sorry blog

i have been so busy (playing) lately that i havent posted anything since the hols started. haha. i guess that reflects how good life has been. too much fun to list one by one, but i did all the catching up with friends and relatives which i have missed up in the midst of the mugging madness in school.

time passed so swiftly when you're getting all the fun and we are saying goodbye t0 2008! so better finish up what you promised to do in 2008 within the next 2 days before writing new resolutions for 2009!

=)

exams are over!

haha! no more papers.... feel's like the sky is brighter and air much fresher since i work up that morning day after my last paper!

i tot we (as in my NTU frens and me) we quick to catch up on lost time. the first thing we did was to dig in really deep! haha. i tot i lost 3 kg after the exams.. looks like its time for some muscular hypertrophy and fatty acid synthesis now.... anw, we had a great time at Yuki and Yaki at Marina Square. there was a tv crew filming 永远吃不肥 there while we were eating, i tot the restaurant offered much better food that day given an opportunity to publicise their store..... i think we spent 4 hours at the restaurant... including a crazy time concocting weird tasting durian flavored ice cream...YUCK!

the next day was shopping at orchard... everywhere's on sale... so many nice things at good price but so little sizes.....i need to buff up!

lacklustre.

I've been feeling abit tired lately... life's just study and study again. but thankfully i found quite a few studying kahkees (is this spelled correctly? or issit english in the first place?). Have been mugging till late in sch lately.... missing all the homecook food, when all i can settle for is mac and subway for dinner....

mugging aside.... a just had this bomb droppped on me on fri's cell group.... I will be transferred to W238. feels abit like a big detour, having to start off at W238, den to E435 and now back again. I guess it probably wont be the same W238 3years back den, neither am i the person i was 3 years ago... gosh there's so much uncertainty. feels like a plant uprotted from its comfy spot, and re-potted in totally new soil. well, i guess changes are for good. so its time for change.

Angeline and Li Chuan's wedding!

the cell group and subzone was invited to Angeline's wedding last saturday! i felt the whole event was magical. The ambience was so romantic, and beautiful... quite a magical day for the couple, when we witness their love. Pastor also shared an interesting msg....haha... with a good amount of humor injected into his preaching....
Wishing you an eternal maritial bliss!




a breather at last

last 2 weeks have almost been like 'hell week' for me... not that i need to push physical limits like shit naval divers endure, but something every uni student knows best.... MID-TERMS. well, i love to learn... but i HATE exams... the 2 weeks of mugging day and night to the wee hours really robbed me of so many things... had no time to rest... and the worst of all... no satisfaction despite all the work-input.

I guess thats becos my efficiency lately is very much lower than 100 percent.... thats due to high entropy of any irreversible process, where Delta S >>0, when we operate too far from desired equilibrium position. Work(required)>>Work(ideal)..... alrite... just some stuff from my thermodynamics modules... sorry if you are not a thermo maniac... ;)

well.. the point is.... sometimes competition and stress puts you in a state where we simply loose the joy for persuit of knowledge... we do for the sake of doing, not for the enjoyment of learning. in other words, try eating your favourite food everyday for every meal for 2 weeks... and you will find that it will soon become a pain in your ***!

babylon A.D. (Absolutely.Disgusting.)


went to watch Babylon A.D today. haha its my first movie every since the start of the semester! .... gosh the movie is a complete waste of my ten bucks. horrible plot (oh wait, is there even a plot?)... the fight scenes was appalling! haha, wad can i say, NVM!

i went on wikipedia to look for the film's poster and saw tis by accident..

"Director Mathieu Kassovitz was very unhappy with the distributors, 20th Century Fox, producers and other partners. He described the film as "pure violence and stupidity" and stated that "parts of the movie are like a bad episode of 24." [17]

As of September 13, 2008, Rotten Tomatoes records a 6% positive rating,[18] while Metacritic compiles a 26% rating based on 15 reviews.[19]

Box Office Mojo ranked the movie 8th on its list of top US Labor Day opening weekends (based on revenue), 2 positions ahead of Traitor, which opened the same Labor Day weekend. IMDB reports box office receipts of 11.5 Million $US for the movie's 1st weekend. Opening in 2nd place behind Tropic Thunder, Babylon A.D. was the top opener for this year's traditionally weak US Labor Day weekend."

Taken from www.wikipedia.org

term break finally coming!


I'm listening to this really beautiful song while i am typing this....hope you will like it too!

Term break is finally coming... time to let my intel/AMD chip do some cooling, before overclocking it again in two weeks time... really look forward to some fun during the break....... seems like my schoolmates have already start planning.... oh ya.. of course need to go out more with my churchies.. =)

munch munch at Kuishin-Bo!

>... went to kushin-bo with jialiang today to celebrate his belated birthday.... the food was Oishi.... here are some pics!















*i dunno wads wrong with blogspot.... it messed up my order of pics....



earl grey and fluid mechanics

i guess i've finally decided to do a post.. looks like i've been away for a least a week....

well... life is......just so busy.......so many things to do.....so many things to think about... so many assignments...... and all i wish for now is a nice.........

B R E A K
....i have been so busy lately, i rarely find time to talk to people around me... in and out of lecture theatres... packed bus stops....crowded canteens....among my frens...yet among the sea of faces, i feel so alone....
i guess theres just too much to do... all i have in my mind was concepts, equations and assignments....
i need to change this.... hard work and happiness are not mutually exclusive. i can strive to live each day with joy.... His joy.
alrite.. i better finish my work....over a cup of earl grey.

just some reflections

the feeling of disappoinment really sucks. now i probably understand why atheletes cry when they don't get their gold medal in the olympics. the road to the olympics must be a lonely and arduous one. imagine the life of training hard, while all your friends are enjoying life - the olympic dream is not just a physical war, but a mental and psychological one.

what could have ben in the minds of the koreans paddlers when they were beaten by the singaporean gals, who won Singapore our very first medal after 48 years? i think it should be thoughts like "my efforts have gone down the drain", " i am not as good afterall", "my world fell apart"... afterall, their fall isnt light ....afterall, they might not have another chance...

there are always times when situations seem bleak and hopeless, and we feel like giving in to the temptation to just give up... yet another voice, small but strong whispers... "Is there not a cause?"

well, theres always a time for to cry and to be disappointed. but what's important, its to pick yourself out of the situation, and start afresh. forget about the defeats in the past, ignore whatever that seems impossible in the future. just do all you can for the present. And remember, it's not for medals, not for recognition, but for PASSION.

bee-zee busy

3rd week into the semester...Seems like everyone is showing signs of stress liaoz haha.. rushing lab reports, completing computing assignments, tutorials, reading.. and the list goes on and on. gosh, this is just the 3rd week!! TGIF! what else can i say. life's getting tougher in sch, but the tough gets goin!

well, on the bright side, i managed to finish all my assignments on time, found time to gym with Damien (well.. i still remember my 70kg goal)... but on the 'not-so-bright' note, i missed out on all the morning prayer meetings this week. somehow i just couldnt find the motivation to wake up earlier to pray... i'm not feeling guilty for not doing so, but deep down, i knew things could have been better if i prayed... but i still chose to do it on my own strength. sometimes, logic tells me "hey, sleeping less = lower productivity... that's certainly not very spirit-filled living rite? where did faith go? sometimes i find it so hard to depend on God... maybe wad pastor Tan said in church is rite. when the branch gets separated from the vine, it wouldnt die immediately due to the residual life it gets from the vine. but withering is only a matter of time.... that reminds me of...

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me." John 15:4

阿爸父神...



Had a totally busy weekend... but didn't really accomplish much. *sads* I guess I really need a greater measure of discipline and focus.

The lyrics of this beautiful song written for the Father.


阿爸父神

我何等愛你阿爸天父
你無條件為我付出
犧牲愛子叫我得贖
你愛充滿我


主你寶血為我而流
洗淨我罪給我自由
你的愛是何等偉大
喔主耶穌


一生要讚美
我美好救主
你的愛是我生命全部
一生要敬拜
我親愛天父
你無條件的愛讓我心得滿足

screwing up.. again

well. i guess life's never a bed of roses... somethings we really screw up. Maybe i should say, we choose to screw up (...dun ask me what). maybe thats why we really need God. since He is the one who gives us grace to get back on track again.

sometimes its not the fact that we screw up that defeats us, but the shame and guilt u have of yourself when you screw up that paralyse us.

It is written,

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:14-16

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

God, change me today. Strengthen my spirit.

wohoo...wohoo

haha... wohoo again.. i am so thrilled! things seems to be looking good... haha. i was expecting nothing when i checked my NTU email today. And GUESS WAD! i got an invite from URECA! anwayz, URECA stands for Undergraduate Research Experience on CAmpus...tis was really wad i wanted since sch started, to get a taste of hows research's like.... now that i got a chance to pursue it... wow! really thank God for His blessing!

other than that, i spent our 43rd national day with my cell group at our leader's place at aljunied... had quite a lot of fun eating potluck after the meeting... although food's abit cold (haha sorry, i am fussy), but it was still enjoyable.... especially playing with Howard's camera haha (cos i forgot to bring mine) =P

first week

just came home from dinner with my my frens from at Ichiban Sushi, Jurong Point. The food was palatable, but certainly not worth it's cost though...

I dug a really deep hole in my pocket this week... bought four textbks for this semester at ard $180.. ouch. But i guess its definitely gonna be worth every cent. This sem will be more consistent and better.. haha cos there's no arts/business module for me! all sciences/engineering subjects to mug for! ;)

Talking about dificult engineering subjects with abstract concepts, I often share a different view point with some of my frens. They must think I am a maniac for enjoying subjects like thermodynamics, organic chemistry (not the simple o level organic chem haha)... Well, i guess its the amount of time i spend pondering about them... always trying ways to rationalise concepts from the start to lay foundation for more difficult things. In doing so, I start to develop passion in studying these 'unlikables', because I start to understand them and see their usefulness.

Wonder if this is the same with people... there are always people we label 'unlikeable'. Will i start to love them better if i spend more time understanding them?

wohoo i got MS2006

haha.. i was abit worried i couldnt get the module i wanted... afterall, there is only one time slot out of the 5 that can fit into my current schedule. but i got it thankfully.. which means i got all the electives i wanted! wohoo... =)

Festival of Praise

*pls excuse me of my language... i am typing this at 1.30am with a lecture to attend tmr mornin.*

Just attended sat and sun sessions of FOP, i tot it was good. This yr's highlights were the Hillsong band led by Reuben Morgan, and the Parachute Band. Learnt some really nice worship songs that i can use.... hopeful i can become more diligent with my quiet time... I really need to change for the better.

Sun's session was more memorable. The cell group went to ice-skate at kallang leisure park before service stars. gosh i really cant skate! i felt totally helpless..really helpless. can't believe that kids can skate better than me. a young gal (around the height of my waist) looked at me with that o-my-god-you-cant-skate look, and i really felt like digging a hole in the ice and die. haha

well, thanks to the CG and howard, they encourage me to go 1 round the skating ring. well i may not have gained much in my skating capabilities during the 2 hrs, but i certainly set me thinking and reflective abt my life. sometimes, to achieve something, we must be dare to be different. just like me hanging around the edge of the ring, sticking to your comfort zone can give you the assurance of safety, but it really bring you no where. stepping out into the open gives you the risk of falling and injuries, we really must learn to fall and pick ourselves up to learn something in life. stay in safety, and we may stay the same forever.

will share the photos another day haha. nite!

Sch reopens in 2 days

whoa, 3 months of vacation is gonna end so soon... got my courses registered and ready for the new sem! i think its gonna be quite a busy sem ahead with so many modules.

I will be doing:

1. Fluid Systems (4AU)
2. Biomolecular Engineering II (3AU)
3. Computational methods in Chemical Engineering (3AU)
4. Chemical Thermodynamics (3AU)
5. Lab 3 (2AU)
6. Genes 'r' Us (3AU)
7. Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Materials (most likely)

... gosh looks tough, but I hope I can pull it through =)

My timetable....


Healer

The is a truly a beautiful song written by someone from Hillsong church Australia, who is currently battling cancer. I was immensely moved by his faith and his perserverence for healing from God. He really reminded me of the woman with the issue of blood from the scriptures, where her faith and persistence to touch Jesus healed her of her disease.

So often in our circumstances, we magnify our problems because we choose to focus on it. We feel there's no way out. No way. And we forget, there is a God bigger than our problems, One who is the God of the impossible.

Live on Mike!


Here's the lyrics of the song:

Healer by Hillsong Church

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease
I trust in You
I trust in You
I believe You’re my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You’re my Portion
I believe You’re more than enough for me
Jesus You’re all I need
My Healer, You’re my Healer
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands
Mike's Story on youtube:

yo

yoz, time for some updates... i have been fixing my pc and lappie all these while. took me 2 days to finish! just signed up for facebook and was playing ard with it.. i know.. i am lagging haha... but its really nice to get a glimpse of the lives of those i dun have time to be part of now....

hhaa.. i am really distracted by my MSN.. i guess i cant really blog today.. shall leave it here. nitez!

tide of change

today's been tiring, but GREAT! Had a great sunday service in expo which was really remarkable, I really thought I heard something that was gonna change my life... Thank God, I guess You're still the best. There are many times when I feel so oppressed that I had a hard time accepting myself for who I am, overwhelmed by shame and guilt, yet You always show up with your mercy and grace, unfailing love.

anw, today's my first official outing with my NEW cell group. Went to town hoping to shop before GSS ends, we ended up playing Dance Dance Revelution, sipping fruppichinno... wasn't really evenful, but I am really looking forward to next week. We're going to ESCAPE! theme park!

well, its really late now, hitting the bed... need to go gym tmr.

guardian angel

just came back from NUS chem engin's bash at DXO. the people there really partied! the drinks were quite affordable compared to other clubs i heard... but i end up only have 2 drinks haha.. maybe cos i couldnt quite sink into the fun since there were so many unfamiliar faces... or maybe my good friends were all dancing with their ladies. so i inevitably felt kinda left out... i saw aJaya my jc classmate, and eng shing (army fren) there too...

perhaps i am emo-ing now, haha but i guess humans are really not made to be single. frens and family are really important to me... but there must be something more... someone like a 'guardian angel' (like how johnny puts it). someone to bring warm in the coldest nights, to share all your joys with, someone you try your best to love and sacrifice for. perhaps.

happie b'day MAG!

haha... someone turns 20 today! first time having a '2' infront of your age! aniwae mag, really hope you enjoyed your birthday. here's some shots we took while shopping for mag's present (and for alfred's and hong ming's too).
u need bigger lenses if you are mayopic

joseph, holding one of the choice of gifts


the gals... oh i think estelled pang sei us!


alfred's cap. kinda cool eh? but it's PINK
gals choosing cute hamburger boxers for the guys, lmao

tu tu tarik 1 2!

i guess this must be the highlight of the vacation.... NueVe 2008! Its a 5day 4night camp organised by the student body in my school to orientate all our beloved freshies to NTU... loss of words to describe how fun it was.... for the freshies... and even more, to the seniors. i shall let the pix do the talking!

slippery slopes...

funkie??

with flour this thick, i cant make out who are the victims...

i think that's zihao doing a face dunk


off to the torture champ!
owned


the fake freshie doing some last min touch up!


minghui the cute pikachu ghost haha

makan at Botak Jones, clementi

oh btw, tu tu tarik 1 2! is a NTU cheer much like those 'bombing' cheers... the full cheer for your amusment:

Kanza! Tu tu tarik 1 2!

Oh Oh yi-lei supper-lei

Gucchi Beh Beh Gucchi Beh

Gucchi Beh Beh Supper-lei

Sa Sa Sa Sa Sa Sa Sa Sa

KANZA!

Annyong Haseyo!

Time really flies, can't believe that 2 month's flown by since vacation started... i really havent done much since.... i am feeling kinda 'constipated' now... that i have so many things that i wished i have taken timeto blog abt along the way.. well I shall share with you guys soon....



i have started learning bits and pieces of korean... wanted to take it up in sch, but was worried that it will be kinda hard to score. so came birthday, and i received a korean language kit from jialiang... thanks bro! so i've been been learning abt the korean characters and phonetics... kinda different from chinese and english... so its quite tough. I really hope to complete to the book before school starts....

"quote quote"

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” — Calvin Coolidge, The 30th US President[1923-1929]

DOTA...


i've been playing quite alot of DOTA (which stands for Defense of The Ancients) lately. haha... some skeptics out there must be thinking - "Joel leh... play alot? alot is how much!" To quantify that, how about 3 hours daily?!

I am quite amazed at myself to have the slightest hint of affection towards computer games, considering that my favourite past time is to nag at my game-holic brothers. It must have been the exposure I am getting recently (or more specifically, during the post-exam break). In a short span of a week, I had to join some of my friends at 2 LAN games... First it was with my Cell Group friends, followed by my army friends... I was really a 'noob' when I played with my army friends... they are really good and guided me alot in the game. One of them happened to be a medical doctor... haha cool right? So, that was the spark that needed get the fire going.

For many, DOTA could be an outdated game (or so I heard). But i guess its main attraction for me was reliance on team-effort vanquish the opposing team... its kinda thrilling.. so if you the itch someday, remember to jio ok! ;)

Post exam fun!

We had 5h ktv session and crabby dinner after our last paper for semester 2... Here's some pic!













summarising academic year 07/08!

hi! I am back at last. Finally deciding to deal with my idling. How should I start?

Well, for those who don't already know, I have enrolled for a 4-year Chemical Engineering programme at NTU - which accounts for my disappearance from my secret cave for the whole year haha.

Life at NTU has been very hectic from the start. A typical workday begins at 9.30am - 4.30pm, punctatated with a few hours of breaks. Afterhours are mostly used to prepare for tutorials and reports for the 6-7 modules I am assigned in each semester. Thankfully, I am not going through all these alone...

I signed up for a Freshman Orientation Camp organised by student body in the faculty which attached me a group of 15 innoncent looking strangers, which we call Kanzarians (name of the orientation group) But after the 5 days of fun-filled and 'dirt-filled' events, we emerged as friends. Friends that go through the good times (like post exams gathering), bad times (mugging together before the exams)...

The story can go on and on..... but I can only say, life's busy, life's tough, but life's enriching becos I've learnt, and life's fulling because of friends around me. =)

time to revive this blog!

hey peepz, i think its time to revive this desolated space again... Watch out for what's coming your way!

joel