Thursday, December 29, 2005

The Future...Is Flux?

The first thing that hit me when I watched Aeon Flux was: Omg...Charlize Theron looks stunning as a brunette!

It sure was a far cry (and I mean faaaarrrrrrrrr) from her Academy Award-winning role in Monster, which I last saw her in. (Geez, that movie really gave me the creeps about her)

Nothing outstanding about the storyline though. An industrial disease wipes out 99% of the human population on earth. Fortunately, there's a hunky, good-looking scientist that manages to come up with a cure to save humans from extinction. 400 years later, everyone lives a perfect life in a gated community, or so it seems. A bunch or rebels are planning to overthrow the current regime, and it is up to Aeon to carry out the mission. There is a twist though...but I'm not letting out any spoilers here, so if you wanna know you gotta watch it yourself.

Action scenes were not bad, just seeing Charlize running around in her skimpy killer outfit makes it worth the watch...muahaha. It is an MTV Films production anyway, so what would you expect?

Overall, a nice movie to kill time with if you have nothing to do and are feeling inclined to watch some sexy babe kick ass.

thought completed at 8:27 PM | 0 comments

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Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Phew...

What a day...Spent a record five and a half hours in ECAD lab today.

All thanks to my beloved supervisor who wanted us there so that we could fulfil all his maniac dreams.

Guess I'm gonna have a second home now. At least for 8 hours every week for the next 10 or 12 weeks.

So if you can't find me at home, please feel free to drop by our faculty here at UTM. We'll even throw in some balloons for your welcoming party.

Yeah, right. Like we'd really celebrate.

Can't wait until the time we finish off this project. Suddenly feel that graduating earlier isn't that bad after all. At least I'd be free of this burden.

To all the courageous souls out there working on your final year projects, I salute you!

Good luck, and godspeed!

thought completed at 8:25 PM | 0 comments

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Monday, December 26, 2005

My Christmas Wishlist

Dear Santa,

I've been a good boy this year...except the time when...Ah forget about it, it wasn't my fault anyway, muahahaha. Ok so here's what I would like for Christmas:

1. A spanking new cellphone. I've had this 'colourless' one for 3 years now so it's time I upgraded it to make my lazy pathetic life even more techno-dependant with hopes that I'll be free from a life of radiation-related tumours.

Gimme gimme gimme!!

2. A spanking new laptop, preferably a Toshiba. My old NEC is starting to rust real bad, plus the garbage inside is making all my programs run real slow. But if you're on a budget this year (which I seriously hope you're not), a Dell would be just fine.

Ah, the tech lover in me...

3. A spanking new pair of Nikes. The sole of my original pair got partly ripped off in a tug-of-war contest (thank you PELTAC), and I don't wanna give myself an excuse for not going out for exercise.

Air Max Tailwind...Cool, no?

4. A spanking new pair of killer specs, with clip-ons of course. The vision in my left eye is getting blurrier every day (with non-stop use of the computer), so a new pair of specs would do me wonders. (No contact lens please, those things freak me out)

5. All the spanking new material stuff aside, I would like a lower cholestrol level (seriously!). Being invaded by LDL is not a good thing...not a good thing at all......

6. Last but not least, there is the usual request for world peace and harmony, blah blah blah...whatever a Miss World contestant would say. Oh, and try to stop our government from raising fuel prices again, that'd be really nice.

That's all for this year, Santa. I hope you jot down every single wish in my wishlist, or else I'll be real depressed for the coming year. Oh, and good luck in your slimming efforts :)

Happy Christmas! Cheers!

(To contact Santa directly, click here)

thought completed at 8:21 PM | 0 comments

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Saturday, December 24, 2005

Christmas Eve Wedding Dinner

Attended a wedding dinner today, the bride was Gurl's former neighbour / her cousin's ex-classmate. What an extravagant event it was, 100 tables, can you believe it? Must have cost them at least 60K for the entire dinner (including the booze, of course).

As usual, the infamous 'Malaysian time' was in use today. Dinner was supposed to start at 7 but in the end we only got our food at 8.30. Luckily we didn't go on an empty stomach. I wonder why is it that we Malaysians like to be late so often? Especially during wedding dinners? They (the latecomers) think they're royalty or something?

Another thing that irks me is that during these dinners, there's always food going to waste. Everyone has to be SO full of manners that they can only take a small piece for each dish, and leave the rest for the scavengers / dogs / whoever collects the leftovers. Hey, since you've already 'paid' around 50 to 100 bucks (in angpau form), why still keep back from enjoying the scrumptious (though sometimes it may be downright lousy) food?

One more thing that I couldn't stand was the smokers in the restaurant. Can't they even read the sign? THIS IS AN IN-DOOR AIR-CONDITIONED PUBLIC PLACE YOU MORONS.....NO SMOKING PLEASE. Made the air even mistier than Genting; even makes the casino (if you've been inside, you'll know that (most) gamblers like to puff cigs too) feel like New Zealand. Really cannot tahan these people...

Anyway, it's Christmas time! Yoohoo! I can already hear the fireworks.

thought completed at 8:19 PM | 0 comments

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Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Foul mood

Being back at JB...sucks.

Came back early since my project supervisor wanted us back here but in the end, he wouldn't even see us, cos one of the group members went MIA.

Christmas is around the corner, but I can't get any bus tickets to anywhere. They say it's all full.

Which makes it suck even more.

I like Christmas but what am I to do in JB? When nobody's around and family's back at home.

Shouldn't have come back. Wanna curse the supervisor. (Maybe when the project's finished, I'm going to take a crash course in black magic, voodoo whatever...)

Hmm...Go shopping? Tired of the crowd. Get a haircut? Done that. Get a new pair of specs? Pocket's empty.

Get online? That's what I'm doing now. Streamyx is strangely slow these days, I bet even dial-up could beat it. Must be those downloads they're having...WTF.

But then again, I download stuff myself. BUT AT LEAST NOT 24/7!!

I think I'll go Muar. See you after Christmas!

" Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la, I'm-out-ta-here!!!!"

thought completed at 8:18 PM | 0 comments

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The Eighth Wonder Of The World

Thanks to two unfortunate souls who somehow gave up their prime time tickets, I was finally able to catch the much hyped about movie of the year, KONG. With a production cost of 207 million USD (the most expensive in film history), and the director being Peter Jackson (who directed the LOTR trilogy, for the information of you cavemen), I stepped into the cinema with somewhat high expectations. And what an amazing experience it turned out to be.

The king of apes was undoubtedly the star of the show. Although no more than a character created using the latest animation software, Kong truly dominated the entire movie. Being the villain at first, Kong effortlessly morphed into the hero in rescue of the damsel in distress, and in the end, the hapless victim of a brutal onslaught by man. And guess what, he has an attitude too. The scene where Naomi Watts was doing her repertoire in front of Kong got me in stitches.

Kudos to Andy Serkis (Gol'um...My preciousssss) and the CGI team for portraying Kong in such a wonderful way. I loved the face-off scene between Kong and the T-Rex(es), it was so real and exhilarating. The audience even broke into cheers and applause when Kong finally triumphed over the verocious carnivores. The effects where thrilling, the sound system was a class above, and the action sequences where superb. Which reminds me of one thing: never, EVER watch the pirated VCD version; you'd be losing out a whole lot, not to mention breaking the law as well.

The cast gave a stellar performance; Watts (The Ring), who played the object of Kong's affection, certainly carried her role well. And what a scream too. The brilliant Adrien Brody (The Pianist) plays a scriptwriter who finds himself falling in love with Watts, and ultimately transforms into a hero in his own way to rescue the love of his life from the clutches of the great beast. Jack Black (School of Rock, DUDE!) also deserves a pat on his back for his portrayal of the cunning and manipulative Carl Denham (though I would've loved it if he were to be squashed by Kong in the last moments of the movie).

The thing that really stuck on me was the ending. Seeing Kong being attacked ruthlessly by troops, one cannot help but think: when an animal in captivity goes berserk and injures or even kill people, who is the one to be shot down and prosecuted? The animal, or the people who brought it there in the first place? The tragic end of Kong had me shed some tears....Okay so I'm a sensitive guy, haha.

One thing that bugged me though was the 'cinema etiquette', or rather the lack of it, displayed by some of the movie-goers. Now and then there would be the all-important phone call, the whining kids and the running commentary. I was thinking, WTF is wrong with these people? With the likes of them, no wonder Malaysia will remain a third world country.

All in all, KONG is definitely a movie worth watching. I don't care how you're going to get the tickets, just go, watch it. Now excuse me while I go practise on my Kong impersonation.

thought completed at 8:16 PM | 0 comments

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Sunday, December 18, 2005

Bye bye detox...Hello Father Christmas!

No thanks to the forever competant TM Net, I was cut off from the virtual world for the past couple of days. Sien...

Anyway, I just finished my detox programme, what a relief! Been eating nothing for the past 3 days...(like the chinese say, I'm gonna become a saint). Fruit and vegetable juices have been my staple throughout this detox period, and I'm glad to say that it's all over now. Fresh juice is nice but imagine drinking 8 cups of it for 3 days...yeah you get the idea.

Detox is actually a process of cleansing the body of toxins accumulated through the air, water and food. By only drinking juices, you're actually giving the digestive system a break, so that the body can focus more on expelling excess waste. It's also know for its healing abilities for cases of SLE, skin problems, obesity etc. Of course, nutritional supplements are essential to keep the body going during this period, and also maximise the effects of detoxification. If you're interested in doing it yourself, drop me a message anytime and I'd be glad to share it with you :)

I've went through this once before, so it was kinda smooth this time. The only thing was, being at home, there were loads of temptations everywhere. Thank God I stuck to my regime hehe. I'm feeling healthier already...heheh. So, after 3 days and 3 kg slimmer (I'll get back to my normal weight soon), I am saying GOODBYE to fruit juices. Bring in the delicacies, please!

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Went to Midvalley yesterday. Jam packed like hell.....even getting into the car park took me nearly 40 minutes. Why does EVERYONE have to go to Midvalley (including yours truly)?? I HATE KL TRAFFIC!! Either I'm gonna get myself an auto gear shift vehicle next time, or I won't be working in KL at all. Could feel the Christmas spirit lingering in the atmosphere though, and the decorations there were surely some of the best I've ever seen. I guess we're not seeing the word RECESSION this season, haha.

Bumped into a few friends there; Nicole, you sure have a sharp eye, I could barely recognise anyone in a crowd like that! And too bad could'nt stop by at Subang...I was kinda game for Friday's (*wink wink* Ing Ling).

Going back to JB tomorrow to start on my project work, or else my supervisor's gonna kill me. Again, SIEN.....But hey, it's the Christmas season! I wonder what Santa has in mind for me, but I sure hope it isn't an electric juicer!

thought completed at 8:15 PM | 0 comments

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Thursday, December 15, 2005

Flushing out the toxins

Something about detox...Detox is actually a process of cleansing your body from toxins that may be present. Toxins are everywhere, we get them from the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink; everyone is exposed to toxins. Since the moment we are born, toxins start accumulating in our body, bit by bit. These toxins can wreck havoc to our health and well being over a period of time. Hence the need for 'physical spring cleaning', or detox.
People have been cured of various diseases after going through a few sessions of detoxification. Illnesses known to benefit from detox include, SLE, skin problems, obesity, and so on.
Well the reason I'm subjecting myself to this detox process is simply because of health reasons. I believe one's overall health will improve after a 3-day session of detoxification, not by just reading or listening to other people's experiences, but through my own experience. This is actually my second detox plan.
Guess I'll be drinking only fruit juices for the next 2 days, so I really have to maintain the willpower to see it through the entire process. Some people might complain of hunger or uneasyness during the period of detox, but it's just normal since our bodies are starting to flush out the waste in our body, which might cause some symptoms to occur.
First day was OK, stomach felt a bit empty but other than that I was my normal self throughout the whole day. Got a blood screening too this morning, just to check on my general health. Dad paid for it anyway.
Wish me luck!

thought completed at 11:13 PM | 0 comments

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Kong

The attack began at dawn. Kong started scaling the Petronas Twin Towers, forced to seek refuge from the relentless ground troops. He was halfway up Tower A when jet fighters from the recent LIMA were called in to lend a hand in subduing the huge beast.

Kong was reaching the pinnacle of the tower when the jet fighters arrived. They took aim and fired at will. Bullets came raining down upon the peak of the tower. Not withstanding the firepower, Kong responded with his own tactics. Using his massive arms, he struck down any plane that came near him. But in a sudden shower of ammunition, Kong lost his grip and plummeted a thousand feet into oblivion.

ASEAN leaders who were having a conference came out to see the commotion. All of them gasped at the sight before them. The police force swarmed around the lifeless body of Kong. The head of the force blurted: “Hey let’s force him to do some ear squats, just in case he’s keeping any prohibited items. And make sure no one videotapes this one.”

Then all of a sudden, a certain (idiotic) minister stood out and yelled at Kong: “If you don’t like Malaysia, don’t come lah! Blady fool…”

Kong wasn’t dead, yet. He was infuriated by the stupidity surrounding him. Stirring from the ground, he struggled to make one last act of retribution. Using the last ounce of strength in him, he pummeled the police and the minister into pieces. Then he fell, and slumped into a lifeless heap…

It was a day of mourning for animal lovers around the world, but it was a day of triumph for the citizens of Malaysia.

thought completed at 8:08 PM | 0 comments

---------------oOo--------------- R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P-S

Trivia: What is the thing that is in every (okay, nearly every) undergraduate's mind?

Answer: RELATIONSHIPS

Yup, you got it, call it whatever you want: boy girl stuff, love stories, gossip of sexy/romantic/perverse/erotic kind (latter reserved for guys only). Seems that every time I meet up with my old gang of friends, this topic will somehow pop up no matter what the circumstances.

Yes, it was a night of discussion again the other night, when one of my guy buddies was relating problems about his relationship with his girl.

You know what I think, true relationships are bound to have problems, big or small. I tend to disagree though with people who say: If you don’t argue with your girlfriend/boyfriend, there’s something wrong, you should find something to quarrel with him/her sometime(??!!).

Heheh believe me, I’ve been through all the quarrels you can think of, and it’s no pleasant experience. Of course after every incident, the bond grows stronger but hey, I’m totally OK with a peaceful relationship.

It’s up to the individuals in the end. If you still have feelings for your partner, by all means find a way to sort out all your differences. But if you’ve had enough and you can’t stand hell anymore, there’s only one obvious solution to it. I’m not being the love expert here, but that’s what I would say to any friend who’s having problems of this sort.

Love is a funny thing…

Women Humans are funny beings…

thought completed at 8:02 PM | 0 comments

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Monday, December 12, 2005

"Special Account" satire

Some of us may have heard the 'special account' story (I'm sure most PELTACers still remember that). Here's a possible scenario of an agent sharing his 'special account' story to a prospect.

Mrs. Beng is watching TV at home when her doorbell rings.

Agent X: Halo Mrs. Beng, how are you?

Mrs. Beng: Who are yoo ah?

Agent X: Oh, my name is Chan, I was introduced to you by your good friend, Ms. Lian.

Mrs. Beng: Oh Ah Lian ah...what yoo wan?

Agent X: Wah your house looks very nice, can I have a seat insi...

Mrs. Beng: See what see, I korek your eyes ah! But see yoo so leng chai, ok lah, come in sit.

Agent X: Mrs. Beng, so have you heard of our special account before?

Mrs. Beng: Spesial akaun? What is that ah?

Agent X: Our special account guarantees that no matter what happens to you, you'll be guaranteed of an amount of money. For example, if you become sick and get hospitalized...

Mrs. Beng: Choi choi choi! What hospitalized? Yoo cursing me ah!??

Agent X: That's not what I mean, just let's say you get sick and need money for medical costs, that special account will be ready to fulfil your financial needs...

Mrs. Beng: Sure or not...got so good one ah?

Agent X: Yes of course! Some more, when you die...

Mrs. Beng: CHOI! Die what die...yoo wan die yoo die yourself lah!

Agent X: I'm just making an assumption here Mrs. Beng. When you pass away, a sum of money will be given to your husband, Mr. Beng.

Mrs. Beng: Wah! I die he get money ah?? Doe-wan!! That guy ah, very SUEH one, always with his Chinadoll girlfren!

Agent X: Um....OK, you can leave the money to your children also, you'll be giving them hope for the future.

Mrs. Beng: Like that ah...actually I have two daughters, when they marry ah, all their things will belong to their lou-kong oledi, so what for I leave money for them? Haiya...

Agent X: Perhaps you would like to give the money to charity?

Mrs. Beng: Chality, what chality? You give me chality lah, see I'm so poor now. Eh, talk for so long, actually ah, what yoo company doing ah? Direct sales ah? I tell yoo ah, if yoo from XXN company ah, I oledi tried out, but cannot work lah!

Agent X: No no no Mrs. Beng, actually we're even better than direct sales...

Mrs. Beng: What, unit trust ah? I only buy share, never buy unit trust one, soli lah...

Agent X: No, actually, I'm from Great Western Insurance Company. We're one of the largest insurance companies in the world with a client base of over 1 billion people. We even gave a talk recently in a camp called CATLEP...

Mrs. Beng: Ohhh...insulans har...

Agent X: Yes that's right. So I wonder if...

Mrs. Beng: Leng chai, I tell yoo, do yoo know that 25% of the Malaysia population are oledi insured? I happen to be one of the 25% leh, yoo know or not. Yoo think I so ulu ah, never buy insulan.

Agent X: But Mrs. Beng, we do have many types of insurance policies to suit your different needs...

Mrs. Beng: For your information, leng chai, I oledi got 6 policies myself, like the JAPANESE! I'm covered from heard to toe, so doneed to woli. I even got one policy on my hair leh, see or not? So, what else yoo offer?

Agent X: Er...would you like to be an agent of the Great Wes...

Mrs. Beng: Agent?? FBI Agent I wan lar...what insulan agent, DOE-WAN! My Ah Beng, although very sueh, he provide me wit everything oledi. So, nothing else ah? Get out get out! I need to go wash hair now...

Agent X: ...

THE MORAL OF THE STORY: YOU CAN'T ALWAYS SELL THINGS INSURANCE TO PEOPLE LIKE MRS. BENG....MUAHAHAHA.

There it is folks, a screen shot of my wild imagination and a product of my cynism...hahah. (No offence to all insurance agents, I myself have 2 policies, both from the same company - the largest in Malaysia!)

thought completed at 7:56 PM | 0 comments

---------------oOo--------------- Ah Genting...

Can't seem to get enough of travelling these days heh. After missing a trip down to Klang for a cousin's wedding, I was on the road again today, this time was destination Genting. Yup, the famous Genting Highlands, where the only legal casino in Malaysia is located. But, this time, I wasn't there for the gaming...

Some people might think that, wah, going Genting, so fun. I can't help but think when someone mentions Genting: oh no, not that dreaded place again, what's the point in going there? Well it's not that bad actually, perhaps it's because Genting's located just at the backyard of my home. OK so I overstated that again; going to my backyard would mean a 50-minute drive, large house eh, heheh. But still, it is considered near, and as my sis put it, going to Genting is like going to town. Still remember the crazy days when me and my friends would drive up Genting a few times a month, just to get a taste of Coffee Bean (there was no Starbucks then).

Considering that I haven't been up there for some time, I was given a surprise by the new route up to the top. Uncle Lim must be earning loads each year. Considering that people from Bentong may well be the most frequent visitors, perhaps he should set up an ultra-high-speed LRT line from Bentong directly to Genting, muahaha. The Genting Express...yeah dream on.

There were quite a number of visitors today, I think cos it was a public hol in Selangor. Although not that packed compared to festive seasons, still there were enough vehicles to fill up the Highlands Hotel carpark. Me and sis just lingered around First World for the first few hours, looking around the shops and stalls. Heck, suddenly noticed the sale season is on again and temptations were everywhere. Who said guys don't like shopping?

After browsing through every single shop around the area, we figured we needed to have a seat and rest our legs. What better place than Starbucks Genting, arguably one of the coolest hangout places in town. A cuppa there would usually cost like 12 bucks, but what the heck, I thought it was worth it. Oh did that prove to be wrong this time; the caramel macchiato I ordered was lousy like hell, tasted more like milk to me. Wanted to shout "GIVE ME BACK MY 12 BUCKS YOU MORONS" but being a civilised citizen, I could only see my cup of coffee going cold in the chilly Genting breeze.

At the end of the day, I was kinda glad to go back. After all, home is where the heart is. Enough of the backyard, at least for today.

thought completed at 7:48 PM | 0 comments

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Saturday, December 10, 2005

UCSI and Times Square

Being back in Bentong for barely one day, I was called to join the family for a trip down to KL cos little sis wanted to get a look at UCSI (it was their open day). Being the ever filial son (heheh), of course I couldn't let poor dad drive all by himself.

UCSI...Uni of Crime Scene Investigation, how I wish it stood for that! Haha die-hard fan of CSI mah. But of course, who wouldn't know it stands for Uni College Sedaya International? Visited the new campus for the first time today. The main building was really nice with fountains and all, but too bad it wasn't really completed. In fact, a large part of the building was still under construction. Then I realized how small it was compared to UTM. Heck, even our good ol' FKE was bigger than the entire campus. But that wouldn't be surprising since it's located on prime land, you can't really afford to have a large campus unless you're owned by the gov. I was quite impressed with its School of Music though, maybe cos I haven't really come across one. I had second thoughts about sis doing a degree in music here...since she might have a large chance of teaching music in the end, why not start teaching now and save the 75K for other things?
75K? Yep, that's how much it costs to get a Bachelor's Degree in Music, excluding the living costs of course. Simple math would show that I could complete 5 degrees in any gov uni for that amount of money...private colleges really suck the money out of its students.

After a short talk and a tour of the campus, we were off to Bukit Bintang. Nothing much worth mentioning here; there was the usual crowd, the ever present drizzle, and of course the shops. Wanted to catch Narnia but I thought we were going back early. In the end spent most of the time lingering around Borders. Dinner at Sentul had me stuffed! And it was affordable too!

One heck of a day today...would have retired early if not for the chat with Ing Ling and Set Tat. Guess it's time to log off now...nite.

thought completed at 7:45 PM | 0 comments

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Thursday, December 08, 2005

PELTAC 05

Finally reached home after a long day's drive. Couldn't help reflecting on the events that happened during PELTAC. This year's camp was a blast, really. And to think that I nearly didn't participate until the last minute...haha thanks, Karin, for entering my name.

This year's programme was definitely an improvement to last year's, although the station games could have been more fun if the "clues" weren't so confusing. Kudos to the programme department for the effort in organasing all the seminars and talks. Now I know I have an 'A' type personality. According to the speaker, I'll probably see someone I dislike rot and die slowly with pleasure...haha so be warned!

One thing though, this year's participants were relatively quiet. My purpose of joining being to get to know more friends, this was rather disappointing. But to those that I've interacted with, you're all great people :) It's been an honour getting to know you guys, especially my groupmates, the Dragons. Seh Tat, Ing Ling, Kai Xuan, Jyet Ying, Aifaa, Nat, BK and Alvin, you guys made the experience fun.

Seh Tat, you've been a good friend, always doing those crazy actions, I think you could be a stand-up comedian some time, haha. Ing Ling, though you're 'underaged' (sorry ah), you're one cool girl, wish to have known more about you. Kai, another 87 gal, you're probably the cutest Chung Ling gal around the camp, hope to see you some time in FKE. Jyet Ying, another FKE junior, I got to know that you're Karin's friend in this camp, it's been a pleasure knowing you. Aifaa, fun girl to be with, you're one of the unique Malay girls that I've known. Nat, the joker in our group, always pulling off funny lines here and there, hope you got the best from this camp. BK, the quiet guy, wish you could've voiced up more man, I'm sure you could have been an even greater contribution to the group. Alvin, who enjoyed public speaking so much, you're one of a kind, man. To all of you, I hope that you guys had fun and sorry if I said or did anything wrong during the course of the camp. Hope we keep in touch as often as possible. Come out yum cha next sem, maybe. Oh yeah and Ing Ling, I'll definitely call you when I'm around Subang, wanna get a treat from you haha...

After all the fun and excitement, I guess it's a good time to get some rest at home. Enjoy your holidays, guys. This is Derek signing off.

thought completed at 7:45 PM | 0 comments

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