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!!!

I got through to the Second Round

I got through to the second round of interviews for the MFA position.

When is it going to be updated?

About a month ago, I mentioned that I wanted to buy an iBook. I have not bought it yet. I still want to get it but it seems that the hardware is due for an update, according to this website. So I decided that since I have till August to get it (when the new school term starts).

It has been a few weeks now and the update is still not here yet. The various Apple conference has come and gone and the discount schemes (in the US) has been implemented and has eneded. Yet, the iBook is still not updated. WHY????????

Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel and just buy the damn laptop but what if the update happens just after I buy it. Murphy's law huh?!

So Come on Stevie ... update the damn bloody iBook. I am going insane here and August is coming in 21 days!!! TICK TOCK TICK TOCK ... (take a chance you stupid ho!!)

I Still Call Australia Home!!

I love this ad. I saw it for the first time in Melbourne in (i think) 2000. The version then was a little different but the concepts were similar (kids in white tops and black pants singing their hearts out to the tune of "I Still Call Australia Home"). This version was shown during the Sydney olympics 2004.

Interesting Fact about the ad:
- The finale, shot at Whitehaven Beach in Queensland, features 500 children in the shape of the Qantas kangaroo. Nearly half of these children came from local schools.
- It took five months to film, from late October 2003 until early March 2004.
- 169,561 kilometres travelled. That is 4.25 times around the globe!
- 112,370 feet or 280 rolls of film were used.
- 656 production crew from 9 countries.
- 245 hours of filming took place.
- Everything was shot on location.

If only Singaporean ads were this good!!

MFA replied

In the middle of June, I sent in an application for the Foreign Serivce Officer Position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And today, they replied. I know this may sound conceited, but I actually winged the application and gave pretty stupid answers to their question on "What do you think is the challenge for Singapore's Foreign Service?" and "Why do you want to be a Foreign Service Officer?". But they replied and they are asking me in for some tests. Actually its more like a multitude of tests:

"Stage 1 of the selection process consists of the following five
assessments:-

a) Analysis Test
b) Writing Skills Test
c) Reasoning Test
d) Situational Judgement Test
e) Personality Test"

So it seems I have gotten into the first round and hopefully I get pass these tests successfully next Tuesday (12th). So pray for me and wish me luck.

Hopefully they do not expose me for the fake that I am. :P

Also, how fortunate that these tests are happening on the day that the office is organising some LAME RECREATION DAY!! So with this excuse, I am escaping from lame activities like tug-of-war and Drunken Sailor.

What joy!! What luck!!

Poor little Nick Nick

Nicky got injured on saturday and his eyelids were scratched. It was basically his fault cos he started antagonising the other dog. And of all other dogs, he choose a Golden Retreiver who is obviously bigger than him. So now he has to wear that cone around his head so that he doesn't meddle with his eyes. So take care ...

___________

Another picture of Nicky when he did not have that ricidulous cone on him (which, by the way, has been scrapping his neck and causing his neck to be red and sore).

Anyway, I like this picture and it is also my MSN pix (for now).

Montage-a-Google

Red book Mao Zedong

I found this really fantastic tool for creating pictures that look professional and yet are so simple to use. Just look at the picture that I created just by typing "red book mao zedong" into the search field and then it searches google and creates a montage based on the pictures that was retreieved. The guy that created this tool (which I think is a flash-based application) is a genius.

You can access my new toy in the "Cool" section - 'Montage-a-Google'. Enjoy!

I have also plucked this code from this website, Madarin Design which teaches you (or let you steal) the codes to create these great looking text. So no more boring text ... now they can be aligned to the right or left. :P

Lousy Singaporean Propaganda

For the past couple of weeks, I have noticed the Total Defence ads on the publics buses in Singapore. They are an attempt by the government to create a 'nation' or (for those in the know, Ben Anderson's) 'imagined community'. They have economic, social, ... and others which I can't remember.

Anyway, I take offence at the Economics defence slogan - it sayd to "Read something Useful during your bus ride" (or something to that effect). This is so that we (the citizens of Singapore .. pledge ourselves as one united .... ahem .. got carried away) .. so that we can defend the economy of Singapore by being employable.

It got me thinking - WHY should I read something useful to defend the country? If I wanted to read something useful (and I do - my Economist), I read it so that I can know what is happening around the world without the "red and white" tinted glasses of the Straits Times. I DON'T do it for the sake of staying employable. And who is the government to tell me to read something useful... How irritating! But then isn't this the usual PATERNALISTIC method employed by the government.

(Too bad I could not get a picture of it. I was sitting too far away and the camera click of my k700 would have been too obvious.)

But I did take a photo of another ad on my side of the bus:



This, I find interesting. Sure I don't disagree with the whole concept of Social Defence - we have to have racial harmony to function. They have four names there and I guess that they are meant to represent the different races in Singapore - Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian (the order is based on the population composition). But the order of the names are reverse according to their composition. Also

Vjay = Indian
Yusuf = Malay
Chiew = Chinese (if you can believe the weird spelling. Question: why not TAN or even LEE?)

The big Question is what race is Jeff suppose to be?? I guess Eurasian. But isnt that kind of generic - it could be European, American, or even CHINESE!!

Another thing is when people inscribe "WE WERE HERE", it is usually behind the bus chair, on the toiler door or on a school desk. Does this ad subtly promote VANDELISM?

Okay, enough analysing. See what happens when you are in the bus without any reading materials (of course so that I can stay employable) or any friends to talk to (of course here I am refering to my multicultural friends. The Ceylonese-but usually mistaken as an INDIAN and my Chinese-but usually mistaken as MALAY).

Good God ... its Tampons!!!

Just read from the Economist that in this years Venice Bienale, there is a art installation by Joana Vasconcelos. She is an artist who loves to play with the idea of femininity, of the "womanly knowledge", and to put it on its head.

From far, the chandelier actually looks just like it is made of glass.



But if you click on the image, you will get a up close picture of the chandelier and you can sort of make out that it is actually made of TAMPONS. That's right ... tampons.

I want to go to Venice now to see for the Bienale. Even if it is just to see this TAMPON CHANDELIER.

Escapism?

Today I came across a mention about a scholarship for Singaporeans to study (of all things) Maritime Economics. Sounds interesting and you get to go to the Netherlands to get the MSc from the Erasmus University. (Yes Stef ... i have a fascination with Europe). Application is due end of next week though so I have only one week to consider.

I was thinking I should just go ahead and complete the forms and see how.. But would this be the ultimate escapism? From work ... From responsibilities ... From Life ...
____________________________

Update: 10 June 2005
After much vaccilation, I have decided that I will not apply for this scholarship. What am I to do with a masters in maritime economics and LOGISTICS? I can't even tell the difference between a ship and a ship (see, i can't even give you an example of the different ships). So I shall wait for my next opportunity which is in October when the new scholarhips under the EU Erasmus program are released. There is the Masters in Economics and Law ... and hopefully something else, maybe in the field of International Trade. I hope ...

In the meantime, I have started my resume and will start mailing it out soon.

I am thinking of buying ...

Currently looking at the prices and checking out the reviews for the 12" ibook. It seems like a really good buy. Also, my current laptop is dying - the battery do not work anymore but the computer still can function if you plug in the power source. But what use is a laptop without its battery - it becomes a desktop.

Anyway this ibook seems to pack in a lot of stuff - CDRW and DVD player and other techinical specifications that looks impressive :D

Anyway, I have not bought it yet. Still in the process of sourcing for finances. I am thinking of selling my laptop (that would get me about $200-300) and there is a stereo laying around at home (that would get me another $300). So all I need now is just another $1000+.

Care to sponsor the Odinzs iBook Foundation - where every dollar donated will put a poor child closer to owning his first iBook. Please leave your details in the comment box and I will contact you shortly for your kind donation.

Odinzs thanks you :P
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Update 7 June 2005:

Thanks to Cheryl Tan and Germaine (yes ... cheryl is my sister and that is her friend) for organising and providing me with the discount to my iBook. Even though it is not a donation per se, it is still consider (IMO) a considerable amount. The money saved will go towards more RAM and harddisk :P

Books i have finished last week

I have not been posting recently even though it is the holidays. I have promised myself that I will catch on my readings. So here is some review on the books that I have read in the last few weeks.

The New Spring by Robert Jordan

Quite boring. The whole book is like a prologue. It just fleets from one character to the next, with only 2-3 chapters focusing on each character. So there is no substantial development of the plot. As usual, most Wheel of Time fans will complain that Jordan has lost the plot. But I really hope that he get his act together and finish the series in the next few books. Seriously, it is already in book 10 and there is no end in sight.

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

This is similar to Da Vinci's Code, or rather Da Vinci's Code is similar to this book. Similar plot devices, plot twists, and even the characters are the same. Could be a good thing if you liked Da Vinci's Code but you can sort of guess the 'bad' guy of the story. The interesting thing about Brown is how he uses history to create fiction.

Brand Sense by Martin Lindstrom

Interesting thesis about how brands should utilise the five senses to capture customers. A lot of fascinating case studies, especially on Singapore Airlines, Apple, Disney and other Brands. (Aside: did you know that Kelloggs have patented the *crunch* sound of their cereal!) But you can gather all this information from the first few chapters of the book. The rest of it (I feel) is filler.

Why Globalisation Works? by Martin Wolf

I have been eager to read this book for some time. The Economist (My preferred magazine) have been raving about this book so I decided to I have to read this. I am cutrrently in the first few chapters of the book and I have to say, it really is a fantastic book on economic globalisation. I am a believer in the benefits of International Trade and further economic integration (no surprise there since my economics education based on a classical liberal perspective). Wolf is really a true-blue liberal and he presents his arguments in a clear and structured way.

One interesting quote he has is about the neo- type of people. It is by Mario Vagos Llosa: basically he says that there is no such thing as a neo-*. "Neo" just connotes someone who is half inside and outside of something.
"To say 'neoliberal' is the same as saying 'semiliberal' or 'pseudoliberal'. it is pure nonsense. Either one is in favour of liberty or against it, but one cannot be semi-infavour or psuedo-in-favour of liberty, just as one cannot be 'semipregnant', 'semiliving
, or 'semidead'." Hilarious!!

**more updates when I finish the book.

Hilarious Star Wars Spoof

In these few weeks of star wars frenzy, there are many clips floating around spoofing the movie. Here is another one. It is definitely more political and I still have not really formed a position on organic food. But who cares when there is Darth Tadar and Cuke Skywalker. Very clever and well done.