my lif3

2005-05-07T11:18:00.000+01:00

ok.. have moved to http://flow.weblogs.us .. please edit your links
http://surf.to/flowin also works ..(only thing is that this link has pop ups.)

2005-05-06T22:44:00.000+01:00

thinking of getting a domain name and a webhost.
its costs 18sgd a year for a domain..and about 4usd a month for a web host..

shouldnt be thinking about this now... urghh.. okay.. 1 more week of studying... second year is over. i hope..

2005-05-06T16:31:00.000+01:00

started re-revising math today.. and realised i forgot everything i learned.. from just 2 weeks..
this is so sad..

2005-05-05T19:33:00.000+01:00

just had my second exam... the questions are not quite what i expected.. urgh.. anyway.. its over.. time to prepare for my next one.

i started a new blog.. @ flowin.blogsome.com .. will blog some tech news.. web stuff there.
flowin.blogsome.com

thefacebook is now avaliable for edinburgh university. quite cool..

my last exam is going to be next thurs.

2005-05-04T21:46:00.000+01:00

this is quite cool..
an interactive map of san francisco.. with google maps and flickr.
http://www.geobloggers.com/index.cfm?lat=37.7851&lon=-122.4299&range=0.05

cs2 exam tomorrow.. lets see what happens.. im not exactly very confident right now..

2005-05-01T17:23:00.000+01:00

beltane fire festival..

I went to the beltane fire festival yesterday. It was at Calton Hill. It was a sort of a celebration of the coming of spring.. There were people in the darth vader like clothing.. all sort of things really.. running around following the procession..

Pictures below..

walking up the hill

2005-05-01T17:02:00.001+01:00

walking up the hill

posing..

2005-05-01T17:02:00.000+01:00

posing..

the opening.

2005-05-01T16:54:00.000+01:00

the opening.

the procession. part 1

2005-05-01T16:50:00.000+01:00

the procession. part 1

the procession. part 2

2005-05-01T16:49:00.001+01:00

the procession. part 2

the procession. part 3

2005-05-01T16:49:00.000+01:00

the procession. part 3

the ball.

2005-05-01T16:48:00.001+01:00

the ball.

lanterns..

2005-05-01T16:48:00.000+01:00

lanterns..

2005-04-27T14:45:00.000+01:00

havent blogged in a while..
just had my exam yesterday.. at adam house..
it was like cold and raining when i had to walk to the exam hall(adam house)..previous days.. it was nice and sunny.. people were studying outside on the grass patches..
the exam was ok.. but i dont want to say too much.. next exam is in a week..

2005-04-19T22:08:00.000+01:00

google maps and google local uk is avaliable..
google local
google uk maps.

Results for Take Away Food near (postcode)
A. Garden Grove Chinese Takeaway
0131 668 3879 44 Dalkeith Rd
Edinburgh, EH16 5BS
0.2 mi SW - Directions

References: thefoodplace.co.uk - 2 more »
B. Mr Ding Chinese Takeaway
0131 667 8870 1 Newington Rd
Edinburgh, EH9 1QR
0.3 mi SW - Directions

C. Pomegranate
0131 662 1557 91 St. Leonards St
Edinburgh, EH8 9QY
0.3 mi W - Directions

My first exam is in exactly a week..
back to the books..

2005-04-17T15:07:00.000+01:00

added a yagoohoohle search box.. after credits..

yagoohoogle.com

2005-04-17T01:48:00.000+01:00

there was free entry to the castle today..
some pics below..

cathedral

2005-04-17T01:47:00.003+01:00

cathedral

the view

2005-04-17T01:47:00.002+01:00

the view

nice view

2005-04-17T01:47:00.001+01:00

nice view
Originally uploaded by flowin.

a room for prisoners

2005-04-17T01:47:00.000+01:00

a room for prisoners
Originally uploaded by flowin.

arriving at the castle

2005-04-17T01:45:00.001+01:00

arriving at the castle

the clock tower

2005-04-17T01:45:00.000+01:00

the clock tower

2005-04-15T02:20:00.000+01:00

added a flickr badge to the side.
uploaded some random photos from the last year to flickr..
sign up and comment..

2005-04-14T23:18:00.000+01:00

Some links for today.
Flickr Browser.
Flickr Related Tag Browser..
http://www.airtightinteractive.com/projects/related_tag_browser/app/
and Flickr Postcard Browser
http://www.airtightinteractive.com/projects/flickr_postcard_browser/app/
Also
Del.icio.us
social bookmarking..
search for tags..
can be addictive.
here is mine.
http://del.icio.us/flowin
some interesting ones include
http://del.icio.us/tag/singapore
http://del.icio.us/tag/edinburgh

Something i found in the forums.
Source: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/t101211.html

A smart way to download music from Google
Type in the format:
Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" mp3

For example:
Google: -inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:"index of" mp3 "pearl jam"

This command will find open directories with mp3 files with Pearl Jam. Change the band name or file type to make your own search~

dinner that night

2005-04-12T13:41:00.000+01:00

dinner that night

Dinner at The Orchid, in Edinburgh

view

2005-04-12T13:40:00.000+01:00

view

top of dundee

2005-04-12T13:39:00.001+01:00

top of dundee

where i ate lunch

2005-04-12T13:39:00.000+01:00

where i ate lunch

The Castle

2005-04-12T13:38:00.001+01:00

St. Andrews Castle

really a castle with almost no walls.

part of the university

2005-04-12T13:38:00.000+01:00

part of the university

The cathedral

2005-04-12T13:37:00.000+01:00

The cathedral

photos uploaded..

2005-04-10T23:57:00.000+01:00

parents leaving tomorrow.
they stayed at the point hotel, near bread street.. they were not used to walking in the cold.. they rented a car on the 2nd day.. they had a discount.. 60pounds for 4 or 5 days..
have been eating good food for the last 5 days,
wed: italian, ti amo.. not bad.. but really quiet.. had only 3 tables when we were there..
thu: cant remember for some strange reason.
fri:chinese/jap, izzi's chinese/jap place.. had teppanyaki, sushi, sashimi and aromatic duck..
sat: indian, shamani, good indian food.. supposed to be the best in scotland.and 5th in the UK..actually hot curry..not that expensive...
sun: seafood, the seafood restaurant at St. Andrews..near the golf course and the sea..nice ambience.. good quality food..
and chinese, @ the orchid.. good quality food.. quite a popular place..really friendly boss.. had prawns that were really quite big..actually recommended by a taxi driver..

Sun..
Day Trip
went to St. Andrews..its about a 1.5h drive. A really small town, with 1 main street, well, maybe 3 main streets. went to the cathedral, the castle and the golf course,
Forgot to bring the camera. so i took pictures with my phone.. will upload when i boot into windows..

On the way out of St. Andrews, saw a sign to Dundee.. about 13 miles away..
Had to cross the Tay Bridge to get there..
Really quite a big town/city(has an airport, which is my guage for a big town).. most of it is on a big hill..
went to the top of the hill.. u can see a panoramic view.. the wind was so strong, i was afraid of dropping my phone..even the car was shaking...
reached edinburgh around 6pm.. not a bad trip for something not planned at all.!

according to the insight guide to scotland, the temp for summer is 7-18 degrees in august..!

Have to really start studying seriously.... about 2 more weeks to my first exam.
hope i can do well..
good luck to anyone having exams soon..

2005-04-06T14:41:00.000+01:00

urghh.. browser crashed..
now i have to type everything again..shall fill up more details..when i feel like it.

recent activities.
new layout: darker version of my previous layout.
lunch at buffet king
margarita party - had pizza,microwaved 2 pizzas that was supposed to be baked in the oven, finished 2 bottles of alcohol and a lot of lime juice between 4 people..forgot to take photos..
i didnt realise my walls were so thin. a normal conversation in my room can be heard very clearly in the corridor and in my opposite neighbours room..

parents coming up today by train from london..

found an interesting website
http://www.sleepinginairports.net
some people have slept
in the ladies toilet in waverly rail station..
in a particular mcdonalds restaurant in hong kong.

the one i find most interesting..
EDINBURGH (Castle), Scotland (Contributed by Jim Freeburg)
"Beneath the Edinburgh Castle there is a park surrounded by a wall about 10 feet high. Three of my friends and I slept against that wall in November of 2001 and it was quite an interesting experience. We would have slept safe and sound had it not been for the fifty mile an hour winds blowing leaves all around us. We were hidden in the shadows and enjoyed it so much we spent a second night there. We could have spent 15 euros or so for a hostel but we spent it on beer instead. Not a bad tradeoff. I'll do it again anytime. " Added 30 Mar 03

2005-03-28T22:45:00.000+01:00

the weather has been freaky recently..
it was nice sunny weather, blue skies..that kind of thing last week..something like 12 degrees
but today and the weekend.. it was cold..and raining and gloomy... about 6 - 7 degrees,

the other stuff

on good friday, went to kings halls for a easter thing.. organised by pccf..to summarise, a performance, singing, games and a video on alpha course.. after that.. a "hangout session" at ching sing's flat.

easter holidays have started. people have gone home or went on holiday.. pollock halls is pretty quiet...however...my floor is quite noisy... tourists mostly..more cleaners around in the morning.. heard people talking at 4 am last night.. theres a trolley with mini kettles and coffee packets near the lift..
food is not provided in easter.. so have been eating sandwiches, instant noodles and snacks mostly..
just bought dinner from dixy chicken...

my parents are coming up next week..hopefully i can eat some nice food then..

2005-03-22T15:40:00.000Z

urgh..
had a fire alarm twice in a day(technically this morning and yesterday).!!..the first one was in the afternoon just before 2, that was relatively quick...and the next one was 4.15 am in the morning... it lasted 45 mins... we had to stand in the cold... freezing.. while the security guard stands inside, laughing..got back to my room around 5.10.. by the time i got to sleep, it was already starting to get bright... every time i want to go and eat breakfast or get up early, there is a fire alarm..

i've been trying to do my laundry since last week. first, the door to the laundry couldnt open..then now..the washing machines are broken.. .. only one washing machine is working..been up and down like 5 times already.

went for lobster dinner at le-on again, been eating chinese food for 3 nights, friday, saturday and sunday.. been spending lots of money this month..

oh yea.. added blogger comments to my blog..try it.

2005-03-20T16:15:00.000Z

new layout..
glasgow trip..
went to glasgow via megabus,(a one hour ride) on fri afternoon. went for the sif event.. met some of the glasgow singaporeans..
sat,
walked around glasgow.. sauchiehall street, argyll street, george street, the barras market, went to the modern art museum, went for a chinese japanese buffet.
reached edinburgh in the evening.. went to the j-pop disco at the pleasance bar..relatively small, not a very lively crowd.. after it ended, went to espionage, crowded place, nice atmostphere...
reached home close to 3.30am..

this academic year is coming to a close, only 4 days of classes left..Then easter break, then exams.
will be going to belgium after my exams, before i fly back to singapore..

2005-03-17T23:57:00.000Z

signed up for this superfriendster thing..
not quite sure what it does..

Join me on Friendster!

2005-03-16T17:07:00.000Z

finally got skype working in linux... simple mistake.. that took a few clicks to fix..
skype id is flowin_

2005-03-11T21:05:00.000Z

Email logo generator - creates logos for your email address, yahoo, hotmail, gmail and more.. prevents spam..
http://www.nhacks.com/email/index.php

signed up for del.icio.us -- social bookmarking.. share your bookmarks/favourites.. comes with tags for sorting.. nice feature - see how many people bookmark the same page as you..
http://del.icio.us/flowin
if you use it, leave a comment for me with the link..

2005-03-09T11:03:00.000Z

Which File Extension are You?

2005-03-06T17:04:00.000Z

my exam timetable is out
well.
its
26 April, Techniques of Management.
5 May, CS2B
12 May Innovation and Enterprise
and Maths
2 exams on the same day, thats what happens when you take a 1st year course in 2nd year..its one after another.. 1 at 9.30am and 1 more at 2.30pm.

leaves me about a month to study(includes easter break).. and about 3 weeks from now to complete all my coursework..2 more labs, 1 cs practical and 2 math handins.

leaves me about 2.5 weeks free after exams to pack my stuff before i leave for the germany trip.. might take up driving then..

flat lease starts on 14 june.. so im probably flying back shortly after that..

considering removing my tag board.. and using just comments..
any objections? click on the comments link.

Testing Flickr

2005-03-06T02:21:00.000Z

Snow while waiting for the bus
Originally uploaded by flowin.

had a flickr account for quite a while now.. but i didnt really use it..
seem quite fast..
might use it for storing my mobile phone camera photos. Also allows comments on the photos..

free account has limits of 10mb/month upload.
but unlimited storage..
view up to the last 100 photos in a photostream..although there are ways to get around these limits..

2005-03-04T21:23:00.000Z

The Commonly Confused Words Test

Inter-Advanced
You scored 6% Beginner, 93% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 61% Expert!
You have a good understanding of intermediate and advanced commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of the intermediate and advanced level questions correct. The puzzling part of your test result is the fact that you only answered 75% or less correct in the beginner section. Fascinating.

The Commonly Confused Words Test
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=14457200288064322170

2005-03-04T18:14:00.000Z

Needed a short break from java.. .. So quick update..
queued up for uni flats on wed. Not only Singaporeans are kiasu...!!
will be staying at west Richmond street..
quite a good location. Near main road. Near supermarkets.. And near the shuttle bus stop..Maybe a 5 minute walk.. Didn't really measure.. Will be surrounded by malaysians and Singapore.. Dunno whether its a good thing or not..
3 weeks more of classes.. 3 weeks break and then exams..And second year is over... Which is really fast... ..Time passes quickly.. Especially when Im busy...

its mothers day this weekend in the UK. But mothers day is celebrated in may in Singapore..

weather seems to be getting better about 2 weeks of occasional snow..

will be watching Chicago next Monday.. 5 pound tickets courtesy of chancellors court ..

2005-03-01T17:36:00.000Z

msn messenger keeps disconnecting every few mins.. arghh..
it has irritated me so much.. now i like icq5...if only it had better history logs.. its a joy to use..
but most people i know r on msn.. its hard to get people to switch...
will be looking at uni flats tomorrow..

met someone online with the same name and same surname..
studying at manchester..
what a coincidence..
also a singaporean.
2 years older than me..

2005-02-28T22:59:00.000Z

i just registered a jabber account..
its another type of im service..also connects to yahoo/msn/icq
i dont know who uses it, but if u r browsing my webpage..
add me
flowin@jabber.org

2005-02-21T21:24:00.000Z

been having headaches.. recently.. i dunno why.. no matter what time i attempt to sleep.. i end up sleeping only at 2am...
sighz..

2005-02-21T16:30:00.000Z

a brief update..
so many birthdays this past week..
tuesday.. weiying's birthday
woke her up at 12. and ended up watching pontianak.. until 3am..
thursday.. shin ee's birthday
ate at her pantry.. chinese takeout and instant noodles..followed by an unexpected fire alarm.. at 12.30am
fri..
flat party at ching sing's place..
lots of food.. and diy karaoke.. i didnt sing..
sat,
late morning to late afternoon..
agm at erika's flat .. basically a chit chat cum briefing session..im the new webmaster..
at night..
tang yuan party at vivien/yuyet's flat.
food.. followed by pictionary..

today
it snowed...
its not fun walking to school in the snow.
so tired... but my last lesson starts in 20 mins.

2005-02-14T16:05:00.000Z

put this here for my reference..
how to transfer email from hotmail to gmail..
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/PermaLink.aspx?guid=7ea31dc8-f412-4c7f-9d22-b76b653305be

happy valentines day to people reading this..
thanks for all the birthday wishes..
the "surprise party" early this morning... at 12am..faizi,ching sing, weiwei, weiying, matt, alvin, rachel,phong teck,shin ee came to my room.. did i miss anyone out.. ? anyway.. had a so called sensitive conversation .. took some videos.. but i dont think i can put it up here..

thats all for now..

2005-02-12T23:36:00.000Z

Chinese dinner last night.. at lee-on somewhere near Bruntsfield.
had lobster, fish, squid, tofu, roast platter, chicken and veg.. food portions were better than the cny dinner at mitzi's on mon.. food quality was also better..
today
spent almost half a day on ToM assignment.. but im no where near completing it..
update: 2.59 am complete..
also have cs2 practical due on Mon , same day that ToM assignment is due.. which is also my birthday and valentines day.. sad life...

received present from the gals.. bj, hl, sl and jas.. thanks for the wallet.. and not sending me some surprise present.. which was the norm last year..and that was not sarcasm

installed icq 5, which has push to talk.. but sadly.. no one really uses icq anymore.. so i cant test that feature...

The Sims 2 : University
the sims 2 expansion pack is coming out on 1st March 2005...

The latest thing on the web seems to be online address books. Plaxo, Bebo, and Ringo.. I like Plaxo the best, so far.. Synchronising with Outlook, which syncs with my phone.. Plaxo also creates calendar entries for events and birthdays and stuff.. Easier to keep track of things. But Plaxo only syncs with outlook and not evolution.. so i havent managed to fully convert into using a linux desktop..

should i change my msn account to the gmail one..? dont really like the hotmail interface anymore.. its just not as good as gmail.. gmail has keyboard shortcuts.. nice, simple plain interface..and 1 gb of storage..have been using it quite a while now.. possibly 7 months or more..found a nice feature.. when theres more than 1 file attached to an email.. you can download all attachments. and it comes in a zip file.. i havent seen this feature anywhere else..

still drooling over apple products.. the ibook and the powerbook..i still like my ibm .. but i feel like being a rebel..

people on resnet should download myTunes Redux. cool program to share music over local networks/your houses.

2005-02-07T22:42:00.000Z

events of the week
received dhl package..
had multi-cooker..clothes..and some misc stuff.
received cny goodies..from
bak kwa..and abalone..and milo..
busy weekend..
fri night..
movie with kritika..and jennifer... went to watch team america world police..funny show..but on the political side.. very graphic.. i wouldnt call it a PG movie..
sat.
went to see the gondoliers..good show..quite enjoyable..student production.. saw a lot of senior citizens in the audience to my surprise.. it was at the church hill theatre.. in morningside..the other side of the meadows... quite a long walk...
went clubbing at night.. to establishment.. pretty good music.. comfortable seating.. a bit smoky though..
today
chinese new year reunion dinner at mitzi's organised by singsoc and emsa..
the food was ok ..not exceptional..they placed oranges on the table before we ate... and the dessert was also oranges... anyway.. was good fun..
tomorrow is chinese new year eve.. life goes on as normal ... my first cny away from home..

2005-01-30T16:07:00.000Z

new template up.
a change from the dark stuff i had before..
changed my tagboard.. dunno why chatterbox wasnt working..

felt sick since fri.. slight cold and sore throat... better now.. but still havent completely recovered..
checked on the dhl package..
January 28, 2005 03:58 East Midlands - UK Clearance processing complete at East Midlands - UK
January 28, 2005 03:59 East Midlands - UK Departed from DHL facility in East Midlands - UK
January 28, 2005 05:54 Edinburgh - UK Arrived at DHL facility in Edinburgh - UK
January 28, 2005 07:01 Edinburgh - UK Arrived at DHL facility
January 28, 2005 11:00 Edinburgh - UK With delivery courier
January 28, 2005 15:01 East Midlands - UK
have no idea wats going on now..

going to watch the gondeliers next sat..
chinese new year is coming in 2 weeks..

2005-01-27T18:06:00.000Z

got woken by a call.. from this lady at dhl... asked to fill up some form so i could get my parcel..
not a pleasant thing to wake up to..especially on a day i can sleep in..
handed in application form for exchange program.. dunno whether i will be successful.. wont talk too much about it.. unless i get in..
bought instant noodles.. its quite hard to cook it in a travel pot though..
water pipe broke on tues.... had crap dinner that day..sandwiches and a chocolate bar..
a test to see how cold my room is..a melted chocolate bar i put in my jacket pocket... after being placed near the window..for 30 mins.. and completely cold and ready to eat....

bought a couple of things from ebay
sony mdr-ex71-sl headphones. white in-ear headphones.. really nice.. but the cord feels really soft and fragile..
card reader for my memory cards.. cf and mmc.
textbook.. accounting for non-accounting students.. the thought of having to read this bores me.. its kinda thick..

booked tickets to germany trip in the summer...

been looking at nedstat.. and i find the sites that link to me strange.. looked at the sites.. and i dont see any link to my blog at all...
podcasts - interesting stuff..download iPodder from http://www.ipodder.org/ .. its basically a audio weblog/radio show.. i listen to currently.. MacCast, The Daily Source Code and The Dawn and Drew Show... and its free..and u dont need an iPod to listen to it..

urghh.. got math handin due tomorrow... ..hard to do when u cant even read ur lecturers handwriting properly..

2005-01-20T15:42:00.000Z

some pics taken with a 6630
my messy chair
arthurs seat
view from balcony
food collection
scottish microelectronic centre
view from the bus
people at the bus stop
i now use imageshack for image hosting.. fast..free.. no registration needed..

2005-01-18T22:26:00.000Z

just got my phone today...
nokia 6630 from the vodafone shop..
came with a video stand... but a smaller memory card...
pix later..

2005-01-18T10:37:00.000Z

pix from my balcony..taken after breakfast.

2005-01-17T22:08:00.000Z

theres snow in edinburgh..
it snowed for a little while in the afternoon.. but it took a while to accumulate until u could see it on the ground..

too late to take any pictures.. hope theres more snow tomorrow.. but then again.. it will be harder to walk to school..

got 250mb hotmail account.. almost instantly.. unlike the instructions below..

how to get 250mb hotmail for non us accounts
http://forums.bizhat.com/post-14330.html

2005-01-16T17:40:00.000Z

this week just flew past me..
have 16 hours of lessons a week this semester..
exam results out next week or tmr maybe....

Interesting Events
ToM practical was in the scottish agriculture lab.. really old PCs running windows NT and office 1997... ! quite boring.. doing stuff i learn when i was 13.. formatting cells.. drag and drop formulas.. blabla..
Math
Turning out a little better than i expected.. got a better lecturer for probability.. still got 2 handins to do...
Innovation & Enterprise (IESE)
interesting first lecture.. features !=benefits... btw... != means not..

2005-01-10T14:56:00.000Z

ibook purchased for my mother.. looks great... it was an old model going for cheap.. so user friendly..almost idiot proof.. installing applications is just drag and drop... auto config of hardware.. no driver installation needed for the printer... my next notebook i get should be a mac...
met my cousin from australia the night i flew back to edinburgh.. she came to sg for a holiday with her bf.. after graduating from uni.
the flight home
was ok..
food wasnt that great... not much choice by the time it came to me.. had cod for supper.. no choice for breakfast.. just fruits and bread..
had to take cityjet to edinburgh.. quite troublesome.. had to take a bus to another terminal. and then take a bus to the plane.. small plane.. serving breakfast again.. almost the same .. except it was 2 pastries..slept through most of the flight..
reached my room early morning on sat..managed to unpack and laze abt.. went for lunch.. but slept through dinner...
sun..
woke up at 6am...
had a boring day.. slept at 9pm...
first day of spring semester
techniques of management.. interesting title.. excel practicals...hope it doesnt take up too much time...have an assignment due on my bday...
computer science 2b
boring starting strand... algorithms and data structures
have an essay on p2p...
math
2 topics are probablity and geometry
my lecturer has the ability to make something simple sound complicated...
innovation and enterprise .. later in 2 hours

chatted with my old classmate from the uk.. havent talked to her in 10 yrs... shes finishing uni this year....

2005-01-04T07:54:00.000Z

my first post for this year..
a brief recap of my trip back home.
it felt like i never left...it was also a quest for food...
reached singapore on the 17 Dec Evening..
bummed around for a few days.. before meeting up with people..
bought dvd writer..
christmas eve.. at goldhill.. the usual family gathering at the end of the year..
christmas day.. my house.. another side of the family..
new years eve.. my house.. friends came over... bj,sl,hl,jl,wx,zz ..small bbq..
new years day.. dinner at kuriya dining.. fusion jap food at great world.. dessert ..durian chee cheong fun at killiney.
2nd jan.. family lunch gathering at my house.. fathers side plus fathers friends...
3rd jan.. bought iPod skin.. cable sleeving..and stationery

food i have eaten so far...
char kway teow..
durian chee cheong fun
prata
hokkien mee
laksa
otah
satay
beef kway teow
yong tau foo
instant noodle
clay pot rice
sharks fin
abalone
hmm.. it doesnt seem like that much..
going to test instant porridge maker now...

2004-12-11T19:56:00.000Z

thursday 9 dec 2004.
day of math exam.. aka doomsday for me
obviously you can tell it didnt go very well for me.. at least its over.. unless i get a resit.. highly possible by the way.. i was kinda relieved when the examiner said ..the exam is over..

the exam script has a right hand corner where u write ur name and matriculation no.. and u fold the corner down and secure with a sticker.. for anoynomous marking..
no seating plan..
you have to walk around the exam hall... looking for your seat... kind of dumb...
one of the longest papers i have taken..
2.5 hours..

friday 10 dec 2004
pq came by with a chocolate cake.. opened christmas crackers.. and watched the cube... this low budget.. the cube - movie with people trapped in a cube,.. trying to get out..the computer gfx were quite gd actually.. considering that it was an old movie...

today
nothing much happened..
studying for coming cs exam... seems ok.. havent looked at the past papers yet though... hope it goes well..

this time next week.. i will be home... its ironic.. that when i was in singapore.. all i wanted to do was come here... edinburgh.. and now... i cant wait to go back....

2004-12-04T15:22:00.000Z

new layout !
testing comments...

2004-12-03T13:16:00.000Z

exams coming up in a week.. so short update

went to london on tues and wed for the technology chances program- basically how technology is used in the bank.. met some graduates and students working there.. was quite fun..
met aunt fleur, alex(god-bro) for dinner.. had singaporean/malaysia food..chicken rice..char kway teow.. and chicken curry...

i hope i can cram all the last few months of work in my brain.....linear algebra....and discrete math... havent done the cs yet.....

last exam is on the 15th
i fly back on the 16th..2 weeks from now..

2004-11-23T19:57:00.000Z

strange weather patterns here in edinburgh
over the last week it was cold.. very cold.. like between -2 to 4 .. was thinking of getting a thicker jacket...
and now .. suddenly the weather is warm... for winter.. 8 to 11 deg.. its weird..

finally saw my neighbour.. in the opp room.. in the pantry.. and then when the fire alarm went off. at 2 pm .. today.. at least people dont set off fire alarms in the middle of the night.. or morning.. touch wood..

exams are coming... soon... and there are so many things i have to do.. chances event in london.. as well as xmas light up ceremony.. and other stuff as well..

2004-11-18T22:19:00.000Z

hmm
got into this technology chances thing.. women in the city http://www.chancesevents.com/tech_main.asp
good stuff
get to go to london and visit the banks
sounds interesting
everythings is paid for.
bad thing
probably have to buy clothes.. a business jacket and trousers... which i totally never expected i would need...

eyeing the new nokia 3g phone.

2004-11-15T21:38:00.000Z

been lazy to update..
recent events
bought tv licence
bought ticket to london..
guy fawkes day
fireworks all over the city.. climbed arthurs seat at night to watch.. took some photos.. but its not good enough to be posted up.. watched nightmare before christmas..
went for international students reception.. scottish bagpipes and a short address by the chancellor.. was expecting food.. but there was only chips, wine and orange juice. went for pizza at oscars ..
singsoc food fair was on sat... was quite fun.. but tiring. had chicken rice.. nasi lemak..roti john..sushi.. dim sum.. and more.. havent really had spicy food for 2 months..
rbs account finally open today.. supposed to get my card in a week..
term is ending soon..theres so much stuff to do before exams.. so much background reading.. and i have to actually understand my notes.. 2 more practicals.. . !!

technical stuff
have been using ubuntu linux.. quite fun and easy to configure.. if anyone reading is bored.. u can try installing it .. http://www.ubuntulinux.org
looks something like this now..

firefox 1.0 is released..get it..!

dates
Exams - 8,9,15 Dec
Fly Back - 16 Dec

2004-11-12T14:50:00.000Z

Some interesting links

google blog
http://www.google.com/googleblog/
google cheat sheet
http://www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html
Google Zeitgeist - Search patterns, trends, and surprises according to Google
http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

2004-11-12T13:57:00.000Z

hmm
accidently deleted the last post twice..
giving up for now...

will edit this post later......

2004-10-27T13:45:00.000+01:00

im back!!
belfast trip
sat 23 october
woke up at 4am in the morning.. to walk to waverly station to take a bus to the airport. arrived at the airport around 6. had buns,cream cheese and snacks for breakfast.
slept on the plane to belfast.. arrived around 8 plus in the morning. took a bus from hte airport to the bus station and walked from there to arnies backpackers.went to the farmers market. and had pie and quiche for lunch.walked around the city center.. had a tour of city hall..coffee at clements cafe..had a mini pub crawl..the parlour.. annes bar or something.. cant remember the name wetherspoons..
sun 24 october
went to see the belfast castle..walk around the country park..went back just in time to watch a football match.. man u vs arsenal..had dinner at wetherspoons.. went clubbing at bambu beach club at odyssey...
mon 25 october
went to giant's causeway
took a train to colerain. then a bus to giants causeway.. it was freezing.. and raining.. really nice views.. had sandwiches on the bus..was back in belfast around 8 .. saw st annes cathedral.. then headed to john hewiit bar.. it was singer/song writer nite. but we left before anyone took the stage....
went to wetherspoons again.. had some chips.. before we went back to arnie's..
tuesday 26 october
walked around queens university.. quite a nice compact campus.. the botanic gardens.. which had tropical plants in the greenhouse.. the ulster museum... headed back to arnies to check out. had lunch at wetherspoons.. then watched a play . the life of pi... didnt really get it.. but the lighting effects were good.. and the play was free!!
had hot chocolate at clements..after that.. then walked to the bus station to the airport..
headed back to edinburgh around 11 plus..reached my room around 12.30.. real tired..

2004-10-18T13:00:00.000+01:00

last week
recovering from cold..had to walk to the doctor about 20 mins walk.. had the freshers flu..apparently happens to 90% of freshers.. due to new weather conditions and all that..
bank account opened .. bank of scotland.. not royal bank of scotland.. that wanted my passport twice.. and now they want to see the visa page.. but im to lazy to walk down there.
handed in checks and forms for the debits and all that..they take a long time to clear a cheque.. i think its about 5 working days.. compared to sg.. a day maybe.. got bank of scotland debit card..
went to the pollock christian fellowship welcome dinner.. im not really a christian.. just went for fun i guess. and for once there was enough food for people.
im going to ireland during the mid semester break.. belfast.. for 4 days from 23 to 26

2004-10-03T18:38:00.000+01:00

hmm.. this week was kind of a blur.. lots of work..math that i couldnt understand..
broke record of using 1 stack of a4 paper in 2 weeks.. have to learn prolog very quickly..(another programming lang.)
went for the potluck on sat.. at andrew's flat. was quite crowded. lots of people.. met some other freshers.. kiru and victor.. after that went to a pub..drank a bit..then went to potterow for big cheese night.. (cool stuff+nice music == FUN) went home at about 3 plus..

2004-09-25T18:57:00.000+01:00

fri 18th sept
went for the historic tour..of edinburgh.. a walking tour.. they took us to greyfrair's kirk, the royal mille, the castle, grassmarket and the holyrood palace.. since it was a free tour.. we didnt go into any of the places.. we just stood outside.... and heard the guy talk and talk..
sat 19th sept
parents came by and picked me..went for a looong drive.. went to stirling.. another large town. had lunch there.. and went to the shopping center.. i think it was called thistles.. after that drove towards loch lomond.. it was a very nice view and all.. but .. i forgot to bring my camera.. we only drove to the tip of it.. didnt really have time to see all of it.. then went back to glasgow .. for the night.. the next morning..
woke up late. and did some last min shopping.. boots and jjb sports..
went back for dinner.. with matt,pq and weiying.. then they came over to watch tv..
tues.. 21 sept
the first day of school.. started at 12pm.. my parents came by and dropped me there..
the math lecture was like a half hour.. since the lecturer was supposed to be in an accident. and we just registered.. then went to cameron toll to buy groceries.. and had lunch near george square.. went to the bank.. they havent opened my acc yet...!!
then had another lecture on AI.. just an intro though.. nothing too serious..
had dinner with parents at a thai restaurant on nicholson street.. dont remember the name though.. it was not bad.. the curry was quite spicy..
thursday
went for the food fair .. held by the chinese students association.. there were a lot of peeps.. and not enough food to go round..
fri
went to pq's place.. to play cards and see her place.. so that she didnt have to walk back late at night.. we had cake and profiteroles.. and we had a bottle of wine.. we couldnt open .. no corkscrew.. the seniors came by for a while.. then played cards.. walked weiying back home.. didnt reliase she lived so far..
sat and sun.
woke up late.. and spent almost the whole day doing java programming....... and its only the first week of sch........!!

2004-09-16T18:03:00.000+01:00

just got an internet connection in my room..its quite boring without internet...for a week..
7th sept
.dad drove me to the airport..and.. drove home.. to take a cab.. a mag came to drive my mom.. so.. 3 people living in the same house.. taking the same flight.. going to the airport in three separate vehicles..
met wx,cs,jl,hl,bj and sl at the airport around 9pm.. talked for a while.. then took some photos.. when i was about to leave... sl...cried...the rest were smiled..and hugged..nice flight... slept almost all the way.. watched 3/4 of a movie..
arrived london in the morning around 5.30am.. was told to do a chest x ray at immigration.. other than that.. the rest went smoothly.. uncle paul came to pick us from the airport... arrived at the hotel.. after a short rest.. drove to bichester.. which is a shopping village ..about an hour's drive out of london..didnt buy much there.. cant really remember what i bought now..
the next day..
went to selfridges... arrived at the door... and i was surprised to see people standing outside.. waiting to go in.. anyway.. felt kinda tired.. didnt really have the mood to look at things.. then went back to the hotel.. to rest and watch tv..
at night.. at dinner at uncle paul's place.. his bachelor pad.. i suppose u can call it that.. and had chinese food bought from all over london. lobster noodles..some pork thing.. chicken curry.. duck.. and some other stuff...
the next morning.. drove to the stanstead airport.. about an hour's drive from london.. had a plane delay.. the plane wasnt even there when we reached the boarding area..and the announcer was announcing 30 mins delay.. at a time.. so that passengers dont get fed up.... the plane is not cleaned after the previous passengers left.. so..ther is less delay..
the plane was quite small..no seat numbers.. so basically u sat wherever u wanted.
short flight.. just over an hour.. reached the glasgow airport.. it was soooo small... it only had 3 belts.. and only 1 was open ..for 4 planes...
anyway.. drove to the service apartment.. without much trouble..
the next morning.. drove to edinburgh.. even though 1 hour is supposed to be short.. by uk standards... it was still quite boring.. nothing but trees and hills...

sat was moving in day.. so there were a lot of cars.. got my matric card from the reception.. and headed off to find my room.. and it took a long time.. cos some of the blocks are not connected.. and mine was in a separate block..after running around for a while..found my room.. and i was surprised... it was nice.. big long desk..tv.. toilet... so started unpacking.. and went for dinner at the dining hall.. john mcintyre centre(jmc) ..after that.. went for a pub crawl.. just for fun.. it was ok i guess. . but i was the only asian there i think.. and the three questions asked are :
where are you from?
where are you staying ? which floor?
what are you studying ?

the drinks here are cheap.. about 2.50 for a cocktail.. or a mixed drink.. about 90p for a soft drink.. but it was so crowded.. and i felt like a hobbit/dwarf for a while..met a lot of people doing arty stuff..like history.. french.. and so on..
walked home after that..
on sun..
woke up early...
went to international day.. lots of people there.. heard some nice introductions about scotland.. the culture..things to do.. eat haggis..black pudding.. some slang..
yes is aye.. and didnt is dinnae.. and so one.. cant remember all of it.. met lots of chinese there.. 2 from hk.. 2 from china.. 2 from japan.. and 2 from france..and 1 from germany..
after all the talks and all that.. they had free coffee, tea and biscuits..
went for a free city tour.. a bus tour.... but we had to walk like 20 mins to the place.. to take the bus.. really breezy and cold... and i didnt bring my camera..
walked home.. i think it was about 30 to 40 mins.. washed up..and had dinner.. met.. matthew at jmc..coincidentally.. and weiwei as well.. 2 other fellow singaporeans..
matthew came over to see my room.. ..and after i went to see his room.. it was about half the size....
the fire alarm went off at 3am in the morning.. didnt know what to do.. so just went off to sleep..
went to register for the resnet internet thing in the morning.. with matt and weiwei.. her parents drove us to the library.. about 20 mins walk away.. registered with the health service after that.. and then walked around george square..
walked back to my room and saw my parents lurking.. outside my block.. so we drive to kings buildings.. the science/eng campus.. about 30-40 mins walk away.. went to use the labs there..nicer than the library.. had lcd screens.. about 15 inch..then passed this shopping centre called cameron toll.. had wh smith and boots.. bought some stationery and files.. headed to home base.. a diy home and garden store.. bought a laundry basket..and a plastic box..
headed back to my room ...
tues
went for the school introductory meeting at JCMB... some building far far away.. i walked a third , took bus for another third and walked the rest.. took a while to find the place.. even with a map.. after that went to the computer labs.. for a hour..then went to the academic fair..and all the subjects there .. were.. very arty.. like far east asian civilization.. history..psychology, and more.. i cant take most of the science subjects.. cos i dont have the a levels...
wed
reformatted my comp.. deleted some stuff i shouldnt have.. spent the whole night installing drivers.. now i dont have office on my comp.........!!! met parents.. for lunch... and had dinner with them as well.. drove around a bit.. went to this chinese buffet place.. that had a malaysian waitress.. she talked hokkien to my parents.. that i couldnt really understand.. she said there are some students that work part time there.. had dinner at some italian place..near princes street.. food was ok... not paticularly spectacular..
thurs..
woke up late... missed breakfast.. headed down to the societies fair and met PQ there.. went to the SingSOC booth.. then went to the sports fair.. signed up for the tennis mailiing list.. went for lunch with my parents.. and a short drive around ..went back to my room.. then had dinner with matt and pq.. and shaun.. before going to the freshers ceilidh.. its a scottish dance thing.. met another girl weiying.. there as well.. the dances were quite fun.. but exhausting.. went back around 11 plus...

2004-09-07T10:28:00.000+01:00

ive been quite busy these few days.. no mood to sit down and blog..

the last few weekends were packed.. dinner on the 28th.. was fun.. at shaw house.. pasta fresca. had that had ice cream buffet at yuki yaki.. cineleisure.. more details on bj's blog.. had my last tennis group lesson..
on the 3rd.. aunt winnie came over.. cooked.. and taught her computer stuff..
on the 4th.. the gals. came to my house.. i cooked.. prawns..chicken..pork..and the rest was cooked by my maid.. sotong and soup..
after dinner.. sat around and watched tv.. played uno stacko..donkey.. and career... after that .. decided to go to east coast to eat at mcdonalds.. at abt 1 am.. after jas drove there..we sat down.. and ate 1 packet of fries.. before deciding to eat sandwiches.. at 7-11.. hhaa near my house.. drove back.. bought some snacks..pizza..sandwiches.. and pasta.. after eating.. started to play donkey.. and i was really unlucky.. or sway..... i lost like 7 times.. maybe more... and had to drink .. . this is about 5 am..got quite drowsy.. reached my room.. lay down for a while.. before vomitting 3 times... the rest.. of the night .. i dont remember.. bj went home around 6.am..
the next morning.. around 8.. woke up.. watched some tennis.. read the newspaper.. while waiting for them to wake up.. until 11..
we
nt to the room..sat ther for a while.. hl went off at about 12... after transferring her files.. then jas and sl.. woke up around 12 plus.. close to 1.. then
had lunch at the yong tau foo stall.. then they went home..

then had complimentary tea at raffles hotel.. at abt 5pm..then went to orchard for a while.. then went to the club for dinner with the family..

after i got back from dinner.. started to repack.. took out a lot of stuff.. and started to pack in the books.. and gadgets.. i have almost 2 weeks worth of clothing..

on mon.. continued to pack.. packed the laptop.. batteries.. camera.. bought tooth brushes.. photocopied certs and documents..

did my hair just now.. sat ther for 2 hours.. cut and color.. had a late lunch and am waiting to go the airport now... wont blog for a while.. i dont know when i can get an internet connection

2004-08-26T17:55:00.000+01:00

played tennis on sunday..watched the bronze medal table tennis match.. then had dinner with godfamily as a farewell kind of thing. buffet at the club.. was ok ..i guess.. the usual.. then had satay outside.. with the cousins.. gerald..wenz..and leanne.. before going to the arcade.. glenn and lisa... were super lame... that day.. dunno why..
i feel old nowadays.. being described as early 20s.. is weird.. and depressing.. early 20s gives me the impression that i should be working.. or something like that.. seeing people a lot younger than you.. doing things that i wouldnt do nowadays..

wed.
met bj and sl.. for lunch.. kfc.. again.. where else.. at taka.. walked around a bit.. then headed to liat towers.. to see whether nurul is ther.. and she was.. had some drinks.. and talked.. as usual.. then walked to isetan.. shaw house.. hl.. called.. and we walked back to taka for dinner.. had dinner at the crowded food court. then headed outside..to sit.. felt tired early.. must have eaten too much.. went back shortly..

thurs
went to bj's house.. cos she felt "like cooking a feast"..this is an exact quote.. reached jurong east.. around 12.30 .waited for sl.. then walked to bj's house..when we reached her place.. she had already cooked most of the food.. and it was the first time.. i seen scrambled eggs.. fried with chili sauce.. had nuggets, fish, veggi and soup.
hanged around the house.. edited sl's resume.. watched tv.. looked at photos.. and year books.. ..then bj gave some of her clothes to sl.. after eating dinner early..
we left her house.. and walked around jurong east central.. and went to jec.. sat at macdonalds.. for a while.. had the ice cream .. before taking the train back.. with sl.. for half the way.. talking about jobs.. and stuff.. wont say too much here..

2004-08-21T06:27:00.000+01:00

havent blogged in a while..
last friday
went to see dim sum dollies.. i expected some play about a restaurant.. hahaa.. turned out to be singaporean stand up comedy/musical.. about all aspects of singapore life.. from maids..complete with philipino accents.. to the parking lady... sia girls..to the recent handover..convent girls.. mgs, chij, rgs and scgs..one quote.. you convent girls are so havoc.. . after that.. went to newton for supper..
sat..
had
a family gathering at my house.. normal buffet food.. quite boring.. met most of my family.. collected quite a bit of presents/ang pows.... got tired of saying sept 7.... so i started saying the second tues.of sept.. when actually its the first..
a lot of people told me.. to control my diet.. otherwise.. u know what..will happen..
samantha, my cousin from australia came to singapore enroute to london ..
on sun..
went to the botanic gardens.. walked in the orchid garden.. half way thru.. it rained.. we had to run all the way out.
headed to orchard.. wisma.. apparently.. there is no topshop in australia.. so sam.. kind of went crazy.. over it.she has beeen to all the outlets.. by now... walked around.. then went for dinner at raffles city.... inagiku... then
managed to catch the fireworks.. by going to the new asia bar.. just before we were going up the stairs.. i heard some sounds.. turned around.. and ther was the fireworks.. stood ther and watched.. very nice.. longer than the ndp one.. then
went up the bar.. and realised that there was better view up there......... ....
had a drink..
then drove around mohammed sultan rd.. it was like a ghost town.. quiet.. very empty.. given that it was sun .. and it was 9pm..
mon... graduation day
woke up late.. around 6.30.. changed.. and mom put makeup.. reached sch around 7.45 i think.. there was a traffic jam.. sat at canteen 2 for a while.. then walked to the convention center. went to the lt for the briefing.. collected the tag and walked to the back .. to talk .. since there was no one i knew where i was sitting..
the system was quite disorganized ..some people who had responded online did not get their tags.. so there was this whole group of people standing behind.. with no seat..
then
the whole group was instructed to go down the stairs.. to sit inside the convention center.. it was a long staircase.. and we were instructed to walk faster........ ahhh.. in heels... sat down.. quite a boring speech.. the thing i couldnt stand was the speakers moving their head up and down quickly.. its kinda distracting.. the cermony was ok .. just that i was required to walk down the stairs.. and come up again .. to get to the stage.. and walk down again...to get the actual diploma and transcript.. on stage.. i just get an empty scroll..
after that.. collected the ece mag refund.. that i paid for earlier.. turns out that its free.
after the ceremony.
went with my parents to the car.. to change my shoes.. and put my things down.. went back the convention center.. to take some photos.. after that
headed to ps.. swensons.. for lunch .. had fish and chips.. most of us had fish and chips..the rest had baked rice or something.. des had an appointment.. so he left quite quickly..
after lunch ..
jas and kok wee left..
the rest of us.. went to watch a movie.. we were standing outside the queue.. and had a hard time deciding what movie to watch.. from catwoman.. to collateral.. to finally the twins effect 2..
had some time before the movie.. so went to play arcade.., looked so weird.. a bunch of people in formal wear...
after the movie.. bj left to have dinner with her parents,..
went to kfc.. for dinner.. then wanted to go bowling.. walked to cineleisure.. then found out that it was closed.. then walked back.. went to cuppage... to play pool..... which im totally crap at.. anyway.. went home at about 10 something.. overslept on the bus.. so reached home around 11 plus.. close to 12..

tues...
sam arrived early ..at my house.. around 10 plus.. left the house around 11 something .. to go to sim lim sq.. to buy her digicam.. she settled on a olympus..mju410.. i think .. its the sg idol one.. 580 with 128mb xd card... w/o gst..
interesting thing
when there is a gst refund.. you would expect to get back the full gst amount right.. but no.. ther is a pre calcualated rate.. if u spend about 500 plus.. u would get back about 20 bucks....
she also bought a discman... from sony..and the gst refund was $2... ahhaa
then went to orchard.. taka.. walked around ..until we were quite tired.. then went to my grandma's place for dinner.. i havent been ther by bus before... so got a bit lost.. finally reached.. had dinner then had dessert at secret recipe.. chocolate banana cake and yam cake.. ...

the next day.. didnt do much ..

fri.. went out with sl.. and bj..the purpose.. to eat kfc.. amidst the bird flu thing.. now.. u dont need coupons. they stick the coupons there. and u can just point... then walked around suntec.. then went to funan center.. to buy sl's ink.. the sales guy was following her all around the shop..
finally left.
then went to food junction .. for a drink.. then went home...

this morning..
went for breakfast early with the parents.. at 8.30 in the morning. had carrot cake..came back.. they wanted to see wat i packed.. they were shocked that i packed so much
1 comment was .. u really dont want to wash your clothes.. i said the purpose of u coming.. is to carry my things for me...... hahahaahahahaha

i have 16 days before i leave singapore..
its 2 weeks plus 2 days..
time flies so fast..

2004-08-10T16:37:00.000+01:00

im back...
i went to hong kong for the national day weekend.. took valuair.. the flight wasnt as bad as it was rumoured to be.. the seats were actually bigger than sia economy.. on the flight ther.. the food served was chee cheong fun.. a muffin and water.. very small plane.. from the front.u can see the back of the plane... u can see the captain coming out to make the announcement.. very casual uniforms.. a polo shirt and pants... the stewardess sang a song .. when the plane landed in hk.. but the flight back was very normal...

stayed at marco polo hk... which was near harbour city.. its a series of interconnected malls.. with a lot of shops.. and some offices..
went to golden center.. to buy some cds... they have a very elaborate purchasing process.. a central cashier..and a separate collection point..
had dinner at chuk yuen.. for the cheese lobster.. we went to the one near wan chai.. then found out.. they had two other branches.. 1 of which.. was nearer the hotel..
then
took the ferry .. to the other side.. there was a light show.. near the museum of art.
the next day..
breakfast at cafe de coral..
its a very big breakfast..
eg a bun, fried noodles.. a bowl of macoroni and a iced tea... for sgd 5
lunch at yung kei.. roast goose... then tea.. at hyatt... dinner at hongkong old restaurant..
sun
lunch at yung kei .. again.. followed by walking around.. harbour city..bought some stuff.
dinner at a small shop.. had pork porridge.. and zha leong... you tiao wrapped in chee cheong fun..
it was a very rushed trip.. ate most of the time..
in total.. bought.. some cds.. 2 jackets.. a t-shirt.. a cd holder.. and a book..

2004-08-05T18:22:00.000+01:00

Your True Nature by llScorpiusll
Username
The quality that most appeals to you:	Loyalty
In a survival situation, you:	Run like hell
Your hidden talent is:	Courage
Your gift is:	Irresistible attractiveness
In groups, you:	Get the party started
Your best quality is:	Your industriousness
Your weakness is:	Your laziness

Quiz created with MemeGen!

i find this so true....

2004-08-03T15:16:00.000+01:00

sun
.met bj, and her 2 frens..von and lin...at city hall.. walked to suntec.. then walked back to marina square..2nd floor to watch the fireworks...it wasnt the right place to see.. cos.. ther was trees blocking.. but still viewable.. pics didnt turn out well... not worth posting and editing... went home around 9 plus or 10..
stayed up late to watch the tennis finals live at 2am.. federer vs roddick.. roddick lost.. quite preditable.. 7-5, 6-3 ..short match..but good quality....roddick is getting better ..closer to federer's standard but not quite ther yet..fyi..now he's world number 2 .... match ended about 4am...
monday
woke up late.. around 1pm.went to collect my passport from the uk visa place at tanjong pagar..reached there around 2pm.. was told that passport collection is only between 4-5pm...so went down to funan center.. to walk around for a while.. saw a lot of things i wanted to buy.. dvd external burner.. at $458... and a ipod waist pouch.. at $68..saw a few printers.. the canon xnu cant remember the model num.. at abt $120.. and the hp photosmart.. for printing 4R photos ..very small.. cute.. .. then went to eat at taco bell. .chicken quesadilla .. then went back to tanjong pagar to collect the passport.. i found out,..that the entry clearance page didnt have any photo on it.. should have given them a lousy photo and keep the better one for something else ....came home.. my grandfather taught me how to debone chicken wings.. its quite fun.. but time consuming..patience required...

tues
woke up... lazed around the house for about an hour.. started to debone chicken wing.. it took me about 40 mins to do the first one and 20 mins for the third one.... then
finally received accomodation offer..
first choice
chancellors court.. the newest complex .. completed late last year..
comes with tv, bathroom/toilet.. haha ... no shared bathrooms for me... and catered food... encourages me to wake up early to eat.. ..non smoking.. and personal insurance..everything i asked for....its quite expensive..revised charges came up to 140 pounds a week.. compared to estimated 100 pounds a week..interesting thing.. no personal irons, kettles, heaters..and no sticking things to walls via bluetack or scotch tape....
another 2 photos gone.. have only 2 left....urghh.. have to go and take again..
tried hsbc internet banking.. very secure.. troublesome ... but safe..
went to PS. to meet ly and sc.. had dinner at pastamania....it was very noisy..i could barely hear what they were saying... then walked around for a bit..then out of the blue ..they gave me a present.. a mousepad...so unexpected..felt a bit weird... ... after that ..went home..

starting to plan my weekends.. 28 Aug is for poly peeps.... and the rest is slowly filling up....
21 Aug.. U of Edinburgh Welcome BBQ..
time seems to pass by fast.. without me realising it.. exactly 5 weeks from now.. i will be on the plane..off and away..
7 Sept.. flying to London...
11 Sept ..fly to Edinburgh.

2004-07-31T16:46:00.000+01:00

went to the uk pre-departure session today..it was very crowded.. place was packed. .. met the seniors from edinburgh.. they seem nice..warm..quite friendly.. and somehow..made my mom feel a bit better about the place. mostly medics.. .. went to sign up for singtel icc card.. since it was free... no subscription fee..i think its abt $0.36/min... went for the seminar on study skills...short.. boring...nothing to make u want to sign up for more sessions..after that.. went to nydc... to eat.. spagetti.. then went home...

checked the website.. and found out the stats for med sch.. only 16 international fee paying people get in.. some rule in the uk.. the rest are locals or something..

everybody says scotland is cold.. its about 14 degrees in summer.. and goes to minus in autumn or winter...

skypeout costs 0.028 euros per min from UK to Singapore...
skype to skype is still free..
http://www.skype.com

apparently.. it is normal for parents to call their kids everyday....

2004-07-29T14:54:00.000+01:00

my new ipod.. in the dock.. connected to pc speakers.. shuttle xpc in background..

2004-07-28T15:39:00.000+01:00

today.................went to the uk visa application center.. around 2 something.. it was quiet.. almost empty.. got the stuff done without much problems.. and am supposed to collect my passport on fri afternoon.. after that ..went to wheelock place.. and collected ipod ... 4th generation.. 40gig...nice.. slim.. a bit heavy though.. loaded about 360 something songs on it...very easy to use..good sound.. both on headphones and speakers.. . tried to get it work on linux.. but it was too much trouble..

yesterday.... had dinner as marina south.. bbq/steamboat..only 4 of us.. hl,sl,and bj,, jl was sick or something..this group is always not complete.. . after that went to watch i,robot at ps..good movie in a long time.. one of the better sci fi movies.. special effects...nice cg.. ..not overhyped like the rest...and nice looking cars..audi... auto driven ... but makes tech look scary... thinking that AI/Technology can do more harm than gd..

got some news that my cousin is going to ntu.. she grad last yr from np(it)..

2004-07-24T06:15:00.000+01:00

thurs..
went for tennis on thurs morning.. now.. my back is aching..
then supposed to meet the gals at bugis.. then when i reached they changed the time so.. i walked to sim lim to check on the camcorder for my grandfather.. only 1 shop had it.. the panasonic gs200.. so the price was jacked up quite a bit from a month ago..after that
met bj at bugis food junction.. then took mrt to orchard to meet sl and jl..
jl.. seems more childish after her 21st bday.. for some strange reason ..she likes kiddy board games.. walked around for a bit.. went to yoshinoya.. then walked to the orchard carpark to eat..
and they made me queue to the char kway teow.. for abt 30 mins or something.. ..then walked back to taka to buy board games.. jl had a lot of vouchers.. on the way back.. sl's top had a hole in it..so we went to exchange it.. but she was kind of embarrased.. i wonder whether she will still go to that giordano....
walked around for a bit.. and headed to coffee bean to discuss next week's activity.. until the place almost closed.. we had a bit of trouble trying to get out of taka.. cos almost all the exits were closed.
called the apple centre orchard yest....when i ordered the ipod on tues..(4th gen 40gb).. they said it would arrive in a few days.. but on the phone they said 1-2 weeks.. what salespeople do to get ur money is amazing..
still havent heard from accomodation services.... they are taking a damn long summer break.. they havent replied to an email i sent more than a month ago..
starting to pack my things.. very slowly... but reality hasnt sunken in yet... i dont feel like im leaving or anything.. life is normal for me now.. and i dont know whether its a bad thing...
hmm.. and i going to hk for a holiday.. on the national day weekend... for 3 days i think.. sudden decision by my mom..

2004-07-20T14:35:00.000+01:00

went to raffles medical to do the hep a and b jab..
then went to the uk visa place..
big headache.. i reached around 10.. waited for about an hour... then find out that the letters and infomation i have is not enough.. and they refuse to accept the application.. and its really irritating cos.. on the checklist.. its so bloody superficial.. just some vague details.. and when u go there.. their attitude is not that great.. and find out you have to do so many things.. they expect a letter .. to tell them course starting date and ending date.. and duration.. what kind of uni writes this kind of letter.. .apparently.. all the students before me had the same problem.. nobody tells them enough details.. and they are creating more work for themselves. was really pissed when i left the place...and usually i dont get a tiny bit angry with a lot of people.. .anyway.. emailed edinburgh to ask them to get me a letter with such bloody irritating details..
then went to sta travel to check fare prices.. its abt 1600 for 6mth ticket..on ba.. which is alright.. compared to sia anyway.. qantas was the same price.. but the flight was at a ridiculous hour.. at 5 am in the morning.. which means 3 or 4am boarding .. ba's flight was at 11pm at night...
then
went to the apple store in wheelock place.. to take a look at the ipod.. then mom wanted me to book the ipod since we were there. and the new ipod would be coming in a couple of days.. i actually wanted the 20gb one.. but was somehow convinced to get the 40gb one .. it had a dock and double the memory for 200 more.. the dock costs abt 69 individually..
the 40gb ipod cost 748 .. so paid a deposit.. and am waiting..

dinner at keong saik rd .. had the prawn noodles and then had durian nearby.. realised that i like to open durians. for some strange reason.. the eating wasnt that attractive to me..

2004-07-16T15:22:00.000+01:00

went for medical checkup this morning.. for the entry clearance thing to the uk... the normal stuff was ok.. it was the first time blood was taken from me.. and the doc used a smaller needle so that it would be less painful.. just that it would take longer...the blood was for hep a and b testing.. and decided to do a chiken pox jab.. and the urine thing..is damn irritating.. wouldnt want to elaborate much here....
in total.. it took abt 1.5h.. went to eat at golden shoe with mom.. the green nasi lemak.. after that,.went home..
my grandma is staying at my house now.. she just had her operation abt 2 weeks ago...

some irritating news: vegas unveils monorail on july 15.. less than 5 days after i left the place...

2004-07-14T05:41:00.000+01:00

im back....
my trip..
flew in the morning to SF ..took abt 7 hrs.. stopped over at korea for a while .. like a half hr.. then took another 10 hrs to get to SF.. cos of the time difference i got ther on the 1st of July.. hmm.. what did i do.. i cant really remember.. went to chinatown.. had really chinese food.. for once in the whole trip.. theres this really steep hill... and the hotel was on the top of it.... walked down and climbed up.. very slowly... the next day.. found out that there was a cable car that would take u up and down the hill... went to fisherman's wharf.. using the cable car.. and the cable car is not the type in singapore... its actually on land..and it looks something like a tram..took a city tour ... for 2 hours.. saw some nice houses.. and something happened... when i reached the golden gate bridge.. my batteries went flat.. so i used my dad's cam phone.. which was not that great.. and the wind was really gusty.. so it was hard to stay stilll for a while.. after that.. went back to the hotel.. and we were supposed to go for dinner.. but i landed up on the bed.. and fell asleep.. till the next morning..
i cant really remember what day it was.. so..
went to the asian art museum... it was interesting for a while...had like chinese paintings, jade, japanese costumes., those samurai figures.. and some korean art.. that really looked japanese.. ..lots of things..
ate at the stinking rose.. a garlic restaurant in the italian village.. the food was good.. and the garlic wasnt too overwhelming..

drove to LA on independence day.. on the way.. saw Stanford.. the scenic 17 mile drive.. and a lot of desert.. it was a long drive.. about 5-6 hours.. and it took us the whole day.. cos of stops and other stuff..reached LA .. just in time to see the fireworks from the car.. couldnt see much at night..
drove to Vegas the next morning.. went to some factory outlets on the way.. and Vegas is really a town/valley in the middle of the desert.. reached the hotel around 9 plus at night.. went to the 24h cafe.. in Vegas.. under 21s can walk around the casino ..but they cant actually play with the machines and whatever..
its was really hot out ther.. 111 farenheit which would be about 40 degrees. and above.. walked along the strip.. looked at all the different themed hotels.. eg aladdin, new york-new york, the venetian, and more.. at night watched splash.. which is a above 18 variety show.. which had some topless women.. for like a really short time..
next day..went shopping.. to 2 different factory outlets.. after a while, they looked the same.. bought some stuff.. like belts, t-shirts, jeans. and underwear..
drove back to LA.. for the last leg of the trip.. passed by Baker.. a small town.. which was the home of the tallest thermometer.. and ate at Bun Boy.. it had good burgers..
in LA.. went to Universal Studios.. spent like half a day there.. went for the studio tour, the shrek 4d theatre thing..the van helsing dracula castle.. which was a walk through.. it was funny.. cos there were some people in front of us.. and there were just screaming for the fun of it.. for no reason.. so they set off the stuff. and u just run after that..
after that .. took a star homes tour.. which was basically a guy talking in a bus.. bringing us to Beverly Hills and the area around it.. the first 10 minutes were interesting.. but after that.. it was just boring.. basically cos i havent even heard of the name of the old stars.. they were just dead people to me.. after a long 2.5h drive ..back to the Mann's Chinese Theatre.. which basically looked jap to me.. it did not look chinese .. will post a pic later.. had dinner at CPK.. the food was just enough... a pasta, pizza and salad..
for 3 people...
next day.. the beach.. the venice beach.. drove there ..had breakfast at 3rd street promenade place. i rented a chopper.. to cycle around the beach.. a chopper is a like a low bike.. more relaxed.. with 3 wheels.. this was the only day i didnt put on sunblock.. and today.. i got sun-burnt... my shoulders, arms. and neck
tried to take a picture of the hollywood sign.. not very successfull. it looked really small.. miniscule.. went to the getty center.. this big place on a hill.. forgot the camera.. its totally free. owned by the getty family.. its kind of like a museum.. and has cafes and gardens.. .. found out i like mexican food.. like burritos and tacos..
flew back on the 12th .. reached at 0530 in the morning on th 13th
and thats about it.. does it sound like a lot to do in 10 days.. ??

2004-06-30T15:53:00.000+01:00

yesterday...
got the university card application form...and a postcard of acknowledgement...
around 10pm..i was watching tv halfway.. and suddenly blackout.. i was bored.. didnt know what to do.. then my parents ask me to sleep.. but i couldnt ... too hot...didnt realise if u open the windows..the frogs were so loud..and my mothers snoring was so loud. also got dogs barking...almost everything i do requires electricity.. watching tv. computers.internet..my UPS was running for a while..but the beeping sound was irritating.... lay down in the bed.. listened to the radio until the power came up.
it took a while for the internet to work.. by then i was tired...slept...
it doesnt take much to take down singapore.. just cut off the gas/power supply..and singapore almost cant function...u dont need a big atomic bomb...
today
followed mom to orchard to collect her clothes..went to take photos at raffles photographer...they were supposed to be good...mom forced make up on me.. ..seemed like the photos were better than a lot ive taken.. next.bought some paos from this shop in sago lane..everything is 60 cents...next.. went to sgh.. to see grandma..shes there for a operation.. in a couple of days.. then went back to orchard to meet ly,tt and sc.. ate at jacks place.. the food was ok.. just a bit expensive..had dory fish lamb and chicken..
especially in singapore.. every gathering/meeting revolves around food and drink.. i havent seen anybody just standing around talking.. not eating or drinking.. when u meet people.. its always.. eating dinner..or lunch.. or having coffee...
after that.. came home.. saw mario ancic beat tim henman... im kinda happy... i dun really like tim..
emailed edinburgh.. hoping to change my course to Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science.. edinburgh supposed to be good for AI....
finished packing...ready to fly off tomorrow morning...to san francisco... will be back on the 13th...

2004-06-26T16:43:00.000+01:00

hmm
just came back from goldhill.. dinner with god-family..ate a lot of food..talked..the usual thing.. played a little basketball... sort of fun.. hmm wat else.. oh
watched asterix and obelix.. just before dinner.. it was in french.. and the theatre was quite empty.. only a few rows were filled.. but it was funny.. nice to watch.. a little short.. seemed like some parts were cut out..

funny that my webcam can work with my friends.. outside my house.. but not inside.. just couldnt work with the laptop downstairs....

wz and hy are coming back tmr..3.30 and 11.30 i think..

2004-06-24T16:36:00.000+01:00

just updated layout..
came back from orchard with bj and hl....
bought present for jasmine..
nothing much to update..

2004-06-22T18:29:00.001+01:00

just came back from linkin park concert..
it was held at the padang..
before that had dinner at stagedoor cafe, the arts house.. the food was ok.. ordinary i guess. the prices were not too bad.. 7.50 for a small pizza i think... they were having auditions for singers.. something for amateurs to show their talents i guess,

linkin park at the padang..got complimentary tix..heard that the queue started at 9am in the morning..it was a nice atmosphere...great music.. and the band/group knew how to get the crowd moving or wateva u want to call it.. they had an opening act.. some group from korea..i dont remember their name.. it was pretty much rockin.. loud music.. people shouting..dancing..moving.. jumping..it was a lot of exercise for a couple of hours..

hair cut..
recolored my hair, to a darker brown.. makes me look more ..i cant really describe it.. sort of more serious...??

sun
had dinner at peperoni pizza.. east coast park.. supposed to be new. read a review on the sunday times..
the food..had seafood pizza and a another pizza.. i think it had cheese mushroom and ham or something..reasonable prices.. under 20 for a person.. including drinks..
the beach was really crowded.. lots of people... rollerblading at night.. lots of new stuff.. i havent been there in a while..

2004-06-19T20:05:00.000+01:00

hmm
sat..
met tt at bedok.. she wanted to borrow some stuff...sat around for a while.. then went home..
had dinner at big ben's pie... fish and chips.. not bad.. inexpensive.... ulu location...
fri..
went to the bank.. set up a new acc.. walked around orchard library.. slept on the bus on the way home..
mon..
buffet lunch at hotel phoenix..bought a winter jacket.. a pair of tennis shoes.. a few t-shirts..
the days not mentioned are spent .. probably sleeping../lazing around the house..

2004-06-15T11:44:00.000+01:00

yahoo mail increased limit to 100mb...

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2004-06-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

signed up for a free domain.. forwards urls.. email addresses that have forwarding as well.....
www.flowdot.tk which links back to flowin.blogspot.com

website : http://www.dot.tk/

2004-06-12T10:31:00.000+01:00

got complimentary tix to harry potter:prizoner of azkaban... watched it this morning.. the movie was good.. but not as spectacular as the first one.. it was kinda predictable.. cos i read the book.. but didnt remember all the details... after that .. went to orchard.. realised its very hard to buy a tennis shoe.. cos its not common..
my tennis shoe kinda broke yesterday... the rubber of the right shoe is out..

came back.. logged on to UCAS..just realised that my acceptance came 2 days ago...and i wasted my money sending stuff to smu and warwick..

relieved.....

Top 10 Ways to get As in college

2004-06-10T18:42:00.000+01:00

had dinner at chun kee.. with grandparents..parents and granduncle and grandaunt..seemed ok.. seemed like there was a lot of food.. but somehow managed to finish it all.. been bored.. dun feel like going out.. or anything.. when people hear that im going away.. the first thing they ask me is .. do u know how to wash clothes... or something like that.. then i say.. i will learn lar .. if no time.. just wash less often.. cos cold country wont sweat so much.. and everybody starts laughing.. 3 years is a short time.. i think.. although i heard that once im there i wont want to come back.... its hard to say i guess..

jasmine.. . forget abt it.. also my fault lar..

np grad ceremony ... 16 august 2004..
bc pre departure session ... 31 july 2004

2004-06-07T12:11:00.000+01:00

fixed the stupid blue tint on my monitor.... was looking at the bluish screen for like a week...
seems that the monitor cable was damaged...

cleaned my room today..
threw away stuff.. junk..bills..and other strange stuff..
still a long way to go.. i only cleaned like one section.....
what should i do with my np stuff.. throw?keep?scan?

got a letter from the british council.. the pre-departure session.. with some brochures and other stuff..insurance.. air tix.. and icc cards..

yesterday
saw granduncle and grantaunt at grandma's place..
stupid weather.. rained stopped.. then just before i played tennis...it rained again...waited..and played for like an hr.. i think..
then went for dinner at serangoon.. some french place in little india..
i havent seen so many indians in one place.. doing nothing.. just standing around...

2004-06-03T07:33:00.000+01:00

my wee-mee pic ..get one at http://www.wee-mee.com/default.aspx

2004-06-03T07:14:00.000+01:00

created a south park character at comedy central.. http://www.comedycentral.com/southparkgames/character/