A, B, B

There was a mom who wrote into the Forum today when her daughter couldn't get in to local Uni based on her "above-average" results of A, B, E. I think it's safe to say that no A-level holder would say that her grades are above average. And do I hear "excelled in sports"? Judging from her letter I'd say that her daughter didn't really know where her priorities lied. And boasting that her son graduated from NUS in the last paragraph isn't going to change that! And let's just say that her grades happened to be a freak accident (which I highly doubt), and I were the mom, I'd be taking action and suggesting alternative routes for her than ask questions like, "Is being eligible not enough?"

How'd you think they choose people for jobs if they have the same qualifications?

It just frustrates me to see how people love to complain. I hate complaining; I do indulge and wallow in self-pity from time to time but I get up, dust it off and try again. I don't think that whining helps. People may say that she's just trying to highlight a "problem" and is asking for solutions. I suppose that the capacity of the universities is unlimited and they'd let any Theresa, Dorothy or Hannah into it.

So there's no incentive for the people who did better than her? Those who mugged endlessly day and night? Well, if she did that and she got this, it really says something about her abilities.

I sound like I have the mentality of one of those elitist students that ST did an article on not too long ago, but I simply believe in meritocracy.

I believe she deserves a chance, but she's just not ready for it yet. No one's going to stop her if she takes it again this year and gets triple A, right?

KKJ @ East Coast

Stayover

Yesterday Terence, Daniel and Sern Hong came over to my place to do a bit of planning for our Taiwan trip, which will start on the 9th of July all the way to the 14th. My mom was a tad nervous because it's not very often that we have guests in the house and after hearing about the teppanyaki meal at Terence's place and steamboat at Daniel's, she felt that she had to step up her game.



And so she made this rather expensive porridge, which really wasn't what I had in mind. But I didn't have the chance to do much for dinner as I had two lessons of tuition before rushing back home to join them for dinner. Our main purpose for meeting up was to settle the accomadation for our trip. After going through the many hotels that were available, we chose Neijiang Hotel, which was recommended by Wee Hong, who was there barely a week ago! We made a call to check the price and then a really weird thing happened. Daniel was repeating what the receptionist told him about the hotel, "Ximending, Hong Lou..." when the exact words came out of the mouth of the MTV VJ on TV! We were stunned and then ended up laughing like mad.



After a bit more contemplation, a lot of food (I made that with my sis!), and entertainment in the form of a variety show hosted by Jacky Wu, Daniel gave a call to the hotel to book the rooms. His proficiency in the language made him the natural choice to make the phone call!



After the important stuff were done, we spent the time flipping through brochures and going online to check out the attractions that Taipei had to offer. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd like to hear them! We decided to meet up again to settle the itinery. They managed to sleep in my bedroom as my brother went to sleep in my mother's room and my other brother didn't come home till much later!

Can't wait to go overseas again! And a big thanks to Wee Hong for giving us all that information, without which we would've been at a lost as to what to do!

Soundaholic Presents...

I think it's time to bring back a weekly spot where I talk about music, it's something that I've been talking about for almost a decade. The pop mogul amongst the casual music listeners.



Kicking off this week's introduction to music, it's Kelly Rowland featuring Eve on the track Like This. Kelly's no stranger to stardom being one third of Destiny's Child, but I think her chance to shine is finally here after Beyonce's sophomore material paled in comparison to Dangerously In Love. Don't get me wrong, I love Beyonce, but my favourite DC member was always Kelly. It's just that she never came up with anything that really could really rock it big time (other than with Nelly on Dilemma). With Like This, she's showcasing that she's got what it takes to get the attention she deserves. Her lovely diva-ish voice cruises over the hip(hop) music while Eve brings the street credit. As with all addictive club bangers, there's chorus that'll definitely get everyone chanting along. Showing flesh and shaking booty is all in a day's work for DC, so it was only too easy for Kelly to show all her moves on her video and not look slutty. I'm loving the new hair. Check out the video here.



As a friend once noted, "You could argue with popularity, but then you'd be wrong.". It's been 5 years since Kelly Clarkson was crowned Idol, but no one from the subsequent seasons could top her, or even leave much of an impression. And that's the reason why she could insist on the release of her upcoming record when her boss disliked most of what he heard. Unlike her previous singles which were angsty, Never Again is angry. Lyrics like "I hope the ring you gave to her,
Turns her finger green" and "Does it hurt to know I'll never be there?
Bet it sucks to see my face everywhere" really gives a kick and a spit to lame, modern-day pop rhymes. You might not remember much from a first listen, but the bridge will definitely get your attention. This is the lead single for My December, which is set for release on 26 June.



The last new track is my current favourite. I haven't been at the piano figuring out chords to a song since Everytime was released as a single, which was 2004. Gwen Stefani's 4 In The Morning is probably the strongest single to be released from her album thus far. Wind It Up was no What You Waiting For, and The Sweet Escape only managed to make up for lost time. Hopefully this track will do what Irreplaceable did for Beyonce. Usually a key change in a pop track is used after the bridge for the last chorus just for the sake of sounding more intense. However, Gwen fits one in just before every chorus, really adding flavour to the entire track. Here's a performance of the track she did on tour and was broadcasted live during the finale of AI. In the official video, she's doing the bathtub thing (and so does Kelly in Never Again), and it reminds me of the Everytime vid!

I can never stop mentioning her, even if not by name. What can I say, she is a big contributor to the pop scene!



And moving from tracks of the present to a track from the past, and the fact that this entry needs a bit of testosterone, take a listen to what was probably one of the biggest rock tracks of 2002 by post-grunge band, Puddle of Mudd. This is Blurry.

March On

To anyone who's going through a tough time, March On.

Through the good times,
Through the bad times
Through the long days
Through the hard nights
Keep on till we see the sun

Like soldiers
March on
If we can make it through the night will see the sun
March on, march on

Even when there's no one there for you march on
Even when the days are long for you march on
Like soldiers
March on

- Good Charlotte, March On

New Direction

I was so bored the whole of yesterday that I spent it surfing friendster.com and blog hopping. It's not something I'm proud of. In fact at the end of everything I felt hollow and empty. I wasted the entire day doing nothing productive. It irks me when I realise that the day wasn't special for any reason. I try hard to live each day like I'm going to die tomorrow, or at least I try!

I'm becoming so superificial it's disgusting I mean, that's what you see on friendster isn't it? Just someone's face, a few words of description and you try to guess the person's personality. Worst of all, what really attracts me to checking out someone's blog/frienster is to see how people live their lives, glamorously. I'm attracted to all the partying, drinking, having-a-good-time-without-a-care-in-the-world kind of behavior. Expensive clothes and gorgeous company. Basically, a decadent lifestyle.

After spending an entire day, probably about 8 hours indulging in a daydream, a fantasy, by surfing the net, it suddenly struck me that I'm being an absolute idiot. The things that I've known since young are the truths that I should stand by. Things like inner beauty and being thrifty got thrown to the back of my mind upon stepping out into society.

Well, it's not as if I'm keen on returning to become some social outcast. I suppose it's a matter of balance. Then again, everything is. There really are more important things to be concerned about though. The people in your life to make it worth living. Mother Nature, being harmed by our reckless actions. I know that sounded cheesy but I was always a big fan of Captain Planet and I used to think about such issues most of the time when I was young. Now I just wonder if I should get a get that top from River Island, or buy the latest CD by Good Charlotte. Apparently, I haven't changed for the better.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that at the end of the day, all the materialistic stuff, all the glitz and glamour, are not real and are actually worthless. Because the most valuable things cannot be bought with money.

I know that this blog has seen a greater share of me having a good time than actually reflecting on real issues that concern myself and those around me. It's time for that to change, and I hope that it'll be a step in the right direction and that I can make a difference.

Priceless

I feel that Priceless is one of those movies which doesn't deserve to be pidgeonholed one category. It's curently being marketed as a romantic-comedy, but it's so much more than that. It really got me thinking about so many aspects of life, and it's bloody refreshing in terms of content and cinematography. Audrey has grown so much since Amelie, and you've really got to watch that movie to understand why.

It's refreshing because in romantic comedies, the girl is usually dorky in a cute kind of way and Irene is anything but that. She's as sexed up as hell and flashes her boobs a couple of times in the movie. Then of course there are the techniques of story-telling. While Hollywood is more obsessed with being brash and in-your-face, this French film plays coy and drops hints instead. A perfect example would be the scene of Irene having a few miniature umbrellas, trophies collected from the cocktails that she downed, stuck in her curly, brown hair. Brilliant.

I haven't laughed this much in a long time. It shows that good acting actually transcends language barriers. It's proven in the part where they stare at each other and try to speak using their eyes. There was the I'm-sexy look. Also featured was the distant-because-I-am-lost-in-you look that really got the audience transfixed.

What is a bonus, but probably a double-edged sword as it's causing me to type this entry instead of sleeping, is that the film explores so many themes. There's lying, which almost never turns out well because the truth can sometimes emerge at the most awkward moments. There's materialism. Why do we invest money and time looking for and trying to acquire the trendiest clothes or the most attention-grabbing watch when at the end of the day, none of those matters? There's also betrayal, and how you can never expect your feelings towards someone to be completely mutual because there's always one person who feels more strongly, be it with regards to friendship or love. Everyone can fall for a smooth-talker, or someone with lots of charm, but how many people can like you despite the flaws you have?

Oh yeah, I'm trying to find answers to the questions that have seemed to resurface despite the fact that I'd very much like to tie them to an anvil and drop them into the Pacific Ocean. I want to know what direction my life is headed , and knowing that I'm in control of most of it makes me want to take responsibiliy of how it turns out. Yes, I'm reflecting.

Because, to quote a current fav song, what's the use of having a life if you don't know the way it should be lived?

Bar None

I cannot believe that I admitted to being drunk when I wasn't. Anyway, what kind of drunkard would admit to being drunk right?

Jie Yu and I went to Sakura for dinner. The food was really good, but after this time I don't think I'll go back there again. The reason for choosing the place was because I've only been there one other time, and I had the urge to taste all the food there again. We suceeded in stuffing almost every available type of food into our mouths!

After that we made our way to Bar None. Initially I was kind of worried that we wouldn't be let in, and thought of many stupid ways to get ourselves in. This is one of those damned times where looking 16 isn't an advantage. However we had nothing to worry about as the guys at the door only asked to check our bags before letting us in. I guess I worried too much because it's a given that these bands would have a young fanbase, and I am turning 21 this year so it's not like it's illegal for me to drink alcohol.

Drinking alcohol wasn't the plan, but once Jie Yu got his hands on the menu there was no turning back. I had a gin-something, which was supposedly very diluted. It was merely one shot mixed into this big, fat cup that was close to double the size of what Jie Yu had. I don't know what he had because I'm not too good with drinks myself. I just know that it wasn't beer, tasted nothing like it, and got my face red-hot within awhile. Luckily enough the first band was on its way to finishing their set and they announced that KKJ would be next, when in fact I was worried that I'd already missed their performance!

But I've been to enough of these things to know that they always start late!

While we were getting our drinks Weetz spotted me, and we exchanged greetings. He was armed with his trusty handycam so people who couldn't make it to the venue, and for people like me, who can't get enough to catch it on youtube!



I'm proud to say I know most of the original songs that they performed, although I couldn't sing along word for word. The band kicked off with Don't Take Me. They also played Stranger and Low, which was rather different from the previous songs. Jie Yu and I agreed that the track really stood out (in a good way) for some reason we couldn't quite put our finger on. This performance is probably one of the best that I've seen from them. The music was really good. Absolutely flawless. No mistakes that I could hear of anyway! It was a pity that they didn't do a really slow and quiet emo rock track like Chasing Cars, because it would've worked like magic in such a cosy venue and showcase the diversity of the band.

I'm not a big fan of The Arctic Monkeys and I've never heard Dancing Shoes before but KKJ's rendition of the song really got everyone moving despite its unfamiliarity. I'm going to have to hear TAM's version though I dare say that after witnessing them play it live, it might just fall short of expectations. That was exactly how I felt about This Boy.

That was not the case when Mr Brightside was played, because from where I was seated I could see everyone singing along. Enough said.

The icing on the cake was definitely My Brown Lollipop. It was definitely deserving to be the song to wrap up the entire set - a treat for fans who've been following the band closely enough to know that it's one of the songs that they feel strongly about. I knew almost all the words and was singing along to the wooohooooyeahyeah (just like how I was singing along to Jolin's concert, not 'cos I was drunk Colin!) with wild abandon. Hey, it's my favourite song!

After that I went to the toilet and my face was really, really red. Okay, I was very high, but not drunk enough to be stumbling around nor puking in people's faces. Colin came up to me and he also got introduced to Jie Yu. We chatted for a while about the performance and he said that it was the longest set he'd ever play. Not only did he not sound like he ran out of steam during the final song, he sang his way to a rousing encore. Well, one can never get to much of a good thing, and I was enjoying myself so much that I didn't notice the amount of time that passed. It didn't feel that long to me! Anyway he introduced us to the next band, which surprisingly fell short of our expectations, and so we left in the middle of their third song.

I've got to thank Jie Yu for being such a sport and going with me on such short notice. Ooh, and it's past midnight already! Happy 21st Birthday bro!

Birthdays

It was a bit of a rush to attend two birthday parties in a single day but thanks to my friends being understanding and people providing transport, it made all the travelling more bearable. I was drenched in my own sweat more than once during the day.

I stopped over at Mitchell's place first and was greeted warmly by the hostess herself. It was kind of weird because I haven't seen her in four years already but she hasn't changed much. And the rest of my female classmates don't look very different either. Strangely (or not) enough, I was the only guy from my Secondary School class to be invited, probably because I was the only one close enough to her. I sat beside her in class for two years. It was a little strange initially because I haven't seen them all in a very very long time, but I was pretty comfortable around them, seeing how I was always closer to them than any of the guys in the class. In fact, I'm not in contact with any of them now.



The food was pretty good, and I enjoyed catching up with all of them again. Of course I didn't know that they were already at her house since 3PM (and I was supposed to have tuition at 5) and I really got a lot of crap for coming late. What was worse was that I was going to leave early.

I got to finish a can of beer. I'm never good at beers and there was once where I felt really unwell after drinking one can of Tiger in camp, when I've drank stuff with much higher alcohol content. So I poured a little bit into the cups of the girls sitting at my table. There was a big fuss of me not being gentlemanly, which I retorted by saying I have no image of myself to uphold in front of them!

It's hard to be close to everyone all of the time. But that's another entry for another time.

Wei Jie was nice enough to drive to Khatib MRT station with Ming Boon and the Mahjong table that we got for Jie Yu as his birthday present. Wee Lee met him there and I kind of got lost looking for them, but managed to in the end with a lot of directions from Wee Lee. I don't know if it was due to the humidity or the mild sun burn from the morning's run, but I was once again sweating like a pig. Ming Boon had some Mothers' Day celebration going on, so Wei Jie dropped her off somewhere in Yishun and we headed for Jie Yu's place.

There was a bit of commotion as we brought in the table.

Wee Lee and I stuffed ourselves with food. For me the highlight was the drink. I absolutely love Rose Syrup. It gives me a sugar rush just like drinking Coke does, except without the bubbly. I must admit that I wasn't feeling too sociable but it was entertaining enough just to listen about Wee Lee's recent escapades.



Yeah, and soon enough it was time for the cake-cutting ceremony. Probably couldn't imagine a birthday party without it.



I forgot to ask him how that crown came about! Haha... It's kinda cool because I've only ever seen tiaras on girls before, and this is a refreshing change! Anyway, it was rather overwhelming when everyone started singing the birthday song, which was kickstarted by his gf Chieh. The accompanying cupcakes beside the main one were made by her too.



And then Jie Yu had a bit of an emo moment when he was making his speech. A moment like this makes the whole thing special. And iconic. The words he said were pretty normal. It was the way he said it, like he meant every word, that got everyone's attention.



But after all of that he was still cool enough to smile for the camera. That was followed by a lot of photo taking, with his family, with the Student Council, with his VS friends and of course, with his classmates.



Us.



After gorging myself on all the sweet stuff, we went down to his room to play some games. I must say Yong Xiang is pretty much the opposite of me, and he really knows how to make everyone feel... a part of the group. Anyway, my favourite game's what is now popularly known as the Pirates of the Carribean game, that involves dices and a good forfeit.

Baileys was good.

I left at 11PM, much the host's disappointment and there were a couple of times on the way back that I felt the urge to go back, but yeah... I was safe and sound at home by 12 and caught Good Charlotte Live in KL. They were brill!

Courtesy - The Safer Policy

If you're taking public transport, you must surely understand how I feel when I say that it's very irritating to have people standing at the door and waiting to squeeze into the train when you're trying to make your way out.

I remember how a friend of mine dealt with the situation. He pretended to answer his phone, oblivious to whoever was in front of him. The second the doors opened, the aunty blocking his way had the honour of getting elbowed in the shoulder. She gasped in pain. Okay, so maybe I should feel a bit of pity for her because of her age, but then again, she knows better to block the exit for people trying to alight from the train.

It's common sense anyway.

The experience related to me was embedded deeply in my mind, so much that everytime I see someone blocking my way, I have the urge to do the same thing. Recently my patience ran thin and I actually rushed out of the train and gave the person blocking me a hard shove. And I'm usually not this mean but it felt good.

Of course I could very possibly be charged for causing bodily harm, but till then, get out of my way.

like.no.other

Because everytime I look at this, it hurts to know what I left behind.

Hectic Week

This is another entry of ranting with not much purpose, in fact none at all till I get to watch Spiderman 3. Everybody's talking about. I'll be watching it tomorrow, so... what the hell.

On Monday I went for lunch with Jie Yu and we couldn't help but notice how the public has been bombarded with advertisements for the new Spiderman 3. We went for lunch at the BK at Raffles Place, and we the cups and the holder for the fries had Spiderman printed on them. And I upsized my meal because I wanted to acquire a Spiderman card. Childish I know, but it's once in awhile! I'm a big fan of Spiderman. Ooh, and we had a drink from Boost. That never fails to make me happy. It tastes so good, yet it's healthy!

At night, I met up with Ryan and Shermaine, who had tickets for a Harmonica performance at the Esplanade Recital Hall. I enjoyed myself a lot. I think it's times when you watch other people perform that you relight your passion for music. I was really stunned at how good the second half of the concert was. The first half was performed by a group which was more interested in being technically challenged than actually making music that touches the heart. Not that they succeeded very well in being technically-challenged either. They had one thing going for them though - the pieces they played were rather famous Mozart pieces. The second-half was packed with unique performances. Harmonica with piano backing, harmonica with CD-"orchestra" backing, amazing solos, and tight, small groups of three, each wielding a different harmonica. It's been a long time since I've seen a harmonica performance, so I really have to thank Shermaine for offering me tickets to watch it.

On Tuesday I went for for a haircut with Guo Fei at Kimage. I kinda like my hair but I thought 30 bucks for the it was a little steep.



After that we met Samuel at Paragon for some top-secret thing that I'm not supposed to reveal. We had our dinner at Lucky Plaza, where I'd used to have lunch so often when I was working at Wisma. I stopped by my former workplace to say hi to a couple of people before heading over to Wheelock place, where Samuel got a laptop case (actually it'll fit A4 papers too) from Crumpler. Our last stop was Lido where we took a chance and actually went to see if there were any Spiderman 3 tickets left. If there were, we'd watch it straightaway. As expected, there wasn't any, and they even had an A4 printout just before the queue for the tickets that said "Spiderman 3 tickets SOLD OUT". Guo Fei left for home while Samuel and I had a chat about his job that I was going to take over.

On Wednesday night I met Wee Lee after tuition for a drink and a little chat. It's also been some time since I stopped by Causeway Point. I suppose it's due to the place being in such close proximity to mine that I've always ignored it. To me it's like heading to the coffee shop downstairs. Anyway, we had iced tea at Mos Burger and talked about lives. Actually more of his, because he was stuck in a rather interesting predicament, but it'm sure it'll be rewarding in the long run.

On Thursday was my first day of work. More on that later! After my tuition at Sengkang which ended at 9PM, my family went to this coffee shop at Merdien LRT station for dinner in celebration of Mothers' Day! Haha, it's really way in advance but it's kind of cool. I enjoyed stuffing myself with black pepper crab. It was amazing.

I met Zhenhui on Friday, when Shuming became MIA all of sudden after informing us of her trip to Sentosa. We went to return the car that was rented at Punggol, took a bus to his place where he went to get his Ikea Friends Card (while I went to use the toilet at Compasspoint and listened to Thnks Fr Th Mmrs on repeat). It was another bus ride to Tampiness Ikea, which I went for the first time. It was very spacious. I guess the land on which it was built was cheap, and this Courts, Ikea and Giant each had their own buildings with lots of free parking lots! The layout made it look a whole lot like Malaysia! The meatballs at Ikea were tasty as usual and we started shopping.



I actually bought clothes hangers again. They were going for 5 at $1.50, when I discinctly remember getting them for a tad more money. So according to a certain warped logic of mine of averages, I just had to get them. (After a quick search on my blog I just realised that I got them for the same price! Oops!)

Saturday was a KBox session with Ryan. It was one of the best sessions I've had, probably because we went crazier this time around, and there weren't any expectations of what we were going to sing. I'm wondering whether I should put up my version of Everytime. It does sound a bit forced at some places though. Hmmm.

I should really cut down on meeting people because it seems like it's the only way to save money! I don't know yet, but I've only got 2 more months to save for Uni and I've only got a measly amount of money in the bank. To add to that, I've got a trip to Taiwan in July. Gosh. It's quite a headache. I'm considering working at the upcoming PC show, but it starts on a Thursday, which I have work commitments. I've just been struck by the painful realisation that it's probably never going to be enough.

Alright, time for tuition!

Night Cycling II

I'm thankful that the bus driver let us up the bus and got us to Marina, although he could probably have let us stop at the end instead of throwing us at the end of this trashy route. You could probably make out the hotel and Marina just behind. The rain was freezing cold, and hit us really hard. Anyway, we braved the rain and made it to shelter and bought some stuff to eat at 7-11. There were a lot of people just outside the place, drinking, playing truth-or-dare, and basically getting wasted. Young punks. We decided to go to a place with a better environment. It was still raining and we were cycling a little bit, and Jie Yu almost slipped when he made a sharp turn. The floor was freaking wet.



I've just realised that this photo is a tad blur. Anyway, we sat where the Esplanade was in view (I've taken a stand - it's an artistic and cool structure) and had our curry puffs and other stuff that we got from 7-11. We were thinking of what our options would be if it rained, but as it turned out, it didn't stop raining. So we just sat there... and waited.



And listened to music from his mp3 player. There's a mix of a whole lot of good stuff, songs that were old and new. Finally it was about 6 and the buses had started their services already. We decided not to wait any more and take our chances to get back to his place. I had tuition at 1045 and work at Sony, so I wanted a few hours of shut eye, no matter how measly.



We went to the Esplanade for the toilet (the last proper photo I took). After that we got rejected by buses, trains and cabs.

So we had the tough job of cycling all the way back at 633AM. It was rather insane because we knew we were going to be wet, the visiblity was a tad poor, and we were a little tired. Okay, it is kind of hard to feel tired when you're wet and shivering, so I was really very motivated to get back as soon as possible. We had to cycle at the side of the road, obviously, which was where all the puddles were. So as we did that, we created mini fountains with water splashing from the front wheel, and from the back wheel to my back, and of course all around my feet. My camera was still in my pocket, and I feared for its safety, but it was already too late. We just wanted to get back and rest, and take advantage of the fact that it was still early and that there weren't too many vehicles on the road.

Did I mention the amount of water actually coming from the sky?

It wasn't a thunderstorm but it was crappy enough to be cycling. The only up side about the whole thing was that it that the temperature was cold. That, I can handle. We made it past Little India and from then on, it seemed like the whole place was called Serangoon. I actually thought we'd be back soon, but there was Pasir Panjang and all the other weird places on the NEL line, before we actually reached back, dripping, but happy to be in one piece.

Something similar to the feeling after the 24km route march.

We took two photos of our wet selves, but they didn't turn out well, so I'll leave it to your imagination. Ooh, and my shoes were wet. I didn't have time to go home to change because of my work commitments so I wore them for the entire day, which is why my feet still stink faintly.

A harder scrub of dettol today should do the trick.

PS - A huge thank you to Chris who bought me the Levi's from Taiwan!

Night Cycling I

I was just saying how much I hate writing (and you thought blogging was supposed to be natural and an easy art of self-expression) but I've got to do it anyway because it would be such a waste not to note down the experience that's causing my feet to stink till today.



On Saturday night I went to Jie Yu's place after work ie standing for 10 hours for the night cycling trip we planned. It was kind of ambitious as we wanted to make it to most parts of Singapore in the course of the night. The initial plan was to head to Clementi, and then to Choa Chu Kang, Woodlands, Pasir Ris, the Esplanade and then back to Serangoon. Jie Yu had already planned the route. Streetdirectory.com is amazingly helpful. The planned route was about 120km.



Jie Yu took a lot of effort to plan for the trip, which included borrowing really good bikes. This was the better one that I was supposed to be using, but I felt more comfortable with the other one instead! Guess I'm not tall enough for it! Most of the stuff that we needed to bring were packed in his bag, while I carried my camera, handphone and wallet in my berms. They were irritating to cycle in because they came below the knees. I'll remember to wear shorts the next time!



And so we headed to Toa Payoh from Serangoon, which was a rather short route, and one that we've travelled a couple of times before. However as we crossed the overhead bridge, we had an episode of misplaced contact lenses! Okay, so maybe misplaced isn't the right word, but somehow Jie Yu's contact lens dropped out from his eye. Luckily enough he saw where it landed, and due to our amazing foresight, we had the solution with us and so he put it back where it belonged, and we carried on like it didn't happen.



Our first stop was at the void deck of a mystery girl whose identity I've decided to keep a secret. Anyway, she passed Jie Yu a bottle of Gatorade and helped us take this photo. Cool stuff. We continued and made our way to Clementi. We passed by Mount Avernia (sp?) hospital and the entrance of Macritchie reservoir. After that we came across a place where there were quite a few people waiting for cabs at the main road.



Jie Yu kept telling me I should take a photo with the place that I might probably be working for next time! Which reminds me - we passed by SPH earlier as well. We decided to head inside to take a photo with the very famous Mediacorp sign.



It was kind of difficult to hold the camera steady after cycling so intensely. We weren't exactly panting but I could feel the blood being pumped a little harder through my veins, and that really doesn't help when you're trying to take a good photo at night. The other option was to set it to 2 sec timer so as to reduce the movement from actually pressing the shutter button, but the best bet would've been to get a tripod, which is just too bloody heavy to carry along on a cycling trip. After that, we made our way out of there and pedalled furiously towards Clementi.



We were on the road that was headed to Holland V and Queestown. We were actually toying with the idea of going to Holland V. I've never been there before actually. But I decided that I was not really hungry, probably because of the adrenaline rush, while Jie Yu had his dinner just while ago, so we continued cycling till we reached Clementi MRT station. I felt that it was the thrilling and exciting cycling terrain, with plenty of slopes which allowed us to cruise through without doing any actual cycling. We went up to about 27 km/h, while our average speed on normal roads would've been about 17km/h.



Eventually we stopped at the coffeeshop situated just beside Clementi MRT station for supper. I like my ba chor mee dry. Haha... It's amazing how many people were having their meals despite how late it was. By then it was already 1245AM. The meal really re-energised me, since my last one was more than 6 hours ago. Half an hour later, we were ready to go. We were supposed to head for Jurong which would in turn lead us to Choa Chu Kang.



For some strange, unplanned reason, we went pass The Chevrons. Weirdly enough, the only time I ever went there was with Bryan, Charles and Chia Keat, people from my platoon whom I later realised I couldn't really click with. We did catch War of the Worlds because we couldn't get in to the KTV at Chevrons. Ooh yeah, travelling around Singapore really brings a lot memories attached to all the different places I've visited.



It was here that we started to get a little lost. According to Jie Yu's plan we weren't suppose to go pass Jurong MRT station (my favourite interchange) which looks brilliantly lit in the middle of the night, and neither were we supposed to be at the Science Centre (I think they're having a dinosaur exhibit) and the last photo over there would be of the Discovery Centre. We continued cycling because apparently we were on the right road (Jurong Town Hall Rd), but once we saw Chinese Garden MRT station, we freaked out and was convinced that we were going the wrong way. On hindsight, it was the right path, but of course we didn't know it then! We then went in the opposite direction (which now you know lead us further down the wrong way) and travelled cluelessly until I saw the back of a school that looked strangely familiar to me.

I felt as if I had just seen a ghost. I knew the place was coming up but since we were going by the back of it, I was caught by surprise. It's been 6 years since I've been there, because frankly there was no reason for me to go back. Much has changed though. It was no longer River Valley High School. Instead it was a newer-looking building, and has become Commonwealth Secondary School. The structure was still more or less the same. It was crazy but I didn't know how deeply I've buried my memories till I saw the school compound again. The hair on my arms were standing on their ends. The feeling of going to school there came back to haunt me.



This is the reservoir which faces the school. When there were 2.4km runs, we would take a left turn, run 1.2km of the circumference and turn back. I used to run to the midpoint and walk back. It was perfect imagery of my life in lower secondary - half-fucked in everything I tried to do (totally-fucked up my studies, which was why they kicked me out after that), low on self-worth... basically I was a screwed up kid. Of course without him, there wouldn't be me. What would I have given to give that kid some identity. Growing up was so awkward and different from primary school. He was the kind who'd stick to the people he'd want to befriend, although he wasn't exactly lonely and had his own small clique (which was basically formed from the outcast of the rowdier, crazier guys in class). Of course I'd be the complete opposite. Still as awkward as ever that's for certain, but I've actually been called dao a couple of times. I wait for people to approach me, to ask me out - I take don't take initiative, yeah, that's probably because I fear rejection. And sitting on this side of the fence actually allows me to dish it out instead of taking it.



Looking back, I don't quite understand how he managed to fail more than half the subjects in Sec 2 (my average was about 46.7%). The guy who got A B B for As is still in a bit of disbelief. But getting out of there was probably the best thing that happened since getting in. For so long I've been pretending it's okay, and that I've moved on and put it behind me. It's good for times when I need to do a bit of storytelling (one of the things I related to the prof at the interview for SCI) though.

Just facing the reservoir and the deserted school flooded me with so many memories. On a more light-hearted note, Xiaxue lives at Teban Gardens (which was where we were, more or less) and went to RV too. Anyway, after being confronted with so much pain, all I wanted to do was to get out of there ASAP, and being somewhat familiar with the place I led the way back to Jurong MRT station. In my haste I pushed a bit too much and ended getting a major cramp. At the time we were close to a traffic junction so I stopped there and literally threw myself on the floor for a stretch. By the time we reached the station it was 220AM and we'd already wasted an hour.



After orientating ourselves, we managed to get to Bukit Batok MRT station. I was quite frustrated with the fact that I didn't get it right away, that the centre track was the on which would lead us to BB and ended up following a general direction that got us lost in the first place. So that sucked big time. The photo above is one of the Macdonalds at the station. I kind of like the place. It's cosy and all. I used to live in Bukit Batok.

We decided that instead of going North, we'd make our way to Harbourfront instead. Earlier when we were at the reservoir, the thunder had started rolling. When we left BB train station, the wind was starting to gain momentum and we tried desperately to cover as much distance as we could, in hope that we would actually be able to get to another part of Singapore where it wasn't raining.



Of course, as luck would have it, it started raining. The drizzle progressed to become a torrential rain and we were stuck at the bus stop outside this incinerator at Toh Tuck Lane. Descriptions just don't cut it. Here's one of the few videos that we took (we were stuck at a bus stop at 317AM, waddya expect!) of our situation. I sound horrible in the rest, so there.