon compensated by the melt-in-your-mouth experience when I took my first bite. Yum.

I ended up finishing the steak with only minimal dabs of sauce every now and then. The natural flavor of the beef was enough. Yum.

Ok, enough about yummy stuff, here are the some pics of the diners. None of the food, I'm afraid. The lighting in the restaurant wasn't exactly the most conducive place for my N73 to take decent shots of the steak.


Missing is another diner who left before we took the photos. Suffice to say he's a friend of a friend who spent the whole night futilely trying to AMOG me and afterward remarked to the said friend that my, watch for it, Smoothness worries him and he fears that I'm a Player. Didn't he hear me stutter? Haha.

I'm sorry Daryl and Jianming weren't there to witness my outstanding display of patience and utter lack of condescension though. Ok, maybe not "utter" - I stumbled once or twice. Here's one:

Me: I hear the steak here is really good!
Him: Heh, I'm sure it won't be as good as Harry's.
Me: Harry's? (thinks: huh isn't Harry's a pub)
Him: Yeah, at Oriental.
Me: Oh .. you mean Morton's?
Him: Oh yah yah, the one above Harry's.

Note: There isn't a Harry's in the Oriental Hotel. And yes, there's a Harry's Steakhouse but that's located at the Esplanade.

In other news, I did get full marks for my EJB assignment, but screwed up a previous assignment, making my total practical marks 36/40. On a totally unsour note, Japheth scored 40/40 =) haha.

Also, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is pretty good :)

And you know you've either made an enemy or a fan when someone googles "shaun sheares" and finds your blog:

17 Nov, Sat, 00:59:06	Google: hoegaarden singapore
17 Nov, Sat, 02:27:38	Google: shaun, sheares
17 Nov, Sat, 05:29:33	Google: n73 dead pixels

The Real Anti-Player

"You know the saying, 'Nice guys finish last'? Well, that's bullshit. I'll tell you who finishes last: passive guys."

Ken's shoulders sagged. His eyes drifted to the suds in his beer. "I don't get it. How's that different?"

..Read more

the bog

I'm not really sure whether this theory belongs to her or whether it was through dating her that I came up with the theory.

Why do people cheat? Every one of us has a variety of needs, and we want someone who fulfills all of them. Realistically, however, finding a partner usually means looking for someone who satisfies as many of those needs as possible. For example, traits such as steadfastness and dependability probably would not be found in someone who's charismatic, charming, and romantic.

Ok, I'll admit that's debatable, but for sure someone who's all of the above would be pretty hard to get. Maybe it's easier to look for each set of the above traits in a different person. So you'll date someone who's steadfast and dependable, and another who romances you and sweeps you off your feet.

Am I making any sense? Maybe not :D

Liberty

The projects are over and done with. Exams loom a mere 3 weeks away but what happens 3 weeks later can take care of themselves. Or at least I'll comfort myself with that thought for a couple of days at least. That much I deserve, for finally working my ass off in NUS for a change.

Caught Stardust today. I love it for its wittiness and quirkiness. Maybe some might not agree, but then again, I hated 881 and many others loved it.

It was a good day, with awesome company.

Spinning

I've been neglecting the whole world for my Java project. It's due on Friday, together with another video project that I have not even started on yet. I'm so dead.

Head's spinning, but Java's almost completed.

See ya world; Yes, I'm a student.

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Now playing: Modest Mouse - Blame It On The Tetons
via FoxyTunes

Breather

I'm taking a break from working on my Enterprise JavaBeans project. Actually, with the amount of time I spend on the project, it might be more apt to describe the time I spend working as breaks from my usual surf-listentomusic-watchsmallville-watchanimes. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Crap, I'm picking up bad habits from a certain shorty.

A long time ago there was Man, and there was Woman, and Man spent most of his waking hours in pursuit of Woman.

A strain of Man, known as the Alpha Male, emerged and by virtue of his masculine superiority over his fellow males - be it in terms of physique, sports, or bearing - gained an edge over them in the dating game, and thus got to mate a lot more than the average man.

Then emerged the Player, who through a deadly combination of wit, charm and an easy confidence, turned the strengths of the Alpha Male against himself. The Player ridicules the Alpha Male's overinflated ego and makes disparaging remarks about the size of Alpha Male's muscles, insinuating that brawn is all the Alpha Male has to boast of.

And for the longest time, the Player reigned. In the course of time, every male actively involved in the dating game begun sprouting traits of the Player. This new breed of Man read the same books, listen to the same doctrine, and apply the same tricks to an increasingly less unsuspecting population of women.

It is now time, for the Anti-Player. Much like how the early Players turned the strengths of the Alpha Males into weaknesses to be exploited, the accomplished Anti-Player exposes the tricks of the Players, reveal their hypocrisy and knocks over their carefully built array of smoke and mirrors.

Just as how Man evolved in the course of their pursuit of Woman, so has Woman progressed from being emotional, financial and physical dependents of Man into skilled manipulators capable of breaking down the strongest men and turning them into subservient puppies.

Why is it so difficult to love, and to be loved genuinely. When you're in love, you want to spend every waking moment with the person you love. But you can't. When you're apart, you miss the other, and you want nothing more than to tell the other that you do. But you shouldn't.

Why not? Because, love can be suffocated. And the more you tell a person you miss him/her, the less he or she will miss you. Strange, isn't it?

Love, but express this love sparingly.

Poor Bush

Poor guy looked damn stressed. Maybe he needs The FAQ Book =)

The FAQ Book - On Public Speaking

Some of my friends are really successful.

Nic, Weiqi and Sam won the local Superband competition and went on to release their very own album as Mi Lu Bing, gaining thousands of fans in the process.


Now, another one of my friends, Eric Feng, has co-authored and released a highly acclaimed book on public speaking, titled The FAQ Book on Public Speaking. It has been selling like hot cakes although only the electronic version is currently available.

Pretty amazing for a fresh NUS graduate. Eric's also a personal speech consultant and has Irene Ang as a mentor. Enough of my singing his praises, read more about Eric here and read his Public Speaking Blog here.

Eric gives solid, practical advice in his book, advice that we can put into use immediately and not general mambo jumbo you get from motivational speakers asking you to be positive, visualize success blah blah. I hate those stuff as much as I hate shallow sermons, so yes, I'm a huge fan of The FAQ Book.

For example, here's an excerpt that I took from a website writing about his book, since I can't copy and paste directly from the ebook:

1) Stage time, Stage time, Stage time
You can read all the books on public speaking in this world but nothing’s going to happen unless you go ahead and apply what you learned. Don’t be just a learner, be a doer and make use of the tips from the book. That’s definitely the fastest way to become a better speaker!

2) Get yourself a mentor
All successful people have mentors. Need I say more?

3) Be sincere
Speak with the intention to help your audience. Your sincerity will naturally shine through.

4) Content is King!
When you get up that stage and speak, realize that you are taking up people’s precious time. Always make sure that you have quality content that your audience can benefit from. Remember this question every time you make a speech: “What’s in it for them?”

5) Observe winners (and Losers)
Many people tend to only look at the winners so that they can model their success. It’s equally important to observe the “losers” so you know what NOT to do when you are up on that stage.

Of course the book gives a lot more practical advice but don't take it from me, download the free chapter and check it out yourself =) or if you're lazy to sign up, msg me on msn and I'll send it to you.

There's a hell lot more information in the book's website here where you can also purchase the e-book for SGD$30. If you're interested in this book, either follow the links from my blog or message me on msn for the direct link =)

Oh anyway, Eric was my tutor for CS1105, one of the lamest modules in School of Computing, but he turned his tutorials into debates on technological and ethical issues, dishing out public speaking tips for free.

In fact, Japheth and I learned a hell lot simply by watching him and seeing how he carries himself, and how he manages to make the class comfortable, even getting them to contribute significantly to the discussions; trust me, Computing students have really tight lips.

Ok so once again, to purchase the book, click here =)

Mad World

Milk

I have a rabbit, his name is Milk and he lives with his maternal family =)

Finally saw him again after 4 years last night in Charis' place.

This is how he used to look like:


And this is him now:

SMALLVILLE SEVEN

It's out!

Something to add

I found this quote on one of the sites google churned out:

K. Stendahl: "When people come to me -- deeply Christian people -- and say, 'This is the way I am created. This is how God made me, how He makes me feel love,' I have to respect that. We know many things people [like Paul] did not know at that time. One should read the Bible with some kind of reason."

When I started this post, I wanted to argue that if God wanted us to be fruitful and multiply, why the heck would he make some of us inherently homosexuals. Then I remembered that some guys are impotent and some women are barren. Perhaps those are some of the things that God allows happen.

Current society views sexual attraction towards minors as perverse. What if a pedophiles come up to you -- deeply Christian people -- and say, "This is the way I am created", what do you say?

Bollocks, all.

it's our world

I stumbled upon this page a couple of days back. It's essentially a letter about how the bible isn't exactly eternally accurate, and that sometimes we have to interpret it according to the state of our current society.

Here's a reproduction of the letter for people too lazy to click on the link(like shalene):

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

The argument now is that homosexuality should not be a sin, just like how several acts were sins in the past but not now; not under the new covenant, not under ... well, how contemporary society perceives them. I'm not going to argue about homosexuality and the bible - did a quick search of google and came across a truckload of crap, so google too if you're interested - except that God created Eve to be with Adam, not some guy. Nor did he create Eve and Evan and tell Adam to choose. And I don't believe people are born with natural inclinations towards homosexuality. That's my personal opinion though.

It's true though, how we choose certain passages of the bible to emphasize and then conveniently ignore others, writing them off as archaic and obsolete. For example, women were supposed to keep silent in church according to Paul in Corinthians, but now we have women pastors and leaders who are actually pretty good. When a man sins consistently in church we're supposed to kick his ass out of church and not have anything to do with him. I don't see it happening anywhere. I'm sure there are more examples but it's late and I'm lazy.

Let's talk about fornication =) or more commonly, voluntary sex before marriage. It's wrong, and God says not to do it. For the sake of argument let's say that it is because they did not have condoms or other forms of contraceptives back then and the risk of unwanted pregnancies and the risk of contracting STDs were too high to ignore. Now we have condoms, and according to a website:

The proper and consistent use of latex condoms when engaging in sexual intercourse--vaginal, anal, or oral--can greatly reduce a person's risk of acquiring or transmitting STDs, including HIV infection. In fact, recent studies provide compelling evidence that latex condoms are highly effective in protecting against HIV infection when used properly for every act of intercourse.

Our society is getting increasingly liberal about fornication; it's not about abstaining, it's about safe sex.

Anyway, enough of that.

-

I went for a stuttering support group. These are people who've been through therapy and who are supposed to be equipped with skills and techniques that will guarantee them 100% fluency albeit at the expense of some naturalness.

Incidentally, I've just completed the course as well; 3 days of intensive with 6 weekly 2 hour sessions. I'm fluent when I use the technique, but as I mentioned, naturalness has to be compromised. I'm not comfortable with that, so well, I still stutter. Heh.

Anyway, some observations. First, they're all males. Research has shown that most stutterers are men. And, more interestingly, 6 out of 8 of the group members are in IT. That includes me. Stutterers like IT. Haha.

They seemed a little defensive, and they didn't look like they had a great deal of self confidence. I guess stuttering does that to you. It's hard to feel good about yourself when you can't even accomplish one of the most fundamental tasks of a civilized person.

It's ironic really. The more confidence you have, the less likely you are to stutter, and the more you stutter, the less confidence you have. They sound quite natural to me though; I couldn't tell they were using the technique. Perhaps I should try using the technique when I meet new folks.

Ah well. Time for bed. This is a damn wordy post so here are some pics:

Anatasia, my Resident Fellow's daughter =)

Ana, again

For Janet =)

Oh and click here and scroll down a little to read about Blk C's Steak Party =)

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Now playing: everclear - wonderful
via FoxyTunes

have you ever hidden something so well, you forget where you hid it? it's somewhere in the depths of my soul and it's falling deeper into the abyss with each passing day. Every remark, every thought, every action pushes it further away from the surface. i can't help myself, i can't help the things i say, the thoughts that run though my mind. what was once put on has gained ground and taken dominance. and like it or not, this is who i am.

habits, they say, are formed with every action. it's like in a rpg game where the more you use a skill, the more experience you gain and the stronger you become in that area. over emphasize and you end up unbalanced.

experiences, they, say, molds your character. or rather, how you handle what life dishes out - or what you pig-headedly get yourself into - first reflects your character, then goes on to change it.

take then, nothing in life, lightly. do not be careless with your words, nor your actions, for there's no such thing as a meaningless action; nor one without consequence.

nope, nothing happened to me. just observing.

Fate of accomplished computing students

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
well my guess is my interrupt model is fucking up... but cannot see how it dies

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
there is not values overflowing

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
all values are checked for their boundaries

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
ur grammar

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
getting more and more computer scientist like

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
hahah you mean bad grammer

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
fine.

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
there is NO values overflowing

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
lol

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
still wrong bro.

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
haha

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
there ARE no values overflowing

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
or even better

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
There are no overflowing values

sigh I think it is a trend to not finish your paper.... shit says:
aiya what ever

[C-Towner] Sanctus Shaun says:
HAHAHA


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Now playing: Passion05 - Whole World in His Hands
via FoxyTunes

Sheares Dinner and Dance 0708

It's dinner and dance again!

John Adams

As usual, instead of studying, I clicked my way around the net and found something interesting. This John Adams guy, America's 2nd president, has very Oscar Wilde-ish quotes. Here are some:

“Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either [aristocracy or monarchy]. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”

“This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it” (for you, japheth)

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

“That the desires of the majority of the people are often for injustice and inhumanity against the minority, is demonstrated by every page of the history of the whole world”

“It is wrong to admit into the Constitution the idea that there can be property in man” (applaud)

“I cannot conceive such a Being could make such a Species as the human, merely to live and die on this earth” (but God didn't...we have eternal souls)

“Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.”

More here

sick

The frailty of the human body serves to remind us that no man is an island. One might be the most independent individual in the world, but when sickness strikes, nothing beats having a devoted parent, or partner to nurse you back to health.

I'm falling sick .. body's aching, throat's sore and my head feels like a million tons. I'm in hall and people who care for me are miles away.

Haha, quite a sorry picture. But of course times like these are great for crawling back to God and seeking His healing and company. I have my vitamin C and my panadol flu and my God who unconditionally loves me. I'm blessed, like that.

Imitation

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, I should be extremely flattered by this.

Check out her introduction on the left, then look at mine.

Hm

It's true, without God, all is emptiness, a chasing after the wind.

After 4 weeks of staying in hall, I realised I left my bible at home.

There's an emptiness within, that only He can feel, that only He can fill.

And then something else struck me - my dad has yet to send any birthday wishes. no sms, no phone call.

Well, I forgot both my parents' birthdays this year; 11th, 12th July, in the middle of Union Camp. Only remembered on the 14th. Ah well.

Tell me ten words. Tell me things I don't know. Tell me about yourself, tell me about your God, tell me about mine, tell me about the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

I've a presentation tomorrow. I pray I'm able to put what I learned in therapy to practical use.

I'm sleepy, and I shall hit the sack.

Climb On 2007

It's held at scorching hot non-airconditioned Tampines again, and Team NYP with Weeli's dad standing in for Weeli took part again, although we left for breakfast immediately after registering and stopped climbing at lunch time :D

Pics, of course! (From Japheth's Camera, so there's a lot of him and me and few of Jeryd. Wait for Jeryd's updates to see pictures of him)

Birthday Presents!

One Beal Harness, One Ocun leather chalk bag, one chalk ball.

THANKS GUYS! And girls =)

Missing person

1st Verse:
Another question in me
One for the powers that be
It's got me thrown
And so I put on my poker face
And try to figure it out
This undeniable doubt
A common occurrence
Feeling so out of place
Guarded and cynical now
Can't help but wondering how
My heart evolved into
The rock beating inside of me
So I reel such a stoic ordeal
Where's that feeling that I don't feel

Chorus:
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching for that missing person

2nd verse:
Under a lavender moon
So many thoughts consume me
Who dimmed that glowing light
That once burned so bright in me
Is this a radical phase
A problematical age
That keeps me running
From all that I used to be
Is there a way to return
Is there a way to unlearn
That carnal knowledge
That's chipping away at my soul
Have I been gone too long
Will I ever find my way home

Chorus:
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching for that missing person

He used to want to try to walk the straight and narrow
He had a fire and he could feel it in the marrow
It's been a long time and I haven't seen him lately, though
I've been searching for that missing person

Bridge:
For that missing person
For that missing person

Oh oh, oh oh,

Chorus:
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching...

He used to want to try to walk the straight and narrow
He had a fire and he could feel it in the marrow
It's been a long time and I haven't seen him lately, though
I've been searching for that missing person

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Where are you?
Where are you... (fades to close)

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Now playing: Michael W Smith - Missing Person
via FoxyTunes

7th September

His birthday's on the 8th of September, one day after mine. We lived together; his mum and he having moved in with my dad and I. We squabbled, naturally, like brothers do, but he was company, and together with his mum they gave me what resembled a family.

I was not particularly fond of combing my hair back then, and it was his mum who convinced me to do so, appealing to my vanity by saying that combing my hair would make it nice and shiny. She smirked to my dad when I bought the argument. Never do that in front of a kid, you insult his intelligence.

Anyway, she turned out to be a psycho who socked my dad under his eye after which he gave her a solid blow to the stomach. Such temper =)

That was the end of my pseudo family, and it was back to dad and I till he got his next girlfriend, but never as attached as he was to the crazy lady. He never seemed to learn though, and got involved with a few other ladies of dubious sanity. Tsk.

And now, I'm 23. Many thanks to my friends who made my birthday week special. Thanks for the gifts, thanks for the drinks, thanks for the company =) =)

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Now playing: Smashing Pumpkins - My Blue Heaven
via FoxyTunes

Herald Assembly's 40th anniversary dinner

The church I'm supposed to be attending celebrated its 40th anniversary by throwing a free dinner for members and invited guests last Saturday at The Pines. I went for it, so here are some pictures :)
And of course, Charis, Rachel and Jasmin graduated and happily brought their convo gowns to the dinner for a photo session. They took pity on me, the cameraman with the N73 and allowed me to be in some of the pictures. I'm so proud of my cousin, graduating despite spending most of her waking time glued to some korean/japanese/hong kong/taiwanese drama serial.

How far can looks get you?

Someone googled "How far can looks get you" and a blog post appeared as one of the results. I came across something a little more interesting though; someone a girl posting in a forum about how ugly she is and how she wants to be an exotic dancer because one of her imaginary guys(because real life guys suck) wants to date one.

A little sad, isn't it.

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Now playing: Aerosmith - Dream On
via FoxyTunes

Sheares JCR Presidential Election - Darius for President

Sheares National Day Celebration

Bourne Ultimatum

Well, I finally watched the movie last night and thankfully I didn't fall asleep like I did during Bourne Supremacy. The fight scenes were pretty awesome, Bourne's miraculous survivals are reminiscence of Die-Hard movies, and the plot was so bloody ridiculous and so skewed from Robert Ludlum's novels that I'm sure he'll flip in his grave if he watches the movie. Hopefully it increases the sales of his books though, then it'll at least be worth it.

Jason Bourne is supposed to be in his fifties in Bourne Ultimatum.

Readddd theeeee booooooooooooookkkkkkkksssssssssssssssssssssss

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Now playing: Aerosmith - Dream On
via FoxyTunes

KL Trip July 2007

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Now playing: The Cure - To Wish Impossible Things
via FoxyTunes

Drunk on 29th August 2006

Sheares national day dinner 2007

More photos soon, either here or on my facebook and friendster :)

Laughs

I like to sit and watch the world pass by. I want to sit holed up in a comfortable library stocked with every book worth reading and for time to stop till I finish every single one of them.

Reality's not like that though. So here's a laugh! It's funny, at least to me.

I was sitting alone in NUS internal bus shuttle A1 when I heard a snippet of a conversation going on behind me. One guy in a i'm-trying-to-impress accent and the other in a slightly awed voice.

Mr Impressive : "Anything routine is just BLAH"
Mr Awed : (in a hesitant voice) "Would..you say your job now(sic) is routine?"
Mr Impressive : (pause) "Life is a routine."

Quite funny, no?

Anyway I know this is incredibly tactless and maybe a little mean, but I can't resist it. Apologies to Janna who obviously blogged this with great emotion:

have you ever thought how nice and sweet a relationship would be if it doesn't have problems, if it doesnt bring the pain that often comes with loving?

Isn't that like saying how the world will be "nice and sweet" without poverty, war, natural disasters? Wouldn't the world be sweet if everybody's beautiful, smart, and just? Wouldn't the world be perfect without sin? Anything would be "nice and sweet" without problems. That's why problems are called problems, right?

But then again, there's nothing wrong with clinging on to a little innocence and naivety, there's enough cynicism going around.

When people are in love they declare that their partner is the best in the world. Some shout it from the mountain tops. I know I did, at least once, when the then girlfriend took exceptional care of me when I was sick. BUT, throughout the course of the relationship she did other things that made and makes me sick just thinking of them. People are complicated.

Usually I remain good friends with girls I've dated though. Here's Jun and I =)



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Now playing: Fuel - Shimmer
via FoxyTunes

Sponge off me

There are books that merely entertain, some pull you into their fictional world, but you emerge with your views and philosophies unchanged - you're exactly the same as before you read the book. Maybe you've learned a couple of new words, maybe you've a better idea of elves, of faraway places you've never been to, or experienced vicariously a medieval past where knights are honorable and stupid. That's the beauty of reading, for your imagination paints unique pictures only you can enjoy; the same book never stimulates the imagination of another the same way it does yours.

And then there are books that are so beautifully written they wrap your mind around the author's philosophies and by their subtle teasing and leading, the reader reaches the end of the book with inclinations much like the author's.

Read Oscar Wilde, and his satirical style starts showing in your writing, his apparently debauched views of life and love become your own and becoming morally decadent seems almost fashionable.

Our minds are like sponges, absorbing everything we come across presented in a variety of medias. Magazine, movies, television programs follow a culture that's currently in vogue and that becomes pop culture when people invariably adopt the particularities of that culture, emulating its fashion, speech and style.

The more time you spend with a person, the more you adopt his or her mannerisms, or the more he becomes like you, depending on who has the dominant personality.

Is there then any room for original thought? Is there any view you hold strongly that you can safely say is truly yours? Why will reading the bible everyday help in your Christian living? Perhaps it's the for very same reason that your mind wraps around the text you read, and by reading the word of God on a daily basis, you naturally become inclined towards Him and towards his commandments.

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Now playing: Death Cab For Cutie - Champagne from a paper cup
via FoxyTunes

music in the night

It's one of those nights, when loneliness engulfs me and yet I shun company, preferring instead the relative solitude of my room where I can be me, and not the person people perceive me to be. I've lost touch with this side of myself, and I miss it.

The dull aching in my heart is a constant reminder of the hollow within, devoid of God, and of love. Of course this is all my doing, and it's nobody's fault but mine. My life's made up of a series of imperfect and sometimes outright bad decisions, and this is the price I'm paying.

Nobody's one-dimensional, but we see what we want to see.

Here's a nice picture though:

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Now playing: mp3files.org - Air_Supply_-_all_out_of_love.mp3
via FoxyTunes

Hello Again

Hello folks, this update is at the request of Jeryd who complained early this evening that because I don't update my blog, he does not know what's going on in my life. On a side note, it's actually pretty sad that your friends have to rely on your blog entries to get updates on your life isn't it!

His reminder was a timely one though. It has been pretty long since I last blogged, and like how I lose my muscle definition after taking only a few days break from climbing, the words come to me in starts and stops, almost as if my stuttering on my keyboard.

Speaking of which, that is exactly what I've been doing the past 2 days - Intensive Speech Therapy at SGH lasting from 9am to 5pm. Tomorrow's the last day. I'm exhausted.

More updates soon.

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Now playing: Bon Jovi - (You want to) Make a Memory
via FoxyTunes

We are the CHAMPIONS

The Chancellor's Shield is ours again! Not that I was particularly involved in the whole rag and float building experience but I did slog my guts out on flag day from morning till evening soliciting donations, carving out my niche market of secondary and jc school girls.

I am also the proud owner of a Sheares "Cinderella" Rag tee given when I volunteered for the ad-hoc "logistics" team and had the honor of pushing a side prop all the way from the waiting to performance area and back again. My gosh ... it was back breaking. I'm too old for such manual labour I tell you.

Of course my contributions are nothing compared to the Raggers who slaved the entire term break working on the float, the dancers who trained insanely to produce today's superb performance and of course the costumers who made the dancers' costumes. Awesome job, Sheares Hall, I'm proud I'm a Shearite.

Here are the only photos I have now, more to come!

My Cinderella shirt, and Christina who's in her SDE dance costume.

A glimpse of our float. And Kexi :)

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Now playing: the wallflowers - sleepwalker
via FoxyTunes

Adventures of a Climber

SHuai, Sheares Hall's orientation camp was exhausting, so much so that when I slept one night, I locked my door from the outside in the rare chance that someone comes knocking.

After a blissful night's rest, I woke up, walked to the toilet and was having one of the longest pees in my life when I heard a door slam. That was when I remembered locking my door from the outside and that my matric card was still in my room. The pee was still happily flowing though I could only pray that by some miracle the sound of a door slamming wasn't mine but some distant neighbour's.

As luck would have it, it was my door, and the only thing I can be thankful for was that I was fully dressed and not clad in only my dryer-shrunk boxers. THAT would be a nightmare. Anyway, after briefly considering my options, I decided to do a mini Alain Robert, and climb into my room from the first floor.

This was my route:


Credit goes to Japheth who left his climbing shoes in his shoe cabinet, without which I could never have flashed the route. I'll rate it 5C for difficulty and 8A for balls-shrinkingness. Haha.
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Now playing: Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen
via FoxyTunes

Do you remember the moment you said the Sinner's Prayer? The pure, tingling joy that travels down to your fingertips as tears roll down your cheeks, mucus clogs your nose and you look like a general wreck? Ok, maybe not, but that was how I looked like when I prayed for forgiveness, repented and accepted Jesus as both Lord and Saviour.

That was 12 years ago, during a church camp when I was a skinny bespectacled kid with short, un-parted hair. I knew fully well what I was getting into. My group leader went to great lengths to explain why we needed salvation in the first place, and described the crucification process in great detail - down to the length of the nails they drove into our Lord's wrists. I was overcome with remorse and gratitude and wanted to give my life to God immediately. But no, we were told to sleep on it, and to return to the same place at 4am if we still decide we want to follow Jesus.

Every single one of us turned up, and tearfully went through the sinner's prayer. I made a promise then, that I would wake up early every morning to do my Quiet Time, and spend precious time with God.

Fast forward to present day, and where am I? I've had practically zero growth since I left Bethany at 14. In fact, I've strayed. I cling stubbornly on to the essence of our faith, and doubt everything else outside of it. I pray in tongues, but I honestly can't find any biblical support for the kind of tongues we practice nowadays. I doubt .. and doubt .. and question .. and yet I believe. I believe that we sinned, and that God sent Jesus down to die for our sins, and through him we are gifted with eternal life.

I need to remember that Jesus is both LORD and Saviour to me. LORD, but then I spend pitifully little time with him. Our lives are supposed to be living testimonies for God but people express surprise when they learn I'm Christian.

Yes, Hello, I'm Shaun, and I'm a Christian.

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Now playing: hillsongs - Reaching For You
via FoxyTunes

Tired

I'm in hall, but the bulk of my things aren't. I am thus down to a ration of 4 pieces of underwear sans swimming trunks, one pair of paint-stained broad shorts, a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of socks, a couple of tee shirts, and several singlets that happened to be in my laundry basket when I hauled it over. Unfortunately I'm not exactly in singlet wearing condition right now so I'll save them for emergencies.

SHuai, Sheares welcome camp for freshies starts tonight, and I don't have enough clothes. I am also extremely sleep deprived. Or maybe I'm just tired in general. Tired, tired. I'm so tired I don't know which side of myself to show the world. And I don't have a waste paper basket in my room. I want to cut my nails but there's no waste paper basket. I have this awesomely huge Michael Jackson poster that Weeli very kindly brought over from aussie even when he was still mad with me, but I don't have enough blutack to keep it on the wall. I have Harry Potter with me but I haven't yet manage to read more than 10 pages at a single sitting.