Monday, November 23, 2009
a new fantastic point of view.no more walking in the shadows. its time for a change.
posted by Justin 10:43:00 AM
Thursday, November 05, 2009
londres, londresi now absolutely know how angela felt last year when she said she missed london, in ways inexplicable except by those who've actually been there. the closest i can offer now is "gutted", which http://www.dictionary.com/, unfortunately, fails to define. but i suppose that's perfectly natural , its an english slang after all, comprehensible only by those who've heard it being used.
and i've started a really bad habit of frequently checking zuji.com and airasia.com for the prices of air tickets to london. its as if through some miracle of registering a 83748973 hits on their websites, they'll reward me with a $100 ticket to london or something.
take me away.
posted by Justin 8:34:00 AM
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
enough now.and you can't stop me now.
posted by Justin 8:17:00 PM
Friday, October 23, 2009
even though you're gone, we're still a team
its with a deep sadness that we had to let you go. things didn't work out the way they could have, or should have. but when you were here, good Lord, those times really were magical. in retrospect, we really shouldn't have let you go.
Your home is here. Stay here
We know you could run if you try
Drag the sun through the sky
Bid kingdom come and fly on high
Forever leave us behind. (not)
posted by Justin 10:39:00 AM
Saturday, October 17, 2009
My Lords, this could be an examination question.
"89. My Lords, this could be an examination question. Although the context is a specialised one, the answer has mainly to be found in the general principles to be derived from the well-known authorities to which your Lordships have all referred, principally Hadley v Baxendale (1854) 9 Exch 341, Victoria Laundry (Windsor) Ltd v Newman Industries Ltd [1949] 2 KB 528 and, above all, C Czarnikow Ltd v Koufos (The Heron II) [1969] 1 AC 350. There is no obviously right answer: two very experienced commercial judges have reached one answer, your lordships have reached another. There is no obviously just answer: the charterer’s default undoubtedly caused the owner’s loss, but a loss for which no-one has ever had to pay before. The examiners would surely have given first class marks to all the judges who have answered the question so far."
Transfield Shipping Inc V Mercator Shipping Inc.
HAHAHA
posted by Justin 8:50:00 PM
Friday, September 25, 2009
and heaven’s loss is not hell’s gain
is this where the buck stops?
posted by Justin 11:54:00 PM
Monday, September 14, 2009
this is my now.that was then, this is my now.
posted by Justin 2:54:00 PM
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
always the love, always the hours.its disturbing how a year has passed in a flash, and everything that happened therein now seems so unreal. and its really not the photos or the little souvenirs that've suddenly triggered such thoughts. its been an entire train of small little bits and things that've just reminded me of where i was one year ago today. 1.89 quid waitrose cereal, an empty paulaners brauhas beer bottle, and i think what really got me going was canoe polo today. union jacks, monster, charlie, yan, and a pint at the pub just around the corner after training.let me let you go.
posted by Justin 2:02:00 PM
Thursday, August 27, 2009
well, baby, they're tumbling down.remember those walls I builtwell baby they're tumbling downand they didn't even put up a fightthey didn't even make up a sound
posted by Justin 6:54:00 PM
Friday, August 21, 2009
let's hope it's a good one
posted by Justin 10:36:00 PM
Sunday, August 09, 2009
even when we've forgotten.its always never about the hellos or the goodbyes.
"but all they are are shooting stars, a spectacular moment of light in the heavens, fleeting glimpse of eternity, and in a flash they're gone."
posted by Justin 1:01:00 AM
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
i've bought my ticket to the end of the rainbow.
time stops, but you can't stop me now.
posted by Justin 2:00:00 PM
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
my eagle has flown
i had to rip this absolutely gorgeous piece of clarisse's. my literary therapy for the week.
"I wish there were fireworks all the time and sparkles in his eyes, the champagne glasses clinking as he toasts me, to our nth anniversary, to forever and ever and ever. But forever is a distant concept and one that never comes true. Forever is only till the end, and one only realises that when it is time to go. In between we work at it, chip away slowly at each obstacle, telling ourselves that we should strive for it, because there is nothing else better. Love is a wonderful thing and an illusion that comes to us at the most opportune times. When it ends the mirror shatters and all that is left is predictably a pile of broken glass."
I wish I had your second sight but all I am is seconds late. And we’re all just little people, smashing light bulbs to fight the darkness."and of course, you never disappoint me too.
"in the end, the story everyone wants to hear is perhaps the only thing you're allowed to take away"
posted by Justin 12:20:00 AM
Saturday, April 11, 2009
He is not here but has been raised.
He is not here but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee.
posted by Justin 7:26:00 AM
Thursday, April 02, 2009
postcards from far awaymake me happy.
i'm gonna get my feet off the ground.
all (good) things come to an end?
i'm almost home.
posted by Justin 4:03:00 AM
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
i'm almost in your arms, i'm coming home.
ranting to shaun, ph and rz yesterday, and a casual stumble onto risse's blog made me realize how much i've missed home, and really, everyone back home. i can't wait to get away from all these.
i'm on my way,
i promise you that i won't be long
i'm almost in your arms,
i'm coming home.
posted by Justin 11:31:00 PM
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart.
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
posted by Justin 3:37:00 AM
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
i have fought the good fight, i have finished the course, i have kept the faith
in the end, only He doesn't leave you.
enough is enough.
there are lines you shouldn't cross, and there are lines that you should never cross. words once spoken cannot be taken back. deeds once done can never be undone.
this is the day i made my decision.
goodbye.
posted by Justin 3:35:00 AM
Monday, February 09, 2009
take me to my beach.
i can't hardly wait!
posted by Justin 3:08:00 PM
Friday, January 23, 2009
i shiver, but not from the cold
all hail the warmest day in kingston tomorrow! we're supposed to go above 0 deg celsius!this is the amount of snow we face everyday.
posted by Justin 3:39:00 PM
Saturday, January 10, 2009
do you hear the conversation we talked about?
kwek. says:
did you go zara lefties?
[sUp3rMaRo] [TKZFP] chaobuaya says:
i saw but din go in
[sUp3rMaRo] [TKZFP] chaobuaya says:
haha
kwek. says:
aye
kwek. says:
why not?
kwek. says:
i got 2 pairs of shoes there
kwek. says:
damn cheap
kwek. says:
20 euros and 25 euros
kwek. says:
zara
[sUp3rMaRo] [TKZFP] chaobuaya says:
haha i no money liao
[sUp3rMaRo] [TKZFP] chaobuaya says:
and i wasn't looking for shoes
[sUp3rMaRo] [TKZFP] chaobuaya says:
looking for a trench coat
kwek. says:
right
kwek. says:
but its cheap!
kwek. says:
they'd cost like at least $80 in singapore
[sUp3rMaRo] [TKZFP] chaobuaya says:
haha clearly the female side of shopping emerging from you
this is the creature i've turned into!
posted by Justin 2:40:00 PM
Thursday, January 08, 2009
i'm yours
omg. how can anyone ever be so hot!
posted by Justin 11:47:00 AM
sleigh bells ring, are you listening?its goodbye europe 2008 and hello canada 2009!
posted by Justin 9:58:00 AM
Sunday, December 28, 2008
merry christmas!
posted by Justin 4:11:00 PM
we will find a black and white in the grey
hello from paris!
there'll be a fire burning in the temple of our peace.
soon, love, soon.
there'll be the soaring voice for a silent plea.
soon, love, soon.
we will hold a broken circle and begin to pray.
soon, love, soon.
we will find a black and white in the grey.
posted by Justin 3:57:00 PM
Sunday, December 21, 2008
you know that there are more than shades of gray
driving makes me tired and happy. much like a hard and intense run and / or weights session.
also, after driving just over 670km in 2 days, of which 400km were covered at an average of around 130kph, i surely deserve the SAF "Safe & Courteous Driver" badge.
i've discovered that my car has an electronically limited topspeed of 176kph. though in all honesty, it makes no difference since it does get a little terrifying once you hit 160kph. the car wobbles from side to side and you can actually hear the rattling from somewhere within. i reckon 140kph is about the safest you can hit in this car. which is a little less than the 150kph in my old sunny, which was, to be fair, a real tank. oh well.
and i've also discovered that there is such a thing as backwash from vehicles, the effects of which are most pronounced when you overtake lorries and buses at 140kph in a valley.
: )
posted by Justin 10:28:00 PM
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
here we go, our favourite adventure.
Here we go,
Our favorite adventure
You should know
I was never more complete
And I never thought I'd see
The meaning of my life
Wrapped in you
Next to me
If you ever fear
Someday we might lose this
Come back here
To this moment that will last
And time can go so fast
When everything's exactly
Where it's at
Its very best
not scarlet roses, not falling leaves, some things you just don't forget.
posted by Justin 11:31:00 PM
Saturday, December 06, 2008
you can't fight the tears that ain't coming.
you always had to be
the flash of lightning
always with maybes
that never let me leave.
Take my hand 'cause we're walking out of here
Oh, right out of here
Love is all we need dearThe space between, whats wrong and right
Is where you'll find me hiding, waiting for you
The space between, your heart and mine
Is a space well filled with time
posted by Justin 10:46:00 AM
Monday, December 01, 2008
another one bites the dusti don't quite know whether to laugh or to cry because yet again, you've convinced me that the choice i made was absolutely right. the question that remains then is how many more mistakes you'll make before you realize that there's nothing left.i've repeated this so many times over, sometimes i wonder if you really are a retard. grow up.
posted by Justin 8:25:00 PM
Thursday, November 20, 2008
come heed the call, Rafflesians all and let our hearts be stirring.
when Stamford Raffles held the torch
that cast Promethean flame,
we faced the challenge of the day
to give our school a name.
the eagle eye & gryphon strength
they led us to the fore
to reign supreme in every sphere
the sons of Singapore.
come heed the call, Rafflesians all
and let our hearts be stirring.
we'll do our best whatever the test,
and keep our colours flying.
let comradeship and fervent hope
with one voice make us pray,
auspicium melioris aevi
with God to guide the way.
posted by Justin 3:38:00 AM
Thursday, November 13, 2008
as usual, i don't have a fucking choice when it comes to the tears.
posted by Justin 3:33:00 AM
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Bid kingdom come and fly on high
we know you could run
if you try
drag the sun through the sky
bid kingdom come
and fly on high
forever leave us behind.
why must you see
the world at your feet?
is our love so small
for you to risk it all?
and there on your throne,
you'll rule alone.
please try to grow up
stay here
with us.
posted by Justin 12:20:00 AM
i thought of your dumb smile, and let the sky pour loose
you always had to be
the flash of lightning
always with maybes
that never let me leave.
caught myself crushing through
that stormy old school
i thought of your dumb smile
and let the sky pour loose.
posted by Justin 12:14:00 AM
Thursday, October 23, 2008
that is that fresh, that fresh feeling.birds singing a songold paint is peelingthis is that freshthat fresh feelingwords can't be that strongmy heart is reelingthis is that freshthat fresh feelingtry, try to forget what's in the pasttomorrow is herelove, orange sky above lighting your waythere's nothing to fear
posted by Justin 9:03:00 PM
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
we searched ourselves pretending we were sky
so why do we keep it bottled up?
so intent on avoiding us
and i feel like i'm drowning
there is nothing left to say
you wouldn't listen to me anyway
i'm by the lake
i gave you my soul
that fateful day
shivering and cold
we searched ourselves
pretending we were sky
how i love your smile
with the sunset in your eyes.
posted by Justin 3:02:00 AM
Saturday, August 09, 2008
there’s never time to save; you’re paying by the hourhappy birthday, wba!
5 years. too much to hold onto. almost."but understand this, simply because it has been forgotten doesn't mean it never happened." - anonymous.and karen mok is hot.
posted by Justin 12:16:00 PM
Monday, July 28, 2008
almost twenty four.
posted by Justin 11:44:00 AM
Thursday, July 17, 2008
this is an hourglass running 11:59
bkk & krabi with ce!
posted by Justin 10:28:00 PM
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
like a devil in a church in the middle of a crowded room
:D
posted by Justin 10:16:00 PM
Friday, June 20, 2008
cut the tall trees now.
i had to capture this, which came off the bbc. eerily, it reminds me alot of what happened pre rwanda 1994. emphasis on the parts in bold.
Harare diary: Militias reach town
Esther (not her real name), 28, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, is writing a regular diary on the challenges of leading a normal life.
"The presidential run-off on June 27 is now only days away, and campaigning has been taken up several notches.
Almost every public transport vehicle has a poster of President R G Mugabe - "For total independence & total control"
Almost all the conductors and drivers of these vehicles are sporting Mugabe T-shirts and bandanas.
I have heard they were told that if they want to continue to ply their current routes, then they have to wear the regalia, and not tear off the posters.
Mr Mugabe seems to be campaigning quite frantically, one hears the presidential helicopter droning overhead every other day on the way to the rural areas for rallies.
Or maybe it is just that we cannot compare his level of activity to that of (opposition leader) Morgan Tsvangirai. Political rallies are officially banned, but of course Mugabe can go ahead and hold his.
But it has not thwarted Mr Tsvangirai, he simply has "walkabouts" where he turns up at villages and shopping centres, and talks to the few people there, as individuals or in small groups.
The only problem is that the crowds swell very quickly as word spreads that "the President" is in the area then he has to leave lest he be charged with violating the ban.
The urbanites are now getting a taste of what post-election life has been like in the rural areas.
War veterans' "bases" have been set up in most of the "locations" - high density areas.
There are so many conversations I have overheard of men complaining they had no sleep as they spent the whole night at a base, singing revolutionary songs.
I have also heard that passengers on public buses find the buses get diverted to the local war veterans' base and others have to walk home because the transport operators have pulled out fearing for their safety.
There are young men moving from house to house, recording the names of all the young people who reside there.
No-one knows what they are to be used for.
I have colleagues who are thinking of petitioning our employer to shut down next week, just in case all this escalates.
We have all learnt an important lesson - not knowing the Zanu-PF slogan can cost you a beating or worse.
Youth militia have set up roadblocks on the outskirts of the city where they randomly stop vehicles, ask the passengers to disembark and chant the slogan.
Anyone who fails to cannot proceed with their journey until they have been "taught"."
posted by Justin 1:23:00 AM
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
because those walls don’t last an eternitycech is vilified. and of course, everyone conveniently ignores his superhuman efforts to get the czechs this far.on another note, happy birthday beek!
yum!
i've had the chance to drive quite abit too. that makes me a happy bird.and that was a proper stroke of luck. : )
posted by Justin 5:49:00 PM
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
"And there is hope in your end", said the Lord, that your children shall come again to their own border.
i'm speechless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntReE2n15bo
posted by Justin 1:09:00 AM
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
the rest is still unwritten.almost at the end of my internships. but let's not get into that.snapshots of the past couple of weeks.9 years, and counting.
i love this.
posted by Justin 8:24:00 PM
Saturday, May 31, 2008
all the right thingsthank God for the 2 things that went right yesterday.and of course, the day wouldn't have been complete without the mandatory appearance of shaun ho, who screeched to a halt in his van, cooked up some cock and bull story, and disappeared just as sudden as he appeared, leaving me with my mouth gaping wide open.random snapshots i should upload.1 - excellent work, my LCS groupmates! our work paid off! : )
2 - class dinner.
3 - debbie and her random rj boys.
4 - the secret threesome.
my hair looks really bad.
no, i wasn't drunk.
5 - and of course, thanks, you guys. for everything and more.
the holidays await. i'm awfully tempted to get a new game to occupy myself.
posted by Justin 3:24:00 PM
Monday, May 12, 2008
the window will close
its been a while since i last updated. the exams have ended. my 1 week break has come and gone. i'm a little more in shape, caught up on my tuition and had a good break, especially over the weekend.
started my first proper internship today. and i can actually say that i've enjoyed my work. but it might be a little premature to draw such conclusions so quickly. so perhaps, i should just shut my trap for now.
i've discovered more about what has happened. you are a disappointment. nothing more, nothing less. just a disappointment. as a friend said, malice is irrelevant. liability is strict. anyway, i stopped caring a few months ago. i'm just surprised at the extent of what had happened. you have been an absolute waste of my time.it won't happen again.
posted by Justin 10:43:00 PM
Monday, April 28, 2008
stuck in the sunset.happy birthday, cock.and this is gorgeous.i intend to hunt his CDs down after the exams. like how i hunted down damien rice and vienna teng a couple of years ago.
posted by Justin 12:36:00 PM
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
you'll never walk alone.
my timings are dropping! 9:13. that close to clearing my PB. i think i'll take a breather for now. and just settle for 2 x 2.4kms at 70% and 50%. it feels good to be alive again.isaac, probocis, jelly coloured abs & all that.and jinghui.this has been a horrid semester. i so need my break.
posted by Justin 6:56:00 PM
Sunday, April 20, 2008
let it wash away my fears
this, my loves, is quite beautiful. we all need that l'il bit of love in these times of darkness.
posted by Justin 11:28:00 PM
Friday, April 18, 2008
hand over the coffee and no one gets hurt.the happy birthdays over the past couple of days! it seems like everyone's had their birthdays recently.kaywee, my man, crooked abs et al.
aishah - whom i don't have a photo off.and. brenda. for the 10th time.they say that red bull gives you wings. i hope red wine gives you brains then. 'cos i've had plenty of that today.
posted by Justin 1:00:00 AM
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
time starts to pass, and before you know it, you're frozen.
9:18.
don't stop.
posted by Justin 8:22:00 PM
Monday, April 14, 2008
not mine to choose, not for you to decide.
9:29.
and i'm pissed with malaysian judges who are so opinionated that they each have to write their own judgement. yes, all 5 of them.
posted by Justin 9:49:00 PM
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger
4 weeks from the exams, i feel gloriously unmotivated to do much. i really should get my act together.
LCS and public law is taking up too much of my time, the former has once again contributed to me burning my sundays at some Godforsaken place working till 2am, trying to come up up with some fanciful legalistic language and undoing everything our LAWR tutors did last year. this time, we had an urban picnic at coffee bean, complete with red wine in plastic cups, cadbury chocolate, ham, myoplex, chocolate cake and of course, coffee. we had mr gray and mrs tan for company. oh, and of course, thw had to make his cameo appearance. being absolutely respectful students, alec and i had to wave at him, and rz did her best to hide herself in one corner. which was absolutely ridiculous since he'd already seen us all.but i guess, i should be thankful for groupmates who pull their own weight and definitely get things done. in retrospect, i think i made the right decision.
and i had the shock of my life when i checked my phone just before we left alec's house at 2am, draft agreement completed.
this is what displaced my latio as the wallpaper of my handphone.
not anymore.
posted by Justin 5:37:00 PM
Saturday, March 29, 2008
remember, remember.
for all of us who constantly bitch about our lives, please stop. you havn't lost your entire house and, for some, your family in 60 seconds.
absolutely cliched, but yes i've to say this. "they said the army would make me a man, instead i became more human."09:52. decent, considering how long its been. but i will do better.
posted by Justin 9:16:00 AM
Friday, March 21, 2008
time starts to pass, before you know it you’re frozenlast night, someone had a pretty close shave with me. i was driving home along bukit timah road. as usual, i wasn't driving at snail's pace. though i wasn't speeding. which was a good thing. and out of nowhere, i see this indian dude, wearing all black. walking beside his bicycle on the right lane. of the main road. and not along any neighbourhood road, mind you. bukit timah road.and i had to slow down very rapidly in order to avoid hitting him. though i was really really tempted to give him a good hard whack, which i have done before. along orchard road no least. seriously. i have nothing against pedestrians walking along the side of the road. but please, for crying out loud. stay on the left lane. and not on the right. and don't act like you own the road. take charge of your own lives.and thank you, for trying.
posted by Justin 5:16:00 PM
Saturday, March 15, 2008
imperfect information and deadweight loss.
its been awhile. i've gone through 3 assignments in 3 weeks. a hell of an experience, i think. relatively satisfied with LCS, pissed with equity, but fairly pleased with public law. had a decent break over the last 2 days, but now its back to the grind.
bren has told me some very interesting stuff. and all i have to say is WHAT THE FUCK! sigh.
and since i'm on very interesting stuff, i found out about even more interesting stuff last night, or rather, the wee hours of this morning. omg. i cannot believe that actually happened. o.m.g. there are things you shouldn't say, and then there're things that you really shouldn't say. i'll leave it at that. i had a chance to try out ah luo's advice to avoid roadblocks. cruise on the left lane and turn off your headlights so you minimize the prospects of being detected before you hit the rockblock. that'd allow you to turn off or stop and hide somewhere. thankfully i didn't need to do an actual test of its effectiveness, 'cos if it didn't work, i'd be pretty screwed. 2 glasses of white before i left for alec's. and i'd 2 vodka straights and another 3-4 glasses of red.
and this, my loves, is a goalkeeping clinic. the best i've seen in a long while.
posted by Justin 12:14:00 PM
Sunday, March 09, 2008
the rate of change of momentum of an object is proportional to the force acting on it and occurs in the direction of the force
so the Malaysian GE has come and gone. just in time too, as an anecdote for my essay, evincing that temporary party supremacy doesn't translate into permanant parliamentary supremacy. i seem to have a habit of overdoing my introductions for my essays. the last time, my intro took up 1,200 words for a 2,000 word piece. i'm pleased to announce that i've made some improvements this time round. my intro took up 1,300 words of my 3,500 piece. that's 37%! down from the previous 60%. needless to say, i scrapped it immediately after i did my wordcount.
and in an effort to inject some form into i'm on my soon-to-buang essay, though of course that doesn't imply that it has any substance in it, i inserted this quote into my introduction.
“I love him! I love him for the man he wants to be. And I love him for the man he almost is.” - Renee Zellweger, as Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire
i've yet to decide whether i should leave it in. though odds on are that it'd be the collateral damage in my word counting exercise.
its been good fun planning for the hols and it was nice catching up with the various rj guys on friday night. i think z's advice is pretty sound and i should follow up on it.
happy birthday princess deb!
posted by Justin 6:12:00 PM
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
somewhere a clock is ticking.
days like these, i'll admit that i miss you.
SIGH. i can't wait for june / july.
posted by Justin 8:46:00 PM
Monday, March 03, 2008
empty this vacuum of thoughts
this was absolutely hilarious.
From: HWB
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 4:38 PM
To: LAW Undergraduates
Hello,
In connection with the advocacy portion of LAWR this year, we will be screening four films in the month of March that demonstrate or examine skills of advocacy. The films are intended to complement the LAWR course but are open to the Law Faculty community as space is available. All films will be shown on a Wednesday afternoon starting at 1:15 p.m. Please join us for popcorn*, film and the law.
Wed 12 March, 1:15 p.m.: Rashomon (Kurosawa 1950), Moot Court Room
[4 hours later]
Dear Students from Equity and Trusts TG X and TG Y
If you have not seen Kurosawa’s Rashomon before, I would strongly encourage you to catch this movie. It would be very useful for you to consider the main theme of the movie i.e. the power of the narrator in the construction of the truth of the event in relation with the doctrine of the common intention constructive trust.
Best Regards
THW (you'd know who he is by his initials)
posted by Justin 10:11:00 PM
Sunday, March 02, 2008
with compliments
as with all midsem breaks in law school, this has instead turned out to be a study week. i've probably spent more time in the studyroom than anywhere else. i've had my maiden can of red bull for the semester, and it appears that i start my red bull routine earlier with each passing semester. and i had my 1st packet of kong guan today. i need to gym properly very soon. preferably at clementi.
i look at what has happened, i see the parallels, and they're so similar, it scares me.
and hc, this is for you.
HAHAHA
posted by Justin 1:29:00 AM
Friday, February 29, 2008
tiziano!
posted by Justin 1:58:00 PM
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
absolutely retarded conversation i had with jc.
jk. says:
anyway how was ktv yest?
zz... 一言难尽 says:
hahaha
zz... 一言难尽 says:
not bad
zz... 一言难尽 says:
sing until shag
zz... 一言难尽 says:
but then later go home too tired to do work
jk. says:
sorry arh. i didn't go 'cos i forgot to bring ringgit yesterday
jk. says:
cannot pay the toll fees
zz... 一言难尽 says:
haha
zz... 一言难尽 says:
hahha nvm la its hard to travel down the mountain rite? from xiao guilin
zz... 一言难尽 says:
hahaha
jk. says:
yarh
jk. says:
also not enough money
jk. says:
then i forgot to tell my mum i want to claim her frequent flier miles before she went to work
zz... 一言难尽 says:
wa u fly SQ arh?
zz... 一言难尽 says:
nvm larh. can land at paya lebar airbase.
jk. says:
yarh. but i forgot to get clearance mah
jk. says:
i scared wait later trigger air defence alert
jk. says:
then disrupt all the international flights
zz... 一言难尽 says:
nvm larh. you can outfly all the F16s
zz... 一言难尽 says:
do a loop the loop or something
zz... 一言难尽 says:
like another airshow
jk. says:
... this is damn retarded. wtf.
posted by Justin 12:58:00 PM
the sound of silence
p and my cousin think that i club because of my photos on facebook. wtf! but p tells me that it appears fairly easy to get girls into your pants in clubs in europe. HAH! i told her i'd save my annual clubbing quota for europe then.
and shaun is still shaun. my msn nick calls for hc to msg me. he promptly changes his msn nick to hc and drops me a msg. which might've smoked me, but for his msn avater displaying "the best is yet to be". ... someone tell me that he isn't doing his PhD and a tutor to students my age. somehow, i cannot visualize arun doing that. or maybe he does. hmm.
i saw thw walking along the streets last night pa-tor-ing with some woman, dispelling any rumors that may have been circulating.
maybe it is jinxed. its the 2nd year that this has happened. life is short. cherish your loved ones. you're certainly not england's rose, but you matter, crude mannerisms et al. go, as you always say, maybe half-jokingly, with a smile on your face. we'll make it your celebration.
and i had a horrid nightmare 2 nights ago. i wonder if its a sign.
posted by Justin 10:07:00 AM
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
these truths are mine to keep.
wow.
posted by Justin 11:34:00 AM
Monday, February 25, 2008
盛夏的果实
its been a hard week. LCS reminds me of LAWR all over again. think thursday and friday nights chionging in a classroom in school, and burnt weekends. except that we've gone a little more upclass, and shifted to macs at farrer road. we lasted till 330am. and i was up the next day for dragonboat orientation course at 1000. which tired me out quite abit, but brought back plenty of memories of those 2 years.
its not that i havn't been to kallang. but watching the race lanes and the boats from tanjong rhu or nicoll highway is entirely different from trying to avoid the fishing lines, the feeling of the boat gliding in the water, how the sun'll always shine on you, and the freedom you share with those around you in the middle of the water. counting strokes. forcing your paddle into the water. keeping your discipline. i think i saw cher, of chinese high fame, paddling alone near sheares bridge, near where we used to start our 1,000m laps. it transported me back into another world, a past long gone, but which no one'll take away.
and i've re-discovered my ability to write properly. rz observes that when it comes to the crunch, i actually can write fairly succintly. all hail eleanor wong. and blogger.
it'll be a hard week ahead, with equity and public law assignments and the backlog of tuition.
oh, and happy 21st, anna!
i like this photo.
posted by Justin 3:08:00 PM
Sunday, February 17, 2008
OMG.
Kosovo MPs proclaim independence
Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in an historic session.
The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.
The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognise Kosovo on Monday.
Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state". Serbia's ally, Russia, called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting.
See a map of Kosovo's ethnic breakdown
Correspondents say the potential for trouble between Kosovo's Serbs and ethnic Albanians is enormous.
Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests".
"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said.
"Kosovo is Serbia," Mr Kostunica said, repeating a well-known nationalist Serb saying.
Search for equality
The declaration was approved with a show of hands. No-one opposed it.
"We have waited for this day for a very long time," Mr Thaci told parliament before reading the text, paying tribute to those who had died on the road to independence.
The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," the prime minister said - Kosovo was a unique case that should not set a precedent.
He said it would be built in accordance with the UN plan drawn by former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari - at the end of negotiations which did not produce a deal.
The international military and civilian presence - also envisaged by the Ahtisaari plan - was welcome, he added.
There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, he said, vowing to eradicate any such practices - and conveying a similar message in Serbian. President Fatmir Sejdiu had a similar pledge - also addressed in Serbian.
The declaration was then signed by all the MPs present.
Kosovo's top leaders are due to go to a sports hall later where the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra is expected to play Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
They are also due to sign their names on giant iron letters spelling out the word "newborn" which was to be displayed in Pristina.
Fireworks and street celebrations will follow. Thousands of people have poured onto the streets.
Some ethnic Albanians, who make up the majority of Kosovo's population, earlier laid flowers on the graves of family members killed by Serbian security forces during years of conflict and division.
The BBC's Nick Thorpe in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica says local and UN police, as well as the Nato troops, are maintaining a high profile to reassure all the citizens of Kosovo that they have nothing to fear.
Limitations
The declaration approved by Kosovo's parliament contains limitations on Kosovan independence as outlined in Mr Ahtisaari's plan.
Kosovo, or part of it, cannot join any other country. It will be supervised by an international presence. Its armed forces will be limited and it will make strong provisions for Serb minority protection.
Recognition by a number of EU states, including the UK and other major countries, will come on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the BBC's Paul Reynolds.
The US is also expected to announce its recognition on Monday.
Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent.
Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that Western recognition of an independent Kosovo could have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The UN has administered Kosovo since a Nato bombing campaign in 1999 drove out Serb forces.
posted by Justin 11:44:00 PM
our suspensory beneficial interest
i ran into huiling (not ex) today at ifg canoe polo. had an unexpected but very pleasant conversation with her. i ended up relating to her my latest run-in, or horn-in, with shaun, which absolutely amused her. and somewhere in the middle of our conversation, i realized how much i've missed you guys, the 2 years (and more) we've had, and the impossible trainings we had. maybe it was how i was finally in a boat in a competitive event, though i'm stretching it quite abit here. or the odd familiar face that i might've walked past countless saturdays. or maybe it was the feeling of holding my paddle in my hand (not bracsa) waiting at the edge of the pool for the starting gun. cheering for your team-mates by the side, the unmasked emotion when you win. and when you're out there fighting for each other regardless of the differences you've had.
somehow, the whole atmosphere was strangely comforting. like cradling a mug of hot mocha on a cold, rainy day. or knowing that you can still hit 25 in the middle of the exams.
i think that that's a part of me irrecoverably lost. and when i look at zhiyun, val, ben, josh, isaac, i know that that's something they've kept. something within that keeps them going. something to look forward to, something to escape this hell that we seem so quick to embrace. or maybe we're so quick to do so because we don't have what they have. and today, i understood why huiling kept going on for so long even when we were so quick to dismiss her as being psychotic. it isn't about racing for fun, but rather, it is the intensity, the fight that you go through in every race that makes you stronger, and will always strengthen you, even when the race has long ended, and when everything else falls apart. maybe its like religion. like how Christians believe in God, that God will always be with them. but we'd never know even if God doesn't exist. at least not in this life of ours. but maybe what matters is the belief, or in the fight to believe. and it is the fight to believe that strengthens us, that makes us worthy. if not worthy of His love, then worthy of living this life of ours. much like the struggle we put ourselves through those 2 years. perhaps if i hadn't thrown myself in there, i'd never be where i am now, i'd never have known what i stand for. and maybe there is a fight over the horizon that i could've and maybe should've been in.
i realized how much i've missed you guys. things are just different over here, and i know that its different over there too. the entire process of trying to fit in, of finding yourself, of attempting to belong. but maybe then you peel through the layers, and you find that there really isn't anything there for you to belong to. because at its simplest, it isn't what defines us. and we know who and what we are, and what we stand for. and i'm glad that we've had that chance to discover that for ourselves. because without that, i'd be like someone running around like a headless chicken. absolutely laughable, but yet disappointing to know that you are like this. but i've found mine. so you can take a walk.
oh. and we got knocked out in the group stages, which wasn't surprising since wenzhao aside, we were all n00bs. though we did beat science, which was a real morale booster, since we were thoroughly outplayed by business in our opening match. sam thinks that we lost because all the other teams had ivp / experienced year 3s or 4s who'd played ifg canoepolo previously. i told him that we'd get our revenge next year then. he then happily reminded me that we'd be off in uk next year this time.
wooooot!
hc tells me that the pound has significantly weakened in recent days. maybe i should make a trip to the moneychanger soon. i ate spoilt popiah today, so if i get a tummyache over the next couple of days, i'd know why.
posted by Justin 6:54:00 PM
Saturday, February 16, 2008
why'd you sing hallelujah if it means nothing to you
its been a tiring week. work's starting to pile up and i am NOT clearing them. and i don't expect to get anything done tomorrow since i've canoepolo and tuition back to back.
i'm blogging very choppily. off the top of my head, here're the things of note that have happened over the past week.
1. i'm starting to talk to rachael like i talk to huan. i don't know if that's a good thing.
2. a good catch up session with zw.
3. i managed a proper conversation with someone whom i havn't talked to properly in ages.
4. i'm starting to lose some of the CNY weight.
5. i'm drinking quite abit of wine. an average of 1.5 glasses of wine per night now.
6. i'm drinking alot of coffee. an average of 4 cups a day.
7. i probably consume more caffeine and alcohol than water.
8. hc tells me that coffee in london costs 80p. perhaps that'd wean me off my caffeine dependence.
9. you are incredibly dense.
10. tibet's off. sawadeeka, vietnam!
11. its not about the quantity, but rather its about the timing.
12. its so ironic that i couldn't help but catch myself smiling at the whole affair.
13. people should appreciate the importance of punctuality.
14. walk and dinner with bren today was lovely. its been awhile.
15. halsbury's is probably one of the most under-rated and under-utilized resources available to law students.
16. i still have a very black face.
posted by Justin 11:47:00 PM
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
silent all these years
excuse me but can i be you for awhile,
my dog won't bite if you sit real still,
i got the anti-Christ in the kitchen yellin' at me again
yeah I can hear that
been saved again by the garbage truck
i got something to say you know but nothing comes
yes i know what you think of me you never shut up
yeah i can hear that
but what if i'm a mermaid, in these jeans of his
with her name still on it
hey but i don't care 'cause
sometimes, i said sometimes
i hear my voice and it's been here
silent all these years
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts
what's so amazing about really deep thoughts
boy you best pray that i bleed real soon
how's that thought for you
my scream got lost in a paper cup
i think there's a heaven once the screams have gone
i got 25 bucks and a cracker do you think it's enough
to get us there 'cause...
what if i'm a mermaid in these jeans of his
with her name still on it
hey but I don't care 'cause
sometimes, I said sometimes
i hear my voice and it's been here
silent all these -
years go by, will i still be waiting
for somebody else to understand
years go by if i'm stripped of my beauty
and the orange clouds raining in my hand
years go by, will i choke on my tears
'til finally there is nothing left
one more casualty you know
we're too easy easy easy...
Well i love the way we communicate
your eyes focus on my funny lip shape
let's hear what you think of me now
and baby don't look up, the sky is falling
your mother shows up in a nasty dress
it's your turn now to stand where i stand
everybody lookin' at you
you take hold of my hand
yeah i can hear them...
but what if i'm a mermaid, in these jeans of yours
with her name still on it
hey but i don't care 'cause
sometimes, i said sometimes
i hear my voice
i hear my voice
i hear my voice and it's been here
silent all these years
i've been here
silent all these years
silent all these
silent all these years
posted by Justin 7:50:00 PM
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
we are the young
we are the young, the children of the world
we hold tomorrow in our hands
we are the young, the promise of a brighter day
the future waits at our command
teach us well, teach us how to care
give us love, love that we can share
as we'll walk hand in hand in the light of the rising sun
we are the young
we are the young, and so we look to you
to show us how the world should be
we are the young, we trust in your experience
to help us shape our destiny
teach us well, teach us how to care
give us love, love that we can share
as we'll walk hand in hand in the light of the rising sun
we are the young
that day is dawning
when we will be grown
we will inherit
this world for our own
we are the young, the children of the world
we hold tomorrow in our hands
we are the young, the promise of a brighter day
the future waits in our command
teach us well, teach us how to care
give us love, love that we can share
as we'll walk hand in hand in the light of the rising sun
we are the young
we are the young
we are the young
posted by Justin 9:28:00 PM
Monday, February 11, 2008
not ours to fight
maybe it has finally found the key it needs. days like these, i wish that i was back in army, having all the time in the world, and almost all the resources i needed, instead of slogging it out here.
Europe reports further increase in Tamiflu resistance
Feb 7, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – European health officials today reported signs of an increasing rate of resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in Europe's predominant subtype of influenza virus, but they cautioned that the rate seen in isolates tested so far may not reflect the real situation.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported that 20% (151 of 755) of influenza A/H1N1 isolates tested so far had a mutation linked with resistance. That compares with 14% (59 of 437 isolates) reported a week ago.
...
Oseltamivir resistance has also been reported in 5.6% (2 of 36) H1N1 isolates in Australia and in 7.5% (5 of 67) in Hong Kong, the WHO table shows. In Japan, where the antiviral is used much more than in most other countries, no resistant viruses have been reported.
The WHO table shows resistance has been found in a total of 14 countries, 10 of them in Europe. The overall resistance rate is about 6%, or 89 of 1,396 isolates. No resistance has been found in the few African and Latin American countries where testing has been done, according to the WHO.
While H1N1 is the predominant flu strain in Europe this winter, about a third of specimens tested are influenza B, the Eurosurveillance report said.
European officials repeated previous statements that this year's flu vaccine is expected to be as effective against the resistant viruses as against susceptible ones. They also said the experience in Norway suggests that people infected with the resistant variant do not seem to get sicker than those infected with susceptible strains.
Europe says Tamiflu-resistant virus seen in 9 countries
Feb 1, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – European officials yesterday reported more evidence that one of the three types of seasonal influenza viruses is showing resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and said this represents the first clear sign that the resistant variant can spread.
A report published yesterday by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says the resistant variant of the influenza A/H1N1 virus accounted for 59 (14%) of 437 European H1N1 isolates from 19 countries tested so far. The variant has been seen in nine of the 19 countries, according to the report in Eurosurveillance.
The new report suggests the resistant variant is more widespread than indicated by the initial report from the ECDC on Jan 27. That report said the resistant virus was found in four countries and made up 19 of 148 isolates tested.
Increased H1N1 resistance to oseltamvir was also reported in the United States and Canada this week. US officials said about 5% of tested isolates showed resistance, and Canada reported that about 10% were resistant.
...
WHO report: Increased resistance unexpected
The WHO, in a statement yesterday, said the increased drug resistance is unexpected and so far unexplained, especially since few of the patients are known to have taken oseltamivir. "Influenza viruses are continuously changing, and it is possible that a resistant strain has emerged spontaneously," said the statement, released in a question-and-answer format.
posted by Justin 5:58:00 PM
Sunday, February 10, 2008
but you can never empty the space between
it is official. ce's mum refers to me as "grouch" in emails.
WAHLAUEH.
posted by Justin 7:39:00 PM
both sides now
bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
and feather canyons everywhere, i've looked at clouds that way.
but now they only block the sun, they rain and they snow on everyone.
so many things i would have done but clouds got in my way.
i've looked at clouds from both sides now,
from up and down, and still somehow
it's cloud illusions I recall.
i really don't know clouds at all.
moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way that you feel
as every fairy tale comes real; i've looked at love that way.
but now it's just another show. and you leave 'em laughing when you go
and if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.
i've looked at love from both sides now,
from give and take, and still somehow
it's love's illusions that i recall.
i really don't know love at all.
tears and fears and feeling proud, to say "i love you" right out loud,
dreams and schemes and circus crowds, i've looked at life that way.
oh but now old friends are acting strange, and they shake their heads, and they tell me that
i've changed.
something's lost but something's gained in living every day.
i've looked at life from both sides now,
from win and lose, and still somehow
it's life's illusions i recall.
i really don't know life at all.
posted by Justin 8:11:00 AM
never saw blue
today we took a walk up the street,
we picked a flower and climbed a hill above the lake
secret thoughts, you said aloud,
we watched the faces in the clouds
until the clouds have blown away
were we ever somewhere else you know
it's hard to say
i never saw a blue like that before
across the sky, around the world
you're giving me all you have and more
no one else has ever shown me how
to see the world the way i see it now, oh i
i never saw a blue like that
i can't believe
a month ago i was alone
i didn't know you, i've never seen you, or heard your name
and even now, i'm so amazed it's like a dream
it's like a rainbow, it's like the rain
some things are the way they are and words just can't explain
i never saw a blue like that before
across the sky, around the world
you're giving me all you have and more
no one else has ever shown me how
to see the world the way I see it now, oh i
i never saw a blue like that before
it feels like now, it feels always,
and it feels like coming home
i never saw a blue like that before
across the sky, around the world
you're giving me all you have and more
no one else has ever shown me how
to see the world the way i see it now, oh i
i never saw a blue like that before
oh, oh i, i never saw blue like that
posted by Justin 1:16:00 AM
Saturday, February 09, 2008
this is my fight.
and how do you expect me to ever trust you again? not once, not twice. thrice. well, at least 3 times. i'm disappointed in you. i'd thought that you were someone trustworthy. yes, you've your flaws. i shalln't list them. but i always thought that your flaws and your trustworthiness were separable. i guess not. so, don't expect me to be able to trust you and talk to you again, like how i used to.
like my dad said, when you betray someone's trust, you have everything, and yet nothing.
posted by Justin 9:03:00 AM
Friday, February 08, 2008
this vacuum that won't be emptied
its been a good lunar new year. seized the opportunities to get to know some of my cousins, and their wives, a little better. mind you, i'd probably said less than 5 sentences to some of my cousins-in-law previously. people watched alot. confirmed 1 of my internships for summer vacation, with a SGHC trial on breach of director's duties thrown in for good measure. learnt alot from my uncles, and my dad. hopefully, i've picked up some of their genes. well, at least those that i want. i adore my dad quite abit, and i hope that i'd turn out to be a chip off the old block, as they say.
i hit 160 kph on the PIE and 130 kph on bukit timah road today without my parents noticing. or even if they did, they didn't say anything.
i've a new phone!
i should start working. time won't stop even if we do.
you never know what lies around the corner until you turn it. but when you do, the fight'll be over, though the war won't be gone.
this is mine.
posted by Justin 10:33:00 PM
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
God. i'm so tired.
"the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong."
posted by Justin 12:01:00 AM
Sunday, February 03, 2008
ben was right after all.
posted by Justin 6:52:00 PM
Damned to the D.
hah! i told you so, i told you so! you are simply incredibly obstinate. and childish. and time and time again, i've proved you right. you simply refuse to listen. and now you've lost another.
*poof*
i don't give a flying fuck anymore. you can live in your... dreamland. i've better things to think about. like. schoolwork. no, more like EXCHANGE and TIBET.
omg. i understand what pris meant she said she was so excited she could hardly do anything after getting her exchange apps last year.
beckham scores an own goal!
posted by Justin 4:02:00 PM
3 1/2 hrs of tuition.
i am so brain-dead. though the $145 makes it pretty worth it. though if i did 2 x 3 1/2 hrs of tuition per week, that'd be just under $1,200 / month and i would be able to do beijing/tibet without any worries. interesting thought. though right now, i'm just incredibly shagged. baaah.
anyway, to you, sometimes, you shouldn't let your heart rule you. well, but if you did decide otherwise, know that i'd be there for you, and i don't say this often, but i'll have your back. no questions asked.
posted by Justin 1:49:00 PM
Saturday, February 02, 2008
on earth as it is in heaven
a masterpiece.
posted by Justin 3:23:00 PM
"You know: fish, chips, cup 'o tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary fucking Poppins... London."
OMG.
with any luck, over the next 12 months, i could find myself in 3 different continents, at least 3 different countries (china/tibet, uk & canada) and experiencing snow in 2 different places! woooot!
omg omg omg.
exchange to King's College of London & Queen's in Canada!!!
London will be so fun, especially with josh, alec, hc, brendan, weihan & maybe bryan. and maybe huan. and maybe ce in december. OMG. and travelling in europe. gaaaah. my only worry is that canada'd be boring and that i might yet be alone there. though maybe not, since boonkiat & waimun tell me that the former has 7 NTU/smu girls for company. WTF!!! and i could fix accoms up through both of them. dave says that i can kope his house in london. O.M.G. christmas in london. i only hope that sornarajah won't be such a boring old Prof. i guess i'd have preferred bell, but beggars can't be choosers.
WHEEE!!!
shit. i think i sound like charlene.
posted by Justin 2:41:00 PM
Friday, February 01, 2008
Streets of London
London! and Queen's!
posted by Justin 9:28:00 PM
this world we live in
"Feyenoord have made an offer to loan Tampines' Macauley Chrisanthus until the end of the season."
HA HA HA!
posted by Justin 11:07:00 AM
Thursday, January 31, 2008
live for the moment, for there are no fairytale endings
Liverpool 5-2 Havant & Waterlooville
posted by Justin 8:34:00 PM
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
you can run, but you'll just die tired
9:41. it's been awhile.
posted by Justin 9:42:00 PM
hush, love, i see a light in the sky
posted by Justin 8:49:00 PM
Monday, January 28, 2008
just a little older that's all
off rz's,
"and what's the thing about being 21 (almost anyway) and not 18? you're much less obsessed, certainly less hung up, and saying "fuck off" to people comes a lot easier (at least in your head)."
posted by Justin 9:37:00 PM
Sunday, January 27, 2008
omg, this is hilarious.
posted by Justin 9:23:00 PM
don't wake when lightning strikes
boo. its raining. i'm alone at home. i need to study. and i'm being damn inefficient. its days like this that i miss being able to drag you out just to force myself to study. and stare at random ferraris below. baaaaaah.
rz is the first to discover than i'm trying to grow a goatee!
i need to get disposal contacts, a haircut, a gym-cardio-abs session and a device to help me complete my public law readings. though on the brighter side, i think i understand what i've read.
and please don't make such hasty generalizations. damned if you think that i'm going down that path. just in case it isn't blindingly obvious, i certainly am not. as they said, it'd take alot of effort to do so. its just that i havn't spoken about it to you and you. this is the life i've chosen. and if you take a step back to think about it, nothing's changed.
"if you look into the abyss, the abyss will look into you."
posted by Justin 4:52:00 PM
Saturday, January 26, 2008
i'll end the end of lies
because its been the 2 of you who have, in your own ways, kept my head spinning as the rest of the world speeds by.
to you, we havn't known each other for half as long, and we probably havn't spoken as much as i would have liked, but for having my back when it mattered, and for reminding me of who i am.
and to you, i really don't know whether to laugh or to cry. maybe now i do understand why things panned out this way and the things they say about you.
posted by Justin 1:29:00 PM
Thursday, January 24, 2008
watch the stars crash in the sea
gorgeous.
posted by Justin 8:09:00 PM
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
sometimes there's only one thing left to say.
now they're finally revealing the truth. bit by bit. i'd like to hear Dr Niman's reaction to this. i do not like the bits in bold. at all.
like this
"... clade 1 viruses and most clade 2 viruses from Indonesia are fully resistant to M2 inhibitors (amantadine and rimantadine)"
or this
"... doubling the standard oseltamivir dose and duration of treatment may be reasonable."
and this, my loves, just about tops it.
"Resistance to the drug (oseltamvir) has been seen in a few patients"
we've lost amantadine thanks to the chinese, and now we might be on the verge of losing oseltamvir to the indonesians. maybe the indians'll put the final nail in the coffin for us then. God Bless Asia.
i sure as hell hope that MOH & the other relevant government agencies are re-evaluating their containment plans.
the summary's from CIDRAP, though i'm hoping to read the actual article sometime soon.
Exposure source unclear in 25% of human H5N1 cases
Jan 16, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – In at least 25% of human infections with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, just how the person was exposed to the virus remains a mystery, according to a report by an expert panel set up by the World Health Organization (WHO).
"In one quarter or more of patients with influenza A (H5N1) infection virus infection, the source of exposure is unclear, and environment-to-human transmission remains possible," says the report, which appears today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The predominant source of exposure in H5N1 cases is contact with infected poultry in the week before onset of illness, the article notes. But in cases involving no such contact, patients might have touched contaminated objects (fomites) or fertilizer containing poultry feces or have inhaled aerosolized infectious material. The only known risk factor for some patients was visiting a live-poultry market, the article says.
The discussion of exposure sources is part of a review of all aspects of human H5N1 cases, including epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The report is based on the WHO's Second Consultation on Clinical Aspects of Human Infection with Avian Influenza A (H5N1), a meeting held in Antalya, Turkey, in March 2007.
About a quarter of all human cases have occurred in clusters of two or more that were epidemiologically linked, the report says. More than 90% of the clusters have involved blood relatives, suggesting a possible genetic susceptibility to the infection. Most people in the clusters probably were infected through common exposure to poultry, "but limited, nonsustained human-to-human transmission has probably occurred during very close, unprotected contact with a severely ill patient," the article states.
Regarding the virus's evolution, the report has a chart that shows a total of 10 different clades (including the original 1997 strain from Hong Kong), or lineages, plus five subclades in clade 2.
"Changes in multiple viral genes"—not just the surface protein known as hemagglutinin—"are probably required to generate a potentially pandemic influenza A (H5N1) virus," the article says. So far, the virus is not transmissible among ferrets or swine, and reassortment (hybridization) between an H5N1 virus and an H3N2 (human-adapted) virus did not produce a virus transmissible among ferrets.
Concerning host responses, the report does not fully endorse the "cytokine storm" theory: the proposition that the severe disease in H5N1 cases is a result of an overly intense immune response. The tissue damage "probably results from the combined effects of unrestrained viral infection and inflammatory responses" induced by the infection, it says.
Further, the current understanding of the immune response to the infection is not adequate to guide efforts to treat the disease by modifying the immune response, the panel says.
In line with that, the report repeats previous WHO advice against the routine use of corticosteroids in H5N1 patients. Corticosteroid therapy has not been effective, and prolonged or high-dose corticosteroids can lead to serious adverse events.
As for antiviral drugs, the panel says that clade 1 viruses and most clade 2 viruses from Indonesia are fully resistant to M2 inhibitors (amantadine and rimantadine), but the other clade 2 viruses from other parts of Eurasia and Africa are usually susceptible to these older drugs.
The article repeats the standard recommendation for early treatment with oseltamivir, a neuraminidase inhibitor. The panel also reiterates previous WHO statements that doubling the standard oseltamivir dose and duration of treatment may be reasonable. Resistance to the drug has been seen in a few patients, and clade 1 viruses seem to be more susceptible than some clade 2 viruses, though the clinical relevance of this difference is unclear.
Concerning H5N1 vaccines, the panel writes that certain proprietary adjuvants seem to be highly effective in antigen sparing (reducing the amount of antigen needed to generate an immune response) and inducing cross-reactive antibody responses. However, the antibody levels needed for protection against the virus are unknown.
The report stops short of endorsing prepandemic vaccination—giving an existing H5N1 vaccine before a pandemic in the hope that it will yield some protection against a later H5N1-based pandemic strain or will at least prime the immune system so that just one dose of a specific pandemic vaccine would be necessary.
Decisions about prepandemic vaccination require complex risk-benefit and cost-benefit analyses because of likely effects on seasonal vaccine production and the chance that mass vaccinations would trigger adverse events, the article says.
Some other observations in the report:
The median age of H5N1 case-patients is about 18, and 90% of patients have been 40 years or younger.
While the disease typically leads to severe pneumonia, febrile upper respiratory illnesses without pneumonia have been seen in children, particularly since 2005.
About 15% to 20% of older adults have some antibodies to H5N1 and might respond to a single dose of vaccine.
posted by Justin 4:41:00 PM
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
chasing cars
140km/h down Bukit Timah Road at 8pm on a weekday night! and with my parents in the car, neither of whom made any reference to it!
Ce: tibet! i've done some research on it during my trust & equity lecture. he was rambling. promise. we need to talk soooooon!
and to you, maybe its time you think before you act or say anything. don't blame it on a momentary lapse of concentration. its happened before, so it clearly isn't the first, and i'm very sure it won't be the last. well, at the very least, following this episode, i know where i stand viz a viz you. understand this, its not just about being a friend. you are, i've no doubt about it. but what you've done has made me lose any trust and respect i had in you (emphasis had and not have). given your, how shall i put it, history, i cannot say that its something that surprises me. but still, it does, because against my better judgment, and the advice of others, i'd placed my faith in you. oops. anyway, like i said, it shouldn't surprise me, since its not the first time. except that maybe its the first time that it concerns me. and that it concerns me in a manner that actually does bother me. maybe cold-hard rationality and rational thought should be the predominant considerations governing my life. or maybe i don't even need to go so far and let you change my life to such an extent. i think i've already discovered the answer. so, that's it then.
oh, before i go, we all know that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". but always remember that there is no 2nd limb to it - that he will remain my "friend" even after the enemy has long gone.
tata.
posted by Justin 8:24:00 PM
Monday, January 21, 2008
here with me
hauntingly beautiful.
posted by Justin 11:20:00 PM
Sunday, January 20, 2008
open your eyes
your childishness shows. it really does. you really have no idea, don't you? well, its time to wake up. even if you're a cat, which i really doubt you are, you're well into your ninth life. or perhaps you've exhausted it, and its merely the case that you've yet to realize it. or maybe you're choosing to remain delusional. like what's new.
take a look at yourself, and at those around you. of course its human to make mistakes, but the rate at which you do so continues to astound me. and its not just me. trust me. you've turned one away, you're well en route to turning another away too. which really is a noteworthy feat, considering how i've warned you about this before. the first can be explained away as being genuine ignorace. but then, you've been spoken to, in no uncertain terms too. and not only by myself. any equity you've ever accumulated is well on its way to being exhausted.
as to the other incident, God, wake up. you really need to get your act together, take a step back, open your eyes and ears, and take a look at yourself. God gave us 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, an entire layer of skin but only 1 mouth for a reason. incredibly naive, that's all i have to say.
your childishness is fast reaching new heights. i cannot even see my sec 2 kids reacting in the same manner as you. and you're, well, very much older than them. when you put that into perspective, its astonishing.
there.
posted by Justin 9:26:00 PM
甘心替代妳
i've finally found it! perhaps one of my favourite songs of all time.
posted by Justin 8:08:00 PM
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The race is not to the swift,
or the battle to the strong.
I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so men are trapped by evil times
that fall unexpectedly upon them.
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
posted by Justin 5:28:00 PM
Friday, January 18, 2008
tiziano ferro
posted by Justin 10:31:00 AM
Thursday, January 17, 2008
posted by Justin 1:02:00 PM
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
posted by Justin 5:31:00 PM
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
we've been saved so often, it is our duty to survive
happy 23rd!
to (hopefully less) phone calls at midnight / 2am in the morning (depending on which timezone you'd look at), 50cents smses, phone calls on auto-roam from disaster areas, lamb shoulders and of course, the must-have starbucks at holland v when you return.
till beijing and tibet! and hopefully melbourne on exchange!
posted by Justin 10:00:00 PM
Friday, January 11, 2008
remember who you are.
i've been doing alot of driving recently, especially over the last couple of days. given what has happened, one'd be quick to coin it drivotherapy. except that it isn't the sort you'd catch in the movies - the emo scenes of a broken-hearted young man driving alone down a leaves-strewn path, jay chou mumbling through the stereo, the car shrouded in the long shadows cast by weather-beaten trees carelessly caught in the sunset.
no thank you. give me 8am and 630pm rush hour traffic any day. the adrenaline pumping as you zip in and out of traffic. spotting the gap that opens just in front of the container truck. squeezing out the taxi driver who tries to cut your queue. always staying on alert for the malaysian motorcyclist weaving between the lanes.
don't you just love the rush hour madness. some swear by starbucks. my dad swears by his kopi o gao kosong. okae, so that applies to me too. but give me 8am on the AYE any day, though hold the ERP and speed camera, thank you very much. gets your senses up and running and all ready for the day ahead.
seriously, i should be a taxi driver some day - i'd actually be paid to drive my turbocharged hyundai sonata! wow.
and, i don't know if i've done anything to piss you off. maybe i have, but if so, i didn't mean to be so insensitive. and i'd apologize without reservation. i'm sorry.
and if only you'd listened to me, and not been so obstinate. it doesn't matter whether your conscience is clear. i've no doubt that it is - in this instance, at least. but the point that i've been trying to drive across, which you never do seem to get is that it isn't whether your conscience is clear, but rather, what appears to others. jesus. if you'd listened, you wouldn't be part of this locus classicus. and clearly, this isn't the first time you've refused to take my advice, which, has this prophetic effect. i'd go so far as to say that it has this cursed prophetic effect. get your facts right. and don't start playing the moral highground card with me. i've never professed to stand on the moral highground. i merely know where my stand is on this issue and the consequences that could have arisen. if you're making a snide reference to what i think it is, then that is a seperate issue. don't drag that in. i agree that that was conduct that was arguably unbecoming. but on this, this is precisely what i had warned you about. that's why i refused to say much when it happened. go sort it out yourself then.
posted by Justin 8:21:00 PM
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
and there's a distance erased with the greatest of ease
6 years, 4 spent 6,000km apart, but still, some things don't change.
i'll see you when i see you.
on another note, there is no point being angry - it wouldn't serve any purpose. i understand the reasons for what you've done, and as your friend, i agree with and i support them. let's move on, and do what should be done. they say that things will always be awkward and that it'd never be possible to have things the way they used to be. i'd beg to disagree. we said that we'd be different. time heals all.
i can, and insofar as it lies within my means to do so, i will fight to keep what we had. i said that i'd be there for you, and i will. i will not tire, but i cannot climb the walls that i can never reach, and i cannot fight the demons that i can never see. nonetheless, i offer you my hand. i will wait, beyond the walls, beyond the demons, for a hundred years, if need be. and i will stand with you, if only you'd let me. because what we have means the world to me.
posted by Justin 11:57:00 PM
Thursday, March 16, 2006
B for a Band of Bearded Bloggers Beset By and Blogging Bird flu to a Blase Brethren.
so the H5N1 continues its march unabated across much of the world. take your places then, afghanistan, cameroon, denmark (H5 only), myanmar, sweden, switzerland and serbia.
a curious observation. you'd hardly ever mention (or mutter, in xela's case) these countries in the same breath, let alone have any other common demonimator uniting them. that's, of course, discounting the united nations security council, which saw a rwandan hutu representative taking its turn there under the chair of colin keating in early '94. this was, as we all know, while hutus were visibly massacaring tutsis. though the US State Department obviously saw otherwise, instead, infamously framing them as "acts of genocide (that) may have occurred".
as it turns out, we've a predominantly moslem country, a grossly unspectacular and nondescript african nation, the land of the mermaids and moslem-pissers (not that the latter'd differentiate them from much of the west), an isolated enclave, 2 members of the western bloc conspiciously absent from the coalition of the willing, and a bit fragment of the ex-Yugoslovia, whose claim to fame so far has been srebrenica and slabodan milosevic. not the best of all introductions, really. the scene of a West-fronted UN Peacekeeping fiasco (dutch and british no least, and not a potpourri of bangladeshis and nigerians) and its leader to be the first serving head of state ever indicted for crimes against humanity.
doesn't it make you wonder if there really is someone up there with a warped sense of humor.
now, here's a quote by Dr Robert Webster of St Jude's Hospital in Maryland who's been credited as being the first scientist to discover the link between human & avian influenza."I personally believe it will happen and make personal preparations," said Webster, who has stored a three-month supply of food and water at his home in case of an outbreak.
"Society just can't accept the idea that 50 percent of the population could die. And I think we have to face that possibility," Webster said. "I'm sorry if I'm making people a little frightened, but I feel it's my role."
this was taken off an article on ABC news, the rest of which can be found here.
food for thought.
i'm on my way to getting a caffeine OD. way way way too much caffeine. it's too late to swim. i'm turning damn nua.
hence, i will declare anualull/off-season from today till late april.
i will.
1 - not hit the gym > 3 times a week.
2 - not eat like kay wee.
3 - play more winning eleven.
4 - eat some fastfood.
5 - eat CHOCOLATES.
resulting in - me becoming damn fat.
V for Vendetta last night was good. i'll blog about it when i'm more awake and can actually think and compose my thoughts.
i need to start writing my essay for nus scholarship. thanks brendan for the heads-up!
posted by Justin 6:53:00 AM
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
a wing on a prayer
after some very unsubtle hints from zhu, jansen and darren, i've decided to stop bombarding everyone with overly technical H5N1 articles. but here's one i came across that's more digestable on the role of religion in flu preparation and once again, it's courtesy of revere over at effectmeasure it's right at the end of this post, and everything in between's mine, so don't blast him about jaywalking across nicoll highway and keira knightley. emphasis in bold's my own.
in summary, do we sit, pray, spiritually prepare and leave everything to God? (Buddha and Allah too for that matter, in this politically correct society of ours) or should we be proactive and actually undertake worldly preparations for that eventuality?
of course, we shouldn't be veering towards the extremes. i'm not! though i'm sure many of you think otherwise.
but as we all know, knowledge is power.
can we prevent it? no. if we could, half the links on my sidebar wouldn't be pandemic/avian flu related.
is there a cure? yes and no. yes - tamiflu and relenza provide symptomatic relief and administered in the early stages can minimize the infection of healthy respiratory cells. no - there isn't enough tamiflu to go around, tamiflu resistance has been seen in 2 vietnamese kids at least and tamiflu will NOT kill the virus per se. all it does is to slow down the infection process for our body's immune system to actually fight the virus.
what can we do then? simple personal hygiene. washing your hands, seeing the doctor if you feel sick, minimize contact with healthy persons should you feel sick, not sharing personal belongings etc.
i'm nominally a Christian, though i'd be stretching this. santa, for one, definitely won't be dropping by this Christmas, though i'm still harbouring hopes for keira knightley, or a keira knightley look-alike at least. even so, as a Christian, i ought to be taking the view that yes, it's all God's will and we should leave it to Him. but do we, or can we, expect Him to save us if we do sod all ourselves? we might as well jaywalk blindfolded across nicoll highway.
hell, no. i'll say that God'll save us if and only if we do what we can, worldly and (not or) otherwise, to save ourselves. but, if, that day should come when He doesn't, i know that it's me who's been a naughty boy (but no, no tammy!). and naughty boys don't deserve Him. so i will go then, not with the peaceful smile on my face, but rather contorted, cyan-tinted and gasping for breath. but somewhere in the abyss within me, will be the knowledge that (i've) fought a good fight, ...finished my course, (and) kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7) that said, till then, i'll do what i can. you can ostracize me, poke fun at me, whatever. because when it hits it'll be ugly. and come that day, i've no intent to lie bleating on the ground or run around like a headless chicken ala david beckham at saint berabeu. i will go down fighting. and it is my full intent to take as many of you with me as i can.
all guts, no glory.
Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: praying away bird flu
A piece in the Detroit News starts promisingly enough: when, and if, bird flu strikes, many people will be praying their hardest.
I would be praying as much as anyone if that were to happen, but I'll be darned if I'm going to wait until then. (Marianne Williamson in The Detroit News)
Good. There is much that can be done in advance, I'm thinking. Just sitting on our hands isn't the ticket.
Then it doesn't just go downhill, it goes over a cliff.
I'm praying right now that He will send this thing away. That is what I find perplexing about so much of organized religion today. For all its emphasis on doctrine and dogma, where is its emphasis on the power of prayer when we are confronted with our collective problems?
[snip]
God can address group concerns as well as individual entreaties: He didn't part the Red Sea so only one or two could walk through. Religious leaders should be exhorting everyone, right now, to pray for God to turn away what could conceivably become one of the most horrific experiences of our lifetime.
OK. I'm willing to give this piece a nod for saying people shouldn't just be thinking of themselves. But the idea that you could stop a pandemic with prayer, even if has global scope, is plain medieval and not exactly the kind of preparation that's going to do the most good for our families, our neighbors or the common good. OK, maybe we tried to raise the Pentagon once upon a time by getting in a circle an chanting "Om" with Allen Ginsburg, but mass prayer is not my idea of smart flu prepping. Mobilizing the community to allow neighbor to help neighbor is what we need, not a bizarre communing with an all-powerful, invisible and allgedly benevolent force. If it/he/she/they were really all-powerful and benevolent we wouldn't be worrying about bird flu, genocide, rape, murder, poverty or any of a zillion other things we afflict on each other. If just all powerful, then this is devil worship.
If Ms. Williamson were suggesting animal sacrifice, magic incantations or Scientology to ward off bird flu we'd recognize it immediately for what it was. But if she counsels an interior monolog with an invisible being it gets published in a big city daily.
Think about it.
posted by Justin 8:14:00 PM
another one bites the dust
i know this is really nothing new, but everytime something like this pops up, it just makes me want to hold my breath ever so slightly.
RPT-U.N. agency thinks bird flu killed three Azeris
GENEVA, March 14 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday that it believed test results showing three people in Azerbaijan had died of bird flu were reliable, but it awaited final confirmation from a British laboratory.
[snip]
The results came from a mobile laboratory brought into Azerbaijan from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit in Cairo, WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said. The tests were positive for H5 avian flu, but the exact strain of the virus was not yet known.
"We are proceeding as if it is H5N1...We are sending an epidemiologist and clinician right away and are looking at possibly a large response," Thompson told Reuters.
right. "we are proceeding as if it is H5N1..." i sure as hell pray that it is, if not, we'll all be so damn screwed. the last time we need now is another potential pandemic strain floating, or should i say, mutating, around.
posted by Justin 7:06:00 PM
the mud on my face is soil, our soil.
i ripped this off ivan's blog. ivan's my sec. 3-4 classmate who got arrowed to be part of the brainwashing team whose mission is to convince the proletariat that serving NS is a noble and glorious act. the sweet irony of it - an NSF actuallypromulgatingpromoting suchpropagandic shitvalues.
right.
for those who've been around me recently, you'll understand why it tickles me.
wow! we might actually have utopia & world peace!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To commemorate my time in Army News, here are five of the funniest feedback mails that we've received in my time there, in their unadulterated (almost) glory. Only names and such have been changed to protect privacy and the security of Our Army.
THE MOST ANNOYING
LETTER 1
To the Singapore army presenter on the internet,
On your site you have a picture which insists that the mud on the fellow's face is soil. Of course it is, who said it wasn't.
In fact, if he wants to put more soil on his face, you can tell him he is very welcome to.
Is that a custom in your country is it?
I tell you what, ....oh excuse me, do you speak English?? ......ok,....well I heard that the pirates in the Malacca straights, have brought Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia together.
Isn't that great??All you asian people getting together and doing something for once in your lives, in cooperation.
What Arafat started then hasn't been wasted on yous.
You do know that cooperation means you all work together??I thought I would just remind you, in case in means something else over there in your countries, where soil goes onto your faces instead of into the garden.
You know in Australia we have a saying and that is:
I love a sunburnt country
A land of sweeping planes
Of rugged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains.
...and it goes on like that but it never mentions putting mud on your face.
Are you army people ready for battle is that what you are saying??Who are you going to go to battle with??Anyone we know?
***
THE MOST DELUDED (same guy who wrote the above)
To the Singapore Army Chief of Staff.
Hi,I have a list of comments to make to you if you have some time.
1)When Australia goes to war with China, in less than 15 years time, your soldiers had better be ready because we will need all the help we can get.China has 300 million troops, and I don't think Australia is going to cope if that is the case.
2)How are you enjoying all the Australian pork??I heard you get 70 tonnes a month or something like that to feed your troops.?Well I hope you enjoy it, because when the time comes, you will need to be big and strong to fight, so you earn the priveledge.
3)On your internet site, you have a man with his face covered in mud, and I think that is childish.Get him to wipe his face off, and smile, instead of saying he is willing to spend his time in the mud, grizzling, with a gun on his hip, waiting to blow some poor other fellow's head off with it.
You say it is your soil, but you don't say he has to shoot to kill someone else's friend, or rip a man's guts out with a knife do you?? No, of course you don't.
Why don't you say to the public, hey everyone, if you are a trained killer, and can act cool calm and collected so that everyone else doesn't notice until it is too bloody late, then you are welcome to join the army, and you will get free tonnages of Australian pork toboot, never mind your hard working people, bloody well get in there and rip their guts out with a knife or you are not worthy anything.
Ok.
Well I hope you enjoy the Australian pork.
Regards from Australia
***
THE MOST MYSTIFYING
LETTER 3
Q1) Does the MO in the camp have any cert in nursing/doctor..etc??
Q2) If some one has a high fever of 39degree and above why aren't they allow
to stay at home and rest after getting MC frm the polyclinic as they hygenie
and food is better for them instead of letting them rest in the bunk?? (the
only serve curry chicken and curry fish with rice as ill people should have
porridge and the cleanliness and enviroment is really bad in camp)
suggestion: i think it will be better if those who have fever to stay home
and rest as everyone knows that some illness is known by the chinese but the
other races don't know chinese knows the cure but not even doctor in the
hospital knows the cure.
i have my own incident as a case i almost lost my life when i was young an
illness known to chinese as mau dan (mandarin) i was hospitalise for 2whole
weeks my fever rise and drop but the doctors does not know what to do they
insert so many needles and tubes in me but no sign of recovery. in the end
my father was so heart broken that he push away the doctor and nurses and
carry me to a nearby western clinic and i was well again in just 2days time
after his prescription of some medicine. if you put yourself in my father's
shoe i am sure you don't want anything to happen to your child be it a cough
nor a fever. i hope you all understand even it's just a fever it can be life
threatening.
hope i will get your replies to my qns soon thanks alot for your time.
***
THE MOST BORED
LETTER 4
hai....there....can i get to know...that why we need to go to the National Service....this qus. is for my homework...please reply before next friday....ok.....sir....lol...
***
THE MOST INDIGNANT
Dear singapore army,
Your 4 commandos deliberately drowned a 19 year old national service man and get away only for 2-9 months jail. How do you feel if your own son being tortured and murdered for serving the nation? The murderer should be hanged to death. If a person possessed drugs more than 15 grams they will be put to death why not these commandos? Is it fair.?
The world now knew that Singapore is not a safe country for the young male citizens who are forced to serve National Service. Its a disgrace for singapore army to this.
Please dont let this thing to happen again. This is not a communist country!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
of course we aren't communist. we're a democracy. (emphasis added)
posted by Justin 8:55:00 AM
Monday, March 13, 2006
the sweetest goodbye
"(i want) to preserve all my time as a canoeist in amber, so that it would never slip away like water running through my fingers. but that piece of amber could never exist. there wouldn't be enough space."
"& perhaps what i'm afraid of most is that the (thirty-one) of you will slip out of my reach forever, consigned to a dusty high shelf somewhere in the abyss of memory. to have that happen after all we've been through would be to betray our legacy, to spit in the face of the bonds we forged, let them rust and fade away as though they had never been."
"but i will live on. live on for the memory of what we were, and what will always be, even when we've forgotten."
the unuttered words, the saltiness on my lips not only from the sweat we shared and the moistness around my eyes washed away by the gentle rain trickling down. i miss all you guys.
Cause these are the days worth living
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives.
And even if hope was shattered
I know it wouldn't matter
Cause these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives.
posted by Justin 9:37:00 PM
on tutoring and smart alex.
at risk of sounding awfully elitist, i've come to abhor tutoring kids slow to catch stuff. i.e. those not particularly smart. i guess i've been lucky in how i started by tutoring fairly easy kids - intelligent but either bloody lazy or those who simply can't be bothered. i've always found it easier to motivate them to work or at least to get down to it when it comes to the crunch. connectivity's there, largely due to me being equally lazy, if not more so, when i was their age. i'm able to talk nonsense with them, able to get from A to C without always having to pass through B. and it prevents me from getting irritated if they forget stuff for the 9th time 1 week after i taught them, though it's damn well my job to make sure they remember. it doesn't help that i can have a short temper at times.
i'm just a bloody nua tutor.
argh.
alex, yi-an, zhengxun, danielle i need you back!!!
oh. and i just wrote a friendster testimonial for my old student. "(x) is intelligent but with a bucket full of excuses. have fun sneaking sms during tuition, and DOTA & CS behind your mum's back."
sounds like something veluri would've written. i'm getting old!!!
posted by Justin 8:19:00 AM
Saturday, March 11, 2006
bombay sapphire, black-peppered chicken, i-modelling, floor mopping and $1 firestarters.
advance party.
i-model and mr martinyantan.
NOT at the southern most point of the asian continent.
the man behind these fantastic photos, qinyong, our resident photographer. as always, the shitty photographs are ours and the best ones are his.
this is guaranteed to put some females out there to shame.
cheng xun in his shades. lovely shot by qinyong.
"brendan, relax man. we won't taupok you."
"we'll just..."
"throw you into the pool."
"ok, well done, guys."
"i'll get back at you lot." proper planning and preparation prevents piss-poor performance.
strike 1.
"not me too!"
"muck with me and this is what you'll get." *evil laughter*
suntanning the underside of the arms.
into the blue, sans jessica alba.
bryan! visibly having some trouble getting out of the pool.
we want fire! after which you realized too many cooks spoil the broth.
credit: tony, police inspector. shame on you, jcc, commandos, PTIs and PHAs.
fanning the fire.
barbecue-ing and barbecue-ed.
brendan, the first to brave kay wee's black-peppered chicken.
in this visibly posed shot by roy, he attempts to turn this into a food appreciation session of kay wee, our master chef's, black-peppered chicken. only a slight problem. the black specks you see in both pictures weren't black pepper.
"exposed" starring bryant teo.
brendan's 6 friends glowering while he exhorts the merits of mopping the floor immediately after spillages.
"mop the floor!"
bang bang bang!
"what's 16 times 16?"
"256. and 256 times 256?"
now, here's an advertisement you'll never see. brand's essence of chicken keeps you alert. red bull gives you wings. but only bombay sapphire gives you brains.
"eh! absolut peach too!"
"shit! how could i not get it!"
"who's the worse drunk?"
the photographer?
a tale of 2 drunks.
the aftermath.
and this is the life i'd love to lead some day.
more to come when i'm less stoned and when hong cheong uploads his lot.
posted by Justin 8:18:00 PM
Friday, March 10, 2006
on sprained wrists, coughing and james blunt.
i'm lazy to blog properly. it's the bryant teo effect, accumulated from seeing him way too often the last couple of days. been alternating between smu and clementi club fitt gyms of late. the former, part of the gay trio and the latter with my dearest booby dave. oh, and at times, dennis.
my sprained right wrist has contributed to a rather unproductive week workout wise. done sod all in the gym chest wise. argh. i.will.train.harder next week.
here's a laugh-a-minute excerpt from the gay trio's romp at the smu gym yesterday.
after a rather trying 90minutes in the gym where kay wee and i did our best to actually do weights and not act like a clown ala bryant "RED OR WHITE?!? RED OR WHITE?!?", we decided to call it a day, more out of embarassment at being associated with our good buddy. in the gym toilet, our good friend suddenly bent over double and started coughing violently. out of some sort of genuine concern, i decided to ask him, "eh dude, are you ok?" and his reply was nothing short of unexpected. from him that is.
"i'm coughing larh. don't you know coughing makes your abs come out?"
*stunned silence*.
this, is the kind of shit that kay wee, my man of "kay wee can cook" fame, and i have to put up with on a almost daily basis. Christ.
oh. the night before, i ran into miss dow miao's friend in my absolute dishevelled worst. clad in sweaty stinky ARMY singlet, half-dazed from lack of sleep and a rather shitty session in gym, i was catching some shuteye on TIBS on my way home when i spotted someone who looked vaguely familar and who was peering around as if she was lost. so i, under the duress of bryant "i'm just friendly" teo, i decided to offer my assistance. so i ended up showing her to her new student's house. i'd have said it made for a glorious 2nd impression, faded nike trainers, sweat-soaked gray t-shirt, unkempt hair et al.
I AM THE MAN. - hugo, make way.
and i have an internship with a proper law firm! that must be the highlight of the week. glorious. absolutely fucking brilliant.
i love my cousin.
other random thoughts.
james blunt's "tears and rain" is on loop mode.
WTO was founded in 1994. acknowledgement lee choon.
me & kay wee are now abs & pecs. you know, ant & dec? lame. but, whatever. shit. i sound like my old students. not very encouraging, as they're 4 years younger.
my diet is failing terribly. i'm eating minimal carbs during the day, but absolutely gorging myself on chocolate at night. i ate 8 squares of cadbury last night!
i'm getting fat. i need to do cardio.
i've a week's break ahead before my internship starts! so ask me out if you're free! otherwise, i forsee myself nua-ing in smu gym with bryant for most of the week.
posted by Justin 8:59:00 AM
Thursday, March 09, 2006
i do NOT believe this.
posted by Justin 8:53:00 PM
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
frictional unemployment, incest and james bond.
finding a job's a bitch. i can understand why people, not SAFOS or SMS, actually do sign on.
not for fame, or fortune.
right.
and brenda & i will get attached somewhere over the horizon.
"we recognize how screwed up the other is. so its not gonna happen."
that summed it up up. 7 years. by the time we graduate, it'd be 12 years. if that eventuality should transpire, which is about as likely as dennis tan my man getting his 6 abs with his regular diet of booze, cigarettes and almost as an afterthought, hydroxycut, it'd be nothing short of incestuous.
perfect.
i swear we should dig up a photo of us back then, if it does exist somewhere, and match it against us on our graduation day.
posted by Justin 8:17:00 PM
Sunday, March 05, 2006
civilian conversion course
been busy over the past week going out with the guys and that has contributed to the dearth of posts. recovery time and the transition to civvy street has been nothing short of enjoyable. spent buckets with my i-model twin of "models 1 side" fame, and of course everyone else. it feels like j1 all over again, only we've all grown a little older and of course, just a tad more cynical and world-weary. for me at least. i've had my new laptop, potentially found a new student, convinced my present to student that he needs 1 more lesson per week and in so doing doubling my income per month. with any luck, i might actually finish university in the black. i've discovered that job hunting definitely isn't easy, but hopefully with help from brenda and wee kai liberally sprinkled with a healthy dose of luck, something might yet pop up. *crosses fingers*
but 'nuff of writing for now, here're a couple of snapshots.
and yes, guoyuan, i do miss you. really.
that's myself on the phone, bryant with the camera and kay wee trying his best to pose for the candid shot in the smu gym which we sneaked in on tuesday. it's positively brilliant. well-equipped, well-oiled bright and cheery. the only thing sorely lacking was eye candy of any sort, sans guys, of course. and if the guys in the gym that day are any measure of the size of singapore uni guys, bryant and i will rape them through and through come july.
i-model and hercules.
and it was, of course, roy's 21st birthday on saturday 4th march. held at cosy bay, it turned out to be more of a guys' team reunion. not that i'm complaining of course. happy 21st, roy! hope you love the oakleys.
jiaolian's "mei li de qiao" (beautiful bridge) where we passed in our numerous laps into the canal. for once we were looking at it from the top as opposed to being beneath it.
guys team.
bryan, kay wee, myself, roy, hong cheong, qin yong and tony.
bryant, brendan, weihan, zhirong and isaac.
the girls that turned up.
keryi, pei hiang, sheryl, serene and jiaying (who isn't our batch).
that's isaac and shaun peering over a rather interesting video that's been making the rounds of late.
that's shaun and hong cheong. shaun being shaun-ed for once.
the birthday boy and his cake.
that's a final picture of us.
posted by Justin 8:16:00 AM
Saturday, February 25, 2006
shaun ho did his thing again!
walking across the road after weights with dennis at clementi gym, this silver van swerved in front of us and honked at us. never imagining that the idiot in the van with a mop-top hairstyle waving at me was someone i knew, i promptly ignored him and walked on. then the van pulled away and i saw the number plate by now immortalized in all our heads, GW XXX T.
ARGH.
posted by Justin 7:57:00 PM
Five More Admitted To HKL For H5N1 Tests - Ismail Merican
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- Another five people, including three girls, living around the bird flu-infected area of Jalan Genting Klang were admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Friday night for examination.
The girls, aged 4, 13 and 14, and two adults, a 44-year-old man, and a 40-year-old woman, were admitted after they spotted symptoms of the deadly H5N1 virus infection -- fever, cough and flu.
Health Services Director-General Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said they were warded in stages from 9pm last night for further examination.
He said they were now awaiting test results from the Institute for Medical Research (IMR).
"So far this morning, five cases are still in the ward. All of them are stable, only they're awaiting test results from the IMR," he told a press conference after opening the FDI-MDA scientific exhibition here Saturday.
Dr Ismail said the results would be known today.
"Most probably all of them will be discharged if the results showed negative," he said.
He said all test results of suspected cases admitted to HKL so far were negative -- they are not infected by the H5N1 avian influenza virus and were allowed to return home.
"Actually, yesterday, before 6pm, I was told there are no cases in HKL, only at 9pm, there were two cases at first and later three came in," he said.
Dr Ismail said the health authorities were carrying out house-to-house screening at Genting Klang area and anyone found to have H5N1 symptoms -- fever, cough and flu -- would be admitted to hospital for further examination.
Till today, the bird flu is only detected in poultry, he added.
posted by Justin 7:55:00 PM
links updated.
i've added flutrackers, a site sprung out of a split in the flu clinic a while back over organizational differences.
done up by pixie, membership and content still aren't up to the level of the flu clinic, but its organization is excellent. definitely worth a look for anyone who wants to find out more about the influenza pandemic to come.
posted by Justin 2:42:00 PM
music.
10 songs on my current playlist.
kelly clarkson - because of you.
karen mok - ta bu ai wo.
vienna teng - green island lullaby.
james blunt - goodbye my lover.
five for fighting - something about you.
five for fighting - it's not easy to be me.
howie day - collide.
collective soul - run.
sugababes - push the button.
lifehouse - you and me.
song I WANT on my current playlist.
oasis - don't go away.
oasis - wonderwall.
oasis - don't look back in anger.
oasis - what's the story (morning glory)
phil chang - yue liang re de huo
karen mok - guang dao zhi lian
any song by ryan cabrera, franz ferdinand and of course, vienna teng!
if you surprise me with any of them on msn, thank you very much!
posted by Justin 8:41:00 AM
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
ego deflation.
do this for me okae!
thanks!
posted by Justin 9:46:00 PM
alethea & i squinting against the sun and the flash.
had enough people in the office remarking that i was sun-burnt. no, i didn't go sentosa! being tanned isn't always a result of sentosa / ECP! there're other ways to get black, among which includes paddling in kallang from 0900 - 1400hrs.
posted by Justin 8:14:00 PM
Malaysia enlarges bird flu watch area to include Kuala Lumpur downtown
Seven people were hospitalized in Malaysia as a precaution against bird flu after a new outbreak of the disease, which prompted the culling of nearly 500 birds and an alert extending to downtown Kuala Lumpur.
Health Minister Chua Soi Lek told reporters Wednesday that five children aged between two months and 12 years, and two adults, aged 52 and 57, were admitted to hospital on Tuesday.
He said they were found to be suffering from upper respiratory tract infection. They were identified during house-to-house checks on Tuesday in four hamlets outside Kuala Lumpur, where 40 chickens were confirmed to have died last week of the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
They are unlikely to be suffering from the virus (right, says who?), but are being admitted as a precaution, he said.
"We are admitting them for investigation just to be on the careful side because later on if it turns out to be true we don't want them to have been walking around town," he said.
Test results will be known later Wednesday or Thursday, he said.
Chua said 161 houses were checked Tuesday, and a total of 916 people were screened.
On Tuesday, government officials seized and destroyed 494 chickens, birds and ducks, and 232 eggs after the house-to-house checks, said Kamaruddin Mohamad Isa, the director for disease control in the Veterinary Services Department.
He said the department has also declared a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius observation zone around the villages, encompassing the up-market neighborhoods of Bangsar and Sri Hartamas, and the city center area including the Petronas Twin Towers.
posted by Justin 3:43:00 PM
here we go.
Malaysia says 7 from bird flu area in hospital
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A Malaysian minister said on Wednesday seven people staying near the site of a bird flu outbreak were in hospital with respiratory problems, but test results would only be available after a day.
Health Minister Chua Soi Lek told a news conference in Malaysia's administrative capital that two adults and five children aged between 2 and 12 staying within 300 m (984 ft) of the affected area had been taken to hospital.
"Those warded are the ones exposed to the chickens," he said, using a common term for hospitalisation.
Malaysia reported on Monday its first case of H5N1 bird flu in more than a year, with the death of 40 chickens last week, in what authorities called an isolated event.
posted by Justin 3:33:00 PM
Malaysia mounts 24-hr surveillance around bird flu-hit areas
Malaysian authorities have mounted a 24-hour surveillance within one kilometre radius of villages where birds were found dead with the deadly N5H1 virus while a strict watch is being kept on birds at the National Zoo here.
A surveillance is also being maintained around a 10-kilometre radius of the bird flu-hit areas in Setapak, outside Kuala Lumpur, to prevent the virus from spreading beyond the affected region, officials said today.
Veterinary department workers have culled 900 chickens and ducks within the one-kilometre radius of the four affected villages and as a precautionary measure officials have taken fluid samples from 400 birds within and outside the area where the N5H1 virus was discovered.
Health experts have said that those who lived or worked in close proximity to birds were at most risk. The infected birds excrete the virus in their faeces, saliva and nasal secretions.
Meanwhile, the National Zoo's bird enclosure has been closed to the public due to the avian flu threat, the Star newspaper said.
Visitors to the Zoo and their vehicles are being disinfected to prevent any virus from being brought into the compound. The Zoo is only a 10-minute drive from the area where 40 chickens died of the H5N1 virus.
Zoo officials are worried that there are 300 free-flying birds that consider the zoo their home.
posted by Justin 3:22:00 PM
Smuggled fighting cocks suspected
Fighting cocks smuggled in from neighbouring countries probably transmitted the bird flu virus, it was revealed today as government agencies moved to contain its spread.
House-to-house checks have begun in the immediate vicinity of Kampung Pasir Wardieburn, Setapak, where more than 80 chickens have died of bird flu over the past 10 days.
Also, the area within a 10km radius of the village — including the KLCC Twin Towers, Bangsar and Sri Hartamas — has been declared a surveillance zone.
A health department source said cockerels brought into the country could be the source of the H5N1 virus that killed the chickens in the village off Jalan Genting-Klang.
"The cockerels may have been brought here by foreign workers who organise illegal cock fights," he said.
Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia president Datuk Francis Lau also said the disease was likely caused by imported fighting cocks.
Last night, 495 birds were culled and buried in an empty plot of land near the village. About 70 per cent of the culled birds were chickens, 20 per cent were ducks and 10 per cent were other birds. About 270 bird eggs were also destroyed.
The operation, conducted by the Veterinary Services Department and City Hall’s health department, took six hours from 11pm. The culling continued today.
Chickens within a radius of 1.5km from the village will be culled while those within a 10km radius will be placed under surveillance.
Blood samples will be collected from birds within the 10km radius and these birds, especially chickens, will not be allowed to be taken out of the area.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said there were no cases involving humans and the flu was confined to chickens and other birds.
Speaking after launching the National Plan of Action for Nutrition of Malaysia II, he assured the public there was no proof the virus could spread from one human to another.
Contact with an infected chicken, he said, did not mean the person would contract the virus.
He said humans found with symptoms of the disease during the house-to-house checks would be sent to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
posted by Justin 3:17:00 PM
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
it's been too long.
so, the past couple of days have been nothing short of alarming in the realm of the H5N1 which has "spread in a remarkable way". this, no least from the WHO Co-Ordinator for the Pandemic Influenza, David Nabarro.
while the re-emergence of the virus in kuala lumpur has been lost amidst the clutter of impotent countries defiled in turn by the wanton profligacy of the virus, the fact that this is a malaysian kampung renders that it cannot be dismissed ever so casually, not least from where we in singapore watch. silent voyeurs of the dress rehearsal, waiting in slight anticipation for the curtain call and the unravelling of this unscripted tragic-comedy. only there'll be no guy french, no hero to go out guns ablazing, 5.56mm ball round cleanly drilled through his head as he falls, left knee first, harry gregson-williams in the background.
just a foe that can never be seen. spacesuit clad hospital workers frantically searching for the script never written and the incoherent gasps of breaths from ARDS victims. no famous last words, no george clooney running in, stethoscope flailing around the neck. only the desperate scratching and clawing for the last boxes of tamiflu, but to find them untouchable, behind the lines of impassive soldiers, young men who'd signed on, perhaps in the puritan belief that instead of becoming a man, they'd become more human. never in the last figment of their imagination would it cross their mind that the red land they'd ATEC-ed against would take the face of a 41 year old father pleading with them for the only salvation he knows for his 5 year old daughter lying comatose at home.
do we go on deluding ourselves that it'll never come to us then?
but enough of that. let's all go on merry-making then while we still can.
meeting up with a much less unfeminine alethea today was not as awkward as we thought. the first time i'd met any of my cousins beyond the setting of a family gathering. and hers too, i'd imagine. any fears of a lack of conversation topics proved unfounded. 6 years of raffles, mutual friends, whatever it was, it sufficed to cast light upon the faint outlines of the undiscovered blood bond between us. lunch and haggling over spoonfuls of pineapple rice, turning direction taking decisions into mini chinese parliaments, debating on the erosion of morality in society while lying on deckchairs sun tanning, doing laps in the pool and me gasping for oxygen while trying to keep up with her. i'm not the fastest swimmer around, but i can do a decent pace over 1,000m. she was definitely quite up there. *tips hat* and in good shape too.
a phone call thereafter made my day. being deliberately cryptic here. wish me luck.
gym was shag. killed myself on the elliptical and collectively dave & i agreed that it was a bad day for us both. shall hope tomorrow will turn out better then.
and with any luck, i'll have 3 1/2 more weeks to go!
posted by Justin 10:25:00 PM
Muhyiddin Says Bird Flu Case Isolated, Assures No Cause For Alarm
The death of 40 free range chickens from the H5N1 avian influenza virus at Mile 4 1/2 Jalan Genting Kelang here last week was an isolated case, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Monday.
He said the public did not need to worry as there was no death involving a human from the virus.
"Tests conducted at the Veterinary Laboratory in Petaling Jaya and at the Livestock Research Institute in Ipoh confirmed the death of the free range chickens was caused by H5N1 avian influenza virus," he said in a statement issued through Bernama Monday.
Muhyiddin, who is leading an agricultural investment mission to Dubai, said all 110 free range chickens in the area covering the four settlements of Kampung Pasir Wardieburn, Taman Danau Kota, Pekan Danau Kota and Kampung Belakang JPJ, had been destroyed.
The statement was made in response to a Singapore Straits Times online report (read between the lines) that the island republic had suspended with immediate effect the importation of poultry and eggs from Selangor after H5N1 bird flu virus was found in chickens in a village in the state.
"Immediate and integrated action had been taken by the Veterinary Services Department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Health Ministry to contain the disease and prevent it from spreading," said Muhyiddin.
Besides destroying the free range chickens in the area, he said, the agencies also took action to guard and keep watch on all exits in the affected area to prevent any free range chicken from being moved out of there.
"Action to disinfect all chicken coops in the affected area was also carried out while monitoring of the area and its residents was continuing," he said.
He urged the public to report any deaths in large numbers of all types of birds to the authorities nearest them.
posted by Justin 6:41:00 AM
Monday, February 20, 2006
in classic flu-bie language, TSHTF.
welcome to malaysia, H5N1. as revere over at effect measure once said, it's as if we were watching a train wreck with all too startling clarity being played out in slow motion.
Malaysia reports fresh H5N1 bird flu case
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Malaysia on Monday reported its first case of H5N1 bird flu since November 2004, with the death of 40 chickens in central Selangor state last week.
But Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said it was an isolated case and that the public need not worry as no human was affected.
"Tests conducted confirmed the death of the free range chickens was caused by H5N1 avian influenza virus," he said in a statement issued through state news agency Bernama.
Bird flu detected in Malaysian state
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 20_(Kyodo) _ The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus has been detected in chickens in Malaysia, the government said Monday.
Agriculture minister Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed in a statement that 40 chickens had recently died of H5N1-strain bird flu in a village in Selangor state, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
"Tests conducted at the veterinary laboratory and at the livestock research institute confirm the death of the free-range chickens was caused by H5N1 avian influenza virus," he said.
But he assured the public not to worry unnecessarily as the case was an isolated one and the chickens in the area have already been culled and a quarantine imposed.
The last cases of poultry being infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu were reported in November 2004. The government declared the country free of bird flu in January 2005.
Singapore said Monday night it has suspended the import of poultry and eggs from Selangor state with immediate effect as a precautionary measure
Singapore Suspends Poultry And Egg Imports From Selangor
SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Singapore's food security authority, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), has suspended poultry and egg imports from Selangor with immediate effect after receiving what it said is "information on the detection of H5N1 in kampung chickens" at a village in the state.
AVA said in a statement late Monday that the suspension of imports was a precautionary measure, in line with the established protocol between the veterinary authorities of the two countries for poultry imports from disease-free zones in Malaysia.
"The current suspension will not affect poultry imports from the disease-free zones of Johor, Malacca, Perak and Negri Sembilan," the agency said.
AVA said it would continue to work closely with the Malaysian Veterinary Services Department to monitor the development of the disease situation to ensure that poultry imported do not compromise public and animal health.
The import suspension would not have any impact on Singapore's poultry supply, AVA said.
"Although five chicken broiler farms in Selangor had been accredited to supply poultry to Singapore, there had been no exports from these farms to Singapore since Aug 2004," it said.
There was currently only one approved layer farm in Selangor supplying eggs to Singapore.
"As imports from this farm constitute only five per cent of total egg imports from Malaysia, the impact of the suspension on our egg supply is negligible," it said, adding that poultry and poultry products in Singapore are safe for consumption.
"AVA reassures the public that we will maintain vigilance to ensure that Singapore remains free from bird flu. We will also step up surveillance and inspections at the points of entry to prevent the incursion of the disease," the agency said.
posted by Justin 11:37:00 PM
