Callum's Blog

One North Heaven

2010-09-09T18:58:00.008+08:00

Yeap, I was at One North, just off Buona Vista.

Oh my, was it heaven. If Sentosa Cove was the place to live, One North is definitely the place to work. Just look at the roads around that place. The attention to detail is just, awesome.

Yes, that's the ROAD! Just picture the amount of human labor that had been invested into paving the roads.

The road, then leads to the buildings, which is nothing less then spectacular.

And, ONE NORTH PARK did not disappoint. The park is filled with smooth ribbons of uninterrupted cycling paths. It was a climb, but the summit is worth every single paddle.

And of course, being a Singapore Park, it is clean, inundated with tress, and there's always an OG box to spoil that Kodak moment.

I think the pictures can just make any words I say seem meaningless and shallow. But really, the whole attention to detail around the area, is just, I don't know, words escape me. I don't think there is a single word that is capable of describing it.

Wow right? Notice the timber deckings, the way they are laid out, must have required a lot of effort. And look at the treatment on the edges of the timber decking, just shows that someone actually bothered huh? And the railings, offset-ed from the edge,. No idea what that is for though, but again, just shows the effort doesn't it?

Cool, so anyway, it's really a good place to hang out. It was empty when I went there, and it's really different, it was like West Coast Park before WCP became popular. It's what a park should be like, quiet and peaceful.

Wet.

2010-08-26T11:56:00.002+08:00

Yea, so, was at BT for the trails.
Yea, damn, it's quite wet, and urgh, couldn't climb some of the hills.

A section of BT is also closed off, due to landslides.
And, bonus feature! Look at the size of that spider!

Model's Up!

2010-08-24T03:31:00.003+08:00

YAY! Done the physical model. Now just waiting for school to plonk it on the site.

Haiz, still a lot to do man. Air con system, sustainability, structure, facade system, roof system and on top of all that, it has to come together into one presentation. This would never end would it?

Back to Work

2010-08-17T05:46:00.002+08:00

Yeap, as the title says.

Anyway, wanted to show what I've done so far. Just a snippet of it actually.

Yeap, that's the section and elevations. I actually submitted the colored copies in to Yy and she wasn't very pleased. But again, in my defense, I really thought Part II of the submission was going to be a hell lot more comprehensive. In addition to that, Part I of the submission stated that plans had to be colored, just that they could be submitted in black and white. So yes, that's what I thought.

And that, is a preview of the up coming 3D model. Only took a few hours to come up with that, 3D max ladies and gentleman, is not as slow as you think. And 3DSMax 2010 can match up with the lighting levels of revit. The "photometric" lights are just, imba.

Yeap, end of post I guess. 2nd September is submission, so yeap, I really want to nail this one.

Hello Marina!

2010-08-15T04:48:00.008+08:00

YES. I'm excited. (:

Really want to share this, I finished coloring my plans, sections and elevations for JC3. Why is that such a big deal? BECAUSE, that's it. After JC3, it's the END of semester one!

AND! I can't seem to upload the pics, but if you do want to see it, remember to come down for my crit. LOL.

Moving on. Ahem, of course, as usual, I had a mini celebration, got on my bike, and cycled to my heart's content.

Alright, the bikes. That's KT's Carbon Fibre SCOTT Road Bike on the right, my GIANT Yukon Disc in the centre and Mr Ng's full sus WHEELER. Our first stop was a gas station on Dunearn Road, we discussed the route and then proceeded towards the Marina Barrage.

The view from my bike. Of course in the real world we were drafting a lot closer, but I had to put some distance when taking the picture in the event something happens.

That SCOTT really makes a superb sound. And I was more then happy to sit behind it at 35km/h.

And soon of course, we have reached our destination. The Marina Barrage. To be honest, I was just a tad bit disappointed, I was really expecting some utopia up there, but it wasn't. The view from the barrage however, compensated for the disappointment it caused.

Yup. What a view from the barrage at 2.27am in the morning. It was quite lively up there, with people flying kites and couples taking full advantage of the dim setting of that place. Next, we speared down towards Marina Bay Sands, and oh my, was it majestic.

That, would be Mr Ng on the full sus WHEELER heading right for the Sands. I think I should just stop typing and let the pictures do all the elaborating.

What a place right? View's great, it's clean and I was out there with a perfect ride. Sometimes I can't wait to grow up and bring my family down to places like this and just enjoy our city state. Really.

Anyway, on a final note. KT is dead. He tried riding my GIANT down a flight of steps, and, it didn't end so well.

Yup, that's him, dead, lying on the ground. And my bike obviously tried it's best to prevent that accident. I think I'll just leave him there and that, would conclude this post. (:

A new beginning

2010-08-07T16:56:00.004+08:00

Alright, let's start off with me announcing something big.

I've lost my toe nail!

First, it could bend 90 degree straight up, then it could turn 360, then, it came off! YAY! Now I don't have a toe nail on my right big toe! I'm not going to go into details since some of you might find it just a tad bit disgusting.

Moving on, I've gotten myself a GIANT!

Alright, and so, of course, I've take in out for a ride. And god it's smooth. I picked it up at Sengkang by the way, and rode it all the way back to Clementi, and yeap, very very smooth ride. No complains so far except for the shifts. A little slow if you ask me. But maybe it's just me, because I'm quite used to dual shifters, which shifts in a blink of an eye. But yea, seriously no complains. The ride is smooth, the braking is good and it comes with an awesome soundtrack at 17km/h. I pushed it to 57.5km/h on a downhill and it still got a lot more speed to give, one day I'll really push that, just not soon I guess. So yea, generally happy with the performance.

And, things are really looking good for school as well. Plans are all in the bag, only left with the first story circulation to settle, then after that I can cut the section and start playing with the elevation.

Yeap. That's it so far. Will update if anything else comes up.

I've been gone for a long time

2010-08-05T01:28:00.023+08:00

Yeap, I've been gone for a quite a while huh?

So anyway, updates!

Let's see, school started, and it was straight to JC1, we had to do a case study, and my group consisted of Iman, Bryan and Oscar. Well, good job guys, all of you, honestly. Now that I have time to reflect, I think it was job well done. We had a 3D walkthrough, we had numerous powerpoints, our work was not the best documented but at least we tried. Again, thanks Iman, Bryan and Oscar. Although we did just get a B+, that's not that bad now is it? Judging by how the other group only got B. I think it was hard for us to find the structure, and we could not get the point across that efficiently during the presentation because we ran out of time. But anyway, enough of words, here's what we did for JC1!

And yes, I was very impressed with the clay model. I don't even have a picture of it, but really, great job to Bryan, Iman and Oscar. I had nothing to do with the model, and you guys did a great job.

Alright, after JC1, was predictably, JC2, or was it? Ahhaha, not for me, I had a CUBE thingy. URA challenge for something something. Seemed quite important, but damn, I honestly believe that our group could have pushed a lot harder. During the whole competition I was just shadowing everybody else, I really wished I could have been a bit more vocal, but hey, still, had fun. (Yea, rite.)

Yeap, that was our initial model. It progressed, and the picture is SOMEWHERE in phone. Can't actually be bothered to search. But again, a few moments during that competition. First time I was working with Natasha, and to be frank and honest, she's a very strong leader. But even she didn't take control during that competition. And honestly speaking, I would have preferred it if she led. First time working with Jonathan as well, and he, same as Natasha, is a very good leader, of course I can go on and on about why I think so, but honestly, both he and Natasha can see the big picture, and they don't allow anything to compromise their planning. Anyway you look at it, that's a good point, a leader's job is not to be liked, it's to get work done.

After that, then it was site analysis first. And god did I have a great team, Bing Huang, Harith and David. Alright, not say the best, but the point is we can work. And work we did. I am generally pleased with the attitude of the team, except for some instances which pissed me off. But again, great team. We had a fully automatic powerpoint slide, which, if you guys have tried, it's kinda hard to do. So great job to the team, honestly.

Then we had the primer, alright, that was crap. None of us could get it, and honestly, we were really being stretched, the Green Sparks Competition was starting to loom over us and yes, I have failed to set a direction for the team. I fully take responsibility for that. We were desperately lost and confused for our Primer, honestly.

Moving on, you expect by now I should have started on JC2 right? WRONG! It was the Green Sparks competition, which, we failed to qualify. I had a team, Winrose, David, Bing Huang and Pac. And yet again, everything went south, Pac had a part time job and it became very hard to bring him on the project at the later stage. So we were down to four man, and oh man, things really went bad. I had no idea what went wrong.

I printed out a schedule of when to complete stuff, I gave so many tips, yet nobody listened. Yes I'm crossed we didn't qualify. We did not qualify not because we were not good enough, but it was because we just could not care. I can sit here, behind this laptop and point fingers at who is to blame, but ultimately, it will all come back to me. I saw so many snowball effects, yet I just stood there hoping it would change. To be honest, I am quite disappointed in the whole team, and even in myself. Nobody treated it seriously during the final week, nobody asked about progress, nobody asked if they could expedite any work. And work was really being churned out at a snail's pace.

Yes, there's a lot of "if only". If only I didn't allow so many oversights, if only I applied more pressure on the team, if only I really sat down and guided on how things should be done. And argh, if only the team would just let go of their studio project. I mean extension is given, there I was trying to focus 100% on the competition project, and there some people were just giving 50%. Of course it's bloody unfair. But oh well, no further comments.

But, of course, I have to give credit where credit is due. So guys, great job working under pressure, and I know it can be a torture for some of you guys to work at my pace, but again, great job for trying to keep up. And, yeap, pictures of our schemes.

Alright, so anyway, we did not qualify. So, that's 2 competitions I did not win.

Moving on, ALRIGHT! Finally, it's JC2. I kinda enjoyed it. Alright, remember, I started out the year with JC1, and then URA CUBE, and then Green Sparks and now JC2. That's packed. But before JC2, I would also like to highlight that I have a life.

Congratulations to Nigel for coming in 3rd for "Singapore Street Festival."

Congratulations to Nigel and Kia Tuan from coming in 2nd for "Clash of The Bands"

Congratulations to those who got into Uni. I think Hui Juan and Min Wei got in SIM, which is cool, now I can have lunch with both of them at one go. Ian and Jason, surprisingly ended up in NTU, same course. (That's kinda inside joke, so those who don't get it, then it's ok)

And Serena, if you're reading this, you still stunned me. Army, honestly, that caught me by surprise.

Congratulations Fairuz! (Wynn) on becoming Malay! I'll expect to see you get married under a void deck.

Congratulations Nelg, few more days left. You survived.

Congratulations Khairul, finally out of NS. And Faqir, final year. And Dyn, got your motorcycle license.

Sidenote, I think Dzul got married right? Ahaha, congratulations on that.

Cheng Yi, Iezah and Jannah, ahaha, really, have fun studying.

Siti! finally did that 70km cycle! At night some more, doubly impressive.

And Ian, wtf, I saw your HASA on togoparts. Iceboy selling for you? And how's William? YOG right? Fuck sia, really, I should go back to the trails.

And since I'm talking about you, congratulations Sujia for taking a degree in PAINTING A PICTURE!, ahaha, no really, degree in English Literature.

And, Kumar, still a black I see. Ahaha, don't ever change man.

OH OH! Caroline Chan got married! Right? Ahaha. Can't really say much, but. HEY! ABOUT TIME!

Anything else or not? Hmmmmm, I really don't about the rest of you guys, should really call me out, I really don't mind clearing one evening, or even the whole day to catch up.

Alright, now FINALLY. It's JC2! Ahahaha, alright, so, let's just keep in mind, I really had a lot to deal with, and then I was rushed straight into JC2. It was really a mere 3 day extension for a 1 week project, and yes, I only had ONE consultation. It's starting to get irritating, because I don't even know if I'm right or wrong, until it's time to get shot. But, JC2! Alright, I had fun, really, I had a lot of fun.

I'm not going to explain my concept, but it's good to know the grades were quite, satisfying. A+ A B+ A. (: . If you guys can only see how wide I'm smiling now.

There it was, my JC2 plans. Of course now it has seen a lot of changes, but hey, that's part of design. That is what makes it so exciting. There is no single right or wrong, there's just infinite possibilities to a single problem. I know, you don't have to believe me, afterall, I've just lost 2 competitions, but really, design is not a static one-off thing, it's an evolutionary process, and that, beats any box office hit movie in my opinion.

After that, you really expected me to progress to IR and JC3 right? Not so, caught a lot of snags. I was just so, I don't know how to describe, but yea, didn't go to school for a week plus. It's not that I can't be bothered, but there's just something in class that pisses me off constantly. And I don't think it's the 4 chord, 3 mins, 2 instruments piece of shit that they blast so loudly in class. I mean seriously, it's a BLOODY CLASSROOM. Can't you at least respect that some people would want to do work in peace. It's a classroom, not a bloody club.

Alright, so after that "I don't feel like going to school" snag, there was another one! Another competition, Green Wave, and oh god were we ambitious. It's still on going, so I won't actually discuss, but here, some pics of some of our schemes.

That, was really a lengthy project. Harith, Me and David. 3 guys, 3 projects, 2 weeks. To be honest, it didn't feel like a lot of pressure, but again, I was quite disappointed by the quality of work and with one member. Again, I can go on about how much I was pissed, but, what's the use. Really, if I ever get the chance to lead in another competition, I'm seriously going to command with an Iron Fist. I've realized my compassion allowed me to compromise on quality, and even if the rest of the team can live with it, I can't. Look at the first picture, SP is flashed straight at the front. It'll really be horrible if we handed in sub standard work with the school logo proudly displayed on the front. Again, no use complaining. But I really hope just ONE of these projects could get short listed.

It's really not looking good on my record sheet man, every single time I lead, we seem to kinda fail. Of course I'll be more than happy to blame it on the team, which I would, for some projects. But urgh, honestly, why is it so hard to get people to work towards a common goal. URGH.

Alright, now on top of that, I am of course preparing for the JC3 submission, so again, usual thing, but, I would like to share this picture, a sectional model.

And, so far, even that model has seen some development.

Alright, that's it for now I guess. I'll keep this blog updated VERY VERY frequently from now on. I promise.

From a song...

2010-06-11T19:37:00.004+08:00

I can see the hurt behind your smile
For every sign I recognize

Another one escapes me

Let me know what plagues your mind

Let me be the one to know you best

Be the one to hold you up

When you feel like you're sinking

Tell me once again

What's beneath the pain you're feeling

Don't abandon me

Or think you can't be saved

I walk beside you

Wherever you are

Whatever it takes

No matter how far

Through all that may come

And all that may go

I walk beside you

Summon up you ghosts for me

Rest your tired throughts upon my hands

Step inside this scared place

When all your dreams seem broken

Oh, when everything is wrong

Oh, when hopelessness surrounds you

Oh, the sun will rise again

The tide you swim against will carry you back home

So don't give up

Don't give in

What "Callum" means...

2010-06-02T05:18:00.002+08:00

The characteristics of #4 are: A foundation, order, service, struggle against limits, steady growth.

The expression or destiny for #4:

Order, service, and management are the cornerstones of the number 4 Expression. Your destiny is to express wonderful organization skills with your ever practical, down-to-earth approach. You are the kind of person who is always willing to work those long, hard hours to push a project through to completion. A patience with detail allows you to become expert in fields such as building, engineering, and all forms of craftsmanship. Your abilities to write and teach may lean toward the more technical and detailed. In the arts, music will likely be your choice. Artistic talents may also appear in such fields as horiculture and floral arrangement, as well. Many skilled physicians and especially surgeons have the 4 Expression.

The positive attitudes of the 4 Expression yield responsibility; you are one who no doubt, fulfills obligations, and is highly systematic and orderly. You are serious and sincere, honest and faithful. It is your role to help and you are required to do a good job at everything you undertake.

If there is too much 4 energies present in your makeup, you may express some of the negative attitudes of the number 4. The obligations that you face may tend to create frustration and feelings of limitation or restriction. You may sometimes find yourself nursing negative attitudes in this regard and these can keep you in a rather low mood. Avoid becoming too rigid, stubborn, dogmatic, and fixed in your opinions. You may have a tendency to develop and hold very strong likes and dislikes, and some of these may border on the classification of prejudice. The negative side of 4 often produces dominant and bossy individuals who use disciplinarian to an excess. These tendencies must be avoided. Finally, like nearly all with 4 Expression, you must keep your eye on the big picture and not get overly wrapped up in detail and routine.

Your Soul Urge number is: 4

A Soul Urge number of 4 means:

With the Soul Urge or Motivation number of 4 you are likely to strive for a stable life. You tend to follow a rather orderly pattern and systematic approach in your endeavors. You have an inner desire to serve others in a methodical and diligent manner. You want to be in solid, conventional, and well-regulated activities, and you are somewhat disturbed by innovation and erratic or sudden changes. Excellent at organizing, systematizing, and managing, you have a way of establishing order and maintaining it. You are responsible, reliable and in the final analysis, practical. Highly analytical, you can see your way through all sorts of situations and generally have a clear understanding of the issues. You are a very honest, sincere, and conscientious individual.

The negative side of the 4 is rigid, stubborn and somewhat narrow-minded. There is a tendency to hide feelings, or to really not be aware of real feelings. Avoid being too rigid and stubborn in your thinking, and try to always see the big picture rather than becoming to involved with the detail. Don't be afraid to take a chance once in awhile.

Your Inner Dream number is: 9

An Inner Dream number of 9 means:

You dream of being creative, intellectual, and universal; the selfless humanitarian. You understand the needy and want to help them. You would love to be a person people count on for support and advice.

_________________________________

Yea rite, what bullshit. Notice the first paragraph. Notice how they mention I'll do well in building, engineering, horticulture, floral arrangement, physician and especially surgeon... Isn't that just like naming down MOST of the occupations available?!

Finally Free

2010-05-13T21:09:00.002+08:00

"I'm finally free, no longer, torn in two..."

Ahhh, yes. It's done, finally.

Presentation for JC1 is over. I'm not very pleased with it, this is the first time I exceeded the time given to present. There's a reason why I plan stuff, so we don't get defaulted on technicalities. If they give us 20 minutes to present, I suggest we bloody hell keep within 20 minutes.

Yes I'm pissed. We were dancing like fools around the slides because somebody couldn't talk WITH the slides. THEN WHAT IS THE USE OF HAVING THE SLIDES AS AN ADVANTAGE?! WHAT IS THE USE IF THE SLIDES SHOWS SOMETHING ELSE AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. Urgh. Dumb, took 6 mins to present 3 bloody slides.

Thanks to that, I wasn't able to complete my slides. THANKS.

I mean, it's ok, you didn't do the slides, you wouldn't know how much effort and thought went in, you wouldn't know how much I wanted to present it.

But, good news, had a reshuffle to teams. And yea, life is fair...

Got a hell of a team.. Me, David, Harith and Bing Huang. So, looks like we're balanced. Each of us can work all the softwares efficiently, fair mix of Sketch-up, 3dMax, Photoshop and CAD. Don't really have a dedicated model maker though, so that could be a problem. but heyy, this is perfect.

Well, if you're happy with it.

2010-05-12T01:28:00.002+08:00

Ok, school has started, and my blog has died.

But no, again, I'm a man of my words. My blog is not going to go down just because I fail to manage my time.

So, anyway, full recovery from the crash. Got my legs and hands back. And yeap, scratches are healing up nicely.

School? Is just fucked up. What's wrong with me? Too much expectations? I don't think so. I'm just disliking the bo-chap attitude, the fuck-care-ness going around. Are you guys retarded?! This is the fucking third year. Maybe I should welcome you guys to life, welcome to Singapore, I'm sorry, a 3.5 GPA is not going to get you anywhere, good bye.

So start working la idiot. I realise, even if I put in a hell lot of effort, and manage to get a 4.0 this year, it will only average to a final cumulative GPA of 3.6... And if I put it effort, and hopefully get 3.5, I'll still remain at 3.5.

So why bother rite? Because if by the slightest chance that I get picked for an interview, by that slight hope I do get pick, I can utilize my bullshit skills.

"Yes sir, I know my first and second year were not spectacular, but it was only during my third year that I've realised the value of education, and so, I hit the ground running. It shows just how much improvement a simple change of mindset can make. I would strongly urge you to B E L I E V E in me."

And yes, I'm not going to let anyone jeopardize my chances. So yes, don't try me. You guys may not be pushing for anything, but trust me, I am. So yes, I hate UNNECESSARY screw ups, I hate late work, I hate excuses, because you guys don't fucking understand.

Honestly, my current group. They're just handling ONE project. And let me put that into perspective, I'm handling the same project, my diploma plus, the green sparks competition and the green wave competition, which has three separate projects. So that's ONE for them, and SIX for me. And let's be honest here, I still want to take up more competitions, I need the exposure.

So, if you guys fucking hell understand, then I won't be left waiting for work, and I won't be left RE-DOING the shit work that you couldn't be bothered to do.

And the competition group is not smooth sailing either. Submission is next month, and they're treating it like some fucking joke. Fucked up. I'm there sacrificing my time trying to pull the whole team through, and there we have faggots who can't remember the task they're suppose to do.

I'm not the most available guy on earth either. It sucks when you have to PLAN a time to go out with your friends... Yes, it sucks having to write their names down in my organiser, yes it sucks when I have to say no to them, yes it sucks when you're not in touch with them, yes it sucks when you're desperately squeezing in lunch and dinners with them.

Don't understand what I'm saying? Here's an example, this week. I'm taking my girl out for dinner today, I'm going out with poly classmates on Thursday, Friday is for my secondary school friends and Saturday for my primary school classmates.

So it fucking sucks when my time has to be planned for friends. It's just stupid. And it's even more stupid to see some people breaking my plan just because they have to spend time they don't have to impress people they don't like.

Yes, I'm being serious, the archi class have never bonded, stop fooling yourself into thinking it ever will.

And stop giving me excuses, start giving me results. Yes, I would love to listen and understand your situation, but hello, my life is not a fucking fairytale either. So shut up, because I can assure you, my problems, EXCLUDING academic problems can overshadow your piece of shit nonsense in which you call a reason.

YES. I've been faking a smile. I'm NOT happy to see you. STOP pretending to be my friend.

Meanwhile, on the lighter side, thank you to all my other "TRUE/ACTUAL" friends who have patiently waited and given me time to sort out my problems before attending to yours. Really appreciated guys. You guys never actually know how much, "Sorry for troubling you", "Hey, had a great dinner", "It's ok, I can wait", "I shan't disturb you then", "Thank you", "Yea, I'll be happy to come down to Mr Prata just for you"... Yea, you guys never actually know how much happier you guys make me feel just by saying that. Makes me feel so, appreciated. :)

There's so much more I can talk about, but it's useless to talk about people that don't matter, why don't I just hang out with people who do... So yea, PLEASE, take this post PERSONALLY, you guys are fucked up. (not you Slut).

Wow, that's a lot of stuff

2010-04-13T15:45:00.005+08:00

Right, so. How's my life so far?

GREAT. I guess.

Starting to recover fully from the crash. And, yea, everything else seems to be falling in place.

I have a hell of a great timetable for the next semester.

Yea. I was so happy that there was no school on Friday. So happy that I went around mocking some people. Laughed at one guy who stays in Punggol and happily smirked at another poor soul stuck in Kallang from 8.30am to 6pm.

That was until I clicked "View 18:00-23:00 Timetable". And oh f***k. Great, lessons till 9pm. Well, it beats last year. Last year had lessons from 8.30am-8.30pm, this year, it's 10.30am till 9pm. Yes, it is some sort of consolation.

So, anyway, had some fucked up conversations, since I wasn't going out as often as I liked. And, frankly speaking, with the amount of bullshit being spilled in each conversation, it deserves a new post by itself. So yea, look out for the post. Leslie, with his bullshitting skills, will of course take center stage.

Anything else?

Hmmmm, not really. OH!

The boards, for my make believe project. Of course, it's not completed yet. Left some sketches, the dreaded 3D. And yes, it took a month to come it with that. But don't be a critic just yet. It's the holidays and I'm not working as fast as I'm suppose to. Plus, got caught up reading books, hanging out with people who I haven't seen in a long time, so yea. Did very little work. As the saying goes,

"If each day you do very little, at the end of the week, you'll realize you did very little" :)

_____________________________________

And I have a feeling that my mountain bike feels ignored. Don't worry. Someday, I'll clean you up!

(that's what I said before the holidays started)

Well, talk is always louder. School is going to start soon. And, hmmm, it's already Tuesday. No confirmed plans for the whole week. That sucks. But, would most probably love to take the bike out for a smooth ride.

I really wish we had roads like those in France, or Switzerland, or Italy. And I really wish foreign cars won't come in and start running red lights. But no. We're too cramp and the government just brings in more and more people. What to do. This is not exactly a democracy is it?

Anti-Government much?

2010-04-08T01:21:00.003+08:00

Well, anti government much?

Singapore Armed Forces. Has never lost a war, because they never fought in one.

Ahaha, just to be clear, I'm happy with the current political state of Singapore. I'm even happy with the increase in COE! Really, I am. But I don't think that'll help reduce the number of cars on the road.

Please don't arrest me.

Cycling, I quit you.

2010-04-04T22:24:00.004+08:00

After five near accidents and one crash, I guess enough is enough huh?

I'll just fix my bike. And that's it guess. I'll pick up again once I'm ready. Suddenly the fear of crashing becomes real. The value of life becomes justified.

Timeline

2010-04-04T16:31:00.004+08:00

New Timeline for the week

Sunday Morning - Accident along Commonwealth Ave, get checked in hospital, rest at home, update friends.

_________________________

Monday Morning - Replace damaged wheels, physical check on the bike.

Monday Afternoon - Report to Traffic Police Headquarters for statement

Monday Evening - Rest and prepare to be mocked at.

________________________

Tuesday Morning - BCA-CDL Green Sparks meeting

________________________

Wednesday Morning - Go to hospital to consult a Specialist, prove to him everything's ok. Go home.

________________________

Thursday Morning - Replace Handlebars

________________________

Friday - Rest

________________________

Saturday - Ride again

________________________

Sunday - (Fill in the blanks) _ _ _

2010-03-31T23:46:00.003+08:00

“Falling comes easy to all of us, but falling properly is an art. If you train yourself to avoid the natural impulse to stick your hand out, you have a chance to tuck your shoulder in and roll. The force of landing is spread rather than concentrated on one small spot. This is the drill you can practice at home with couch cushions mattresses, whatever. I'd recommend doing it about every six months, just to keep the feel."

“Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym."

There's THREE ways to ride a bike. With strength from your legs, with stamina from your lungs and with soul from your heart.

Ranting

2010-03-31T13:47:00.008+08:00

Alright. Just returned from Faber, as part of my every other day routine.

Great day today. Very great day. En route to South Buona Vista road, there's a taxi stuck behind my bike waiting to get to the AYE. I did the most sensible thing and danced up that climb. At the peak, we exchanged glances, he raised up his right hand and gave me a thumbs up. :)

Then it was the climb to South Buona Vista, and I was trying to cut right but none of the cars wanted to give way. Then, finally, a friendly honk from a Toyota Vios with the police livery and the driver gestured me to move in in front of him. (For those of you who didn't get it, a police car slowed down and allowed me to move my bike ahead of him)

Then it was Faber, and I saw the same guy jogging up Faber. Descended, and turned back home via Alexandra Road and Commonwealth Ave. I was generally pleased with the ride, until I saw the condition of my bike.

Amount of soot and dirt collected on the seat tube.

Same thing on the stays.

Alright. As much as I love riding, I would really love cleaner roads.

- I want vehicles to have cleaner emissions

- I want gas guzzlers to be taxed

- I want a quota on the number of cars on the road

- I want the COE to be based on emission rather than engine capacity

- I want smoother roads

- I want public transport to be given priority

- I want Singapore to lead in green engines(smart idling, fuel efficiency, so on and so forth)

- I want Singapore to be a Garden City, not just a city with Gardens

-I want the people to care about the environment.

__________________________________________

Side topic, I know a lot of drivers keep on stressing the point that bicycles don't pay road tax, thus and therefore they don't belong on the road. But, then again, road tax is used for road maintenance, and how much damage can a bicycle cause to the road? We weigh less then a ton, we don't do burnouts on the road, and when we crash, we can pick up the pieces of our bikes. END OF ARGUMENT

Next, drivers are always complaining why cyclist cannot use the pavement. First and foremost, it is illegal, and secondly,

ROAD GOT THREE BLOODY LANES, WHY YOU CANNOT USE THE OTHER TWO?! STUPID OR WAD?! DUNNOE WAD'S CALLED A STEERING WHEEL UH?!

Yea. END OF ARGUMENT

Again

2010-03-29T15:22:00.003+08:00

Just returned from Faber.

Spectacular view while climbing. Spectacular sound while descending. I love climbs. I love climbs. I love climbs. As a matter of fact, after Faber, I climbed Alexandra Road and Queensway Road just for the kicks on the way home. As usual, shot down a can of red bull before I got my wings.

Museums

2010-03-29T10:56:00.005+08:00

Museum für Kunsthandwerk

Museum Abteiberg

Kunstsammlung Nordrhin-Westfalen

Splash and Dash

2010-03-29T09:07:00.006+08:00

Alrite. 3 weeks into the holiday. And I'm generally pleased with progress.

Have been cycling.

Have been reading.

Have been doing CAD and Photoshop

Haven't start on 3d Max.

Ok, nevermind. One last week for me to work before enjoying 2 weeks of holidays! So yea, holiday plans are in order I assume. Friday midnight/night movie. Catching clash of the titans, hopefully in 2d. Then a long awaited ride to East Coast on Sunday, and then, no plans after that. Ouh, should start planning. 14 days. Hmmm, can do a lot of stuff. Can start retiring my road bike for awhile, until I can get my academic life in order.

Have been shooting down red bull before my rides. Gives the extra boost. I think. I don't really know if it helps, but it's all about the mentality. If I think it helps, it helps. And what goes well with red bull?

A red merc!

And. Breve Hot Chocolate! (but really, dun try drinking red bull with hot choco.)

AND! Have you guys ever realized, after Monday and Tuesday, the calender says W T F ?

Err?

2010-03-28T14:01:00.002+08:00

Eh, bro, you joking right?

You ride three to four times a week. Now you're riding carbon.

But what surprises me is your description.

"Very comfortable and stable even at 30+km/h"

What speed you cruising at?!?! Of course stable la. 30+ km/h only... -.-. Road bikes are stable well beyond 70km/h. Still got wireless cyclo-computer some more. Aiyoh.

Some people, seriously don't deserve to ride some bikes. But oh well. Money talks.

Oh god

2010-03-27T13:27:00.003+08:00

What happened here?

Oh my. Oh well. Yea, got this from some blog which updates me via twitter.

Talking about twitter. Wow, it's quite cool.

ok, and remember how I said Glen was a nice guy on twitter? I take it back. I take it all back.

Oasis is tweeting during their concerts, so you know what exactly they're playing and how the crowd is reacting and stuff.

Lance Armstrong tweets very often about his training regime and his upcoming races.

The rest of the people, like Demi, Taylor Swift, John Mayer, just tweets about whatever is going on.

Rained on my parade.

2010-03-27T00:46:00.006+08:00

Honestly. Rain sucks.

My day started out with the usual morning wake up sms. And then, once I got rid of that irritant, I continued with my daily life. Turned up the radio and tuned in to the AM Jam, prepared breakfast and powered up my computer. Glen, then logged in at 8.40, and yes, he's late for work. Again. Yet, he's proud of it. I am appalled by such bravery.Anyway, I finished fixing and cleaning Wynn's bike, to give it to Leslie.

Yea, a rudimentary bike, but, very practical. I rode that, with the basket all the way to CCK. Of course, the least I was expecting was a "Thank You". But, instead, the only words that I could clearly remember despite retrieving, fixing, cleaning and sending the bike over, was 'What a faggot'. Oh well. Typical Leslie.

And then, I took a bus home. The bus, was URGH. Vibrating like crazy. Not the most comfortable of buses I guess.

I did reach home eventually, pulled out my bike, and heavens doors open wide and the lord blessed us with water dropping down from the sky. For those of you who didn't get it, it rained. So yea, went to catch a few winks and woke up again at 8pm, and went along the predefined route.

Ok, getting to Changi was smooth.

If I had a better camera, then you guys would be able to see the majestic SIA 777 come in for a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L touch down. Yes, that was the reason why I dragged my 64kg ass all the way out to Changi. Just to watch these magnificent piece of engineering perfection touch down on the WORLD'S BEST AIRPORT. (ahhh, proud to be a Singaporean).

Getting out of East Coast was another breeze. A MTB overtook me, and I was more then happy to stay on his back.

Yeap. After that, getting through town was another breeze, got a draft courtesy to SBS Bus Service number 131. A little to dangerous to take a snapshot while drafting something that big.

West Coast Highway, killed me. AAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH. There's so much construction work going on. The Circle line, and some cable works, entrance to Sentosa. Uneven tarmac was slamming on the bike at 37km/h which in turn slammed my balls and forced me down to a crawling speed of 27km/h. And I just couldn't recover after that. I wasn't riding after that, I was merely sitting on the bike.

So, dear Transport Minister, I urge you to fix West Coast Highway for the convenience of vehicles that do not come with pneumatic suspensions. Think about it, it'll only cost a few billion dollars, but, putting smiles on the faces of so many commuters, doesn't if just create that warm fuzzy feeling in your heart?

YA RITE.

I WISH.

I'll just find another route.

But thanks for pretending to care. Appreciated.

Afternoon Ride

2010-03-24T15:48:00.006+08:00

Yay! Finally rode in the afternoon!

Felt good. Drafting behind countless amounts of trucks, just zipping my way across West Coast Highway until finally reaching Mount Faber. Had a hell of a climb, descended and drafted my way all the way home again.

And when I was stuck at traffic, I pulled out my phone, and Twitted. AHAHAH! Yes, damn fun being able to twit from my mobile. Of course, reached home in record time. Now cycling to Faber feels like walking over to the next block.

Got a hell of a draft up Clementi Road. It was a dump truck, and it was pulling me at 40km/h, and then it had to slow down up the hill, and I was stuck behind it's tail. Cool. Thanks for the draft dude. Appreciated. Yes, I was like a pussy sticking behind a truck, but it requires balls to follow inches behind a 10-tonne truck. (exaggeration)

Next ride, hopefully on Friday, where I would ride to Changi, complete one lap of the TT circuit, an hopefully get a draft back home. Only complain however, is the roads.

IT'S NOT SMOOTH!

Ahhhh, like hell it's irritating. Can't get the power down. And yes, now that I'm rested, I'm surprisingly able to pull 37km/h again. Maybe it's because it's in the afternoon, relatively lower humidity? So lesser air molecules, so lesser resistance? LOL. Sounds nerdy, doesn't even make sense.

And yes, with all these excitement, I haven't been reading. AHHH! I'm backlogging on books. AH! Then the competition and site visit is next week. Then school is going to start. Then I have to finish my holiday projects. Then I have to fix Leslie's bike. Then I, ARGH. ARGH. ARGH. That's just a lot of stuff to do.

WHAT?! COME ON!?

2010-03-24T09:48:00.002+08:00

Are you kidding me?

The results are out, and no, I'm not very happy. What the hell man. Ok, ADS, HTA, MAT and ES, well, I deserve it I guess. Not competitive enough, too busy trying to solve other's people problem, too busy trying to be like Lance Armstrong. And yea, I deserve that. Ok, fine. Fair.

But ITP, is a B. WHAT?! COME ON. I worked my fingers to the bone, for that?! YES.

Life is so unfair.

I just hate feeling so useless, when I can't do anything. This is just shit. Especially when I think about how easily other people got the ITP grade. I don't know what the hell is going on. But oh well, minor setback, looks like I'll have to come into Year 3 strong, very strong.

Shouldn't even go around helping people, what the shit. I missed an air show this year pulling strings for somebody else. Damn, it's time to take care of ME for a change.

I wonder if you know...

2010-03-23T15:20:00.003+08:00

I wonder if people know what lyrics they are listening to..

"Let's have some fun this beat is sick, I wanna ride on your DISCO STICK... I'm educated in sex, yes. And now I want it bad, want it bad."

~Love Game/Lady Gaga

"I want your psycho, your VERTICAL STICK"

~Bad Romance/Lady Gaga

"Boys trying to touch my junk"

~Tik Tok/Ke$ha

"Just turn around boy, let me hit that... Just show me where your dick at.. I wanna be naked, and you're wasted... I'm never laying the bitch."

~Blah Blah Blah/Ke$ha

"Imma be on top, never stop... Imma be fucking her.. Imma be a bank loaning out semen."

~Imma be/The Black Eyed Peas

"Have it your way, foreplay.. Imma touch you in all the right areas."

~Carry Out/Timbaland ft. Justing Timberlake

"I like when you tell me kiss me there... I like when you tell me move it there"

~Rude Boy/Rihanna

Yea, that's just some lyrics, that, well, are just disturbing. But, I can't really be a judge either, I listen to some weird songs as well. (Check out Home by Dream Theater, skip to 7:56). So yea, just wondering if people knew what exactly they were listening to.

Death. Part I

2010-03-22T02:40:00.002+08:00

Am I dead yet?

I'm just tired. Out of juice.

1am-3am = Cycling, South Bouna Vista>Mount Faber>Lasalle>Bukit Timah Road>Commonwealth Ave.

9.30am-1pm = Basketball. And I was running for almost the whole time

1pm-7pm = Sleep. Finally, long day

11pm-2am = Cycling, Half Island.

Yes, I'm dead. I'm having cramps in so many places. And the McSpicy I ate is really acting up. Urgh.

_________________________

However! On a lighter side! I created a twitter account! YAY!

Now I can follow people like Taylor, Demi, Lance, Liam, Noel and a few of my friends.

YAY!

Green House

2010-03-21T06:13:00.004+08:00

This, by far, is my favorite.

The Z6 House. What a name huh?

Anyway, BCA-CDL Green Sparks competition site visit coming up. Yes, frankly speaking I am a little worried about the current attitude of the team. Let's be honest here, I run on schedules, and when I don't get people coming on time, or when I don't know the progress of things, I freak out.

My weakness is that I have to be in control, that's the reason why I'm in this team. Hopefully this team works. I know I've said that there's a different between a team of strong people, and a strong team. But currently, right now, I'm starting to eat my words.

Please surprise me.

Organize meetings, tell me ideas, tell me to the face that you're ready to take this project on. Let me know you have been doing your own personal research. Let me know that you see the problems in this projects. Surprise me with all these stuff. Come on.

The only way a team functions is if all it's members pull together.. If a few people does all the pulling, then they'll get tired and unhappy. And if a team cannot work together, then they cannot work at all.

Yea, surprise me.

WHEE!

2010-03-19T23:42:00.001+08:00

Ahahaha. Fun fun fun fun fun.

Fun fun fun fun fun.

Alice in Wonderland, not a very good movie by the way.

Had a violent struggle taken place?
There was every sign that lead there
Witness found a switchblade on the ground
Was the victim unaware?
They continued to investigate
They found a note in the killer's pocket
It could have been a suicide letter
Maybe he had lost her love

_______________________________________

Scorpio is probably the most feared and yet the most revered sign of the zodiac. Most Scorpios would not hurt a fly for they are as gentle, caring, and generous as they can be hard, cruel, and mean. It really depends how they are treated.This is a sign which demands respect and usually gets it. Scorpions are highly sensitive, emotional creators who are so easily hurt that they cannot bear to show their feelings for fear of being ridiculed.Scorpios develop from an early age the ability to control such outer expressions of emotion, and remain dry-eyed. Scorpios do not forgive easily, if even at all, and are capable of holding a grudge for the rest of their lives. Scorpio subjects are hardworking, generous, and very determined. Once they begin a task, they will be dedicated to finishing it.They can become obsessively devoted to a person, a cause, or a project.

Scorpio - Scorpio Compatibility

This double combination of emotions strengthen strong feelings, desires, emotions and passions which both have. So with great desire and purpose they can achieve great things. If not, violent clashes are likely.There is a touch of both the saint and the devil in this combination or union. When two Scorpios get together, they do not beat about the bush. On some enchanted evening, these two will be strangers across a crowded room one minute and off to the nearest bedroom the next,(ahaha, wtf rite, really rite?!) leaving a cloud of steam behind them.They both need extremes of emotion, magical mysteries and inescapable intensity.The energy they emanate may be hidden from sight, but it will be bubbling under the surface, ready to well up and cause a commotion at any moment. They'll protect each other as only fixed signs can do, but the moment one of them betrays the other's trust, then all hell breaks out. Once they've paired up, the Scorpio couple will be hell-bent on holding their relationship together, no matter what calamity comes along. Scorpios are sensationally superstitious and both of these kissing cousins believe in destiny.They will feel that they were destined for each other and that their love was written in the stars.

I cannot be bothered.

2010-03-18T02:23:00.002+08:00

This post should be 'Luck. Part IV'

But honestly, GOD, if you're reading this, stop playing games. It's not funny.

You know, if you're trying to send me a message, you can reach me via e-mail or mobile phone. If you're not used to technology, you can send me the 'Invitation to Hell' via snail mail.

Honestly, if you don't like me, then just say it. You don't have to make so much effort in trying to kill me. GOSH.

______________________________

Ok, I've just finish listening to 'Scenes From A Memory' by Dream Theater.

Yupp. It's a 'concept album'. So basically, it's like telling a story, through the song. Each song transits smoothly to the next. The whole story, took well over and hour to be told.

It's a damn sick story. The ending, is, ARGH! WTF! WAD?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS.

But it was definitely a good one hour of musical delight.

And a hell of a story. Seriously, it could beat 'Avatar : The Blue Indian Nonsense' storyline wise. If someone directed it into a movie, damn, it'll be sick. Very Sick.

___________________________

And! I've became a nerd today!

I was so thrilled by the fact that I can borrow UNLIMITED amounts of book from the SP Library during the SCHOOL HOLIDAYS! YAY!

However, someone else have also had the same idea. Some books are on loan. DAMN.

And I'm SECOND on hold.... Means somebody else wanted that book as well. DAMN DAMN.

Oh well, I'll go read on some other stuff.

Luck. Part III

2010-03-16T03:36:00.004+08:00

I should change my name to 'The Boy Who Lived'

Honestly man, in the three weeks I've been out cycling, the Lord All Mighty has tried thrice to take my life.

Today was by far the scariest near collision.

I was at Bukit Timah Road, just past the Newton Food Centre. Yeap, it's the roundabout. I checked to see if there were cars coming in from the right, there wasn't. So I proceeded on the roundabout, checked on my left, and there was a taxi spearing down towards the round about. I gestured for him to hold.

He didn't even bother to look. Thanks la brother.

The Yellow Hyundai also proceeded on the roundabout.

We were on a collision course.

I slammed to the right, hard, very hard right.

The Hyundai slammed his brakes, hard, so hard he skidded.

Ya, fucking Hyundai, what fake ABS and Traction control?! Your freaking car skidded. ABS = Anti-Lock Braking System, means the wheels don't lock up, so the car won't skid, and come to a stop faster.

Yea, as I was making my desperation bank to the right, the car was in a skid a headed right to me.

I started shouting, 'WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH!! GOD... COME ON'

And the all mighty lord turned the wheel.

Ya rite. Who the hell am I kidding. I think he's the guy trying to kill me.

Yea, no collision. Very close though.

Of course I apologize dramatically after that incident, although I don't think it's fully my fault, he should have waited for me to clear before even proceeding to the round about.

Yea, the rest of the night was uneventful.

So, lesson learnt.

1 - Hyundai's ABS don't work. Don't buy the car solely because you think it's safe.

2 - Lesson number one might not be correct, so check with Hyundai on the efficiency of their braking system.

3 - The lord is a persistent guy

________________________________

Why was it so scary? Because I could not attempt the brakes and this time it was with a speeding car.

So, proves the point that despite all your preparation, shit happens.

_______________________________

I was at the library earlier this morning. WA LAO. Cannot find the book. nb.

And the eliser system was mocking me la, the book status is 'available'.

And I can't find it on the shelves.

Nevermind, shall go again later. Need to find it this time round. That book, will help in the BCA-CDL Green Sparks competition.

Talking about that competition, I see my team members not informing me about their personal progress, so maybe they would surprise me when we meet. Hopefully.

Or maybe the Lord has something in store for this.

Ow

2010-03-15T15:09:00.001+08:00

Ouch man. Ah. My chest is hurting. It's almost 2 days already. Why isn't it recovering?

And what is wrong with the weather? Losing motivation to cycle out. It's so wet.

Not the Best of Days

2010-03-14T06:45:00.005+08:00

Ok, let's start of with something cheerful.

Cycling. ^^V

Strength training this week. I've been climbing for this week. Don't feel like I'm improving, maybe should push for speed instead of just pushing for constant power during the climbs. It's a tricky thing to learn, a lot to juggle between the balance of speed and power during a climb. Gear ratios, cadence, when you should be standing and when you should be sitting. But sadly, there's not much terrain here, so I'm climbing for like three mins, maximum, and then that's it. I'm in a descent.

Oh well. Today, Sunday, found another road cyclist on the way home. From far, he looked like he was travelling with some speed. I caught up surprisingly with ease and found out he was only pulling 27. What the hell, looked damn fast la. Stopped at a light, pulled away, and omg, his acceleration was taking ages. Were like 50m away from the light and he's still struggling at 23.

A few tips la bro.

1 - Shift down before you stop. It helps you accelerate a hell lot faster. And starting at a higher gear will use more strength and damage your knee cartilages.

2 - Cruise at a comfortable cadence. Trust me on this. Too many revs and you'll run out of stamina, too little revs and you're going to run out of power.

3 - Shift. You paid for your gears, I recommend you use them. I realize, as I was drafting behind, the guy was stuck at the highest gear. Well, judging by the speed, I think the technique is all wrong. The highest gear is capable of reaching well over 70km/h. Never wait for the power to come in on your gears, it never will. So yea, shift man. shift.

4 - Large chain rings are not for climbs. Seriously. It's impossible. When trying to keep the speed up while managing the amount of effort, the large chain ring should only be use if you're Lance Armstrong. Honestly, the smaller chain ring will allow for the most efficient amount of power to be placed down on the wheels. Ahaha, try it out.

5 - Check this out for inspiration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlUPjlLFzm0&feature=related

6 - Believe. Quoted from Lance Armstrong. "The last thing I’ll say to the people that don’t believe in cycling, the cynics, the skeptics, I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sorry you can’t dream big, and I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles." But yea, that's from a champion, doesn't apply to people like us though.

___________________________________

Alrite. I've been getting agitated very easily lately.

Not stringing in the best of days I guess.

I need some time to cool off.

Honestly.

No idea how that is going to work out with me needing to report to school on Monday.

Really. Not the best of days.

And please be thankful if I'm ignoring you. You won't like me when I'm pissed. Seriously.

________________________________

Rite cool.

Looking forward to Tuesday. :)

It was so peaceful.

2010-03-13T01:50:00.009+08:00

Woke up to another perfect day today.

(I realize I always say that don't I? Maybe I'm just excited to see your face!)

So anyway, finish reading another book. Oh god was it boring. It was the history and the new direction for contemporary architecture. My oh my, was it full of theories. But anyway, a few buildings worth highlighting, not so much of their historical value, but I feel they are somehow, different.

The Mobius House. Worth studying the internal spaces.

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

InterActiveCorp Building, New York.

Sino-Italian Ecological, Beijing

Yeap. That's it for now. I need to go to the library later, and then meet up with you. I love this relationship. I love you.

________________________________________

Had soccer just now. Surprisingly, the court was empty.

My full apologies guys. I was really expecting people. Nevermind, two weeks time and we'll have an epic game of soccer.

By the way, first time I took a bus at night. In a long long long long long time.

I enjoyed the journey. Which is surprising. It was calm. Like freakishly calm. So! Anyone want to go out at night then I can take a bus home? Really, long time since I sat on a bus, and a very long time since I took one at night.

Went to NUH. It's a long story. But yea, that's where I took the bus to.

And who said Singapore was an expensive country? It's only a $1 fine.

__________________________________

Wah, and I'm trying to organize my files. Wa lao, so many pictures, put in so many folders still very hard to sort. And wa lao, must rename it one by one. Damn sian.

After that, have to organize the videos and the music files. DIE LA.

Rite, so anyway, an average week I guess. But my Saturdays are always cheerful. :)

Im just...

2010-03-12T00:09:00.004+08:00

... Disappointed.

Very very disappointed.

I've made a huge mistake.

I left the very thing that could have been the very thing I needed.

I'm sorry to myself.

I didn't let things play out.

I interfered.

I messed up.

I suck at this.

This is what happens when you use your trust as judgment.

I'm wrong, he's right. again.

Good Game la.

Fucked up.

Damn fucked up.

Hopefully soccer will turn things around.

It has to.

It just has to.

Glide slope

2010-03-10T00:50:00.005+08:00

Today. I have to admit. Must be my lucky day.

I woke up in the morning, with a big smile on my face. Turned on the radio and tuned it to 98.7 fm and the Am Jam was on.

Usual thing, prepared breakfast, took a shower. Sat down, read a book. Waiting for 11.40am where I can move off and supposedly meet the Singapore Polytechnic Canoe Captain for lunch. (yes! I'm friends with SP Canoe Captain. Wow!)

I cycled to school listening to 'Let's fall in LOVE again' playing on repeat, and was generally pleased with the pace of the ride. I arrived at 11:50 and Leslie, surprisingly, reached only 3 mins after me. Yes guys, a round of applause please, for Leslie.

So there we were, at T11a, scanning all the toilets to see if Jia Hong was busy cleaning them for his ITP. He wasnt, so we waited for TWENTY minutes at level 4. Leslie even got desperate and started asking around if anybody knew a 'Jia Hong'.

Surprisingly enough, nobody did.

So, we called, and called. And he finally picked up to deliver the news that he COULD NOT make it for lunch as he HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO. Oh well. Dishearted, we wanted to move off. But we wanted to check the third storey of the CLS block to see if he's around.

The door, was by access card only. Again, dishearted, we decided to move off.

BUT

I had to pee.

And pee I did.

After we came out of the toilet, we headed towards the staircase.

And 'WHAT THE FUCK?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!'

There he was, standing at the restricted access door.

His face, was in complete shock.

He didnt have work to do. He just wanted to eat lunch with someone else.

Utter rejection.

Jia Hong, you have proved to us your powers by leaving Wynn, Glen and Leslie to have your sudden family dinner on Saturday. And who can deny your powers when you rejected me and Leslie, IN THE FACE, on that very fateful Tuesday.

Jia Hong. You are my Idol.

_________________________________________

Rite, so, I've just finish a few architecture books. Not going to say the title though, you guys can find that out for yourself. But, two interesting buildings to look at.

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlann/4022043602/.. all rights reserves goes to him)

The DBS Tower in Singapore. Hey, it's more interesting then it looks.

And, another conceptual building.

http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=102960

Yea. Shouldn't elaborate more. Since some people might not get it anyway.

__________________________________________

AND! I've finish the sections for my make believe house! I have the plans and elevation, but, they're not so interesting.

SO! I'll hopefully have the presentation panels up by next month or something? Then I can hopefully explain the concept, structure, so on and so forth. Fun sia. Doing work, without the pressure.

______________________________________

Alright. So. There was only one way, to end off my day. With a ride.

RIDE!

RIDE!!

hehehehehehe.

Wanted to train on strength this week. Decided to climb Faber. ^^V

Started out GREAT! Had a slight tailwind. And was pushing 35km/h with ease. Very very quickly got to Faber.

Getting up Faber however, was a different story. Like all climbs, it's slow and painful. And despite my best efforts to attack the hill at the foot. (by attack, I mean to mount a sprint/climb) I still found myself dancing desperately on the pedals painfully crawling at a mere 16km/h up.

It felt pathetic. Faber is quite a challenge. Unlike most hills in Singapore, the only time when Faber levels out is when you're nearing the peak. So, you climb painfully. Either that, or you climb slowly. I'll chose pain. (it wasnt really painful la, 16km/h onli, could have pushed myself further).

After peaking though, the fun began. Descend. The turns and the grip was just spectacular. I felt at total ease hurling myself down at 40+km/h. Even overtook 2 cars during the descend. However, there was a moment.

42km/h and it was a sweeping left turn. I slammed the bike in like I usually do without lowering the speed, and oh my, it wasn't turning as sharply as I thought. My gaze was fixed at the kerb which I though I was going to slam. In desperation, I tapped the brakes, and oh my, it barely made it. The bike was on the brick path before I could pull it level. Oh well. Life is short.

Live fast. Die Young.

After that, made a turn home. As I was approaching West Coast Highway, nearing Haw Par Villa, I saw a group of container trucks in front, and I thought, 'How would it feel like to draft one of them?'

Opportunity came. They stopped at the red light. I caught up, went for my bottle but all the water has been used for the climb up Faber. Alright then, waited for the lights to turn green, let them pass me.

I was on a gear that was a tad bit too high. I failed to match the acceleration of those heavy machines. It took some effort, and a hell lot of determination. I sprinted.

38km/h.... 44km/h.... 49km/h... 56km/h... 58km/h...

I'm not a sprinter. But when I looked up, and noticed that I was reeling the truck in. I was motivated. I was all fired up. I held 58 and soon, I was drafting a massive container truck.

How does it feel to go 54km/h without any resistance?

Heavenly.

The truck maintained 54km/h and I was right there, behind it. Oh man. OH MAN. Ok, imagine that moment that you're ejaculating, imagine if you held that moment for 2 minutes. That was how it felt. That was how it felt. 2 freaking minutes at 54km/h. No amount of dreaming can prepare you for that. It was so calm. Nothing was blowing in your face. Nothing.

Of course, my father would take away my bike if he knew about this. But really. OH MAN. That just made my night. Or at least I thought it did.

After I pulled out from the slipstream, I was a few kilometers from home, only had the Clementi Ave 2 flyover to overcome. There I was, finding myself in a familiar spot, climbing up, and then, a truck patiently waited behind.

Being ever so courteous, I mounted a short attack to clear his path, signaled to him with a gesture and as he passed me, he look at me, gave me a thumbs up and drove off. Oh my. What a way to end my night. What a way.

I'm happy.

___________________________________

I can do better.

2010-03-07T01:32:00.002+08:00

Hey! A Level results came out.

Congratulations guys. Two years of hard work, last minute mugging and sheer luck have produced, well, quite some decent results. Yea. Good job guys. Good job. Bottoms up!

Yea. What else can I say?

Well done guys.

____________________

So, somehow right, I changed back to my old Samsung phone. The light blue clam-shelled phone. I powered it up and my old wallpaper loaded.

It was like a walk down memory lane.

All the old messages we still preserved in the phone. All those nights we stayed up text-ing sweet nothings to each other. And they were still there, in the phone, all the messages were precisely four minutes apart.

Then, I went to the drafts, and started reading all the messages that I never did have the time or will to press 'send'.

There was even a song I wrote. But I never got a chance to play it. To you.

The song 'Keep the Dream Alive' by Oasis, we've always said it needed a better second verse.

Then you came and you turned my life around

And when you left, I was on the ground

Every night I scream your name

Everytime I feel the pain

You are my dream,

but now my dream has failed.

Down the road, I was looking for a sign

There you were, and I felt so alive

Every night I'll hold you close

You and me we're both alone

You're my answer and I won't let you go

...

Then there's more, but I really don't think it's appropriate. Not at the stage of life that we're both in anyway.

I just feel asleep rewinding the moments. And when i woke up, I just wanted to slide back in to that dream. I didn't want to change anything, it was perfect, I just wanted to watch it go by, again, and again, and again.

The familiar sms then rang. I flipped it open, and it wasn't your name.

Why would it be?

This is reality.

________________________________

But I can't help thinking. I deserve so much better. In terms of everything

The respect I should be getting.

The friends who I hang out with.

The life I'm living.

I don't know. I just can't help to stop and think how much better I would progress if I had the best equipment and the best environment to maneuver and grow in.

Yes. I am complaining.

I think, may sound arrogant, but I find that some things, and some people are just dragging me down. Nothing more than a dead-weight that I have to live with. Nothing more than a distraction. Nothing more, than nothing.

It's time to be a little more selective I guess. It's rare, then when I go out with people, I get to do the things that I really want to do. And it's those rare few people who do things that I want to do and they don't mind doing it, it's those rare few people, only those few people who I should really keep close.

All my life I'm fine with anything, guess there's a limit to that.

I think, I don't know. I think I just deserve better, especially now.

Eh! This is so Cute!

2010-03-05T04:02:00.002+08:00

Really. This is really cute!

Looks like a normal full size amp rite?! It's NOT!!! Ahahahah!

Transform any of the VOX amPlug headphone amps into a tabletop mini-stack amp!

Introducing the new amPlug Cabinet – a dedicated monitor speaker that makes playing guitar even more fun.

The amPlug series of guitar headphone amplifiers offer a great way to enjoy serious guitar/bass amp sound whenever and wherever you practice. Each amPlug offers an amazing level of sound quality; far beyond what one might expect from a unit of this size. Combined with play-anywhere convenience and solid good looks, the amPlug series have quickly become best-sellers, and continue to attract legions of users. It goes without saying that because the amPlug is headphone amp, you can hear the sound only through headphones. We know there are probably times when you'd like to share your amPlug sound, and that's where this new product comes in! Using the amPlug Cabinet, you can quickly convert any amPlug into tabletop mini-stack. Connection is easy; just insert the amPlug unit into the amPlug Cabinet, and plug the dedicated cable from the amPlug cabinet into the amPlug. With its retro VOX design, the amPlug Cabinet creates an imposing miniature amp stack that is both attractive, and enjoyably incongruous. Equipped with a 3" VOX speaker and 0.7 Watts of power, the amPlug Cabinet is compatible with all amPlug models, so you can use a variety of amPlugs with a single amPlug Cabinet.

VOX amPlug Cabinet Specificaitons

Output Power: 0.7W
Speaker: VOX Original 3" x 1
Power supply: 9V battery (6F22, 6LF22/6LR61) or AC adapter (sold separately)
Current consumption:55 mA
Battery life:
With alkaline batteries: approximately 10 hours,
With zinc-carbon batteries: approximately 3 hours
Dimensions (W x D x H): 96 x 56 x 103 mm/ 3.78 x 2.20 x 4.06 inches
Weight: 296 g (without battery)/ 0.65 lbs
Included items: 9V zinc-carbon battery (6F22)
Option (sold separately):9V AC adapter

*Specifications and features are subject to change without notice.

Ahaha, yea. Feel like buying. But dunnoe also. I think those clip on types more effective.

So anyway, yea, new orders. Not cycling anytime soon.

Man, the things I do to keep you happy. You should be thankful. Not everyday a guy who plays guitar, rides a roadie, happens to be in Architecture, seems to like the outdoors and bothers putting up with your nonsense, comes by and literally sweeps you off your feet.

I'm just saying.

I like you.

But you already know that.

Luck. Part II

2010-03-03T06:40:00.003+08:00

I never learn my lesson huh?

Alright. It's Wednesday and I was out cycling again as planned.

A shaky start.

A flat tire as I left my house. I changed the tube, pumped it up and rode to Caltex to pump it up to maximum allowable PSI.

Then, again, I was on the road listening to "We'll be a dream" playing on repeat.

I guess it was a smooth ride, usual business, paddle hard stay safe kinda thing. Hit the city again, did my prestigious U-Turn, rode back and told myself to be extra careful.

I was.

Another truck driver however, wasn't.

There I was pulling my own ass down West Coast Highway, and I saw a truck wanting to turn into the Wholesale Centre along the road. Being alert and ever so courteous, I signal with a hand gesture asking him to hold while I prepare to sprint and clear the road.

I thought he saw and understood the gesture. I stood up, push way hard on the pedals and the bike began to pick up speed.

Unfortunately however, the truck did the same thing.

WHAT THE FUCK. It only took the BOTH of us a few seconds to slam HARD on the brakes. But it felt like eternity for both of us to stop. I'm assuming his truck wasn't equipped with Anti-Lock Braking System. I watch his front wheels lock up and skid for a few centimeters. (yea, he was moving quite slowly, errr, duhh, it's a truck accelerating, wad do u expect?)

I slammed hard as well. What a mistake. The rear wheels locked up and the front wheel was so nervous under that immediate braking.

AGAIN. Another close shave. The SINGAPOREAN driver looked genuinely stunned. And I don't blame him. I shared the same look.

(yes, it was a singaporean. But it doesn't really matter what country you come from, it just matters on the INDIVIDUAL driving style. It should be a crime to generalize. Yes, this is a personal message.)

AGAIN. Thankful to be alive. Stunned as usual.

AGAIN. I urge all drivers to be a little more careful?

I totally understand. It's five in the morning, you're feeling groggy. You probably just woke up. But heyy, again, I'm very sure you don't want to hit me as much as I don't want to hit you.

____________________

So, after I reached home, cleaned a few stains on the bike. I have to admit, I'm generally pleased with the ride today.

Reached home, checked my phone and sms-es were just waiting to greet me.

Yea guys, it's impossible to reach me after 10pm by the way. I'll be asleep, but fortunately, I'll be awake around 4am on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thurdays I should be up by 7am but my phone will be on at 4am without fail.

Badminton for today is cancelled. Which is good I guess, leaves me more room to recover for soccer later.

And! I've finished reading one of the books I borrowed. It's titled, 'Integrated Design in Contemporary Architecture' by 'Kiel Moe'.

Interesting book. It basically deals with how the design, from the mass, to the layout, to the facade, how every single element in the highlighted buildings were chosen to answer the social call for a greener and more sustainable building.

If I was to pick one building feature in the book, I would have to pick the Museum Of Contemporary Art. Why? Guess you guys will have to read the book to find out.
The renders they publish in the book looks 10 times better then the actual building. Sadly.

But, again. I strongly suggest you guys read this book, and maybe take a look at this particular building, the interior spaces are more stunning then the exterior facade.

Yes. This is the first time I'm recommending a book.

_______________

Right, so anyway, thanks for reading my blog. I guess I'll get back to life now.

Luck.

2010-03-01T06:53:00.005+08:00

Ok. Cycling. Is. Dangerous.

Alright, so how did I arrive to this conclusion. It all began with me thinking about my future. Where would I end up 7 years from now? Will I have a job? Will I be married? Will I have a daughter? Will I finally have that car I've been aiming for? Will I finally be riding a Madone? Will I even be alive?

To set my goals, I googled up the Indicative Grade Profiles for the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University. Oh my, was I in for a shock.

NUS IGP
NTU IGP

What the hell. Architecture needs a GPA of 3.40. Civil Engineering needs a GPA of 3.51! Communication Studies, which would be my desperate choice, still needs a GPA of 3.40. Are you kidding?! That is almost perfection right there.

Right. So after I found out what I needed to aim for, I set a timetable for the holidays, to somehow try and push myself to work harder.

So far, my attitude has been "That will do".

Everything, as long as it looked presentable and neat would have passed in my books. Maybe it's time for a change. Maybe I can put in that tiny bit more effort and reach that stage of perfection.

And there it was. To me, what seemed like a perfect balance between life, passion and work.

And today started out great. I was on my bike, slamming in 35km/h right before the headwind came blowing in. But I shifted and could somehow hang on to 30km/h. I reached the city, pulled a huge U-Turn with a great big smile on my face, went on the hoods and was back up to 35km/h with the tailwind.

The ride was perfect, the bike is sounding like how a bike is suppose to sound. I'm building up revs like how a cyclist should be building up revs. Everything seemed like a commercial, until I reached West Coast Park.

I was reaching out for my bottle at the intersection of West Coast Highway and West Coast Link, waiting for the turn light to be illuminated. The light turned yellow and I had to quickly place my bottle back before I could even get a sip.

The turn light illuminated and I started rolling.

And then.

'BEEP'. A malaysian trucked, ran the red light from the opposing direction and cleared inches away from my front wheel.

WHAT THE FUCK MAN

YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME

Which part of 'STOP THE FUCK AT A FUCKING RED LIGHT' didn't you understand?!

knn. ccb. nb. What were you trying to do?! You're on a fucking truck. I'm on pieces of aluminum welded together. At that speed, man, I wouldn't like to imagine what happened if we traded paint.

Really. Be patient. There could be other 19 year olds riding around. They're still young. They still have dreams. They still have a future to fight for.

And no. I'm not going to bullshit about how skilled I was in avoiding the truck. As a matter of fact, my last minute swerve to clear the truck was more by luck then judgment.

And no. This is not the first time this kinda shit has happened.

And no. You'll never get used to the feeling.

But fuck. I feel damn lucky. Somehow, I'm still sitting here blogging instead of laying on the road covered in blood.

Yes. I'm damn thankful. And Yes, I'm still quite shaken. But man.

Drivers seriously need to be more careful and attentive.

Yes. So. Cycling, is dangerous. PERIOD.

726 400

2010-02-24T17:19:00.007+08:00

And that. Is how it's done.

Accounting test today and it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. For the FIRST time ever, have my balance sheet actually balanced. After calculating the assets, I arrived at $726 400. And then, it was the moment of truth. After totaling the liabilities and owner's equity, I covered my calculator screen, held my breath, slowly moved my hand away and there it was. Shining right at me. 726 400. FOR THE FIRST TIME! IT BALANCED! AND IT WAS THE FINAL EXAM. Ahaha, yes, after the papers were collected, I waltz across the classroom to my bag, and oh my, the smile on my face was so wide. Went to the toilet with a smile on my face and pee-ed with a great sign of relief.

My perfect day continued. I went to the Architectural Design and Resource Center (ADRC) and was expecting the aircon to be turned off in the model room. But nope, it's on and I found my file with ease. Being caught up with how perfect the day was going, I forgot that I wanted to look for Mr Goh to clarify if I could form another team for the BCA-CDL Green Mark Competition. And oh my, I saw him, and Mrs Koh walking back to school from lunch. Of course, I greeted him with a smile and he was enthusiastic about another team coming in. Perfect.

Then, the traffic light turned green as I was about to cross, courtesy to some guy standing there under the sun. And, I walked to the bus stop, waited less than a minute, and my bus came! PERFECT! I took 196 all the way to the bus interchange, and once I alighted, another 196 came and I took it to reach my house! ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

And the whole time from after the test till i reached home, I had my mp3 plugged in and the volume cranked up way high, and it was churning out all my favorite tunes. Yes, my smile was never wiped off my face. I even got a hair cut today! And then as I laid down on my bed to rest, I remembered Maurices' performance on Saturday.

And as I smiled to myself. I remembered the 21st of February 2010. Where Wynn got the shit scared out of him.

AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH.

man. We were laughing so hard it actually started to hurt. I couldn't stand up because it was so painful after that outburst of laughter. Oh well, Wynn, I guess you've learnt how to spell friends, F-A-G-G-O-T-S. But really, that was a good laugh. I'm sure we'll NEVER forget about it.

Yea. So, I'll just lay here, and keep on smiling to myself. Today. Was perfect. Absolutely perfect. :)

Let's Face It.

2010-02-20T02:44:00.004+08:00

ok. Let's face it. I've got sleeping disorders. What the hell happened?! I want to sleep! LET ME GO TO SLEEP! PLEASE. It's 2:45 in the morning and I'm still awake. So, anyway, I've been keeping a sleep diary, a diary where you record your sleeping time and hours.

Monday : Slept at 4am
Tuesday : Woke up at 3pm, didn't(couldn't) sleep
Wednesday : Slept at 7pm
Thursday : Woke up at 1am
Friday : Slept at3am, woke up at 1:30pm

Wa lao, some days I'm sleeping almost 12 hours and some days I'm not sleeping and other days I'm sleeping the required 8 hours. BUT IT'S NOT THE RIGHT TIME. I'M SUPPOSE TO BE AWAKE DURING THE DAY. I'm tired, really. But I just cant sleep until the sunrises. Argh. This is getting irritating. Funny how I wake up at 1am and can never get back to sleep, but I wake up at 11am and the bed pulls me in deeper. Please, please please, switch it around.

And honestly, I feel tired the first few hours when I wake up in the sunlight, but after that, bam, I'm right on the ball. The energy comes in when it's called for.

Ok, so here's the plan. I'm going to stay awake all day today. Meet my gf in the morning, then meet Syah for accounting notes, then meet David for the bike(tentative), then go see Maurice perform, then study with Wynn and Les, and then go sleep. And if I still wake up in the middle of the night, I'm going to go to the doc and get the medication, then overdose it and die. Ahaha, so would need to stock up on the red bull for this. Or maybe I should just clear all my plans. Stare into blank space, and hopefully try to hibernate.

ARGH! SLEEP. COME ON.

Addition:

Was so bored. Decided to do this.

Original Image at B.T.. Forgot to adjust the camera EV setting, so yea, the lighting destroyed everything. So, tried to fix it in photoshop, since I can't sleep anyway.

B.T.!

2010-02-18T19:35:00.010+08:00

Yes. Finally.

Welcome to Bukit Timah Nature Trails! ^^V YES. I'm happy. Waiting damn long to actually do it. Of course, I was excited at the start. Until all the shit came in.
It rained, a few minutes before I reached. So. Wa lao, one tiny tap on the levers and I was drifting. Like a pro! (as if) But ish. I was damn slow, and yea, the tail was all over the place.
I even got lost when trying to navigate out. Yea, just thought the handlebar views will look cool.
Steep downhill. It's ok, not really my favourable section of the track. But, this is worse.
But man. The view is spectacular.
Yea. That's it la. Most probably will try it again during the DRY season.

imprompt sleepover

2010-02-17T05:50:00.002+08:00

Yes. I am that bored that I am blogging from David's laptop, on David's sofa, in David's house.

HEY! So anyway. My hybrid, has grown into a mountain bike!!!! AHAHAHAHAH!!! YES!!! I'M FINALLY GOING TO B.T.!!! And my roadie has had a weight reduction session, so! Over the course of the SEVEN weeks of holiday for me.. (7 WEEKS of ITP for some people, or 6 months for one faggot) I'm going to do a road run on MONDAY, WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY. And off-road runs on TUESDAY and THURSDAY. Saturdays will be spent with ^^V and Sundays to rest and recover.

Yea, that's the plan. But what's most likely going to happen is, I'm going to do a road run on monday. Get shagged and tired, skip the offroad run on tuesday, find excuses to do something else on wednesday, pray that it rains on thursday and cycle down to west coast park on friday. Yea, I think that's the most likely course of action.

Ouh. Waiting for Wynn to comeback also. When that guy coming back uh? Gone for quite long eh. Waiting for his Xbox to be frank and honest. It's the holidays, I have nothing to do.

Wah. And got sleeping problems man. My body clock is screwed. I wake up thinking it's 11am, look at my phone, realise there's 12 missed calls and it's 5 in the evening. Cool. So, anybody with a healthy lifestyle, please give me a ring and I want to hang out with you. Healthy lifestyle in my books would include waking up at 7 in the morning, planned and organized day, and is in bed latest by 11pm. So yea, gimme a call if you lead such a lifestyle, I would really love to be your friend.

Talking about friends! Yea, could you know, probably go for soccer, or jamming? Anytime soon. (yes, that was a hint). Or maybe dinner! OR! PRAWNING. (assholes). Rite. I think I should get some sleep. Going to school LATER.

Wow.

2010-02-16T01:18:00.002+08:00

Wow. Totally nothing on for CNY. But! However, I have time to clean my bikes and re-set them up. Oooouuuuhhhhh.. I really want to go to BT! Oh well. Still waiting until I get my confidence back.

And, I met up with El, she returned my phone, and oh my. She was so thankful. Like wow. I'm impressed, not many people are like that nowadays. Or maybe I'm just meeting the wrong type of people.

What now?

2010-02-13T05:35:00.008+08:00

Great. Now everything is over. Submission is done, Presentation is done, GEMs exam is done. Basically, the only thing left is the accounting exam, which I must pass. Like literally, otherwise, I'll be dropped out of the course and everything will be wasted. So, looks like I'll have to push hard for that.

So anyway, looks like I have almost everything I wanted. I'm happy. Or I'm suppose to be. But. I'm not! It's only two days after JC4, one day after Friday, and I'm already feeling bored.

Got my MP3 for $40. That was cheap, but now, like all my other stuff, it's full of scratches. Comes with a radio though, so I'm not complaining. Thanks Iezah for finding that and thanks Nigel for paying for it. ^^V.

Finally. Changed my guitar strings. Feels damn good now. Sounds perfect. Or almost. It's not the instrument, it's the musician. Music, by someone's definition, is the idea behind the sound. So it's not so much of the sound that comes out, but the idea behind it I guess.

Got my boots anyway. Golden, and black. Nothing much to say there. But, I think, the biggest accomplishment so far, would have to go to this.

Yeap. Maximum speed reads at a modest 98.7 km/h. Just to put that into perspective, there is no roll cage, there's only two wheels, there's no crumple zone, there's no air bags, there's no guards, there's no full face helmet.

There's just you, pieces of aluminum welded together, and one small mistake and you'll find yourself slamming the asphalt with your whole weight crushing down on you. Ahaha, yea, so, missed my target of 100km/h, but let's not get over myself here. Still young, still have my chances I guess. And yes. I didn't have my legs after that run. But god, that was fun.

But you know. I just can't help feeling there's something missing. I just open up my organizer, and the pages are blank, and no matter how much I keep on flipping, they still remain unwritten. Maybe I've accomplished too much in a time frame too little.

I can barely remember how my presentation went. I was way too sleepy and I wasn't thinking then, I was merely reacting. Maybe that is what's wrong. I'm not appreciating all these little moments as much as I should. Now everything doesn't seem like a big deal. There's no more, 'YES! I'VE DONE IT'. It's more like, 'ok, it's done, what's next?'. And the current problem is, I can't answer that.

what's next?

♥

2010-02-12T02:26:00.004+08:00

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere
'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you dear
'Cause I wish you were here

I'll watch the night turn light blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly
The silence isn't so bad
Till I look at my hands and feel sad
'Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
'Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone
But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist-deep in thought because when I think of you
I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone
I don't feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
I'll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear,
Oh darling I wish you were here

If you're asking for it

2010-02-12T01:40:00.002+08:00

You know. If you were asking for someone's help, I think it would be common sense, genuine common sense, to make it as convenient as possible for him to help. And yea, it wouldn't kill to say 'thank you', wouldn't hurt to smile once in a while either, wouldn't hurt to come prepared. Really. It's the little things that make it seem epic.

Presentation was o.k. I guess.

Some comments :

"I like your energy"
"You have a lot of potential you know that?"
"You spent a lot of effort on your layout, but it's perfectly fine"
"Without the 3d renders, everything else on the board is alright"
"You make us feel under dressed"
"Don't cut up your words"
"Your plan, should have blown it up"
"The shadow uh, how did it cast? There's no wall there"
"That's it?"
"The doors should fold on the inside, it looks messy."
"Read more books, on contemporary architecture"
"Talk to your lecturers more."
"I think you could have developed that, I kinda like the idea. There's something there."
"I see you've put in a lot of effort on the models. You did it again, and again, and again until you got it."

Yea. Negative or positive comments, is to your perception. But personally. I think it went, all right?

Well, yea. I think presentations should be like MINISKIRTS.

Long enough to cover everything, short enough to catch my attention.

Anyway. Keith wasn't there during my presentation. What the hell man. He helped me so much and he wasn't there to see how it all went. Yea, that was the only person I was really hoping to see in the panel today.

So yea. I guess this is the part where I say thank you?

Thanks to the lecturers, Keith and Halim. And yea, apologies for the attitude. sorry if I was rude.

Thanks to the Leslie, for assisting with the printing of the boards.

Thanks to Glen and Wynn for the compliments on my work. (Really, never deprive a guy of hope, it could be all he has.)

Thanks to Nigel for just being there I guess.

Thanks to Iezah for talking to me in the middle of the night while waiting for the boards to render.

Thanks to well, everybody else who think she/he had affected my performance in this project. (I'm sure a lot of people are going to take credit here.)

One. Two. Three.

2010-02-08T02:29:00.008+08:00

Callum's Board

Joel's board

Hoe Khang's Board

Yea. Three boards sia. Man, my laptop have been through hell.

It has covered, in 2 weeks.

- 2 of my exterior renders
- 2 of my interior renders
- Joel's exterior render
- Joel's interior render
- All 8 of my boards
- All 8 of Joels boards
- All 8 of Hoe Khang's board
- Completed Need For Speed Undercover. (err? Random.)

Yea. I arranged all 3 of those boards. Hoe Khang and Joel have already coloured their plans and my only use was to put in on the board, and that's what I did. Hoe Khang was really thankful, treated me supper. Joel was thankful as well, wanted to treat me LJS, but it's like $8 per meal, so I declined.

But when his boards was printed, he took a look at it, and I don't know. Seem a little disappointed. Either that, or he was really tired, but I think he was disappointed. Ok, I'm not making excuses. But his board was really done under serious time constrain. For the first time ever, I was pressurized to complete it with the constant time checks. So, that was the first mistake. Second mistake of course was that I was too absorbed in just completing it, that I forgot to step back. And stare, and maybe find more improvements to make. So yea, I don't know. If he was disappointed then I would know why. But really. Time wasn't really on my side on this one.

But I can't help think it could have been better. Somesort. But i dunnoe already la. Need to ask Keith already. He's a lot more pro in this. So far, all the calls he made on my board turns out right.( AHAHAH! Say only, later during crit kena shot.)

So. !!!. Three different boards. Three different layouts. Two weeks. Cool.

Oh. really?

2010-02-06T22:59:00.010+08:00

Yes. 5th Feb is over. So anyway, just would like to share, the construction sequence of a building.

First, the first story in situ slab is casted and the precast columns and beams go up. Along with the HS wall. Since they're loadbearing. Or can bear load. (the water bottle behind represents a huge water tank)
(Notice the secondary beams are in place). The precast floor slabs are then put in place.

(FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE! THE PIECES ACTUALLY FIT!!!)
More precast slabs are put in place. And the next storey beams are put up.
The process repeats itself until all five storeys and the roof are in place.
Next. The precast facade wall is hoisted up and secured down into place.
Next. The windows and Green Wall and the Green Roof are stuck in place. Using UHU glue.

Finally. The doors, and the balcony railing are secured in place using 5ml of elephant super glue.

Now that the construction sequence is complete, go take a look at ur MAT lecture notes and realise everything I wrote above is bullshit.

ANIWAE. Boards! PRINTED. ^^V.
That's mine.
And yes.
It's really that big. I didn't place some miniature furniture around it.
And yes.
My living room is that small.
And no,
it wasn't easy to come out with.

So, after I've done my boards, I thought 'HEY! I CAN REST'. Damn was I wrong.

I helped Hoe Khang with his boards.
While he was sleeping.
On my bed.

Yes. He went on my bed. I don't know how. One minute he was on the floor, and the next, he was soundly sleeping on my bed.
Yeap. That's his board. Well, partly mine. Since I did it. But sia la. Nice sia. I like the way his plans move up and down like some musical notes. If he said his concept was 'harmony', I would have bought it. So anyway, some colours came out wrong as expected. But overall, not bad. 2 boards, and both doesn't look that shabby in 2 weeks.

Yes, I'm also trying to prove the point that there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to your board. Whatever works, works. So you kinda have to keep trying. Give me another day or two with Keith and both the boards would have turned out better.

Ok. Architectural nonsense over.

What's next?

Err duh. Cycling!

Planning to change my hybrid to a mountain, and then, ^^V. Can go BT already!.

After that, must train on the road bike to get my stamina back up, and then maybe play more soccer, and then somehow build my upper body.

Ouh. And you know the BCA-CDL Green Mark Competition thing? I feel like joining sia. Anyone intrested?

How does it look?

2010-01-30T10:00:00.008+08:00

Man. I went to school on Thursday to finalize my boards and our favorite lecturer (the blur one) insisted on another 3D model. I hate 3D, but since he insisted, I found myself back at home, doing the same thing.

Only in architecture you get to...

- See your girlfriends' face more often on the MSN display pic then you do in real life. (unless u're julio and fun. But tt's just not fair)

- Sleep with more guys then girls

- Get so caught up in work that you cycle to school with a flat tire. (because you're only thinking of what to do when you reach school)

- See the inside of the studio more often then you see the inside of your room.

-Use two laptops to render out your boards and 3D.

- Learn to sleep at any position feasible on the chair.

- Understand the word 'stress'.

- Right click on your mouse, stare at the layers, before finally finding it 10mins later.

- Realize your non-architectural friends are faggots. Oh wait, that's just Leslie. V ^^ V

- Fit a few poker games whilst waiting for the render.

- Win something during that poker game. Oh wait. I won EVERYTHING!

(Damn, now what do I do with all that fake money?)

- Realize all your efforts will go down the drain once Mdm Chan comment.

- Start appreciating sleep.

- Start to hate 5th Feb for some reason.

- Realize at this rate, you'll most probably die. So might as well kill yourself now.

- One small error realized at a late stage and you have to trace it back to your CAD. Which then you have to re-import your EPS/PDF. Then readjust your toning/coluring. Then smile that you're done, and find another error.

- Realize you're running out of time and an error of 10cm hopefully won't get notice.

- Curse and swear you got the morning crit slot.

- Complete your boards. Step back. And smile.

- Breathe

- And do it all over again

Premature Celebration

2010-01-28T05:28:00.010+08:00

Alright! I've finally finished the boards, just need to head down to school later to seek some clarifications and then set the boards up for print, and then I can have my laptop back to normal! Instead of the current high performance low graphics mode.

So, what did I do to prematurely celebrate?
Killed 2 cockroaches for a start. Damn. These things are all over the place! Seriously, I saw one outside my house, and I desperately tried to run over it with my bicycle tyre. But it missed. WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM!? ish.
After that, cycled out, saw a police car at the gas station. And basically, that was it. Went out with Nigel by the way, and he had an ambitious idea to cycle to the barrage. But where did we end up?
West Coast Park. Macdonalds. As they saying goes. Ambitious, but rubbish. However, after much persuasion, we got a move on things. And ended up at Raffles City, where, I saw this!
A messenger bike! Just look at those bars! And the wheels are so, retro. By the way, got a once in a lifenight shot.
At esplanade bridge. And another once in a lifenight shot at LaSalle.
And then. Cycled UP Bukit Timah road at a constant 25km/h (not 27km/h!) before finally stopping for a rest at a 7-11.
Right. Great night then. Bike's still outside, in the cold.
By the way, David! Who's Tina?!

Ahaha, joking. We saw that at BPP. As you can see, somehow, Joel's face is in the shot, at the bottom right corner. Rite, I'll go have breakfast then. Good luck with work guys!

I finally slept.

2010-01-24T22:46:00.005+08:00

Yes. I finally fell asleep at 7am. And basketball was to start at 9am. Wynn called me and said that he would be arriving in 10 mins, but I just couldn't take it and went right back into bed. Which finally, at 10plus.. ish.. I woke up. Got straight on my bike and rode to the court. Yea, played awhile. Forced to sit down and eat non-halal food again. (thanks wynn, thanks les. U guys are TRUE FRIENDS.)

Then went home. Watched 'Miracle' (2004). Aw man, that is an inspirational movie.
Well, it's basically about how hard the US Ice Hockey team trained. And yea, some great quotes from the movie.

'You think you can win on talent alone?... Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone'

'Great moments are born from great opportunities'

'If we play them 10 times, they might win 9. But not this game. Not tonight'

Right. After that inspirational moment. I went over to Wynn's house in that faint hope that he could help me with my accounting tutorial. And he was as good as Leslie. USELESS. If any of us actually become accountants, I would just shoot my head off.

Wait wait wait!

2010-01-24T05:21:00.003+08:00

Are you serious!?!

That. Is. Being Sold. As. A car.

Yes! Im serious. The Renault Kangoo. With Five seats. Man. Arn't we getting creative.

Heheheh, guess what car I found! Top gear reviews.

Comfort :

Although the Savvy could ride worse for a cheap Malaysian hatch it's really let down by a thrashy 1.3-litre engine that fills the cabin with the most horrendous din at mid to high revs.

Performance :

A claimed top speed of 99mph is moot. You'd need to have nerves of steel or an unlimited supply of Mogodon to get there. And it'd help to be stone deaf.

Cool :

It's a toss up between Perodua and Proton as to which is the least cool car brand in the world. Either way you're on a hiding to nothing with the Savvy. Silly name, even sillier looks.

Quality :

The Savvy is budget even by Proton's standards, and the terrible mish-mash of design ideas and cheap plastics is flung together without much though. The steering wheel, for instance, is so crudely moulded that it actually hurts to hold for any length of time.

I think. That's enough about that car. But man. That was rude. 'Budget even by Proton's standard'. Can you imagine if they review brands like Cherry?

A Proper Post?

2010-01-24T05:00:00.002+08:00

Right. It's five A.M. on a sunday morning. And HEY!! Guess what. I'm awake! WHY!?! Cause I can't bloody hell sleep!

I woke up at 9 on Sat. (finally got a chance to sleep in). Went about the usual business. Came back, did work again, and now I find myself on the bed, laptop on my lap typing this post. Right, anyway, apologies for posting up my boards? I think? Don't really get David's comment on the Cbox >

But yea, that was what I was doing up all week round. Kinda wanted to share it around. It's kinda tiring day in and day out staring at the screen, so just thought of sharing the final product. Yea, I assume you might have taken it as arrogance. Yea, just wanted to let you hear my side.

Going to play basketball in a few hours. Man, this is not good. Why am I not sleepy?! I NEED TO SLEEP! Great. Les is going to be arrogant as usual. Like what is up with him man? Half the guys I know can just smash his face right then and there, but oh well, at least he's happy at something. But his arrogance is really starting to piss me off.

Or maybe I'm just to easily pissed off right now. Academic life seems on track, but everything else has derailed. Urgh. When am I going to get that dance. 5th Feb suddenly seems like a long time after the images of what I'm going to do after submission races through my mind.

So what am I going to do after submission? Well. If I can complete everything and submission goes smoothly... I'm going to break out the roadie and ride it fast and hard. After that I'll steal Wynn's soccer ball and play till my lungs run dry. Which after that, I'll go out and eat. And then, finally, I'll go unwind at West Coast with my favourite girl. Then of course study for the upcoming GEMs exam and some interview.

OUH! Damn. cnt find my certs! I should have left it with my mum. But no. I had to act responsible and keep it. Great. Where did I put it?! Should be the same place as my passport. Which is nowhere insight....

Yea. Hopefully I can clear up all misunderstandings with everyone. That would include Ian, David, Maurice and other people who I might have screamed at or ignored in the course of the New Year...

Why. Won't. It. Work!

2010-01-23T20:36:00.004+08:00

What the hell man. My 3D software is lagging. It's a serious problem. And, it's starting to piss me off. Means I can't finish my 3D over the weekends, and I'm not sure about the structural plan and the ES board isn't even out in a draft format.

urgh. It's looking a bit funny right now, with the details in. Maybe I should push the details to the edge as well?

But anyway, some great quotes from some great faggots.

"Out of Range" ~ Lin Jia Hong
"Fake friends would help you, to get in your good books" ~nelG
" V ^^ V, 5 marks.. " ~ Slut

Yea, our friendship is really based on lies and numbers. But somehow, right now, it's based on blackmail as well.

Damn I'm tired

2010-01-21T03:14:00.002+08:00

Yeap, it's 3.14 in the morning and I have finally completed the 3d board. So, current progress..,

Rite, the huge number 1, 2 and 3 is to remind me how many more boards I have to do. But, oh man. You have no idea how it felt went the boards came together and I finally get to step back, away from the laptop and take a good look at the board.

Man, I need some sleep. Then wake up to do work. Again.

Meet Me Halfway

2010-01-20T21:49:00.002+08:00

Alright. Half way there!

Four boards and my pathetic excuse of a 3d render is done.

Yea. Still up for fixing the moment all 8 boards are ready.

Maybe they lied. Part 2.

2010-01-19T20:24:00.013+08:00

Iluma. What a building huh? Designed by the ever so mighty WoHa Architects. But oh wait! Wad's this?

Aw man, poor planning. Just look at the amount of litter to the inaccessible place.

It's all over the place. So yea, in school, we strive hard, countless hours invested into the thought process and yet, would you just look at that. Just look at it.
Ouch. What about that for a fire escape staircase.
And honestly, that's a funny place for a pipe.

So yes. Maybe they lied. Maybe there is no such desire too strive for perfection in an economic ruled world. The doors of the building, my god they're heavy. Yeap, this is what happens when you judge a book by it's cover. There is no denying the beauty of the building when you're outside, but inside, be prepared for an unpleasant surprise.

But then again. I am being over critical with the building. Afterall, the imperfections shown in the pictures above are found at places which might never be accessed by the public. So what do I like about Iluma?

That grand escalator that takes you all the way up to the fourth floor. Yes, definitely more thought could be spent on the journey and the spatial experience up, but oh my, what an idea. What a way to control the human flow. Bringing us up, pass the huge atrium space and straight to dining areas, where we begin to descend to the shops and finally back down to the first storey.

The sleekness of the lights on the elevators. It glows red when you're going down and green when you're going up. Neat. But you haven't seen everything yet.

The panels in the lift. Set to match the panels around the building. Shows it wasn't just any cut and paste job.

But what really takes me aback about Iluma? This...
They have actually managed to create a garden, on the roof of a building, in the middle of Bugis.

Yea, big deal? So what? The National Library has those as well.

But hey, I'm quite sure this wasn't easy to do, and no it doesn't feel as impressive as Vivo's sky deck, but I'm applauding them for the effort.

By the way, anybody wants to visit this place with me? Preferably a girl..
...

Ouh, and check out my new tires.
Weird though. Inflate to 105 PSI. They didn't give a range, like 100~110 PSI. They specifically said 105PSI. Like how on earth am I going to be that accurate with a hand pump!?

I'm a happy man

2010-01-18T21:32:00.002+08:00

^^V!!!

Yes uh, finished the elevation.

So, on the finished list, there is, the section, site plan, location plan, and floor plans!. And guess what! That's already FOUR BOARDS!!! ^^V!!!!!!!!

Going to start on 3d soon. Need to render out all 3 exterior shots by Friday. Then straight to details and interior. After that, the boards will come together, I'll give myself two days for that. And after that. The two physical models. And then sending the boards for printing. And then... THAT'S IT!

Year 2 Architecture. Is over!

Which then, I will start training my upper body. Aiming to have a body like that Taylor guy from twilight. Then I won't mind stripping my shirt every 2 seconds. ^^V

Reason VS Excuses

2010-01-16T17:12:00.005+08:00

Wah, damn tired. Woke up for school as usual on Friday, finished colouring the site plan, as planned, but realised a fatal error in the board planning. But oh well, later problem worry later luhh.

After that went to play soccer. Which sucked. How come there's always not enough people to play soccer. Oh well.

Night cycling was up next.

There were quite a lot of riders, instead of the eighteen expected. The ride was fast man, we're doing 30km/h at Lim Chu Kang, and the cruising speed was around 28km/h. Which is good, judging by the creepy route we had to take.

The park connector from CCK way to Bukit Panjang was freaking smooth man. But I think that was the only memorable part.

So anyway. Saturday. got $450!!!! Weehee! So we can either spent it on a spa and massage or we can have 45 McSpicy meals! You know where's my vote. ^^V. Haiz, but I need to buy boots, a bag, an amp, so on and so forth... unlimited wants but limited resources.

Maybe they lied

2010-01-15T20:35:00.002+08:00

As you can see from the picture above, it clearly states that the toilet bowl belongs OUTSIDE the unit. So maybe everything they are teaching us in school was a lie. Ahahahah. No luhh.

Right, anyway. Back to work.

Accounting Test Later

2010-01-14T14:05:00.004+08:00

Yeap, I got an accounting test later. Hopefully would just scrape the passing marks for this test. Urgh, it's not difficult. It's just long, and to me, seems utterly pointless.

Alright, I have Wynn's textbook, Leslie's notes, my lecture notes and Vivian's tutorial. AND IM STILL HAVING PROBLEMS! What the hell! But of course, Wynn's text book wasn't much of a help and Leslie's sorry excuse for notes made me even more confused.

So how was my holidays? Sucked. The people who are grinning while reading that line will know why. Yes. I am looking forward to the end of year holidays!! Which, should be, somewhere in Feb, I think.

Ouh! Saw a fixie in school.

So, aniwae, it's been like what, 2 weeks since school started. Can't say I'm enjoying it but trust me. IT IS A LOT BETTER THEN MY HOLIDAYS, SPENT WITH SOME FUCKED UP RETARD. At least now I'm doing something. Like this, just finished a drawing..

Playing soccer also. Ouh! Yesterday just played. AW MAN. What the hell was I thinking. I was ONE on ONE with the keeper. The whole right side was OPEN. But I just had to try and place the ball in between the keeper's wide open legs. AND IT DIDN'T WORK! It went a wee bit too high and was deflected by organs that are not usually associated with any sport. Nevermind, next week shall get my soccer boots, and hopefully I'll have more grip on the field, and can turn a lot faster.

And Clementi is becoming a construction yard man. Cycling to school is getting crazy. Lift upgrading projects and new car parks is constraining the pathway. Which is irritating.

Yes, quite pissed off with a few people here and there, but it's ok. They are retards. ^^V.

Argh, 5th Feb is the dateline for the final submission of Year 2 archi! After that, is Chinese New Year! Not that I'm directly affected, but still, something to look forward to.

Talking about things to look forward to, I'm really looking forward to someone crashing his Toyota Wish, preferably at 110km/h or more into a concrete barrier. Looking forward to meeting a few people as well. Errr, other then that, not really looking forward to anything else.. Yea.

Suddenly got the urge to play badminton. But somehow, I have the feeling that once I step out of my house, I'll just head to macs and eat.

And my MP3, urgh! It's spoiled. The battery last for like 15mins! Thankfully, 15 mins is more then enough time for me to get to school. So once I'm in school, I charge it for another 15 mins home. But still, I would appreciate if the battery could last a wee bit longer.

Haiz, like nothing else to talk about already. Maybe I should study for the test... But yea, as if that will ever happen.

"AND IT DIDN'T WORK!"

~Callum

YEAH!

2009-12-03T16:46:00.010+08:00

Yea, same shit different day.

Anyway, went for a round island with about 70 other bikes.

By the way, hit 81km/h on that ride. Yes, I'm quite proud of it. And no, the speedo did not trip.
Cool. Went to watch Mr. Canoe race, he got in third for the C1 500m event. Not bad, first time see him smile so wide. After that, went to eat chicken rice.
Remember that?

Ouh ouh, bought new street soccer shoes!

Anything else? Nope, ahaha, I guess that's it.

"Remember that?"

~Callum

Need Re-Motivation

2009-11-24T20:20:00.005+08:00

Again, off form again.

Was out with Les on Sunday, stayed up the whole night till it literally DAWNED on me that I have an accounting test. Crap, the paper was at 6.30pm and I had to drag myself through what seem to be the longest architecture tutorial ever. I couldn't take it. Caught a few winks in class and just had to be ready for the paper.

Tricky. That would be the perfect word to describe it. No other way. The second question stunned me. "Sold stock of goods worth $2000 to Mr Lim on credit for $4000". What the hell man? What is the double entry suppose to be?!?

Dr. Mr Lim $4000
Cr. Stock $2000
Cr. SCAMMED $2000

Yea, I think that just sets the tone for the rest of the paper.

Finally got my sleep after that, and woke up to the sounds of 98.7fm on a great Tuesday morning. Got on my mountain bike and rode to school. Damn, it feels so comfortable. Sat in class to Understand Weather, then walked Ting to the studio, she's as pretty as ever, then went home . I have to stop getting distracted when I'm on the bike. I was cycling home, when an auntie caught my eye. No, she wasn't pretty, she was just doing something strange. Couldn't figure out what she was doing so turned my attention back to my front.

Wa lao eh, there was a kerb luhh. Slammed the rear brakes cause my hands are always on it. Tried to squeeze the front levers but missed it. My bike different set up uh, as in the lever angles are different, so just couldn't find the lever on my mountain bike. Thankfully however, the rear brakes worked and I stopped with quite a distance to spare.

Wind today is horrible man. It was so strong.

Got home, then went back to school for LC. Then went home again, in the strong winds.

Played the guitar, finally, after a long time. ^^V. Then, got a quote from a very nice song.

Still no mood to do any architectural work. It's just down right demoralising when you have to keep changing stuff. So yea, going to cool off, have a little bit of fun, and slam right back into work.

"This life is not about what you have. It's about what you believe."

~Callum

The Long Time No Post post

2009-11-22T20:58:00.012+08:00

Yes, I know, long time no post. But my blog shall not crumble and fall like Glen's and Les. Theirs was doomed to fail ever since the idea pop-ed up in their heads. So anyway, re-cap of my life. Finished my Industrial Training Programme, then it was straight to BP submission. Ouh, that was fun. Three weeks to finish everything, and yeap, I have to say, I'm pleased with the quality of my work. Here, let me show you.

Yea, that's the first storey floor plan. But what I really really like is the section.

Yup, generally pleased with the BP submission set. After that, was straight to BATAM. Went there to do work uh, but had some fun along the way.
Yea, that was the hotel. Cool right? Each hotel room was a unit on it's own. And oh my, the view, was nothing less than spectacular.
So yea, all complaints aside. It was quite OK. Yea, I have more pics, just a little short on time(lazy) to upload them all. But anyway, the project there, well, not bad. Quite impressed with the quality of work being done by the team. We didn't win anything, but again, good effort.

That was our floor plan for the SPA. Yea, good job. And no, I don't want to hear anything about the other group smashing down columns and not respecting the privacy of the users. Back from Batam and I received a warm welcome from my bike! ^^V. Took it out to Changi. Reached East Coast from West Coast in 34mins 52 seconds. Rather impressive I must say for a comeback.

The bike, at Changi. I enjoyed the ride, solo. Nothing holding me back and nothing pushing me forward. ^^V

HOT CHOCOLATE!!! ^^V! Yea, I think that sums it up. After ITP was BP, after BP was Batam, and after BATAM is now currently MDR.

A lot of other stuf happened luhh. Like Les getting his new wheels and how he scared the shit out of us. Dinner where 'The Island' idea came up. Ouh, got an accounting paper tomorrow and now setting up my bike to meet Mr "I've spend $150 on petrol". Yea, I think that's all, nothing else significant I guess.

"Nothing holding me back and nothing pushing me forward."

~Callum

2009-11-07T23:01:00.002+08:00

Yes uh! BP submission is finally over. All 13 drawings submitted on time. However, a few rules were broken again. No matter how much I try to rush some people, it just doesn't seem to work. All the time I save for you guys, you guys just wasted it idling away. That's not what I'm here for. I feel so under utilized. Next on the agenda, AHS title block was leaked. Somehow, some people got their hands on the title block. Only Joel, David, Fadhil, Harith, Ding Sian, Hoe Khang and Sumo was suppose to receive the title block. So, yes, time to own up. How did the title block leak? It took some effort luhh, although it's not perfect, at least we had a scaled up location plan, scale bars, project title, and project reference number. So yes, it is a sensitive issue if the title block is leaked.

After submission, had quite a time at IMM, but then reach home and was flat out on my bed. For TWELVE long hours. WOOO HOOO. What a sleep. Woke up at 7am today and the sun was welcoming me to the day that lie ahead. A perfect day to start. Played flight simulator, and there was just something wrong with the navigation. There is no way I could set the autopilot to follow the beacons, why?! To make matters worse, the flight director caught the wrong glideslope on today's landing. Quite scary. I was on approach to Jakarta, 1500ft in the air when, eyes fixed on the glideslope the Inner Marker rang. I looked out of the cockpit and saw the runway threshold disappear underneath the 777 which I was landing. And no, I did not attempt to land the plane, I radio-ed the tower and went around. Second approach and I was still using the glideslope hoping it would spring back to life. It didn't, I missed the second approach. The third approach was a visual one, and yupz, the glideslope was screaming for me to pull up when the plane has already landed safely. Crazy instruments.

After that no life session, guess what? I went to school for a more no life session. I felt like re-doing the presentation boards for JC 3. AMBITIOUS, but rubbish. I only have the site plan out so far, and that is not even complete.

AFTER both that no life session, I went to get my life back. A ride to East Coast Park, I was on my hybrid with Mr Smug on his Trek 1000. First, he had a flat tire, he fixed that and came right out. Then I had a flat tire, I thought it was a normal on-going problem. We cycled to the gas station where smug commented, 'not bad uh, 30km/h on a flat'. Once we were there, the tire couldn't be pumped! There was just something wrong. Thankfully however, there was another roadie on a full carbon bike who lent us his pump. He actually did more then that, he pumped it for me. We were rolling smoothly until we hit town, where my tire had another meltdown. This time we were sure it's the tube. We pushed the bike to the LBS at waterloo, and OH NO! It's closed. So we sat there, thinking of the next plausible action. Being guys, we can't decide quickly, and thank god for that, because a mechanic came out of the shop, presumably to go home. Sumg pounced on the opportunity and asked him to change my tire. $10 for that service but it was worth it. Today, it was just MEANT for us to reach EAST COAST.

And we did. We reached east coast. Figure out there was nothing to do. Ate BK. Went back. Same shit different day huh?

The ride back, was predictable and smooth. The only climax was the flyover at Commonwealth, Smug sprinted on his Trek 1000, screamed out 'ARRRGHHHH' as he approach the climb. I was next and I stood up and paddled hard. That was when I realised, my MOUNTAIN BIKE, with 28c wheels was overtaking the Trek. What a moment that was. This just proves the point. 'It's not what you ride, it's how fast you can ride it.' But I have to admit, we're both out of shape for such a ride.

So yes, wrapping it up after BP! ^^V. Hmmm, and yea, maybe a ride on Tuesday, the four fastest bikes we have in our collection, me on my DMG road, Wynn you'll be taking the Aleoca XT, KT on his Cannondale, Smug on his Trek. That would be quite a sight. DMG, ALEOCA, CANNONDALE, TREK zooming past at let's say 32km/h? That should be maintainable. Maybe we just go town for satay or something. Xingg, if you want to join can uh, open to Iman and David also.

"It's not what you ride, it's how fast you can ride it."

~Callum

Industrial Training Programme

2009-10-18T22:58:00.004+08:00

Yup, as the title says it. The Industrial Training Programme is finally over. About time! Definately learned a lot, stuff like the datum line, handicapped toilets and access, a whole new breed of AutoCad commands and most importantly, how things work in the real world.

Discipline is definitely a must have in the real world. Patience is also part and parcel of life in the working world. Two of the important qualities that a road cyclist must have as well. Lucky me. Been missing out on a lot of road mileage, and yes, you guys have a point. You guys are working and can still afford to spend hours on the bike. I can't. I'm sorry, I'm still young. Somesort.

Back to school TOMORROW! Yeah, quite excited, and yup, thanks to the ITP, I have been re-motivated to go all out for this semester. No thanks to my lecturers, who are so uninspired and leave me so sick and tired. Maybe it's their idea of tough love, but really, I don't see them trying to pull me out of this mess.

My plans are re-edited! Yeah! Left the IC's, handicapped access route, ramp calculation, vehicular ramp and the GFA calculation. After that is on to the section and elevation where I would have to re-confirm the storey height and building height. Honestly speaking, there is still a lot to do. So yeap, have to manage my time well.

Diploma plus. I must admit, not bad indeed. 9 hours, 9 topics and a B+ grade. "Allowed to continue in the course" was all I wanted to read and that was what was written. Perfect. Taking accounting this year and lessons are on Monday. Ends at 8.30pm. :'(

YES! It's my birthday this FRIDAY! And NO!!! Nike 10k Human Run on 24th October! That means no ride on 23rd October(my b'dae).. NOOO!!! WHY YOU MUST GO PARTICIPATE?! And when I was just about to head down to Vivo for a quiet weekend, NO WAY! Xbox gamefest thing going on, starts 23rd October.. :'( WHAT THE HELL MAN. And BP submission is the week after. ARGH!!! It's already Sunday and I don't have a concrete plan for Friday. This, is, bullshit.

And I would like to say a big THANK YOU to my brakes. I was cycling at my NORMAL speed down a corridor, the lift opened and a small boy came out. I was a mere 5 meters away. I slammed both the brakes, front sus went down, back wheel came flying up but my feet was already on the ground. The little boy screamed as the bike came to a complete halt half a meter away from him. His mum came out with a stunned face and I apologize dramatically before flee-ing the scene of the crime. PHEW. Brakes is one of the areas where you should really spend money on. Either that, or get a totally lousy bike which would never exceed 20km/h. Yup, that's consumer advice from Callum.

"...so uninspired and leave me so sick and tired"

~Callum

Just in time

2009-10-10T12:59:00.014+08:00

Was cleaning my bike, realized it looked quite good, so I took a pic. It's not a recent pic though, this was a pic taken quite a while back. But anyway, time to spread the good news.

Changed the pads on my roadie, now it's very very very very very very responsive. But no idea what's the clear advantage, since I hardly use the brakes anyway. And if I need to slam it very hard, I honestly believe it would be the last time I would be slamming the brakes.

Anyway, next good news. The hybrid came in just in time! WooHoo!

There it is. Fully set-up, and tuned, almost ready to hit the road. Just missing the pedals. Gears are all clicking with speed and precision.. ^^V

Dual Control Levers. 2006 model. A real hassle when you have to change the derailleur cable. In 2006, they haven't considered the 'user-friendly-ness' level of a product. You had to remove part of the casing just to access the cables. Newer models have holes in which the cable would just slot itself in and out. But heyy, I'm happy!

There is a serious problem with the frame. If you notice carefully, the rear brakes is below the seat stay. But oh well, it can't be helped. A few millimeters of miscalculation could be very costly. Because the rear brakes are reversed, the rear derailleur cable and the rear brake cable are almost crossing one another. But again, oh well, can't be helped.

So aniwae, yes, that was what I was doing for the week. Same thing uh actually. Wake up in the morning, go to work, come home, set-up the bike and be in bed by 11pm.

"...with speed and precision.."

~Callum

To Halim

2009-10-05T22:13:00.006+08:00

THANK YOU. Thank you for today at ITP. Although Mdm Teoh was our Liason Officer you picked up the call the moment it rang. THANK YOU.

I guess I was wrong about everything. I'm sorry. You were right. ABOUT EVERYTHING.

This world is not what I pictured it to be. A hell lot of shit happened man, and a hell lot of things to think about.

First, my presentation board was copied. Perfect, I was trying to help someone by lending him my laptop and great. I get what I deserved.

Next, I was literally screwed during a competition while other people seem to have life easy. I'm not letting this one go. How heartless must you be to NOT GIVE ME A BREAK!? Seriously dude, I was fasting, I'm dehydrated, I'm tired from riding. You're one fuck-ed up guy

Third, I'm always shutting up when the team gets scolded. So when one guy fucks it all up, we all get blamed. Oh well, it's absorbed. You have no idea how patient I am to be this calm when you scolded me, and when I was getting scolded because of you. Trust me, you have no idea.

Fourth, crashed my mountain bike for good. Zebra Crossing at Ayer Rajah food centre. I looked right and raised my hand up to warn and incoming car that I was crossing. I looked left and a motorcyled honk-ed as it sped by. I swerved my bike, no hands on any brake lever, the pedal got clipped on the central curb. The bottom bracket's gone and worse, the frame's dent. Stupid mistake. My feet took part of the damage, but the pain is wearing out.

Fifth, nearly got fired. How dumb must you be to SLEEP during working hours?! Come on. So here it is, THANK YOU again Halim. And ZS was really brave to speak up, I was just dumbfounded and muted during the conversation with the director.

(This one not for Halim)
Finally. I really really miss you! Life seems so different. Maybe I've been through worse but you were always there. Now that you're gone, I'm really feeling the pressure. I just want you here, with me.

So, to sum up. a very big THANK YOU to Halim and Mdm Teoh for saving us today. I'm really grateful. Maybe I will fail to express it, but I just want you to know that I'm thankful.

Thank you.

~Callum

My Loss

2009-09-27T16:52:00.011+08:00

Someone once told me that it would be 'my loss' if I didn't cycle with him. Well, I'm very sure some people have heard my comments on that, but you know. Just to rub salt in the wound, let's see who is really on the losing end.

That, was a cute sign I saw stuck on the rear of a car. The diagram however, is just wrong. It looks like the seat stay is poking in the cyclist arse and the cyclist seems to be holding on to the rims. But hey, whatever, it's cute.

So aniwae. Today, the plan, go butterfly, gangsa, scorpion, woodcutter and finally BT. Ambitious, but rubbish. I thought today go BT onli, I kena scammed. The day started out freaking cool. We had a convoy of vehicles carrying a convoy of bikes.

We went straight into butterfly after all the bikes were set-up proper. For the first part in, I was stuck behind this guy, on a Giant FS bike. Wahhh, he damn sibei slow until I sibei tired. Ok luhh slow, buh on butterfly trying to go slow on my bike, is torture. My bike is freaking heavy, so if no momentum, nid a lot of power to roll over stuff. Which was what happened luhh. But finally! He gave way, and I caught up with the leader, just to be overtaken by Ian, who then decided to speed down with the leader leaving me and lionel to lead one another. Wah, and Lionel scared the shit out of me also. On one of the turns, his extremely thick tire surprisingly lost traction, so he stopped and I was speeding behind, so I slammed my brakes, but another guy was speeding behind me! Lucky that guy went around both of us.

After that grandmother story, we reach the halfway point.

Nice sia. All the bikes lined up. Makes my bike look a lot better than it actually is! Anyway, the light blue bike is Lionels. Swee sia. And the red one is mine, for those of you who dunnoe.

The trails by the way. Freaking dirty. My V-Brakes had a hell of a time trying to clear mud off the rims. However, I think, the most interesting part of today's ride was Ian's crash. Wah, really had me stunned. But he's ok.

Yea, that's him. On my bike. His injuries was quite serious actually, he had problems walking out, so he kind of just rolled out with my bike. Since it's working. And really, this is not some joke crash.

That's a CARBON FIBER handle bar, and it's CRACKED. So just imagine the impact. But oh well, that's life shit happens. Having great fun at the trails every single time but it's really very taxing on the bike. So I don't know, remind me again how it is my loss?

Aniwae, Ian went to the hospital and got checked out. But his bike, that's another story. I was cleaning his bike luhh.

It was freaking dirty man. I think there was mud stuck there since 1985!

Aniwae, I cleaned his frame and D's, the tires were really gone case. Too much mud on it man. Just wait for it to dry off and then let it fall out or something. But aniwae, to Ian. 'TAKE CARE'.

Wah, my bike however, haiz, a hell lot more mud. The only parts I had motivation to clean was the drivetrain, the rims, and the brakes. And that's it. Everything else was just covered. Buh, it looks nicer that way. I think.

So yea. That's bascially what happened today. And nope, doesn't feel like a loss to me.

"...damn sibei slow until I sibei tired"

~Callum

Monday

2009-09-22T21:15:00.002+08:00

Wooo! Finally had another go at BT. Ahaha, went slow on the downhill that killed my D that time around, and yea, came out fine. Was with my classmate, well, to say the least, he was very 'daring'.. The sound of him CHARGING down the hill is unforgetable. But still, had a good time, could have more fun if we were really attacking every single hill.

Still feel like going again though, I'm still getting owned by some small hills. What a disgrace man, a 68kg guy, on a mountain bike getting own-ed by some 100 year old HUMP. Urgh.

My relatives from Malaysia, about time they came down, and what a shock I got. I never imagined them like that. Met most of my relatives also, and yea, I know, I grown slimmer right? Thanks!

Work, is damn boring. I mean, seriously. We've given so much time to do some simple stuff. Wah, where's the challenge. It's getting damn boring man.

Wah, the Sunday going KR. Dunnoe if I actually invited or not. Buh argh! I want to stay out late sat nite! Buh nvm, really want to go KR also. As usual, see how lor..

Anything else to say? Oh ya!

KNOW YOUR PLACE.

It's an advice to some people, I mean, seriously, don't ever ever challenge someone with a hell lot more experience. It NEVER ends well. Seriously, the people with more experience are usually better, they're usually just too tired to show, until a competition comes out. Really. Or maybe it's just the tone in which you speak. Just stop, take a step back and listen to yourself. Sometimes you really sound offending.

And my phone, seems very quiet nowadays. Haiz, this is life, shit happens.

Now I really don't know what I want in life. Seems like I've been through almost everything I wanted to go through. I'm happy, somesort.

"Know your place"

~Callum

Hari Raya

2009-09-21T01:12:00.009+08:00

Yeah! It's Hari Raya! And blogger is working again!!!! WHEEE!!!!! So, let's try posting a pic!

YEAH! It worked! That was the Kinetic Art project. See! It's real! I wasnt CK-ing.

Won 5th place and $2000 by the way. But sadly, dunnoe if we can keep the prize money. Basically Singapore Poly sent 2 teams, and the other team kinda spent around $2000. So maybe the prize money will go back to the school and stuff, but heyy, I can't care less. Actually I care a bit luhh, could use a little cash to fund my bike. ^^V

I have no idea how to rotate the pic, so just rotate your head. That was what I was doing at work. Damn no life lei!! Cut model... Haiz..

And there it is. My pride and joy. My hybrid and my road, together, side by side, warms the heart doesn't it?

Anyway, a few specs on the hybrid. Aleoca XT frame, Shogun fork, SIS Tourney, Magnum Crank, Wellngo pedals, riser bar, Deore DCL, 27" wheels(110 psi), and shit as brakes.. ^^V

Alrite, I guess all that is covered. And yea, maybe most of you heard, taking a break with my girl, for about a month, hopefully she comes back just in time for my birthday. ^^V. Maybe that's what she planned? Yea rite, big dreams.

AND! Before I forget! Selamat Hari Raya!! haha, cycling was fun. 'Hari Raya Time Trial'.. That seriously lighten me up despite all the 'piss-ness' going around.

Wah! And I going off-road in a few hours, and still awake.. Oh well, how to sleep after a 'time-trial' like that. I love how you guys tell me things when you think I'm ready. Really helpful and keeps my ego in check.

Finally, a quote before I end off, not mine luhh, but it's nice...

"It's not about how much power you have, but how much power you can actually put down"

~Callum

Human Resource Management

2009-09-12T21:46:00.001+08:00

ARRRGHHHHHHHHHH.
WHAT.
THE.
HELL.
MAN.

You suck. REALLY. You do. I can't belive it. After all I've done, after everything I've been through, you are still treating me like shit. I'M TIRED. How come I don't get a break? Hello, my activities are more energy consuming compared to theirs. They end at 3am, I end at 6.30am!!! They need to report by 2pm, I'm reporting in at 10am! WHERE'S THE FAIRNESS?!

It's a team project ok, and I'm tired, and I also have other commitments. What the shit man. Yes we won, but I don't seem to be very happy do I? Ever wondered why? Ever bothered to ask me why I'm so tired, ever bothered to ask me why I'm so crossed? It's you. You're the freaking reason.

Fuck you all luhh. I have my limit, I can only push myself that far for that long. I'm running on very little sleep and seriously, I'm dehydrated half of the time. It's the fasting month, where's your respect for that? While you guys were happily waking up to grab something to eat, I'm already awake doing work.

Why am I so crossed? Maybe because the person who was slacking all these while seems to have things easy and the ones doing all the work seemed to be pressured into doing more work. And I can't believe how everyone credited her for OUR work. She went missing, we had a new plan that was workable. Where's my credit? I should be welcomed back as a hero, not some bangla worker forced to do more labour.

And fuck you all again luhh. Cancel cycling. nb. I'm doing something that my passion is driving me to do ok, and you shold be thankful I'm letting that go to make way for this piece of fake shit. How come you guys can't cancel your plans? How come I have to wrap around your schedule. GO FUCK YOURSELVES. That's all I really have to say. I'm really crossed and pissed to the extent that if one of you die, I'll be smiling so wide that my face is split in half.

Unreasonable

2009-09-12T06:07:00.000+08:00

Had a very bad week. Very very bad week. I'm tired, it's the fasting month and all, and I'm just naturally tired, dehydrated at times even. To make matters worse, someone had to come in and get crossed about everything.

Give me a break luhh, you rejected all my advice and now you expect me to do something about the situation. Dream on, I'm just a boy, I'm not a hero. We had the worst team leader to begin with, you should be thankful I stepped up and did something. And I still don't get it, why am I taking all the blame? I did in 3 days what she could never accomplish in three weeks. I deserve some credit or at least cut me some slack luhh.

Really you know, I'm tired. It's the fasting month, so I wake up at 5 every morning to eat. Then report to work and unlike the rest of the team, I'm dismissed at around 7.30. I really just want to go home, eat and rest. But no, you just couldn't let me could you? Ask the other fucking team members luhh, they're not fasting, they're not working overtime. Im running on fumes and you still expect me to run at top speed.

And it's freaking unfair that when the other members say that they can't meet means we don't meet. But when I have stuff on, I HAVE to cancel it. Yea, that's very fair. Very. And ya luhh, don't freaking tell me, 'Who ask you to cycle?'. Ccb, who ask me to be here in the first place. You have no idea how much I rather be out there on my bike rather then stuck in a room with a half hearted team. So be grateful I turn up for this fake shit. But really man, it's damn unfair, how come you guys NEVER have to cancel any of your plans? How come despite you guys ending work early, nobody could start on the project first? Why do I need to be there? Goodness.

And it's not funny you're using up my paint. I really wanted to paint something with that. I brought it with the intention that we could use it economically. And how come I have to buy the paint? You practically live next to Jurong Point. Basted.

Seriously, back to the main point. Why the hell are you so crossed at me? Freak, I wake up at 5am, end work at 7.30pm, rushed down to do the stupid stuff, cycled till 3am and got some shut eye before 5am again. Two hours of sleep and my work is usually overtime. You're pushing your luck la. And the freaking leader, sit there play facebook, ccb, do something luhh. Everytime go there only a few people doing stuff.

Was cheated off also. When I lend you my laptop, I really expected my privacy to be respected. I can't believe you opened up my project files and what's worst? You copied it. Your laptop wasn't working, so I lent you mine, goodness, I am so freaking weak. Should have just left you there.

Ahhh, I really feel like I'm used. Yes, I was ok with not getting credited, yes I was ok with you copying my work. The keyword here is WAS. Sometimes maybe you just forget how much I'm really pulling, I'm nice, but just remember I could just stop.

Feels like Im going around in circles, but really, the main spark here was someone being unreasonable. I'm tired, really. I'm still recovering from a cycling accident ok, I'm really not starting to like you. You rushed me all the way down, in my current state and let someone else relax and play facebook. Why not you give me a break and utilize whoever is there. You might not need me, but I'm not doing this for you either. Remember that.

Dead

2009-09-07T21:27:00.000+08:00

HI GUYS! Blogger is still dead! So anyway, I'll try to wrap up EVERYTHING.

HOLIDAYS are here! But no holiday for me. Industrial Training Programme. Attached at MKPL Architects. So far, first day, sounds like a fun firm. but let's see how things go.

Fell off my road bike again. Took a direct hit at the shin. Pain I tell you. Whole body aching, up till now.

My hybrid bike is almost set up. Got my dual control levers, wheels and pedals. Left a long flat bar and a chain. I'm still not sure how to set-it up yet. But there's always time to learn.

Kinetic competition. Alrite, we finally have something, but we started so late, I don't know if we can finish it on time. I really hope we could.

Ubin camping trip. Uhh, not sure about that. No promises but I would really love to go. :)

Ouh, changed my phone. Changed my number. I'll update most of you guys when the time comes.

My crit, went ok I guess. Overall quite happy. GEMs presentation went well as well. Management paper however, haiz. Let's all just beocme religious and pray shall we?

Fasting is turing out great. Only one day didn't fast, thanks to cycling, but hey, I wanted to celebrate. So there we go.

Ouh, hope you liked the song!

You're never getting back your guitar by the way!

Wah! Lucky that Sunday rain. I was really going to fly aeroplane, damn tired on that Sunday.

Anything else or not? Ouh! New car to add to the cars I would love to drive list. The Lotus Evora and the Lamborghini LP-670 4 SV. Quite cool, both of them.

Jamming anytime soon? I don't know. How's the studio coming along? Haven't been on my electric for a long time also.

Wah, and that time say break fast together, now what happen? Only 2 weeks left, so must quickly plan. I usually end work around 7 at City area there, so I really don't know how it's going to work out.

I think that's all uh.

Falling Asleep

2009-08-18T17:39:00.000+08:00

I was a little worked out with life yesterday night, so at 12mn I decided to take the bike out for a leisure roll. I didn't know where I was headed and I didn't know when I'll be back, but that was the point. Shouldn't plan too much, it only adds to the worries list.

There was another cyclist on a white mountain bike. He was climbing up NUS, so I gave chase. It was the fastest you ever seen me move up a hill. To my dismay however, I lost sight of him as I was rolling down to cheese. He was totally gone, as though he vanished into thin air. Either that or he turned in somewhere and I didn't notice.

So anyway, I went to West Coast Park and laid down for a while, while looking at the stars. It was 1am when I did that. My MP3 was play Tonight by FM Static. The last thing I remember was 'tonight I've fallen and I can't get up'. When I woke up however, it was 3 in the morning and my body was aching. I was freezing as well, so was the bike. The saddle was cold, the handlebar was cold and the shifters was cold. It really "helped" that I had to cycle home. So with my eyes half open I cycle home. Took a shower, ate and went flat on the bed.

How well do you know me?

2009-08-17T04:13:00.001+08:00

Have you always wondered which friend true-ly care? And have you ever wondered who are just there? Well I have, so here's a series of questions about me. See how many you can ACTUALLY answer.

My Favorite Colour? : _ _ _ _

My Favorite Drink? : _ _ _ _ _ _ _

My Favorite Dish : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

My Favorite Sport : _ _ _ _ _ _

Those are the questions that you should be able to answer if you spend time observing me.

My Favorite Band : _ _ _ _ _

My Favorite Song : _ _ _ _ _ _

My Favorite EPL Player : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

My Favourite Plane : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _-_ _ _

My Favourite Jet : _/_-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It's getting harder isn't it? If you can't answer those question I really don't know why you bother talking to me.

My Neighborhood : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

My Storey : _ _

That's a giveaway for those who came to my house before. Alright, the final question, if you can answer this, means you're either my girlfriend or you're my best friend.

My Surname : _ _ _

(Yes, I have a surname. I'm part Chinese actually, but not to confuse you guys I like to just say that I'm malay.)

So, do you really think you know me?

(P.S. Blogger has some problems with the spacing. But oh well. Some are actually 2 words)

Moving

2009-08-16T22:44:00.000+08:00

Moving on sure is hard, especially if you keep coming back. What a great day that was, we should do that more often. Rite, so, again, summary for the week.

Had dinner with Mau, quite surprised he was in school, STUDYING.

Congratulations to those who have started their University Term.

And Hello to those who joined the Poly Life.

Good luck to those taking A's and O's Level.

And try not to fail for those having their exams.

A few more weeks and this archi term will be over and then it's going to be me, you, our bikes and the miles of open road.

I'm in love all over again.

Our relationship is really being strained, but this is where we'll know if it will ever work out.

Everything else is sounding good. The guitar is sounding great, my ever so familiar sms ringtone is putting a smile on my face.

Starting to look on the bright side of things now, because we all know it, things have a way of playing out.

No quotes, just one big smile. (:

Problem

2009-08-13T22:16:00.000+08:00

Blogger got problem again. Want to post also cannot post. GO and DIE luhh stupid blog. By the way, hope you like the song!

Slow and Relaxed

2009-08-09T02:54:00.000+08:00

My ass luhh slow and relaxed. The day started out very early, like 11am. Wa lao, cannot let me sleep is it? Anyway, at 4pm somebody had to call and you had to go. Wasted. Then then then! Went to play basketball. Wa lao eh, fun but physical. After being tired out from jumping around, went to play soccer. Wa lao eh, nearly got owned by some indians, luckily, I fought back and put two goals in for the team. At least save some face eh. AFTER THAT! Still got cycling. Knnccb, cycle so fast until my leg want to cramp.

Keppel Bay, freaking nice place. Too bad got the haze uh, so no stars. Some truth did shine. Mr XINGG. Very funnie uh, 'YOU KNOW WE SEARCH FOR YOU HOW TIRING OR NOT'. WE?!?! W E !?!?. HELLO! Wa lao, fly aeroplane while your FRIEND is missing uh. Me and Lionel on full sus tired then still waiting for you and then another guy on another full sus came down looking for us. Then you on your hardtail sit there wait complain about the sun summore! Basket. Anyway, THANKS for waiting luhh. ok? I owe you guys one.

Wah, west side group. Ride until damn fast. RELAX uh! Tomorrow national day eh! Rush home for what! say speed '20~25km/h' and then turn out is '30~40km/h'. NOT FUNNIE LEI! My leg cramming then still ride so fast. My third chain ring also got problem, so was on the second chain ring, cadence damn high eh. Quite surprised that gear can hit 40km/h. Anyway, fixed that chain ring problem already, so next time you all say slow and relaxed, I'M PREPARED. Seriously, next time must cycle with relaxed people, like Ah Bi, that guy quite relaxed, or Romeo. Mountain Bike eh, mine damn heavy eh, the sus working somemore. Yea, but sia luhh, a lot of power uh you guys. Until the climb uh, then all suddenly slow down to 15km/h. -.-

To sum it up, knnccb. Next time slow and relaxed cycle SLOW and RELAXED luhh. Don't tell me 30~40km/h is your slow and relaxed. That's road speed man.

'I'M PREPARED'
~Callum

Raw Power

2009-08-08T01:50:00.002+08:00

Power is everything. Too little and you're done for, too much and you don't even want to know what will happen.

Honestly, everything is going kind of wrong for me. Oh well, that's life shit happens doesn't it? I have to give up something in life. Something have to go man, I'm too busy to focus on one thing, my heart and my soul is never in one place. ARGH!

Anyway, cycling, very fun. Just some tips for those preparing to go long, very long distance. Power is everything. Just remember that. Power is everything. You need to have power for the climbs, power for the sprints and power for the distance. Again, power is everything. Technique is quite important as well.

Just because someone else does it, doesn't mean you have to do exactly the same. Pick your cadence, high revs or low revs is up to you, but I personally prefer a high cadence as opposed to using the monster gear. Again, it's personal reason. Climbs are torturing, so train hard and climb high. Burst are the most fun part of the ride, also the most tiring. It's pure power. So yea, basically, keep an eye on the road ahead, and for goodness sake, keep and eye on what's behind you. Falling out at that speed will be a disaster. Once you got your path lined it, get up and dance, maintain the cadence. When you're feeling comfortable get down, stay low and maintain that cadence and maintain that speed. Hold on to the bike. Fingers on brakes and keep your line clear, estimate your turning radius, it's going to be one fast turn. Know your limits. If you can't turn at that speed, don't. The brakes are there for a reason, use them.

I had an experience of sliding out during a turn. Not the best experience and definitely not one I would want to go through again. Basically 'speed is your friend'. When turning in, commit. Either give it all you can or brake hard and corner flat. Raise your pedal when turning fast. The bank angle is surprisingly high. The pedals might strike. Recovery is important once you slide out. Don't lay there and complain, get up, get off the road. Safety first, recover your bike later. Trust me on this. Please.

Preparing for a long ride is equally important. Overlook this part and you'll be in for miles of suffering, over do it and you're carrying extra weight. Obviously, check the bike. (duh!). Next, carry a spare tube, cash, and a fully charged mobile phone. Other things you might need would be like snack bars, (seriously, you'll get hungry), water and if it's a long touring ride, a camera would be nice. Don't carry those bottles with caps and stuff, carry sports bottle and just squirt the drink in. Wake up early before the ride, have a good meal two hours before the ride and then make sure you're properly hydrated. You might not see the point of this, but this would help you keep your focus, give you the strength and lessen the amount of water you need during the ride.

Ride in groups. Form a pace line. This will decrease the amount of effort required to overcome the aerodynamic drag. There are different tactics employed for different situations, so cycle in a group and gain the experience. Learn, don't copy. The important part about cycling in a group is to keep in mind that there are riders around you. Cycle safe and predictably, keep an eye out for things laying in the road and always signal when you're pulling out of the pace line.

Yea, so cycling is not as straight forward as getting on the bike and pedaling. There's a lot of thought and planning mixed with the soul and passion and the grilled with the pain and suffering when it comes to long rides. Power is everything.

"get up and dance"

~Callum

Mona Lisa

2009-08-06T01:18:00.000+08:00

Right, long time no post. Been busy lately, really.

I'm currently taking a break from doing my architectural project. I've restarted all my plans and stuff. Long way to go man. I've just finished all the floor plans. There's still the site plan, the roof plan, section A-A, section B-B, elevation 1 and elevation 2 to finish. After that there's 3d modelling to be done and following that the 8 A1 presentation boards are close on its heels. Doesn't end there, HTA essay is due very soon and I've still got that marketing project lingering around. RWP individual presentation shares the same dateline as the marketing presentation.

There's something wrong with blogger again, so, no pics, again. Right, how do I round up my life so far? Well, I watched the NDP preview, that was awesome. Won't want to spoil it for you so just catch it on 9th of August. Cycled at Bukit Timah, well, that was fun but tiring. My bike is seriously heavy, felt it when trying to get around obstacles. Either that or I'm really really weak. Anyway, I got lost and the group searched for me.

THANK YOU. Really, thank you for searching despite all the plans you guys had after the ride. THANK YOU. for staying under the sun and waiting. THANK YOU. But, really, I can only try my best to make it this Sunday. I would really love to join, but I've got to admit, I'm lagging behind in class, no matter how fast I work it will all come undone if I spend the time I've saved cycling around. Once again, THANK YOU.

Not clocking up the Road Hours either. There's always something going on. Always. I wish this academic year ends. I need the ride. It's the only thing keeping me in check against a very competitive world. Which brings me to my next point.

It's time to check who is really your friend. Looks like I've lost. Everyone does have a hidden motive. Everyone does break, everyone hangs on to their morals, but once a situation arises it gets thrown out of the window. The scary part is when everyone turn on their friends. Friends are there for you, yet you swindle them, you take them in just to throw them out. It's wrong. There's only one way to find out who really are your friends, test them to the limits and see who can still care.

Here's some lyrics from a song.

"Here's another pity there's another chance
Try to learn a lesson but you can't.
If we can burn a city in futures and in past,
Without a change our lives will never last.
Cause we're going fast.

You can sit beside me when the world comes down,
If it doesn't matter, then just turn around.
We don't need our bags and we can just leave town.
You can sit beside me when the world comes down.

What can we do better, when will we know how?
A man says from a sidewalk to a crowd.
If we can change the weather, if you wanted to yourself. If you can't
I guess we all need help, yeah, I need help."

Read it, it makes perfect sense.

My Weakness

2009-08-02T01:25:00.003+08:00

You guys are so freaking weak. Don't talk about your dreams, you will never achieve it. Don't dream about the riches, you will never have it. Just don't.

Almost every single plan I make with you guys will get canceled. You know why? Because you guys are uncommitted, immature, and weak. PROJECTS. What a very bad joke. Inefficient. Face it, that's what you are. Too slow then and still too slow now. One day without sleep and you can't take it? Want to hear my story? Hello, what course do you think I'm in? My course robs me out of sleep, 2 to 3 hours max sleeping time and during submissions if you can get 5 minutes you're lucky. Cannot ride? Fucking pussy or what?! What the fuck are you on? Pussy juice? I'm not asking you to do a 160km lap, I'm not asking you to climb Mount Faber. I'm asking you to come out and meet me for dinner. So what the fuck are you on?

Go ahead, mock me. I might never be Lance Armstrong, but you have no idea how fucking glad I am that I'm not you. I'm not saying I'm better, I'm saying you give in too easily. What the fuck la dude, what the shit did you expect? Party, girls and money? Wake up your bloody idea, forget dreaming about your future car because at this rate, you're be lucky to own a skateboard.

Yea, and I'm a man of my words. So the moment I sensed that our plans was going to be canceled, I made my own. And you guys just HAD to prove me right. You cracked under the slightest of pressure. It was just a small flex and you guys broke. Too easily. Weak.

So what's my weakness then? My weakness is that I still trust you. I plan to get rid of that.

'Just don't.'

~Callum

Speed

2009-07-26T20:51:00.004+08:00

There is no words in my vocabulary to express my feelings to make you fully comprehend how it felt, how good it felt to finish a half island round. Sixty odd kilometers of road, two wheels and one cyclist. The ingredients were there to fill me up with one and a half hour of fun. Flat out fun.

The ride was good, went from West Coast, to Ang Mo Kio, to Woodlands and back down to West Coast. But you know what the best part was? It was 2am in the morning and the road was all mine. It was a non-stop ride, traffic lights were there, but there was no need to stop. There wasn't any traffic! Ive got to admit though, I was a little aggressive during the ride. There was an attack almost every twenty minutes. There was just that urge to go faster. The last attack as I rolled into West Coast Park was my favorite. The attack started as soon as I cleared the flyover, attacked the climb at NUS and then flicked to high gear for the descent.

Another positive factor about cycling at night is that the bike does not get dirty so easily, simply because of the lack of cars to spray their exhaust fumes on the frame. It was cooling as well. Water supply was more than sufficient and the bike just had to be wiped with a piece of dry cloth to remove dirt that came from the road, and that was it.

A few hours later however, I found myself on the saddle of my mountain bike. After a few hours of riding, my knee was busted, and as I cycled home on my bike, I've finally figured out why people who take up road never put it down. More than anything, it's the speed. Speed; relative rapidity in moving, going, etc.; rate of motion or progress. I'm not going to lie and say that the road is more comfortable, because it's not. But oh my, the speed. It's just the speed. It's never ever going to let you go. It's going to consume you.

Yea, it's just coming from me. Maybe I'm obsessed. Maybe it's only me. But yea, this is why I think the road stands as what it is today. Which begs the question, should you tamper with a road bike? Some people, ok, two people I know changed their dropped bars to flat. WHY?! Their argument is that it is more relaxed. But seriously? The bike is forcing you down and now you want to force yourself up? You're fighting the geometry. And what about aerodynamics? The best way to maintain the streamline is to stay on your drops, that is a fact, it's not here to be disputed. So what happens when you lose the drops? You lose that edge, you know that don't you? and Mountain Bike parts, they just don't belong on a road bike. The gear ratios are different if you haven't notice. Yes, there are some mountain bike parts that you can use, but really? Do you really want it? I don't know. That's just my stand. A hybrid is a nice idea, you get more comfort than a road and more speed than a mountain, but just think about what you're losing.. You're losing every single thing the road was striving for.

Sounds like total bullshit luhh for those who don't understand. But really sia, crossbreeds? That good of an idea? Last time, there was this kid, he had a road bike with a flat bar. He was quite proud of reaching 27km/h and sustaining that speed. erps. So yea, I don't know, just give me your comments or something on hybrids.

"It's never ever going to let you go"

~Callum

On the road

2009-07-19T21:40:00.003+08:00

Hahah, well, everybody had a taste of what it was like to be on a road bike today. Not the easiest to cycle on huh? Well, congratulations on joining my ranks.

Congratulations to Mr Lin Jia Hong. Great fall, and even greater courage and bravery in getting up. I think we all had our laugh during the fall, but ahahaa, sorry for making you go down that slope, sorry for your jeans, sorry for your watch and thanks for trying. Really, from my heart, you were really brave.

The road bike. It is perfect piece of engineered machine isnt it? The geometry definately stunned most of you guys on the first try, but what makes it different makes it special. The seat is high, the handlebars are dropped and the structure is rigid. For a very good reason. You can find it out for yourself, but yea, that's my whole point. You won't know what I'm feeling until you really have tried it for yourself. No matter how much I talk about it, no matter how much I try to say, you will never get it unless you're doing it.

Short and sweet post. But yea, that was my day today. SUPPOSE to be a study session, but with bikes in the picture, everything changes doesn't it?

"It is perfect piece of engineered machine isnt it?"

~Callum

Dennis

2009-07-18T23:38:00.019+08:00

Today Dennis came back, he was transiting through Singapore to Australia, I think. Anyway, played soccer, some of us. Some people uh, really just could not spare one day to come out to play soccer, with us. Whatever the reason luhh huh. But yea, thanks to those who turned up. Wynn, Kumar, Jason, Jian Yao, Sam, Ian, Syazwan and two other people that we don't really know.

Wa lao, soccer was suppose to be relaxed eh. Chill uh, don't need to play until so aggressive. Haiz, took a tackle from behind, got me quite pissed. Oh well, it's just a game. By the way, just like to remind you guys I scored the finishing goal, thanks Jason.

Yea, that was a picture. Some of them left uh, so it was a part picture. After that however, played basketball. SP VS SA. A little unfair, SA had basketball trained players while SP had me. We had to prepare for dinner, so needed to make a quick basketball game. First to score 7 wins. SA started off with the lead, Ian scoring the first, Ian scores the second and Ian scores the third for SA. SP was 3 goals down and Jason thought he could quickly end it. '4 more goals only' was his exact words. Then, there was a turn of events. Jason took a shot, the ball smack the ring. Ian and Wynn was quick on the rebound. Wynn gets it. Throws it to me and I took the shot. IT'S IN! We're one up! Ian was commenting on the 'virgin goal'.

The game continues. The ball started and Wynn took the shot. IT'S IN AGAIN! We're one goal down. We start again. Syazwan takes the shot, and it's in the net! The scores are even. SA is now taking us seriously. We're back in the game. The ball restarts. It gets to Wynn, and he puts another one in for the team. Score is standing at 4-3, with SP in the lead. SA was taking this threat and marked our players. The ball gets to Syazwan again and he takes it! 5-3! The game restarts, Wynn takes the shot this time round, 6-3! SP only had one more goal. The ball was with me to start. Only one goal left, and I took the 3-point shot. IT GOES IN! We've won. 3 goals down and we're now 4 goals up. What a turn of event. But heyy, nice game, great moves and yea, lucky shots. OUH! And Jason, that last ball I put in was a three-pointer if you didn't notice.

Alright, I went home to shower, Wynn, Syazwan and Jason however showered in school, in the same cubicle. I'm not even going to say what happens next, but it was quite graphic. Alright, dinner was next, but I had to draw cash. So there I was queueing up and there were two inconsiderate people. Yea, that's why I was late. Really.

I met up with the guys and Dennis and Bryan was having a slight confusion. My phone was with Dennis and Bryan called. Dennis picked up the phone and thought it was me, Bryan was on the other end of the line and he thought it was me as well! Funny, but yea, confusion was cleared up. We took the sky train to T3 and well, things happened.

Yea, it's up to your imagination on what we were doing. So anyway, did you know that the MRT connects T2 and T3? Well, we didn't, so don't blame it on me. Thanks to my perfect timing though, we met Dennis right after he checked in, or after whatever he did, I'm really not good at remembering what people are doing.

Yup, that was us, walking. Towards the skytrain. Because SOMEBODY wanted to take it so badly.

Making our way to T2 for Fish & Co. and meeting Bryan.

That picture would mean that we made it to Fish & Co. Yea, that's my Teriyaki Salmon. Fish & Co. is not halal uh by the way, for those of you interested to go. So yea, had a meal and then moved on with life. By life I meant taking photos.

If you are wondering why my eyes were looking the other way, it was because SOMEBODY snapped the shutter at the count of 2.

That was all six of us. After that, was time to send Dennis off. No hugging or crying uh, since Dennis didn't want it. The rest of us was quite on though.

Bye-bye DENNIS! ahaha, ok, now that he's gone, next was us walking around.

Nice pic huh? Yea, walking around Terminal 3, quite boring though. So I though I'll liven things up.

Some sort. Yea, use your imagination.

A picture at the 'Daisy'. No idea what that was about. Art stuff.

My new boyfriend? Gay, I know. Shut up.
Our picture is in the reflection. Everyone was very smart to be looking at the camera LCD though.

Left Syazwan in the MRT to take 196 home. He's the guy in black. Yea, thanks to careful timing his face was blocked. DAMN.

In the bus towards Clementi. Haiz, well, that was it, our day out. I won't mind if this happens every month. Quite fun. Beats things I do nowadays. Yea, for those who wants the pic, I don't know how luhh, tell me then we'll think of something.

"...it's up to your imagination"

~Callum

Get out

2009-07-17T22:13:00.011+08:00

Today's wake up time was 7am. I had lessons at 8am, but guess what, I just didn't feel like attending. Really, architecture is stupid, engineering rocks. Argue it in whatever way you want to, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong but whatever. I don't care what you think, you're not me.

My memory is getting worse. Smug messaged me saying that we could meet earlier and I just couldn't remember what we were meeting for. So I played along agreeing to meet earlier in the hopes that he would give me hints on the occasion for us to meet. He didn't. And I was still in a daze of what we were going to do, or what I was suppose to bring.

Had to meet Wynn also, so I thought maybe if I could push meeting with Smug back, I could spend more time with Wynn. But I needed to know what we were meeting for. So I had it, and I called Smug. He talked to me in the 'wtf' tone, but heyy! Really, I just couldn't remember. I couldn't meet Wynn cause Smug was more important, yea, just shows how I could forget important events. So met Smug and yea, that was it.

Yea, next was Oliver. My mum was making way too much noise about the bike being in the room. So yea, had to take it out. But heyy, for some of you who haven't had a good chance to see it, here are some of the changes. The wheels are quick-release with Quando hubs. Said to be high performance, but I think it's bullshit. The rims even said 'for Disc Brakes only' but it's clearly for V-brakes. Oh well, guess they pasted wrong stickers, but I'm generally quite happy with it.

The handlebar stem. Yea, that's changed as well. The stock stem was better, but oh well. The stock was an alloy, so the threads where the screw belonged kinda fell off. So the threads was gone and the stock headset was useless, which meant the stock stem was useless as well. Changed to a new one. Waited one week for this to arrive, and thank god it did. It's black and it's hybrid. It's adjustable, the headset has pre-planned angles of 50, 30, 10 or minus 10 degrees. That, theoretically would enable me to ride it comfortably as a mountain and comfortably as a touring.

Yea, got that thing to protect the chain stay from chain strikes. I don't really remember what it's called but yea, makes the bike look cleaner. So yea, that's basically the changes that it went through so far, from handlbars, to wheels, to headset and to that. Having some problem with the rear tube though. It has to be rode often otherwise it'll be flat. Doesn't make sense huh? But yea. Had to get the bike out of the room and then had to clean the room. I liked cleaning the room though. When you clean your room, you cleanse your mind, and you find spare change that rolled on the floor.

Next, cycled around.

Yea, that's my hair after the ride. Felt fast, really. From Farrer Road back to Clementi Via Clementi Road. Quite downhill, so that would explain the speed. But yea, that is what happened to my hair at that speed. Should have used a conditioner so that the effect could be more drastic, but yea, had clusters of hair pulled out though the vents in the helmet.

Finally. Wow man, today, had a lot of near black out moments. What is wrong with me? How could I be blacking out so often. I'm not Juanz. Yea, she blacks out way too often. It's scary. Especially when you're on the road and only inches away from cars. I don't know, would definitely need to see a doctor very very soon if this continues. I don't like this.

"...you're not me."

~Callum

Oops!

2009-07-16T22:36:00.005+08:00

Oops! Magazine. Is Singapore Polytechnic's very own magazine. From my point of view, it is absolutely rubbish. Please, let me elaborate.

There is that fine difference between a magazine and a tabloid. I'm very sure the Oops! recognizes itself as a magazine - ' a publication that is issued periodically, usually bound in a paper cover, and typically contains essays, stories, poems, etc., by many writers, and often photographs and drawings, frequently specializing in a particular subject or area, as hobbies, news, or sports.'

Essays. I am very sure we were all taught on the proper style, or techniques, or formats on how to write an essay. Writing in a formal language does not make it an essay. It just makes it a formal writing. The writers stereotype way too much for my liking. No references were made and they just assumed their facts, I can tell, because I'm the one who actually reads these articles instead of looking at pictures of cute girls. And yes, I'm one of those that has to have a first hand experience with people and their lifestyles before giving a bold and bias statement. Oops does not seem to practice that, the editors are free to write what they feel irrelevant of the facts on hand.

That was just one of their mistakes. Next, the bias opinion. You're a magazine, give me two sides of the story. It's not about your thoughts alone, yes you can have your own point of view, you should, but as a reader, I want to read and I want to decide. I'm reading your article and it feels like you're forcing me to agree with you, and I just don't. You're not presenting me with facts, you're just presenting me with your stereotyped views and frankly speaking, my views are stronger. I'm just not going to listen.

What I feel, is that the editors just want their names published and enjoy the free passes to parties and such. Yes, I am saying they are slacking on the job. Nothing in the magazine is worth the time reading. For goodness sake, you guys are the schools press, I would give up almost anything to write an article and have it published for the masses to see. The editors here seemed like they cannot care any less about the quality of the articles. No soul, no passion.

Alright, I'm damn proud of Smug. He managed to organize quite a successful show. Went to have dinner where we rubbed in on how his NP friends failed to show up. Tasted Mee Rebus, which made me miss my old life. I use to eat Mee Rebus every sunday, without fail. One day Halim, I'll go down and join you once again, just like old times.

Yea, basically that was it luhh. OUH! Meeting Dennis this saturday. Fish & Co. man, no changes to dinner plans. If ANYONE, ANYONE tries to interfere, they'll have to go through me.

"... join you once again, just like old times"

~Callum

Basketball sia

2009-07-15T22:31:00.004+08:00

Woo Hoo. Skipped GEMs today, but, my group members were so thoughtful that they kept me updated. Went to Farrer Road to do some s t u f f. Came back and it was time, time to play basketball with my classmates. Went to Clementi, and thankfully there was a court.

Honestly speaking, I did not know whether the court was ready yet. But thankfully, it was! Phew! If you guys asked me if there was another court, I would seriously not have an answer.

Fun sia, 10 people playing. In half a court. A lot of body contact, like finally. Been longing for this man, but, did not expect to be brought down by Sue, and definitely did not expect to be poked in the eye by DS. But, it's basketball. Thanks for playing uh guys, all of you guys, Harith, Winrose, Ding Sian, Sue, Fun, Iman, Joel, Fadhil and Jaz. Seriously, thanks.

After the game, went for dinner at Cityvibe. The most bullshit mall ever built. The worst building in Clementi. Heck, why was it ever built?! It is so small, so narrow and FILLED with nothing. There was hardly room for us to seat together and have a meal. Toilets were on the second floor and basically, that's the only attraction on the second floor. The next plan of action was to go back to school to jam. Random right?! I know, I didn't expect it also!

Me and DS went back to my house, to have a shower and then we headed straight to school. We climbed over the school gate because we were too lazy to walk to the main entrance, which was a hundred meters away, which is far. Really, it's far. REALLY LUHH!

Anyway, back to the point, wow, Moberly. What a shit place that is. EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, was broken. Both jamming studios was out of order, one Karaoke room was out of order and the other only had one mic. So we sat down and argued about what to play. It was either Wii or pool. We argued for so long and no decision was made, till it was 8.38pm. That was when my hero, Harith, went up to the counter to book the pool table. And guess what...

'Sorry, we don't accept bookings after 8.30pm'... WHAT THE HELL?! We have finally made a decision and we were slammed in the face. Ding Sian was very pissed at this point of time. He had good reasons, nothing was working, and now we had nothing to do. Time. Wasted. So he went home, out of frustration I guess, the rest of us stayed on, for awhile, and then went home, in disappointment.

One more thing to note. Wow, me and Iman like quite similar sia. Order same thing at Long John and, HAVE THE SAME FAVORITE SONG! AWESOME! But that's as far as it goes luhh. He's a Muslim first and foremost and that's where everything starts to differentiate. Yea, just like to note that.

'REALLY LUHH!'

~Callum

Words

2009-07-14T23:11:00.003+08:00

Thank You.

That word seems rare now days. Why? I just cannot comprehend how people could forget those two words. I mean, after everything someone else have done for you, a simple smile and 'Thank You'. It's irritating. I'm never at the receiving end of a 'Thank You', which is good. No really, it's ok, it has taught me to appreciate simple manners.

It's easy to catch my attention. It is even easier to blow me away with simple manners. No, I do not need it overdone but I need it to be there. But really, a simple gesture would really make everyone's day.

Moving on, man, the roads. I'm starting to miss it. When I've cleared my projects, definitely a blog post on the best cycling roads in Singapore. I'm starting to miss the roads I've covered, especially Neo Tiew Road and Lim Chu Kang Road. It was a totally different experience from the normal Singapore roads. For once, there was no traffic at all. No double yellow lines, no bustops and my favourite part, NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS!

Wow, long and smooth. I love that road. I really really do. Nothing else could ever compare to the feeling you get when you're on it. Nothing. Mark my words. Half Island trip this Sunday if I can clear my 'to-do' list.

Moving on. JC-Poly nonsense. Man! Give me a break already. Where, the hell, did you get the idea that my life in poly is slack? Someone told you? Well drop me a name and I'll whack the shit outta that fella. PLEASE luhh, wake up your bloody idea. Just because I can afford to cycle every week does not mean poly is slack, it means your time management sucks! You think you got a lot of things to cover uh? You think your A lvl cert damn big uh? Just because I don't complain about my deadlines means I don't have any is it? Utter nonsense.

If I told you what the hell I have to manage with, you'll be cowaring under your books. Next time you're about to complain about how stress your life is and how desperately hopeless you are, shut up and manage your time you pillock.

Sorry uh, but just had to say it in your face. You're not the only ones with problems. Yea, I used to listen but now things have change. I have my own problems to solve. Which leads us to the next topic. People who complain so much and never do anything.

You know those Proton cars, a lot of noise but very little movement? Yes, that is what you are like when you're complaining. You'll sit down on your arse and guess what? You're not moving! Be like an Honda for goodness sake, silent yet efficient. I don't mind if you're an Aston Martin either, really loud and really powerful. Complaining never gets you anywhere. Never. Be mentally strong. Please. I can't handle your problems and mine at the same time. I 'm just a boy, I'm not a hero.

The DotA nonsense again. Why uh, can i just ask, why must everyone who talks about DotA uses words such as 'noob' 'pwned' 'ulti' 'fucker'. It's a computer game, sit down, have fun and shut up. I have never seen so much flare and the need for dominance, it's a game. You guys are 'pwning' 'noobs' by using your 'ulti' in a GAME. Can you please get it in your head? It's a game. It will never leave the computer screen. It's a GAME. Just because a group of you are talking about how much 'pwning' you guys did last night on the game does not impress me at all. As a matter of facts, I seriously think you guys are seriosuly uncool. Please, take offence here. Goodness, talking so proudly about something you guys accomplished in a GAME. If it really gets too lame, as in, if you guys ask me out and talk about a whole bunch of bullcrap and how cool it is, I'll just go out cycling the next time round. At least it's real.

"...a lot of noise but very little movement"

~Callum

Recovery

2009-07-12T15:53:00.002+08:00

Had to clean my bike today. It is a very very very painful process. Mud was everywhere. EVERYWHERE! I spent two full solid hours cleaning the whole damn bike. The paint job is in horrible condition. Rocks pelted the down tube and it is in a very ugly state. The chain stay and seat stay suffered the same fate. A piece of rock was wedged in between the pedal and crank arm, aww man, the pedal is in bad shape thanks to that. The crank arm had a few scratches here and there thanks to that piece of rock, but yea, the paint job is ruined.

The drivetrain was filled with dirt and so was the back wheel. Had to clean each spoke manually. Damn, I wish I had those low-spoke wheels. Splashing water on the bike didn't seem to work. So I had to go into every single face of the bike. Then there was the brakes, the cantilever brakes caught a lot of mud, so again, had to dismantle it, clean it and then put it back together. Yes, it was all very tiring to clean it. But, yes! It's done, it's clean now! ^^V

As for me, yupz, everything is working fine. My right leg is back to normal, my left hand has normal blood flow, shoulders are all ok. GOOD! Now I can focus on my studies, damn, grades are dropping fast, like a rock being thrown down a cliff, like a guy jumping down a building, like.. Yea, you get the point.

So, moral of the story. Don't ride on mud. As in, the mud mud. The soil. You know what I mean luhh. Damn hard to clean road bike, the thing all very tight. As in, not the thing very tight, the frame design. Ya, you know what I mean luhh. Don't get any dirty thoughts.

"It's done"

~Callum

The ride

2009-07-11T22:29:00.005+08:00

Today, I grew up.
It is the ride that would separate the boys from the men.
It is the ride that lasted 160km.
It is the ride that rolled you in and out of weather conditions.
It is the ride that took you to places that you did not know existed.
It is the ride that kept you one the edge of your seat.
It is the ride where you rolled along with the cars.
It is the ride that would tire you out.
It is the ride I rode today.

Yea, you can argue what defines a man. No, I'm not very good at shooting balls using a stick. No, I'm not very good at controlling computerized heroes or leading an army with a touch of my keyboard. But that's not what I believe in.

I believe in long rides.
And the stories they bring.
I believe in simplicity.
And the idea that complex problems can be solved in simple ways.
I believe in firsts.
And then lifestyles that last.
I believe in the power of giving back.
And never giving up.
I believe.

An update on how things went.

Started out at 2pm, I had to wait out the rain, it was way too heavy and way too unpredictable. When it finally cooled and settled, I rushed out of my house and the roll began.

Sweet and smooth all the way to Changi Coast Road. I was on the verge of boredom and that's where things went downhill. That 3km stretch of road was where I decided to put the hammer down, what a mistake. The road after that was uphill, and my god was it torturing. It was at Pasir Ris Drive 12 where I thought I would not make the whole journey. I was on right there, on my saddle planning to drop out at the next fall out point.

It was on that very critical moment, that moment where my mind could still change its decision, it was on that critical moment when I heard my bike. It was there, talking, right there, gently whispering and urging my legs to keep on paddling. The sound of the tyres on the beautiful black tarmac and the beautiful sound of the freewheel just kept me going.

After I overcamed the mental barrier, the physical barrier was next. It hit me twice, first was in Lim Chu Kang and the second one was at West Coast Highway. By the time I was in Sengkang, my water supply, all 1.5 l of it was dry. And thanks to the very clever ulu route, there was no convience store. The heat was hardly noticable, but the humidity, omg, never go out just after it rained. But there was haze and dump trucks, which made breathing very difficult. During most of the journey I had dirt in one eye and that was irritating, when going at that speed, you really want both eyes open so that you can gauge distance and depth. So anyway, by the time I reached Lim Chu Kang, I was straving, you could actually hear my stomach growling. My legs were tiring, my eyes were shutting and to make matters worse, it started to rain. I had water splashed up on my back and on my pants. A few minutes later however, I was in Boon Lay and thank god! CIVILISATION! Pulled in into a gas station, bought drinks and a cury puff. About to pay at the counter when the staff asked me, did you pump any petrol? Well, if you see a guy with a bicycle helmet and is covered in mud, do you honestly think he needs petrol? Yes, I was covered in mud, soil had slipped onto the road thanks to rain and I ran over quite a few puddles. So yea, drank the whole bottle in one gulp and then in one bite i downed the whole curry puff.

After that 're-fuel'-ing, I pulled out and oh my, had a sudden burst of energy, so the Tuas Loop was easily dealt with, until I got onto Pioneer Road. That was went every single part of me start to fail. My right ankle was sprained, so it could no longer push down on the pedals. My right knee was busted, so again, I could not apply pressure to the whole of my right leg. My left leg wasn't doing so well either, it was starting to cramp. My shoulders were sore, my left hand was numb and my back was just killing me. That was my limit, I only had a few more kilometers to cover, only a few more, but I had it. I had to find somewhere to stop and call for pick up.

So I cycled on looking for my extraction point, and soon I found a petrol station, OUH! but guess what, I was already verging into the West Coast Highway. So I thought what the heck, I just have to inch my way to West Coast Park and complete the route. And so I did. But I was so out of steam that I could not sprint to the finish like I imagined, instead it was just my mind moving the bike. The rest of me died the moment I turned into West Coast Highway.

And, ahh yes. I'm finally off the saddle of good! The whole ride was time consuming, took me more than 5 hours to complete it. Dissapointing but could not be helped with the humongous amount of traffic lights.

Alot of talking points in this ride. Saw alot of roadies, expected huh? Since I took a pre-planned route. Had ALOT of stunning views. Seletar was an eye opener. So was Kranji. So was Tampines. So was Lim Chu Kang. Honestly, I really felt as though I missed out, all this places were right there in my backyard, it's just that I'm so surrounded in the comfort in my own home that I never actually bothered to open the window. (Get the methodology?)

The route I taken was mostly ulu, so not much supercars and not much superbabes either. But yea, I did not really have much fun on this trip. No photographs even. Ouh, but the good news is for the whole trip, not a single honk by any vehicles! I came back with all my limbs and came back with experience. Yea, too tired now to actually do a proper post, why don't we just meet up for dinner or something and I can fill you in on how everything went?

"I believe in long rides"

~Callum

The Plan

2009-07-10T19:17:00.007+08:00

Tomorrow is my big ride. My first ever round island. 160km.

Right, so things to bring.

1) Bicycle. (duhh)
2) Spare Tubes
3) Tire Levers
4) Allen Key
5) Wallet (with cash inside)
6) Hand phone

Thing to wear

1) Shirt
2) Pants
3) Underwear
4) Helmet
5) Gloves
6) Socks
7) Shoes
(Like kinda obvious rite?)

I think that's all the important stuff. Now for the route, for those of you interested.

Will kick off at West Coast Park. Since I'm feeling a little under the weather with the consistent coughing and the cramps, I'll have some 'fall-out' points where I could decide not to continue and take the immediate route back home. Those points will be bolded(Like so). Right, so anyway, the route.

West Coast Park
West Coast Highway - Pasir Panjang Road - Telok Blangah Road
Vivo City
Keppel Road - Anson Road
Tanjong Pagar MRT
Cecil Street - Fullerton Road - Esplanade Drive
Esplanade
Nicoll Highway - Mounbatten Road - East Coast Road
Siglap Shopping Centre
Upper East Coast Road - Bedok Road - Upper Changi Road East - Xilin Avenue - Changi Coast Road
Changi Airport
Changi Coast Road - Nicoll Drive - Telok Paku Road - Loyang Avenue - Pasir Ris Drive 3 - Tampines Avenue 10 - Tampines Industrial Ave 5 - Old Tampines Road
Paya Lebar Airbase
Tampines Road - Hougang Ave 7 - Upper Serangoon Road - Sengkang East Drive - Sengkang East Way
Compass Point
Sengkang East Way - Anchorvale Road - Sengkang West Ave - Jalan Kayu(North Bound) - West Camp Road - Seletar Club Road
Seletar Airport
Yishun Avenue 1 - Yishun Avenue 2 - Canberra Link - Sembawang Way - Woodlands Way - Woodlands Avenue 7
Causeway Point
Woodlands Square(South Bound) - Woodlands Avenue 3 - Woodlands Road - Sungei Kadut Avenue - Choa Chu Kang Way(South Bound) - Choa Chu Kang North 5 - Choa Chu Kang Street 52
Yew Tee CC
Choa Chu Kang Street 52 - Choa Chu Kang North 5 - Choa Chu Kang way(North Bound) - Sungei Kadut Drive - Neo Tiew Road - Lim Chu Kang Road(South Bound)
Cemetery
Lim Chu Kang Road - Jalan Bahar - Jalan Boon Lay
Jurong Point
Jalan Boon Lay - Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim - Tuas West Drive
The Loop
Tuas South Avenue 1 - Tuas South Avenue 3(South Bound) - Tuas South Avenue 5 - Tuas South Avenue 4 - Tuas South Avenue 3(North Bound) - Tuas West Road - Pioneer Road - Jalan Buroh
Pandan Reservoir
Jalan Buroh - West Coast Highway
West Coast Park

That's the route, I really hope I stick true to it until the finish. Of course, the fall out points are all over the place once I've crossed the 40km mark, and yea, as stated before, I have a direct access to home sweet home from those points. I haven't really planned for weather yet but lets all hope it holds.

"...stick true to it until the finish"

~Callum