Hamlet's Hero

What can I buy for RM 1?

2009-11-07T23:43:00.003+08:00

What can one buy for RM 1? A roti canai at a mamak stall (note that this does not apply to the more "high-class" ones). A drink at a kopi-tiam? A handful of sweets?

RM 1 really isn't much as a can of Coke in Malaysia already costs RM1.50. So what can you buy for RM 1? What can you buy with that paltry sum that lasts a week?

Finally there's something substantial that you can have for just RM 1 a week!

Subscription to Channel X, the mobile Facebook service is yours for just RM 1 a week!

What's more is that it's just so easy to use! Just follow the simple instructions below and you'll be on your way to having great fun on Facebook whereever you are, just through the simple of use of its SMS interface!

It's that simple!

For more information, please visit this LINK for more information!

Art: Unadulterated

2009-11-06T15:23:00.010+08:00

Lately, i've been really busy with school, trying to meet deadlines and assignments the past few weeks and I kept making excuses not to blog. The whole Celcom mobile Facebook advertorial thing also has kept me busy with stuff to post on this site I kept ignoring the impulse to just write and express myself here.

So here it is, some kind of activity on my end to just let you guys know that I'm alive and well (I'm technically slightly down with a flu but it's nothing I can't handle). So what have I been up to lately? Well work aside, I've been reading quite a bit of One Piece (largely due to Ling Yi's influence) and fooling around with the handwriting tool quite a bit on MSN messenger.

Yeah so here they are, art in it's most unadulterated form and with it some updates on this blogger's life.

1) Cheebyekiaa!

Cheebyekiaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I drew this when quite a number of things hit me at the same time - I was stressed out working on a project, I recieved some rather unsettling news and I was just frustrated with life in general. I just felt like standing on some tall cliff overlooking the rough ocean waves, with the strong sea wind beating down my face and just yelling out my frustrations to the unrelenting tide.

And as much as I hate to admit it, that has been happening quite a lot in my life in NTU. It sucks to feel out of control of my life and I need to do what I can to reassert my myself in what I do. I want to achieve what I have set out for myself and go where I want to go, but it can get so frustrating.

Maybe this is where the abundance mindset that Steve Pavilina talked about on his blog comes in. Perhaps he's right and instead of spending the bulk of my time and energy focusing on the things in life that frustrate me, maybe I should spend that focus on the good things in my life instead, like the great friends I have, the great people I meet both offline and online and my love for writing.

Just being back on Blogger and writing this out really reminds me of how much I used to love blogging. I used to wake up in the mornings with like three thousand blog ideas and update like 3 times a day. I still love to write and take time to reflect on life but my studies and commitments are just taking so much out of me.

I really need to find that balance, that golden mean between work and time to spend on self actualization. Ultimately it all boils down to time management and discipline, the two things I really need to work on if I want to commit to my goal of becoming a better, more efficient person.

2) Hungry!

Hungry!

I drew this when talking to my good friend Ling Yi while working on my research methods project all alone (hate working on long, wordy reports all alone) at around 12am last Sunday, asking him to come back so that we can go out and have supper. Yes I was that hungry. I have been sleeping at really odd times due to tight deadlines and all and if I remember correctly, only taken my first meal of the day at 5pm. Little wonder that I was feeling like an Ethiopian at 12 midnight.

It is interesting to note that due to the lack of exercise and possibly my latest bout of flu (which comes with a whole lot of water consumption) that my midsection is currently very, very vastly different from the thin, skin and bones figure above.

3) Lovebeam

Lovebeam

Note that this piece is titled "Lovebeam", not "Lovebeams" and is in the singular and not plural form. I drew it when I was chatting to my pal Nick about what most guys at this age has on their minds - girls.

I think I drew this as I was thinking about fictional characters that just seem to be able to snag that one girl that they're eying when they just put their mind to it and focus on just chasing the girl of their dreams. I mean we're forced fed this stuff, and over time we just start to subconsciously believe in it, that if we find that one special girl and love her with all you've got, she'll be yours in the end.

But it always seems to me that the real world is so different from that. Making the girl the only one you think about just seems to decrease your chances - you can't talk right in front of her, you get nervous just by looking at her and you can't even muster the courage to ask her out properly. The logical thing to do would be to not dwell on it and meet more people but it never is easy to reconcile the opposing views of the heart and the brain.

Why do we desire what we cannot get so much?

I guess that's what made me draw what I drew next.

4) Heartstab

Heartstab

That's just how bad news feels sometimes, especially if it pertains to matters of the heart. It really feels like just that - a dark cold sword just stabbing through your being, emptying your being and making you feel all empty inside.

Maybe that's why I seem to connect with this song from David Tao's latest album, Opus 69, so much.

Secret Love - 暗戀

Even if you're an international singing sensation but if the girl you're in love in just doesn't feel the same about you, it still hurts deep inside. What's the use of being to get any girl you want, with the sole exception of the one you're dying for?

5) Flower for You

Flower for You

Yeah an in stark contrast to all that emo writing that this blog has not seen for a very long time, simple flowers for a friend. Come to think of it, we all feel lonely and insecure from time to time, even though if we are continually surrounded by people. A bright flower definitely would serve as a cute gesture of appreciation. Who can say no to such a cute, bright smiley face?

I drew this for Adele who drew me one when motivating me to complete my assignment! I guess that sometimes encouragement and friendship comes from the most mystical of sources. (:

***

Hope that all you out there are fine and well! Hope that you all have wonderful, fulfilled lives. That's exactly what I'm working towards!

How do I get Xpax facebook mobile?

2009-11-03T15:03:00.002+08:00

I remember how just the other day I was blogging about Celcom Xpax's mobile Facebook service? Just for you valued readers out there, I'll share with you guys a little bit on how you Xpax users can quickly get started with mobile Facebook! You lucky guys back home!

It's so simple cause it's just these few steps!

That's it! So easy! Easier than starting on my BM212 assignment 3 that is due this Thursday, I dare say!

Visit HERE for more details on this deal today!

Facebook on the go!

2009-11-01T19:37:00.002+08:00

I've been really busy for the past few weeks, and as a result, this poor blog of mine has been pretty neglected. But when I'm too busy to actually spend time to sit down and write a decently readable blog post, I do what everyone else seems to be doing at the moment - just drop by Facebook for a moment to rant about how busy and stressed we are.

Emo, emo rant.

Yeah, Facebook is simple and fast to use, and it provides the quick, instant gratification that our generation craves for. It truly is the opiate of our times. But this is the catch - you have to be connected to the internet to use it. For those who don't have a mobile internet plan like me, that means that my Facebook addiction is only limited to when I have access to the internet.

But for those lucky folks back at home in Malaysia with a Xpax data plan, I just read today that Xpax just launched this service offering Facebook access through SMS and the service only costs RM1 a week to access! For those of us studying down here in Singapore, it's just a microscopic sum of less than $0.50 SGD to use Facebook whereever you are a week! That's just crazy!

I'm going to be blogging about the new service by Xpax through the week, so stay tuned and just to let you guys know, check out: http://channelx.com.my/mdp/promo_rm1_getfb.jsp for more information! (:

Help me with my questionnaire, please?

2009-10-23T17:42:00.004+08:00

Hey guys! As you all know, I'm a super slacker and I have an AB213 research paper to present to my Prof on Monday but we need research data. Our research paper is on blogs, so trust me that answering this short (seriously, cross my heart) questionnaire will help me tremendously!

CLICK HERE FOR QUESTIONNAIRE

Been so busy for the past few days and I still feel really tired. Been working around the clock just me meet deadlines and it just has been crazy. Thank God that I have the blog awards to look forward to.

Going to get ready for the awards now! Hope that it'll be great and hope to meet more of you bloggers there!

Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore Experience!

2009-10-11T19:00:00.000+08:00

I've been studying in Singapore for close to four years already and have seen Singapore from almost every angle possible already - from the tall rooftops of office buildings on Shenton Way to the gritty lorongs of Geylang and still find something new every time I go out and explore.

That's the name of a very real hotel in Geylang. To think that it used to be super near to my old hostel!

Singapore is unique because it really is more than the metropolitan shopping city most people see it to be because it's really much more than Orchard Road and shopping, shopping and more shopping (although that does happen quite a bit here as Singapore is slowly growing into one big shopping mall, but I digress).

It's really beautiful at night.

I believe that Singapore truly is a great holiday destination because it manages to offer such a diverse amount of experiences, all conveniently near to each other with an awesome public transportation system to boot. It all adds up to great holiday exploring even if you're without a car! Where else can you walk out of the botanical gardens and take a short bus ride down to the hottest shopping centers in town? Only in Singapore!

So what would be my perfect 1-day itinerary for a foreign friend of mine?

Firstly, we'll start the day off well with some healthy exercise at the East Coast Park! The park is a wonderful place to have a picnic, jog, cycle, and even rollerblade! You can even go for a dip in the sea or make sand castles if you want to at the nearby beach!

Bicycling at the East Coast Park!

After all that exercise, we'll head towards Bedok to have a good Singaporean breakfast of Kueh Chap! Kueh Chap is something that I've found pretty unique to Singapore because I never really had it before back home in KL. Kueh Chap is a delicious dish of flat noodles accompanied with a light pork flavoured soup served with delicious stewed pork meat and organs. There are quite a number of really good Kueh Chap stalls in Bedok, and it's my number one destination I head to whenever I have the craving for it!

Super pork goodness!

After all that good food, it's time to head down to town. I would take this opportuinity to take my friend on the MRT and experience the Singaporean MRT experience. We would zoom down from the East end of Singapore down into the heart of town itself and alight at Orchard Road.

From Orchard Road, we would go by the major shopping centres and leisurely walk down towards Plaza Singapura and from Plaza Singapura doing some light shopping as well as showing my friend the only Istana I know that is strategically situated right next to a prominent shopping centre!

As we would have no time to waste at all, we would then take a comfortable cab ride right down to Vivo City, one of the newest and most spacious malls in Singapore. What makes it even better is that it's right next to Sentosa, our very next stop after Vivo. But first we take an ice-cream break!

If you know me well enough, you will know that my favourite brand of ice cream is none other than Ben & Jerry's, which till today we still don't have back home in Malaysia! And there's a scoop shop just right inside Vivo City. What does that mean? It's ice cream time!

That's called the Merlionster. If I remember correctly, it's 6 scoops of wonderful Ben & Jerry goodness coupled up with brownies and toppings and everything good!

After the multiple ice-cream induced orgasms, and some food, it's time to move to Sentosa! Time for more beach fun! There's lots of little cute attractions here that tourists love to go to as well (but don't drag me there cause I've been in them like a gazillion times already)!

There really are girls in bikinis on the beach. Would I lie to you?

And if you should get thirsty, grab a drink at the happening Cafe Del Mar and sunbathe your worries away!

Fun at Cafe Del Mar!

So after all the fun, sand and surf (did I forget the girls playing volleyball at the beach?) at Sentosa it's time to just chill and watch the sunset. And of course, that only means that it's time to eat!

So we would then cab back to Marina Bay and go to the Esplanade, which looks awesome during the sunset.

There it is, in all it's glory.

We'll walk around the Esplanade, taking the obligatory pictures of both the Esplanade, The Singapore Flyer and lesiurely make our way to Gluttons Bay to have more local food! There, I'll treat my foreign friend to even more delicious local food like Sambal Stingray, Char Kuey Teow, Oyster Omelette and other local goodies!

Nom nom nom!

After dinner, it's time for some partying! I would then take my friends to the Butter Factory which happens to be conveniently located just next to the nearby Merlion! But let's not forget the obligatory camwhoring by the Merlion!

That's the famous Merlion, with the Fullerton in the background.

And if Butter Factory is too crowded or somehow does not suit my friend's tastes, fear not as Clarke Quay or Zouk (along with Phuture and Velvet) is only a short cab ride away.

After we've had enough partying, we'll just leisurely walk down the Singapore river and enjoy the view, and finally take a leisurely walk back to one of the nicest hotels in Singapore, the Fullerton, which I would really love to have the opportuinity to stay in.

A wonderful place with a wonderful view.

I guess it's possible, but It would only make my bank balance look like this!

Oops!

That's why, if you have time, just do it, and come down to Singapore and have a great time!
Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore Experience!

Fatigue

2009-10-10T00:24:00.002+08:00

It gets tiring to blog sometimes, but I really want those invites to the upcoming blog awards. Guess you have to work for the things that you want in life, don't you?

But just for this moment I want to just escape from it all and just be still, and rest. Away from this chaotic mess we call life. Somewhere far, somewhere distant, somewhere quiet.

Somewhere they won't find us.

It’s Krrunch Time, Get Playful!

2009-10-03T01:54:00.002+08:00

Being a full time university student can be very difficult - you often times can't seem to find the slightest bit of time left for yourself with the one million deadlines you have to meet on top of all the things you just have to do, like spending a little time with your family.

That's why you end up sneaking naps whenever you can!

All the work and the stress can be a real bummer, especially when you find yourself spending every last free minute with your face buried deep inside your books, squinting at your assignments with your eyes fully laden with heavy eyebags.

Assignments, reports, competitions. It can get a little out of hand sometimes.

And that's made EVEN worse with all these blogging competition deadlines that I just HAVE to meet if I want to win tickets to the exciting upcoming Nuffnang Regional Blog Awards that just everybody has been talking about! (Vote for my dear friend Terry right here! He's an awesome blogger, trust me!)

It all adds up to this one very TULAN face.

But every problem man faces can be overcome with wits and cunning. Yes, I have a secret weapon aiding me in my quest against the evil ASS-ignments that have been terrorizing us all.

It is none other than the mighty PRINGLES!

Thank God for Pringles!

With Pringles, life just seems so much more fun and exciting. I mean who thinks about their 1001 assignments that they have to complete when they're KRRUNCHING on wonderful Pringles? Not a soul, I tell you.

How to make a long bus journey instantly more KRRUNCH-tastic? Have Pringles with a friend!

Evidence of enjoying Pringles on the bus. Photo taken with awesome friend's new camera phone, of course.

Need to turn up the heat in the bedroom? Pringles are so powerful that their very presence manages to attract members of the opposite sex all the way up five flights of stairs, one very menacing magnetic gate and into one slightly cramped room to party with you!

Don't believe me? KRRUNCH ON THIS!

HOWS THAT FOR PROOF?

Pringles are just so miraculous that they managed to somehow attract a Nuffie into my room even though she spent the entire day working hard preparing for the beforementioned upcoming Asia-Pacific Blog Awards!

Those chips sure are magical!

And if all that is still not enough to convince you that Pringles are the best thing ever, I just want to to know this one little secret that no one else is going to tell you - Pringles probably hold the key to an infinite source of clean energy. You physics geeks better start running tests on these heavenly chips right away!

Pringles are so powerful that they magically powered the extremely sleep deprived me to work through the night editing a video of never before released footage of how KRRUNCHING on Pringles actually empowered a little 9 year old boy with mystical Korean-boy-band dance powers. Seriously, don't even think of not checking the vid out.

That's just what its like when you're KRRUNCHING your way to good music!
(Please rate the video and leave comments for it would make the little boy in the video, as well as the not so little boy that manages this blog, very, very happy!)

So I guess it's back to KRRUNCHING away on those assignments! Really hope that I get the tickets as the little boy in the video really wants his older brother to go to the blog awards. Honest.

So Nuffnang, two invites for me please? Pretty please? Or I'll hold one of your Nuffies hostage by luring her into my room with Pringles again. Seriously.

Till then,
It’s Krrunch Time, Get Playful!

If only life could be like this...

2009-09-29T17:48:00.004+08:00

I was just going through my RSS feeds this morning and I saw this:

It just made me smile and beam uncontrollably. If only it were that easy to ask that cute girl that you just met out... without things being awkward.

But maybe it is that easy, and I'm just thinking too much. To ask her out or wait till I know her better? That is the question.

But then again I don't really have the time anyway. ):

I want a break. A real break. One where I don't have to worry about a million deadlines all rushing towards me at warp speed.

Please?

The closet masochist

2009-09-28T14:42:00.003+08:00

I'm starting to think that the obscene amount of self-imposed work that I do is a symptom of my closet masochism. Maybe it's the adrenaline rush that I get from rushing to complete seemingly impossible deadlines and the overwhelming euphoria I get when I survive that 'hell' week. Maybe it's the encouraging comments I get when dear friends realize the amount of nonsense I put myself through. But I can't be doing this every single week, can't I?

Or maybe I just really have something for leather whips and nipple clamps.

What have I gotten myself into this time?

Home.

2009-09-26T03:05:00.004+08:00

Finally, a real bed.

We often don't appreciate what we have until we have it dragged away from under our feet. And now that I get to finally sleep on one after so long, I'm going to make it count.

Going to be back in KL until Wednesday. Email me if you people down in Singapore need to reach me. It's going to be a nice, nice long slumber...

***

I'm still wishing that it'll come, somehow.

You can't stop a man from hoping, dammit.

A breather

2009-09-23T17:28:00.003+08:00

I survived today!

We completed and presented our case for the Post-it marketing competition, handed in our research methods report on the factors influencing people's reading of blogs and got through my quiz for Accounting 2!

When I got back to my room after all that I just couldn't help but keep bursting out singing Mariah Carey's "When You Believe".

When you believe, you can push yourself to achieve what you've never achieved before. Now, rest.

***

And when I woke up, I was gently roused my Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie. It was only the second time I was hearing the song but it made me feel unmistakably happy.

Just happily stretching on the bed.

I need to write a speech like this...

2009-09-21T12:04:00.002+08:00

Need to write a speech like that really, really soon. It would be so cool to be known as an inspirational humorist! But I have a test to study for, a report to complete and a marketing competition to win. Guess it all means that I have to be even more efficient now.

It's going to be interesting to see how I manage it all. Hope that it all goes well!

Sleepless weekdays (and weekends)

2009-09-19T16:43:00.005+08:00

Honestly speaking, it has been a tough, long, sleepless week and I'm actually pretty surprised that I survived it.

Come to think about it, university life for me is a large clash of extremes - on one hand, it's extremely taxing with reports, presentations and activities all piled up on you; one the other it's extremely fun and enjoyable with all the great people that I get to work on projects with, the late night suppers we take while taking 5 from an all-nighter and the crazy laughs we get from watching random clips off YouTube.

Spent the whole Sunday night rushing to complete a presentation for Monday morning, spent Tuesday night brooding over my Post-it marketing competition case, and Thursday night at the HSS student lounge rushing to complete the said marketing competition report for submission on Friday afternoon.

It's so tiring and so taxing, but I realize that on most nights when I get to bed dead tired I realize this one thing - as tired as I am, I laugh so much every single day, and I really can't say that I'm not enjoying myself.

Monday's presentation was for my Research Methods class and was about blog advertising, which is something that I am passionate about. Seriously, who else gets to put such pictures on the handouts he passes out to his professor and manages to get away with it? I do!

B(r)e(a)st free web game! Just proving my point that internet banner advertising is going down the drain!

Check out the evolution of the said ads HERE!

And the competition report was all about those handy little repositionable notes we call Post-its, and while it was tiring, it really wasn't too bad either.

Yup, that's the competition.

And as always, when things got a little to difficult to handle in the wee hours of the morning, we could always rely on the big guns - awesome clips on YouTube that we could depend on to bring us right back to life no matter how tired, hungry and cold we were.

Pure genius! The Japanese never fail to amaze me with all the crazy, crazy things that they can come up with!

As tiring as this crazy, crazy life sounds like, it's still manageable because of two things - I actually enjoy the things that I do, as well as the people that I work with.

The next few weeks are going to be equally challenging too, so I guess there's no time to waste. Full focus on my tasks and why I love doing what I do. Full on focus.

***

Of course, keep checking out my website on motivation and self improvement at http://kevinc.net today!

Working real hard to bring you readers top grade content despite my hectic schedule, so stay tuned!

Dimitri The Stud - How not to leave a phone message

2009-09-15T14:37:00.004+08:00

This is just so funny that I'm totally amazed that I didn't learn about it earlier!

The two videos are reenactments of two actual voicemails that a man who calls himself Dimitri left for some girl he met earlier. Apparently, he thinks he had excellent 'game', but trust me that his 'game' was just so good that the girl (whom Dimitri described) as 'elegant' never called back, but instead posted his voicemails up on the internets where he became an overnight internet sensation.

Enjoy!

This is just so awesome that I am including the complete transcript of the conversation for good measure!

Message 1

Hey Olga, it's Dimitri.

Sorry I had to leave such a rushed message with you when we met the other day. I just wanted to quickly give you my phone number, and needed to get the heck out of the area. In any event, I thought I had better leave you a more detailed message and explain why I approached you. I am single. I have no trouble meeting women; I mean, women approach me six or seven times a day. But I'm extremely particular about what I like. You're an extremely elegant woman. I couldn't take my eyes off you, and your friends were very jealous — even if they say they weren't, they were envious of the fact that I approached you, and I was very taken by you. Elegant women are very rare. I'm Greek and I'm extremely particular about what I like. So I'm giving you an opportunity here. I don't know if you picked up the message on the weekend but I'm working on a movie script so I'll be doing that all weekend…

This looks like a land line, and if it is you may not get the message till Monday. But when you do, call me and we'll get together for coffee or drinks, and let the romance begin. You looked very taken aback by my approach, and I hope that wasn't timidness, I hope it was just shock at being approached so directly. Because I don't really date timid women, because I'm a very direct, very passionate, very assertive man, and I want a woman who is very independent and strong. So… we'll talk about that, but I just wanted to formally introduce myself. I leave the ball in your court. You call me as soon as you have the courage to. Okay, Olga? Talk to you soon, bye.

Message 2:

Hi there, Olga it's Dimitri calling again, the guy from the street.

I left you a message several days ago you said you were interested. Now, here's the way I work. I don't like leaving second messages but I like you, you're a very elegant woman, you're very attractive, but, you know, I don't play that game. I know your friends tell you not to return calls; you're playing games like you see in stupid TV shows. So here's how it's gonna work. It is now 4:30 on Wednesday. Now I'll assume, I'll assume that you've already left work, because, you know, some people leave work early, so I'll grant you that. But if I don't receive a phone call back from you by 3 o'clock Thursday afternoon I'm no longer interested and I'm going to erase your number. I don't play games like that. I'm completely single, I'm very intelligent, I'm great in bed, I make great money. Believe it or not, I'm a complete catch. I've only been single four months; I had a long distance relationship for about a year, it's very tough to maintain it like that; there's nothing wrong with me. As a matter of fact I'm one of the few men in the city that has nothing wrong with him. So I'm giving you the three o'clock deadline. If I don't hear from you by then, you lose my number — I'm erasing your number right now, so you won't be hearing back from me.

So that's it: three o'clock tomorrow, or you can just completely forget it.

Now I understand if you've got other issues, maybe you're not playing games, I don't know… maybe you were abused in childhood?…Maybe your mother has cancer, and you're going to chemo…maybe you're just a person who's extremely frightened or has an anxiety disorder, maybe you're on some medication for that…I don't know, there could be another issue that I'm not aware of. But nobody says "Call me," hands a person a business card and then doesn't return calls. It's extremely passive aggressive. You should actually look that up, passive-aggressive personality disorder. You let me know, if you've got issues, psychological issues, if you're on any sort of medication for anxiety or depression, I'm not interested. But if you're psychologically normal, and you haven't called me because there's been some horrible thing that's happened in your life that's prevented you from returning my calls, that's fine. But otherwise? Don't call me. Okay, bye.

I think I should start working on my phone game! It could give my blogs a much needed viewership boost if I can do it like Dimitri! HAHAHHA!

The (not so) Ugly Truth.

2009-09-12T16:54:00.003+08:00

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I realised that Nuffnang Singapore is going to give away tickets to watch the preview screening of The Ugly Truth, starring my favourite actor, Gerrard Butler! I guess anyone that has been following this blog will know how much I LOVE watching King Leonidas in action, be it massacring Persian immortals in the 300, or romancing Hillary Swank from the grave in P.S. I Love you!

Told ya so!

But as usual, to get the tickets, we Nuffnangers were made to write blogposts concerning a certain topic to compete for those all-so-precious tickets.

And the question for today is this - what is your biggest turn-off during a date - and it happens to be quite a difficult question for me to answer for a number of reasons.

Firstly, for some reason, it's been quite some time since I've been out for a date date. It's not to say that I haven't been meeting wonderful women, but it's just that when I do, it's usually not in the context of a conventional movie and dinner (or dinner and movie, whichever is to your liking) date. I've been meeting people with friends, partied, went out to do something fun together very rarely in recent history did I feel like I was going out on a date.

The second reason is this - I think I have too much fun on my dates. When I actually find someone nice to go out with, that is. The last time in which I really didn't enjoy a date all that much was when both myself and the girl I was going out with realised that things weren't working out and we parted amicably after that. And that, my friends, was a long, long time ago.

And besides, uni life can be really hectic, not leaving much time left over for dates and the odd romantic tryst or two. Come to think of it I would be really fun to date some of the few girls I've met in school...

But I digress.

Gotta keep focused on talking about turn-offs during dates. I'm not going to talk about the really regular turn-offs that affect most people like bad breath, talking about other men during the date, gross facial hair, or just looking bad in general because that's just plain boring. That's just exactly what every other teenage emo bloggers gonna write about, and that's just so not me.

What really peeves me when I meet someone new is a lack of their own opinion. I find such people who do not possess their own views extremely shallow and boring. Does it not bother you that when you go out with someone because you want to get to know that someone better and they just hide in their shell and go 'err... I don't know' or 'err... I never thought about it' when discussing the most mundane of issues?

It's okay if it happens once or twice, but if this keeps going on too many times, as hot your date is, it's still going to amount for a pretty sucky date, in my opinion (wait, maybe I have to take that last statement back if she's really, REALLY hot).

Maybe it's just my debater background, but I find that a woman that can think and verbally spar with me extremely attractive. She scores extra points if she can engage in imaginative verbal role play too. So clearly, I would find a dumb, unopinionated person who cannot sustain a conversation with me a definite turn-off.

Yeah, definitely.

So, dear Nuffnang, I would really appreciate it if you could grant me those two free tickets to go to the premiere of The Ugly Truth because I really, really want to watch another awesome Gerrard Butler movie, but more importantly because I could kinda use a hot date right now, and tickets for a good movie sounds like a good strategy to arrange one. Seriously.

Hope to hear from you guys at Nuffnang soon, yeah? (:

Be a fan at the official Facebook page and catch The Ugly Truth when it opens in the cinemas on the 17th September 09!

The F5 key.

2009-09-10T01:13:00.002+08:00

Why do I HAVE to keep refreshing my Facebook page, blog pages and Twitter multiple times before I finally give up on waiting for any more notifications, comments or tweets to come in?

This could be a symptom of something more serious. Just maybe.

Damn, I should just learn how to sleep and forget the F5 key.

Mensa Madness

2009-09-07T21:56:00.005+08:00

The Mensa logo.

Way back when I was still a secondary school student in Malaysia, I applied for Mensa membership so that it would improve my resume - Mensa is one of the oldest high IQ societies in the world - and I thought that joining it would improve my chances of receiving a scholarship.

I didn't have a problem clearing the entrance IQ exam, but it just felt weird to me because I felt that Mensa was just a whole bunch of higher-than-average-paper-IQ folks just getting together to do stuff and who send you a newsletter (which I couldn't care less about) and meet up every now and then for activities. If I remember correctly, one of the last newsletters I got from the club mentioned something about a treasure hunt and a scrabble tournament.

It really sounds like any other random social club out there, and they had quite a substantial membership fee! So what if you score at the 98th percentile or higher on an IQ test? I had no reason to continue on with the club and so left it, pretty disappointed at the sunk cost I incurred taking the test and joining the club.

Fast forward to 2009.

Two good friends of mine, Kok Xian and Chong Xian are heading NTU's Mensa club. And guess who got dragged in to help promote their club?

I believe that their vision for the club - to make it one that is less elitist, open for all, and focused on the personal development of it's members would be a marked improvement from what I experienced back in Malaysia. I guess with such fun people heading the club, joining Mensa NTU would probably be a great decision!

Enjoy!

How does it feel to say yes to that special someone?

2009-09-06T14:24:00.004+08:00

As I was sitting in the train for that long, solitary train ride back to NTU from town, I just couldn't stop smiling.

I was just so excited and happy for my dear friend who had just made one of the biggest decisions of her life that I just looked like a smiling idiot on the train, sitting down and just beaming for no clear apparent reason.

Yes, a really dear friend of mine is engaged and planning to get married early next year! This would be my very first friend who is about to get married! The very first!

There's just so much to be excited about - the plane tickets, what I will be wearing, and what's even better is that I'll be able to see her after so long. It's been a long time since I've last saw her, and now I just can't wait!

But my friend's upcoming marriage really got me thinking about some things - how does it feel to be so certain about a special someone that you can just say yes; how does it feel to know that you're going to be with that special someone for the rest of your life; how does it feel to embark on that journey of life together, as a soon-to-be married couple?

Really, I have no idea at all how it would all feel like - getting ready to commit that 101% to that special someone. It would mean no more club romances, naughty flirting in school and going to parties excited because you could possibly meet someone really nice there. But being married also means that you already have found that someone that you waited your whole life to meet, and now you get to spend every single last minute, second with that special, special person.

I think it's just beautiful that my dear two friends can feel that way. Maybe it's just because I'm jaded and disillusioned from my past experiences, but that crazy romantic deep inside me really wants to just fall madly, deeply into love and manage to feel that way about someone again.

I'm hoping that all it takes is just for that perfect someone to appear.

To the husband and wife* to be, CONGRATULATIONS!

How could I ever speak about *****?

There's just so much to do there's no more time to waste!

* Names are witheld to preserve the privacy of the couple, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they're aren't so private after all. But just to play safe in case she calls be bodoh for no good reason at all. Better safe than sorry.

Fighting For Kisses

2009-09-03T17:16:00.004+08:00

This is by far the funniest ever commercial that I have watched this week! Don't miss this! It was so good that it pulled me through my research methods lecture, even though I watched it with the sound off!

Fight for kisses!

***

The one fundamental difference between a RPG and real life is the experience bar. You never know when you'll lvl up here.

O-Level Maths.

2009-08-31T22:16:00.004+08:00

It's been a tough and tiring week, and just don't know why, but life always seems to throw all everything at me in one big shot: work, assignments, and the latest addition to my life - a tution assignment.

Yes, Kevin Chan is finally going to push himself out of his comfort zone and go teach that one subject that he really doesn't like that much. Yes, you guessed it right if you were with me during my JC days, it's that dreaded subject that Ms Wong used to teach us - MATH.

I don't think it's gonna end up like this though...

But oh well, I guess I've said time and time again in the past that being pushed out of your comfort zone and forcing yourself to do the things that are difficult, that are scary, that other people fear, is the only way to really grow and be that better person. So that's why I'm doing it despite my hectic schedule.

Now I've really got to learn to optimize my time for all the many things that I'm going to be doing this semester, or I'll never make it past this semester. But come to think of it, I learn things best this way.

Now time to work on that laser-like focus and ruthless efficiency that I need to get through this semester! And yes, I still need a room. Room in NTU, anyone?

Wish me luck on my teaching my first O-Level Elementary Math kid!

15Malaysia

2009-08-26T10:04:00.004+08:00

For those of you that follow this blog, you may know that I have always loved both watching and creating short films! I always wanted to film a short, sweet film that really communicates a strong message.

And then 15malaysia.com came along.

15 short films about what it means to be Malaysian, 15 different directors, 1 beloved country!

Here are a few of the first few films released:

"Potong Saga"

"Chocolate"

"Halal"

"House"

I found "House" by Linus Chung especially poignant and touching. If you have to choose one of the four videos I've posted, watch "House".

Support 15malaysia.com! It's about time that Malaysia's talent gets some recognition!

***

UPDATE:

Linus Chung just commented on my blog and I just realised that he is a Nuffnang blogger too!

If you are interested to read up on more of his thoughts on his new short, "House", check his blog right here.

And do watch the Making of "House" too! It's on YouTube! I want to make cool shorts like this too someday!

The Update

2009-08-26T00:45:00.003+08:00

Hey guys, it's been some time since I've posted. I've been really busy with school, trying to find a CCA so I can earn points for hall next year and reading a really thick book on the life of Warren Buffet, "The Snowball".

I've really tried to iron the creases in my life out but I still face the same issues I did a month ago - homelessness, financial dependence on my parents and not as much willpower as I would like to have. I really hope to make progress in those three major areas and make it all better.

Well, one thing that I can be proud of is my new website, at http://kevinc.net! I have always wanted to have a dedicated blog to personal improvement and I have finally started one! I have been writing tons of really interesting articles concerning the three aspects of love, health and wealth with relation to personal development and am really excited about posting them and maintaining that blog!

So, give http://kevinc.net a visit and make sure you bookmark it or at least add it on your RSS feed! I am really trying to come up with original articles that will hopefully motivate you guys out there as well as share the knowledge of personal development that I have picked up over the years! Also, I am using it as a personal journal of sorts to chart my personal development over time.

As for this blog, as I am back in Singapore and do not have my direct support group I had the privelege of leaning on back in Malaysia, it has been difficult to come up with the next earth-shattering stunt.

But as it is always, life is unpredictable. So continue to watch this space. Who knows what will come up next?

P.S. If you know of any freshmen in NTU who are moving out of Hall, let me know ASAP! I still really need to find a permanent place to stay there! It would be heaven to finally have a desk, chair and wardrobe all to myself again!

Hamlet's Hero - The Questionnaire

2009-08-20T23:33:00.006+08:00

I've just been quite busy with school and with my (not so) secret project lately and have been really not been updating this blog enough.

I did a really long questionnaire to try to be shortlisted for an interview for an upcoming reality TV programme and I just thought that it will be really interesting if I posted it up.

I didn't get selected but I just hope that you guys will enjoy reading my responses to the questionnaire!

My Completed Questionnaire

Questions for bloggers:

1. Profile

1. Which school/university did you go to?

I’m currently an undergraduate business student in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, doing a double major in marketing and law.

2. What is your dream job?

Ideally I would like to be self employed and create a business that allows me to be both creatively express myself as well as contribute to the betterment of society.

3. What was (or still is) your day job?

I’m still a student, but blogging for competitions these days comes close to a job.

4. What/how/who made you go into blogging?

I have always been one who needed to have his opinions heard, and I love to write from time to time. I had no reason not to blog when I was on my long break after my A-level papers, and I have never looked back.

5. What is your interest / passion that you blog about?

I like doing crazy, crazy things from time to time and that has become something that I try to treat my loyal blog readers from time to time with. However, if you look beyond the humour, wackiness and occasional rant, you will see that there is a strong self improvement theme running in my blog. I love self improvement and motivational literature and I always hope that what I write may benefit my readers out there.

6. How did you come up with your nickname?

I have a really dear friend whom I affectionately refer to as Hamlet from time to time. We once joked about being rock stars and having our own band and we thought at that point that it would be just awesome to name our band Hamlet’s Heroes. We never ended up forming that band, but it struck me as an awesome name to go by when I started blogging.

2. Blogger’s home

1. Show us your workstation / work area (Where do you live ? Do u mind us coming to your home ?

Sure, you guys are free to come over to my place. I live in Kota Damansara, quite near the Mutiara Damansara area, when I am not studying in Singapore.

2. Introduce to us your housemates / family members (Who would be available to be in our show? Really would love to speak to all your family members)

This can be arranged. My mom’s quite shy in front of the camera but my Dad is quite sporting. In fact my dad starred in my very first YouTube video for an advertorial I did with Nuffnang for Mr. Potato crisps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usXZe7EmM_M

I also have a brother who is in secondary school and a youngest brother who is still in primary school.

3. Show us your wardrobe and share with us your style ? Any fashion tips for us?

Sure thing, if you don’t mind looking inside my travel bags. I like to dress simply but classily. A fitting black tee, nice jeans and the correct sneakers never seems to go wrong somehow.

4. What are your grooming tips?

I’m a simple guy. I just keep my hair short so it’s easy to style and shave regularly for that clean shaven look. Chinese guys should just shave more and go clean shaven. We’re just not made hairy.

5. Do your neighbors know that you’re a blogger?

No. I do live this mysterious double life.

3. Blogger’s favourite hangout place(s)

1. Where do you go to get your inspirations

It’s more of who I am with to get my inspiration rather than where I do so. I get my best ideas when I talk and chill with my closest buddies. Many of the ideas I used I must say are actually ideas of my close friends that we worked on together, with their permission, of course. I’ve got inspired sitting in the Kancil of one of my closest friends, as well as in various cafes and chillout places in Malaysia in Singapore. Places like Old Town White Coffee and Station One café.

2. Do you have anybody that knows you well who are willing to be part of the show where they will spill the beans on you? (a best friend/s?) Pls let us know on this .

I definitely do know plenty. The best person to contact for this would be Chan Wing Chuan. He knows plenty and has in fact helped me in a great deal of my blogging exploits!

3. Where do you workout / play sports / recreation (Any place that you go that you might want us to shoot ie futsal, rock climbing , go karting etc)

I work out when I can with a close friend of mine at Fitness First, the Curve and spend quite a lot of time in general in that area (when I am in the Klang Valley, of course).

4. Show us a secret hideout – Klang Valley’s best kept secret

The Dataran Sunway area near my place. It’s just bursting with good food and it’s so good that I rarely have to travel far for good food these days!

5. Do you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend that we can interview?

No, but I have tons of super close friends.

4. Blogger’s favourite entertainment

1. Who are your favourite celebrities – meet up with celebrities

I am currently loving the music of Jason Mraz, which I managed to meet and take a picture with last year in Singapore. He is just awesome.

2. Who is your favourite radio DJ – Hitz deejays

I really don’t listen to the radio all that much, and only do when I am in driving. No preferences here. Just give me good music and I am a happy dude. Listen to Hitz, Light and Red FM in the car.

3. Which local bands do you listen to?

I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to many local bands but my latest local obsession is Zee Avi! Her songs are just so sweet!

4. Share with us which website(s) you visit frequently and why

Cracked.com. I spend so much time checking this site for updates that it’s crazy! This site offers high quality humour articles which are just awesome. They also have the craziest top 10 lists on the web! You have to check it out!

Where else can you find lists like 5 Real Life Soldiers Who Make Rambo Look Like a Pussy or 9 Awesome Places to Have Sex (And the Horrific Consequences)!

5. What sports do you do or is there anything you do to keep active ?

I try to jog and visit the gym whenever I can.

5. Blogger’s family giving the low-down

1. Show us an old photo and tell the story behind it

That’s the oldest picture of me that I could find. That’s me when I was really young and I was pretending that my box radio which I somehow destroyed was some kind of telecommunications device. Yes, I was in to handphones even back then!

2. Parents’ view – about the blogger becoming a blogger? We need some embarrassing stories? What can we cover that would make it an interesting show?

I feel that my parents kinda take it for granted that their son goes around and does crazy things from time to time. Other people get really shocked when they see my Spartan pictures but my parents just laughed a little and got back with whatever they were doing. Guess that they’re just too used to it.

Well I once got really high on beer at a Nuffnang event and my parents weren’t too happy about it. Does that count?

3. Siblings – what they do, what ‘names’ they call each other

Two younger brothers, with one in secondary school and the other in primary school. The one in secondary school is a national debate champion and public speaker and my youngest brother loves sports.

4. Spouses talking about their first date, memorable and embarrassing moments together

No spouse to speak of yet.

6. Blogger’s secrets reveal

1. Tell us 5 things/secrets that all of us don’t know about you

· I am a certified Padi Open Water diver.

· I played the character of a gay nerd who sang and danced for a musical for my university earlier this year.

· I typed the responses to this questionnaire as well as did the majority of blogging for my blog posts on a nearly 4 year old Acer laptop which screen is breaking down till the point it has like a 2 inch thick discoloured band of pixels right in the middle of the screen! It’s dying and it is lagging all the time! Why did I have to have my Nuffnang laptop stolen!

· I once had a picture of me during my high school days ripped off my blog and used in an advertisement for a college in Vietnam. My friend was holidaying there and when she saw my face in giant posters all around the city she had a great shock and took tons of photos! http://hamletshero.blogspot.com/2008/08/this-is-what-happens-when-youre-on.html

· I was once the very responsible assistant head prefect of my secondary school, once upon a time.

2. Show us your other talent(s) – playing instrument, singing, dancing, etc

I was really active in the debating circuits in both Malaysia and Singapore during my secondary school and college years and now am continuing my oratorical career with the Toastmasters. I enjoy acting too and performed in my first musical earlier this year. I wish that I could play instruments and sing though.

3. Who is your favourite blogger(s) and why?

Well, considering I read tons of blogs I find it hard to put my finger on that ONE favourite blogger. But I must say that Kenny and Pinkpau are the two of the main blogger influences I had that motivated me to start blogging. Kenny is just great cause I really enjoy his brand of humour and Pinkpau just writes straight from the heart. Come to think of it, I try to a little bit of both in my own blog.

4. Truth or dare segment – ask a personal question (info from family/friends)

Well, feel free to come up with something to ask me. I’m game.

5. Any controversy that you might want us to cover?

Some crazy weird Malaysian issue featuring Malaysian politicians who say the darndest things would be interesting!

6. What is the most outrageous thing you will do to be in Project Alpha that we can film you doing ?

Well, I have walked through One Utama in a Spartan outfit, cross dressed and filmed a parody of Lady GaGa’s Poker Face, and much more. Maybe do some crazy Borat-ish stunt interviewing a Malaysian politician? Or maybe building a sawdust cannon on some building and setting it off? The sky’s the limit.

7. Have you got any footage of yourself doing any crazy/interesting things which we can use in the show ?

Sure, just look through my YouTube channel. (: It’s quite sad that we didn’t film the Spartan invasion thing though. ):

http://www.youtube.com/user/hamletshero

7. Blogger’s tips/Insights /views

1. Tips on how to become a blogger/writer

First off, have some kind of focus in your blog. The blog should have some content or some general theme that would make people keep coming back for more. Writing about your sad depressing life all the time generally isn’t that interesting, unless you happen to be some super hot female blogger, that is.

Secondly, post regularly. You don’t want to disappoint your readers by making them wait too long.

And thirdly, my pet peeve – putting music on your blog. Don’t do it! No matter what you think, I think it just makes your blog appear like a 13 year old girl’s livejournal, and it also makes your blog take longer to load.

2. Which Blogger do you think is Sexy /Hot and why?

I think Dawn Yang is hot! Cheesie is pretty cute too! Am I supposed to discuss my aesthetic preferences here? I just think that they are hot-lah!

3. Which Blogger do you think talks the most crap ?

Emo bloggers who just keep ranting on and on about their miserable lives. I don’t know who because I never stick around long enough to learn their names.

4. Which Blogger do you think is a wannabe ?

I think I may qualify as one, in the eyes of Malaysian blogging community. HAHAHA!

5. What is your secret to being an ALPHA BLOGGER?

I spend great time and effort planning out my exploits with my friends and have a great support team to help me out. I also take great time reflecting and writing my heart out whenever I can.

6. Which blogger do you admire the most ?

Steve Pavlina from http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/. He writes a good blog and really manages to come up with very fresh and interesting ideas concerning self improvement which I really enjoy. I admire the effort and energy he puts into his articles and the strong following that he has. His site may not look all that awesome, but this guy can really, really write!

7. Which Celebrity Blogger in Malaysia do you think cuts the grade as a blogger?

I think Kenny makes a pretty good benchmark – he has the traffic, writes well and posts pretty regularly.

8. What makes a good blog ?

In short a good blog is one that’s just interesting and makes me keep coming back for more. Just keep posting good content, and you will eventually get your following.

9. What makes a crap blog ?

A neglected blog is a crappy blog. I guess I already voiced out my opinions concerning emo kids complaining about their crappy lives on the net calling themselves bloggers but I have said too much already.

10. What do you think of doing advertorials? Is it selling out ?

It depends. I believe in doing advertorials only if you believe in the product you are writing about. If you are doing an advertorial for some kind of crappy product and waxing lyrical about it just because you are paid to do so, you will just end up misplacing all the trust your readers have in you. Trust on the internet is really important, because come to think of it, it’s all you have. So I would definitely say lying to your readers in advertorials is just bad and downright wrong.

My dear friend, the Model (to be!)

2009-08-16T16:00:00.001+08:00

This is my dear friend, Wing Chuan, and he is a dentist-to-be that aspires to be a model one day.

This is the photo he submitted in his application.

In order to make his dream a reality, he went for the recent Malaysia Supermodel Search audition at the Curve earlier this year just to give it a shot.
He even made me help him get that perfect shirt and the right he needed to ace that interview.

And he came to me recently with news that he made it through that very first round!

But now in order to proceed with the competition he needs SMS votes! In order to showcase his pure awesomeness and to solicit your very precious vote, we shot this video when he was down here in Singapore holidaying two weeks ago!

Beach Mayhem

Vote for Wing Chuan today by texting "MSS18" to 36828 today!
(This is applicable to Malaysian cell phone numbers and costs RM0.50 per vote)

Give him a fighting chance at being Malaysia's next supermodel today! Anyone who can rip off his clothes and steal the girl like that definitely deserves to go into the next round!

Vote for Wing Chuan today!

***

And I am just gushing over this Taylor Swift MV:

Things like this just bring out the hopeless romantic in me. If only magical things like that would happen in reality. But one can still dream.