Exams ended for me yesterday (or technically, the day before yesterday) - not much to say about it really save for that there appeared to be some kind of consensus among the class that the compulsory question was quite one kind, for anything else we'll just wait for the boxing day present from nus...I'm still in pgp though, at least up till friday, cos i've amassed quite a bit of stuff over here over the past two months or so and i'll need transport to bring it all back, and the folks have been away as of late - which has complicated overall happenings at home but anyways...Yup so to that end i was looking forward to today, cos, armed with my zoo card that costs a bomb but i've not used ever, i was sorta intending to take a random trip up to Mandai and perhaps cover both the zoo and the night safari at one shot.As they always say, however, the best laid plans of man can go wrong, and to that end it just had to be today when the rain came and lasted practically throughout the day up till early evening. I wouldn't actually have minded still going there, just that i think the animals would probably be less keen on the constant rainfall than i am.So instead, and so as not to totally waste the day just lounging in my room, i decided to take a looong walk over to Kent Ridge Park, just cos i've not been there in a while - and so off i went on a methinks 45 minute trek in the pouring rain (i made an exception to my general lack of enthusiasm for umbrellas even in the pouring rain simply cos it was such a long walk) and then got there and just soaked it all in (the scenery, as well as the water into my sandals and berms). One thing that cracked me up was some of the anti-poaching/fishing signs that i encountered there:
While there, i chanced upon an info board that listed some of the bird species that one might encounter in the park - but as it was pouring unceasingly at the time i didn't think that i'd actually be able to spot any of them. One bird listed though, did catch my attention, the White-crested Laughingthrush, which inspite of my semi-familiarity with local bird species, i'd not paid much attention to before.So then on my way back i decided to use the science park route, and just as i was going down the steps towards there, i heard this noisy group of birds in the trees above me (they must have been unsettled by my sudden appearance cos i was like one of ten or less people in the whole park, as far as i could count) - it was a call unfamiliar to me - and it sounded strangely like laughter. Then i looked up and after a couple of seconds, i spotted them - a group of at least six or seven White-crested Laughingthrushes =) Unfotunately i did not get a shot of them, but i must say, as geeky as it sounds, that spotting them made my whole rain-soaked trek to the park more than worth it.
I dunno if these were clouds but if they were, they sure were low...
My downstairs neighbor is an intriguing fella - i've never met him before but i've heard his music very frequently (throughout the day and night) and at very loud volumes to boot - it's an eclectic mix of repeated mandarin pop (kinda brings me back to my army days when my ears were constantly at the mercy of my bunk mates, for one particular CD each from Jay Chou and Stefanie Sun were all that they ever would play for two and a half months - no surprise there as to why i can sing to you at least the choruses of virtually every song on those two albums) and tacky Disney showtunes. The chao mugger in me is inclined to stick my head outside and yell at him to turn the volume down, but oh well, the chao mugger in me is miniscule to say the least. Oh, and did i mention he sings/whistles along to the songs as well?Ah but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, eh? This is the perfect opportunity for more random ramblings...I was doing my usual morning browse through the internet news, when i came across this report on endengered species rulings in the US. Apparently there was this official in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (and surprise surprise, she's a Bush appointee) who was using her influence to unduly pressure scientists into altering their findings that would have otherwise given certain species protection under the Endangered Species Act. Earlier on, she also had used her position to influence the delisting of a species of fish from the Act - and it so happens that the fish was endemic to the area where she so happened to have an 80-acre farm. Disgusting, if you ask me. Well, she has since resigned, thankfully. I especially like what this environmentalist was quoted as saying in the wake of that: "Julie MacDonald's reign of terror over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is finally over." And also what a congressman said about her actions being an example of "this administration's penchant for torpedoing science." Haha... Hopefully once Bush finally leaves someone will take over who will get down to signing and ratifying Kyoto once and for all.And while we're on the subject of Kyoto, another reason i'm glad that Labour has won in Australia is that unlike Howard, Rudd's firmly committed to the need to be a good steward of the environment and to that end is going to ratify Kyoto as well - not a moment too soon either, given the latest report that puts the Aussies as the worst carbon emitters per capita. It's nice also that his cabinet features a specific ministry, apart from environment, dedicated to water and climate change - he's obviously sending a message that he's serious about it.And speaking of the Aussie PM i was doing more random wiki-ing and found out that his annual salary is $330,000 (i presume it's Aussie dollars, but anyway nowsaday they're almost on par =p). The American President's salary is justifiably somewhat higher: US$471,000 (enough for peanuts, i suppose)... Fair enough. S$3.1 million? You gotta be kidding me man...
i was thinking back again about the latest happenings in the Philippine political scene again, and then i remembered that i did in fact get stranded there once beforehand due to a coup attempt - it was quite a serious one too - lasted for about a week, and the Presidential Palace itself was hit. But then even then (1989), it was really nothing to get overly worried about. Or at least that's what i perceived from how people were reacting to it over there (but then again, i was all of six years old at the time). Maybe it's some of that been there, done that feeling that has been passed on to me, such that i don't really see all the nonsense that's going on there as much more than just that - annoying nonsense...
eh, and i guess i should make the disclaimer that any views expressed here are strictly my own personal views =p
Hmm should try and do some work eh...
In the mood for some randomness so...About two weeks ago went together with Clem, SJ and Weichang to Astons, where we had a real good meal. Here's a more-than-decent New York Strip with house salad and coleslaw, all for just $13.80.
What was a bit intriguing about the meal is that we did not head over to near my old place in Katong to have dinner, but rather we went to, of all places, pgp... Yup Astons has just opened an express outlet in the pgp food court, which is really quite an unlikely place for so atas an establishment wouldn't you say? But well business appears to be good for them, even though from my observation the prices are no cheaper than they are at Katong. But well, the prices are really reasonable given the quality anyways, so no complaints there. One other good thing is that while the ambience is hardly as good as that in Katong, at least one doesn't have to wait in line for at least half-an-hour outside the restaurant inhaling car exhaust to even get seated. I suspect that a good proportion of their clientele comes from western exchange students who are hard-pressed to find more authentic so-called 'western' food close enough to nus than that at Astons...Anyways, yours truly is looking for excuses to go there again so if anyone is ever in school with a somewhat padded wallet and in the mood for a good steak/burger etc just buzz me heh...In other news, it was a little sad to hear of Martina Hingis' abrupt second retirement from pro tennis under a cloud of suspicion, especially when it involves something like cocaine of all things. Well drugs aside, it's a pity that such an impressive career had to end in such a manner... Women's tennis is nowadays chockfull of hard-hitting banshees in the general mode of Maria "make every shot a power shot" Sharapova, and Hingis' clever and nuanced way of playing flies in the face of all that. Even though Hingis used to be a bit of a brat when she was playing long ago, since she returned to the sport all that's by and large gone, and she'd become one of my more favorite players. And with Anastasia Myskina also out of commission for now, it's hard to find another top-tier female player in that mould... Ah heck, i reckon most people reading this wouldn't have a clue what i'm rambling on about... Heh.I was wandering around Cold Storage yesterday when i came across this - Saffron - the world's most expensive spice. One gram of the stuff retailing at $11.01. Fwah. But in any case, you must admit, the packaging is such a clear example of excess - the stuff is so expensive that i suppose it has to be well-showcased... I don't see what's the big deal about saffron though, all it does is add a nice orange-y color, i don't taste any difference when it's added to food...
After that, and while killing time before heading to law for some thingy, i took a brief walk around the botanics, and chanced upon the Wildlife Stampede thingy that was going on - to spread the conservation message, something close to my heart as well. While there was a really long line of people who took part, definitely more than half of them were ang mohs, and even many of the Asians who i saw were from SAS. Sadly, i don't think most S'poreans could care two hoots about conservation. While S'pore doesn't really have a lot left to conserve, it doesn't mean we should not bother to do anything at all... The recent motorcross thingy that they agreed to open in Kranji or somewhere in the general northwestern direction at the expense of an important site for local birdlife, and @#$% golf courses that take up lots of space, destroy valuable habitat, and are by and large catered to the elite do so annoy me...Oh, but anyways, i've digressed. My point in mentioning this was that i managed to catch sight and take a distant picture of Dame Jane Goodall. Cheap thrill, but ah well...
And in keeping in the spirit of boliaoness, she's probably about the fourth most famous person i've ever sneakily taken a picture of, after John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, and Chris Matthews (Well actually, if you're not American, you'd probably not have heard of these three people, but conversely, i reckon that most Americans have no idea who's Jane Goodall but will know who the other three are, in descending order...)
In other news, the Tar Heels are #1 - woo! Go heels!
It's been a good three weeks now since i moved (booked?) in to pgp. So far it's not exactly worked out as how i'd expected - in the sense of how the time that would otherwise have been spent traveling to and from school from my house has now been put to use. Of course, what other way would i in theory intend to spend the two extra hours of free time than to do school stuff - i.e. readings, papers, tutorials etc? Instead, the reality so far has been largely one of spending more time sleeping and slacking in my pgp room (read: what i'm doing now) rather than doing exactly the same in my room in the house.And the prevalent conditions actually favor me slacking off a bit, since my deadlines are relatively far away, and hence the panic syndrome that usually kicks in a couple of days before the papers are due has yet to appear. I'm really trying to reverse this apathy towards work though, so watch this space and hopefully the next time i appear (whenever that will be) at least the first paper will be close to done with.One good thing that has come out of staying here though is that i've finally managed to find ample opportunities to run, something i maintain is absolutely lacking back at home. No more being confronted by traffic lights every what seems like thirty metres or so; or incessant noxious vehicle fumes; or intriguing bohemian types with remarkable hairstyles, creative body piercings, and eternally puffing on a ciggy.So to that end since i've moved in i've run more times than i have over the entire holiday and the school term before moving in. Or around there, at least. This is not entirely in the interests of a healthy lifestyle though, as ippt is rearing its annoying ugly head again, and so i'm due for that in less than a month. This time i've really no lofty ambitions whatsoever. If i pass (sans $100), i'll already be happy, since i've been largely inactive for months on end prior to moving in. Hope to continue this after ippt too though. Supplemented by tennis at some point or other and maybe a swim (and on that note, the vegetarian stall lady in the arts canteen has for the past few weeks recognized me as the not-so-Chinese guy who cannot understand half the Mandarin she spouts out to me whenever i go to the stall, and hence will automatically switch to English whenever i appear; but this morning she went about the old routine of speaking to me in Mandarin again, and i was actually wondering if that was cos i've been out of the sun as of late and hence have been getting lighter and so am starting to look more Chinese again).
God's been speaking to me in various ways and more than usual this past week or two, glad for that - though there's quite a bit of stuff that requires some revamping though... However, my brain is incredibly slow when it comes to processing such thought, so hopefully things won't be so bad this time...
Make no mistake about it though - i'm at a loss - it's not an intentional delay, that's for sure.
I just got done with one thesis proposal and two papers within the past four days or so (and kept close to twenty-hour days too), yup so now i'm in the mood for anything but work.So to that end (gosh you have no idea how many times i used that phrase in my papers), i'm making my first visit back here after quite a while. I guess by the grossly reduced frequency (and length) of my posts here compared to last time you can tell how much more busier have been nowsaday... Hmm...Well, thankfully after a long drawn-out exchange of emails with the campus housing people, i got offered a room at pgp this past tue. And i figured i really needed it yup, so to cut a long story short i'm now a weekday westie...It feels a bit weird to be here though. When my parents were driving me and all my stuff to pgp on Sun night, i had a feeling of déjà vu, and i knew exactly why - cos it felt just like old times on Sunday nights when they'd drive me back to book in to camp. Yup here's kinda like army camp, just without the regimentation... But at least now i save an extra two hours that would otherwise be spent traveling and contributing to a public transport system that can always be depended upon to find new ways to irk me each and every day... Even that alone makes it a fair enough trade-off...
I dunno if these were clouds but if they were, they sure were low...
