I'm feeling a sense of Eu-Catastrophe.

Food For Thought

“Ah, that’s a fine fellow!” exclaimed the Chief. “He has gained much land!”

Pahom’s servant came running up and tried to raise him, but he saw that blood was flowing from his mouth. Pahom was dead!

The Bashkirs clicked their tongues to show their pity.

His servant picked up the spade and dug a grave long enough for Pahom to lie in, and buried him in it.

Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed.

-Leo Tolstoy,"How much land does a man need?"

Always was facinated by this short story...
One lesson that the author was trying to push was Greed.
However, when you look at it at another angle...I find that the author is trying to remind us all of our mortality. Despite our strengths and ability to conquer all, alas we are just fragile beings and death will always await us no matter what we are capable of achieving in life. The only thing we can take from this world is "Six feet from his head to his heels".

-P.S, Why are all my recent post so depressing??

Mom and Dad, how's the neighbour's construction going on??

Strange Discovery

Bond movies…so many of them…in fact, 20 in total so far. I’ve seen quite a few of them, but my all time favorite was “You Only Live Twice”. I never knew why I was so attached to this bond film…it didn’t have the special effects of gadgets the new bond movie often possesses…but it did have smarts and wits…
Turns out, by some strange coincidence that I learned…the screenplay for “You Only Live Twice” was written by none other than Roald Dahl himself. No wonder, he was the only one in the world who could pull of such a feat. Mixing a blend of Sarcasm, witty humor and a touch of elegance. Having said that, I think Ewan Mcgregor should play the next bond.
Worthy Note: Children’s favorite “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” screenplay was also written by Roald Dahl.

Finding Our Neverland

A place of tranquility, inspiration, to runaway, to hide. A place where time is relative to the observer, where everything you can imagine co-exist in harmony (well, except the grown-ups there)…that is Neverland Ranch…Ops…I mean…Neverland. I watched “Finding Neverland” with a friend the other night…and man...simply loved it… in fact, it was one of the best movies I had seen in a while. The story is based on the life of play-writer JM Barrie. The plot focuses on Mr. Barrie, when he was going though the worst period of his life with marital problems, and your typical writers block. All that change, when he met the lively Davies brothers and their mom Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Well, like all great stories…Mr. Barrie needless to say, made a triumphant comeback.
I was so inspired by the movie, that I actually googled “JM Barrie”. Turns out they did change some of the historical details. Basically, when Mr. Barrie met Mrs. Davies, she just became a widow…but in fact, her husband was alive when they 1st met. In fact he was really jealous of her and the boys close friendship with Mr. Barrie. But still, they manage to manifest that tension with Mrs. Davies’ mom in the movie.
It was just amazing to see how Mr. Barrie, despite being older, never actually growing up. “You brought pretending into this home” quote from the movie. But alas, this kind of thinking was probably why the Davies brother who never grew up met tragic ends. George, one of the sons, died in World War I, Michael drowned himself with his boy friend in Oxford. Peter, who become a publisher, committed suicide in 1960. I guess even if we hate to…or despise growing up. Eventually at some point, we’ll always have to. Or at least know when to.

"I guess like the ticking crocodile, time is always after us".

What's New???

Fluid mechanics is tough...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting Thought

Something my friend told me today, it's not true...but it's still really funny.
"Women are like carparks, they're either taken or disable."

Margaret Court

As The Name Suggest

This Place is even greater up close

Me and Ken Roswell

Back at One

Whew…!!! Finally arrived back safe and sound at Newcastle. What a relieved. I’m pooped, arrived back at Newey unexpectedly late…Can’t believe that my first journey alone (technically second) went wrong…the express train back to Newcastle was cancelled due to technical failure of the regular route…so I was forced to endure a grueling 3 hours and a bit ride “home” .
Anyway, Melbourne was something else I would say…it would be one place I would definitely recommend people to go to…it’s just so organized, like a bigger version Singapore, minus the pressure. Everything is so neat and in place, accessible…I like it a lot…it’s a City not to big…but still, lots of attraction…it’s probably a vision I see for KK in the not to distant future I hope. Definitely a huge contrast between Sydney. In Sydney, everything is just so big…dense…sometimes I feel overwhelm in Sydney…it always so chaotic…Maybe it’s a little too much for one that has come from a humble and tiny city… but it’s definitely different.
Been all over Melbourne…well, at least the places I deemed worth the effort. Bourke street was probably the most happening place…it the China Town of Melbourne…an as one would expect…very busy street…food there was great…at least I get to indulge in some Asian food before I head back to KK. Lygon Street was probably my favorite, very classy, very Victorian…Mom would definitely like it there. Smith Street I would imagine would be Dad’s forte, lots of bargains and steals…but I think Victoria Market would have been everybody’s favorite place to hang…you would have been just blown away by all the fresh Veggies and poultry you every seen. Strange food, all the colors, smells…was like a huge kaleidoscope.
Anyway, I guess that’s all I can just about muster up at the moment…feeling really jaded, and beat up. I guess the best part about the whole trip was that it felt at home…spending time with Sam gave me a glimpse home…that’s why it was extra special…plus Jia Ming was really hospitable…we all had great fun together…all in all…fantastic vacation.

The Genius

whew...He did it again...Roger Federer has officially cemented his place as one of the elite players of all time. Man...I'm just so relieved that he won a grand slam this year...who said being a Fan is easy...After enduring one of his most trying seasons , with all the pressure weighing down on him, especially since he set himself impossible standards after his spectecular performances last year (which included 3 grand slams and the masters cup). I was worried the pressure might finally get to him, with the press constantly hounding him with his semi-final losses at the Aussie Open (to Safin) and the French Open (to Nadal)...but not Federer, he responded with spectecular fashion...cruising to his third straight Wimbledon title and a masterclass performance against No.2 seed Roddick. There's something about the grass that inspires Federer...every part of his game seems to be enhanced when he's playing at grass...shots seems better...but regardless of that...order has been restored in the ATP circuit...Federer is the undisputed world No.1...with that monkey off his bone...we should be able to see a more relaxed Federer (emotionaly)...expect more things to come from this tennis genius.

Simply Absurd

Here’s something I heard on the news on the radio today…it goes something like this… “The governor (or something like that) of New South Wales would like to congratulate the Newcastle Police Force, for their contributions , helping Newcastle achieve its lowest crime rate since 1993. According to statistics, car thefts and breaking entry rates have decreased…however, kidnapping has shown an increase.”… my friends and I were laughing while listening to this piece of information…we said something like “Citizens, your cars are safe now, but your children aren’t…but don’t worry…we’re working on it.”

Growing up......

Everybody has some kind of role model, or fantasy when they were growing up. I remember clearly who mine was…personally I think it was rather bizarre. Well, basically, Sam adored Spider-man…he would always be wearing the fruit sack ( those things “Tai Sing” use to package their fruits), and he’ll hang in all sorts of acrobatic positions on the swing…pretending he was Spider-man… Serene on the other hand… well, frankly, I don’t really have a clue…she was mostly playing with her doll house and Barbies… I reckon she saw women with impossible figures as a bench mark (I really don’t know, maybe girls never go though that phase…which would make my intro pretty redundant…or…they’re too shy to talk about it)…anyway, as bizarre as it sounds…I simply adored Michael Jackson… I haven’t a clue why really. Maybe it’s because he was at the peak of his career. Or ,maybe simply because my maid loved MJ as well… so when I was young…I used to ask my maid to tie a pony-tail for me (like MJ)…and I would be running around the house trying to bust a move, or sing a MJ tune…As you would expect, mom wasn’t really a fan about this whole ordeal...( with good reason as well, seeing how he turned out)…One of the things that would drive my mom absolutely nuts is when I go jumping around the house singing those famous line “You know I’m bad…I’m bad…I’m bad, I’m bad, I’m bad…” (it was one of his hits at the time …and probably the easiest to remember as a 5 year old)… my mom would say something like “If you bad Paul, I have to rottan you” …well, it didn’t catch on after that... I don’t go around acting like MJ anymore…but still, remembering those day just puts a smile on my face…you know, as a child…the innocence and ability to capture imagination or catapult oneself into a whole new world…it just fascinating at times what children can do to amuse themselves…it’s a face that nobody really appreciates really…but when it’s gone…it’s gone…so don’t stifle children of imagination…encourage it…who knows…we might learn a thing or two.

My Picks for Wimbledon 2005

Man, exams are officially over now...Far Out!!!! I'm just so relieved...Anyway, I'm just overwhelmed with so much emotion that I probably won't blog something serious...

Well, Wimbledon just started today, so I'll try my chances as a bookie...

Favorite to win 2005 wimbledon : Roger Federer ( How can you go wrong with him??)
Second favorite : Andy Roddick (hey, he might suprise...comes out of nowhere)
Third Choice : Lleyton Hewitt (looks hungier than ever...sign of danger)
Long Shot : Tim Henman (I'll normally put him up there, but judging by his consistant ability to disappoint, I reckon i shouldn't jinks him by putting him up the list...)
One to watch for : Richard Gasquet (might just raise a few eyebrows)
Special Mentions : Marat Safin (not going to win it...for sure!!)

The Greatest Invention In The World

I reckon the greatest invention in the world is the "lint remover"...it's probably the greatest thing since slice bread. Before I had a lint remover, my clothes had lint on them. But after using the lint remover...wallah, it was lint free...amazing thing, this lint remover...everybody, go get yourself a lint remover, and forever rid yourself of...well...lint.

Words Of Wisdom

"When your feeling cold...you don't feel hungry...you just feel...cold..."...words of wisdom indeed.

Potatoes

Ah…potatoes…everybody loves them…such beauty and versatility. You can mash them, boiled them, bake them, steam them, make cream soup with them, put them whole in broth, fry them, make chips with them, or wedges with them…heck, you can even eat them unskinned. Amazing vegetable this potato is…simply stunning. And the “best” thing is that you get to have them, every single day in T.E.Ds, for the rest of your lives here. Rain ,shine, gloom…it’s potatoes, potatoes, potatoes…always….potatoes.

My Picks for Frenchy 2005

Favorite to win 2005 French Open : Guillermo Coria (if the pain of last year doesn't weigh in on him)
Second favorite : Roger Federer (provided the errors don't creep in)
Third Choice : Rafael Nadal (as the form player)
Long Shot : Juan Carlos Ferrero (always a threat on clay)
One to watch for : David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko (could be their break through year)

Special Mentions : Carlos Moya, Marat Safin, Tommy Haas and Gaston Gaudio (will loose when expected to win)

The good, the bad ,and the ugly

Phew, I feel so relieved now. My assignment is as good as done. I’m just so glad it turned out alright in the end. It all started a week ago when I attempted my surveying assignment report. Everything was going so well, I was on a roll, my numbers were crunching in just fine, I was just in the zone, at a groove, no problems what so ever. But when the moment of truth arrived, I was shocked to realise my numbers didn’t add up right. Horrified I was…sigh. I spent the whole weekend working on it and it turned against me. Man, I checked everything through again, from my field notes, to my numbers to my calculation. Everything seemed fine, there wasn’t a trace of error. I was crushed, and in my desperation I went to see the lecturer the next day. Well, she didn’t give me any answers (didn’t expect it anyway), just some tips and stuff like that. With renewed spirit, I went back to re do my assignment…but…it came out just as bad…which lead me to fear the worse. Our group must have stuffed up when we were collecting data during the field exercise. I was sort of in a state of denial. We went through the whole thing with so much precision, like a surgeon we made sure everything was accurate and right on the spot…couldn’t believe it. I was dejected for a couple of days…still shellshock by the whole thing. Cum weekend, I sort of accepted the fact that my field notes were wrong and had to take up the optional exercise (perhaps a lot of students got it wrong, thus a separate assignment was given as an alternative)…but I wasn’t about to give up without one last fight, like they say, “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings”, fat lady wasn’t in sight …went through the whole assignment again…and to my astonishment, turns out I input the wrong data to one of the calculation. The number should have been 97.852, but I wrote it down as 87.852…turns out it was a big deal, because the errors just snowballed if some information was misinterpreted. Well, it was a turn of events, or “Eu-catastrophe” as Tolkien puts it. Wallah, my work now was near perfect ,and because no field work can be perfect, plus the fact, no perfect equipment has been build yet…my work was thus…PERFECT…

The Right Attitude

Well, time flies really quickly when you don’t pay attention to it. I remember, when I first got here, I was thinking “how am I going to survive 9 months here?” Well 3 is gone now, and time still moving forward…At this time, it’s good to reflect on some of the things I’ve gathered in my course thus far. As a Civil Engineering student, I’ve learn to appreciate so many aspects of construction, from the mechanics to material selection to cost of project. One of the many things our surveying lecturer always tries to emphasize is the need to be accurate, because the client expects it to be accurate.
That reminded me of the time my dad gave me, my brother, and his friends a job as data collectors (we were hired to count cars at a particular stretch of road)…come to think of it, he was pretty brave to have given a million dollar project to a bunch of kids (maybe he though is wasn’t going to get through anyway). I remember distinctly that all of us started seriously enough…with our pens and paper, marking every car that whizzes by. However, the job eventually took its toll, and by noon, all of us were just lazing about…some proceeded to “manipulate” data so they could go to the shopping mall (I didn’t do that, just so you know). 8 years later, when I think about it, I thank God that the project never went through (although I think it still should have, that stretch is still always jammed). If it did, it might have cost the client serious amounts of money and put my dad’s job in jeopardy.
Being so young at the time, we neither saw the magnitude of our work, nor the seriousness of it. I guess at that time, being a pre-teen/teen…we had that all too familiar attitude of “couldn’t care less”…I think the mistake most young people make nowadays (or always for that matter), is that we think we can live a life without care or responsibility because we have youth on our side…and youth will bail us out whenever we are in trouble…however sooner or later youth runs out and your left with no more excuses for your irresponsibility.
So my advice to all my young readers (though I still consider myself young)…never make the mistake or cultivating the attitudes of “couldn’t care less” or “I don’t care” because one day that might be your biggest downfall…instead start learning to treat each situation with respect and dignity…and your efforts will definitely be rewarded.