it's ironic i think, that it is the start of my clearing leave that i have become so busy - helping out at my parents' coy, which takes up my days; doing the ord video, which has been taking up my nights. it's crazy, and sometimes i dont quite mind being able to stone in bunk and wait for things to happen, ie sleep eat or talk. and that explains the lack of entries in the past couple of weeks - loads of work, that is quite taxing on my poor soul. ord function is next week already, and the first draft of the video is finally done, with a few changes to be made here and there. i am, to say the very least, relieved for i had doubts at my ability to complete it. so with something tangible now at least it is one less burden - since this is in some ways my very first video. i think it's going to be scary to have so many people judge your work. and i am hoping that whatever it is, they treat it as a walk down memory lane and dont expect some glitzy affair that will bedazzle them. haha i am using the sarah palin approach, trying to reduce everyone's expectations so just by having a decent work it will be considered a success. haha.

really though i suppose when it comes down to tribute or farewell videos no one really cares about who does it. they're just looking for pictures of themselves in the video. haha. and laughing at their friends. whatever, i just hope that people enjoy themselves at the end of the day. or night.

so its kinda old, although never talked about in this blog - the news that ri & rj are merging. have been hearing about it from the staff, but i guess its official now. and as usual, the student population are up in arms over this executive decision made. some things never change - students petition, ask to speak to senior members of the staff. and i know for one that the staff will stick to their position although attempting to be diplomatic in their approach. it's always the case. some things dont change haha. as i have been through in my time. gawd, i feel old. i guess their concerns are valid though - over the years rj has established a seperate identity of its own and while i am sure old boys enjoyed their time in ri, their experience in rj was a totally different one. not to say that it's bad, just different; with the way they function, and the presence of the opposite sex. and of course the dilution of traditonal practices practised in ri. it took them more than 25 years to create an identity that has its roots in ri, but yet still a unique one and i am curious to see how the 2 schools are going to forge a new identity together. because so much of the rafflesian experience is about the identity and experience, i hate to see them all go down the drain for a "new age", "new generation", and "changing times". but since i have no idea how things are going to be like, i guess i am not in the position to say much. i just hope they call the principal of the merged school "headmistress" and retain the gowns and staff possession, which awed me till the day i graduated. i am so old-fashioned. haha.

had the best teppanyaki i have ever had. and i now understand what they mean when they say great service. the service was great, the food was great, and the conversation (with the chef) was great, it gives you a happy feeling as you leave the restaurant. haha. and happy birthday mum!

oh yea there was platoon chalet too. it was quite good fun and i cooked, like really cooked (though it was instant - but i had to fry stuff so there was timing and oil and splatter required!) for the first time. that was the highlight i guess, and learning mahjong, and winning a dollar just cos i missed it as i was trying to "invest" my winnings to win more money. guess beginners' luck only gets you so far. haha. oh well chalet wasnt the 'must look forward' thing in my calendar, but things didnt go quite badly or too boring, so yay. haha

and there are so many movies there i have been wanting to watch roar! but my to do list keeps increasing its irksome.

junyi! posted at 11:22 pm.

i believe in cycles.karmic cycles, of the idea of impermanence, that what goes around comes around, that what goes up must come back down. so yes i believe that a business cycle is always ineveitable, and am not surprised by the recent financial crisis. and since i have not been able to fully grasp the concepts of this crisis and the gravity of it, i am actually thankful that it happened now, and for very selfish reasons. for i believe that this crash of sorts would happen sooner or later, and it is good (for me) that it is happening as i am about to embark on my further studies, not when i am about to enter the job market. i dont see the nation gripped by this crisis though, perhaps because they, like me, have still been unable to fully see for themselves the gravity of the crisis, and would hope that they would never see the light of it anyway, like earthquakes and tsunamis would so choose to give singapore a miss. of course this will not be the only financial crisis happening in my lifetime, and one can only hope that with each crisis, the government, regulators and the people learn and come the next gloom, the impact is lessened.

heard a disturbing piece of news recently about a november-january marriage between an ex school teacher and a guy our age. i thought these only happened in drama and taiwan, but i guess i was wrong. haha. but it was the gossip of yesterday so yea haha.

watched house bunny which is another fun show, though similar in style to legally blonde, which was no surprise since the writers were the same. it was interesting, with the usual lesson to be learnt; not fantastic, but a cool movie to watch just for laughs.

i am still doing my video, and it is all a tedious tiresome process and i am just not confident of my newly picked up skills, if i can call them that since they were generally self-taught. well i just hope expectations are low, and the whole thing is just a reminiscence of their times here, rather than them hoping to see a snazzy display of video editing skills. haha.

junyi! posted at 8:45 pm.

a lot has happened the past couple of weeks, with the financial crisis and the bailout plan finally being passed. then f1 came and left, and while i wont say i am a convert, i must say this f1 thing is really rather exciting, and has gotten me a little interested in f1. and i got to see a little action while they were testing the cars and tracks in the day! so yay. i do think it is quite wise of them to bring f1 to singapore and set it against a backdrop of the city skyline. it was truly beautiful and a wise way to market singapore. i had not expected for this f1 to be overwhelmingly successful, kinda underestimated the good it would do until i saw it for myself, but what can i say, it's this singaporean brand of efficiency that has blended in its kiasuism and the importance of face to them. anw this is so passe, since it last happened a week ago, so i move on.

visited ri recently, and while some things have changed, its good to see that certain members of the staff havent. its cool that we could still find so many things to talk and laugh about, and they always found something special about our batch. detractors might say they were being patronising. but i doubt. it is always good to go back and see people who have become some sort of an old friend, to remember what it was once like for us.

started on my french lessons today, which didnt go all that bad. but i do take on this new language with much apprehension, since the previous outing with a new subject was a total disaster. well i hope it goes well, and maybe it will be of some use to me in the future. meanwhile i guess i will just take one step at a time and put in some effort into mastering this language. and perhaps i will do better than when i tried to pick up jap.

lost my wallet for the first time in many years, and that really irritated me cos i discovered the loss like a minute from when i left the cubicle and when i returned it was no longer there. stupid bastard i hope he loses loads of money in the stock market for taking things that arent his. argh.

so chang, suhas and snee have all left for uk. o well i am going to miss them.

junyi! posted at 11:01 pm.