We are still Spartans!

I'll be on my tuition free week next week. Basically, means holiday. However, there's a shit load of work to do. Sadded...

Was at Dalvin's place, celebrating her birthday.

Though it was Dalvin's birthday, I'm guessing Desmond was the one who was the happiest. Hahaha. 'Cos he had people to drink & smoke with him. I was like, wow. Heheh.

And... Went for a run a few days back. The weather was absolutely beautiful. And I've no idea if it's me or I did the timing wrongly, but it took me a shorter time to complete the distance. I'm blaming it on the weather. Hahaha

Oh, and I found out that I can just barely squeeze out 10 pull-ups now. Damn it.

Right, enough said, photos.

That's Dalvin.

Selection of liquor for the night. There's a few more not included though.

Cigars!

Field study. That's my class.

Don't believe what you see.

I really love this picture.

Me at WA Parliament for case study.

WA Parliament House

View from Parliament's main entrance.

Fremantle station.

Railway tracks. I had to walk a distance to grab this photo. So, I was thinking to myself, "What if the train decides to come now?" Well, you get the idea.

Fish & Chips place to be.

Nice heels.

No, that's not me. Hahaha.

Me & Ruth.

Something I had to wear for one of my tutorials. And I found out that I don't really like to wear formal-formal. Hahaha. So uncomfortable. Military uniforms are alright. At least they look frigging cool & awesome. Wahahaha.

And Blogger's lousy. I can only upload up to 3 photos at a time. Anymore, it always comes up with this "Error Bad Request" thingy. It's rather irritating.

Oh, by the way, the photos aren't in chronological order.

And did I mention that Kor-Kor (another cousin of mine) is here in Perth with us now? Yup. 4 in the house. And Mama's coming over in... Erm... October I think? Yup.

And oh, one of my uncle, he had undergo this major operation, which was potentially life threatening. Glad that's over now. But the scar looks kind of scary. It was huge.

Is it just me... Or is it. Nevermind.

Oh! Oh! Recently, actually, tonight, had this fellow named Koh Han Rui Henry from ZHSS, 2E5 2003, he left me a message on Facebook. Well, it's to do with this grads' reunion for the batch of 2005 ('cos we didn't had a prom & there wasn't like a proper see-off/send-off thingy). I was the one driving it, along with lots of help from my buddies.

Anyway, I'm getting out of point here. Thing is, I think he thinks I'm a teacher! Hahaha. Damn it. 'Cos he mentioned that it's Teachers' Day soon, but he can't get back and visit due to national duties. So, he wished me "Happy Teachers' Day". I've no idea to laugh, or to cry. Hahaha.

And at Dalvin's birthday, was drinking with Desmond. Well, Kor & Victoria had a lot more to drink than me. But I really couldn't take it 'cos I was way too full for any hard liquor. I think Shermin would have love it though. Hahaha. The drinks were really strong. And they went without mixers, by the shots. I never had a tougher drinking session before. Wahahaha. But it was pretty fun.

Alright, that's that. Got to wake up in the morning tomorrow to get started on my essay. 1500 words. By Wednesday. *Dreads*

We Are Spartan.

My Blog's about... 2.5 years old. And this is my 300th post. So... In months... That's... Erm... Approximately... 10 posts per month? Hmmm...

So, it's been 3 weeks into semester. And I'm having field studies like once every week. 1st week, needless to say. 2nd week, Monday, headed out. This week, had actually made 2 field studies. One was a visit to Parliament. (Photos another time. Maybe tomorrow.) That's on Tuesday. And today, went to the city again for another field study. But thankfully, it was another area.

And today sure was a rush. It was like, Field study, then headed back home, changed to a suit, went to school. Yea. And it's like my first time wearing a suit. Hahahaha. Yea, I know. I'm not one to really wear formal. I don't feel quite comfortable in it actually. Heheh.

Actually, it's not my first time. There was one time I'd worn it as a kid. I think I was only in kindergarten then. Small kid in a suit.

And, alright, recalling, the other time I had worn something similar to a suit. Number 2. That's about as close I get to formal-formal wear.

And wow. Went grocery shopping just now, the bill was amazing. It was like, buying for a class barbeque kind of price.

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The other day, me & my cousins were having a late night coffee. Then, one of them started this game of hang-man. The theme was movie. Came a few, and I decided to go with an unfathomable one. The clues I gave was that it was a war/fantasy movie. Loosely historical. And not to think alphabets, but to think characters.

And, well, yeah. The answers kind of related to this post. Wahahaha.

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It's cold, I'm still in shirt & pants, I want to shower. Exercise first.

And damn. I missed an episode of "Lie to Me" today.

It's Raining.

Don't you dare think I'm so free to blog every now & then now. I have a lot of stuff to do actually. It's just that today's my free day, and it's raining, so, not really in the mood to be doing any work.

In compensation, I'll be staying back at school tomorrow to re-organise myself, set things straight, and get started on a few assignments. That's the goal for tomorrow.

And come to think of it. I'd never stayed back in school before. Not since I went into university. Goes to show how much of a slacker I am. And to think I was so determined to work hard for university. Academics is just not my cup of tea I suppose. Still, I think there's a slight difference in my attitude towards academic now. It's like, at least now, I take my assignments seriously & not just do a swishy-washy one.

And... I still think my wallpaper is freaking cool. Saves energy too. Haha. As in, seriously. 'Cos displaying black is more energy saving than displaying white.

Talking about energy, I'd watched a video in one of my lectures last week. I think it's a rather alarming video. Personally, I find it to be way too one-sided and all. But, matter of fact is, it just might happen.

So, the video is basically about energy. Energy as in natural gas, fuel, oil. And as much as there are other sources of energy like nuclear, kinetic, solar, hydrogen gas, it's just not as efficient as natural gas. Maybe nuclear is the way to go in the future. Who knows? And it also mentioned a lot on the American suburbs. How energy wasteful they are. And come to think of it, I couldn't agree more.

Sure, suburbs are great to live in and all. Big home, big land, very low density. But the energy required to power these homes, move these people around, is just. Massive.

I think the video was made specially to appear very alarming and such. So to serve as a wake up call for everyone. Oh, and the part about how oil/gas wells has a peak production then it starts to decline. I think that's the scariest part. 'Cos when that happens, it will most probably raise the prices of utilities.

No!! I don't want to live in the 21st Century anymore. Maybe it won't be that bad for my generation of people. But I don't think I will want to have children anymore. I don't want them to suffer in the future. It's just too unpredictable. Not unless if I become filthy rich, rich enough to last about 2 or 3 lifetime.

The recent hoo-hah about photos between me, sister & my very first & longest buddy of mine got me pretty excited about photography.

Me and him were saying that we should meet up when I'm back, then go for photographing together. Haha. So, maybe can drag sister along as well. Wahahahaha. Though I must say, I'm not all that confident in my skills. In fact, I'm not even sure if I can do great photography at all. It's just something like an interest, that's all.

Then again, it'll be really cool if for one day, a few friends could just go on a road trip around Singapore & take photos.

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In between writing this post, went around on Facebook as well. Saw a photo of my friend on her blog ('cos she had linked her blog to Facebook, really, it's like, nowadays, you can link almost anything on the net to Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.). So, she's an intern teacher. And, seeing that photo, makes me think back on how I had wanted to go NIE as well. But then, there was my aunt pretty much opposing my idea of heading there.

I like kids, not as a pedophile. That's a fact. And well, I think a being a teacher ain't all that bad, really. I think it's quite fun too. Just that, perhaps I won't earn as much as a planner. Hah. But hey, that's just my speculation.

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Hahaha. I was tempted to put up Sec 3's Racial Harmony day's photo. But I'll leave that for a few more years later...

Well, secondary school was really one of the best times of my life.

Besides NS. I'll leave that part for another rainy day.

I suppose it was really secondary school which created the foundation of me for the me today. All the fun & togetherness of my class in secondary school. Really, I think that is the thing which still makes me hold on so dear to friendships.

And... I forgot what I wanted to say. But well, my friends are great. They're the next closest thing I have to a family, besides the family itself (it's pretty much self-explanatory, right?). Does that make any sense? I know I suck at showing gratitude & appreciation. But, thanks people.

Nice. I'd finally managed to change the width of my blog. Broader now for bigger photos. Don't like it? Let me know, I'll change it back or something new. Hahaha.

University. Academic.

Alright, what now. I'm having Batman & Prince of Persia fever. I'm feeling like I'm Batman, 'cos of my wallpaper. It just look freaking awesome. Then Prince of Persia 'cos I've been attacking the game for some time now. Seriously, if I were a small little kid, I'll probably be wanting to wear Batman's or the Prince's costume. Hah.

And maybe break a bone or two by attempting to try their crazy acrobatic moves.

So... It's been raining for the most part of the day. I'm not complaining. I like rainy days. It sets me in the mood to nua, be emo, get pondering or reflect. Not much chance to pick, it's kind of random. Really see what mood I'm in for the day.

And I kind of think that, whatever we study, is actually a lot more boring than what that line of work is like. As in, the job itself is actually pretty interesting and all. But the process of getting into that profession, studying and such, is most of the time dull & mundane.

Then again, as one of my lecturer had put it from another source, university/tertiary studies isn't really about, how should I put it, teaching students the know-how of being in a line of work. The technicality of the work & such. That is mostly the work of the company itself. Rather, university is more about equipping students with the ability to think.

And I strongly believe that it should be this way as well. Of course, there is still technical knowledge & skills that the university is required to teach. Like architecture drawings, planning laws, etc. 'Cos, really, when we go out into the economy, different companies have different practices. And within that, different mentors will have different approaches. So, it's really quite impossible for university to get us off our feet into the the economy on day one.

And I guess, after my brother showed me this link from Singapore government career website, I got more or less at ease with my course. Although I was pretty sure that what I study here will be relevant to Singapore's context. But when I had compared my course syllabus with Singapore's syllabus, it's quite different. Singapore's course is known as Real Estates. Yea, I know. Mine sounds way cooler than that. Hahaha.

Anyway, I wouldn't say huge discrepancies. But it was big enough to set me pondering. But after today, I guess my doubts & questions were pretty much answered. For the website had stated a degree in a few different courses as a requirement. And Urban & Regional Planning was part of them. Boo-ya! So, thanks to him for whatever reason that he happened to chance upon that article.

And so well, my dear friends. What kind of a job will you be applying for when you head out to the workforce? You know, the thought of it always get me excited & picture how the future will be like. Every time I think of the future, I'll always be bouncing on my feet if I'm standing. Or bouncing in my chair if I'm seated. It's just so exciting, isn't it, the future?

And, oh... Thinking about me & my friends in the future. I guess that we may pretty much be adults in age & all, but I'm betting we'll still be like kids when we meet up.

Awesomeness.

Back to academic stuff, I'd always question myself, what exactly is the bloody hell in the world higher order thinking or think in-depth? It's like, I've been told that it's something important for higher education & for a good job in the workforce. But, unfortunately, I've never been able to grasp the concept of thinking in-depth.

Some had say it's answering the questions: who, what, when, where, why & how. Especially on the why & how part. But, but, but, I would like to think that there is more to this than the in-depth. If this is just it, then, frankly, I'm pretty disappointed and feel cheated. Haha.

But, yeah. Perhaps it's considering those questions, plus, an all-round view of the issue/scenario/situation/case at hand. And analysing the reasons/sources/factors behind it. Then, from what you have gathered, arriving at a solution. And for the ultimate students, it's not just arriving at a solution, it's coming out with the best solution out of a worst case scenario kind of thing.

But come to think about it. The underlying questions still go back to why & how. Irritating. Maybe one day, when I'm established enough, well-known enough, reputable enough, I'll come out with a new question word for students of the future to ponder on. Maybe something like, "Wassup". "Wassup is the current situation of Singapore youngsters?" "Wassup they are getting from bad to worse in matters of discipline?" Yeah right, who am I kidding.

It's still raining out. And I think I'll head to bed pretty soon.

Oh, and for those who managed to read this far. If you own a blog, or use to, maybe you want to try reading your older posts when you're free. Read through from the first to the last/latest/recent posts. Hahaha. I did a bit of archive reading today. It was... Erm... A rather horrible experience. I didn't know whether to laugh or to shrink at what I had posted in the past.

And well, for me, the most interesting part was the style of writing which had changed over the years. Heheh. And, of course, the context of the posts.

And apologies for the super long post without any photos/pictures. I'll try to include at least one picture in each post next time. May they be relevant or not.

Well, that's that for now.

Ciao.

Update

Australia's sky is just oh-so-blue.

1st of some more field trip in 2nd Semester

Yep, that's how long my hair is right now. And the only way is longer.

Well, some sight seeing field trip it was. And I have no idea how studying trees have anything in relation to planning. Soil, type of land it is, yeah... But trees? Hmmm.

And disgustingly, despite having to summarise a 89 pages document, I'm still blogging. I'm finding it quite irritating, this procrastination that I just have to do before I get started on the work. And to think it's already a late submission.

Back to the field trip. Basically, went around the coastal region to study the trees & soil type of different types & age of land.

And our first 2 stops was in the woodland & amp; forest. So it was really weird to be seeing so many colours (what we, students, were wearing) among the greens.
It's like, going back into the forest once more just make me think of the army. And army = out-fields = camouflage. But it was a mass of colours. Haha. It was just weird.

And... Didn't really catch the NDP yester-night. First in many years to not actually watch NDP, or even watching it from the tee-vee, much less needing it to stream from the internet.

Oh, I just realised, from one of my recent photos, and as much as I dislike to admit it. I look round now. Hahahaha. Yes. As in, seriously round. My face is just like. One circle sphere. Hahaha. And to think I still have a bet going on with this girl who's planning to get slimmer.

I'm betting that I'll lose now. Anyone want to take that bet? Hahaha. I look so round, and she's appearing as a model for amateur photographers. And by appearing as a model, it's not a one-off thing. There goes my free Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. Boo-hoo.

One last thing. I've been wanting to get started on my calligraphy for the longest time now. But seeing how I'm going to be rather busy for this semester, I'm not too sure if anything's going to work out or not. Damn it.

And one of my cousin is officially down. Down with the sickness. That's a song title. Anyway, she's sick. So that's that. And I don't understand these & that, that & these. It's just, a bit illogical? Haha. I understand the rationale for it. But it just illogical. If that does make any sense.

Shan't bother anymore. And no, crying doesn't make one sick. That's just absolute bullshit. Sigh...

Back to school stuff. This semester's loaded with a few group works. I don't mind group work actually, that is if it's good & productive group work. But my group work so far doesn't seem to have a very group-work-feel to it. Hahaha. Still, just got to live with it. After all, stuff like this happens in the working class as well. And it gets worse from there. Haha.

Now, reviewing my post, it seems pretty disorganise. But, hey, I'm just spouting off from whatever comes out of my head. So, there's not much of an order. As organise as I may appear to be, my head or rather thoughts just isn't all that organise as I appear to be. It's always a mambo-jumbo-jumble of thoughts & stuff. Yep.

And... That should be about it. Sigh...

Fast Forward.

Busy busy for this semester. There's gonna be lots of field trips to do. More so than all years combined in Junior College or Secondary School. Alright, maybe not Secondary School. Still, field trips.

Erm... It's been kind of... A bit. A little dull these past few days. It feels like I'm just stoning & going through motion. Kind of like, you know, that show, "Click" starring Adam Sandler? All those moments he fast forward? Hahaha. Something like that.

And... It's National Day today! Yep. Happy Birthday Singapore.

Was on Skype just now. Saw my 2 niece. And the small one has changed pretty much. Looks so much like her sister. But... Erm. Rounder. HAHA. But she's cute laar. The last I saw them was... Right, when I left for Singapore. Gosh. Seems ages ago, yet not so long ago at the same time.

That's all for now. Out.

Semester 2.

Winter break's over now. School starts tomorrow. And I don't know what I'm feeling. I don't feel sad, neither am I that happy. Neutral?

School days starts once more. And I foresee myself being busier this semester. Might get a job. Hopefully take up a license. Start working on my online gallery. Hoping to get involve in an association/club. And studies on top of it all. Sounds a lot huh. Oh well, here goes.

To a new semester & beyond!