I met my new mentor today for thesis.
It feels a little exciting and weird,
To meet the editor of the book,
Which has been a bit of a bible for my thesis.
I feel a greater sense of impending doom,
Knowing how much more I should research and write.

In tough times like these,
I find solace every weekday at 2330h,
Slouching in the couch watching Scrubs.

While Adri found WriteRoom,
The Windows user here found DarkRoom.

Three cheers for Google for the good search.
Hopefully this new tool increases my efficiency.

Eyes are deteriorating,
Thanks to overuse of computer.
Dr Sng told me when we last met up,
That there is a risk,
Of my retina falling off... !!!
And that if I ever see flashes of white light,
To go to the hospital immediately,
By hook or by crook.

Attempt to add a new toy to the blog skin,
Doesn't seem to be successful.
Time to go to bed...

PS:
Ok so I stayed up and fixed it.
Now I hope everyone will stop asking me,
What is the time in where I am.

UN Global Ceasefire & Non-Violence Day.
Wear a poppy.
Or go buy a t-shirt that says,
Canada: Living the American dream
Without the violence since 1867.

The passage of time.

The sunlight seeps into my room,
And I wake up to greet the day,
Have my breakfast,
Sit at my desk to read;
Have lunch,
Do stuff on my laptop;
The sky outside gets darker,
I have my dinner;
Try to do more work,
Get really tired,
Go to bed ... ...
Why is every day the same ?!

I have just noticed today,
My hair has grown back to 'normal' length.
After (only) less than 2 months.
More white hair,
And a suspicious looking patch,
Which seems to have lower hair density.
Oh man, am I balding ?!

I've been questioning my ability,
To stick firmly to my decision to sell out.
How can anyone not give a damn,
When you read about all these people,
Who are struggling with basic living?
Of course people can.
And these are the ones,
Who I will seek for enlightenment.
Any volunteers?

Our Singapore government,
Has responded to IMF & WB 'inputs'.
Singapore really lives up to the reputation,
Of being extremely efficient.

Dear Lucky 22,
Welcome to Singapore!


Courtesy of youngpap.org

Singapore Is Authoritarian?

People were given a 64 sqm space,
Where they can 'gather to express their views'.
I mean, the 'dangerous' people,
Have been banned from entry anyway.
So, the safe ones can all come very closely together,
To give their non-disruptive opinions!
(I wonder how many locals were present.)

Quoted from the article:

"They would do much better for themselves
with a more visionary approach to the process."

"Singapore is a developed country;
it needs a developed perspective on citizens speaking up."

Ah, but wait -
Now they should understand,
Why Singapore had earlier rejected the status,
Of being a 'developed country'!

Every time Singapore appears in a foreign paper,
The title never fails to be intriguing.

Threadless Design Take III.

Everybody Hates Paris.

From Foxtrot



To Banksy



I wonder if it really feels so fantastic,
To have so many people feel immense emotions about oneself.

Been waking up every single day,
To the thoughts of how to structure my thesis,
Even on the day I dreamt about,
N wanting to have kebabs for dinner.
I think my mind is going off-tracks.

I am ageing.
I don't perform with less than 7 hours of daily sleep.

I am balding.
There is a patch with much lesser hair.

I have filled with so much Angst.

The worst part is,
Knowing it mostly comes from having expectations.
All these quarter-life angst,
Is probably to make up for,
All the years of teenage angst I never had.

Why don't people say Hi,
When they see a friend's friend?

Why don't lighting designers,
Feel an obligation to give light,
To those who are living without electricity at night?
Is lighting design only for the rich?

Why why why why why.
So many questions,
So little answers.
[And so little time to find answers.]

"Love is a burning thing."

Reasons why I like Walk The Line :
1. It is about people who write songs from their hearts
2. Great performance from cast
3. From some angles Reese W. somehow reminds me of Nicole C.

I arrived in Sweden,
On the coldest day since I left.
But the warm smiles put me at ease.
My first statement in the house:
"I'm so glad to be back."



Excerpt from the scribble pad -

On Swedish Grounds.

The pre-trip rush and flight hours,
Meant a thesis untouched for days.
It gives a feeling of incompetency & wasted time,
Yet a sweet sensation of escapism.

Hopped on the bus instead of the express train,
To savour the last minutes of what might be
The last arrival for the next few years.

The light and colours of the trees and sky,
Really makes me smile at the land's beauty.
There is just some unpathomable comfort in the space.
I can let the sun shine right onto my face,
Without the annoyance of heat nor glare.
I really like autumn.
And Sweden.

I am sure I will cry when I bid farewell.

Hard disk #2 crashed today,
One day before departure.
Caralho.
I NEED to backup my laptop soon.

Checked out the Biennale at Cityhall.
Donna did pretty cool stuff,
I liked the pieces of acrylic art a lot.
Shall strive to pack tonight,
So I can check out more things tomorrow.

Quick reminder:
People whom one desires to meet,
One will always have time for.
It is all about compromise & effort,
Isn't it so?

Thank you to those who rushed along with me.
You know who you are. :-]

The whole process of this project,
Actually has one result screaming in my face:

SELL OUT !!!

Humanitarian work,charity & social development,
All of those can come,
After joining a big corporate firm,
That will generate a good income.
Afterall, most of these NGOs,
Non-profit or not-for-profit organisation,
Are all working in a corporate manner.
So I might as well go build up my experience,
In management and design skills,
Then contribute to the society later.

People only think about building a legacy,
After attaining a high level of financial stability.
Where did you think all the foundations came from?

I have never felt so at peace,
With wanting to get an establish career,
Until this very moment.
This must be good.

After the explosion in the morning,
I managed to have a calm conversation,
When I finally met the seamstress at her shop.
Ok peace on earth.
I have better things to do anyway.

Karaoke-d with Celine, Ruth and Yan again-
Sang mega songs from 1990s,
From people like Nicky Wu, Grasshoppers,...

Made sure I was home by 9pm,
So I could watch my favourite asian popstars on TV.
Angelica Lee Xin Je must be the only Asian star,
That I have liked for so many many years,
Even though I never bought her albums,
Nor caught her movies at the cinema.

Absolutely lovely.

A stupid shop called Cutting Edge,
Has been pushing me to the edge of tolerance.
I sent my jeans for altering at this shop,
Located on the 4th floor near the lift of Far East Plaza.
I would have gone to my usual Indian tailor,
But the thought of "anyone would be ok",
And the convenient location of the shop,
Means that I fell victim,
To the totally irresponsible shopowner.

I went back to pick up my jeans three times,
And all three times the shop was closed.
If not for the wise decision of picking up her name card,
I would not have been able to contact her at all.

Replies from her,
Those times I rang her on her mobile:
First time: "Sorry I go home liao."
Second time: "I am in hospital, tomorrow.."
Third time: "Come another day..."

And because I am leaving Singapore,
I have no time to waste waiting for my jeans!
Been ringing her the past few days,
And this bitch who promises everytime,
To arrange for the collection of my jeans,
Conveniently forgets who I am each time.
Although she took my number,
She has never bothered to call me to inform me,
On the status of the jeans collection.
She has also started putting the blame on me,
For not collecting my jeans on Day 1.
Please, she closed her shop 2 hours earlier that day!
Plus her shop has also been closed the last 4 days.
How do people do business in this manner?!

Utter bad service.
The sad thing is that CASE only deals with unresolved matters,
And I do hope to resolve this by today.

Stick to your usual trusty merchants, mates.

Impatient and angry.
Losing my temper quicker each day.
It must be due to the pressure,
From the shortage of time,
For thesis and errands in Singapore.

Spent a whole day in school on Thursday,
Before meeting LX late at night,
To check out some live band music at Home.
It turned out to be an empty place,
With only the poor band playing to an club.
Had drinks at SoundBar,
Then back to Home for cheapcheap drinks,
And to meet his Brit-gata,
Who was there with her local friends.
Had some more wine at Insomnia after that.
The price paid was a small hangover on Friday morning.

Spent Friday running around places,
With little done for thesis.
Wrote to Prof. about my thoughts,
And the more I write,
The more uncertain I become.
Crap.

Met LX and Liz again for dinner.
Cheese fondue at an Indian restaurant called Lagnaa.
Turns out to be quite expensive.
But the atmosphere was quite nice.

Met Bin after that to hang out,
For what could be the last time before I go.
Took some funny pictures at Heeren.
Reminds us of the other time,
We spent the whole night taking dumb pictures,
Inside an empty Specialist Centre.

Braindead and tired.
I want to check out the Biennale,
But I have no time. :[