childish?

After typing that entry, I realise that it was quite cathartic and rather childish of me.

Anyway, I will blog about my class reunion (that went on last saturday) soon. I have photos too :P

What is with these people

There are two people that has been pissing me off for the past week. Let's call them L and S.

Well, L*** wanted to take the media class that I am in so she asked me about the class (how it is and stuff) and I was happy to oblige because I would have someone familiar in the class. Then the horror started. She keeps asking me for the textbooks and note to the class. And that is all she ever talks to me about. Walked by her this afternoon, L says immediately, "hi ... do you have the textbook for the media class?" That's all!! No hi, how are you?? And this is like the 3rd time she is asking me. I thought you are suppose to get it YOURSELF!! If you were nice to me I would have lent you my photocopied text (which by the way, has Infringed on almost all the copyright laws :).

And the most annoying thing is that she cannot pronounce me name properly. At first, I thought it was her short vietnamese lisp which prevented her from pronouncing my name properly. So my name came out "shaw" instead of 'Shawn'. Then I get an sms which started "hi Shaw..." Argh ...

Okay then S****, another girl in the class. She mentioned that I could borrow her readings and I just needed to sms her on the day to bring it. I smsed her to bring to class and no reply. I see her in class (without any files or big bags) on the same day and she did not approach me to say anything. So I assumed that she does not want to lend me. Fine ...

I organise a group to photocopy the readings today and while walking to the library, another friend mentions to S that we are going to photocopy the readings. S then says "hey I already have all the readings, why don't I lend you all the readings to photocopy?" OMG deja vu. But S turns to me and says, "Oh shawn knew that I had it and smsed me the other day. I BROUGHT the file but I did not talk to her so ..." How was I suppose to know that I was suppose to talk to you when you did not even reply. By the way, you LIAR, you did not bring a file that day. You brought one of those small bags that can only carry a wallet, pen and phone.

Argh ... people are so annoying. I want to move to the mountains and be a hermit.

The widget worked

Amazing ... :)

I LOVE my iBook!!!

Testing my new Blogging Widget

I just downloaded a new widget for my ibook. Hopefully it can link with the Blogger.com and appear on my website.

So the process is I type into an application on the dashboard (something like a second layer on top of the desktop for those windows pp). And the application (hopefully) links with the internet and publishes this post.

Here goes ...

trips

under construction

photos

under construction

Play with my pig

adopt your own virtual pet!

If you are bored

I am doing my readings now for comparative politics, and Mao sent me this link. Very entertaining. Look at it if you are bored or you are trying to indulge in a little escapism. Here is the link.

My life so far

I just realise that I have not been blogging for a while. After the euphoria of receiving the new ibook, I seem to forget that one od the main reasons for getting the ibook is so that I can access the internet from my room (which by implication would mean that I would be able to blog more). By the way, SORRY to the person that I am leaching bandwidth from ... well I am not that sorry *evil grin*.

So for the past week, I have been trying to settle my school timetable. YES!! I am in the final semester of my Masters program and will be completing in the next few months (after an exhuasting schedule of assignments and seminars). So for the really kay-poh pp, I will be doing:
- Media, Public Opinion and Public policy [this is held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of public policy and it is BEAUTIFUL! The number of donors they have ... amazing. And they have such a nice reception area and nice classrooms for the 100 odd students that they have. While the hoi polloi slum it out in the ASes]
- Economic Growth in East Asia [ I am assure by everyone that takes this module that it is soooo easy and an A is guaranteed. And more importantly, I don't have to do the readings.]
- Contemporary japanese social Issue {all the better to understand the Jap dramas .. harhar!! well not really but it does help in some way]
- Approaches to Comparative Politics [Kjiaw (pronounced Chor) - Burmese lecturer educated in Cornell ... very interesting teaching method and very interesting content. Enough Said)

So sadly my life so far is revolving around school and work. Not much of work though since ALL I do now is go into office and check the email (oh it's Col so and so ... does concern ME ... IGNORE). The most I do is to plan when I will be taking leave - usually on the days that I have morning classes.

Oh and my life on TV land is rather limited. Joan of Arcadia and Gilmore Girls on Sundays. Then followed by the Apprentice (yes I got sucked into the show - kill me Whydoncha!). And of course America's Next Top Model - no ... dont need to tell me. I already know Naima is the winner of this season 4. God ... TCS is a real slowpoke when it comes to acquiring foreign shows. (don't cha love it when they are televising Spiderman - the first installment - two years after the movie was released and they actually have the audacity to tag it with a line - "FIRST TIME ON TV"!! Of course it is the first time on TV cos you are so farking slow. And you are the only local English channel.)

My precious find tonight - with relation to the America's Next Top Model - it's the blog of the second runner up for the first season Ellyse Sewell. It is really her and she is in Hong Kong. Should read her blog if you want a good perspective on the model industry. Also a plus is that she can actually WRITE and she writes well.

I finally have my darling iBook

yes, I finally got my ibook. After collecting it at 1.30 pm yesterday. I had to drag it all around campus and attend two classes with the box (containing the ibook) and a large plastic bag (containing the ugly FREE laptop bad that they gave me - when is a free thing ever not ugly). And the worst thing I had to take public transport home with these two bags and my backpack filled with library books and papers. But it was worth it. Exploring the ibook is really rewarding and really makes me happy that I have made the switch to Apple. A note though - when I was carrying the box around campus, EVERYONE turned to look. And when the computer guy took it out to configure, people were looking and commenting about how pretty it looks. I guess it defnitely beats those ugly black IBMs and silver Fugitsus. So now is the beggining of the process of installing the different softwares to make this ibook usable. Its going to be a long process.

I did think of posting some photos of the ibook. But then ALL ibooks are the same and the only difference is the surroundings. Also I could take a photo of me holding the ibooks but then I am rather camera shy. So i guess if you want a picture of the ibook, you can just go to apple.com or any apple store to ogle at it.

My iBook is ready for collection

My ibook is finally ready for collection. I will be collecting it tom at 1.30 pm and then hurray ... the wait is finally over for me.

Then its up to Pdus to teach me the ways of Apple.

iBooks and Tau Suan

I think I am getting obsessed with getting my ibook. Maybe its just the excitement of owning something that I have wanted to get for the last few months. The end is near!!! So I am surfing around, looking at the things that I want to install in my new ibook. Yes ... i am going to get it SOON - probably in another week's time. NUS really has a good deal for the ibook - comes with free 512 mg RAM and extended 3 year warranty for only $1772. Well, it's not that cheap if you are not earning any or little money. BUT compared to other laptops, it really is a good deal. So I have worked out what I want to install and what internet browser I should use with the Mac (I think I will use Firefox). And then there is Scribe which is soooo essential if you are going to write an academic paper. It basically works like Citation for Windows - allows you to create bibliographic notes for your essay AND helps you create those beautiful bibliography at a click of a button. It's really essential!!


Okay another thing I am currently obsessed about is Tau Suan. I felt like eating it for the past few weeks but never really found a store that has good Tau Suan. Either too watery or too little Tau. So I decided to make my own tau suan. I looks really easy: just steam it and then make the startchy sweet soup base(?) and then add beans. How difficult can that be. The only problem I have is where can I find/buy the you tiao?

School is starting in 5 .. 4 .. 3 .. 2 ..

School is starting. The bulk of my classes will start next week but I have already attended a class last Thursday. Yawn ... On the one hand, I don't think I have sufficiently rested to being another semester. But on the other hand, I am really excited to start this new semester because:
- I realise that I have been bored these past few months. With no strucutred classes to motivate me to read stuff, I have basically done little reading except for the Shannara series by Terry Brooks and a few other non-fiction books - How globalisation works?, Everything bad is good for you (Really interesting and highly recommended ), some book I about brand marketing about using the five senses (which I can't remember the title and can't be bother to google to find it) and numerous other books about finding the right career for you (I still can't decide what colour my parachute is).
- this semester is my last one. I will be taking 5 subjects and then I will finish up my course. Yippee!!
- it coincides with the end of my indentured slavery under the National Consciption Act. Hurrah!!

So it really is a period pregnant with expectations. (I think I used that correctly) The only concern I have now is what to tae for my five subjects. I think I will taking:
- Media, public opinion and public policy (Attending the first class made me think how the subject was related to what Toby, Sam and CJ did in the West Wing - spinning the story and controlling the media. I guess only Nimale will understand what I am talking about.)
- Economic Growth and Development (usual developement economics stuff)
- Economic Growth in East Asia (Covering the East Asian Economic Success)
- Contemporary Japanese Social Issues (Interesting. Should be talking about the aging population, salarymen, disenfranchised youths, iron triangle ...)
- Approaches to Comparative Politics (No idea what this will be about but it's taught by some guy who is highly recommended by friends. He is also a Burmese expert so it should be interesting)

Goodness ... how dreary all these must sound. I guess the tone of the blog will be changing from this point on. It will be about academic trivia and essay deadlines. What joy!

Humilty and Pride

On Sunday, I watched this newish (on the local networks but not in the US ) show called Joan of Arcadia. I read that it was pretty interesting so I watched it. Actually, I was watching it cos I was waiting for Gilmore Girls to start (which btw, is getting a little too Dawson's Creek for me). So the premise of Joan is that the titular girl meets these different people who know intimate details about her and are actually one person - GOD! Yes God!! So the show is a little a la Joan d'Arc - modern day version with the high school angst and the internet. It's a rather interesting concept given that the other holy-moly show I can think of is "Touched by an Angel" which STINKS.

One interesting idea that GOD (which at that moment was a electrician fixing a street lamp) tells Joan is that you have to have Pride. So Joan (being the teenager) says, "what about all the stuff about Humility?".

Answer: You have to be good at what you do to be humble. Goodness, that sounded like a sunday school message ... brought to you by the letters G ... O .... D and the number 7.

I am going to order my ibook TODAY

For those who have been following my ibook saga (which I can tell isn't a lot), I will be getting my ibook for my University. I will be getting the 12" ibook and it comes with free 512 RAM and the warranty is extended to 3 years. :) So hopefully in about 2 weeks time, I will be blogging from my new ibook.

ibook is finally updated.

For the 12"

1.33GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @1.33GHz
512MB memory (DDR333 SDRAM)
12.1-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
ATI Mobility Radeon 9550
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Scrolling Trackpad
Sudden Motion Sensor

All gibberish to the non-initatied :D .. which includes me but when you have been waiting for the past two months for the update, it's all heavenly words.

Most importantly, there is an increase in memory, speed, hard drive, and built in Bluetooth. hahaha .. i am going to order mine tomorrow!!

Nice?

Okay ... so i started this last night while waiting for America's Next Top Model to start (which btw is rather too drama mama this season). And I thought I can easily complete in 10 mins and then post it on the blog but somehow, it seems to more difficult to paste a flash file in the blog entry.

So this has somehow turned into another adventure into the ugly world of html coding and the unfortunate exercise of trial and error (I am beginning to think that it is actually and exercise in Futility but anyway...). I think I have finally got the correct html codes to input the flash file in the entry. So here it is:



Nice??

Can it be?!?!?!

Its finally here ... (Handel's MESSIAH playing in the background!!!!)

Steve Jobs has finally decided to update the ibook (according to the rumor mills of the Apple community). To quote the report from thinksecret.com:

July 19, 2005 - Reliable sources have confirmed that Apple's consumer laptop will receive a long overdue refresh very soon, possibly as early as later today.

Details on the updated iBook are unknown, however, although multiple unconfirmed tips have indicated that a long-rumored widescreen iBook may finally come to light with the new iBook.

So Excited!!!!

Let's see in about 7 hours (US Tuesday Morning)
______________________

Edited - 22 July 2005

Okay. My Bad... The ibook was not updated this week. BUT... the signs point to an update next Tuesday. All the apple sites are buzzing with the rumors.

And the Apple Store for Singapore has changed their delivery time from "same business day" to 3-5 days. And, ahem, 3 days from today is ... (drum roll please ...) TUESDAY!! This day is significant as it (apparantly, according to the pp in the mac forums, Tuesdays are the day that Apple gives updates to their products.).

So fingers crossed!!

I think I bombed in my interview

I went for my interview at the MFA yesterday. The funny thing is that they put you in a room before meeting the panel. I think it was suppose to calm you cos there is a lot of plush sofas and books. But the annoying thing was the elevator music that was piped into the room. AND IT WAS ON REPEAT!! How is a person suppose to concentrate with the "Sounds of the Forest" rendition of Pachebel's Canon playing in the background. I am sure that it was not intentional but the music does add stress to the candidate. ("All the better to soften them up for the kill" ... hahaha).

So anyway, I think that I bombed. They were asking questions like:
- What is the challenge for Singapore and Malaysia's relationship, given the assumption of their interdependency?
- What are the challenges for Singapore and Malaysia and the policy response for Singapore?
- same for Indonesia and Singapore.
- Does the Doha Round have any relevance to Singapore?
- Is Singapore's strategy in bilateral trade agreement good?

These I fumbled along and gave answers that are generic and non-comittal. And somehow, I ended up mentioning "International Trade and Openness" in a lot of my answers. I sounded like some Free Trade Liberal activist.

And then the other generic questions:
- Why did you go o/s?
- Why did you do your masters?
- What boooks / journal do you read besides the Straits Times, CNA ...?

These I could handle. Basically, it was blah blah blah about exposure and wanting to learn more and "I read the Economist". But the last answer backfired when he (Director of SEA) asked "So what books do you read?". Blink Blink ... The most recent book I read was a compendium of the SWORD OF SHANNARA series. Definitely not the type of book that can help in Singapore's foreign policy. UNless, Singapore is under attack by the evil Warlock King and they are in need of the Sword of Shannara to SAVE THE DAY. But I doubt that.

So comes the crux: "Since you are only graduating in Dec, you cannot start now right?" RIGHT!! So when I graduate in Dec, then I will be considered again for the position vis-a-vis the future Dec batch of candidates. Ie. DON'T CALL US. WE'LL CALL YOU!!!

The good thing about the interview is that it was only 30 mins long. And I got to watch SIN CITY with Nimales after that and I had a Banana Spilt from Dome (I finished it all by myself :D He had a Nuts and Oats Sundae - the green tea ice cream was good too). The show is good. Every looks either menancing or hot or weird. Which is how the comic book was. And the cinematography was excellent. Very Interesting filming style. And I love the Black and White and some random colours to accentuate. Go and catch it. You definitely will not watch something like in a while. Escape from the lame and the mundane.

30 Minutes and counting

I have 30 more minutes till I leave the office and go for my interview. And then it will be a 30 minutes bus ride and another 5-10 minute walk into Minden Road and I will be sitting in front of the "Final Selection Panel". How intimidating. So freaked out!! And yet I told myself that I would not be nervous, I would not be freaked out. I told myself that even if I dont get this job, it's no biggie. I told myself that I may not even accept the job if I get it, so what's the big deal. But somehow it is not working. My heart is pounding and I am feeling dehydrated but I wanna go PEE!!!

I prepared for this interview:
- What is you greatest goal?
- What do you want to achieve in the future?
- Why did you want to join the ministry?
And on and on ... I just hope that I don't clam up during the interview. I also hope that they are not mean to me or don't employ the "I am mean to you so let's see how he respond" type of interview style.

I decided that I should blog about this and get it out. But it doesn't seem to be working. I am still feeling shitty.

The plus side is that I will be watching Sin City after the interview. So that will at least sustain me through the interview.

So ... 20 mins more till 3 pm. Then everything will be set in motion. The blocks will fall and there is nothing to stop it now.

Wish me Luck!!!