Glimpse into the past

"It feels exceptionally good when you can truly call something your own."

As it turned out, I didn't get my PowerBook from Apple@Orchard. It was rather disappointing to find out yesterday I had to upgrade the RAM to 1Gig by getting another 512Mb - It was a bundled deal if I'd wanted to purchase the PowerBook at an Educational Discount. They were going to charge me another $600+ for that additional RAM, which Desmond already bought at $135 for me. This secondary school friend of mine, Desmond, is a guru of technology; He never fails to amaze me with his vast knowledge in this field. (Des, you should make use of all that knowledge and find a way to make money with it.) Forlorn with disappointment, I went home without the PowerBook.

I was almost prepared to pay for the original price the next day, but Desmond gave me call the with surprising news. I was delighted to know that he could also get it at a discounted price, but his suppliers needed to check if they had the stock - And so they had. Without hesitation, I bolted down with him to, quoting Mr. Brown, "The Temple of Geeks", to fetch my booty.

It is with great appreciation as I write this entry to you, Desmond, for scouring the island for the better deal, accompanying me the whole time, and imparting your knowledge. You've made it easy for me, and I would like to thank you for that. Without your patience and guidance, I would be trapped in the darkness of ignorance. Heh.. you get my drift.. Thanks again dude..

Too Slow

Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes (7.30pm-8.45pm)
Pull-ups: 28
Push-ups: 80
Crunches: 160
Leg-raise: 80
Laps: 8 (2480m) Timing: 13min 25sec

Something is definitely wrong. This is way too slow to even pass. I think I may need to run with someone. Anyone wants to run with me?

Mickey the XVI

And it goes on - Another offspring to the collection. My sister has relinquished the arduous task of naming each and every one of them. I decided to take over - This little one here will be Mickey the XVI. It's about time we imposed some deterrent. Maybe more fodder for having 2 children and below, or constructing not 1, but 2 Integrated Retreats in the south wing and an off-site dwelling with full amenities - That should attract foreign rodents to visit. Perhaps subsequent brood should be subjected to a monthly contribution to the Central Provident Feed - There's always a need to plan for the future.

Speaking of family, I had dinner with both my natural parents today. They've been divorced since I was 9, and here we were gathered today to talk about my future plans. I've decided that I'll be furthering my education at the opportunity offered to me and there was much planning that needed to be done - Hence the gathering. There was a weird wholesome feeling to it. Something which I haven't felt for the last 10+ years of my life. Fortunately they've always been on talking terms, just that the marriage didn't work out. I never took the divorce well as a kid, and I never breathed a word even when I was in Secondary School. Not sure what happened along the way that helped me open up more - Good friends perhaps.

Hurray..! Friday..!

Retro Nite
China Jump
29th April, 6-10pm
Free flow drinks,
food, and retro music
Be there or be square!

There's gonna be a company function coming up - Retro Nite! You've gotta love these functions: free food and free flow of drinks. I'd better not have an early morning appointment the next day; otherwise it'll be hell. I'm definitely going to miss working life, but we all have to move on at one point of our lives.

Moo..!

I think we would have all noticed this by now - The exponential increase in the bovine populace of our tiny nation. This picture sent to me by Weiliang is just hilarious. Kudos to the sick sense of humour! At first I thought we were trying to match Fernleaf's advertisement of "3,000,000 cows in New Zealand, the same number of people we have in Singapore!". Apparently this is ComfortDelGro's new advertising arm, Moove Media. Here are some read ups from Marketing-Interactive and DelGro if anyone's interested.

I found this particularly amusing as it reminded me of my trip to the UK in 2000, where there would be an abundance of critter scattered over the fields. They would hang around, munch all day, and it's just amusing and mindless to observe them. I think schoolmates from my alma mater (St Andrew's Junior College) would recall my fascination with them. For a good laugh, you may also want to take a look Uncylopedia - You have two cows.

Duration: 1 hour (7.00pm-8.00pm)
Pull-ups: 24
Push-ups: 80
Crunches: 160
Leg-raise: 80
Laps: 8 (2480m) Timing: 12min 41sec

Did a little bit of training for the day - I should get my gold. My only concern is the running, which is a little weird - I could have run extra laps. I hate running tracks. Anyhow, the day ended with a little bit of get together with Vincent and his friends. For what its worth.. Moo..! You've gotta love 'em bovines.

Dinner with the Department

I didn't have my camera for the weekend - My cousin borrowed it for his trip. I'm going to try streaming videos this week instead.

Had a bowling competition of 2 games amongst us, followed by dinner at the barbecue/steamboat buffet place at Marina South. I'm abstaining from that place for the next year or something. Two visits in a span of less than a month is too much. The girl in white at the beginning of the video was having her fill at the buffet all alone that evening - Weird and scary. We ended off with a popsicle each while trying to look sexy on video.

Contrast to 20th July 2004, they are definitely a wacky lot.

It's all about the money..

Duration: 1 hour (7.30pm-8.30pm)
Pull-ups: 20
Push-ups: 80
Crunches: 160
Leg-raise: 80
Laps: 8 (2480m)

*struggling* must.. reach.. reasonable.. standard.... heh.. I couldn't be bothered to write it down. Since I'm online most of the time, I thought I'd just keep track of my progress here. Nothing much to boast about, just doing what I need to pass the damn test and get my incentives. Common.. daddy needs a new PowerBook for the trip!

Ahh.. Nicholas..

Yellow seeds.. do you mean kachang? It's a nut snack that we used to buy from the snack shop at De La Salle School. We would end up throwing the remains of the contents at our classmates to get a reaction out of them - It was more fun than actually eating the nuts. We were a bunch of rascals, but what can you expect from a bunch of 7-12 year old kids from an all boys' school?

It's a surprise to see you in here, old friend. Wasn't expecting anyone to google search for me. It was a long shot and I'm glad you bothered trying anyway, thanks. Do you remember Kannangara Don Marcus? His cousin, also a Lasallian, was from my unit. What about another classmate, Damien Lim? These are the couple of contacts that I'm left with from our alma mater.

I thought it might be interesting so I did a little bit of a search of myself on Yahoo. To my surprise, I could find myself on it. More shocking was something that surfaced from my days of IRC. Click here to take a look at it. It's amusing what you can find on the web. Hope to see ya around more nick, and nice going with the band.

Before tri-band..

Callzone?

the world marveled at the breakthrough of mobile telecommunication. During its infancy, the technology was limited to the financially capable, as well as the areas that the network provided. While almost everyone has a mobile communication device now, some even have a few. It has evolved its purpose and serves as fashion apparel over these years. It was rather amusing to chance upon this sign over my weekend; it reminds me of a much simpler time.

Before & After

Me & Me

Since we're at the topic of the past, I had Alex take a picture of me when we were at Genki Sushi last weekend. The picture taken before was 1⅓ years ago.

And again..

Khema & Alex

And so I returned the favour. I meet them almost every week; in fact, I don't remember a weekend I don't see them. I'm not sure where Da Guyz would be if Alex hadn't faithfully organized various outings to bring us together. I know we don't say this enough dude, just want to say a thank you.