I am going away.....

I had been substantially busy for the past two weeks and hence was unable to blog as frequently as I would like to.

Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and I sure am looking forward to it. This Chinese New Year is relatively special, for apart from being reunited with my family, my coveted Brunei citizenship has finally been approved and I will be certified on the third day of CNY. Double blessings indeed.

Life's pretty mundane recently, but things should be picking up once January's over. Went over to a friend's house with a bunch of friends the other day, and honestly speaking, I haven't been in close contact with any pet dogs for many years. The cute dog sure revives my joyous dog-loving sentiments.

Nice model by the window... Used to have one


Playing UNO stacko... Omg


Spot the dog...


Payday... We all waiting for payday


My friend playing with the dog..

Next few months should be rather exciting... There will be gatherings, plenty of birthdays (time for me to return favors), Singapore Airshow 2008, return of a friend etc... Further down the road, probably there will be some overseas trip planned with friends... Anyway, till then, work continues as I continue looking forward to payday each month...

NTU Recollections 1 - For Old Times' sake

Not very long ago, I had had to drop by NTU for both official and unofficial matters. For old times' sake and in honor of a promise to a friend, I had finally completed this post.

It was still the vacation period when I returned. The journey into NTU was horrendous, with bus frequencies as long as 20 minutes or even longer. Upon settling whatever I wanted to settle, I wandered around NTU for a little while.

Although not enthusiastically fond of the university, eventually vivid memories of the 3 years of undergraduate life returned to "haunt" me. Having visited the Student Services services center earlier on, I immediately faced my school building - the building where all our labs are situated.

I entered North Spine by walking through the SCE General Office. Ahhh, the long silent corridors.... I remembered we had been here to find our mentors, chased out of professor's room for asking "stupid" questions, appeal for results etc. The long silent lanes remains, echoing our expired memories....

The North Spine

The fountains... I reckon, are the most beautiful part of NTU, providing NTU with a soul... From my school we can oversee the fountain garden area, and of course I remembered we did took some photos beside the fountain. I miss the fountain!!

Food.... Food in NTU, especially at the school canteens, are infamous for their "excellently affordable cuisine"... For us, in some way or another, our 3 years of undergraduate lives revolves around canteen A... It is a rendezvous point, a place for heated discussions and debates, for lunch, for killing time and even for making new friends!! Life would not be complete without canteen A...

OCBC Bank right in front on Canteen A

On the way to canteen A, I caught hold of this compact SUV, parking right in front of LT2A. I always find compact SUVs very enticing.

LT2A is our favorite lecture theater. It's big, it's bright, comfortable seats, large screen and its dedicated toilet with many cubicles.

Another canteen we occasionally went to is the Quad, located at the School of Biological Sciences. The price was slightly higher, and it started out as a very promising canteen, nice ambiance, uniquely see through tables with no room for legs and best of all they had nice tempuras. Recent visits had been disappointing due to the sharp decline in quality... It's a no wonder crowds seemed to have reduced to a trickle...

Not forgetting the library... It is one of our favorite libraries due to its sheer number of computers available... The library hasn't change much, parts like USB hubs, audio jacks which were spoilt 3 years ago ARE still spoilt!!!

SCE has its own computer room which surprisingly not many students knew about. A friend of mine brought me there once, and for a short time, it served as our studying base and private internet zone when we brought our laptops to school.

Other parts of NTU:

7-Eleven at North Spine


CITS (Center for IT Services) - they have since renovated

Hall 16 Condo Style Hostel


Hall 13 - on the way to Hall 14


Hall 14 mini store and Canteen 14...


Scenic landscape at NIE block, opposite Hall 16


Newly built and open School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences


The sentimental bus stop for 179 service

Looking back, I am relieved that I had some happy moments then, and I have benefited from the institution in one way or another. It is really an eye opener. There were some regrets, but at least I got to know 3 good friends, whom I still keep in touch with. Ironically none of them were from my original class group, and left me wondering if it could be a blessing in disguise.

2008 - Another New Year To Grow Old In

I would like to wish all readers and fellow bloggers a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008. Due to technical issues with my wireless network, I am unable to come online as frequently as I would like to.

The year 2007 ended smoothly though. Met up with a big group of friends for a simple prata dinner, and we get to play with my friend's golden retriever!! Thereafter we head over to my friend's three-storey house and patiently wait for the year to end.

Guess what we end up doing - playing mahjong! Anyway at the turn of the year, I managed to win a neat amount, haha...

Mahjong turned into manicure session,zzz

2007 has been a rather blissful year. It was neither exciting nor insipid. For the whole year I was positively occupied, and I met a couple of good friends. I would say that 2007 had set the stage for an exciting 2008.

Received a new year card from a friend, and within the card contains the following picture:

I had forgotten all about this picture and event. It was taken around pre-Christmas, and it brought back some memories I ought to cherish.

Applied for Singapore Permanent Residency today. I had to make the trip to ICA twice as my company has filled in a wrong data and I did not bring my birth certificate, a letter of certification from NTU and my NP diploma along. At end of the day, my saving grace was my issued diploma from NP as I should apply for permanent residency only after my degree has been conferred, and not while it is pending.

Managed to obtain my temporary Employment Pass, but it has a validity of only 3 months, which is until the outcome of the PR application. What a relief as my student pass is expiring on Monday. I am advised not to travel within this period though, and this poses a source of headache.

Nevertheless I believe there will be a way out, as always... 路是人走出来的....