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Happy CNY

2011-02-04T12:08:00.001+08:00

Haven't had time to do anything to this blog but Happy CNY to all. Hopefully the year of the rabbit is a good year ahead.

Backdated Post after 4 months

2010-10-09T12:08:00.007+08:00

Quick summary for what happen during last 4 months,
-Almost died preparing for the CFA Level 1 examination-[but worth the effort WoohOOOOOO]
-Cleared my two weeks in camp [First High key but already ATEC stage 1; PC down barely 10 mins after hitting platoon objective; comms down as usual; super sway as usual]
-Sister got married off [Tiring event, got so many things to do]
-My birthday [Celebrated in two different countries [SG and HK] first birthday dinner was end July and my last one was in Mid September haha]
-Grad trip to HK and visited so many friends [Cool]-Our European friends came visit for two weeks although I only manage to hang out with them a few times, amazing never expect so many of them to come over
-Project work, I am done with Japan and patch upgrade(unexpected one which I had to redo the bulk of my previous test case). I still have my Australia one, man first time I heard project datelines keep pushing forward. Yesterday was the first in a month that i saw daylight after work....
-Sign for for Level 2 examinations after a long thought, still haven't figure out how to tackle it or rather too tired to think of how to tackle them.

Its OVER WHAHHAHAHA

2010-06-06T23:19:00.003+08:00

Man, I think anyone can tell I am REALLY REALLY REALLY happy right now. Level 1 exams are over. Pass or fail, I tried my very best given that I have a lot of constraints especially last 2 weeks so I am happy with what I have done. Still have some lessons to clear two more weekends to burn for the extra lesson under the MAS course requirements but well no pressure.

Work wise quoted in my boss word, "june will be a xiong xiong xiong month". It will be tough but at least I won't have the burden of passing the exam resting on my shoulder.

Just before the exams, Andrew and Winky's group came over and lucky Kang offered and did a good job to help play host to them. I can only join them in the evening for dinners and short walks cause of the exam preparation. Even though it was a short trip for them and i didn't spend that much time with them, somehow I find that this was a very nice group and it was simply amazing. When they left, me and kang felt quite sad. Haha but ok Aug, Hongkong here we come.

Friends from Abroad

2010-04-10T21:18:00.002+08:00

Its been another long lag before this post. Been pretty busy, many important decisions and of course there is the level 1 exam that is getting closer and closer. Hope everything goes well and I should be at least free from exams after. Aim "One shot One kill", cross my fingers.

Friends are coming, Andrew(US but now base in China) and Winky from HK is coming over in May. Then I heard Julia and gang is coming down from Europe in July. Man there will be lots of catching up to do when they arrive. Unfortunately, it happens to be the busy period as well, May is exam preparation for me and July is reservist period, hopefully I can pull myself out somehow to go for the gatherings.

In terms of work, there is still no clarity in things, one thing I know its gonna get very very busy for the next 1/2 a year.

Wierd situation

2010-03-13T21:29:00.002+08:00

I can't say the specifics here but right now I am at an important cross roads choosing between two paths. The first path, there is much more clarity and maybe more smooth. The second one is more like a dream. I guess this is always this problem of choosing something that you can do well or something you had dreamt of doing. I don't think its bad either path is just whether you might have any regrets later for not exploring the other option. However, difficult it might be guess we all have to make a decision which path we are going to take. I hope the path that I am taking will be the right choice but I will definitely be putting in my best for the choice I will be making. I think many of my friends are facing the same situation as I do and I hope we can all find our ways and don't turn back to regret whatever choice we are making today. Make a wise decision, pull all your sources available to access the options. Wish everyone good luck in the still "choppy situation".

Work plus study = No life

2010-03-07T10:00:00.002+08:00

haha, got to make this a fast one (just look at the topic why). This quarter is gonna be a tiring but hopefully fruitful one. I must pass the level 1 after giving up so much of other stuff. Friday night, I finally cannot take it anymore, had to take a nap while studying with Jiahe. I really want to just pass it and go for my holiday and take a one two month break before going for anything else. This is really crazy. I admit I am not as smart as those people who can pass the exam just by cramping everything in one week. Whether to stay or try for another job scope is another big headache. Anyway, in short time is short and there are many things that needs to be done. Hope i survived all these.

Finally holiday in sight

2010-02-23T20:53:00.002+08:00

Finally, book my airtickets to hongkong for a nice figure as well 288. hehe. haven't had a real holiday for ages and this hongkong trip is like taking forever to take place. Looking forward to the trip although its in August. I want to eat good food, get cheaper work wear and meet up with some friends there. haha finally its going to happened or at least its certain.

Happy Chinese New Year.

2010-02-12T22:39:00.003+08:00

HAppY ChinESe NeW Year, hope that this year will be a good and fruitful one. I need more luck. Looking back at 2009, it wasn't a bad year as well. I got my trip to the US and a good job but there were some hiccups here and there as well. One cannot wish for everything to be perfect but of cause any marginal improvement is always welcome. Let's hope this year will be better than the last.

Its been a while

2010-02-05T23:28:00.002+08:00

I haven't update the blog for a long time so I decide to put in a short entry. This period had been especially busy. Frankly speaking, its not an easy job to balance between all the different commitments. Work, studies, friends and many more areas that requires my attention but I still only have 7 days a week. Guess that's basically the current situation, trying to keep the most immediate needs taken care and having no choice but to put on hold some other commitments till this period is over which might last for a while. Will update soon with more happenings.

Time to beat the competition.

2010-01-09T22:23:00.006+08:00

Its CCA orientation period again, the most exciting period for a CCA. This year, I am very happy with the cadets performance. I can see that everyone have put in the effort even for those that are considered usually uncooperative members. Together, they have demonstrated their strength to the entire school.

In terms of results, this is a record breaking year 222 sign ups against a 320 cohort base. The previous record i remembered was just over 200 for a cohort of 400. These sign ups does not necessarily translate to the numbers who eventually join us. We are also force by school and HQ policy in only accepting 36 cadets per cohort. However, the real impact of these numbers are more psychological for both my cadets and their competitors.

Think about it, all the hard work that people have put in, the quarrels, disagreement and fatigue just disappeared when the result was announced. Are results importan? Yes, I am sorry to admit it but it does indeed. You can see the pride and happiness as they cheered and drank in celebration. While on the opposite side, you look at the once proud competitors being humble and perhaps even humilated by the disparity of results. Looking at the bright side of things, at least they got a taste of reality, results can be harsh and hopefully they will strive to do better.

In the midst of all these, they have all taken something valuable back as well. Cadets who were shy and introvent have improve their sales pitch, become more willing to engage or even becoming proactive to "solicit" the customers. The planners learnt a great deal about how to manage manpower, resources in the midst of putting up the show and lots more. This is what is really unique about this CCA, you hone your skills and learn new ones and these will certainly help them in their future endeavours. I once commented that sometimes i find my secondary school kids being able to outperform some students that are in tetiary level and i think once again this has just reinforce my belief.

I can't get any pictures up for some reason but i will try to post them again.

Dream Team

2009-12-27T23:18:00.003+08:00

I have this crazy idea once again for another venture but again i think the concept is good but it will be tough to assemble this "Dream Team". All fresh people, with the right skills, desire, attitude and the level of trust for the whole operation to work out. Lets see if this will be a good one. Hopefully, it will be another bbq.com in terms of well this concept can actually work out but not in terms of the lack of resources that we had experienced then to really get it started.

Telling the future

2009-12-27T20:05:00.003+08:00

Haha, I have come to realize that I have a good sense of being able to fortell whats going to happen to people and advise accordingly. Although, it may not be 100% accurate but it has its worth. There is nothing special about how i derive certain conclusion. Its just base on observing people's behaviour, understanding their motivation and observing the environment.

Sadely, I think it is tough to communicate and convince people of their impending "disaster"I guess some people just hate the way I put across to them the blank truth of what is to come. Some people think that is sick and disgusting. I admit there might be ways i can improve in the delivery methods but i think there is hiding, people will remain oblivious to what they can be doing to steer away from trouble. Haha the chinese would describe it crudely as "fan jian" which probably is the best way to describe it. I have been through that stage so I know how it is to say" Haiya, never mind", only to regret it later. Haha. Lets hope no one hit the stage whereby the disaster is irreversible but well most of them are not. So good luck for the new year my friends and hope everyone will do well, no matter what you are doing and what your aim is but just make sure you don't go for a roundabout because there is not much time to do that without screwing up the rest of your life.

ChristmAs SeaSOn

2009-12-27T19:47:00.004+08:00

Christmas Season is a hectic part of the year even though i am no Christian follower but i subscribe to the part that its a time of giving and keeping in touch with all those that matter to you and those that had helped you in one way or another.

However, I am having the holiday fatigue now. I have been out almost every single night. Its been exhausting both physically and for the account books. Haha, ironically my boss had been emphasising on the need to keep a Work Life Balance. Haha but i think i have a new model up, its call the Work Life and Account Balance (WLAB).

Anyway some of the places i have been this month, Vivo City "Body Guards and Assassins" Gala Primere.

Giant Ferrow Rocher Christmas tree outside Takashimaya. Crazy crowd at Orchard this season.

The new ochard central. Just realise they have pretty nice place at the roof and basement. The roof gives you a bird eyes view of Orchard area which is pretty similar to the Peak kinda feeling when you are in Hong Kong. The basement has some pretty nice designs and theme much like the casinos in Vegas. I think the marketing people for far east organisation is not doing their work. I would have never discover the presences of such good stuff if not for my friend...

Just realise, I was in the same kindergarden as Claire. Haha but her mum said there are like 10 classes. Who could have guess that. Singapore is just too small. HAha

Team Lunch

2009-12-10T21:47:00.004+08:00

Sorry, if all my post looks like its about work but the place is really happening. Today, its the team lunch data service and corporate action combined. Tomorrow is company level...
Anyway gift exchange presents

The gift that i recieved and now its proudly hanging at the side of my cubicle.

Thank you dinners

2009-12-06T12:01:00.004+08:00

Friday night, I was having dinner at Mahatten Fish Market with Shaun, Yan Hao, Anatasia and Sherman. Finally, all of us are working and so its time to pay tribute to one of our mentor, Sherman. I think Sherman had really help us with not just the academic part but our US trip as well. I don't really find lecturers going all the way for their students as he does. For example, he gave us a 50 slide handout and briefings for the US exchange. It covered a wide range of things that gave us a better concept of what to expect. Really appreciate that.
Saturday night it was the turn of my ncc air group. After all the debate and ideas of where to eat. We took a vote, the final decision was the kopitiam zhi cha tua opposite my area, recommended by none other then Ivan. We have 8 ppl and we had 9 dishes... and everything was in large portion. Initially, we thought they would be in small portions and lucky the auntie and Samatha stopped us from getting anymore.
Fist size man tou.

It seems that no matter how we eat and eat, the food just does not seem to get any lesser. Another lucky thing, the 10th dish, the pork ribs was not served and we manage to cancel it before it came. By the way, to my other friends sorry I can't treat everyone. There is just too many haha. Hope everyone can understand.

Company events -Charity Club

2009-12-06T11:22:00.004+08:00

Our company had this task to help hold a party for the touch community for underpriviledge kids (kids with single parents or low income families). To make the long story short, we were in touch with the volunteers there and tried our best to see what we can do for the kids. Everyone went down early to help out with the decorations and stuff for the day not to forget having about six one hour long meetings for discussions and dozens of emails flying around for updates. My team was really gung ho.

I manage to bring two instructors from our air unit to perform for the kids and guess how they brought the guns over. It was hidden in the gold club casing.
End of the day, we have many happy kids that enjoyed the games, the gifts and performance.

Mission Accomplished.

Office view

2009-12-02T23:10:00.001+08:00

Some of the photos from my office internet cafe. I love my office, my company :)

Bloomberg pantry

2009-11-07T19:09:00.003+08:00

Updated Photos
Freeflow of snacks

I love the legendary bloomberg pantry, its really as they say a freeflow 7-11 with its famous guardian the pantry auntie call, Jenny. Haha but as first timers, i didn't really know what exactely to expect. I can see some season bloomberg course participants all armed with chips and drinks from the pantry before the course. Anyway, i didn't really find the course that i attend useful maybe the next one will be better. The problem with the course is that, 1) i don't have that indepth level of knowledge for swaps yet and 2) the trainer talks like his mouth is a machine gun... i think most of us didn't catch what he was saying. Anyway, i believe the next one will be better and i will take better photos so that i can upload here. haha. Excited and gear for a return trip to bloomberg. HAHA.

Venue photos

2009-11-01T23:53:00.005+08:00

Room size which the event is going to be held

Floor plan

The field that we can use for the water games.

Updates after a pretty long period

2009-10-24T20:06:00.008+08:00

Haven't had time to blog for a long time so this will be a lengthy one. I am really enjoying my work and i know the comments from most people about me is that i am a workaholic but well i won't deny it. The environment is extremely nice and the culture is good. I took a picture of my office "Internet cafe" which is actually a staff lounge. Window seats and other perks. Hehe.

One lesson which i like to share with my friends is that, please constantly upgrade yourself and stay relevant. Our generation is the one that is being caught right smack in the middle. The world is changing fast and so are the job requirements. Adding to our woes, we were growing up during the infancy of the IT revolution so compared to the teens and kids today, we lose out quite a bit. However, i think no one should doubt how IT has and will change the world we live in. If you think you will survive without learning and trying to keep in pace with this changes, i can only say that you are naive and waiting for a major disaster to happen.

I know people always think i am pretty pessimistic but i like to think that i am just being realistic in my expectations. So often, i am spot on in foreseeing whats gonna happen. Sometimes, my friends listen and they avert the problem. When they do they tend to forget what i had said. When they don't and shit happens, the next thing they say, "It has already happen, lets not talk about it". I am not saying that i am 100% right all the time but i think i have a reasonably high level of accuracy. I don't possess a crystal ball but because i have the experience and i consider a lot more factors before i make a comment or judgement. Its a trait and skill that has brought me success in many areas but sharing these insights to help my friends avert potential problems before they happen is indeed a challenge. I don't think it is just the way i communicate but more so because most people have this problem, they need to suffer before they believe and do something about it.

Life is short and sometimes we don't have that luxury to keep making mistakes. I do encourage people to make mistakes but learn from it and don't make it again. I guess for some people, life is already set for them. I am just trying to help as a friend but in the end its their own life.

Many times, i also don't want to tell them, "See i told you this before". Some times, when they come and tell me all the shit that had happend, i can only just give them a few consoling words like but is that really helpful. I hardly think so but i guess its the best thing a friend can give at that point of time. These are just some of my personal thoughts but well enough of the tough talk for now. Haha.

I just ran the Nike Human Race. Biggest mistake of the day, I went to the event with a Standard Chart (adidas sponsered) running gear and was promptly deny entry by the security. Haha. The race was not on top of my priority list so i failed to read anything prior to the race that says that i must wear this shirt but eventually i got around by bypassing the start point to join the rest. I must say i will be harder and harder to keep the physical fitness level up. Used to be running a lot but now run 10km only, i can feel the strain. Will try to maintain but like i say it is damn difficult with more and more things piling up. Anyway i really got to go, still have plenty of things to do.

Life at work

2009-10-11T23:42:00.002+08:00

Busy busy but finally got the hang of things or at least more or less. Had a fire drill last friday and its kinda problematic when you are on the 47th floor... cause we have to climb the stairs but its not too bad consider that i have to train for the Nike Human Race anyway but my leg is aching a bit now. Lucky for me, i do exercise and train for the race so its not that bad. With the recent earthquake, it makes me think about working on the 47th floor. If there is really a major disaster, i think i will probably not waste the time trying to get down if its really that bad but spend the time calling whoever i need to say my good byes. Haha, not meant to scare anyone but yah i find it probably impossible to escape so why not just make the best use of the left over time. HAHA

My 100 Post

2009-09-24T21:23:00.002+08:00

Its my 100 post. Haha and it also marks the completion of my first month of service with Schroders. Its been such a crazy month with so much to learn and master in a short time. The good and bad thing the learning does not stop, i always have new things to learn which is good but of course it is probably also the reason why i am staying till late cause i need to try to pick up the ropes asap. I am still trying to figure out everything and get my work, life and studies in balance which is probably an uphill to learn. Haven't really touch on my CFA yet and now i have e learning course to cope with. I mean all these things are good but i guess its really a test of balance. I am glad though to be busy and thankfully the environment is good and forgiving. I had no short of scares, like missing the deadlines and doing something wrongly but i guess with time, and getting to know the big picture, i have started to figure out how things work and should work and hopefully with time and experience, i will strive to achieve a near zero record while trying to increase the speed.

Post Convocation thought

2009-09-20T11:01:00.003+08:00

Haven't had the chance to really write on the blog or do anything much. Its nearly a month since i started work and I had been working till pretty late (maybe i am slow to pick things up?). Anyway, I think my daily work is more or less stabilize but i do have new ones that pop out every few days plus my ongoing "mini projects". Not that I am complaining, I am in fact glad that i am learning more and more interesting stuff. At the same time, I am trying to do my CFA which is not really working right now but i guess got to get focus and get things done. Time is a luxury that i don't have much right now.

Nevertheless, I have finally graduated and have found a good company with good people who are willing to teach me and i am grateful for all these. I am also glad that i have my family, friends, lectuers and school staff who have helped me along the way in anyway possible either through giving me advice, telling me where are the jobs and things like dat. But for those very "blur friends" please help our friends who are still looking for opportunities if you happen to know any, opportunites come and go and the delay is costly. Not reprimanding anyone here but well i guess its just try to be more proactive and whether it is any good or not finally, at least we have done our part as friends so be a bit more ... hmmm i also don't know whats the word to use. I guess just open your mouth to tip the person off.

I miss school already haha.

Post Birthday and Job Hunt thoughts

2009-08-28T00:04:00.002+08:00

I know I am really late in this post but I like to thank my friends who sms/facebook/celebrated or even snail mail me birthday cards. Really appreciate it. And yes, i found a job and like what my boss promise the learning curve is pretty steep in the sense that its on the job training, no orientation, no other new graduates and there is only me so well right now i am still trying to stay afloat. Hopefully, i can meet or even better exceed their expectations. Its tough starting out but i am glad at least i got the chance to start. Good luck to all my friends who are trying, the market is turning better so there will be silver lining out of this but choose wisely.

The need for bachelor of luck

2009-08-16T21:42:00.000+08:00

Well, its been about 2 months since i have start the job hunting. I just came to realize while chatting with waihao that i have actually been to ten interviews in six companies out of 15 companies that i have applied for so far. Results were pretty mixed. I did get an offer on the first one but i did not take it. I am actually pretty glad that i didn't. I come to realize how important that first job is and getting it right. Most of the time, I held myself back, constantly thinking whether i was able to perform the task. Maybe i was too conservative but it was for a good reason that i did. Only time will tell when i get the right job and take the first step out.

So far, its been pretty demoralizing at times but i think i am still weathering the storm pretty fine. At least, my family does not require me to provide for them. I rather be label as picky right now. In the mean time I am actively preparing myself for the right opporunity, picking or revising skills that will put me in good stead.

Financial Beliefs and the job hunt

2009-07-03T18:26:00.002+08:00

There is a spam of emails from different companies that are recruiting financial advisors or wealth management consultants. As with the mistrust of the majority of these companies, I have very little faith in most of the advisors nor consultants. Why? Simple, I don't think they know a great deal more than me or you about wealth management. Come on, passing a simple M5 M9 and HI doesn't make you all the more knowledgable.

I have taken and dropped a wealth management course in the states because the later part of the course regarding the tax area is irrelevant to the Singapore market but what i know is this, wealth management consist of a really big area and as mention not many of the advisors or consultants are trained to handle the dynamics of good financial planning. We all know, most financial planning will give you some amazingly big number that will make your jaw drop and then ask you to buy some unit trust or endowment plan because of their prescribe business model. How suitable are the products for you? Well not really because they don't know much and they just want to push a product so the majority of them just do not cater to your needs. That is one reason why i refuse to join them unless i am given my way in being able to really cater to the needs of my clients.

Say for example, the endowment fund matures about 20 to 25 years from today with a profit of maybe $5000 to $10,000 on average. Those who know the time value of money will be able to tell you $5000 to $10,000 in a quarter of a century later is not worth that much. For my understanding, endowment funds are more suitable if you have a specific purpose for the money and you probably won't want to risk it. For example, your children's education which is estimated for tertiary level to cost up to $300,000 per child in about 20 years time. Don't be too shock, the price of education has always risen faster than inflation and there is always demand for it. This also explains why not many people are having children. Can the endowment alone be enough, maybe or maybe not depending on your premiums but is it going to be your best vehicle ot deliver the results, again it depends on the individual. It depends on risk appetiate, spending habits and well your goals.

For me, simple yes i will have my endowment plan but that ain't the first thing i would be purchasing. It would be my parents hospitalizing insurances. Why? This is a no brainer, who do you think is most likely to suffer any illness. For most of us, its our parents and given the cost of healthcare here which is like education can only rise faster, this is going to be the time bomb that will rip you off your entire family savings. Its true what some Singaporeans have lamented about for a long time, you can die in Singapore but not fall ill. Are all the medicare and medisave going to be enough, well if you believe the governement will take care of everything by all means. Not for me. Therefore, i got my friend, one of the few good agents around to help me. Why is he good. Instead of just pushing his companies plan. He gave me a detailed comparison of all the different insurance policies available including those of his rival and explain to me what i should look out for. My advice is to do this and do this early because the later the folks get covered the more likely there will be problem areas which no one would be willing to cover hence increasing your risk. With that covered, now you can start getting yourself insured for other areas depending on the individual needs.

Another area for people to look into is their post marriage arrangement and housing. For most Singaporeans, they will end up working most of their life just to pay the housing loan. My own suggestion subjected of course to circumstances, is this, get a bigger house with a government loan and move the parents in as well. Political landmine with your other half and that is always the harder part to resolve but if you can do that the benefits are substantial. First, you can rent out the old estate and collect rent which you can then invest and roll your money. Second, with everyone staying together, there is less cost in maintaining two houses. Some couples aim to pay off their housing loan as soon as possible because of the compounding interest. However, my view on this is, you will never get another loan at this rate and you are paying this off using your CPF which in the first place you can't touch the majority of it until retirement hence why not just use your cpf and use your cash on other investment. You may even have enough to buy more properties and get passive income.

Another common mistake, youngster make is to get a car when they just started work. The monethly expenses will kill a lot of them. If these money can be invested and as early as possible over the long term, the returns will be substantial. Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts in achieving my financial independence but right now work on the job hunt first and hopefully get a good job which is kinda difficult given that most of the openings are now close.

Grad trip day 20 (Santa Monica and Hollywood)

2009-06-03T16:02:00.006+08:00

Officially the last day we have in La, we set out to find the Hollywood sign.
The other place which had a good view of the Hollywood sign the Griffin Observatory.

After that its lunch at Chinatown and to Santa Monica.

At Abercombie and Fitch, imagine a nicely pack rack full of jeans, this is what it became after dear Scott went through the stack for an hour plus.

Finally back to our room to packed up before we were suppose to leave.

Grad trip Day 18 to 19 (LA)

2009-06-03T13:45:00.004+08:00

Its another long drive out to LA something like over 250 miles.
First thing we did after checking in, the walk of fame.

The first night at the walk of fame was not spectucular, all we found was some dead and unheard stars that was probably our parents era.

Rikki with the face mask. We parked at CVS and bought something so that we don't have to pay parking. Guess what the other night before we left, i saw cvs towing 2 cars away. hengz so be careful where you park.

Next morning its Universal Studios Hollywood.

Word of advice get to the park early and start off your day at the lower area. We did that and we manage to avoid the crowd. We even manage to do some of the tides twice without having to que for it.

The funny thing, Rikki's cap flew off while we were taking this ride.

You get to see how they create some special effects in the movies which i think is very interesting

The studio tour should be one of the highlights beside the tours i think its is very entertaining and the best part you are sitting all the time and under shade so for those who don't want to walk this is the place.

The desperate house wife setting.

War of the Worlds.

This is a real man but he is damn good he looks really like a statue and a girl who thought he was a statue got the shock of her life when he move while she was trying to take a photograph with him (the statue) haha.

Off seasons so not much shows being film at the studios.

The Chinese theatre, you will find the biggest stars with the walk of fame icon here.

The Kodak theatre which i think is it the Oscars or some other big show is held here.

Grad trip day 15 to 17 (Vegas and Grand Canyon)

2009-06-03T11:01:00.009+08:00

We spend the day at the factory outlet checking prices and using the internet which unfortunately you got to pay at Stratosphere. And at night we return to the strip for more photo taking opportunities with the replica of New York Icons like the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building.
Somwhat like Disney land, magic kingdom castle

The Egyptian Style Pyramid with the light beaming from the top which can be seen from far, i mean realyy far.

The interior desing is kind of special as well. Another one of the top Casinos in Vegas, MGM.

The next day we drove to Grand Canyon but we are always damn "suay" when it comes to nature parks. It was super misty and foggy the entire morning and you can't really see a thing.

In terms of trails, unless you are going down the Canyon, it is much easier than Yosemite.

After the fog lifted, we were finally able to see the full glory of the Canyon.

Btw temp difference in the sun and out is about 10 degrees so after the sun came out it became pretty hot.

Something i have been learning to do, attain inner peace. Haha not very successful so far.

Nah not trying to commit suicide after failing to achieve enlightenment. haha

More wild life.

As always, bad weather will follow us when we go for hikes and probably something like 5 mins after this shot, rain started to pour.

Since, we had to leave the park earlier than expected, we went to catch an Imax video. Actually it would be better if you watch the show before going into the park that way you can appreciate the grand canyon better.

This is the best part, the next day we checked into Stratosphere again but this time into a Suite during Memorial Day holiday which also marks the time where the sales are the best. The suite cost us 49USD a night and its really worth the money. The room was super huge.

The best part, a toilet that was bigger than my dorm room and there is a jacuzzi.

That evening, we met up with Sze Yuan and her family, went for buffet at the Mirage again and this time we created another bowl of congee with lots of crap meat and shrimps. haha.

Sze Yuan's parents were super cool people haha. They are not what i would think is the typical parent, they are the young at heart who would chiong on their own to explore the world which the typical parent would probably just follow a tour package and go on some boring tour. The strip at night from the observation deck of the stratosphere. Btw its free.

They even provide couch for visitors so you can just chill there and enjoy the view. This is the most scary ride i think even some theme parks cannot match. Its mounted on top of the stratosphere and you will be sliding across and hanging at the edge. Not for the faint hearted.

Its nice to meet friends when you are oversea.

Grad Trip Day 13 to 14 (Las vegas)

2009-06-03T09:48:00.008+08:00

Continue drive to Las Vegas, the Sin City from Barstow which is not that far away.
As mention, the road is usually damn straight so pretty easy to drive.

Stratosphere, the hotel which we stayed. Its cheap and good only problem with it, it is a tad far away from the strip about 1.3 miles maybe around 2 km so if you don't have a car its gonna be a problem. Otherwise, it is perfectly fine since there are free parking all along the strip.

Las Vegas Boulevard

Its just 26 dollars a night for a nice room you can actually have it for 23 bucks but i paid for a 3 bucks upgrade to a higher floor, maybe not worth the upgrade though cause i can only see the carpark but its definately worth it to get a suite will show you why later on. Anyway free entry up to the observation deck and laundry services at the 6th floor. Shiok.

The Venetian, every hotel in Vegas is special, the interior decor is different and it seems like an attraction by itself.

You don't have to pay to find entertainment, they are free look at these bunch of singers

Buffets are a must at Vegas. We went to the mirage to have the buffet and its shiok. The service staff is also dman friendly but of course remember to tip them after having a happy meal.

Alsakan crab legs.

One of the free shows along the strip, this one by the Mirage.

Another free show, The Siren of Treasure Island.

These free shows are nothing short of spectacular and you wonder what you are paying for to see in Singapore....

Early next morning we went for our skydiving experience which cost us a hefty sum but well if not now when? While we drove to the skydiving centre, look at the sky...

The actual training took maybe 10 minutes at most and we were off on the plane ready to jump. It took me slightly by surprise because i thought we were training anyway does not matter than much. If you are doing the skydiving spend more and get a 3 mile instead of a 1 mile drive to make it more worth it.

Anyway, the funny thing was i am the first in line to jump and i don't feel a thing about jumping out. No adrenaline rush for me. Its wierd i know but well its like microlight flying for me, nothing really much to cause an adrenaline rush but well for the others they were screaming like hell but i also had to since i paid a lot of money to get it on video.One of the other jumpers with us.

By the wya find the coupon book and bring it over to change for a free shirt.

After that, we went for lunch at Terribles casino for the Terrible buffet. Haha. its not that bad actually but it will be more like a school meal plan but its still about 9 or 10 dollars after tips so its still more worth while than having say a fast food meal.These mega casino like the Caesars Palace is extremely huge and you will spend a long time exploring them.

Lots of photo taking opportunities. Eh i dunnoe whats with Scott's pose but anyway its Scotts.

Grad trip Day 12 (Barstow, Ghost town)

2009-06-02T23:20:00.007+08:00

Down into the scorching heat of the Nevada desert. It was almost 38 degrees. We had to travel 200 over miles to get to Barstow which is our pitstop before heading further east towards vegas.

The road was just one straight and freaking long road, easy to drive just put it on cruise control.

Anyway the Barstow, Tanger factory outlet was quite small so we completed it in about 2 hours and we had to find something else to do.

So we came over to the ghost town which has this strong wild wild west feel.

Well coincidentally, we came after 5 and the place was supposed to be close so we didn't had to pay anything yet again.

As with all budget travellers just take photos.

Actually it was pretty cool cause it seems that we had the whole place to ourselves.

Grad trip day 11 (Yosemite NP)

2009-06-02T22:08:00.006+08:00

Yosemite National Park. Eagles creek or something like dat. By the way when we took this photo, there were really eagles above and screeching out.
Question how do you avoid paying national park entrance fees: drive in before 8a.m when there is no one at the payment counter. hehe

The treking here is no joke. Plenty of upslope so bring water and food.

Hey there are horses and donkeys that i think you can pay to ride up the trails. Just don't stay behind these horses cause they are the cause of jams up the trail. Just imagine how big they are and how narrow the path is.

The top of Vernall falls.

bring a few bottle of coke and a net. put them in the water and not too long later you will have ice cold coke.

Anyway we didn't maneg to trek to the reflection pool and see the half dome before the rain starting pouring on us. Rikki was still betting with me that it would not rain... In the end not only did it rain dammn heavily, there was lighning, thunder and a hailstorm. We did have enough time to make the hike to the reflection pool after the rain stopped but by then we had all changed out of our wet clothes and were simply too lazy to change back.

Grad trip day 10 (San Francisco)

2009-06-02T18:46:00.002+08:00

We drove across to Oakland to visit USS Midway a retired aircraft carrier.
The place where its located is really off the road and the setting looks more like a place where drug dealers trade but nevertheless we found the place.

Student or people with military pass enter at discounted rates i think it was 12.

Inside the carrier there are guided tours. The engine room tour is a bit technical so might not interest everyone although there are some tales that are rather interesting.

The mess happens to be also the torpedo assembly area.

F14

The control tower with the airboss.

eh a bit dumb but well cheap fun.

behind the captupalt

Across the top of the bay bridge

Grad trip day 9 (San Francisco)

2009-06-02T18:45:00.007+08:00

Day 10, after sending the HKU group off the previous night, we will be making our way to pick rikki up from the airport today. Threfore staying near the airport actually was a good idea. We had some time to kill and decided to go to the famers market at Half Moon Bay.
The drive was scenic but after driving like three or maybe four times around the main street we did not manage to see the famers market. Just before we were about to give up, i spotted some white tents and we stopped over to take a look and sure enough it was there.
It was not as big as i thought it would be and the signs pointing to it wasn't that eye catching so its easy to give it a miss. Anyway they sell some fresh products and we bought some. The bread was good but expensive.

Golden gate bridge from the golden gate park.

Hmmm let me recall, i think i cross the golden gate bridge at least 5.5 times. 4 times riding the bicycle, once driving across and 0.5 walking across.

The other bridge around san francisco the bay bridge that connects to Oakland.

Grad trip day 7 to 8 (San Francisco)

2009-06-02T17:08:00.006+08:00

As usual if you go to the Chinatown and you are sure to look for some dim sum and we found one that was endorse by Yan Can Cook.
The food was ok though not as good as i had expected. Maybe my expectations was raise too high cause i thought SF is the largest Chinatown therefore it must be good.

I am not able to show some of the photos here actually we went to bike the bridge that day which cost us 28 dollars a bike. Haven't exercise for so long hence biking across the 13km trial was damn difficult because we were going against the wind and there are many areas where it is up slope. Maybe getting the comfort bike is better it cost 4 dollars more because i think the standard bike is really crap. Anyway if i go get the photos i will post it up.

The last day with the HKU ppl we took them across the Golden Gate Bridge

through Sonoma and to Napa Valley, the wineries region. We drop them off at Napa factory outlet before going to explore on our own.

We decided to pay the old faithful geyser a visit. Tickets cost 7 dollar a person after a one dollar discount for AAA card.

The four horn goat or something.

The old faithful steams up every maybe 10 to 12 mins so you can definately catch it in action.

After that some self indulge, spa treatment. this one cost us USD 54 a person using coupon. There is a mud bath, jacuzzi and a body wrap which last about an hour. What was lacking in the package to make it perfect would be a body massage.

The Napa wine train.

Graduation Trip Day 6 (San Francisco)

2009-06-02T15:51:00.007+08:00

Day 6, we finally reach San Francisco, after picking the HKU group up, Jennifer, Liza and Victor, we went to check in our hotel at Travelodge then we went straight to town. It was probably about 10 to 12 miles to the city and took less than 1/2 an hour to reach there. San Francisco is fame for its hefty parking fees so drive around to scout for cheaper parking.
Downtown San Francisco
Union Square, actually nothing much i should say.

The famous trams of SF. Hmmm one thing the roads in SF are all damn steep so for older folks this is going to be a problem.

The largest Chinatown in North America. Compared to Toronto's Chinatown the SF Chinatown sells more souvenirs than food. So if you are looking for cheap and good souvenirs this is the place to go. Also there are a few good places to park near chinatown and walk to the rest of the city so do recce the place for cheap parking.

Actually the famous places that are a must go are all around the same area so its possible to park and walk to the places that you want within the same day.

If you look behind you will notice it is really steep.

So driving around San Francisco is a problem because of the gradient of the roads. The key is to stop your car slightly over the slope so that you have a better view and brake, if not sometimes you virtually can't see the road in front no kidding.

Another famous landmark the coit tower which offers good view. If you go up the tower there is a 5 dollar charge which i think well its not too expensive but there are also other places for views so it depends on the individual whether you want to pay.

Alcatraz Island, something which we miss caused all the tickets were sold so i would suggest buying the tickets like at least a few days earlier or booking it online. Get it from Pier 33, its the cheapest.

On top of the Coit Tower.

Lombard street the world's crookest street from the Coit Tower view. By the way this is what one person told us, Lombard street is a private project created by the residents to slow down the speed of drivers.
Haha well see what it has become today.

Coit Tower from below.

Our car going down Lombard Street.

Finally for the evening we visited Pier 39 to walk around. You can try driving around to find parking as well. The cheapest is about 7.50 to around 20 dollars a day. If you are eating at some of the restaurants you can validate your parking for free (usually 3 hours)

Permenant residents of Pier 39

behind me a floating restaurant/boat

Graduation trip day 4 and 5 (San Diego, LA, Santa Barbara, Solvang and Costal Route)

2009-05-15T01:00:00.006+08:00

San Diego is the kind of place anybody who like military hardware must go. Everything is just there. No joke.Behind me one of the soviet submarines that was also used in one of the Movie which i think is Master and Commander or something like dat. Behind USS Hornet, by the way now i think about it again this is a better deal that USS Midway which i visited. There are a lot more aircrafts on their deck. Besides decommission aircraft carriers the 3rd fleet is also based there and there is a section called the aircraft carrier row as well as numerous fleet bases. When i was there, i saw at least two active carriers and not including more than dozen other warships. There was dozen of patrol crafts that are armed as well so don't fool around.

We drove near to a military base to have a nice shot of San Diego downtown. Scott almost drive into the base though and gave me a good scare. I was like NO NO NO you can't... He was like no worries just say we are tourist. Come on, USA was bombed in Pearl Harbour because the Japanese was acting as tourist... I don't want to take the chance and they are certainly not your SAF troops. They are regulars. I don't want to be like in Harold and Kumar. Hahaha.

Lunch for the first few days was mainly chips and junk food that we bought from the 99 cent stores which help us to save a lot of money.

Point Loma, nice scenary of the San Diego bay area. You need to pay 5 bucks to get in but well worth it.
For some reason, you can see the base from the vantage point of point loma and you can see dozens of black hawks, F18s and other military aircrafts from there.

The funny thing was the announcement system even tells you there is a nuclear attack submarine coming into port... Talk about being discret.

The ideal house.

We manage to squeeze sometime on the way back to LA to pay Felcia a visit at her California Polytechnic. Her school dorm reminds me of NTUC downtown east chalet, no joke i think the setting and the design looks the same.

Her school term is damn wierd compared to all the other exchange students, she only came to the US in like mid of March and her term ends in middle of june which is pretty short.

Next stop, we drop by Santa Barbara. This place is so spanish. Actually the nice places are all out of town and you need to reach it by car. So if you are visiting California, get a car and drive out of the city.

The second pitstop for our coastal drive up to San Francisco, Solvang the Danish town. I like all the small towns they are all unique in their own way and if you are in Solvang buy their Danish pastry, they are pretty good. The thing about the town is all the local staff are dress in traditional danish customs to create that danish atmosphere.

We had a good lunch at Solvang and it wasn't that expensive as well. The best part, the strawberries were really fresh and tasty. The rest of the day, I drove 300 over miles a4long the coastal route to hit the outskirts of San Francisco. The original plan was to do this over two days but we wanted to pick up the HKU group from the airport the next day. Its not an easy drive the costal route, it was like the circuits in Daytona, turning and turning for hours. Guess what, i was the driver and i only got my license 9 months ago haha. Anyway we didn't really see what was Big spur about since we saw tons and tons of coastal scenary all along the entire day so we were like numb to some extend. Oh one more thing don't expect to have reception for your phone at some places along the coastal route and if anything happens you better start praying because there is nothing near the route. Anyway almost forgetting, the picture above is the fame lone cyrpus at the 17 mile drive.

There are indeed many nice scenary spots along but i guess we were pretty tired after a long day of driving.

Graduation trip to the West Coast Day 1 to 3 (Santa Monica and San Diego)

2009-05-11T12:43:00.008+08:00

Now that the trip is over, I am back and have told my mum about driving and stuff haha i can finally input more information here. Anyway, the first day of our trip we went to Los Angeles, Santa Monica and stayed at rhe super 8 there, the cab fare was something like 55 dollars. It was a big suite. Everything was there, we have our own kitchen facilities too. The only thing lacking was a good and stable internet connection which was only available near the lobby.
There was a 99cent store there and this store is great, i think even cheaper than Walmart. Most of the things were going for 99cents and we bought a lot of stuff from there including our breakfast. The microwave breakfast had brownie, corn and a piece of pizza, all that for 99cents. We bought like 3 litre sodas for 99 cents everything was amazingly cheap. The next day after we got our car, a Mazada 6, we drove to Santa Monica beach
Took some cheap thrills of taking photos and not buying anything haha.

If anybody is hitting La, you probably should visit Santa Monica and i think one thing special about the place is the street artist. I bought some hand painted pictures from them and its really amazing just looking at how they create that piece of art.

In the evening, we started our drive down to San Diego which we stop by different places along orange county and finally slept in the car at some Mac Donald parking lot. haha. We brought blankets and pillow along so that we can have a more comfortable night in the cars to save some money. Early next morning we went to Sea World and bought discounted tickets using online coupons. Hehe another great way to save money.

Ths star of seaworld, Shamu the killer whale. The theme park is worth the money really and i think Singaporeans should go for this instead of the San Diego Zoo which is also famous but well the Singapore Zoo is not bad either so for something different visit the Seaworld.

Starfish General

The shows in the park were good. I must say they even have entertainment before the actual show starts and they are really good.

We played some games in Seaworld and won these two killer whale soft toys. By the way we played in such a way its a confirm win. haha.

We visited San Diego old town just before checking into the Hotel that night which was another Super 8 hotel.

The old town had a lot of Mexican Heritage and influence. Afterall, it is an hour away from the Mexican border.

So this was the nearest we got to the epic centre of the swine flu.

We had our own rooms that night because Ali didn't manage to join us for the trip and we could not cancel the room.

Last parties in Boston

2009-05-10T13:13:00.000+08:00

Starting with this send off for Julia which is held in our Forest Dorm.
There were so many people who got drunk that night but well its the last night for Julia.
One last group photo with Julia
Minna msn me to do a gathering at seasons before we leave and well ...
Look at the number of people who turn out, i think all the Bentley kids were thinking whats with the size of this group. It was even larger than the other time we had this huge table at Seasons with most of the Europeans.

The next day, Adibah and gang were leaving for Charles place at Cape Cod but look at the amount of luggage four people had... The thing was initially there was a tinge of saddness that people were leaving but i guest after the uncle that was supposed to pick them up came about 2 hours late because of the jam, it sort of dose that feeling and i guess they were more eager to leave than feeling the saddness of leaving.

Last day at Bentley was really a mad rush plus consider that I haven't had proper sleep for the last two days because we were having all these send offs, it was really mad. I was supposed to go with Rose and Orsi to take photos around the Campus but the weather was pretty bad that day and we only had a one hour time frame before i left for Boston downtown but we were still lucky that the weather improvcd slightly for us to take the photos.

My friend JP from Japanese class joined us that evening for dinner at Cheesecake factory.

Entire Semester, its the only time we hang out together and he treated me, Yanmin and a few of those seating at that area dinner. Thanks JP, hope to see ya in Singapore and i will definately treat you to nice food and drinks.

Dinner with Andrew Innocent, Andrew Saxes, Miriam, Ali and of course the rest of the exchange group.

A few more days, a mixed of emotions

2009-05-10T11:53:00.000+08:00

In less 3 days the exchange will be officially over, everyone will be heading back from where they came from. Its a wierd moment a mix of emotion, something that is overwhelming and uncontrollable. Today, the second exchange student, Julia has left and as i had expected all the girls cried like mad. This is the part i hate the most when you know for sure you won't see them again and unlike girls when they can just cry, guys??? The sadness is just inside. Even though I may not be that close to certain people but i think i will certainly miss them.

Whether there were differences or not, these will be common memories everyone will take home, never forget and bond the group together. Compared to the most of the other people here, i know exactely how it feels and sometimes i guess i am just too "advanced", i feel things way ahead of others as well. Damn... and the thing is i am still feeling it. Like one friend said to me, 'Leaving is always tough especially when you leave your friends behind too but come back to see your friends for 11 years as well' haha. Another told me, 'its good cause it shows that you have expeirence many things and have many memories and isn't that a good thing?'.

The added task of looking for a job is adding to the mix of emotions, after nearly 2 decades of education, i am finally going to step into the working world only to face the worst recession in like almost a 100 years. I can't believe my luck man...

I will certainly miss my host families from Seattle, Niagara falls to Oshawa and the friends I met in Bentley. I do hope someday i get to meet them again.

Toronto & Oshawa 18th to 20th April 2009

2009-04-25T07:36:00.006+08:00

We arrived in Toronto in the afternoon.
Behind us the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame
CN tower behind us.

Buy the Citypass online (US$48) if you are going to visit more than one attractions especially the CN tower because it cost 30 odd dollars without taxes. If you are a person that have been to many towers, you might want to give the tower a miss.

The only special thing that the CN tower has that i do not find in many other places is the glass floor.

This is a must visit for all Chinese. The chinatown in San Francisco is huge, there are streets and streets lined with resturants. I don;t have the pictures of the food but you will love it if you are missing chinese food.

Casa Loma, certainly a place worth visiting, there are very nice old furnitures and stuff.

Casa Loma has a lot of photo taking opportunities.

The long pipe thing is actually part of an organ whhich occupies an entire room by itself.

going up to one of the towers of the castle.

This is the kind of photo you will get when u let loose a group of students like us.

As usual, we are trying to kill Scott.

This is the backview of the Castle, the front part was still under renovation.

A visit to the 151 Charburn Sqn in Oshawa. This is amazing for me, I

really didn't think I will have the chance to visit Lt. Col Ted and the 151 Sqn. I have been in contact with Lt. col Ted for 6 years on the email, video conference him on msn and who would have guess we will meet. The 151 Sqn is huge.

The unlucky thing was that the Sqn was out on tagging (flag day for us) and he got like 30,000 over 4 days which is amazing given the current economic climate. If, we had some more time, i would be able to see the whole Sqn.

Lt Col. Ted's wife, Nancy. She is so humourous. I am really so amaze by their network, their support base. Nancy along with other cadet's parents were helping to count the coins that the cadets collected and they were all volunteers. Its almost impossible to see that in Singapore, that kind of support.

Some guy donated 230 model planes if i remember correct and a whole lott of books, magazines and videos. Their walls are filled with photos of the activities. The junior NCOs room. Just image after 10 years we just got one small room and we had to borrow space from the land cadets for so many years before we got it.

How true it is, stop whining people and just do what you got to do.

We got a free ride on a small craft. Lt col. Ted somehow manage to arrange the flights in such a way that the cadets flew with us and the rotary club sponsered these flights

Mr George, our pilot.

We returned after the flight back to 151 Sqn.

As i said, i really didn't expect to be visiting the Sqn so i didn't prepare much and i had to make do with some other stuff. I am so sorry, i will go back to Singapore and send something back there. We had a private tour of a Tank Museum nearby later in the afternoon.

From left me, P.k, Nancy, Lt.Col Ted, Scott

Their house was lovely and those lamps are sensor operated... i was like wow... Nancy prepared some pudding with the strabberies and some prepackage mixer. I never knew package stuff can be that good. Their backyard is full of animals and Nancy seems to know all the animals that would come along. Like i said, i really would never have never expected to make it because it was not that accessible and i had dropped the email to Lt. Col Ted via the wrong email so I didn't get any reply till i was here and i didn't get to prepare anything for this visit.

Nevertheless, I was glad we make the trip up. It was simply amazing to see the kind of special bonds that run in the air cadets that ran across generations and even spouses. I hope there is a chance that our officers can have a formal visit to see for themselves what we are truely lacking but i think that day will only come when I become uber rich which is not forseeable in the near future.

Dear Lt.Col Ted and Nancy, I am glad we got the chance to meet and i really hope your investment portfolio picked up and you can visit us back in Singapore. You guys are really amazing.

Niagara Falls trip 17 to 18 April 2009

2009-04-25T01:47:00.015+08:00

As you can see from the picture above, we are always trying to kill each other. Just joking. This picture is taken in the basement of my ex host, Capt J. This trip up to the Niagara Falls, Toronto and Oshawa bears great
personal significance for me. When I got my place at Bentley, I have already made up my mind that I will visit Niagara Falls again to meet up with my ex host. I think neither me nor Capt J. would expect to ever meet again. The basement of his house is a treasure trove of artifacts, a lot of artillery patches and even some empty artillery shells. By the way if anyone knows where to find any Singapore artillery badges, patches or other related stuff please let me know. From the left, P.K, Me, Capt J. and Scott.
The last time i was here 7 years ago in 2002, we were in such a rush we forgot to take any photos with the house and we only had the old film camera or digital cameras that was 1.3mega pixels. We didn't even manage to take any decent photos so this time i brought in the DSLR and a tripod and make sure i make ample couples of these precious memories.
A quick trip before dinner to view probably what i think is the only canal system in the world that moves ships across high elevated areas. Its a bit scary and amazing how the ships manage to not knock into the sides when there is only a few inch to the sides
The Skylon Tower is one of the good place to dine at the Niagara falls. Its expensive but the view is great, the best timing to come is after May when there are fireworks display in the evening. Capt J. used to take all the exchange cadets for dinner at the Sklyon tower and we were all dressed up (the last time i got to borrow a shirt from Tim, the Australian exchange cadet). This time, I was much better prepared with a full suit and actually i like this tradition.

From the top of the revolving restaurant, you have plenty of great views. This is a picture of the American falls. By the way, anyone that is thinking of visiting Niagara falls must come over to the Canadian side if you want a view of the falls. The thing is if you stay on the American side you probably can only see the foams of the fall cause the closest you can get is on top on the falls and you can't see it in its full glory.

love this much better the Canadian Horseshoe waterfalls.

If you can see there is something stuck in the middle of the picture, its a old ship that got stuck there.

The plaque presentation to Capt J. My unit had learned that I was meeting Capt J and as mentioned earlier he had hosted Pei See and Ahmad as well so the unit decided to sponsor the plaque while me and Ahmad drafted the words.

I also brought along two handwritten postcards from Ahmad and Pei See and a pair of artillery badges sponsored by Keith (our ex cadet). I think it was this point when Capt J got really teary. It was also an emotional experience for me to be back for such a reunion. I actually wanted to tell Capt J that we have not forgotten about him and we are really grateful for what he has done for the air cadets and for hosting us. As someone who had serve in the cadets for more than 10 years now, I know how important it is to feel some sort of appreciation, no matter how tiny it may be to fuel the passion.

I told my friends before this, if no one wanted to come to Niagara falls with me, I will still somehow make it there irregardless of the price and i really mean it as long as there is an airport or a bus that will go there. I am so glad I made it. So to Capt J's question, how did you know you will meet me? The answer is simply, Ii simply have to. It helps when you have bus services and an airport nearby. Oh and yes you replied to my email in December welcoming me to stay with you again so its easier for me to plan my trip. Haha.

A view of both falls

Niagara falls at night. This is a special treat that Capt J. would bring all the air cadets when he hosted them.

Capt J explaining how the lighting system works.

We went to the control room of the lights of Niagara Falls and we manage to play with the lights. In other words, whatever lights we choose would appear on Niagara falls and everyone who took pictures for that moment would be taking the colours that we choose. It was cool and it was certainly not what everyone will have a chance to do.

The light bulk here cost 2000 dollars and has the power of 5 million candlesticks. There are 21 such light bulbs which light up the falls at night.

The external view of the control tower.

Niagara falls at night. Eh... somehow after a period of training, Scott's hand still can't stop shaking when he takes photos. Therefore, only the photo i took came out nice. The others were all blur. Please brush up your skills in keeping steady hands before we go to the west coast.

So after the photos didn't turn up well, i tried to kill him again... haha just joking.

Oh, not to forget Capt J's super big but friendly dog, Rockie

The guys room.

P.K's room with all the pots of plants. I stayed in this room 7 years ago and i guess P.K was lucky cause the room was supposed to be filled with potted plants at this time of the year and she only confirm she is joining us just a few days before and Capt J somehow manage to squeeze some space out for her

The super poser, forever.

don't have time to edit these photos and neither do i have the programme to do it now so yah its a pity the faces are all dark cause of the sun but i guess they can do it back in Singapore.

The control centre for thhe lighting in the day view.

Before we left, we went to visit a historical site, Landy's lane ( i hope i got the name right), where the British fought with the Americans in 1824.

This is a quick but certainly fruitful one and the half day tour of Niagara falls. I wish you (Capt J.) good health and may we see each other again. I certainly hope i can bring you around in Singapore and tour my unit.

Expo at Brookhaven

2009-04-24T09:54:00.000+08:00

The Consumer Behavior Expo at Broohaven, part of the marketing class I took. Using the most simplistic setup of just laptops, brochures and a blog, we demostrated the use of simple point and shoot camera.
Orsi talking to one of the Hungarian folks at Brookhaven.

Btw these folks at Brookhaven are not just your typical grandparents, some were researchers, CEOs... They were all professionals and the place they stayed in is not cheap at all.

I was so busy that day, I was literally swarmed by the folks. Even before i could set up the booth, there were already people there. It was a far cry from many other stores. Didn't expect so many folks to want to learn about cameras. Initially we focus on tips in buying a good camera because it was easy to do but they were asking us everything about using the camera. Lucky for me, I consider myself a tech geek and there wasn't any real problem doing it.

The HKU grp's booth

One thing i am glad we were able to do that is to really teach them something they want although haha our brochures were designed to make things easier for us. I also know that my salesmanship is still there.

UIUC group

2009-04-07T10:05:00.004+08:00

Rikki came over to Boston for his spring break and he brought a few friends along. Even though i am their tour guide, i didn't really visited Boston as much as some of the others because of the WIL2 project so I took the opportunity to take a better look and know more about Boston as well. I was supposed to meet them at quincy market but it turned out that they already had their fill at quincy and they wanted something else so i brought them to Penang at Chinatown. As the name suggest, it serves things like prawn mee and other nanyang dishes.
From left Zhongyi, Rikki, Yoke Teng, Terrance and Linda

Well when in Boston, the number one attraction for business student Havard Business school and touching John Havard's shiny shoe for good luck.

Next stop, yeah its a school again this time MIT (not RMIT) haha. Anyway if you are planning to visit MIT, there is a free 1.5 hour tour at 11a.m and 3p.m

The famous MIT dome where numerous MIT hex happened including a full scale police car bring placed on top of the dome. I still can't figure out how they did it.

Boston commons (which is also known as Beacon Hill)

Legal seafood, not something i would recommend. I don't think it taste exceptional and its pricey. I took the guys the next day to Chinatown the next morning for some shopping and we ate at this HK eatry that has very good chinese food at competitive prices and i think they like it pretty much. The final stop before the airport was Mike's pastry and the que reminds me of the mooncake and bbq pork que in chinatown...If you are planning a short visit to Boston, i guess this should covered the most important parts of the city.

Mike's pastry

2009-04-07T09:35:00.003+08:00

Mike's pastry a famous Italian pastry shop in Boston. Stop at hay station and cross the street where highway 93 is to the opposite side and just go into the streets, you probably can ask people around or follow the boxes people are carrying that says mike's pastry.
If you do make it there buy the chocolate connoli, thats the best.

You can go to the nearby park to enjoy your pastry, remember to ask for fork and servette

You can see the famous celtics logo painted across the all opposite where they play. Somehow i feel celtics and rox sox is like more of a religion than a sport when i see how the city go crazy over them.

Northstation, where the Celtics play.

5 more weeks to go

2009-03-31T13:12:00.004+08:00

I am supposed to be very busy right now after a very long but fruitful weekend hosting Rikki and his friends from Chicago around Boston and finally meeting Raoul for dinner with some of the other exchange students (affter 3 months). Haha but i guess this is gonna be pretty short. there is 5 more weeks left, time really flies and soon it will be over. It is especially significant because not only it marks the end of my stay at Bentley, it is also the end of my schooling career and the start of a new phase of my life full of unknown. Not having a job at hand is also a source of discomfort. I guess i will have to dig some time out to spam those CVs and resumes real soon.

I am definately gonna miss all the friends that i met over here. Its like when i was on exchange 7 years ago but i hope this is gonna be slightly better with technology like facebook and msn. This has definately been a significant milestone in my life and i would guess for all the exchange students as well. I doubt anyone would have regret coming for the exchange and bringing back the memories and experience that not everyone back home gets.

Visit to Ali and Mariam's place

2009-03-25T13:42:00.003+08:00

This blog entry is also super outdated but nevertheless i think its worth to still put it up for memories sake. Anyway we visited our friends Ali and Mariam from Bahrian.
We watched Slumdog Millionaire and it was a pretty good show before walking through the park to reach their place.

They got a very nice apartment downtown and the furniture was very nice and classy.

While we were there, Ali taught us a lot of new card games from Bahrain. I think a deck of cards can do wonders man. This entire exchange programme seems to be build on the basis of card games...

Finishing it off for the evening we went for desert near his place.

The desert was really nice and definately worth the money but i can't recall the name of the place now.

Super outdated clubbing photos

2009-03-25T13:10:00.004+08:00

Yan Min's birthday took us quite a while to plan and set up but still there were some minor screw ups. Haha but i guess its still good. The next birthday is gonna be a headache, we are running out of ideas.
Anyway after the celebration, we went to Skellig, a clubbing place frequent by Bentley Students. Its quite near campus so it cost us about $2 each in cab fare for each way.

Drinks are not too cheap and Boston is certainly not a good place to go clubbing. If you are a foreigner be prepared to bring your passport, other ids such as driver license are not accepted. You got to be abpve 21 and they have damn wierd timings. by 12.50 they will close... so literally you got about slightly more than an hour because the crowd only comes in at 11.30p.m and the music is not that great. Apart from the fact that it is cheap, the standard ain't anywhere near the Singapore clubbing scene.

Day 08 Spring Break Transit Alantic City 14th March

2009-03-25T12:43:00.004+08:00

We arrived in Alantic City early in the morning and our rooms were not ready so we took a walk and look for breakfast.
After breakfast, we were lucky again. St Patrick Day parade was happening at the Alantic City Broadwalk.

St Patrick day is an Irish festival and it is a pretty big thing given that there is a large irish population in north eastern united states. According to my friend on St Pat day everyone is supposed to wear green. If you are not in green, the others can give u a pinch.

Look at the cool ah mas riding all the bikes, i cannot imagine my grandma doing that LOL

And during the parades, they will throw sweets and beads for the children but haha the Singapore gang found it super amusing and started collecting the beads and sweets as well. At the end of the day, there was a big bag of sweets so if you are at the parade i guess you won't need to buy any candies.

After that its the Casino... and for those who want to do some shopping there are outlet malls around the area but they are closed by 7pm so do your shopping in the afternoon.

Day 07 Spring Break Transit St Augustine 13th March

2009-03-25T12:21:00.008+08:00

Before we left, we took a photo of the motel which i highly recommend.
We left for St Augustine which is a historic town. According to lonely planet, it was the first city in the U.S.

To my surprised, the Spaniards landed in the U.S in the 1500s and i guess they are probably the first europeans to establish a city and of course the city has a very rich spanish heritage.

The greatest joke of the day. Kyle was walking up this flight of stairs to take some photos and never did he imagine what he would see... "This premise is protected by Scott Alarm"... Hahaha Kyle just burst into laughter upon seeing the sign. Haha...and they were still comtemplating how the scott alarm would work by sounding off "Scott! Scott! Scott!" until the intruder is truely and surely irritated.

Oh always visit the welcome centre, we took some coupons and found a good place for lunch.

While we were eating lunch, we heard some cannon firing and decided to pay a visit to the nearby fort.

As usual we didn't pay any entrance fee but took a look at the outside and took photos which i think is a good idea.

And... we got lucky, there was another round of firing for some special occasion that day and we manage to catch it. I love my camera haha.

Day 06 Spring Break Orlando Disney Magic Kingdom 12th March

2009-03-25T07:14:00.007+08:00

This is going to be the longest entry by far. Today, we reach Disneyland Magic Kingdom which is supposing the best in the world but now that i have visited the place and another few of my friends. Recommendation visit epcot instead of magic Kingdom unless you are with kids below the age of 10. Tickets are nearly USD80 and each park requires one full day.
Transportation system to and fro and within the part is good so don't worry about it.

The highlight of the park is the space mountain ride at tomorrowland.

Btw, ques are long and you can make use of your entry pass to collect a fast pass every hour. Time and use the fast pass wisely. Most of the popular rides require nearly an hour waiting in the que and just 2 mins to complete the ride so unless you want to constantly wait in que please do some planning.

if i am on the roller coaster and i can still be taking photos like that, it goes to show how fast the roller coasters are.

I like the disney show with 3D imagery which i think was pretty cool and there are good effects as well like real water splashing on you. Oh ya, we met the HKU group again haha but its a pity we didn't get to meet Ali and Miriam at all.

This is the space mountain. The last photo with my lens cap which i lost on that day.

The Disney Castle, btw i got my orientation wrong. For fireworks which is the highlight of the park, you got to be standing in front of the castle and i was standing behind the castle when it happen...

Lunchtime. Anyway if you are on budget you can bring your own food. We were overly concerned that they won't allow food stuff in but well guess not.

The parade starts at 3 but for i think only 10 mins. Oh ya, we were all wearing the Miami shirt if you notice except for Kyle who refuse to wear it.

Disney mouse ice cream which is not cheap, its USD $3 but the weather was freaking hot so who can resist it.

We found Scott's sister here, the number one lamer by far. Her jokes were like so cold... Anyway by this time of the day, i am already feeling damn bored because all the rides are so kiddish..

The Pirates of the Caribbean store is a good place to take photos because you can use all the toys in the shop to take funny shots. The 'small small world' ride was really so .... If i am 4 years old i will be damn happy but i am nearly 24 and i just can't take it anymore. haha the kiddo stuff was just driving me crazy.

The highlight of the night the fireworks but as mention i was at the wrong area. The night view of Disney was way nicer than the day and i could not understand why they are not open at night.

We went to Disney downtown after that for dinner and shopping but i guess there were just too many things to shop for and we didn't manage to get dinner.

Anyway, if you want to have a glimpse of disney but not willing to pay for the entrance ticket, you can go downtown disney. Anyway i am pretty bored of writing so just take a look at the photos and try to decipher whats going on.

Day 05 Spring Break Miami and Orlando 11th March

2009-03-23T11:08:00.008+08:00

For the last day at Miami, we went to Miami beach again and this time i got my revenge against Scott for deleting away some photos.
Nice sunny weather and a lot of college students all over and this time we met Tulio (from Brazil) and Luke (HKU).

Oh one thing i like about Miami beach its the wave its super duper fun. Its much bigger than those found in Singapore and you can feel the full force of the wave but the water is pretty shallow.

Anyway later in the afternoon, we got to Kennedy Space Centre. We miss the space shuttle launch on tthe 6th of March and we saw this sign that says there was a launch on that night that was cancel... It woould have been cool to be able to witness a space shuttle launch or any launch actually.

Anyway, the tickets for the space centre was darn expensive and we didn't want to go in because it would certainly bust our budget and we only have a few hours.

We arrive at the motel which was by far the best one we had and certainly worth the money. Kyle and Yann Min was designated Andrew's hair dresser and it was quite stressful for them i guess haha given that none of them had experience cutting the hair of others. I think Andrew was also pretty desperate enough to get the hair cut there and then... It also bears testimonial to how much the locals trust their barber... haha Anyway it was not that bad after all and Andrew was saying its better than the local barber.

Anyway, the motel that we staed in is called the Metropolitan Express which is located near the attractions and there are shuttles to them so no worries. It cost us 60 dollars a night and its spacious. 2 queen space beds, fridge, safe and other stuff and lots of eateries nearby. The onyl drawback thw wifi is a bit screw up and you got to go to the hotel lobby to get access to it. Btw for people who are squeezing people illegally, this is a good choice, we got 5 ppl into a 2 person room without any problems.

Day 04 Spring Break Miami 10th March

2009-03-23T09:51:00.003+08:00

We went to the town of Ford Lauderdale area to take a look and hmmm i think this place is pretty upscale and the houses are really nice but i don't think its for the commoners like us.

There was this wierd guy running with a glass... I don't know what he is trying to do but i think you won't find something like dat back in Singapore.

Fort Lauderdale beach, its a nice place. It has nicer beaches with clean and clear sea water and is less crowded than Miami beach. Our new travel buddy, Yan Min San had just flew down to join us.

I mean really clean water, nice weather and clear blue skies. Its almost perfect.

Anyway we found cheap and good lunch nearby which i think cost us about 10 to 12 dollars each with burger fries and a drink.

Helping Scott add a little salt to help his coke get a bit more tasty. We went to another beach, this time to the Cape Florida Lighthouse area.
We were a little high for the sun and beaches so anywhere we go haha we went into the water. This is what you do when you have been freezing for way too long up North.

The current here are much stronger than the ones at Miami beach and we could barely swim against the currents so we didn't venture too far out.

A little sign here to show that we have been here. We arrive too late at Miami beach to let Yan Min see the fully glory of the beach but i think there were still good photos to be taken.

We miss this gem which was right beside our hotel, Pier 5 Bayside Marketplace which was really nice. Too bad we didn't know about it and by the time we were there most of the shops were closing. There are shops, nice night scenary and a stage for performances pretty much like esplanade area in Singapore.
We got a good bargain i think. A Miami shirtfor 9 bucks each.

This is where Miami heats play so if anyone like Miami heats, its gonna be here and there was a match happening while we were there but again didn't spend money to get in.

Day 03 Spring Break Charleston and Miami 9th March

2009-03-23T09:29:00.016+08:00

This is a view of a jetty at Charleston, a small town in South Carolina. Its a nice place and certainly worth to pay a visit despite the fact that it bears the name of one of my arch enemy. It has this old town charm that is simply irresistable.
For some of the folks that are interested in ghost tours, there are guided tours available but i didn't manage to check out the rates.

I think one good thing is America has a lot of cool and wierd vehicles and i certainly would like to have one of this. Small and easy to park haha.

The market place at night which is kind of clean for a market. I don't really know what they sell here but Charleston is supposed to be a fishing port so i presume its for seafood but i don't see any trace of it here.

We found a resturant call Tsunami which is pretty cool and value for money. I order seafood ramen and there are so many shrimps and scallops every single scoop i will get something. Its really value for money.

After that we had to taste some of the southern speciality, the deep fried food.

Fried ice cream and cheese cakes to start us of. I think its ok but i can't really feel the cheese cake.

You can take a look at all those food that the southern part of the country at their candy store and have a good idea what kind of diet they have. Haha, its all sinful but good stuff. I think if Kang was with us he would be OMD OMG this is so sinful...

Our first taste of Miami Beach

Breakfast was dognuts and some other pastry with root beer. haha budget travellers.

I certainly miss the nice and warm weather there now. Its reallly a party city and it gives people the "holiday" feeling.

Day 02 Spring Break Washington dc 8th March

2009-03-21T00:41:00.016+08:00

Btw anyone that is staying far from the city centre should consider getting the city pass which is like 7.50 for unlimited rideson the subway which is really convinent.
To be frank i am a little dissappointed by the Air and Space Museum. There are many only vintage commericial aircrafts which is rare to see because most of the aircraft museum only shows military aircraft. The only thing is the shop certainly has a lot of good bargains for those interested in aircrafts so if you are one of them visit it. Anyway its free just walk in.
The dissapointing thing is there are many of the newer aircrafts.

Behind us the Capitol building, which was really nice in the day. I think one of the places i like the national mall and its really nice to be playing friskbee and taking photos. Its a great place to picnic or laze around

A real specimen of a giant squid.

Most of the Museums in dc is for free so feel free to visit them. Are they better than those in New York. Hmmm, i would say yes and no given that its free its certainly good enough.

Btw this is supposed to be the world's best crafted diamond or something like that. Its about 46 carats if i remember correctly. Every girls dream i guess but i still dun find diamonds attractive.

Haha, the reflection pool was dried up when we visited... haha i guess i will come back one day to check out the pool again when its filled but this is certainly a unique view of the monument.

The washington monument.

The dried up pool with Lincoln memorial at the back.

This is the opposite view in the reflection pool but against the washington monument continue updating a bit later
Abraham Lincoln. After all that walking, we had dinner at Chinatown

Cost us 17 dollars per person but the servings are huge and i think worth the money but there are too many dishes of meat. we had 3 meat dish and 1 veggie dish along with soup, spring rolls, another snack and some slices of oranges.

Day 01 Spring Break Washington Dc 7th March

2009-03-20T23:55:00.023+08:00

This is the Vienna Wolftrap Hotel which we stayed during our stay at dc, it probably cost us about $60 a night but it was pretty comfortable.
Its at the end of the orange line Vienna so expect to take about 40 mins to get into town and there is a 1.6km walk to the metro station. For those who has a car, there is free parking if not take a walk there. I heard there are buses but just can't find it.

Anyway, for the hotels as budget student travellers, we booked for 2 but struggled in 2 more to avoid paying more and as you can see there are 2 queen size bed that fit 4 perfectly and for this hotel there weren't any problems cause the front desk is far away from the room. Btw, the dc Subway is supposely the best in the country which is i guess true but it did fail us at some point which i will talk about later.

Anyway, i guess the rest of the group to satisfy my interest had to accompany me to talk a walk down to the pentagon which i guess few tourist would ventured

Anyway security was pretty tight and we wasn't supposed to take photos but somehow we did but with a lot of ppl looking at us. The Memorial for the September 11 crash into the pentagon.

The structure is a little further away from the pentagon itsellf

Anyway before we left, i took a photo of chong hao and this security guard was shouting at us so well don't try to mess around with them and basically my feeling is if you think Singapore is a police state and america is more liberal, i think its a yes and no now. I saw so many police officers around the states and i feel that perhapt that was the only way they could maintain law and order. I mean if there is any incident, you can see a hell lot of police officers rushing to an area and i guess they were place there for a reason. Not so much for the terrorist but pretty much to keep the local people in check.

Capitol Hill. Anyway, Washington dc is really a nice place to take photos but some of the people over here thinks its too gray. Well, i would still recommend a trip down to dc and take some great photos as well as at least you can tell the world that you have been to the world's most powerful nation's capital. Anyway, i know there are more things to see and explore but not many people will appreciate except history buffs like me.

Walking down the strip of grass patch in between the National Monument and Capitol. Its a petty we arrived too late for the first day.

National Monument

Btw, dc is quite a dead city at night and there aren't many things you can do. And for food try the Union Square food court, Its pretty cheap by dc standards and there are plenty of choices.

White House which i think doesn't really look as impressive as what we had seen in the movies or news.

Anyway, later that night we met up with the HongKong group which arrived even later than us.

We met for dinner at Union square but because it was too early and there wasn't much to do. We decided to walk them to their hostel. So we were dragging their lugguage around dc.

In between, we found the FBI HQ. Haha and all the guys have to take a photo with that.

Anyway, we soon realise that its important to double check the address. The HKU group's hostel was much further away and google map gave them the wrong location.

And everyone including myself was looking at the map at some point trying to figure out where the place was because the we couldn't find the 8th street that was suppose to be between 7th and 9th. Later after we found the 8th street we found the postal code of the hostel to be one that was many many blocks away... So in the end, we took about 3 to 4 hours to locate the hostel which i thought was only gonna be half an hour. On the way back we met with another problem, the subway track near our place had some problems and it took us maybe 1h 30 mins to reach the hotel and that is 2a.m in the morning.

Dinner at Judy and Bill

2009-02-22T15:09:00.040+08:00

We were invited by the lady we met at the back of the photoshoot, Judy. This is his husband, Bill, who is preparing his salmon for us. Anyway, Bill drove and picked us up from school which was really nice and their house is like a 5 min drive from Bentley. Btw did i mention Bill has been a research scientist in MIT for more than 25 years. So this is their living room, if you want to know what a typical middle income family looks like this should be a good example.
Dinner time. The dinner was good. we had salmon rice and veggie and Bill told us about many interesting things about MIT including some really creative and wacky hex while Judy was telling us about the creative ways she used to find a nice man during her younger days. Its just amazing.

This is the latest additional to their house.

Old friends are The best friends well thats true but there will always be new friends as well.

Anyway a group photo.

Bill was showing us their family photos and family tree. One of the family photo showed something like 140 people coming together for a family gathering which is like ...

The scared MIT Quarter Century chair that Bill had. My god, there aren't many people who qualify to get this chair and the best part we got a chance to sit on it. Haha, will sitting on this prestigious chair make one smarter haha. I got to try.

Hehe here we are sitting on the quarter century chair. OkOk hopefully no need to study also can get FM (full marks) haha.

Another interesting artefact, its suppose to represent Judy's mum and dad in Norway.

New York Day 4

2009-02-22T15:09:00.037+08:00

Ok, the last day of our trip to New York, we woke up and made our way to Central Park. Its within walking distance from our hostel and in between you get to see the places that the commers stay so its a contrast with the city.
Well, this is the entrance where we entered the park. Its kind of dead at this time of the year.

Setting up the tripod for the first shot.

and there we have it.

All doing some funny position which now i think back or rather look at the picture, i don't really know what were we doing

Imagine in spring whenthe trees are full of lush green vegetation.

The ducks are quite cute cause they are standing on thin layers of ice and sometimes they break and you can see them sinking down.

In the middle of the half frozen pond, a tennis ball...

trying to get some good pose.

fantastic wallpaper kind of photos

I don't understand why but they place a castle like structure in the middle of the park.

and to our next destination which was beside the park, the natural history museum.

It cost about $11 entry for students and actually no one really checks but well. Its a good place to visit everyone says its nice so its a die die must visit place.

Hehe the Trex...

Think this is quite interesting it looks like a flying turtle. This is the best part, the attack by dinosaurs

There are different exhibits but try to start from the top where they exhibit the dinosaurs. They are really good.

Go to the present animals, space and the underwater one as well. they are good.

Yah looking at this it reminds me please bring your own water or buy a subway in. The meals are really expensive there.

The underwater world exihibit, behind is the replica of a real full size whale. I think its a sperm whale Astro side

they include many kinds of geological artefacts and things as well. this one is a piece of marble.

And so we end the four days in New York. Many things to see and do and i really enjoyed the trip.