i really do not know why it keeps ending up like this. i think after a while, it gets really depressing. you just keep receiving repeated pummellings and the endless onslaughts hack away at your confidence, your self-belief, your soul, and pretty much your whole being. and it's not even supposed to be like, anything big or major. just some small little simple thing, as mundane as deciding where to meet up, or what movie to watch, or what to do, or which piece of work i must accomplish today.

small stuff like that. and i don't seem to be very good at getting them right.

2008 is all but over. and i don't get just why at the end of the year, when people reflect about the year gone by, it's always overwhelmingly positive. whatever horrid stuff that has happened, whatever mud you've been dragged through, just doesn't seem to suppose to matter. even if people acknowledge that there've been bad times, they just gloss over them and dismiss them without so much as a backward glance. i don't understand why it's generally considered negative and pessimistic and EMO to feel bad about the year gone by, and to admit it. i'm sure lots and lots of people, if given the chance, would want to live the year, even their entire lives, all over again. if you genuinely feel negative about it, why not just say it?

i think it's been happening to me a lot. and i can't help but feel so terribly negative about this lengthy vacation period, again. it's a cycle really, and just why it is so hard to escape it perplexes me. every year, at the end of the year. it just feels so bad and so wasted and so @#$% and so jhuiwhjokqiuqhjoqoajsjmewgdydjkda.

there's always a part of me telling myself that i must continue to trust God, that He will definitely show me a way out of the enveloping darkness, that there will indeed be light at the end of that seemingly never-ending tunnel, because He has promised that He will not give us more than we can bear.

but sometimes, it's just SO hard to see things that way.

"If the Ferrari president is right about the Singapore GP being a circus, then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns." -Bernie Ecclestone

sigh!! eh, really sad that vietnam clinched the AFF suzuki cup =( or rather, more like i'm sad thailand lost.

ok i'm not really sure myself why i would have preferred thailand to have won actually. LOL. it's just, as they say, ONE OF THOSE THINGS.

fine fine, perhaps the viets do deserve their victory, defeating the two previous champions along the way (my poor darling Lions, sob). they certainly have played commendably: stout defending, especially that guy, le phuoc tu? i think. attacking with pace and flair....

but somehow there's just this...charm?! about the thais..LOL. ok, i really don't know how to describe it, just so lovely to watch them. but yeah, admittedly, the general consensus is that many of them have disappointed in this tournament. certainly, a lot more was expected of dudes like datsakorn thonglao and suree sukha etc etc...BLEH..

oh, and personally, i find it quite funny that duong hong son clinched the MVP award. but then again, well, perhaps there hasn't really been any single player who has really stood out in this tournament.

finally. an arsenal win.

it's been a really horrid time to support this bunch of guys i tell you. they really have the capacity to frustrate you beyond measure! conceding last-gasp equalizers or winners, utterly dominating but failing to score, throwing away two-goal leads?! you name it, arsenal's done it.

well. and it seems liverpool certainly are a lot tougher these days. but they've been fortunate results have been going their way too! on numerous occasions, when they've slipped up, chelsea, while breathing down their necks, have failed to take full advantage.

but certainly, credit to pool. they certainly do appear to have loads of quality, and have also demonstrated an ability to grind out results, even when not dominating.

and eh i must say, if the title's really beginning to look out of arsenal's grasp, i'm really hoping pool will clinch it heh =) please please just keep it away from manchester united or chelsea....and hey, aston villa winning it would be cool too!

"It just shows you how far this club has come that the giants of the world are looking at our players. We might not have the best of surroundings to do interviews, you might go to other places and have champagne and canapes - whereas here you get a mince pie and a cup of tea out of a machine - but the most important thing is what I have got on the pitch." -Steve Bruce

this Christmas, let us all pause to reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas!

Santa lives at the North Pole
JESUS is everywhere

Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water

Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help

Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart

You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name

Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love

All Santa can offer is Ho Ho Ho
JESUS offers Health, Help and Hope

Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on Me for I care for you"

Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions

Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength

While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree

remember who Christmas is all about, put Christ back in CHRISTmas!

Here's wishing all a very blessed Christmas, and may He guide us through the new year!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes'.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else-the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.'

this is really saddening, really.

i'm really sad that my dear lions were unable to bring home a third straight asean title, #$%& good grief, they way they played against vietnam! and shahril ishak was the man, man.

sigh, this is sad, sad. but it looked so promising in the group stage! perfect record, and a 2-0 win against indonesia on their own turf certainly must be commendable, whichever way you look at it.

man, why did it all unravel in the semi finals!! that poor first leg draw in vietnam, then this, after dominating and creating loads of chances.

aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhh! eh, it's really sad ok, please.

and arsenal? another draw. gunners gunners!!!!!

stress..sucks. sigh.

Thinking back when we first met
I remember what you said
You said you'd never leave me
I let go of your hand
Built my castle in the sand
But now I'm reachin' out again
And I'm not letting go
Till you

Hold me
Mold me
Sometimes I feel so all alone
See, I gotta find my way back home
So why don't you
Shape me
make me
Wash me whiter than the snow
I gotta find my way
Back home

Master upon my knees i pray
I just want to be the clay
Put your arms around me
Place my life in your hands
Lord, I know I'm just a man
I know you understand
This time I'm not letting go
Till you

Anoint me
Appoint me
Sometimes I feel so all alone
See, I gotta find my way back home
So why don't you
Chastise me
Baptize me
Wash me whiter than the snow
I gotta find my way

'Cause I'm lost and alone
I've been wandering
Long enough to know
Humbly I search for you
And I'm not gonna rest
Till you

Choose me
Use me
Sometimes I feel so all alone
I'm on my way back home
So why don't you
Direct me
Bless me
Wash me whiter then the snow
I'm on my way
Back home

a tribute to william éric gallas

so. the past few weeks certainly have been tumultuous for gallas, there's no denying that. but why? what exactly is the problem here? yes to be fair, of course i can't be sure as well, as i am not in any way affiliated to arsenal or gallas himself, but merely one of the scores of arsenal supporters. whatever it is, it is evident that gallas has not endeared himself to many, and it is now cool to hate and criticize him.

i just felt that in the face of such vehement and vitriolic criticism, i had to come out and openly show my support for this man. yes, i agree that openly whining about the team's troubles to the media is certainly not the wisest or most advisable thing to do, and yes, he should not have done it.

but, i think we ought to consider the bigger picture. even if that was a mistake on gallas' part, i feel that i can understand why he was feeling so frustrated. certainly, being constantly in the spotlight heaps immense pressure on anyone, and in a moment of petulance, he cracked. that doesn't make his actions excusable, but i just wish people would be more understanding.

gallas' emotional protest last season against birmingham city has also been commonly cited. well, personally, i do not see any issue here, and from my point of view, it is a classic case of the media trying to whip up a frenzy over nothing, just to create a talking point and give themselves stories to run. to me, although gallas' actions were not exactly commendable, he certainly did not do anything wrong, and again, i can fully understand his frustrations at that time. furthermore, i feel that such an outburst of emotions clearly showcased his deep passion and enthusiasm for arsenal, his will and desire to win, and his unwavering commitment to the arsenal cause.

on this note of passion and commitment, i must highlight that on numerous occasions, i have seen gallas celebrating joyfully after a hard-fought win, gesturing emphatically at the arsenal fans, urging them to rejoice and revel in the moment. i feel that throughout his time at arsenal, he has always played with lots of heart. i truly feel that his passion for the club really shines through.

so william gallas, please continue the good work you have done for the club. may you keep your head up and be reassured that there are fans out there who appreciate your good work. here's wishing you all the best in your future endeavours.
(arsenalpics.com)

LOL. peeling coconuts is fun!

first, you chop the top thingy off. then you can reach the good stuff in there. smooth silky sweet stuff sliding down your throat.

and throughout the whole time i was hacking away at the husk, i couldn't stop thinking about primary school science. "Method of dispersal- The fibrous husk enables the coconut to float on water." LOL.

oh boy, quarantine's really cool i must say. really enjoyed watching it.

it's not like the typical sort of horror thingy, where they just throw in random chunks of senseless blood and gore and guns and grenades and ghosts and dark rooms, just for the sake of scaring the audience. i mean, i found the storyline itself quite cool, even if a little improbable.

man, am i turning into some sort of movie freak?! like, throughout the whole year, there wasn't any movie that really interested me, y'know like, nothing really grabbed my attention and compelled me to go watch it. then suddenly, within the span of like, 2 months, there's suddenly movie after movie lining up and calling out to me, desperately craving my viewership..arghhh..eh, i don't wanna get addicted y'know. i've always taken pride in my indifference towards movies, even as the whole world goes crazy over bond, HSM, star wars and what-have-you.

anyway. go watch quarantine. it's cool :D

blueberry flavoured potato chips? oooh.

LOL. china seriously has got the wackiest stuff in the world. they've got melamine milk, all sorts of chemicals in their vegetables, giant animals due to the gazillions of drugs the feed them...

and, the chips they come up with, good grief. ok lets see. they've got this pork ribs flavour thingy. and then there's this "black pepper ribeye steak" flavour??!! goodness knows how they inject the flavour in...and goodness knows what on earth goes into the flavouring =/

it gets better. there's this lime?! flavour. it leaves a very funny sour taste, very weird indeed, coming from a potato chip.

then we've got the cucumber flavour 0.0 oh my goodness gracious me man. what wonky stuff these people come up with. it's really hilarious yeah.

and my personal favourite. introducing, the blueberry flavoured potato chip! now, how 'bout that huh. it's sort of like dipping chips in gatorade or something, that's the kind of taste we're talking about. and it's got this really strange cooling effect, similar to what you experience when you pop a mint.

people in china seriously, they eat anything.

1 Timothy 4:12 opens with "Let no man despise thy youth". when i first got to know this verse, i thought, duhhh, why would anyone hate being young?! when you're older, you suffer from illnesses, become less fit, all that kind of stuff.

but of course, this verse means more than just that. it's about not looking down on ourselves, or not underestimating our capabilities just because we are young. the Scriptures show us examples of young people achieving great things, such as David when he conquered Goliath, and also Solomon when he became king of Israel. Solomon felt inadequate, and asked the Lord for guidance, and the Lord blessed him.

so, i shall revel in my youth. i shall go about with the mindset that in spite of my relative youth, i can.

"Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It's much harder to come by
I'm waiting in line
Nobody gets too much love anymore
It's as high as a mountain
And harder to climb"

yet, in the midst of my contemporary urban life, i periodically need the warm comfort of the simpler things in life.

i want to walk around looking fine and dandy, just for the fun of it. i don't have to want to go anywhere in particular, i just want to hang and chill with people i want to chill with.

i also want to laze around without feeling that i'm wasting time. i want to just sit or lie somewhere and just let the thoughts and emotions flow uninhibited. i don't want to feel the need to curb anger, or suppress sorrow.

just why is this society such a complicated one? why is it so developed, yet so immature? why is everyone so complex and un-innocent and unfeeling and unhuman? why do we construct so many firm barriers between ourselves? i want to be able to tell loved ones that i love and appreciate them, without eliciting shock and queer responses from them. i want to be able to express affection without inviting scandalous gossip and whispered rumours. i want to be able to tell people about the impact they've made on me and what they mean to me, without making them feel uneasy or wary.

"Our Father who art in Heaven
Come down here and make your presence known
We can't do it on our own
The lunatics let run the asylum
How can we find peace inside your home
When you can't trust your own"

it's funny, but i think i would quite like a more hectic lifestyle. yes, when the whole world's going crazy over work and bending over backwards just to try and cram every single one of their gazillion activities into 24 hours, here i am wishing and longing for more buzz in my life.

and it's not as if i'm so free you know. it's not like i've got absolutely nothing to do and i find myself lazing around and lying in bed until midday simply because there's nothing to do after i get up. no, man, it's so not like that. in fact, it's quite the contrary really.

so why do i crave more rush, more happenings, more life in my life? well, it's probably a matter of feeling this human urge to socialize, this innate, deep-residing need to go out and talk to people, to see and be seen. because i want to fill my life and my time with so much stuff that i don't have to be alone, so that i won't end up vegetating and rotting away.

but then again, being alone and away from the hustle and bustle of society can be refreshing and invigorating. i wonder how it would be like if in the course of my lifetime so far, i didn't get to know anybody, i didn't get the chance to mix around with anyone, anywhere. would i be in a state of bliss? if you don't get to know anyone, you can't experience the feeling of missing anyone right? so that's one less negative feeling. and perhaps i wouldn't feel lonely, because i would think that being alone all the time is a most natural state of being. i certainly do like being alone sometimes, especially if i'm at an isolated and picturesque location. such situations are where i can really think about things like my happiness, my work, my walk and relationship with God, and so on. it can be great really, a welcome change from thinking about like, when this assignment is due, what time my appointment tomorrow is, what is tested for the upcoming test, and how many words i've covered for my EE.

but in spite of such benefits of being alone, i guess it's natural to want to socialize and rush around at times. therefore the desire to pack my life.

in addition, being busy forces one to practise the valuable skill of being constantly self-disciplined in managing his time. if i were really busy, with loads of stuff going on simultaneously, i think i would have no choice but to be an excellent steward of my time, and even my resources, and my life in general. there would be no room for wallowing in self-pity, indulging in extravagant activities and other related unproductive matters. i wouldn't be slack, but instead, constantly on the go. and i believe being busy and having loads of things to do does not necessarily mean being stressed or zonked out at the end of the day. because i think if i really manage my life with aplomb, i would find time amidst all the work for recreation and rest as well. although it can be argued that if i were freer, i would not even need to be so disciplined and well-organized anyway, i think that being too free would cause me to over-relax and this would lead to a fall in the standard and quality of any work produced. so i think being busy and managing my life well would be preferable to being free and lazing around.

so please, dear Lord, create in me a life of vibrance.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

long, lonely and quiet walks all by myself can be therapeutic. i guess maybe that's just one of my ways of escaping from the wiles of life's intricate web of complexities.

free myself. the freedom of solitude. when i can be absolutely free from the clutches of this zoo, when i can talk and laugh and cry and sing and jump and dance and yell and be a retard without anyone commenting.

and, singing and talking to cats can be therapeutic too. they don't answer back or criticize your pitch and rhythm and stuff. they just regally sit there and (appear to) appreciate your company.

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.

i think sunday's message has a really great relevance to my life. it was about Spiritual Friendships. the speaker was great, he vividly shared about his life experiences and his friends way back from school. he talked about how one of his friends had helped him through his darkest days, through simple gestures like taking him out to lunch and simply lending a listening ear. and i found the entire message really very simple, and yet very powerful. it reminded me of "the more important things in life" sort of stuff.

i'm thinking, perhaps i'm suffering from a dearth of such spiritual friendships. i feel like my relationships with so many people are so terribly superficial and fake, and with no semblance of spirituality in them.

and.

i think it's really getting quite serious for arsenal. as if losing match after match isn't bad enough. now they've got to deal with internal unrest and turmoil. no matter how hard arsene wenger tries to gloss over everything and dismiss suggestions of a crisis, it's quite plain to see, that it's NOT good. =(

so.

what a world this is.

i keep feeling that, in this world, we must believe in and LOVE ourselves. the world is constantly against the individual, and for the individual to thrive, he must love himself, apart from God. so, yes, i HEART myself. yayyy!!!

i frequently wonder why we live in a world that is so terribly complicated. or rather, i wonder why so many people in this world want to make life so complicated. why do people just love to complicate matters? why do they love to create something out of nothing? why do they love looking for scandals and gossiping about others' affairs?

i really wish i live in a world where there is none of such nonsense. a world where everyone loves one another and lives peacefully. a world where everyone is childlike and innocent, devoid of the urge to cheat, to steal and to take advantage of one another.

"So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting
Keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack

It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe
In this sweet madness
Oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees"

wonderful wonderful Singapore Armed Forces FC!!!! ok, i'm not sure what else there is for me to say. i mean, their sterling results just speak for themselves, and they sure speak really really loudly!

my heartiest congratulations to them on clinching the RHB Singapore Cup, and in doing so, accomplishing another Double! so that makes it an unprecedented double Double! i really admire the hard work richard bok has put in for the team, and terrific work dudes!

goodness, the Cup final! the slick passing and movement, solid, well-organized defending....i think it was a really great display they put on! and and, shaiful esah! dude! those curly wurly free kicks, corners and crosses, &^&$#@!#@#!@#$%&^* again, really they speak for themselves man.

so, really, just keep it up lads! SAFFC FTW!!!

and arsenal. tonight, hmmm. ok, robinho's doing great, but i'm sure he CAN be stopped, really. i'm sure the lads will pull together and give a good account of themselves. so yes, c'mon c'mon c'mon!!!

today, i was sitting in the bus, quietly watching the world flash past my eyes. at some point, a little girl boarded with a lady i presume to be her mum. she skipped happily to her seat, and after a while, she began reading aloud from a book.

intially, she read softly, though audibly. however, as she got into the groove, she began reading more and more loudly. her mum turned to her, and gently told her not to read so loudly, so as not to disturb other passengers. although the girl immediately obeyed, she soon got overly engrossed in her book again, and the mother again gently reminded her to quieten down. again, the girl sweetly obeyed.

not too long after, the bus stopped at a CERTAIN JC, and a huge horde of students boarded. needless to say, the students were noisy, and created a din in the bus. i immediately reflected upon the moments not too long before, when the little girl quietened down upon her mother's instructions. and right there before her eyes, were those students disturbing other passengers by making far more noise than she did.

well, basically it was just one of those poignant moments for me, and i thought it was really ironic.

i want to be free!

i want to escape from the world of hustle and bustle, and grab a raft, and sail down the river like huckleberry finn.

when the river is calm, i'll lie on my back and listen to the gentle waves lapping at the sides of my raft. at night, i'll look up into the starry starry sky, and marvel at the wondrous beauty before me. during daytime, i'll lazily watch the world float by, and wonder why people are always so busy with their work. i'll also absorb the millions of colours of the trees, the birds, the water, the farms, and everything.

when i get hungry, i'll catch fish and prawns and lobsters and squid from the river, and i'll roast the lovely succulent flesh over a hearty self-made fire. within the flame, i'll see my destiny, i'll see the purpose and meaning of my journey. i'll also go ashore at some random peaceful island, and i'll pluck berries and herbs. i'll take my time to sniff the flowers and play with the animals.

i'll blissfully glide down the river in my raft, oblivious to the bombings and stock market crashes and poverty and wars and suicides. i'll live and revel in my own little bubble of ultimate peace and calm.

"Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft."

arsenal 0-2 aston villa

enough said :_(

ahhhhhhh yayyyy!! yesterday, i watched Singapore Armed Forces FC become the first s league club to win three consecutive titles! yay i like like likey this awesomezz club <33! and it's amazing, i've watched them win three trophies in 2 years: 2007 league and singapore cup, and 2008 league =D and, with the singapore cup final coming up..... SAFFC FTW!

ah, but the dampener yesterday was the yucky coffee place, goodness. (not naming names here, don't wanna get sued!) but hey, seriously. wanted to try something different, and wasted my $$ =S erm, actually i don't know why, maybe it's just the ambience or the lighting or whatever, just don't like the vibes of the place =( piece of my wonderful advice: please don't try so hard to impress and all that stuff, just have a look at starbucks' or coffee bean's warm, cosy, laid-back and friendly atmosphere, where you can really chill, man.

anyway, QUIZ! deary me, i've been seeing so many of these random dumb quizzes floating around in cyberspace, and, LOL i just can't resist =D

1. Do you have secrets?
LOL, who doesn't?

2. What if you fall infront of the whole school?
Don't wanna think about it!

3. Do you enjoy going to school?
Sometimes

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Spend some, save some, donate some.

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
If i'm gay, yeah why not? =D

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Being loved, i guess?

7. List out your 15 favourite songs:
1) Dontchange - Musiq Soulchild
2) Breathless - Shayne Ward
3) Shape Of My Heart - Backstreet Boys
4) All The Way - Craig David
5) Do You Believe In Love - Craig David
6) Let Her Go - Craig David
7) Don't Forget To Remember Me - Carrie Underwood
8) Inside Your Heaven - Carrie Underwood
9) I Do - Westlife
10) The Rose - Westlife
11) Queen Of My Heart - Westlife
12) My Love - Westlife
13) Flying Without Wings - Ruben Studdard
14) Back At One - Brian McKnight
15) Heal The World - Michael Jackson

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Look for BIGGER fish!! LOL

9. Is there anything that has made you extremely happy?
Having awesome friends. Simple things in life!

10. What makes you angry?
People who think they're always right.

11. How would you see yourself in 10 years time?
Oh DAMN. I'd be TWENTY SEVEN??!! AHH! erm, slogging away at some okay job, or slogging away building up my future business empire!

12. Do you hate people that bullies your friends or loved ones?
Yes, DUH. what a dumb question 0.0

13. What are the most important things in life?
Love, peace, happiness and, money!

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Depends a lot on my wife, if i was married

15. What is your favourite colour?
Just no pink and yellow please, good grief.

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
Well...not all, i don't think so?

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?
BOTH!!!!!!! =D

18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing the someone has done?
Depends on who i guess. But mostly yes, i'm a nice person!

19. What do you want to tell the someone you like?
Hi, you're SEXAAYYYY and HOT, so we're compatible. =)

20. 5 people I have tagged:
Don't remember.

it just occurred to me that i have not watched a movie in ages. goodness, LOL. i think i really ought to try to keep up with the times, and at least keep track of the current movies. i shall set out to reduce my movie debt.

speaking of movies, i can't quite figure out why the whole world is going crazy over high school musical 3. in fact, i can't seem to fully shake off the impression that all those dudes who love it are kind of pervy. you know, all the vanessa hudgens and stuff. =S

and, i haven't bought an album in ages! ahhhh, i wanna listen to new musics! i'm thinking of getting a musiq soulchild album. dude, that guy is damn cool, seriously. you'll melt listening to his smooth, slick songs.

"I'll love you when your hair turns grey girl
And i'll still want you if you gained a little weight yeah
The way i feel for you will always be the same
Just as long as your love don't change."

yesyesyesyesyesyes!! Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United!! this is really KEWW-EL i tell you. there's just something about these big matches in which arsenal get the chance to prove their mettle. i still remember that amazing match last season (or was it the season before last lol) when arsenal faced united at old trafford on the back of a disappointing run of results, coupled with the injury-enforced absences of a few players. the odds were heavily in united's favour, even more so after gilberto's penalty was saved. well guess what, arsenal emerged as 1-0 victors. fast forward to now, pretty much the same situation, and arsenal prove the doubters wrong again, shoving it all back down their throats. hah. take that.

ahhh, just had a very unhealthy snack of chips + cheezels, damn, they're just too irresistible. and, my back is aching. argghh, pain.

i'm feeling frustrated, because i feel like my life's not moving, i'm feeling loads and loads of inertia, i feel no progress, i feel like i'm just stagnating there in the miry clay, finding it so difficult to drag myself out of it all. i'm feeling so fatigued, and saturated.

i realize many people frequently complain that they're feeling 'bored', myself included. now, there isn't really anything wrong with that, except for the fact that i can't figure out how in the world it's possible to feel bored when there's a gazillion things to do. like, there's stuff like EE and all, and yet, it's possible to feel bored. quite ridiculous and illogical really. what is boredom? define boredom. i don't think i quite get it after all.

BARACK OBAMA! now i don't really understand why US politics always has this air of eccentric charm that never fails to get the entire whole excited. i mean, yes, the world we live in IS very connected and interlinked, and events happening in one part of the world do affect other parts, but there's just something very special about the US' presidential elections that gets the whole world talking. a little strange, i feel.

anyway, since we're all buzzing with Obama right now, let's have a look at some of those momentous quotes, just to up the Obama vibes :D

“I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington…I’m asking you to believe in yours.”

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

“If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.”

“My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.”

“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America.”

“It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.”

“I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse.”

“Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.”

and, i spotted this sentence in some online newspaper article.
“Barack Obama today promised to be a president for all Americans as he became the first black man to be elected to the White House.” (http://news.scotsman.com/world/Victorious-Barack-Obama-vows-to.4661712.jp)

LOL. the irony.


(taken from: http://www.barackobama.com/photos/)

OBAMA FTW!!

good grief, IB chinese paper's over! ah oh my goodness lol shizzzzzzzzzz..arghhh.. now, i'm not sure just why i'm feeling so high over this, but well. ok i'll try to calm down. now. i'll be cool and collected. so. well. let's just hope i get that elusive 7, and then, it's farewell dear chinese! having said that, honestly, i don't know why like the whole level is so excited about the prospect of not having to study chinese ever again. i mean, the way i see it, well yeah, it's good to have 1 less subject to prepare for next year, but that's about it really. to me, chinese is well, okayy. i don't dig it or anything, but well, it's okay really. and i was thinking, i don't think i really want to totally abandon chinese and have it out of my life. it seems kind of a waste actually. i mean, think about all these years working hard to build up a REASONABLE command of a language, then just throwing it all away. well..

anyway, quizzes like this seem to be all the rage now. haha, no idea why, just been seeing them all over the place. here we gooooo..

Q1: Do you like your present school?
A1: It's okayy. well, except for the $$ =/

Q2: What do you want the most now?
A2: To enjoy my life in a right and Godly way.

Q3: Who is the closest person to you in your school?
A3: Err, not so nice lehhh, what if others get jealous?? =p

Q4: Do you hate your friends sometimes?
A4: Sure =)

Q5: Are you afraid of death?
A5: Erm, not really. i'm more afraid of the mess i would leave behind.

Q6: What is your goal this year?
A6: LOL, who has only ONE goal??!! too many to list

Q7: Do you believe in love at first sight?
A7: Yeah, i guess it's possible..

Q8: Do you believe in eternal love?
A8: Sure. just think GOD =D

Q9: Do you think boyfriends are a necessity?
A9: If i'm gay, yeah?? LOL

Q10: What do you enjoy doing the most?
A10: I enjoy enjoying myself.

Q11: Have you ever felt affection of "that kind" towards a member of the opposite gender?
A11: Well, it's natural isn't it?

Q12: What feeling do you hate most?
A12: Sadness.

Q13: Do you cherish every single friendship of yours?
A13: I hope so?

Q14. Who is your favourite musician?
A14: Too many too many!!

Q15: What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
A15: God

Q16: Do you find life meaningless?
A16: Sometimes, when i'm really down.

Q17: What do you live for?
A17: HUH 0.0

Q18: What song are you listening to now?
A18: None.

Q19: What was the most intimate encounter with a member of the opposite sex, not counting relatives
A19: LOL i'm like the innocent-est shizz around!

Q20: What material thing do you want most now?
A20: Money? 'cuz with that you can get other material things.

oh boy, IB chinese paper is tomorrow. and i don't even know stuff like the venue, the seating arrangement, and all those irritating pesky little details like how to correctly fill in my index number, how to arrange the answer scripts, and the rest of that myriad of examination procedures we have to put up with. ever since that IB exam briefing, i have found it really amusing how candidates have to take note of so many gazillion procedures before, during and after the paper. you know, the little stuffs like filling in the index number, school code, this identification, that arrangement etc etc etc... goodness gracious, i mean, it's not like very complicated or difficult to follow, but i mean like, you know, when you're sitting for your IB exam, or any exam for that matter, you just want to be able to focus on the content you've spent a large chunk of your life on, and you wouldn't really appreciate being burdened by all these irritating little things, like worrying about not filling your index number correctly, or attaching the wrong sheet of paper, stuff like that. can't they be more sympathetic and simplify this process so there aren't so many ridiculous details and procedures we have to take note of??!

anyway, i'm feeling really down about arsenal's recent lack of form arghhhhhh!!!!!! ^%$^&*(&^$#!$%^&*&*(&^%$#%&*()_(*&^%$#!#@#! damn, it's really frustrating seeing them flounder around and lose to teams stoke city??!! and man, the midweek draw against tottenham hotspur was ultra heartbreaking i tell you. blehhh i really don't know how to adequately express my feelings thank you very much. they just seem so vulnerable at the moment, physically and psychologically. thanks a bunch too, for the injuries to sagna, walcott and adebayor, really appreciated -.-

on a brighter note, LEWIS HAMILTON! yesyesyesyesyesyes!! that'll shut them all up won't it? great job dude, keep it up man, and all the best for the future!

and i'm off. ciao, peeps!

first of all, i would like to place on record my heartfelt and heartiest congratulations to liverpool for finally putting an end to that 86-match unbeaten run chelsea have sustained at stamford bridge for four years and eight months. =) i'd bet at least half the world is in a mood of joyous celebration right now.

anyway.

looking back at the recently-concluded school year, i think i can say i'm thankful for the myriad of stunning experiences i've been through. naturally, i think 5.16 '08 have played a significant part in this astonishing escapade. now, i'm not about to openly declare my 'intense' or 'unconditional' love for my class with the usual stuff like 'you guys are the best', or 'love you guys forever, muacks', or 'you guys are da bomb, rock on man!' get the idea? beacuse i feel these oft-spotted lines are too, how to say, 'commercialized', and appear to lack sincerity and true emotion. truth is, i think it is really quite impossible for anyone to really feel that way about every single classmate =/

i think a more realistic and balanced approach would be to say that it has been a fulfilling and enriching year with my class. now, i must say i'm really glad that my classmates are who they are. honest. yes, it's not realistic to 'love each and every one of you darlings with all my heart and soul <3<3<3', but really, i honestly appreciate being placed in the same class as these dudes and dudettes. important thing is, although we may not all share similar interests, or enjoy the same music, or get the same jokes, or view issues the same way, i think we have this mutual acceptance and appreciation for one another, and we get along very splendidly indeed. and in my opinion, this is really respectable. this is what i really like and appreciate about this class. this harmony, this understanding, and this maturity to look beyond the surface value, despite all the differences at first glance. to attempt to use an analogy, perhaps it's like, furniture, paints and accessories of different shapes, sizes and colours. now, when you put them all together, either you get a messy mishmash of misfits, making the home look cluttered and an eyesore, or the uniqueness of each individual quality shines through and contributes to the overall diversity and vibrance of the home, giving it a brilliant and psychedelic effect. much like this home featured in the straits times on saturday.

so. this is what i feel about my class. looks rather pretty, no?

i remember at the start, so many strange faces, weird-looking people. (myself included lol ><) it was difficult to interact and communicate. then, after some time, i guess it thawed naturally, then WOW certainly spurred the thawing process on, and it certainly was an eventful experience. not necessarily always enjoyable and fun sort of stuff, but rather, it was the sort of, rich experience sort of thing. so basically, over time, i guess it got better and better, and barriers broke down. sure, cliques will always exist, but i think what's important is how people from different 'cliques' behave towards each other. get it? like, there will always be separate countries, the world won't suddenly become ruled by one government. however, some countries are at war with each other, while others sign peace treaties and free-trade agreements and all that stuff. i think point 16 has the latter situation going on, and i'm really glad about that. this is what i really love about this class.

well then. what a year it's been at school. try to have a good break! (though it's hard with eetokcasia &^&%$%^&*(*&^%$#@!#$%^&*()*&^%$@!@#$%^&.................)=D peace!

i feel like i've been trudging through the past few days in a dazed blur. since the moment i put my pen down that day after the math paper, i've been lolling around lazily and aimlessly. maybe not aimlessly. but certainly lazily. there's just no mood to get anything concrete done, to do things that would really benefit and improve my life, both in the short run and long run. actually, it's a weird sort of feeling. it's like, there's so many things i want to do, so many new things i want to try out. i want to be adventurous, to push and expand my boundaries. but, i feel like it's so difficult to get things going, to start doing something for my life. maybe it's just inertia.

so many things have come and gone during this time. and now, looking back, it really feels very, don't know how to say, like, just passed by in a flash, without me really knowing, or experiencing it. cliched as it sounds, i really feel like i've just been floating along, drifting aimlessly the past few days. i've been existing in this post-exam period, certainly not living in it. i'm not sure why i'm feeling this way. perhaps it's due to the prolonged periods of boredom i've been subjected to in school, making it feel as though nothing's been happening.

but then, upon deeper consideration, i certainly don't think it's fair or accurate to say nothing's been happening. in fact, although there've been 'empty spaces' in school, i think it hasn't actually been NOTHING. i feel that through hanging out (in school) with friends, and chatting aimlessly during those 'empty spaces', i've got to know them better, and forged stronger bonds with them. i think, all too often, we are so terribly caught up with our own work and our lives that we overlook the importance and simple pleasure of just sitting down to have a light chat and share our thoughts and views of mundane happenings and events. i get so busy with the astounding myriad of mugging, IAs, TOK essay and presentation, EE preparation, CCA etc etc etc, that i have no chance to just chill, man. and even when i take a rare breather, most times it's stuff like, someone's birthday party, or some OG or class outing, some 'cool, socializing party' kind of thing, where i feel the immense societal pressure to be cool, to impress, to always look good and debonair, to constantly exude an air of confidence, to live up to what society and convention expect of me, and to top it all off, to pretend to be fully at ease and comfortable with all of this, as though this is me. but i'm sorry, no it's not. it's not natural. i'm not letting myself, my identity show through, and why? is it because i am not at ease with myself? is it because i feel that 'myself' is not in line with what society deems to be desirable? am i not proud of myself?

which is why i think i can say that although it was uneventful at times, i am appreciative of this freer post-exam period when i can take some time to just kick back, and have simple, innocent chats with friends, away from the glare of modern-day lights. i am thankful for the chance and the time for me to share and air my thoughts, concerns and annoyances, with people who listen and share some of my views, giving their views in return. i am grateful for the chance to retreat into our own world, where we can candidly share and care for one another.

"We got a little world of our own
I'll tell you things that no one else knows
I let you in where no one else goes
What am I doing without you?"

i can't believe it. the past few days have been almost like pre-exam mode. rushing to finish the retarded cas, suffering the trauma of receiving the results, then even more trauma going through the papers, preparing for IB chinese exam, lao shi emoing in class as always (what the), rushing to do THREE bio IAs (what the). honestly i'm getting effing pi**ed with the pace of life. ok call me slow, whatever.

but today was a slight improvement, somehow. just didn't feel so bad today. which is probably surprising, given that i discovered some powdery, ashy, black substance (horrors) at the side of my chicken baked rice at swensen's. but i'm really quite pleased that i'm not the sort who freaks out and yells and demands a refund kinda stuff. =D well anyway. they told me it's some thingy from the oven whatever shizzz, not sure what they were talking about. somehow, for some reason, the replacement didn't seem to taste as good as whatever i had eaten of the tainted one. so well (shudders...)

anyway, as i was leaving the place, that famous old classic love song 'All Out Of Love' was playing. then, just like, 5m away, i walked past some shop, and it was playing that song too. KEW-WUUL. amazing lovely sweet song, glad people are realizing that =)

wow, today the rain was &^&(*)*&%^$%#% TORRENTIAL. the road, goodness. something like, 20-25cm of water perhaps? ok, it's not THAT terribly much, but hey this is singapore in 2008 y'know, not like, 1960 or something.

well, the week ahead's the last week of school. of the offical school term, that is. (focus camp, shizzz) just hope i spend it well, make the most of it, and well, enter the 'holidays' (yes, with inverted commas) in good spirits!

so today, we had this SAT prep sort of thingy. and i tell you, i certainly do NOT wish to be subjected to this sort of ill-treatment any time soon. now, i've got no idea how to adequately express the ____ experience of this thing. goodness gracious me, have the setters of SAT ever attempted to do the effing paper themselves??!!

ok basically, it was like, about 3 or 4 hours of being cooped up in that sub zero LT, with a ridiculously long test as company. even though at first glance, it may seem easy peasy because it's primarily mcq, i tell you. first, the sheer length of the entire test really makes it feel like a marathon of the mind. and the questions, damn it. now the strange thing is that, it's not as if the questions are exceedingly difficult or impossible to do. it's just that somehow, for some reason, they are just exceedingly tiresome to do. i guess it's the monotony of the whole thing. question after seemingly stupid question pops up at you as you stumble through the maze of mind-numbing academia. and, ok i'm not sure exactly what the SAT wants to test you on, but the way i see it, it's sort of limited in scope and like, irrelevant?? i mean, let's say you're planning to take up something like, say, ecological studies in university. now i don't see how that crazy SAT is gonna be a useful gauge for entry. it covers only math (and only a few areas at that), and english. and i don't think the english tested there is the sort that will be widely used in daily life. i mean, how many people spam words like, vituperative, enervated, torpid, sedulous etc etc in their daily life??!

and, i think there's something seriously wrong with the ergonomics of the seats in the LT. the tiny foldable tables are just, wrong. =( i emerged from the LT with a frizzled, shizzled brain and a cracking backache. =X

and, work's piling up. again. suddenly, joogal returns 2 pracs and some shizz's gotta be done about them. blearghhhhhhhh, feeling sick thinking about it.

ciao.

now, i rarely experience feelings of intense, jolting fear while walking down singapore sidewalks, but boy, this one must take the cake i tell you.

so today, i was merrily strolling along thinking about erm, (my memory fails me). but no matter. as i nonchalantly approached some corner somewhere, i spotted this guy walking in the opposite direction. now i'm not one to criticize the appearance of some random fellow human being i meet on the street, but the way those eyes stared out from those sunken sockets was really sort of creepy? but that's not all. so my eyes diverted down, and in his hands was a, goodness gracious me, of all things, a COCONUT??!

now reading about this in words on a screen isn't going to bring out the incident in its full glory, and i've got no idea how to vividly relive it here. but just imagine. you're walking down the street, and suddenly you come across this odd/weird/creepy/freaky/scary-looking dude with...a COCONUT. and guess what, that's not all. now as i gingerly passed him, he sort of turned towards me, and goodness, his facial expression changed to an expression i've got absolutely no idea how to describe. and. he raised his hand. erm, yes, the hand holding the heavy, hard coconut. if i remember correctly, i sort of cringed momentarily, half-expecting to feel the blasted coconut crash down on me. well thank goodness it remained in his hand, and i most certainly didn't hang around to see just what in the world he was trying to do, instead hurrying past in a flash.

and, i just realized raspberries have hair on them. ok, wow. what a stunning revelation we've got there.

peace, guys!

i think dreams are really fascinating phenomena. and by the way, i'm referring to the type which occur when you're asleep, not when you're awake during some random boring lesson.

i think it's so cool that you can get transported to a whole new world, a different realm, where you can experience a wide-ranging myriad of thoughts, emotions and actions without suffering any possible ill-effects. it's like, for the duration of the dream, you can be someone else, living in a totally different world, doing things you would never ever do in the 'real' world. it's like, you can change your identity!

and guess what. i actually get to learn new words in my dreams! i remember not too long ago, i heard someone saying some #$%^&*(&% word in my dream, and when i wake up and look it up in the dictionary, lo and behold!

of course there are those ridiculous dreams which don't appear to make any sense at all. for instance, i've dreamt about people randomly spamming my blog with some gibberish commments that to this day i can't figure out, and more recently, i dreamt about myself mugging for a chemistry test. now bearing in mind that i left dreaded chemistry behind for good last year, well, i can't figure out just why in the world i'm actually dreaming about CHEMISTRY??!!

oh and there are those dreams which you can actively interact with. apparently these are known as lucid dreams. my word! these are way cool! it's like, you're aware that you're dreaming, but you go on dreaming all the same. and you can interact with the characters and control your actions.

and i recently read somewhere, Mind Your Body i think?? that you can like, train and program your mind to control your dreams, and like, control what you dream about. now how cool is that man...

intriguing... ok people. sweet dreams!

yay i love this post-exam feeling. i mean, ok i know there's still loads of stuff to do, and loads of stuff i ought to have done, but i really love this 'no pressure' kinda feeling. it really feels great to not have pressurizing papers to prepare for, and not having to constantly worry about not remembering syllabus content etc etc...

exams periods always pass by with me in a semi-conscious state. i feel cut off from the rest of the world, drowning in the suffocating sea of academia. really no time, even no mood to relax and have fun. i really don't know how to adequately describe it, it's just a really horrid sensation.

well i realize a very common theme amongst jc 1 level students now is boredom. that, and a feeling of dread waiting for the results to be announced. well, today i went to school to work on that &^$#$%^&*(&$#@$%^&** tok presentation. yes yes, TOK PRESENTATION BELIEVE IT OR NOT!! it's really quite retarded i must say. i really do not feel like going through all the painful details about how i took so long to get a SUITABLE topic, and then how doing the slides was such a pain in the _____, and at the end of it all, FAIL. so here i am, spending my post exams working on TOK -.-

well, i'm glad to have finally come into contact with a soccer ball again. and, along with that, i realized that my current fitness level is like ^%$*&**&%#%$^& like, if i were to take a beep test now, i would probably reach like, level 0.5??!! anyway, i had quite an enjoyable kickaround, and i must say i'm REASONABLY pleased with my long range shots. seems quite satisfactory to me i must say, after like, a gazillion years out of action....

well then. see you guys around, anywhere.

year end exams over. and along with that, a lot more over too i tell you. like, the hope of ever doing well? ok, enough said.

the past few weeks have really flown past in a terrible maddening blur. mad rush for everything. i can't even like pinpoint exactly what i've been busy with, or why i get this feeling of RUSH, like i'm living in a whirlwind, some Hurricane Katrina or something. i really don't get it. just been feeling that my schedule's been ultra packed, leaving me with no room to breathe. i guess it's just the spectre of exams. when you're preparing for exams, everything gets blown up and magnified, and every tiny bit of syllabus content you don't understand becomes a greater-than-usual cause for concern.

and i really hate the timing of the F1 thingy. i mean, i'm not like some huge F1 fanatic or what, but i mean, you know, when there's so much hype and all, of course it's natural to feel excited about it. and it HAD to occur during this exam period, making it impossible to experience it properly. well, i'm glad about the way it turned out anyway. hamilton FTW! still trying to figure out how alonso won ><

i guess adding to this whirlwind effect would be, erm, my grandfather_____...it certainly added a lot more buzz and hustle and bustle to this crazy period.

well well well then, dreaded results coming up. and not forgetting that chinese ib exam in november.

exams are schkrewing with my brains. big time. i don't know how else to put it. really, it's just %$&%^&_*&^#%^&**!@#$%

i realize this exam is planned such that it's kinda spaced out. now, that means there's more time to study. it also means the agony is lengthened. ok, i'll proceed to evaluate the costs and benefits of a spaced out exam.

right. economics is seriously messed up. i mean, think about it. what's the point, goodness, of learning about some random market structure which doesn't exist? or perhaps, some funny theory which will always remain a theory and will never become a law?

whiney complainey crazy shizzz. ah well, life.

God has not promised skies always blue,
flower-strewn pathways all our lives through.
God has not promised sun without rain,
joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God has not promised we shall not know
toil and temptation, trouble and woe.
He has not told us we shall not bear
many a burden, many a care.

God has not promised smooth roads and wide,
swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
never a mountain rocky and steep,
never a river turbid and deep.

But God has promised strength for the day,
rest for the labourer, light for the way,
grace for the trials, help from above,
unfailing sympathy, undying love.

'Passion to learn, will to overcome, attitude to excel, spirit to serve'

i spotted this motto/vision whatever on a primary school bus. and i was like, wow. somehow, something about it just made me stop and think. haha omg, i realized i possess none of the above. =x ok MAYBE a bit of the second and third, but sigh, i dunno... so what if i have the will and attitude. i still don't overcome, and i still don't excel. i would really love to think i'm demanding too much of myself, being too hard on myself. but.

today, the speaker mentioned something that really resonated very deeply within me. he pointed out that deep down within us, we all want to be loved, to be wanted, and to be someone to somebody. now, i'm usually not a very good note-taker, and i often struggle to catch the salient points at sermons and lectures, but when i heard this, i immediately jotted it down. boy, how apt, how apt. that's exactly how i've constantly been feeling recently, especially this year. indeed, i think all of us have this intrinsic desire to be a significant part of someone else, we want to be important to others and we want them to be able to look to us for comfort, for reassurance, and pretty much everything and anything else. of course, not all of us will be able to constantly be such a pillar of strength and support. many times, we fail in our attempts to be that somebody to those around us, and instead of love, care and concern which we crave, we may be subjected to disdain and contempt from those around us. we then start to think about how and why we've failed, and we begin to lose confidence and we start to doubt overselves. that's when the all-too-familiar feeling of insecurity sets in, making us so emotional and irrational.

i don't think i've ever pondered so deeply regarding this issue, and i really must thank pastor danny for sparking this train of thought. i think i see the picture clearer now and hopefully, this will restrain me from lapsing into all those emotionally-draining moments of self-doubt and what nots.......

recently, a friend asked me if i have ever felt so happy that i thought life could not get any better. now, this got me thinking rather hard. and i must say, i don't think i will ever feel that way. as in, i don't think i would ever think life could not get any better. i mean, isn't it a little disturbing, if you tell yourself ok this is the best, it's not going to get any better than this. like, even if you're feeling so ultra uber happy over something, why wouldn't you want to entertain the thought that life could get even better? i mean, why impose some limit and refuse to think beyond that? i thought of how this concept could relate to so many other areas of life, like let's say i've achieved really great things in life. why would i want to say, ok that's it, i've reached the peak, and there's nothing more for me to attain. and i just sit back and be contented with what i've accomplished, and i don't bother striving for even bigger and better things, believing that i've already done it all. no way right? i think it's better not to limit ourselves like that. of course then again, it doesn't really matter that much because well, even if you tell yourself that you'll never feel happier than this, and if something even better does eventuslly come along, you can simply revise it and say, oh i was wrong then. because now i'm feeling even happier than at that time. simple. no harm done. but well, the point is, i just find it funny that anyone would actually limit themselves like that.

anyway.

lessons are getting really really lifeless. and that's an understatement. preparing for exams just sucks away life and joy from lessons. and it's not as though there was much of that to begin with anyway. =/

and, i just finished the effing iop TODAY. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! deep sigh of relief. just so glad it's over. I AM FREE FROM YOUR CLUTCHES, YOU PESKY MILLSTONE ROUND MY NECK!! ok up next, tok presentation. >< then, final exams.

what a life.

i think one of the greatest oxymorons ever would be 'holiday homework'. i mean, just think about it. it doesn't make sense at all huh. =x thinking back on the dumb week-long 'holidays', hmmpphh. throughout the entire week, i've been finding myself in a lifeless, non-existent state of existence. like wth, it's really..sighh. every day, i've just been trying desperately to find a work-life balance, and i end up finding neither. no work done, and i remain a lifeless soul.

i was thinking, why can't students be allowed to set their own pace of their education path, and decide not just what they want to study, but when they want to study? i mean, i thought of those working adults who go away on sabbaticals and retreats, taking time off from work to do something else. you know, like, sometimes people decide to take say, one year off, give themselves a break from their monotonous and drony office lifestyle, and simply get away from it all and do something different. like maybe, do something they've always wanted to do, but never found the time for. maybe pick up a new skill, or learn a new musical instrument or something. now, i was thinking, wouldn't it be so cool if students could do the same?? like, give us the flexibility to decide our path, grant us some time to do stuff we really want to do. not those miserable 1 week, 4 weeks sort of 'vacation' mind you. i'm talking about good, solid time when we can really take a break, take stock, and enrich ourselves. maybe like a year.

oh welllllll....

biology IAs are just GAY i tell you. there's just something about them, that just makes me want to put aside the pracs forever and ever and never look at them ever again after completing the dumb report. i really don't know why, it's just the nature of practicals, they just make me feel so utterly SICK of them. stupid design prac about effect of pollution on crop yield. good grief, first, there's this stupid introduction that has to be one page long. this involves spamming from websites information about the stupid soybean plant. it's ridiculous seriously. why in the world are there so many ridiculous formats and formalities that have to be followed while doing a practical report????!!!! seriously. it just serves to deviate from the original intention of the experiment dammmit. then come all the procedures and variables and limitations and methodologies that i'm simply so sick of thinking about by now. i mean seriously, the whole year, keep the controlled variables constant, assess reliability of results......it gets ultra boring i swear.

anyway.

so there goes the man they call king kev. two managerial casualties in quick succession, after alan curbishley. honestly, i feel for newcastle united. i think towards the end of last season, they were starting to find some consistency and stability, and this season, they seem to have picked up from where they've left off, and the season ahead certainly looked bright. i tell you, those know-it-all bunch of fools upstairs. these are the ones causing so much instability and poor results at clubs, always meddling in affairs they've got no clue about. forcing some players on managers, forcibly removing others...they're creating havoc i say.

well then. i think this time, it's really gonna be the toon army's favourite son alan shearer. well hopefully the board will be more patient with him and give him more respect, given his illustrious history with the club.

wow, the past few days have certainly been frantic for the epl huh.

right, so alan curbishley's just quit west ham. well, not that much of a surprise huh. looking at the way things have been going for them, it's about time. i say slaven bilic's gonna replace him. and goodness, manchester city huh. well, we'll see if those new found riches are gonna translate into trophies. the capture of robinho's a good start yeah. but somehow, i just feel they're gonna hit a snag sonner or later. not sure why, just.. i mean look around. of late, there's been an increasing number of such cases. a new owner, flooded with cash, takes over, promises great amd grand stuff, then somehow, just somehow, things fall apart. remember when tom hicks and george gillett took over liverpool? they pledged to make huge funds available for the gaffer, pledged their support and all. soon, things start to go awry. the funds dry up, they have internal fights and all, and guess what, they even start speaking to juergen klinsmann. the gaffer gets disillusioned, and wants rick parry to quit, and most recently, he's unable to prise his top target barry away from aston villa. lack of funds? what a spectacular mess.

look at west ham. still recall when eggert magnusson and bjorgolfur gudmundsson and their icelandic consortium took over? same old pleasantries initally, promised funds, pledged support for pardew. then not so long after, pardew was sacked. and see what's happening now. curbishley's walking out, allegedly due to his diminishing power and influence. the board appears to be interfering and george mccartney and anton ferdinand were supposedly sold against curbishley's will. honestly, from my humble point of view, i think these sort of interference is really quite stupid. like, they're just rich businessmen in the game just to earn huge profits. that's bad enough. but worse, they don't sit back and just quietly collect the money. they think they're so smart, telling the manager which players they want, telling the manager who to pick, and when the manager doesn't listen, for the good of the club, he probably gets sacked. if he listens, to please the owners, at the expense of the club and reaults, he probably gets sacked too, after a string of poor results. how dumb.

well. we'll see how this middle east family are gonna transform manchester city. they're gonna try bid for cristiano ronaldo in january?? hmmm....

i'm feeling so sad. goodness i think this is really unhealthy you know, like, constantly feeling so gloomy and weary. but seriously, it's so like, tiring seriously. there's just so much stress, the strains and stresses of contemporary living. life's like a never-ending rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts and work, cliched as it might sound.

i realize there hasn't, in ages, really been a time when i could really absolutely completely forget about my doubts and worries and fears and just simply live in the moment, and appreciate everything for the way they are, without desiring to be somewhere else, doing something else, or even being someone else. life just seems so terribly imperfect, so unsatisfactory. you know the favourite interview question where they ask you, 'If you could live your life all over again, what would you change?' and more often than not, these crazy interviewees would go like, 'absolutely nothing. i love my life just the way it is, i enjoy being who i am, and i appreciate what i have. i just can't imagine having anything more.' boy, i sure admire these people. seriously. it's one of those thump-chest-and-make-v-sign sort of thing man. i mean, how is it possible??!! i really don't understand these people.

it's been another crazy night, so much bull going on. this is really ridiculous.

A song without the words, a man without a soul, a bird without its wings, a heart without a home, a knight without a sword, a sky without the sun, a ship beneath the waves, a child who's lost its way, a door without a key, a face without a name, a breath without the air.

wow, i can barely come to terms with this stunning revelation. ok it's not really a bolt from the blue, but today, i was reminded of my ever increasing fondness for this traditionally quintessentially feminine activity commonly described as retail therapy. yes folks, yes i know, i know. this is starting to appear, well, feminine. but no way man, i'm straighter than a, uhh, flagpole/pencil. i dunno, it's just that of late, i've been experiencing this feeling whenever i enter a mall, shop, whatever, with the intention to purchase something. it's kinda hard to describe the feeling you know, like, this thrill perhaps, of potentially chancing upon a certain item of intrinsic beauty, of unique, indescribable appeal. ok i realize it seems quite spastic raving and gushing about stuff like clothes, like, wth they're just pieces of fabric lying around. but, i dunno lah, just some sensation engulfing me whenever i set out to look for stuff i like. this rush of tingling pleasure, engulfing the soul, stoking the flames of innermost desires.. behold the smooth curves, the sharp lines of the object of desire, encapsulating and enhancing the form of the body....

ah well, i guess it's just some 'growing up' thingy the grown ups like to talk about. i certainly wasn't like that years ago. not so fussy and choosy about the way i dress, didn't pay much attention to the way i carried myself and the impression i made on others. now, good grief, so much attention to detail. so much more time and effort put into stuff like painstakingly moulding and sculpturing the image i depict of myself, so conscious of the impression i leave on others etc etc. and i think a lot of this is somehow translated into my quest for perfect dressing, and i consequently spend a lot more time (and effort) in stores nowadays.

just a little take-pause-and-reflect moment.

teachers' day celebration yesterday was well, quite cool haha. well, moderately fun lah. i mean, it was a good deviation from the humdrum of usual school life i guess. a welcome change and laid back atmosphere. i like the positive vibes =)

but the aces day thing was really stupid lah, seriously, i think it's ridiculous. if i'm not wrong, ACES stands for All Children Exercising Simultaneously. now, there's something very wrong here. i've got no idea why 17 year olds, or even 13 year olds in year 1 for that matter, are made to participate in some childish-looking activity that's meant for 'children'. i'm thinking, based on this, we should still be celebrating children's day, all the way till year 6 then! such fantasies aside, i sincerely find this annual walk pretty inconsiderate to the poor residents along the likes of maidstone road, link road, sandwich road etc. (yes i know those roads have kinda queer names, but that's besides the point.) imagine having to put up with the din of a whole school of roaring, stomping, excitable young people marching past your backyard once a year. ok, it's only once a year, but still. i would think part of the reason for choosing to live there would be the tranquil and laid back atmosphere of the area. bet they didn't count on a nearby school descending upon them as part of a yearly ritual when they moved in! and then, there's also the problem of gridlock along the roads. every ten minutes, we encounter some poor driver trying desperately to inch past the mass of human bodies who seem to have forgetten that roads were built for vehicles. consequently, the teachers would start yelling, 'keep to the left, KEEP TO THE LEFT!' which of course, further contributes to the ruckus.

apart from that, well, the day was pretty ok i guess? the one hour block of lessons was, according to ms ho, supposed to be used for the first one hour of lessons of the day, even though it was at 9. that would make it econs. but apparently, it was supposed to be the lesson at 9 instead. anyway, some of us just stayed in class, and the other econs class, which was scheduled at 9, arrived. so well, econs all the same. it's just one of those things in life haha. and the teacher didn't care about a few extra beings present. and haha, of course we didn't mind too =D =) even more reason to stay in class lol XD

concert was quite cool, quite wacky as per normal, but there was this video featuring one of the 'year 7s' thanking the teachers with so much emotion that i found it a little out of place in the light of the celebratory and upbeat mood. just a little thought.

after the concert, teachers were whisked away somewhere for some teachers' lunch thingy. lesson learnt here: give teachers their presents asap, at the start of the day! =/ anyways, i had some fun catching up with some old friends. funny how teachers' day ends up also serving the purpose of some old boys' gathering haha. and of course, i really enjoyed that small little tiny outing. nothing really significant or special, just a quick outing with a simple lunch thrown in, but indeed, it's who that really counts, not so much where or what. it was just a little something, but thanks for the company and for just being with me! i really enjoyed myself and i really appreciate such little moments of talks and sharing =D

well then, arsenal facing newcastle today. i must admit, yes coach, newcastle do look much improved from last season. i think kevin keegan has settled down and made his mark. they seem more solid, and also appear to have the grit to grind out results even when not playing that well. but then again, they just lost james milner to aston villa, so well, we'll see. i think samir nasri has started his arsenal career really brightly and lets hope he keeps it up. interesting match ahead, and all the best, gunners! aim well, and shoot down all the magpies from the trees!

tireddddd.. so tired. so terribly tormented and tired.

it seems to me that my posts have this recurring theme of fatigue. but sigh, what to do, i'm feeling tired all the time, i really am. and yes, of course both physically and emotionally, as always.

a crazy life, in a crazy world, in crazy times, really drives you crazy

the weather's been pretty foul lately, gloomy and doomy, how it mirrors my feelings. i don't mean to be whiney, but how how how??? ughh, modern life messes with emotions. same old things, recurring again and again. IOP (yes, i'm not done with that), EE, TOK (after the essay, now it's the wretched presentation), etc etc etc etc

oh well, at least chinese oral is over. hope it went fine, i really don't know. i wanna look on the bright side, but it's so damn difficult. just hope that at the end of it all, when i reflect, i will see the light, i will reap the benefits, and i will look back in satisfaction.

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed that with the sun's love,
In the spring, becomes the rose.

my head is throbbing, my eyes are closing, my soul is dying, and my heart is aching.

ok this isn't some emo, cut wrist, jump off, swallow pill type of post, but, blahhh just feeling so miserable. arghh so tired. yet again. it's crazy man, it's like fatigue has become the norm. it's become an integral part of life. sigh, if only the desire to work could naturally become such an intrinsic part of me. then i wouldn't have to worry about all those dreaded tests, exams, IAs, and everything else.....

it's so ironic, but going to school can sometimes be such a terrible waste of time. those crazy 4.40pm days are really starting to bother me more and more. i'm starting to feel more and more that there's really no time for other stuffs..seriously man, 4.40pm?? like, the day's gone just like that. i didn't really think much of it initially, but increasingly detesting the crazy hours. and good grief, those 2h 20 min chucks of econs, seriously. it really plays around with one's sanity. oh, and i got back the first draft of the dumb econs IA. and after spending like altogether maybe, 5 hours of my life just looking for the article, having countless articles rejected, and taking pains to write the damned commentary nicely, it turns out there's so much irrelevant stuff, and the important stuff is not there. enough said.

and i'm starting to get really fed up and also worried about those geog questions. seriously, it's like there's just absolutely no way i can score. like something somewhere will always go wrong.

ok i realize all i want to do now is sleep.

DONE DONE DONE!!!!!

good grief, the weekend was just simply crazy. can't believe it. a gazillion things to do. in particular, bio IA, econs IA, and guess what that effing math portfolio. and guess what, they're all done now. ok i realize this is turning out to be a really pointless post because everyone out there's probably like, 'ok so what, i finished it a week ago.' but i don't care. just such a relief to get those thingies over and done with!!!!!!!!!

arghhhh it's already week 10!! it's this sort of dreaded feeling that hits you really hard, you realize time, does indeed fly. this is crazy. seriously. i'm forever rushing, rushing here, there, rushing to meet deadlines, rushing to.......and there's really no time to stop and take stock of life, you know, stuff like reflect on your life sort of thing. it's like i'm not living in the moment, if i correctly understand that =/ i feel like, erm, i'm not living, just existing. life and time just floats by ever so discreetly, and i'm caught in the web of modern life?? i don't know if i'm putting it very accurately, but well. basically like, i'm just so caught up in the micro aspects of life, like you know, meeting deadlines, doing those dreaded IAs etc, and i lose sight of the macro aspects. and yeah, of course, that reminds me that while economics is already at macroeconomics, i'm still struggling to understand the market structure in microeconomics. ah wells..

and like, the olympics man. throughout this time, i've been so busy with this and that, and doing work and all, and i actually didn't have time to watch the olympics. ok maybe like, a bit here and there? altogether definitely not more than 30 mins of olympic action. and i can hardly believe it man. it's crazy. the whole olympic juggernaut, with its pomp and splendour and action athletes and all, just passed by. and i simply could not make time to watch. ok this is really saddening me. enough.

and today, there was this TOK thingy again. the way i see it, ok i agree these things are good, generally. as in, they are indeed enriching, maybe sometimes interesting, intriguing. but dude, why now???!!! you know, being to close to exams and all...sigh... then it becomes a waste of time. so what is a good life? haha when i first saw it, so many of those angsty, rebellious things came to mind. a life without school. a life without work, etc etc. then after a while, i felt a little emo. like, wth i just burnt more of life away doing the dumb math portfolio and IAs and all, and then you ask me, what is a good life. ok i know this appears retarded but aiyah, you don't get lah. somehow it just spoke to me that way.

"The good life, as i conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good, you will be happy; i mean that if you are happy you will be good." -Bertrand Russell.
blah. coming from a guy who gets high on math. (wth???!!!!) (not a reliable source)

yay.. over with that damned econs IA. now i just need to sit back and see if it's good..

had a really good talk yesterday =D thanks for everything man. thanks for the assurance, thanks for the comforting, thanks for the encouragement, thanks for the morale boosting, thanks for the heartfelt words, thanks for the ideas, thanks for understanding, thanks for listening, thanks for just being there.

ohmygoodnessgraciousme, mikael silvestre!! what a surprise man. 1. he played for manchester united 2. he's over 30!!=) so, surprise, surprise. but a pleasant one i must say. yeah, i really think he's gonna be a very important and valuable signing for the gunners..and what a bargain yeah. 750,000 pounds???!!! i mean, justin hoyte left for 3 million! well, no complaints then. just wanna make a quick shoutout to all gunners out there, look forward to great season! and to the team, all the best guys! blow 'em up i say, with your cannons and AK-47 guns =D

ahh can't believe i woke up at 11.45am today. wth lah, effing waste of time. and there's the stupid math portfolio! -.- bleh =/ zzzzzzzz.... even thinking about it makes me sick. and when i read the nonsense they write about it... "....provide students with opportunities to increase their understanding of mathematical concepts and processes. It is hoped that, by doing portfolio work, students benefit from these mathematical activities and find them both stimulating and rewarding." wth seriously shut up man. there's just something about this type of official, formal statements that never fails to p*** me off. like for instance, another of these type of s**t about econs IA. "Because the portfolio does not add any content to the syllabus, it can be a natural part of classroom and homework activities. It can be used as a motivating factor, increasing the liveliness and relevance of economics classes." get the idea? it's just something this type of ridiculous, absurd, pointless formalized type of official statements which always completely fail to relate to reality, which always exist in some airy fairy fantasy of their own, failing to realize, or perhaps not bothering, that on the ground, the situation couldn't be further from the truth. like seriously, come on man, we all know that we just wanna get the math portfolio over and done with, and certainly the econs IA isn't a motivating factor, and does nothing to increase the "liveliness" (wth???!!!) of lessons right. i mean like ok, we have to do it as part of our IB course, fine, too bad, deal with it. we detest it and it creates stress for both students and teachers, and we just wanna quickly get it over and out of the way man. don't try to gloss over it, make up some fancy-sounding statement to try to make the task seem appealing or enjoyable or what right. like, just accept it's s**t and too bad we have to do it lah. no need to go out of the way to try to justify it or make us pretend to like it or see the point in doing it right. get the point...

well mundane life goes on then....ever-present and ever-mounting assignments, stress and anxieties about relationships, and year end exams goodness...=(

still stuck with the spectre of work.....

ok at least yesterday was quite cool. yeah ok the seminar was quite boring at times, and yeah of course i admit i did use some of the time in that plush red chair to reduce my sleep debt a little. BUT i must admit that it certainly was much more interesting than i had expected it to be. seriously, quite cool man..it was beyond all the 'What is the meaning of life' kind of thing. i think it really explored the issues quite deeply and the entire thingy was conducted in a really fresh, bright kind of perspective.

and yes the speakers! ohmygoodnessgraciousme especially the guy. forgot his name though =( but never mind. seriously i was really awestruck by his public speaking skills. like, i really felt he was able to command attention and respect, without being unfriendly or harsh. ok i realize it's quite out of point to talk about his speaking skills, but anyways, well it's something that really impressed me.

and and, the FOOD! gosh, really didn't expect anything quite like that. i was really quite shocked that they actually bothered to cater such awesome stuffs. ah but then again, it's probably because there were other schools around you see. ah whatever. why the foog am i analysing all these pointless and unimportant stuffs??!! =/

ah, really glad i finally managed to confirm the article for the bloody econs IA. it's ABOUT time huh!

ok i'm really really REALLY tired. and i want to (or rather have to) get going on that damned econs IA. but i can't! because she hasn't replied yet, and i don't know if my latest batch of SEVEN articles contains at least one suitable one. ah well, don't really blame her lah...boy, she really seems quite stressed out these days. got a bit er, emotional today as well..=S

IOP, EE, TOK. these initials have been ever present on my to-do list. now, i'm really getting quite sick of staring at these groan-inducing letters man. damn it. not forgetting the periodic IA. damn all you blasted thingies. like millstones round my neck. ok i've forgetten where i heard that from, just suddenly occurred to me.

ah well, there's always brilliant/ownage/lovely/terrific/out of this world/fantastic musics from westlife, craig david etc etc to soothe me a little i guess. here are some completely random pictures for er, ogling pleasure :p





ok i realize this may actually come across as very very gay :/ ah well, whatever man. i mean, just go see for yourself. so pro!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfO2dV2Fr2k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXt2aRmm13I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1LEISP6e9c&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyZZ7vb_O20&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auUrrsTvhEk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpdwgOvdmhs&feature=related

get the idea?

arghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! work work work!!

ohmygoodnessgraciousme........i'm feeling sooo tired. seriously maybe i could sue IB for failing to consider students' welfare or something like that. or ill treatment or something.. blah.

yay, i really enjoyed yesterday's friendly match against glory bp. inter church soccer friendlies ftw! so fun so fun. well so after church, my fellow hebron soccer homies and i went for lunch at some random food court near the mrt. it was pouring then and i was hoping the match would carry on as planned. so anyway, some time during lunch, the rain stopped. or rather subsided lah, became very very slight. we had loads of time to spare, so some of us headed back to church to uh, rest? just kill time lah basically. bleh, should have brought my no other city to read. i felt so stone.

wow, and i found out israel plays in the prime league for gombak united! cool..way to go dude! match was <33!!>

but wells all in all, i really enjoyed it. great game guys. oh and final score: hebron 1-0 glory yeah. and who else but israel to blast into the top corner. =)

ok i'm seriously pi**ed. very pi**ed. thanks a lot econs IA.

seriously wth. i can't stand it any longer. i'm going to let rip. ok today i wanted to do so many things. i wanted to do econs IA, IOP, get ready for my debut=) tomorrow. etc etc etc etc. but after blowing so much time on the stupid econs IA, there was just no time left. ok so basically after getting 6 of my previous 8 articles rejected, and the other 2 were outdated, i tried very hard. to keep the fire in the belly down. i mean, i spent so much time and effort on those 8 wretched articles you know. and that's it. gone. wasted. down the drain/toilet.

ok so today, part 2 of The Great Search for the Elusive Econs IA Article. i mean wth it's just ONE puny miserable article, and i have to spend like, 4-5 hours (and counting) on it??!! whatever. so after seeing those EIGHT articles crumble to dust, i revived the Great Search and continued my miserable hunt. went through all that **** again. google market failure/negative externalities of smoking/climate change/air pollution/global warming/social costs of smoking/................and how effing long i spent at each search. and how tedious and draining looking through all those stupid links that threw up article after unsuitable article. then the rare moments i find one i think is suitable, the date is like a gazillion years before i was born. wth. and the process starts all over again. and after burning dunno how long, i get 5 articles. and mind you, it's just looking for the damned article. it's not like i spent all this time evaluating, giving sound economic analysis, painstakingly drawing and perfecting the diagrams. seriously damn waste time.

and now as i again wait for the verdict on my choice of articles, i really can't help but fume and rant about the stupid econs IA system. ok i think it's really dumb. firstly, why do we have to choose our own articles? i think it'll be much better if they give us the article, and then we write our commentary. ok i know it may sound stupid, like doesn't that confine you to a certain limited area, gives you no freedom in the topic etc etc. but honestly i think it might be better that way. it saves us from floundering around looking for a stupid article that's 'suitable for economic analysis'. must source for article, consult if it's ok and all. just give the article, and then we can start concentrating on producing a good commentary lahh. i mean, after all what's the point seriously. they just want to see how we 'evaluate economic concepts and theories in the context of real-world examples' right. so why waste our time and effort scouring for one?? just provide one, it's easier for all parties that way right.

and then even worse, they come up with all those stupid rules that really don't make sense and serve no purpose, except to make life more difficult for the student. seriously, think about it. like, the article must be dated like 6 months before the start of the course. and i read the IA guide, there's this word that really makes my blood boil. contemporaneous. this word is just somehow very irritating. i think it's the way it's repeatedly repeated in the guidebook, like they're so proud about being able to use a word that has 15 letters and 5 syllables, up from the usual what, 2 or 3? and they're so happy and they want to show off the word. but anyway, the point is, what's the purpose of this dumb rule seriously?????

and then there's this thing about having to use 'four different sources', one for each commentary. this one really takes the cake i tell you. stupidest of all stupid rules. think about it. first of all, it can be a bit bewildering to learn what they mean by different sources. for example, straits times online is considered the same source as straits times print. but different newspapers=different sources. and and best of all, straits times and sunday times are considered different sources. zzzzz pfffft bleh -.- ...... what kind of logic is this??!! first of all, the classification of sources is dumb. and then, whose dumb idea is it to come up with this kind of stupid rule anyway. like seriously, again what's the point of this rule?? how does it benefit us or whatever???!!!

doesn't make sense. just making life difficult. just trying to live up to the reputation of IB being challenging and rigorous. come on lah econs IA, get a life. don't be lame. even someone as lifeless as me finds doing the IA such a waste of life.

that aside, here's a shoutout to all the guitar people!!! you were great! i loved it mann..=)