JumzD Life

Awesome software

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:46:00 +0000

Some awesome software to look at:

http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Eraser allows permanent delete of files that cannot be retrieved any more. Best to use the Guttman 35 passes option for erasing.

http://www.piriform.com/products

Recuva is a good tool to retrieve files that you accidentally delete and intend to get back. Of course, if the files were erased with Eraser above, it cannot be retrieved.

Draw

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:42:00 +0000

Draw draw draw. I need to draw more.

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:23:00 +0000

2009 has ended. So have the holidays. It's time to get back into gear.

I just resumed French classes today with Siti. Advance 1! However, the class only had two students... So we each had a 50% chance of getting called to answer questions. LOL. Paula, our teacher, was really passionate when she teaches. The lesson was extremely lively despite having just the 3 of us. Haha. She suggested looking at Tous Les Sens 2, an advance course that is architecture related. I saw that Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals was one of the works to be studied. LOL. I'm really interested in taking it, however, Christophe told Siti that the course used a huge load of metaphors... Bummer. If only my French was better... LOL. I can only blame myself for being lazy.

I also resumed Yoga lessons today. ZOMG. I'm extremely stiff again.... Sigh. All the pain and effort DOWN THE DRAIN! Sheesh... Worst, I have to change my French class to the morning session, which means I can't go for Yoga!!!

2009 was more good than bad. Although my results was way below my expectations, all I can do is to work harder and smarter. The best that happened in 2009 was that I met Tan Yi Jun. I can say that I have never really been happy up till I met her. Somehow, she just completes the emptiness, hollow in me. Fate just have a funny way of doing things. I'm really glad I met her. Which brings me to wanting a part of my old self back. The one that was extremely driven and motivated by nothing in everything, with a whole lot more discipline than I have now. I need to run, jump and exercise; a stress outlet that I truly missed. And there is just so much more to learn. I really really need to work my hardest at this point in my life. For myself, for her. To be the best me. To be the best of a boyfriend I can be, for I know I'm always lacking in many areas. Thank you Yi Jun for accepting me.

2010 is going to be a BLAST. I know it. I need to:
- cook and bake better
- master 3ds max lighting systems
- gain a better eye for composition in photography
- finish advance for french, and take DELF B1 and B2
- do yoga and play badminton and tennis
- hit CAP 4.0+
- achieve a balance in everything I do

So many thoughts...

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:13:00 +0000

My mind is swirling with so many thoughts. I feel suffocated. I feel inadequate. I feel lost.

Sigh.

It's been a month

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:21:00 +0000

I'm wide awake at this unearthly hour, unable to sleep. It's been a month since I had that immense courage to approach you. This is the first of the many more months to come. (::

Weakness

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:41:00 +0000

"Do you want to seek advice from a doctor?"

This was the question posted at me when my mum came into the room. Suddenly, I somehow felt everything again: the pain, the anger and the sorrow. A whole chapter of history flashed before me. Or maybe not a chapter, but a summary on the volume title "weakness". I was reminded of everything. How sinusitis was my "best pal" since I saw the light of day. How I was pale, weak, skinny and underweight - barely any contrast against a white-washed wall. How every step of the way was just expectations; accomplishments just meant greater and newer expectations. How when I do showed any weakness, I was just acknowledging my own inability and capability. How that if I don't decide anything for myself, that I would definitely be given the wrong decision made, that I would live the regrets, that I would feel and see the scars that would never disappear ever.

The environment that I grew up in, that I am living in, would not be categorised at prime; however, I guess I just can't be picky about it. But somehow, it just hinges on arguments, insecurities, inabilities, pain, sadness, misunderstandings - everything negative. So much so that when I think of home, it just doesn't exist. All it is is just a torrential disaster of pain. Nothing else is painful anymore.

Here I am sitting on my bed, facing my laptop, quietly thinking and typing. This silence is... comforting. For it won't be a constant reminder of my weaknesses. It is hence calming. That I know I can sleep tonight and wake up the next day, locking everything up again, deep inside me. There's just so much fear. The fear of failure being the greatest. The sense of weakness starting to creep in all over me again. I trust no one, sometimes not even myself. I find myself standing in the middle of nowhere sometimes, seeing my life as a third-person view. It's just so bad that I can't even look at it. It makes me wonder how I got so far just based on the psyche of proving myself to all the demands, all the expectations. I sit here wondering what is my motivation for everything, if not anything. That I basically am pretty much just a vessel, unable to live the way I want to for the past 21 years of my life, despite having able to make decision - they were make within the constraints of the environment.

Hiding behind my laptop, I find myself here, with no one else at home to talk to. Wait, home is probably the wrong word. It should be more objective, more emotionless like how it really is. The house, the shelter, the structure, the building. It is empty and lonely. Despite the pillars and slabs, I don't feel the support. Despite the furnishings and décor, I don't see anything. Why then do I stay here? What's holding me down? It's probably just filial piety, my morals, my virtues, my values, my principles etc. Or maybe it's more materialistic. The neediness of money, food, water and shelter. It's funny how money has become a basic necessity in this degrading world.

Architecture is my first step. In the sense that it is what I've been waiting to do. It is what I love to do. It is what I need to do. Then my aunt tells me that she has retinitis pigmentosa. Just what I needed, another of my greatest fear. First my writing hand, no, my writing arm. Now, even my eyes have a probability of going blind. I am not going to accept it. I do not trust Chinese Medical Education given my experience reminded by the scar on my left arm. Heck, how many people do I even trust in the first place? What is trust? What is the value of trust in this world today? Who can you truly trust? Why is it that only when trust is misused or abused that you know not to trust? Who can you rely on? Who can give you support? The support that I've been waiting for so long... All I need is just a word. A word. Not even a phrase anymore. I just can't feel anything.

I need to persevere. I have to. All I have lived for, all I've done, all I have now is at stake. I really have nothing more to lose. I need to give value and worth to this journey called life.

At least I am happy now. I have found support, but not from the house. I haven't truly smiled so much for so long. No plasticity, just the purest of happiness. I have you now.

The Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:15:00 +0000

I wonder why, do I get so addicted, to all the expensive hobbies. Photography, tennis, computers, games etc. Although I've pretty much gave up "gaming" (not to be interpreted as gambling), photography is taking up even more. After meddling with the kit lens, I realised I would need a range of prime lenses, typically 35mm and 50mm, and hopefully a UWA prime. But these are going to be pretty costly...

Money, as usual, makes the world goes round. This never ending rat race to chase the dollars is evident. Then again, you can't start to do new things, or even learn new things, without money. It's evil, an obstacle, a problem or even a crime. But I know that what I'm doing for is for passion, the pursuit of happiness in my eternal emptiness.

This world's a lonely place, but I'm glad there's someone beside me now, and forever.

A Break

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:50:00 +0000

I really need a break!

Ang Kor Wat sounds good.

Unrefined

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Study - It really isn't "mugging". What it really is is observing, identifying, relating, extrapolating, superimposing, juxtaposing etc. It is all the verbs in one word.

I'm constantly being reminded how narrow my perspective is. I'm driven by DEADLINE or SUBMISSION at the back of my head. It influences the will, if not the need, to produce; rather than fuelling an open mind of creativity and invention; one that requires time and exploration. Yet I can't even get pass the first step: Identify.

I guess I'm still, raw: unrefined.

Redo

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Redo. That's what most of us had to do with our first studio assignment. It was null within five minutes. All the thought and work spent in the studio, and the sleepless nights, gone. But it felt great putting in effort, although the need to redo felt really lousy. I probably wouldn't even have completed it if not for Jess who actually stayed in studio to do it too.

Here I am. After an extremely lousy evening yesterday, and a super unproductive day today, home. I need to work on my 16 diagrams tomorrow. How I wish my studio group was more "tangible".

Kaki Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:41:00 +0000

It's the first day of classes. (We didn't have PF2102 on Monday since it was PH)

AR1221 Ideas and Approaches to Design had Erwin V. as our tutor. I like the novelty of the teaching style (extremely thought provoking), although I was utterly lost in most parts of the lecture. Patricia and Darrell were extremely sporting when they were called up to present themselves to the cohort (both Aki and ID) students. There was also reflection essay at the end of the class, which was kind of freaking since we don't know what is to be expected and only 10 minutes was given to fill up the paper.

Jess was scribbling away during the lecture, so I tried to scribble as much as I could interpret. Sheralyn was totally stuck in between us and freaking out since she barely penned down anything in her journal.

Today, design was defined in many ways:
1. it can be anything, if not everything
2. to convey, transmit
3. represent what is in mind
4. self-construction, creating identity (who you are)

Although the above seems pretty vague, I strongly belief that design has no definition, but rather an infinite number of meanings. It is the marriage of form and function, requiring utmost comparing and contrasting, along with composition. (I think I'm just trying to form a sentence with all the words here...)

Lost. That was how my reflection essay began, which was also what I thought was the purpose of the lecture - to lose the conciousness, the knowledge and the attention of oneself and rediscover. This is the point where I need to start searching for my personality and my language of expression (writing and speech). Imagination is wild, I'll have to contain it and extract the meaningful. (Not so sure about this part) In order to fully comprehend oneself, it works around the basis of do, undo, redo. One repeats, imitates and translates observations (sights and sounds) into one's own untainted perception. One would always need to ask why, what and how. I remembered that in PL1101E Introduction to Psychology, people relate sight to patterns and shapes (there are actually a number of factors, however, they have disappeared from my long-term memory).

Erwin mentioned that immediate sensation is an incentive to further observation, much like the title of a paper and the cover of a book. I feel that this behaviour is innate in all, hence impression is always important to get a secondary observation. (Life skill 101).

Opportunity was mentioned - Erwin said to take every chance that comes, and make the best out of it. I think that's highly possible, if it's everything but relationships. XD

Mistakes - One can only succeed through making mistakes and learning from it.

Receptive - Sometimes in life we only get one meeting, so we would have to treasure it. Being receptive reminds me of one of the Buddhism teachings (多听，多看，多读）。

Information and observations fill our minds everyday. When there's an action, there would be a reaction (somewhat like Karma). If it is a change, one would have to adapt, which would lead to design. (Design is the forefront of adaptation, an initiation to adjust). Expectations, norms and cultures limit one's open-mindedness, if not one's design ability. Sometimes one would have to lose them all, and by being sensitive, re-create and re-discover something new. Hence my reflection for today was - Lost.

I need to find my tool for expression, my language for representation and my medium for communication.

Phrase of the day in AR1221:
"A boring designer designs boring things for boring people."

Kaki sat together in lectures today, which I think we would continue to, Jess is so SCARY! She could scribble so much down in so little time! But since we do have each other, sharing journals sure comes in handy for various perspectives! She filled up so much for her reflection essay as oppose to Sheralyn and I. SCARY JESSIE! XD Anyway, Jess mentioned something along the line of habits, how it actually relates to design, I can't remember. Sheralyn mentioned something about conformity, that designs are preferred when they conform to the taste, expectations, norms etc. of the masses. They sure have some interesting thoughts indeed.

We headed over to Vivocity, after paying a visit to Jess' KR crib to deposit our excessively excessive baggage. Her room is really starting to look awesomely cozy, but I still prefer my own room back at home! XD Public Enemies didn't have very many timeslots available so we ended up not watching and just enjoy the moment, a really long moment. Sheralyn is so going to kill me, or T-square me, whilst Jess would probably Akido or Hi-Ho axe chop me if I continue my lame spree. LOL. (I'm so going to get it for this sentence...) We sat at Starbucks and almost froze. Along came Stef to join us in our freeze. It was random topics spree till Jess snoozed out for a good 15 minutes. (I caught her doing an unglam yawn, but sadly I didn't have any camera...) Soon we found ourselves back at Jess' KR crib, stoning away, and came the phrase of the day:

"Do you want water? I share the same water as my plant! -Giggles-" -Jess

Kaki is turning out to be more than awesome. It's BEYOND awesome.

I totally need a DSLR now that I've been playing around with Jess' 400D... DAMN TEMPTATION! I'd probably get the 500D Kit II with 18-200 lens. But I'm dubious about the IQ. Sheralyn is contemplating on getting one too, giving in to temptation. LOL. But I seriously think that proper documentation is crucial - impression theory. LOL.

With our first studio session beginning tomorrow, I would if Kaki would have time together anytime soon. But I know we will.

Kaki Outing 1

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:46:00 +0000

Post-rag. The pinnacle of fatigue!

Art-Friend is like the ultimate new hangout spot for Architecture (Aki) and Industrial Design (ID) students. It seems like 80% of the people there were from NUS Aki/ID.

I never knew how awesome Jess and Shera were until today. It's like Kaki (or Team Rocket ad Sheralyn will be Meowth) = extreme randomness! Soon, each of us would own a DSLR and we would be happily snapping pictures at any random time. It's nice to know that at least Kaki has common interests! At least museum and wine! Jess loved the Lucky Country from the other night, whereas Shera prefers a nice white. Haha. Words just fail me at this point in time (partially because my bed looks so welcoming and I feel really sleepy...)

Looking forward to the next Kaki gathering.

It's been awhile

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Here I am. A week away from the beginning of my architecture course in NUS. It will at least be a good four years, maybe even five if I can't afford to further my studies overseas.

With the completion of SSD2210 and PL1101E, I've completed 2 modules essential for the NUS graduation criteria. I guess it isn't going to be easy handling 5 modules in a semester, but I do hope I'll pull through.

These mixed feelings, the absence of motivation, the lost skill of art, the forgotten techniques of using essential software... It's starting to get a little scary.

Getting so far, alone in the core of negativity, hasn't been easy. I wonder if I still have the energy left...

La Test de Niveau Intermédiaire II

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Aujourd'hui, j'ai reçu mon certificat d'études françaises. J'ai obtenu la mention: BIEN. Je pensais que j'ai fait très mal pour la test, mais BIEN égale 70 à 80 points. :D

Ce soir, on a étudié une autre poème. La titre: Ode à Cassandre

C'est la poème:

Mignonne, allons voir si la rose
Qui ce matin avait déclose
Sa robe robe de pourpre au Soleil,
A point perdu cette vesprée
Les plis de sa robe pourprée,
Et son teint au vôtre pareil.

Las! Voyez comme en peu d'espace,
Mignonne, elle a dessus la place
Las! Las ses beautés laissé choir!
Ô vraiment marâtre Nature,
Puis qu'une telle fleur ne dure
Que du matin jusques au soir!

Donc, si vous me croyez, mignonne,
Tandis que votre âge fleuronne
En sa plus verte nouveauté,
Cueillez, cueillez vôtre jeunesse:
Comme à cette fleur la vieillesse
Fera tenir votre beauté

J'ai reçu un courrier électronique à propos de LPP. Je veux l'inscrire, mais j'ai déjà étudier la langue Français à l'Alliance Française de Singapour, donc je ne peux pas le faire. Je souhaite que je pourrais rejoindre SEP quand j'étudierai dans mon troisième ans à la cours d'Architect.

La Classe de Jerome.

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:54:00 +0000

Le soir, on a appris la Bourgogne, la région où Jérôme habit. YF et moi ont écrit...

La Bourgogne est une jolie région. Vous voyez la côte de la terre mélangée avec le ciel. Les vieilles vignes couvert la terre comme une mer de verdure. Les rayons du soleil sont chaleureux. Dans la terre, il y a beaucoup de personnes qui coupent des grappes des vignes. Chacun est heureux de vivre dans cette région très riche en vins.

Le travail des vignobles est très difficile et fatigant. Le vin est une produit de la terre, du climat et des effort des hommes. Pour faire du vin rouge, vous utilisez la méthode de macération.

Après plusieurs jours de fermentation, voilà! Les vins de la Bourgogne! Tout le monde célèbrent à la table avec la famille, des amis, de la nourriture et surtout des bon vins. Peut-être vous chantez...

Chevaliers de la table ronde,
Goûtons voir si le vin est bon.
Chevaliers de la table ronde,
Goûtons voir si le vin est bon.

Goûtons voir!
Oui, oui, oui.
Goûtons voir!
Non, non, non.
Goûtons voir si le vin est bon...

Dans la cave, les bouteilles de vin sont prêtes à être goûtées. En ouvrant la bouteille, les parfum fait frissonner votre narine. Versez un verre et regardez la couleur de la robe du vin, faites jouer le verre et buvez! C'est une expérience extraordinaire.

Il y avait les devoirs de la semaine dernier. Mais la poésie était trop difficile, donc je ne vais pas écrire dans mon blog. C'est tout pour aujourd'hui.

Back to... nowhere.

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 09:53:00 +0000

It's Sunday. The very day marking the end of my away from camp. Alas, the time has come for be to return to the very depths of the underworld. But not after having my share of fun.

30th Dec. I met up with Yan Ting as we planned to a long time ago... I arrived in Orchard an hour early since I had nothing much to do at home, hence, I decided to avoid the possibility of a jam if I left later. I was down at Kinokuniya AGAIN, so many times till I lost count. This time I was browsing wine books and food books. There were so many books about wine that I have no idea where to start reading from. I told myself I would get one book after I ORD. I needed to know more about wine. And hopefully cheese too. Anyway, Yan Ting came over as soon as she could. We had dinner at Crystal Jade - congee. She had wanted something like claiming that she was not losing weight and doesn't want to gain any... So congee it was.

After which, she wanted to trade in her old pair of jeans to get a new one @ Levi's since they were having the $50 off promotion whereby you bring your old jeans and you will get $50 off any regular pair of jeans above $100. It was a pretty good promotion for jeans lovers. The Takashimaya branch didn't have what she wanted so we headed over to the branch at Wisma as one of the employee suggested. Yan Ting was bent on getting rid of her old pair. Haha.

When we were finally done with her shopping, it was time for drinks. We were suppose to go to Harry's @ Cuppage, but we found Alleybar much better. It was still happy hour so we had 1-for-1. First up was Vodka orange. Then it was Kilkenny with a plate of Wedges. The plate was HUGE. We thought we would never be able to finish it but we did. I'm not much of a beer person, and it is extremely filling, but since she wanted to try, I decided to go along with it. The night ended early as she had work the following day.

31st Dec. I had ABSOLUTELY no plans today. There was suppose to be the annual 6F 2000 event, however, the attendance last year was depressing so I decided to let it slide this year, or maybe even indefinitely. Despite it being an annual event, one with a specific date and a specific purpose, somehow people can come up with excuses to not attend or turn up. There would always be empty promises, more than one could count. Why should I be putting so much effort? I know I can't please everyone, but is 1 day in 365 days too much to ask for? And only the evening of that day still biting a huge hole out of every one's time? So I planned to just hide out at home and do whatever. This was my plan until I received an unexpected phone call from an unexpected friend - Siti Fazilah. She invited me to celebrate the New Year with her.

Gone was my plan to slack and sit out till the new year. I headed down to Wisma Atrium to meet her. She was in purple again! But she claimed that it wasn't exactly her favourite colour. She said she felt overdressed so we joked that the rest of the people there were not only under dressed but also heading for home at that time. She was also wearing the wrong shoes! It wasn't made for walking... We went over to Takashimaya since she needed to collect her Polo Ralph. (I suggested that we should all wear Polo Ralph to French class and we could tease Ralph.) After which, we went shoe hunting to get her out of the uncomfortable pair that she was wearing. After a pretty long search, (she was ogling at bags in Burberry and trying out all the tasteful ones) we managed to find a pair of shoes that had the same design pattern as her ALDO heels in U.R.S. So we settled for that (hunger was too much to ignore) and went food hunting next.

projectshop Café was SF's choice, but I saw that there wasn't much of a variety so we headed off elsewhere. I suggested that we should walk towards Firven & Co. since we would eventually be having wine there later and we soon found ourselves in Wheelock place. We tried hunting for her microphone add-on for her iPod Video at epicentre, however, they were out of stock and she was only going to use it once anyway. Then, we were sitting in Sun with Moon Japanese Dining & Café. The ambiance was good, but the service wasn't. The waitresses couldn't even speak proper English or Chinese. The booth that we got had a nice sofa seat with cushions, however, with the translucent curtain hanging around the booth, it was extremely difficult to get the attention of the waitresses. Worse, there was even a fly buzzing around! We were told that dinner would commence at 6.30pm and that we had to leave by 7.30pm. Though it sounded outrageous, we decided to go with since our stomachs couldn't hold out any longer. The food presentation was pretty good, and it was good. But the rice I had ordered was not entirely Japanese rice... it was mixed with some other white rice. Tsk tsk. Dinner was filling.

We were on our way to Friven & Co., chatting and joking while we walked. The weather wasn't extremely good but it was bearable. We chanced upon a little shop along Tanglin. It was a French store and they had all kinds of stuff there - jam, nuts, tea, coffee, wine etc. Everything there was RED! Haha. Feels totally like Chinese New Year but I doubt the colour scheme was due to festivity. We cooled off in the wine cellar before continuing our long walk to F&C. When we got there, we found out that the Denise Wine Shop was only open up till 10pm. Looks like it wasn't a place where we could count down. We got a MOËT & CHANDON ROSÉ IMPERIAL CHAMPAGNE! It was really good but the timing wasn't exactly the new year yet. Haha. We had a little fun with my camera while we were at it and we sip away while admiring the snow foam party at Tanglin and enjoying the cool breeze, quiet environment, savouring the prefect drink.

It was 10 when we left, next stop was Modesto's. Somehow, our stomachs were calling again! We were hungry. SF had a penne while I had a 4 cheese pizza. Of course, Sauvignon Blanc was a must have. Eating, talking, joking, laughing etc... It was almost time for the new year. Each of us were given a party pack with a popper, mask, whistle etc. for creating the noise to welcome the new year. We had fun with the masks and whistles. When we counted down to 0, everyone was making noises, popping the poppers in all directions. But the poppers were really lousy... There wasn't much of an effect at all... And guess what? Made in China. Haha. I tried making variations and we both laughed it off.

We got a taxi after our laughter weared off. It was makeshift karaoke with my iPhone. We were singing to tunes from Alizée. Finally, I arrived home. It was without a doubt, the best New Year's Eve I ever had. :D Cheers!

The Trio

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:36:00 +0000

I managed to wake up earlier than usual today. 10am! Haha. I've been waking up pretty late lately since I've been staying up late as well. I decided to drop Eudora a wake-up SMS. She saw my SMS but still managed to doze off for a little while longer, hence I had a short wait while browsing books in Plaza Singapura. Earlier, I purchased 2 tickets to the movie, Australia, so we went straight to lunch at Xin Wang HK Cafe as soon as she arrived. We talked and we ate so much so slowly, that it took us almost an hour, leaving us with 5 minutes until the movie began!

The movie was really LONG! But it was good too. Eudora said that she would not let her mum watch it in the cinema because she would definitely be in tears! Haha. It's been awhile since there were any good shows screening. We decided to do a little shopping before heading down to Sixth Ave to meet Pavin for dinner!

Chiharu, the new place that replaced Corduroy & Finch, was where we had dinner. The service was pretty good, but I wouldn't say that it was exceptional. The food was served nicely decorated, and it tasted as good as it looked. The price was pretty steep... but it was worth it. The ambience was good, the interior was nicely done and the tables were arranged such that each has enough space for privacy.

We wanted to head over to Tinhill Wine Bistro, however, they were already closed! What kind of place closes at 9pm? So we decided to try Mimolette, but they was closed on Mondays, except for people who would like to book it for private events. So off we went to Rail Mall, with Harry's Bar in mind but since there was a Denise Wine Shop there, we decided to try the latter. They were opened till 1am, which was good enough for us. So we set out looking a bottle of red. After a number of recommendations by James, the employee at Denise, we settled for a Vintage 2006 Carbenet Sauvignon. (I can't remember what it was exactly...) It was light and smooth, suitable for an evening drink. Since we didn't want Pavin, who was driving, to be driving dangerously, we to the liberty of helping ourselves to most of the wine. Haha. After the first bottle, we were all still pretty normal, rolling out jokes one after another. I somehow managed to relate Economics to 'Big Business'. I have no idea what triggered it. We decided on having a second bottle, Vintage 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. Again, it was light and smooth. This one was really fruity. I got us a bag of chips, brandless, that was on the counter top as a snack to go with. The chips was REALLY GOOD! And we were all a little high too. I think our volume kind of filled the entire shop. Haha. But who cares? :P The total was $80 for the chips and both bottles. Wining is definitely better than any other form of hanging out. Haha.

Early Xmas

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:09:00 +0000

Esther, Joline and Rohani came over to my place for a little early xmas celebration. The plan was 3pm, but they were LATE! Haha. I almost dozed off while waiting and reading Twilight... LOL. So when they arrived at the bus stop, they were all wearing black! Initially, I thought they all planed to wear black together but Esther told me that it was merely a coincidence! Haha. Black Christmas? :S It was when we were walking that they said they hadn't had lunch yet. So we decided to head down to Al Ameen despite the overcast sky showing signs of oncoming rain. They each ordered something to eat but I decided to pass, otherwise I won't be able to have dinner later on. Joline ate almost half of Rohani's food - Somehow, Rohani ordered something sour AGAIN and she doesn't like it. I teased Joline saying she'll need all the energy to work on Christmas. While we were happily eating, the rain came and gone when we finished. What luck!

We arrived at my place after a short hike uphill. We all had a glass of water while I went to get the Taboo and their presents from my room. So gift exchange commenced: I got a little purple care bear from Joline, a designer planner from Esther and a cute little blue container of Gatsby Moving Rubber. Afterwhich, the games began!

Esther was saying how we should play individually as she was really bad at Taboo. (according to the last time round that she and Joline played at my place) But it was a team game so I decided to team up with her against Joline and Rohani. It started with both teams scoring pretty close. There was barely any gap between the scores of both teams! Until Rohani got too nervous at a point where she began describing without reading through the Taboo words so Esther and I had a pretty huge amount of points from that. Joline too owned up saying Taboo words even when Esther was completely zoned out while holding onto the squeaky toy. The scores added up to us, Estehr and I, winning with a total of 90pts against 70pts! Pretty good eh? (Joline said that was because I could guess the word with a description of barely over three words...) LOL. I think I got lucky, since I never actually played through the entire stack of cards before.

I took out the santa hats and we took a bunch of photos, mostly on Rohani's camera. We moved on to listening to a number of songs on my iTunes before Joline brought out the sparklers. They sat on the swing, swinging away while I prepared the candle for lighting the sparklers up. I decided that we should make letters and shapes with the sparklers and take pictures with the camera so it would show up as a full shape. So I'll have to wait till Rohani posts the photos on Facebook.

Esther left early as her boyfriend came to pick her up. He's pretty good, being able to find my place. :P Esther and Rohani wanted to head over to Jurong Point 2 to shop, however, her boyfriend's car was a Toyota MR-S, two seater. Haha. I wish I had a Honda S2000. LOL. So with Esther gone, we decided it was TIME FOR DINNER! So I brought them downhill to the Japanese restaurant - I can never seem to remember the name of it. Haha. I managed to get Rohani into eating vegetables that she never liked by ordering a plate of kakiage tempura. :P And it worked! :D She was saying that she should get her mother to cook vegetables in tempura form. LOL. That way, she would be eating the greens. We were all interested in trying out Sake, so I ordered a cold fresh sake for all of us. Although it was a little pricey, it was GOOD! :P The next time round I'll probably try hot sake. This time, Rohani didn't order anything sour! :P We ate dinner untill we were the last customers left in the restaurant! The bill arrived automatically - a sign that they were already closing up. Haha. But they didn't rush us. We headed over to Beauty World and I walked them to the bus stop and waited for the bus with them. It was time to go home.

My iPhone rang within half an hour. It was Justin. Then Mark. They were asking me to go down to the Hong Kong cafe for supper! So I finished up using the computer and headed downhill AGAIN. Wearing the SAF sandles gave me a blister on my right foot. Sigh. SAF again. LOL. They never fail to disappoint and irritate. I arrived at the cafe and ordered a milk tea while both of them ate. We were talking about plans for countdown and Melbourne. I was saying that I'm letting it slide this year due to the lousy attendance last year. Melbourne was to be in February, after the 20th. We chit-chat a little more before we all headed back. I ran back home as the sky started to rain again. What a wet day.

Curry and It's Settled Then.

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:06:00 +0000

En Français.

Je suis arrivé à Central mall de rencontre à mes amis de l'Alliance Française. Quand je suis arrivé, il n'y pas de personnes, sauf Fazilah. Et les autres, ils ont été en retard! Nous avons cherché un restaurant où nous avons dîné. Nous avons trouvé le restaurant s'appelait Ma Maison, fusion de cuisine Japonaise et Western. Mais il y avait une queue long, donc nous avons allé à Mr. Curry. Il était le jour de l'ouverture, et il avait un promotion: vous obtiendrez le montant que vous avez dépensé comme des bons. Il y avait une queue aussi, plus long que avant! Comme tout le monde n'était pas la, nous avons la joint.

Après quelque temps, les autres sont arrivés finalement. J'ai mangé Vegetable Omelette, avec du riz, du curry blanc et une soupe. Après nous avons diné, nous sommes allés à Settlers Café et avons joué le jeu Taboo. Il y avait un tableau de jeu que je n'ai pas vu avant! Il y avait Bob aussi, un jouet peluche! :P Il était très amusant!

Plus tard, nous sommes allés au bar de vin, mais Young Far et Fery, avec leurs petite amies, sont partis parce que ils étaient fatigué. Donc, il y avait Bella, Anh, Fazilah et moi. Fazilah et moi ont choisi une bouteille du vin blanc - il était un peu doux, pas trop fort, et plus important encore, il n'était pas trop cher! :D Nous nous avons discuté beaucoup de sujets...

Il était une soirée beau.

What a week!

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:01:00 +0000

10/12. Genevieve's back in Singapore so we met up on Wednesday for a REALLY heavy lunch at Cineleisure. I had spaghetti while she had mee sua, and we had drinks, a french toast, a peanut butter toast and a plate of vegetable! We ate until we literally couldn't move! The only reason why we decided to eat was because we were waiting for our movie to begin - Cape No. 7. It was a pretty good show, with Japanese casts in it. Haha. After the show, we did a little window shopping for possible christmas presents... but we couldn't decide on any. So we decided to get a drink, but there wasn't Starbucks in Takashimaya, so we ended up in Paragon but couldn't get a drink as it was strangely crowded everywhere. The sky began to darkened so we decided to grab a drink on the way at the 7-eleven and headed home. Too bad Pavin wasn't free to meet up that evening.

12/12. It's Friday! I met up with Esther, Joline and Rohani to catch a movie. (somehow, I'm like always catching movies...) It was Bolt this time. I was suppose to meet up with Esther earlier to grab the tickets but turned out her mom needed her company, hence she ended up skipping dinner to arrive just in time for the show. Luckily, I had booked the tickets online before hand. ($1 booking across 4 people is pretty ok...) Since I was early, I went on to browse books at PageOne. They didn't seem to have much of a X'mas sale going on... And membership is pretty expensive on top of it being located at Vivocity - it isn't exactly convenient. But all the architecture, interior design, industrial design, whatever design books are ALL THERE! Zoot! When Joline and Rohani arrived, we headed over to a little french cuisine place to have dinner. Tartines were it's specialty. I had my salmon tartine with a glass of sauvignon blanc and original cheesecake to go with. Dinner was pretty filling considering tartines were just meat on bread, with cream in between. Oh, and gralic bread was the appetiser. Joline said she didn't felt full after dinner!! The tartines were pretty ok, but the cheescake was pretty good! So was the tiramisu that Joline ordered. Dinner ended nicely with 10mins to walk over to GV. Esther was already waiting outside when we got there. Bolt wasn't too bad. Films like these make 3D creation seem so easy! But that's probably because they have teams to work on specific areas. The show lasted a decent amount of time, afterwhich, we headed over to Starbucks after much debate on what to do next. Then I saw Desmond, PC from BMT, came in. He was about to sit down when he saw me, and I was in the midst of a conversation while looking at his direction. It took me awhile to register and recognise him, which added up to about 5s, and he was still in the half sitting and standing position the whole time. LOL. It was not until after we greeted each other that he sat down. His friend, or girlfriend, was already deciding on what to buy. Haha. After the drinks, a cake shared between Esther and Rohani, we headed home.

13/12. YULtide fest. (I've got no idea why it has that name but yeah...) Organised by Dwayne. And as he was bragging, the gathering with the record of having the highest turnup of 13 people, even though Ellyne was late. This means Dwayne should be organising everything else next time! :P So it was a fishy dinner, with cheers of happy birthdays everywhere. Seems like most people turn up at Fish & Co. on their birthdays. It so happened that Jun Chen's birthdays was held there too! Haha. What a coincidence. Anyways, it was pretty nice to meet up with the rest again, though the night had a preview of an early ending with Safy bailing out early as usual. Hwee Min was next up, saying she had to go. Then the rest bailed as we were about to cross the road back to Plaza Singapura. So it was Ja2, Yuls, Dwayne, Alex and me left, and since Alex didn't want to catch a show, we decided on Ben and Jerry's ice cream instead. The night ended after a bit of chit-chat and a cab ride home.

14/12. Dinner, a fatful one, with Pavin @ Waraku Marina Square. I had one side dish too many, and could barely walk out of the restaurant! :X That wasn't all, we had dessert, ice cream to be exact, at Anderson's of Denmark. I had Brownie with ice cream while Pavin had Apple Crumble with ice cream. Sinful. Gen called when we were almost done, afterwhich, we headed down to Waterfront Hotel to pick her up. I only went there once, and I wasn't paying attention to the roads when I did, so we ended up looking at the street directory for help. When Gen got in the car, the car was low on fuel so we had to fill up the tank. After plenty wrong turns and a trip around town, we ended up passing by the exact road that we just went to pick Gen up... Pavin had to get his orientation by going back to town... LOL. I'm so afraid of the upcoming road trips with his navigation abilities! So he brought us to Keppel Islands, a little quite place for the up and coming residential area, where yatch owners could have their own private berths. Sweet. We went to Privé, which means private, a bar sitting near the berths, with a view of mainland. The rain was light, and the winds were cool. Perfect night. Pavin and I each had 2 drinks, while Gen had one, and we played hangman on my iPhone over the chit-chat. It was study group get together. :P Since we had plans pretty early the next day, we had to leave slightly pass midnight.

15/12. Ex-WGC staff meetup! Sadly, it was Fish & Co. yet again. Apparently Manhatten Fish Market doesn't take reservations. A few didn't turn up, so it was Yue Han, Winston, Wei Yuan, Thaddeus, Addy, Max, Han Zhong, Kelvin, Zheng Kai and Joanne. I had a not-so-filling meal, probably less filling that the tartines I had at Vivocity... But since Thaddeus was treating, it wasn't really nice to be ordering too much. Joanne only managed to finish half her fish because her husband coerced her into leaving early just because he came to pick her up... I don't know the full story, but all I konw is that Army = can't make it. :P That's what 2 years had told me. It's FACT. Anyway, everyone seemed the same as before, except that only Kelvin and I were the only ones still stuck... The night ended early too, with many giving dessert a pass till noone wanted to go. So Yue Han and I took 174. He was on his way to his friend's place.

16/12. Le examen. Ce n'était pas bien. Je pense que je aille de mauvaises notes. Mon dieu. Il a été très difficile... Zoot. Je pense que je ne vais pas passer le DELF B1. Peut-être plus tard...

17/12. Twilight. Je suis allé à Cineleisure avec ma soeur, bien que j'ai l'oral à demain. Il était midi quand on est sorti de chez nous. Quand on y est arrivé, il était trieze heures. J'ai acheté les tickets pour <<>>, et après, on a mangé à Xin Wang Café. On a mangé beaucoup, jusqu'à le film va commencer. Il n'était pas mal, mais il n'y a pas beaucoup de action. Le vampire malfaisant est mort trop tôt... Après le film, on est retourné chez nous.

18/12. L'oral... MAL MAL MAL MAL MAL... Je pense que Pascal était en colère! Parce que on n'a pas utilisé le subjonctif pour le situation. Mais on n'a pas confiance! Lol.

Tennis on an overcast Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:17:00 +0000

It was an overcast Sunday. The clouds were of the darker shades of grey. It was Mark, Justin, Josh and I at Hillview Heights tennis court, welcomed by a light drizzle. The weather was good, if not, perfect.

My game's still bad as usual. Somehow, I can't manage to hit my harder shots anymore. Probably because my footwork has gotten really lazy. ARGH! And Athelete's foot, tinea pedis, is giving me a lot of ITCH... Everything's a result of ARMY.

It was supper at Al-Ameen, since Al Azaar was closed. We pretty much had the usual. :P Up next was pool then LAN. We played best of 5 for pool, which Justin and Mark duo won, then an array of games, up till the AM. 3 in fact.

I feel like I'm so out of touch from everything - tennis, games, fitness etc. The list goes on...

Leaver

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:38:00 +0000

Finally, I'm on leave from today till 5th Jan 2009, with a number of day offs in-between. This would mean that I would have, at most, 13 working days left with SAF! :D

I decided to get down to configuring my WD ShareSpace today. It allows folder shares limited to users whom have access and does a wonderful job in doing backups with the WD Autobackup software, although I haven't tried doing a restore with it yet. Sadly, I only have 2 drives in it, meaning I can't do RAID 5. It's a pretty good NAS, although a little pricey. It's web interface is easy to use, with the ability to easily update any firmware changes. Also, adding or removing HDDs is a breeze since there isn't a need for screws in the enclosure. The fan is extremely quiet. As for overnight downloading, there's a downloader tool, but I'm not able to get it working just yet.

Just sent in my UG (Undergraduate) registration by registered mail a few days back. I opted to take both terms in special semester since there isn't any harm in maxing out. :P I totally can't wait for semester to begin!

Now playing: Symathique by Pink Martini. (it's my ringtone for now!)

Show's over

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:44:00 +0000

At last, the shows are over. Mindef Internship Programme (MIP) ended yesterday, which marks the last of the events I would be involved in. Thus I've unofficially ORDed. I only have my medical FFI appointment to book, which I will do coming Monday, and clearance form to fill up. Oh how I love December... :D

The Tues and Thurs

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:22:00 +0000

I really love the Tues and Thurs. Only the evenings. It is one of the few times that I look forward to in my weeks, still enslaved to the nation by law.

French lessons with Pascal are really great. It's probably the only time in the week that I'd actually laugh and have fun. There's no need to face incompetent management, indecisive superiors, irresponsible peers etc. Pascal is a really funny guy and a pretty good professor at it too. Lol. Of course, Fery would add to the fire of laughter with his seemingly planned mispronunciation of the words. (Probably the most tonight.) And somehow I'd always seem to be picked on first, for which Pascal claimed to be due to the fact that he liked James Bond... -.-

Oh, and I love taking a ride in Anh's MINI Cooper! :D A great way to end the day!

Goodbye November

noreply@blogger.com (JumzD) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Yup. See you never November!

The last weekend was pretty boring. Except maybe Sunday's tennis session at Shelford's tennis court. Justin was late again as always, so was Reuben, so I was pretty much alone on the court AGAIN. I really need other tennis buddies. Anyway, there was this group that booked online, 8-10pm, when Justin actually booked 7-9pm. Well, it wasn't the first time it happened anyway. So we decided to play matches, changing players after each 3-games, 1-set matches. It was pretty fun, having to play against a change of tennis styles. There was a point where I had to chase down a ball that Justin had let pass him, from beyond 1 side of the court to the other. The amazing thing was that I actually reached the ball, though I wasn't able to hit it back of course... And I couldn't stop in time either. So I let my racquet slide and I rolled and crashed into the fence, lying there for 15 seconds to try and catch my breath. Haha. Luckily, I wasn't injured, in fact, it felt great. I've totally forgot how it was like to really set yourself to chase down something and actually reaching it.

Office hasn't improved, never will. It's unlimited OT that we, as NSF, have to oblige to. Haha. Coercion at it's best. And we sure do get a nice slice of the defense budget.

French classes were GREAT. And it'll just get totally better. Haha. It is the best times that I have during NS. And I found out on Thursday that Anh, my classmate from French class, lives at Hillview! So I managed to get a lift out of a joking, "Could I get a lift?" statement. I didn't know that it would actually work. Haha. She was driving a mini cooper, so it was my first time in a mini. It was really cool and I might really consider getting one? If I really do have excess cash which I totally don't. But I really do need a car. Dark transport ain't exactly my kind of ride.

So I was out with Pavin yesterday, on random short notice, for a MADAGASCAR: Escape to Africa. Lol. The show was pretty hilarious, and a nice way to start the extremely short and never enough weekend. Then it was the usual Al Azaar supper. He's done with the A's re-take. I do hope he would be able to get into the local university when the results are released next year. Then I just might get lifts to school! :X But I would prefer having my own drive.

Got myself a bottle of white wine, dessert wine which could double as aperitif, at Le Rouge exhibit, Suntec Food Fair. They have wine, chocolates, pastries at their outlets. So I was totally clueless at what I should get. The salesgirl whom I asked for a recommendation clearly doesn't know what's good. So the lady boss approached me and asked what I was looking for. Her husband was a French, which I think is so uber cool. Haha. So I randomly said that I was looking for dessert wine. (I don't really know much about wine other than red, white, dessert, aperitif, digestif and how it feels down my throat...) So she got me a tester for TARIQUET. It was nice and smooth to sip, and sweet of course. She told me that dessert wine could last for up to a month, whereas normal ones are to be consumed within the week. This dessert wine would be perfect with cheese. Her idea of a perfect scene was the wine, cheesecake, jazz music and couch to make the perfect evening. My sentiments exactly. We chatted for abit, and I guess I'll probably be seeing more of her. Haha. For wine and chocolate of course. And French culture and lifestyle. I seriously need to learn how to appreciate wine.