we all know, life is fragile. But I guess we never thought reality'll struck so close. We're so young, so are our friends. This few days its hard not to read or listen to the news without tearing up (i admit, and crying :P). Cos its not hard to imagine if it had happened to someone closer to you... The agony of the loss.. All 5 were so young & promising. And they will be dearly missed by their families & friends.

Been reading thru msgs left on blogs dedicated to two of the victims, and among them are many msgs with content similar to 'I wish I had known you better.'

How many times have such thoughts crossed our minds b4? I guess sometimes we learn the hard way, to appreciate everyone around you. Tragedy strucks and it jolts us back to reality - life is fragile.

Condolences to the family & friends of our 5 national rowers... You must be proud to have crossed paths with these good, young men. Let's hope they find peace in the skies above, rest well...

Rest in Peace

Chee Wei Cheng

Jeremy Goh

Stephen Loh

Poh Boon San

Reuben Kee En Rui

may our rowers rest in peace

I hate it when I have too many days between the papers.. 5 days is the max I can take. but 9?! no way! especially when people have alrdy finished their papers during this period of 9 days.. argh. my 'productivity' is seriously declining. Cut by half ytd. ha. only did 2 chapters..

oh well.. I can only do my best today and the next few days to come! I've been cooped up at home the whole weekend.. alternating between book & tv. (and occasionally my hula hoop, yeah.. my new past time) finally going out for lunch w eugene later!

our Fastcat project got us an A.. quite relieved abt that, cos it takes up a whooping 40%.. with the individual component factored in, I'm sure joyce & me will get the grade pulled up again since we both contributed so much for that.. hopefully it'll help! 223 papers seems tough.. from the look of the past year exams..

oh yeah, I've been stomping lately.. its quite addictive u know.. and some topics there are interesting.. haha. maybe u guys can go take a look when u're bored or sth.. cheers!

I'm addicted to STOMP. Too addicted!

ytd's paper.. was honestly not hard, was more of the time management & planning. Tho a qn or two shocked me.. ha. Oh well, like wad kor say "if want to worry abt it, worry after the last paper." ha! How 'optimistic' is that? lol.

anyway, Eugene's clearing his leave, so we have plenty of time tog nowadays. After buffet on Mon, we planned for a movie ytd. Well, Hero was supposed to have sneak preview ytd but none of the cinema had timings for that. Only for 22nd, which is today. bah! One of the cinema website even put heroes under "Now Showing" but when u click the schedule it shows timing for 22nd, and not 21st. Well, well.. I guess there's a new meaning to 'now' is it..

So, we watched the next show on our 'to-watch' list. Enchanted! haha.. quote from eugene: its a happy movie. Seriously.. the ending, and the characters.. Giselle (the princess from the fairytale land) is very bubbly and the things she says & does are so funny sometimes.. And how she sings kept getting onto Robert's (the lawyer in real-life New York) nerves at first. I shall not post spoilers here, but pls go and watch if you're looking for some laughter and a nice plot! And there's a bit of singing here and there, tho of cos not as much as Hairspray or High School Musical.

Had a good time, walked out of the theater feeling slightly 'enchanted' and motivated.. haha.. will there be a happily ever after?

next up on our list is.. Hero, Golden Compass.. :D

ytd was our 7th month tog :D so fast! haha.. so we met for some buffet lunch at Nihon Mura.. Eh. I dunno if i spelt that wrongly.. but its the buffet at the new Sports & Recreation Center. hehe.. die le, its my 2nd time eating in less than a month =P but really enjoyed it.. hehe

anyway.. me & Eug embarking on Project Shed the Fats.. haha.. gotta exercise to lose those fats! Tml's my paper.. but I'm going out again.. for this interview at the agency lo, a bit sian.. all the way in Ngee Ann City.. Just for '5-10 mins to know what you would like on the job'.. =_= I hate interviews!

Oh.. After tml's paper we're gonna watch Hero! The jap movie.. haha.. I know, I know, exams not over yet, don worry.. I'll rem!

cleared 2 papers ytd.. but din feel good abt it. I guess its those feelings that you have once u finished a paper, if u feel confident it means you had either successfully 'spotted' some qns or u studied real hard for it and could ans everything..

of cos I did study, but didn't do my best ): careless mistakes in the MCQ here n there.. for the efforts we put in, we are often aiming for sth with an A ( be it A-, A or A+, it'll all push up ur GPA).. just got this feeling... cannot make it... hai. Just hope for the best... still got 2 more core papers to study for...

anyway, today I gave myself some time off and slacked. Found sth I'd really like to pick up again this hols. Making earrings! Last time tried to do but gave up halfway due to some reasons.. But while searching online, I saw some beautiful pieces created by some people.. Can't help but save the pics, haha.. Can refer to them while buying materials next time, make sth similar.. so pretty!

this is it... tml's the start of my exams! Still juggling between my forensic science & psychology... hai. I seriously know this gonna affect my grades in one way or another - cos there's so much to internalise for TWO papers...

tml my paper's at 1pm. And everything will end up 7pm... although there's like a 1.5 hr break in between... bt its not enuff! din had a good slp last nite... and got waken up by the heavy rain like 5+. haha... my dream was a jumble of nonsensical stuff, lol. And some sort of a nightmare.

the worse thing is, to keep myself going.. I kp eating lil' snacks here and there. Argh... fattening!

Been studying psychology the whole weekend on top of clearing the last bits of my project. Initially was quite glad I cleared writing up my notes for all the chapters after mid-term... (which are more impt cos it'll be 90% of the stuff tested in the final exams) BUT... (yes yes, the always-dreaded word...) after doing some exercises... crossword puzzles... I realised I forgotten the stuff in front... ARGH! the more I do, the more I flip the textbook, the more I FREAK OUT!

(now according to Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Approach... this is because I have classified the impending exam as A THREAT & I estimated that I don't have enuff TIME to study everything... => Now do you get how stressed is this? )

Argh... I hate this... Psychology is actually the easiest to study so far, in terms of how easy it is to read each chapter and identify with the concepts and theories mentioned... Totally enjoyed it. But when it becomes an exam and you need to compress everything in time to sit for the paper... Its a totally different thing...

Okok, now I'm trying to de-stress... Cos I know I can't study properly being so tensed anyway. Now listening to soundtracks from High School Musical cos they're so infectious with the dances and the catchy tunes... Woo! Turning it up max to destress... So on a lighter note, what I learnt after revising Stress & Health today...

'Stoning' is actually good for your health!
It is actually a form of meditation... yes, you read it right, meditation! I was equally surprised haha... there is actually a form of meditation that involves a person concentrating on an unchanging stimulus to relax & calm down. Just 20 mins of 'stoning' or staring into blank space can lower blood pressure & calm you down... hahaha!

just came back from what we call a 'quality' breakfast date with eug at west coast park. The beach's opened up! but can no longer walk along the sandy areas, its now like those reservoirs with tracks to cycle, walk along... ha. A good break away from books & our last project (thank god, this one is much easier to handle)... Big breakfast (yummy!) and a walk by the beach... haha, thks (: now gotta chiong, really chiong.. I realised time is running short... still got a lot to cover!

Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love

Love has 3 components mainly intimacy (sense of close emotional ties), passion (physical aspect of love but not just s** =P) & commitment (decisions one makes about a r/s)

A love r/s can involve one, two or all 3 components, and hence gives rise to the 7 different kinds of love.

Liking: intimacy only
Companionate Love: intimacy + commitment (the kind that brings pp thru' the yrs of marriage)
Empty Love: commitment only (sad case )= )
Fatuous Love: passion + commitment
Infatuation: passion only
Romantic Love: intimacy + passion
Consummate Love: intimacy + passion + commitment (ultimate goal for many =P )

So... which love are u experiencing now? Revising for psychology, though a long process... is often quite enriching... You absently go "Oh.." and "Ic.." in your head when u read things like this (:

well... weekends. usually its 'yay!'. but now its 'argh...'. Exams are about one week away.. I still have another project on my tray. The interview's tml but 3 of us cant go.. I seriously hope this time it will turn out fine, though only 2 of us can go.. and nothing crops up last min to jeopardise our plans (like last time, puis.)

been trying to mug, make myself revise psychology. But I guess I'm still pretty reluctant. Hey! We just finished a damn big project, shldn't we have some time to relax, slack & enjoy?! No. Cos I gotta remind myself again, exams are in a week's time. ARGH!

Only finished one chapter and starting on another. Cos the chapter's long, and it doesn't help that I cant sit down properly to type out the notes cos I'm like, constantly distracted by the tv.. or my bed. or some snacks. or.. well, see? u get it..

Finally, finally... The end of the FastCat project



We've all been like counting down to today, cos even though ytd was the presentation, today's the submission of the report - the real end of our project. this project has been very very time consuming.. and the 2 seniors in our group which took it as an elective actually very bo hua la..



Now very tired, cos last nite slp like 2+ and woke up early to help with the report.. But ytd we took 3 hrs off to have buffet at the new Sports & Recreation center in jurong extension there. Haha.. guys, its so cheap! $14.50 only for students.. adults $16.50.. 2.30-530pm. Then still includes drinks free flow + 1 juice lo.. sushi and a lot side orders...



Quite fun.. chatting & trying some new food.. Then when we play zhong ji mi ma, I was lucky enuff not to kena at all.. Wahaha..



Anyway.. Here's Team Cattatooee.. No matter wad, I enjoyed the project with u all though it was so time-consuming.. At least during stressful and frustrating times there were silly jokes and stuff (:

if you realised I stopped updating my blog after last wed cos from thurs onwards I was caught in a whirlwind of projects & presentation stuff. Now thinking back, I am proud that I endured the weekend! =D

Thurs & Friday was the nightmare. My proj mates met late Thurs night to do their parts of the proj in e hall. So I had to stay up n wait for them to settle down b4 I call them to update them on e proj. Then we just worked n worked, discuss a lil on MSN, call a while. All the way until 3+ when I couldn't tahan anymore. Cos we're meeting the next morning at like 10am to study for a quiz tog! They worked even harder till like 4+.. *faint*

So next morning, as expected the timing got postponed. haha, I can understand la, if it was not for the 2 damn calls early in e morning that woke me up it would be difficult to drag me out of bed. So I was there a bit early and 'chopped' some seats at the FAL. Argh.. we finished at almost 8pm that night!! The project is really time-consuming..

Sat my body protested to the past 2 days of work, little slp & loss of appetite (& of cos my hair loss )= ). Honestly, I don rem having worked so much for a project in Year 1 b4. I must remind myself that I am in year 2 now, and things are very different! I dunno whether would it be more accurate to say these are the symptoms of stress or being overworked. Becos both are equally likely. I felt very tired and couldn't work for more than 2 hrs on e com. had to like take breaks in between. Popped Panadol cold to keep that dreaded cold from coming, cos i saw e symptoms too. Mum kept asking me to drink chicken essence cos she could see how pale I was. And dizzy spells..

Sun I decided to take things easier! yeah, I devoted the whole day to rest and just preparing or my final presentation on Mon. haha.. I can't afford to fall sick now, so gotta really give myself a gd break. Thks ah pa, for meeting me to help with my excel. And giving me the chance to come out & relax for a while! =D Felt so much better after a walk at JP.

So now.. 2 more hurdles.. Then its the exams.. after thurs gotta find time to start revising for my electives - first 2 papers..

had a looong... day. Damn shag now.. Morning was rather boring with the 214 lesson. We were let off early.. We sort of like drew lots by throwing dice to see who gonna present on Monday and Wednesday and the order. You might think how becos now I'm gg to tell u there's 19 pp in e class =P she got so many different dice. 20 sided even, interesting eh? She use it once in a while.. haha. anyway, I gotta present on Mon, chop chop finish it i guess. once and for all... and I come right after Joyce, so qiao!

Oh ya, got this weird thing happen. When the die came to our table, and FOUR of us threw it like once each... it kept coming up with the no. 6 and 9! So creepy!! no matter who throw also like that..

anyway, I now feel more secure abt our FastCat. Its like, more on the tracks now. Phase 3 is not that bad.. =P just that friday gotta chiong again.. today we met at like 4 plus n finished at ard 8 lo... shiong!! now totally spacing out, just waiting for my grpmate to bath finish then i can call her to tell her her wk... arh... hope i don fall aslp!

projects & deadlines... its sth that everyone of us are trying to complete & meet the targeted deadline. Right now I see myself as still far from it... I don't dare to think abt it actually... as the days fly past... my other project is still in e 'sapling' stage, thurs then will we get to conduct the interview. I seriously pray things will go on well from there.

now every night is devoted to either editing or doing intensive research to complete my write-up on a certain part of the projects... Argh... when can I sit down & revise properly?! My 1st papers are on 15th and our last project is due on 12th... Cannot screw up those elective papers!!

alright.. enuff of pouring out my complaints, I'm tired.. need my slp so tml can carry on..

Sat night we had dropped by kor's hse to visit him.. His mum is so hospitable.. haha, kp asking us to eat things etc. I'm glad that wound of his has closed up, imagine my shock and horror to discover he had applied ZAMBUK on it! argh... u're so lucky no infection... =P

anyway, as usual when we visit him, we watched tv tog... chatting etc... we left ard like 10+, with SX sending TL home... on e way back Sompong suggested we go Macs. I was actually thinking of continuing with my wk since we ended early.. But ah.. who cares?! I'm gonna slog my guts out on Sun anyway, the few hrs doesn't matter.. (ok, I was tempted to cont after gg home, but they talked me out of it hehe, I'm shag too)

Enjoyed the chat with you guys (: I'm sure we could have stayed there like even longer if we din have to care abt wk or last buses. haha.. puis, talk abt last bus. We had to walk to my bus stop, and lucky for heow hui he managed to board a 99. Or he'll have to walk home from JP for 2 consecutive nights. Its a long story..

today is our 6th (:

in short, today is a happy day! haha... well, cos no books and alot shopping, wahaha. I know this isn't wad we're supposed to do now, given that exams are less than a mth away, projects are being due. BUT WE NEED A BREAK FROM IT!

started the day with meeting dear joyce for lunch at PS. We walked around, nt knowing wad to eat. Settled on pastamania but we got sick of the creamy chicken pasta after a while. 1pm was our 1st meeting with the other seniors in the main comm. haven met the rest b4.. esp the project managers. well, its good to know who you'll be working with next time. =P all of them seemed nice peeps!

after like 2 hrs it ended, wasn't much, just a short meeting, a lil discussion. so me n joyce went to start the real thing - SHOPPING! at Far East. haha.. haven been shopping there for quite a while. Some shops are not there anymore, quite a lot of stuff to see as usual. haha.. it was nice looking ard for nice, pretty things.. instead of: books, laptops, notes.. GRR. anyway.. I finally bought a bag! It was more expensive than my current one, but I guess its worth it.. cos it doesn't look like another buy from Bugis.. heh. If you get wad I mean, nowadays alot stuff have so many 'duplicates' on e streets. shoes, shirts, bags etc.

and I finally got earrings. wahaha. my old stud ones have sadly got lost. I'm left with one stud each for like 2 or 3 pairs.. anyway, we covered a lot ground, combed a lot shops. I enjoyed myself a lot... haha, thks for the company gal! Oh ya, saw this damn cute dog at one of the shops. couldn't help but tell the auntie that.. but its her fren's, not hers. the puppy is dunno wad breed.. hmm. maybe some poodle mix, cos its got those signature curly hair.

next was to wait for eugene to come to PS. Well, fri nites sure got jam and some more he got off wk late.. so yep.. I kept walking and walking level by level to wait lo. I think after too long a break from shopping.. my legs lost their stamina =P was seeing alot pp in this scrapbook shop n decided to go in n take a look. its quite an interesting shop, seeing how bits and pieces of paper, knick-knacks, buttons etc can be put into place to tell a story of their own. Saw this paper abt a boy.. being impatient on the car, asking 'how long? how far?' and a happy, proud father (not to mention, gd looking and looking nth like a father of two) holding his two boys like trophies in his arms, side by side.

and amazingly, there's a cafe inside.. its really a good idea, and its small, but cosy. with some people drinking coffee and eating some cake or pastry. That was when I saw those cute little cupcakes.. haha, so nice! laid out in a row in e display cupboard (: couldn't resist buying it. just had to.. esp since today was our 6th (:

I've been having two nites of bad quality slp since monday.. cos of the stupid fastcat project. Try changing figures, entering them in the software, calculating a recommended base pay. Over and over again.. for TWO consecutive nights. See if you'll slp well when those numbers keep floating in your mind when ur eyes closed for a well-deserved slp...

Argh... I kp changing them to get the targeted percentages.. Till I think I stressed myself till I was too wound up to slp properly. I am glad I finally adjusted those values to wad is considered ok for our tutor. My god... I've nv tried editing sth for so long b4...

As usual as the end of term draws nearer, so do deadlines. But after a meeting today, I feel slightly better abt my 226 project. The only prob is the interview, though alrdy granted to us, has not been fixed a day for it yet. "Possibly early next week" How definitive is that... I seriously hope nth happens last minute. We're counting on the interview and alrdy did so much background research & preparation! *cross fingers*

My list of deadlines is soo... long. Group work. Individual work. Projects, reports, presentations and the what-nots. I look forward to striking them off one by one...

whole weekend I was stuck at home... with my lappie, textbk, tv & miniclip games. I am still not determined enough to mug! dunno why when I sit down to type the notes I'll tire out and end up restless so easily =P but psychology.. though interesting the chapters are damn long..

and typing notes on my laptop gives me so much distraction. haha! I'm just not focused enuff.. read blogs, play games, watch tv.. grr.. exam's in like a mth's time.. I shld be feeling the jitters shldn't I?