Mr Genki Shares with You...

Daunted

2008-07-26T23:15:00.005+08:00

Dad urged me to read an article on Qantas Boeing 747 fuselage rupture. I realized that I have started to feel daunted when I see or hear anything associated with aviation. Thoughts ran wild and then mood went foul. I know very well I should be picking up the pieces and reconstruct myself instead of ranting endlessly about that failure.

But I just could not find the strength and faith that I've sought...

One Year Ago...

2008-07-23T19:05:00.002+08:00

I made the seemingly outrageous decision to jump ship. That took a lot of courage from me and I know I need to have a lot of faith to pursue my new course in NTU. Indeed, what followed after that decision was a smooth journey with the abundance of logical reasoning subjects like Mathematics and Physics, which I had much appreciated since JC days. Yes, I excelled so far in NTU and opportunities started to arise.

Scholarship invitation was that opportunity which I had ambivalent feelings towards. I dreaded it so much as I knew if I were to be rated on my interview skills, it would be 'negative infinity'. As exemplified by the fact of a poor record of having failed most of which in the past. I look forward to it as I know it would be a reassurance to myself that I had made a correct decision one year ago if I could get through this.

I know this is an opportunity not to be missed. I studied the company profile and everything, but fruitlessly. Nothing of sorts that I had read came out in the interview. I turned anxious, very anxious and failed. Much anticipated, the email 'we regret to inform you that...' came next. It was yet another failure, one that is very very hard to swallow.

At this point in time I lost that faith that I had tried so hard to build on the very beginning when I embarked on the new course. In 30 minutes, it was very much obliterated. What's the point of studying so hard and getting good grades when you stammer as if you have a tongue too huge to be kept hidden in your mouth?

I kept looking into e mirror to check if my tongue is least deformed. What the hell is WRONG with me?

Shit happens but life goes on... ...

Asshole Mario

2008-05-18T19:26:00.002+08:00

99 lives enough??

Vaudevillian Geek!

2008-03-08T19:40:00.004+08:00

Mr Genki was doing his mathematics tutorial on Differential Vector Calculus as he wrote...

Ahhhh... That revolutionary nostalgia seems to appear in any form...

Euphoric 23 year old Old Fart!

2008-02-23T00:27:00.007+08:00

It has been a long while since Mr Genki blogged. BUT, TODAY WAS AMAZING...

The 23 year old euphoric old fart Mr Genki gets his revolutionary birthday!

Though it's a few days past 16th Feb, he still gets his birthday celebration dinning at vivocity with his best of friends and brothers from NUS. Too bad he didn't take pictures... :( But the very presence of these people makes Mr Genki a happy pseudo-Japanese. Thank you Cheryl, Marvin, Norman, Wei Bao, Li Ren, Siew Ting, Xiao San, YY for this blessed dinner! :)

Not forgetting to mention "Sexy Lady aka Chio Bu" partner Sherry! What a pleasant surprise! (Don't worry, Mr Genki won't turn into Einstein as Einstein is too smart) Of course, by the virtue of the fact that Mr Genki is one easy person, a simple birthday card is enough to make his day. Thanks Loads Chio-est partner!

And this exchange Tai-Tai, Ms Shirlene, all the way from far far away Canada, sent me this!

See how www breaches the impediments of distance so easily? Sweet! Thank you so much Tai tai!

And the huge surprise delivery lady, Geraldine, came knocking on the vivocity food republic dinning table.

She represented my dearest v5 and presents to me that box that's seemingly wrapped in G2000 plastic bag and decorated with a classy golden ribbon...

And Mr Genki unwrapped it upon request...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG...

It's a pair of Birks!!! Goodness Gracious Mr Genki is so LOVED! Couple this with the Birthday card with many other birthday blessings, it melted Mr Genki! For the first time he wanted to give up revolution lah! THANKS LOADS DEAREST V5!

And not forgetting those who sent their greetings to Mr Genki through sms, facebook, friendster and any other channels, THANKS LOADS! CHEERS!

What a smashing 23rd! Old Fart Rules!

Happy Birthday

2008-02-16T00:03:00.002+08:00

Mr Genki wishes Gordon "Happy Birthday!". He turns 23 today.

zZzzZzz...

I've Done it!

2007-12-02T19:07:00.000+08:00

Yay! 2nd December 2007, Mr Genki had completed the Standard Chartered 2007 42.195km marathon. Very much of a personal achievement for himself.

Mr Genki was so full of anxiety about the race the night before. So much so that he didn't really sleep a wink. As such, he decided that there was not much point committing himself to the bed being unable to get into trance-like state. So, he threw himself onto the sofa in the living room and, Gunners here we go!

Gunners brightens his day with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. Soon after, he noticed that it's already 3:30am and he has to go meet Zhi Xian, Wei Jie, Chin Leong and Kian Hong for the conquest of our lives, 42.195km.

Clock reads 5:30am and off we go at the flag off point as we embark in this seemingly endless run. Naive as we are, we thought that completing the race with slow jog pace seem very much possible. How mistaken had we got.

The first 21km was very much achieveable with slow jog. Oh, and along the way, we spotted spiderman! Well, that was actually someone in the spiderman suit. Guess there aren't too many tall buildings to go along wing the route, so the "Web-Swinging(or Web-Slinging)" Spidey had to very much commit himself to the ground. =) That was so fun and interesting. I wonder if he completed the race. Let's hope that he does so.

Oh yes, back to the 21km point. Half the race was completed till then but we still had a lot to do. And, so have to keep running. And I really mean KEEP RUNNING! As much as I thought, the turning point should be nearby as I could see people running in the oncoming direction already. So I kept running. Well, apparently, that turning point was at the 26km mark and that part of the race seemed endless to me.

Though I wasn't breathless after the turning point, my body, especially my legs were reaching it's limit. Fatigue is kicking in. I had to tell myself (time and again) I had made it to the other side of the road and the finishing line is ahead. Very much ahead. Thanks to the Power Gel provided somewhere after the turning point, I was able to top up the energy level for myself to carry on. I am somewhere because I really cannot be bothered where. All I cared was the number that indicates my progress at every kilometre mark and the drink station.

By then, the sun is scorchingly hot. So, I had to get water from the drink station and pour it over myself. Along the way I had multiple cramps on my thighs and had to walk intermittently. So, I had to rub my thighs with deep head rub whenever it's available. I was in such a huge mess, but I had to press on, since the only way is AHEAD.

And of course, even before the 21km halfway point, I was running with a head. Then as I cross 33km mark, a familiar voice called out to me. Oh, it's Chandra. My Word. What coincidence to have met your JC Classmate in this humongous sea of people. Since then we proceeded with two heads ahead, still walking intermittently.

33km and we were left with less than 2 digits worth (in terms of kilometres) of distance to go! However, with all the conditions we had and intermittent walking, it's inevitable that we took longer than the first part of the race with the same distance.

38km! And I had to go ahead alone again. 4.195km away from the finishing line. Fatigue at it's highest level. It's all in the mind! Keeping running was the only thing to do!

And yes! There we are! The finishing line is within visible range already! But the numbers on the progress indicator actually got bigger, but in terms of metres! 100m, 75m, 50m, 25m and... I MADE IT!

So much effort and so much sweat. I was so touched. I've completed a marathon! Albeit my legs felt so stiff that every that I took after the race hurts. I wanna hug someone! Maybe my bolster... =)

LMAO

2007-09-09T22:56:00.000+08:00

While Mr Genki's mood was put off by the likes of projects...

This hilarious talking dogs video cheered him up... Enjoy!

I'M LOSING IT!

2007-08-31T22:08:00.000+08:00

Apologies peeps. If there's anything that's stopping Mr Genki from updating this blog, it would be nothing more than sheer indolence...

Comforts of everyday routine, the security of the familiar and the tranquility of repitition. Mr Genki do enjoy them as any bloke does. The loss of such cannot be further elaborated by the move to your friendly neighbourhood of NUS...

To those who still have the time to drop by and check if there's still life here, thanks loads. Mr Genki is quite sure that many of those who dropped by wanted to find out how he's doing in NTU.

Well, Mr Genki should say, it's going to take me some time to adapt to a entirely new environment. Toggling between two different media of conversation is one. And the worst of all would be the ultimate cultural destruction, i.e bad food!

Much as he had guessed, he'll never be able to adapt to the latter. The Japanese food there is much of a destruction to his pseudo-culture. And Western? Much to his aversion, it's total annihilation. He's starting to miss Edward from NUS Biz Western, though some may find him a little short on patience. But truth be told, in Mr Genki's opinion, they make good western food. And the only thing that Mr Genki find acceptable in NTU so far is Muslim food.

Of course there's always two sides to a coin. Being cheap in quality also means cheap in price. That's why price is always a good guide in a market. $0.30 is all Mr Genki needs to get a drink in the canteen. $0.40 for a cup of coffee. He remembers getting some mediocre chup chye peng with a huge piece of sardine, egg and veges for $1.90.

And speaking of sardines, Mr Genki never fail to feel like one travelling to and from your friendly neighbourhood. Since there's only one public bus service that'll cover the whole population of NTU, it all make sense for why we have to be sealed in ketchup. Thankfully, but not enough, SBS does increase the frequency of the buses in an attempt to alleviate the situation. But still, NOT enough. If you are accurate enough to hit a peak hour, it'll be like queueing up to place bet for $10million TOTO prize money.

Mr Genki has to say, he needs more time. And if you've noticed, he always complain and ramble, once in a while. And he believes that he's a bit too rusty for blogging already. Which explains why he took quite sometime to churn out such shallow thoughts for a superficial entry. I need my English speaking company back! I'm in search for the kind of humour that I once had! I'm LOSING IT! ARGH!

Prepare for landing... On the Bums...

2007-07-27T01:53:00.000+08:00

There he was at East Coast Park, embarrassed by the likes of roller blades, blading with his fellow V5 revolutionaries. Mr Genki wanted to wipe off those evil grin on the freshies faces as they thought he was going to fall flat on blades.

Surprisingly, Mr Genki's balance on the blades were not too bad. Even though it had been long since he bladed (I don't remember balancing so well back then.. Ha).

Steady... Steady......

There, balanced...

Trouble!

And there they have it... On the Bums... And the freshies went "HAHAHA... Finally!". Evil...

And the pics are a misrepresentation of the actual number of people we had. Four of us were blading while four others were on foot. No one was willing to help me with my haversack. How compassionate. And blading is quite demanding, judging from the way we perspired. Which is why Mr Genki haversack's straps got wet eventually. zZz

Here's more pics. Special thanks to Jaren for providing them!

While Mr Genki was on his way...

Fantastic Four!

We then met Geraldine at City Hall for dinner. Mr Genki recommended Sakae buffet at Funan. Upon hearing the word "buffet", we all headed to Funan without second thoughts. Most of us had ambivalent feelings about our hunger. At first we mentioned that we're not that hungry but after a while, everyone suddenly became hungry at a snap of the fingers. Wonders of Japanese cuisine. zZz...

Buffet at Sakae cost $15.90++ for youth and senior citizen and $18.90++ for adults. Six of us went in and 5 fall under the former category while Mr Genki falls under the latter. Good Grief, one good year older makes a whole lot of difference. Sigh... The title "Mr" does make this body feels much older...

As we toasted with our final handroll...

V5! Sup sup Oooeeeii!

Transformers... They're Alive!

2007-07-25T00:45:00.000+08:00

It's like a living childhood fantasy! Mr Genki is so glad that he's still in time to catch this movie in theatre, together with good old Wei Jie and Zhi Xian.

Robots in disguise

Mr Genki is quite sure technosexual is going to turn "technophobic" after catching this show. Cubes are going to be their worst nightmare. Non-biological Extraterrestial so powerful even the most advanced military weapons could not match them. Super effects and a must catch in theatres.

Nothing much in storyline to blog about... That idea of a living childhood fantasy is simply too awesome!

5k vs V5. I prefer the latter...

2007-07-24T01:13:00.000+08:00

830am in the morning and Mum was all out to drag me away from the comforts Mr Genki's bed. Mr Genki knows the reason for such a disturbing act. But all was justified by the fact that he had to get the tuition fee loan settled by today. No more procastination.

Dragging himself up, Mr Genki took a quick wash-up and snappy breakfast. All set to head for OCBC bank (I really hate that place). He knew that this every step in this trip is going to be heavy. He knows that because his decision today is to pay off the $5k loan in order to acquire a new loan. He knows exactly that this is so dumb and illogical. He has got no choice.

He was delusioned. Smiling and greeting customers are just basic courtesy and part of the bank officers etiqutte. But Mr Genki can go to the extent of thinking that they're smiling because he is there to pay off his debt! How deranged!

It had been settled, albeit reluntantly.

Fortunately, my V5ers never fail to light up my day. 23 strong turned up for the $2 dirt cheap Harry Potter movie outing today. Though there was a last minute change in venue, but we shouldn't be complaining too much if we're paying like only 2 bucks.

It was free seating in the theatre. V5ers believe in strength through unity, unity through faith. In order to uphold unity, we waited for everyone to arrive so that we would enter the theatre together. The results are calamitous. Since we waited for everyone to arrive, we were thrown into the front 2 rows as the others had taken the good seats. Thanks to the virtue of the fact that it's free seating... ZzzZz... BUT! I'm so proud to say that we're united! That sacrifice is worth it.

Then was dinner at the Manhattan Fish Market. Had a Giant Platter. Loads of Seafood. Too bad didn't snap a picture of that. We thought Ben & Jerry's are irresistable. So we took a short walk to the Cathay. However, when Mr Genki got a 3-scooper for the group, only Yeow An seemed to be interested in the treat. Strange...

This blog shall deviate from it's usual Picture Deficiency Syndrome for once. Special thanks to Hui Xia for providing the pics!

At Manhattan Fish Market...

With Shaun

Part of V5!

At Ben & Jerry's...

With Bobo

With Hui Xia

Even smaller part of V5. ZZz

And the finale.

V5! Oeeeeeiiiiii...

Battered and Heartbroken

2007-07-20T14:29:00.000+08:00

It has been a huge struggle for me to let go of everything that I had gain so far. Stepping into unfamiliar grounds and start all over again will never be easy.

What's worse is that I'm going to be financially troubled, and in a sort of unjustified manner. We all know that the purpose of taking up a tuition fee loan is because we do not have the money to pay off these outrageous and overrated Tuition Fee in University (Notice the choice of O words). So in my course of transferring schs, our dear OCBC Bank had informed me that I will have to pay off the outstanding amount that I had loaned for my studies in the current institution before I can proceed on to apply for a new loan in my new course of study. What Crap! Why do I loan money from you? That's because I'm short of it. And now you're telling me to pay it off before you're loaning me more? LOGICAL? Thanks to rigid policies and so much for following the law!

And the lecturers that has been with us? Had they been that world class to have justified that exorbitant paycheck? Leave that to you to decide...

I must say, I'm paying alot of money to be doing so much administration work all by myself. It's really good training through huge adversity. While things seem that it couldn't get any worse......

It got emotionally worse for me. Riding through this turbulent time got me really battered. Which explains that I've lost quite some will in doing anything. I've got no heart in doing things no more...

I've tried to communicate my mental fatigue to my dearest parents. And I know they've been supportive, but not in a right way. I even go to the extent of telling my mum that I had the intention of suspending university for 1 year. But what came in returned were heartbreaking words, in lieu of serious concerns. Mum thought the suspension is for a course to play and play and play. Am I really that much of a spoilt brat to you mum?

As much as I want, I've tried my best to be a good child. I have taken up 3 tuition assignments so that I wouldn't take money from Dad no more. And I could even contribute a little to the household. I know I do play hard, but I worked hard too! So what makes you think that I've never worked? It has been a long while since I'm so hurt...

V Vill Vin Vhe Valk... V5!

2007-07-15T20:44:00.000+08:00

By popular demand, Mr Genki shall dedicate this particular entry to my dearest revolutionary V5.

For my freshies who have been so coercively conscientious in reading this blog, I'm going to give you a bit more privilege in knowing more about the camp. They are unwritten in your program booklet!

Day -1: OGLs and councillors back in school on a Sunday. All because we wanted to finalise our plans for scaring the sh*t out of you freshies. Took us a couple of hours to complete this. And as soon as we're done, we knew we were hungry for dinner. But we didn't know that heaven would be so cruel to us to bequeath us with heavy rain. Well, life sucks but fortunately for us Shaun and Bo had their vehicles with them that night. Though we got a bit wet, it could have been worse for us. Freshies, we did this for you!

Day 0: If you have been baffled by the numbering of the days, day -1 means two days before you reported for camp and day 0 would mean "please count yourself". Yes, we were preparing the goodie bags and then fright night. What more can I say about preparation. It's a chore. But it's for you freshies!

Day 1: Here we go! Freshmen with excessively huge bags. Where else can they go besides Kent Ridge Hall for Union Camp 07? Do What I do! "Hands Up! Palms Together! Heeey Heey SaaBuuEeeh!". Cheers and Ice-breakers game were everywhere to get freshmen into the mood for the camp. Too bad Mr Genki had to leave for a while for a medical check up. And by the time Mr Genki was back, it was all skits. But fortunately I didn't miss the SP blind dates. It's so fun going around disturbing couples who were blindfolded.

Day 2: Pool Games. 8am in the morning and Mr Genki looked out of the window and he could not find the Sun. Together, V5 took the shuttle service to the pool without finding the Sun. As the OGL of revoluntionary V5, Mr Genki realised the need for allies in order to survive the ordeal in War Games. So together, V5, Titans, Pirates and Rocky joined hands and cheered to show our prowess in numbers! Strength through Unity and Unity through Faith! Played a whole load of games and then at night... The highlight of the camp. It was a night of artificial supernaturals...

Day 3: Beach Games and Sentosa, here we come! But wait. Something was missing. It was the Sun again. But fortunately it was just a little more cloudy and it didn't rain. As usual played a whole load of games, and Mr Genki was sand buried. He was so irritated as he was lying down and couldn't see what embarrassment was done to his lean body. And more so he couldn't breathe properly for goodness sake. Worse still he was told not to breathe so hard so that his boobs won't crack! God help me, my freshies thought that embarrassing me is more important than my well-being! Anyway had alot of fun embarrassing myself and then played loads of games again. Mr Genki couldn't believe that he wasn't dunked into the sea at all, even though he hinted how dry he was to the freshies the whole day. Geraldine caught my hint albeit very late. She threw water bombs at Mr Genki after he washed up! Thanks! Got back to KR and then had a Casino Rueda mass dance. Definitely not my cup of tea when it comes to dancing.

Day 4: Prepare for WAR! As we march to the hot gates at the SRC. Had alot of fun getting wet and dirty. It was so fortunate or unfortunate in its own ways that dirty sandwich was our last station before the lunch break. Since we had excess face paint to play with, we displayed the more artistic side of ourselves by throwing and rubbing it around each others faces and bodies. Calamity! Results were abstract human artworks walking around. And Mr Genki apparently became Mr Pikachu as he was painted yellow... Thanks to Geraldine again... Well, I should say though it was a colourful day for us and we all had fun! Double O at night. Alcohol was all Mr Genki remembered. Drank some house pours, B52 shooters and a flaming lambourgini (which I bought one for our dear birthday girl Hui Xia). Mr Genki was so appalled by the service in double O. They can't light 2 flaming lambourginis together and so we ended up drinking alone even though we drank together. What Crap! And Hui Xia was so funny with her immense affection for pillars after finishing the lambourgini. Haha.

Day 5: Last Day. Heard from Best OG Spartans OGL that V5 was 3rd. Not bad, but Mr Genki does not know how true is that. Mr Genki had his fair share of personal glory as he was awarded the joint best OGL of the camp together with his good friend Norman. V5, I couldn't have done it without you! Thank You all! I love V5!

Quoting from Norman, "Union Camp begins just after the moment it ended". All the joy, excitement, fun and exasperation. They were just sudden surges of emotion during the camps and no longer matter no more. What matter now is the companionships, the camaraderie, the friendships, the bonds that we had fostered during the camp that we will carry through our tertiary life, i.e the true Union Camp.

When World No.1 Meets No. 2...

2007-07-09T01:17:00.000+08:00

Drama at the Wimbledon Men's Single 2007 Final. For the very first time, playing tennis seemed like a sine curve to me. Except that we might be experiencing resonance this time. Advantages kept swinging to both sides at equal intervals, with the level of excitement building up in an exponential fashion.

7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. It was World No. 1 Roger Federer who got the better of Rafael Nadal in the end and claimed his fifth consecutive Wimbledon Grandslam Championship Trophy.

This is the first time that Mr Genki sticked his butt to the chair and watched a whole tennis cup tie. It was so special. Federer who is as calm as the ocean, usually expressionless, seemed to have taken a class on theatrical skills. It's as though a tsunami, first time ever that Mr Genki seen Federer's emotion getting the better of him. Those arguements with the Umpire, screams of winners and the tears of joy at his championship. His strokes were not as firm. They were not results of theatrical skills, but real. It really meant alot to him.

Nadal, on the other hand, had sent a firm warning to Federer that he'll be able to match Federer, even on the lawn. Nadal played well. In fact so well that Mr Genki thought Federer was going to fall. Thankfully, Mr Genki was mistaken.

What is interesting was that Federer managed 24 aces but had only broken 2 serves from Nadal. On the contrary, Nadal only managed 1 ace but broken 3 serves from Federer. Good grief! 24 aces is just good enough to win a set!

It is that cool and calm in Federer that made him such a charmer (Though it seemed to diminish a little this time). Lady Luck smiled upon him too.

Federer Prevails!

Update

2007-07-05T22:35:00.000+08:00

By popular demand for a popular persona, Mr Genki shall give you an update.

There has been nothing much exciting this week, except for being busy. Mr Genki is enslaved by the union. 4 days and counting to the Union Camp, and as expected, we're tying up all the loose ends. Unlike BizAd FOC, there's alot of preparation work committed for Union Camp. BizAd FOC had been fun. So Union Camp, it better be fun......

In an attempt to make my tagboard look active, there have been lots of exchanges between Genki and Cher in the tagboard lately. High level of activity I would say, but too few number of parties. Mr Genki thanks his very good friend, Cheryl, for her effort in keeping up with him by reading every word in this blog conscientiously. What about other friends? If you have been reading this, tag! Don't make me feel like I've no friends alright? =)

Shirlene was telling me on msn yesterday how much this blog had entertained her. This made Mr Genki felt great as he thought that being funny will be the best compliment that anyone could have given to his blog. He'll try to think of more dramatic crap so as to add to your reading pleasures. And to Shirlene, please tag!

Somehow Mr Genki thinks that he has this condition, i.e. the Picture Deficiency Syndrome. More words than pictures. Which seemed very unwise in a sense that putting a picture adds 1000 to the word count while Mr Genki doubts that finishing the rest of this entry can account for even half of that 1000 words.

Maybe Mr Genki needs a better camera (Hint!). Till then, brighter and clearer thousands of words will be available.

Mr Genki just finished another dramatic email that was composed for his union camp freshies. Shall show you guys one of those emails when I'm slightly more free. Arghh, my hands are so full, but I'm still typing with my keyboard...... zZzzZz

Sunday Blues

2007-07-01T19:31:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki had been driving for the past four days. Much excitement that he would expect since he seldom gets the chance to drive. And in Mr Genki's favour to drive for this particular week is at the expense of his brother-in-law being quarantined at home due to chicken pox. Bro, get well soon!

For the first few days, there wasn't too much of a problem on the road. Except Mr Genki had to travel along PIE then BKE during PEAK HOURS. The traffic condition then was appalling. Long queue at the Clementi Ave 6 entrance towards PIE(Changi) gave Mr Genki a huge clue of the calamity awaiting for him ahead.

I have to accentuate that I was then driving alone with my yellow base, orange triangle plate. And it's the first time I'm dealing with such a heavy traffic. 4-wheeled vehicles have got no choice but to be discipline in keeping on their lanes. What I loath most are the riders. Being small means agile, they never fail to attempt to cut through every single gap they see. And they really appear from nowhere, which is why drivers should check blind spots before changing lanes or making a turn. Since I was at a crawling speed due to traffic conditions, I was able to witness how these buggers show their immense affection for gaps. Sheesh, it was so stress.

Since I was such a greenhorn in driving, I tried my best to observe the art of defensive driving rigorously. Hence, even in heavy traffic condition, I made it safely to my destinations.

This part of the post accounts of my Sunday blues. Had a tuition class at Bukit Panjang and drove there. Again, made it safely there. However, complications arosed, ensued, but were somehow overcome for the return trip. Mr Genki was involved in his first case of traffic accident.

!!!

I was travelling along Bukit Batok Rd (if I had not mistaken) at the speed limit of 70km/h and suddenly......

AMBER LIGHT. So I hit the brakes hard to get my vehicle to stop b4 the stop line, which I did. A vehicle behind reacted just a little late. But the driver, knowing that it was safe to do so, swerve his vehicle to the lane left to mine and hitting the brakes at the same time, had his front right of the vehicle knocked into the rear left of mine. The left of my rear bumper suffered significant scratches while his front right was seriously dented.

Thankfully, he's one driver who's responsible enough to stop by somewhere safe and talk things over nicely. I really appreciate that apologetic attitude and the kindness for not eating up a greenhorn like me. I was so lost. I could do nothing but to call my Dad for advice on dealing with the situation.

It could have been worse for me if the driver decided to run like the devil itself and itelf is upon him. Melancholy for Mr Genki. And tomorrow I shall meet him again at the workshop.

V for...

2007-06-29T01:34:00.000+08:00

Vacation. And what do you do during vacation? Build up your vocabulary of V.

Watch V as he teaches you a variety of vssssss. Voila!

Dumbfounded?

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

2007-06-28T01:24:00.000+08:00

12:45am and he couldn't sleep. He's angry. Actually he's just hungry. But a hungry man is an angry man right?

Misfortune befalls when Mr Genki's supper buddy told him that he's out. Lonely as it will be, but he's still hungry.

So he took a short walk to the kopi-tiam. Accentuates that this is all done alone. Mr Genki is so desperate to get his stomach filled. Without much delay, he settles for the fishball noodles.

Next up is a couple of thousand words.

The Fishball noodles were just average. He could not care much since he's so famished.

5 minutes later... ...

I'm just too angry with the noodles for staring at my pathetic Sony Ericsson W510i integrated camera. More because I was hungry. I'm also angry with the bowls and chopsticks for staring at my camera too. Fortunately, I'm not hungry anymore.

Hunger is such a wonderful phenomenon. Not only because it makes you eat alone, but it also makes you blog.

Less Sleeping, more Swimming and Shopping

2007-06-26T23:55:00.000+08:00

There goes Mr Genki's "Low Batt"(remind me to show you what "Low Batt" is when you see me) HP alarm again. The clock reads 930am. Snooze and back to trance like state.

9 minutes later... LB alarm again. Snooze again. Back to lala land again.

18 minutes later... The recurring alarm finally managed to wake Mr Genki up. Sorry to disappoint you if you've thought that it's snooze again.

Early bird catches the water. Yes, Mr Genki was meeting Steven, one of his JC buddies, for a swim at Clementi Swimming Complex. Whooosh, took the dip and off we went. The sun wasn't really good initially, but it decided to reveal it's majestic self from the clouds after some time. Mr Genki was sure lady luck smiled at him.

12:21pm and time to hit the tanning beds. We must be crazy. We're indeed crazy for the the sun to incinerate us. As the hopeful to get tan-ner Mr Genki spray himself with Banana Boat Tanning Oil and enjoy the sun.

Mr Genki never gets enough of the sun. Took another dip back into the waters again. This time round struggling to get my free style strokes right.

Eventually we decided that it's time we should tuck in as it's way past a good timing for lunch. And Botak Jones, here we come. Regretted not taking pictures on the Fish N Chips Mr Genki had and Cajun Chix that Steven had.

We both decided that we had nothing much to do for the whole afternoon and decided that we'll visit good old vivo city for some air-con after exposing ourselves too much to the unbearable heat. Sheesh, what a huge lie.

Was window shopping, conspicuously. What Topman offers this season isn't that appealing to Mr Genki. Anyway Mr Genki had no intention at all to buy anymore clothing for the moment. So he bought chocolate digestives from Marks & Spencer and a nice adidas bottle. And Ciaos vivo.

Not any less eventful than it can get for the brotherhood today. Brotherhood can only get more eventful on a battlefield.

Roars, the bored Spartide - Mr Genki

Gordon Me?

2007-06-26T00:42:00.001+08:00

After years and years of searching Mr Genki finally found an uncommon name in Singapore which he could use as his alias.

Mr Genki presents to you: Gordon Tan Guang Hong. If you have notice, the initials turned out to be GTGH, which can mean Got To Go Home. So next time if you see Mr Genki rushing home arbitrarily, you don't really have to ask why. ROFL.

From wikipedia:

Gordon is a traditional Scottish clan name (see Clan Gordon) and it is now a common given name and a less common surname. It is thought to be Celtic for "great hill" from the Celtic words "gor" which means "great" and "dun" which means "hill". It is also a fairly common surname of some Eastern European Jews (Hebrew: גורדון Russian: Гордон); its origin in this usage derives from Grodno.

"Great Hill" sounds tall and majestic. Let's hear it from you if Gordon is good for Mr Genki. If I get 10 votes for this name, then I'll Go Home.

They've got Class!

2007-06-26T00:30:00.000+08:00

Got this from good old Cheryl's blog. Decided to put it here to share with anyone who's still reading this blog. Eh... Is there still anyone?

Nevermind... What is important is: they really have class! Enjoy!

Life is like a ... ...

2007-05-26T22:27:00.000+08:00

Sine Curve. Quoting from my JJC tutor Mr Chu. While at this point in time I'm probably at "theta equals to 3 pi over 2". For the benefit of those who do not understand, it means the lowest point.

Nearly a month had passed since the end of examinations. I knew I'm going to do worse, but never did I expect to do unexpectedly worse (duh...). Here I am once more, bitching about life again.

Nothing seemed to be right. I don't seem to enjoy university at all. As I was chatting with KC yesterday, he was sharing how fulfilling his university life had been. I'm so envious, maybe even jealous. Why am I struggling?

Throughout this whole month, I had been leading a life of a retiree. As empitomized by the fact that I'm seeing my Gramps nearly 24/7. I'm so strucked by sluggishness, indolence. I do not like this at all. I want to work. I'm sorry mum & dad. Your kid is such a spoilt brat.

Tuition. Are there really no suitable assignments for me? It appeared to be good news this afternoon when I received an sms at 12:41pm regarding a tuition assignment. I was about 5 mins slow in reacting to the sms and that was all enough to see the assignment landing into someone else's hand. WHAT LUCK!?

What explains for the 5 mins lag would be soccer. Yes, I was kicking the ball around and hence could not check my phone. While running around seemed good, it left me a lower back problem now. Lady luck frowned at me.

A change is what I need...

Twister in Singapore

2007-05-26T02:14:00.000+08:00

Good Grief! Twister hits Cosmopolitan Singapore! And 10pm News on Channel 8 reported that such a 'phenomenon' is normal.

Pics are from http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=282996

Looks like the Pirates in Singapore from "At World's End" will be having a hard time on our unfriendly waters. Or is that one of those tricks from Davy Jones? On second thoughts, the twister seemed harmless.

Sigh... How Mr Genki hoped that he was there to witness such a normal phenomenon. And then he was at lavender answering to the call of the brotherhood.

Who's that pirate?

2007-05-20T18:28:00.000+08:00

Anyone remembers who is Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean?

Mr Genki is dying to find out who he is. Is he the Captain of the Black Pearl in Pirates 1? Please, anyone!

Mother's Day Special

2007-05-17T00:47:00.000+08:00

Though it's like 3 days late, allow Mr Genki to share with you what he had done for this mother's day.

He actually cooked together with his sis! If that's already a stunner, how about the food being edible?

Hope Mr Genki didn't scare Mommy off till she jumps and hit the roof. But judging from her expression, it seems fine.

Mommy's unwell recently, and Mr Genki affirms with solemn earnestness that it has got nothing to do with the food on Mother's Day. Dear Mum, please rest more and get well soon! I'll pray for your wellness.

Here are the pics.

From left, Linguinne (hope I got the spelling right) with asparagus wrapped in stir fried bacon, and the Mr Genki very own, Cream of Potato and Mushroom. Mr Genki would never deny that the fact that these pics look kind of dull and lacklustre. Attribute this to the limitation of an integrated 2.0 MP camera in K510i, the lack of better looking utensils and poor lighting condition. Anyway, it's my huge thought that counts. But the food is really ok, as he accentuates......

And before Mr Genki ends this post, he should say something about pasta sauces. Somehow he feels that carbonara (the White sauce) tastes better than the red sauce. Maybe I should set up a poll on this one. Alright, that was quite random.

With lots and lots of Love. - Genki

不一样就是不一样

2007-05-13T21:47:00.000+08:00

The song that you're hearing right now is titled "不一样" by David Tao. This song reminds us that we are all different in one way or another, but if we have a heart that's wide enough to accomdate and accept these differences, we can learn to appreciate them and thus live harmoniously with each other. And NOT discriminating against these differences.

Here are the lyrics in Chinese. My apologies for the absence of translation.

從小在歷史課就發現人與人不一樣
不同的國家不同的文化不同的宗教
造成地球幾千年不停的戰爭越變越陌生使的仇恨延伸
雖然我們已有了高科技的發達卻還是每天人與人在吵吵打打
這真的讓我感到心裡有點怕怕我真的不懂為什麼人類那麼阿達
如果這世界沒有這麼多的變化可想見人生會無聊到不像話
就像那孫悟空的七十二變他如果不會變就對那西遊記說再見
不管你是 Chinese，Korean，Japanese，Malay
烏拉圭，西班牙還是缺了一顆牙
只要你有那火熱的心什麼都擺的平去創造新的生命

不一樣就是不一樣！我就是不一樣！就是不一樣
我就是不一樣！不一樣就是不一樣！我就是不一樣！就是不一樣

我常常在街上聽人家在八卦
什麼 hot 什麼 not 最近什麼當家
最近哪個牌子紅最近哪個音樂ㄙㄨㄥ' 哪個牌子風誰的髮型普通
我一點都不在乎誰是現在的流行先鋒因為我知道流行只是一種盲從
吃肥油吃肥油他只會讓你的心靈的健康通通都沒有
不管你是什麼樣的人說什麼樣的文
你絕對千萬不能忘記這世界還是很都多其他不同的人
你需要打開胸懷絕不要立刻歧視你可能每天吃的是一碗白飯一個漢堡義大利麵條一個壽司一條 satay chotto matte 可是只要你有那火熱的心
什麼都擺的平去創造新的生命

不一樣就是不一樣！我就是不一樣！就是不一樣我就是
我就是不一樣！不一樣就是不一樣 so what！So what！我就是不一樣！就是不一樣

甘地、迪士尼、老子、孔夫子、、Lennon、Chaplin、Brando
跟 Picasso、Einstein、Freud、Dalai Lama
都是與眾不同的偉人就是人類的 heroes 從這些一個的一個的
特出創始人的身上我們可以看到不一樣的思路才能真的讓這塵世有個美麗的前途
相應成趣就請那規律出去所以當你在下次看到有人刺 tatoo 或你有朋友覺得重金屬的音樂真的才 cool

不管他台灣人諸葛四郎或者他肥胖他還是跟你一樣一樣
同樣的愛心彼此彼此
你要釋放禮讓忍讓絕不希望我只會盼望你有火熱的心
什麼都擺的平去創造新的生命

Bon Voyage My Friend...

2007-05-10T02:00:00.000+08:00

Met Shirlene today City Hall's Cafe Cartel before she leaves for a mission trip in Japan for a good 1 month. Mr Genki apologises for being late again. He is turning more and more ill-discipline already...

Cafe Cartel offers a wide variety of food. Shirlene was telling Mr Genki that he would have been able to catch the set lunch offer if he had been on time. Set lunch go as cheap as $9.50 with the soup of the day, main course and a drink. Such is the punishment for being late...

Oh well... Have to settle for the ala carte items. Mr Genki settles for the Haiwaiian Chicken Leg while Shirlene decides that she should go light by getting a Waffle with Ice Cream and Banana topping for lunch. What? Waffle for lunch seems far too light. Maybe too light for a guy only...

Then came Liwei, Shirlene's friend from Law Faculty. Without too much hesistation, he settles for the pork chop. I should say Pork Chopsss. Good Old Cafe Cartel offers Pork Chop in treble!

We had a good chat and good food. Not forgetting to mention that Cafe Cartel has a unique house rule of waiving that 10% "compulsory tipping"! Cool! That's not the end. In addition to waiving "compulsory tipping", students get a further 20% discount! We all know that poor old 5% GST (that will turn 7% this July) is inevitable. Just look at how much value you can derive by eating at Cafe Cartel, but only as a student!

Mr Genki would like to wish Shirlene Bon Voyage, with lots of blessings!

Here are the pics:

From left: Waffle with Ice-Cream and Banana topping, Haiwaiian Chicken Leg.

No Censorship, but please do Self-Censorship! Discern with Care!

2007-05-08T23:47:00.000+08:00

This post is specially dedicated to issues pertaining to the blog post on "Dog that barks doesnt neccessary make a good dog." by tanyanshan.blogspot.com. I have to warn anyone who is reading this post to discern with care what is going to be discussed. In addition, I am declaring that I have nothing against both parties and I am not taking sides! Moreover, I will NOT assess the credibility of the claims. Discern it yourself! Just comments.

Excerpt:

"Being the principal, I thought you should be the most amiable,respectable and admired but hell no. Instead of gaining all the respect he should gain, he lost it all. It can be argued that whatever he did were for the welfare of this college,yes i may agree to a certain extent but even so, he should do it in a manner which makes look like a human and not a barbarian. In my secondary school days, my principal, Mr Lau Yan Boon, did almost everything the same as that guy in my college e,g. catching unacceptable length and style of hair etc etc. However in doing so he still gained the utmost respect from many of the students.What a contrast!It lies in the way he should carry out things and punishments. In my post, i will state the things he did which make many of us full of anger.I will be serious this time cause its serious bitch.

Last Friday, i went to school as usual,using the toilet as usual,went for morning assembly as usual. Seeing the principal up there as though he is an idiot. After the pledge, Koh Yong Chiah, principal of Jurong Junior College served us his perspective on our Indian students that left many of us students,ashamed.

Quoting(95% of the content are very true,the remaining 5% are true but i could not remember the exact details) from Koh Yong Chiah: 'I dont like the indians in our school residing in one corner of the school and i dont like them leaving moustache, they seem to be forming gang in our school.I dont want the Indians to be together anymore. ' What do u mean by GANG?I provide some of the meaning from dictionary.com.

Gang
-noun

1. a group or band: A gang of boys gathered around the winning pitcher.
2. a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, esp. such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.
3. a group of people with compatible tastes or mutual interests who gather together for social reasons: I'm throwing a party for the gang I bowl with.
4. a group of persons working together; squad; shift: a gang of laborers.
5. a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose: a gang of thieves.

He certainly did not mean the first,third and forth meaning mentioned above.That leaves us with the second and fifth meaning.Both are really negative,both mean that the Indians in our school are being labeled as GANGSTERS by him.In JJC,it is true that the Indian students always gather around one corner of the school.What about the Chinese students in the college.We make the largest population in the school and we too,are always in our own CLIQUE.Does that mean we Chinese are forming GANG too in JJC?If goes by the definition of GANG by him, we Chinese in JJC should be categorised as GANGS too.But why doesnt him mention about the Chinese and the Malays and why did he only mention about the Indians in the college?Racist?Maybe.Prejudice?Maybe.Plain stupidity?Damn right.

I have been in this college for around 4 months and the Indians i know and the fellow Indians residing in one corner certainly mean aint NO harm.They are friendly,they are students who constitute part of the college.Why should they be arrowed by the stupidity of our principal?They dont deserve it at all,not a single bit.They deserve better, much more better.From what i see,the Indians are just plainly gathering in their own CLIQUE like many of us do everyday.I hang around with my friends every single morning before morning assembly.I found joy in talking among my clique whom i am familiar with,friends whom i can click with.This should apply to the Indians in our school too,they do can stay with their own band of brothers,their own group of friends.They are doing nothing wrong like the other races in the college and all of us are living in harmony.But one guy just stir this homogeneous harmony up without knowing it.What will the Indians feel when he said that?Put yourself in their shoe please.Give them back the liberty to make the friends they want to make and stop making decisions that no ones will obey and stay abide to.

The Indian dance in my school won a SYF GOLD WITH HONOURS medal, something which should make any principal proud of.But wait,did that guy mention anything about the Indian dance troupe winning the prestigious award?NO.He just let life goes on like the Indian Dance Troupe had not won anything great for the college.I saw their dance,its awesome,something i have not seen in one hell of a long time.They deserve the recognition by the school,or at least the principal of the school but they aint no getting any of them.It left me wondering what must the dancer achieve before that guy decides to glorify their achievements infront of the whole school.I think if the 'Indian GANG' did something like fighting outside the school,that guy will most probably announce to the whole world.Now,they done the school proud but why your gap in your face is not opening yet?"

... and he goes on and on...

"So Mr Koh by calling a student terrorist,do you really want us to be terrorist?I certainly felt insulted if i am called a terrorist.He can be charged under the penal code(Singapore)

Chapter XXI: Defamation

Second,recently there is one china student who refused to give in his ezlink card to that guy.He agured with that guy and guess what?THAT IDIOT smacked the guy.I am not quite sure of where did the principal hit the china student but whatever it is,hitting is not right.C'mon,it is now the 21st century,its not about hitting student with Chinese kung-fu,its not about old-school teaching method,its not about building your regime in school.?For that incident alone,the chinese student is at fault in the first place but the principal of JJC is at a bigger fault.He can be charged under Singapore penal code

Chapter XVI: Offences affecting the human body.

See the seriousness?

I blog about this post is to expose the torment we students have to suffer both physically and mentally in JJC.I have the urge to call up TNP to do a review on our principal,however,I must gather more evidence and SUPPORT from the student body.I certainly hope JJCians will stand up to be counted.We call for the respect we deserve."

-End of Excerpt-

While I learnt that Tan Yan Shan is a current Jurong Junior College student, I should say that it's quite admirable for showing so much courage to go against a principal like that. But then again, I have to say that it's very tactless of him to have voiced out such resentments with utterly blunt words like "dogs that bark" and, probably, falsely assumed that the meaning of "gang". If what was mentioned had been true, it'll be highly calamitous. Accuracy of the claims aside, just the tactless tone of this post itself makes it very unsightly for reading pleasures. And it would be better for him do some proper citation for the legal terminologies. So I should suggest that to Yan Shan to take responsibility of what he wants to publish on his blog by using a more subtle tone to "minimise the damage" to his blog. You loathe the tactlessness of the principal words, so don't do it yourself. As simple as "自所不欲﹐勿施于人", i.e "Don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you." And by the way, for some reason, the blog has been shut down. Which explains why I had to use such a long excerpt.

Two sides to a coin. Here's it.

I feel that it takes a lot for a student to be write something so bad about a principal and publish it online for the public. Something may be very wrong, maybe not so? (As mentioned, I will not judge upon the accuracy, do it yourself).

In any case, my experience with the principal hadn't been anymore pleasant or unpleasant. I think we should give credits for his efforts in improving the school's environment by air-conditioning the hall for better comfort during examinations, renovating the canteen for a better look, etc. But being a good leader doesn't stop there. I feel that it involves good handling of inter-personal relationship which will in turn requires tactfulness of speech. Intention aside, but being careless with words will give you a lot of trouble and creates much misunderstanding even if you don't mean it.

My personal experience for example. I probably had been in the wrong for being late for a GP test. And the definition of "being late" is failing to arrive half-an-hour before time to study for the paper. Strange as it may sound but it's a rule passed down all the way from the top. Fair enough that it has been make clear everyone that what "late" means. So fair enough that I've been classified as a late comer. By the way, I arrived before the paper had commenced.

Maybe it's justified enough for a punishment. True enough, everyone who was late was recalled to a LT for a 1 1/2 hours long "telling off session" by the principal. While that might still sound fair, the principal said that we've been 不仁﹐不義﹐不忠﹐不孝. Which translate loosely (note that translations might not be rigorous) to merciless, lack of integrity, disloyal and unfilial. That to me sounded like we've been the lowest lifeforms on Earth with the cheapest characters. And that is for being late. Sheesh!

It has been 3 years or more since that day. I put my trustworthiness at stake to be sharing this incident, and hence I will not lie. It left a huge impact on me as epitomized by the fact that I still have a clear idea of his choice of words. Fortunate enough, I haven't been too affected by those words in a sense that my confidence wasn't really damped. But still I find those words too harsh. He probably didn't mean it, but still it's very unpleasant.

Times have changed and it will keep changing. Old school way of running the school should not be relevant anymore. Probably, the principal might have taken too much of his experience of his time as a student and put them into use today(Note the choice of word probably). I know that teachers and principals were highly respected figures back in the past. But I feel that the contemporary education defines respect to be a mutual thing. Earn it by giving it to the other party.

I repect the freedom of speech for Yan Shan to be conveying this experience to the public. But be warned to do it with due responsiblity. As for the public, be warned to dicern it with due care. I may make a poor leader if I were to be a leader, but above is what I feel as a follower that the leader should be.

I have left the College long enough to be so concerned about this issue. But I truly wish that students voices can be heard and authority would respect them after assessing the credibility of it.

I think the length of this entry has very far exceed a comfortable length. Let's just stop here.

The Exemplar of Brotherhood

2007-05-08T23:13:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki had an interview at 2pm. NTU was where he had it. The clock reads 1255pm. Mr Genki decided that it'll be good for a NTU student to bring him to his destination as he probably will not be as quick in finding the way by himself.

So, he rung Wei Jie. Good old Wei Jie is such a nice brother (though he may be merciless when it comes to shooting people : P). Mr Genki was requesting for ad-hoc operation and he got immediate support even at the last hour (though I had to pay for the cab fare). Thank You Bro!

What's after that was the fellowship of the brotherhood of 02S23. Zhi Xian joined the pair as the three of us head to Ikea for a short walk. Not forgetting to mention that Zhi Xian brought us to this hawker stall across the road for Avocardo Juice, which is good for the skin. Unique indeed.

Ahhhhh... That brotherhood! Still as strong as it is 3 years ago! Banzai!

The Spree II

2007-05-07T23:57:00.000+08:00

Here we go again! Get your wallet, ATM card, Credit Card or Debit Card ready while we take ourselves to town and spend all that money we had been saving for the past 3 months... (pls don't take this seriously)

Met Pamela this afternoon for the shopping spree. Mr Genki was late by a good 20 minutes, but fortunately Pam seemed ok with it (I hope). Far East Plaza was the starting point. Shoes was her prime target for the day, while Mr Genki was hungry for anything. However, he feels that what Far East could offer no longer suits him.

Pam gave up momentarily after learning that majority of the shops don't offer that odd shoe size for her humongous feet. She then brought me to this shop called "Groove Designs" that sells Tees with very interesting prints. However, Mr Genki thinks that the staff have been overly friendly and enthusiastic in exemplifying "good customer service".

A usual courteous greet to a customer would suffice. However, he sticked with me while I browsed through the Tees they had on display, kept telling me which Tees are nice and which one suits me. That was very unnecessary. Of course Mr Genki knows what he likes and dislikes. The former would be the humourous prints on the Tees while the latter would be that annoying fly who kept calling me 'brother'. It's a very repulsive kind of customer service where the sales assistant kept pressurizing you to get 3 or 4 pieces of their merchandise of their choice (NOT YOURS). It could succeed in making the customer buy from them, but Mr Genki dare to say that the customer would never return to the shop and they'll lose him forever. Very unpleasant experience. No wonder there're only staffs in their shop.

Topshop is very much different. As mentioned, a courteous greet would be good enough to light up the customer's day. At most a polite "Do you need any assistance?", would be where they'd stop. As good as what the shop could always offer. Jeans at $66 a pair and it's from Topman. The cuttings and finishes are nice, what else can Mr Genki pick on? Soon after, Mr Genki came out of the fitting room, he went to the cashier and pay for a sweater and a pair of jeans. Cool huh? "Groove Design" please learn this well!

What's next is ESPRIT. One of Mr Genki's favourite. As usual, EDC clothes are priced so damn high that Mr Genki could only hope that the nice ones would hit the factory outlet soon. However, he still managed to pick up a sales item, i.e. a white slim fit shirt. Just Reasonable.

Dinner was at NYDC. The food is very nice. A huge pity that Mr Genki couldn't remember the name of that pizza, nevertheless he would be able to recognise it if he is to be given the menu again. So no worries. Lemon Shiver at NYDC is always good. Hell, that's another $25 gone, which includes Service Charge and GST. What's worst is that's going to soar up by another 2% coming July. What about that for "compulsory tipping" for good food? Sheesh......

Then came Shumin, Pam's friend from TH. Together, they shared their countless experience of previous online shopping and Mr Genki went on to comment how they could be better off staying out than at home. At least it would be less convenient outside than they could do shopping with just a few clicks on the mouse at home. So better off at saving money. While Mr Genki calls that "minimising the damage". Not too bad a strategy though.

Our plans to watch a live band performance FREE at Marriot Hotel had to change when we learn that the performance will start at 11pm instead of 930pm, since both Pam and Mr Genki had to good and be home early. Kind of a waste, since nowadays is so hard to get something that's FREE in Singapore. So Mr Genki decides he should head home and conclude the day on this blog with BRAND NEW LOOK. While Pam accompanies Shumin for a little while more before taking a different route home.

Maybe it's time for me to learn how to 'minimise the damage'. Anyway here are my catch

Guess what's in there?

TADA!

BRAND NEW LOOK! THE RECONTRUCTED mr-genki.blogspot.com

2007-05-06T18:58:00.000+08:00

Hey people, if you are reading this, you must have noticed the change. Like it?

Took Mr Genki a lot of attention for the recontruction. All comments, good or bad, are welcomed for the better of the blog's design.

Be a considerate smoker.

2007-04-26T22:29:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki had a good sleep. This can be attributed to the heavy rain in the early morning which made it cooler for people to sleep. So comfortable to the extent that Mr Genki woke up at 2pm! Though he had wasted the whole morning and 2 good hours of the afternoon away, nevertheless he felt this very nonchalant pace in life. Because the exams are over!

Mr Genki could hardly find anytime to spend with his family previously, so he decided to take his Gramps and mommy (I usually address her as Dowager nowadays) out for a walk at IMM. As usual, Gramps always like cheap stuff and that has become his value proposition, i.e cheap means good. Oh well, as long as Gramps is happy.

Most of our time was spent as Daiso, a Japanese departmental store which sells lots of things, made from various materials, like ceramics, polymers, fabric etc. We spent a gd 3 hours there and picked up 3 items. Not forgetting to mention that none of those items was my choice.

Saw this very interesting invention.

The Portable Ashtray! In an effort to promote considerate smoking habits, people have come out with this invention. So smokers out there, don't anyhow flick cigarette ashes around no more!

8pm reads Mr Genki's watch. We realised that it's a bit late and we were way past dinner time. Settled down at Wan Zai kitchen just outside Daiso for dinner. Had baked rice but it wasn't very nice as the baked rice had ketchup all over and what Mr Genki was able to taste was the taste of ketchup. Anyway, thanks to Dowager, the cost of dinner was waived.

It wasn't too long a day, but Mr Genki still feels very tired. Perhaps he's still recovering from irregular sleeps previously. Gramps is completely shag out. He had already thrown himself in bed while Mr Genki finishes the rest of this entry.

Ahhhh... This relaxed feeling... Glad that it's back, even temporarily...

The Champion of the Street Brawl

2007-04-25T22:57:00.000+08:00

Can you beat that?

IT'S OVER! The impulsive post...

2007-04-25T22:48:00.000+08:00

YES! 25th April is here! Mr Genki is done with the loathsome exams for the time being! The next 3 months must be more exciting! IT MUST!

I hope...

D-Day H-9 Hours

2007-04-20T23:42:00.000+08:00

First Paper in 9hrs time. Mr Genki is full of anxiety.

25th April, please come fast...

捕刺客打刺客﹐刺客不打刺客

2007-04-17T22:49:00.000+08:00

Let the "Young Ming Hshan Antenna" brothers teach you the heritage of beat box... Be patient and let this load. Guarenteed to be worth your time. Meanwhile, you can read the back entries!

I'm tired

2007-04-16T03:46:00.000+08:00

I, Tan Guang Hong, have for the very first time posted twice on blogger within a window of 1 1/2 hours time.

I'm really tired. I know how electrons rotating around a nucleus of an atom can generate magnetism. I know that feelings of Romeo and Juliet can be modelled by a pair of differential equations. But I proved to have little common sense on how people react to problem in daily life, i.e. marketing.

I know that it's futile complaining at this point in time, but I still do it anyway. Why? Have I been badly mistaken all along? I chose the wrong course.

I think I sounded very attention seeking. But I re-assured myself that these feelings are spontaneous and genuine. I noticed that I no longer uses 'he', but instead uses lots of 'I's in this very entry. At this point in time, I'm Tan Guang Hong (real), not Mr Genki(virtual).

Thanks to this little virtual space, I could let my frustrations out a bit, which made me feel slightly better. Guess I have to just grind my teeth and get on with it. That's life.

The Motivation to Study...

2007-04-16T02:28:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki blogs at 230am. A very good piece of evidence to how much attention span he has on his revision.

He reveals the oxymoron for the day: It'll be of his best interest to keep out of MSN, Blogger.com and Photoshop.

Here's a small motivation for those preparing for examinations:

Mr Genki wishes everyone and himself best of luck!

The Mathematics of Happiness

2007-04-15T01:01:00.000+08:00

The Identity of the Day:

Happy Cheryl = Happy Genki

Cheryl is Happy. Find the mood of Genki. (Oh well...)

Priceless

2007-04-06T02:34:00.000+08:00

Long time since I posted. Fret not, this blog will never be abandoned.

Mr Genki continues to display his lack of discipline for the semester by yet skipping another class for the day. However, he still dragged himself to the school library for a short mugging session, more because it's for convenient for him to travel to vivo city to get a birthday gift for his elder sister who will turn 26 tomorrow. お姉さん、お誕生日おめでとう!

Well, Mr Genki was doing his own window shopping most of the time rather than choosing a gift for his sister, as exemplified by the fact that most of the time he was looking at men's wear and he bought a belt. I mean it's a bit weird for a guy to be looking at women's wear right? right? RIGHT?

Then came Cheryl's SMS. She was at Sentosa with Jeanette. Mr Genki was somewhat summoned to get dinner from mainland for the two princesses at that island. Being the usual nice guy Mr Genki, he wouldn't say no to these requests.

It cost Mr Genki $3 to cross that bridge and enter sentosa! Why should an indigenous Singaporean who had served NS for 2 years and 2 months be paying to enter some island which belongs to Singapore??? It should be my right to enter Sentosa!

After much travelling, the food and of course Mr Genki finally reached the two princesses. It's conspicuous that we were all hungry, so we settled down at some tanning bed around Rasa Sentosa Pool to savour on our dinner - Macs. Oh Well...

The security were on their usual rounds. Shining their torches everywhere, even into the bushes (whatever that is for). He thought it was illegal for us to be sitting around the pool
to eat our dinner and so he questioned us. Thanks to Jeanette for doing the talking, we were then allowed to stay around a little longer.

Jeanette then took the weapon of mass destruction - a digital camera - out from her bag. What's next will be fairly predictable. We all started posing, cam-whoring and etc. But this is when Mr Genki thought the priceless moments came.

We strolled to the beach despite the presence of poor lighting condition. This is where Mr Genki witnessed the pure innocence and chasity of the two princesses, albeit a bit bimbotic. They were in their most natural state (I don't mean solid, liquid or gas. Argh! MLE is killing me!) for our own little photoshoot. We insisted that we should all do stupid poses in front of the camera without holding back. We just let go and do all those dumb things! It was so fun!

Mr Genki is so happy to see them smile, laugh and enjoying themselves. These moments seem to be an ideal world of itself, without ugly human politics nor any other horrendous things. Just smiles and laughters, fun and joy.

Who's Your Protege?

2007-02-21T00:33:00.000+08:00

Quin (Andy Lau), the Banker: Who's your daddy? Definitely not Quin. For a second you may think that a dope Kingpin like Quin would lead a high-profile Godfather status life. Be mistaken, he is one unique and sophisticated Kingpin who dress like a commoner and drives a old-fashioned mercedes. His speciality: trades No. 4 (Heroin), or otherwise known as "US$" like nobody's business and talks like a businessman.

Nick (Daniel Wu), the Undercover: He is the protege! A fast learner and a quick thinker. He is the only person that Quin would ever trust. With no doubts, he is The Candidate to succeed Quin as the Banker. Be mistaken again! All the brotherhood was a fake. He is a cop. Watch how Nick bust Quin's ass as he live a life of dual identities.

Fan (Zhang Jingchu), the victim: Simply put it, she's helpless. Very helpless. Married a crackhead jerk and drowned herself in the world of dopes. Her only motivation for life would be her adorable little daughter. She's just too ill-fated.

??? (Louis Khoo), the trafficker: Actually, I would prefer to call him a good for nothing jerk! The idiotic crackhead husband who cares no more for his family than heroin. He is that f**ker who dragged Fan into his lost world of dopes. He is that as*h*le who is not even least bothered for pushing his ill-fated wife into prostitution. He is the jerk who made use of her innocent daughter for drug trafficking. If you would agree with me that he's a jerk, then full credits go to his acting!

I'd fully support the Derek Yee, the director's claim that "there're no idols in this show, only actors". If you think only horror flicks have morbid scenes, go see how ghoulish can some scenes of protege get! Not forgetting that how sweet some other scenes could get.

Genki rating: 5 Stars + Chop

DIE DIE MUST WATCH!

Pic of the Month Febuary

2007-02-19T12:36:00.000+08:00

In the Pic: My Gramps with... Erm... I don't know what breed that dog belongs to. Taken at my uncle's place by my sis with her Sony Ericsson K610i Integrated Camera. (Despite my absence due to stomach flu.)

Mr Genki's Stomach has Wings!

2007-02-19T12:22:00.000+08:00

Uuurrrrrhhh...

My stomach flew. I mean stomach flu.

As the unfortunate Mr Genki moans......

Thank You People... Mr Genki is so touched...

2007-02-18T02:50:00.000+08:00

Thank you people for all the blessings given to me on my 22nd. I felt so loved.

Super big thank you to Cheryl, Norman, LerLer and Siew Ting for celebrating my birthday with me at Fish & Co. Despite the fact I had to bear this dumb "Xiao Hong" pseudonym for my dedication... Oh Yes, I also want to thank the band for the birthday song!

I'm sorry for holding up my family till so late for the celebration. And I thank my family for the cake and angbaos despite the fact that I made them waited for my return.

To all my friends and my family:

Mr Genki Loves You All!

The Rush for Penalty

2007-02-16T00:58:00.000+08:00

Finally, the Gunners were able to triumph once at the cursed Reebok. It had been quite a long while since Mr Genki's favourite Gunners snatched an away win from Bolton Wanderers. He was nevertheless disappointed with the poor quality in the penalties awarded to Arsenal! Gilberto and Baptista blasted them high and wide over the bar. Don't know if they rushed to take the penalty to try to get their names in the score sheet.

It's such a huge joy to watch the Gunners win. And indeed there's a price Mr Genki had paid for watching football at 5am.

It was 6:30am when Gunners sealed the win. It was not even day break yet. Mr Genki went back to trance-like state before waking up at 9:45am for the typical rush on his tutorial.

The clock strucked 12pm and some siren went off. Mr Genki then realised that it was the Total Defence Day siren. National Education issues aside, what was more important was Mr Genki suddenly remembered he has to be at some Subject Pool studies which would contribute to the overall grade of his Marketing Module!

ARGH! He frantically checked his Subject Pool timing online and thought he could still make it on time since he thought his subject pool starts at 1230pm (note the choice of word 'frantically' and 'thought').

And then came the rush! He changed hastily. He was living at the 10th storey of a good old HDB flat but chose to take the stairs to avoid wasting more waiting time for a lift. He flaged for a cab, board it and off he went. He walked very briskly to Experimental Lab 1 at Biz 2. His watch reads 1235pm.

Well he thought he could get away with being merely 5 mins late. But before that he realised that the people in the room gave him a bewildered stare and the in-charge told Mr Genki that he had mistaken. Unbeliveable. Mr Genki could not accept that initially but he knew it was pointless staying around.

What's left to do is to double check ifMr Genki had really mistaken. Indeed, it was a blooper! There goes my $6.90 cab fare. In addition, a penalty of 0.5hrs for missing the subject pool. I had rushed to realise my penalty in a sense. What an irony! A day of Sambal Brazilian blues and Pseudo-Japanese blues. 真是赔了夫人又折兵，福无双至,祸不单行啊！

Let's assume that this entry is posted on 15th Feb 2007 so that I can make the following statement:

Tomorrow will be a better day... Wait, I retract that. It MUST be a better day since it's the day when Mr Genki turns 22!

I Hope...

21 Years 11 Months and 11 Days... Looking Retroactively...

2007-01-28T15:08:00.000+08:00

A fine Sunday without sun means melancholy for Mr Genki. 1300hrs was the reveille timing. Was it the cool air or the comfort of his bed that kept him in lalaland till mid-day? Beats me...

As soon as he walked into the kitchen, he could smell that lunch is almost ready. Mum's cooking is always the best(Though I always complained that it's too normal). However, I had decided to pass lunch till later as I reached for a packet of 3-in-1 coffee mix to satisfy that little addiction of mine.

It's that same old couch that I would bum onto to make the reading of Sunday Times more pleasurable. 'Rule change sees Medisave claims jump', 'One Eyed Dragon's Women, from love rivals to best pals.', 'For homeless, it's no job, no money, no choice.', etc. were the more catchy headlines that caught my attention. The one regarding One Eyed Dragon was juicy and dramatic. While 'Homeless' articles triggered a number of thoughts.

If you have noticed, Mr Genki is only 2 1/2 hrs since reveille and he has so much to talk about. Mr Genki suddenly noticed that he is around 20 days away from his 22nd Birthday. He then thought retroactively to himself about his past and at the same time tries to project himself into the future.

I have a few issues. Firstly I asked myself what I've achieved from the past 21++ years. I could not answer myself. Then I asked myself what would I want to be in the future. No answer yet again.

And not forgetting his recent success for obtaining a driving licence, he started to think tat such happiness is temporal. Mr Genki soon realised that neither he nor his family could not own a car, and so it is quite redundant getting a driving licence. But his motivation to learn driving came when his parent made a casual remark that the family could buy a car. There were no concrete promises and Mr Genki knows that it may be challenging for the household financially. Nevertheless, it motivated him.

As Mr Genki caught this article 'Cheaper prices, so young snapping up cars' on the Sunday Times, it somehow rekindled his desire for a 4 wheeled vehicle. So he started to drop hints to his parents again. In essence, $561 per month for 10 years is what it takes to own a car. Not too expensive at first look. Well nevertheless, doors were shut against Mr Genki's face and he was told to dream of cars again after graduation(i.e 3 1/2 yrs from now!).

Sounds reasonable initially. But on second and higher thoughts, Mr Genki says 'ちょっとまって' (i.e wait a minute). He couldn't stop wondering if the prospects of owning a car even after graduation is bleak. Looking at how his sisters (both NUS graduates) struggled to pay off their study loans for the first few years is the main reason. Not forgetting Mr Genki just received a notice that a balance of $338.85 (after Grant and Loan) will be deducted from his bank account on 30/01/2007.

Well, the Loan portion amounted to about $2.5k per semester. These figures are just figures during my undergraduate study. But once I graduate, interest starts rolling in at a rate dependent on the economic situation. What's worse is Mr Genki feels that this amount of money involved in a so-called top quality tertiary education is unjustified. This could be mostly attributed to some mediocre quality of teaching staff he had gotten for this semester. In addition to that, the rush schedule, poor administration support and even poor administration of examinations that made the whole student bill a load of crap. I would be so sure after just one semester to say that JC days were definitely more comfortable in terms of academic stuff. I really miss the kind of professionalism that my JC teachers had displayed. I'm paying a more that $20k++ to self-study! What CRAP!

While Mr Genki thought he might be better off using his school fees to pay for a car, things got worse as he gets hit by identity crisis. Till this point of time, he's still unclear if he's in the correct school and faculty. He missed doing mathematics and there isn't too much mathematics for him to do in Biz. He ever discussed with his sister the switch to NTU Aerospace Engineering. But what she told him was to be mature and stop being an impressionable kid who make decisions based on glorifying HK Dramas. Sheesh, I am seriously lost.

Mr Genki looked back at time and failed to find any significant achievement he made this 21++ years. Then he told himself he should look more proactively into the future, it seemed bleak too. He felt something is very wrong, but he does not know what's wrong.

It's very rare that Mr Genki could write so much given his limited English profienciency. Well, I would say there could be worse, but I do not want to catch too much attention and to be seen as an attention seeker. I only wanted to make use of this virtual space to let my frustrations with life out of myself so that I can move on. If you think Mr Genki is whiny, think no more because he is indeed whiny.

I'm tired... ... ... ...

One Last Dance

2007-01-24T23:44:00.000+08:00

Go catch this show while it's still available!

While many of us thought that homicide is bloody, gruesome and messy. Francis Ng shows you the art of assassination. Artistic scenes which brings assassination to a completely new level!

Ang bao (red packet) which is commonly known as an auspicious object seemed to have become an ominous one in this show. Hopefully, the impressionable Mr Genki won't get A.B-phobic as he is going to see lots of ang baos soon!

Every profession has its own set of ethics. Being an assassin is of no exception. Ah T (Francis Ng) brought up an important point that the ethics of assassination is to NEVER IMPLICATE the INNOCENT. Not bad, Ah T not only kills with expertise, but also ethics.

Such explains the importance of professionalism. Be professional, be ethical but don't kill. Unless you have a licence to do so.

Genki Rating: 4/5 stars

The Goals, the Joy and the Celebrations.....

2007-01-22T23:22:00.000+08:00

G-U-N-N-E-R-S

G for Genki & G-U-N-N-E-R-S!

2007-01-22T02:07:00.000+08:00

Wooohoooooo... Mr Genki is so HIGH and this is definitely better than all the alcohol he had had last night! Gunners made it double for their victory over the Red (Blue tonight, pun intended) Devils in the Premiership! G-U-N-N-E-R-S!

Mr Genki's heart sunk deep into his stomach as he saw Wayne Rooney opening the score line with a reasonably good header into the goal in the 53rd minutes. But the Gunners were NEVER pushovers. Robin Van Persie hammers home the equaliser with a vigilant follow up from the cross from Eboue and a little flick from the Gunner's skipper, Thierry Henry. 1-1 on the 83rd minute mark.

However, it was this man who made the difference.

Theirry Henry, an inspirational skipper who snatched this memorable victory with his head... (Though I'm a bit disturbed that this is the only picture that I can find in a hurry). Final score: Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd.

Welcome to the Emirates Stadium! Mr Genki is so OVERJOYED!

The Spree... Plus Mr Genki starts calling names...

2007-01-20T01:33:00.000+08:00

First, let Mr Genki thank those who had been there at St James to support the bash PUNKiNUS. A big thank you to all supporters. Without you, our success wouldn't be possible.

However, not everything went as successful as the bash did. Tutorial registration in NUS is simply a pain in the butt. Though Mr Genki could get quite disorganised at times, he had made very careful plans for his tutorials and thus has high expectation that everything would go well. Believe this or not, I actually missed my first choice tutorial for balloting. The results were calamitous. Instead of being allocated a 1200-1300hrs tutorial slot, I was given a 1700-1800hrs slot. In essence, it'll be a long wait for this class EVERY TUESDAYS such that Mr Genki has to go home sweet home 5hrs later!

It explains why I ranked 1200-1300 as my FIRST CHOICE for tutorial registration. Nothing could be worse than poor fortune. Well, Mr Genki tried appealing and the answer is a straight NO. How sympathetic can NUS get... I HATE NUS...

Well, what else can I do but to submit to ill-fate and say "it's give and take". Nevertheless, Mr Genki realised that he is still overall fortunate to have his good friends around, which sort of cheered him up a little.

Japanese food at the Techno Edge is great, that is only if you're having Katsu Don. Tried the Unagi Don today, but yucks. Well, I shouldn't be complaining too much since it's inexpensive Japanese food to begin with (and I wouldn't complain at all if it's Katsu Don). Anyway, lunch wouldn't be any interesting if you're eating alone (even if it's Katsu Don). Thanks Bo, Jan, Val and Wei for the company. Though the Bo and Jan never knew Val and Wei in anyway. Just take them as your 2nd degree friends as you play Friendster real life. You guys and gals may try adding each other as friends if you want to.

Despite Mr Genki's misfortune in tutorial registration, happy is still the word to describe his feelings. Met Cheryl, Marvin and Wei (ah.. Not again) back at Business School. Bummed around for quite a while and then left for Orchard. Yes, we are going to shop!

I must applaud for Marvin's topography in this Sunny Island of Singapore. It's no wonder they called him a GPS. Thanks for the directions. And not forgetting to thank Cheryl for driving us to town and back home. Thank You...

And these are images of my gains in the spree.

From left, Cream U2 sweater $19, Topman Boot Cut Jeans $53

Note that these pictures are taken as I put out my gains on the floor! Well, Mr Genki has got to little room in his little room to do something extravagant like a fashion photoshoot. And the images are taken still from a pathetic integrated camera phone. Correction, I should say humble integrated camera phone.

And I was so tempted to get this Topman shirt

And the price is $69. As I struggled emotionally for a decision to get the shirt, I secretly took out my humble camera and took a picture of it (And Lene claimed that I looked bemused in the pic). Eventually Marvin convinced me it's going to be cheaper soon since it has been in the shop for a season already. Oh well, let's leave something for the next spree.

As our poor stomach starts to growl, we soon realised that it's already 7:30pm and we hadn't had dinner. Sakae Sushi at Funan was the next stop as planned.

I should say we got a little too greedy to have chose the buffet set and eaten beyond our hearts' content. The results: over-filled stomach and pukey feeling. Over-eaten... Not forgeting to mention one more name, Liwei. Met him for the 2nd time in the day while we were dining at Sakae.

To be really honest, initially Mr Genki was quite worried that he will have problems making new friends in NUS as he parts with his old mates from JC days. The fact that he could mention so many names while blogging for occurances in just ONE day shows that his worries were needless. Thank You my friends for being so nice and friendly. Alright, I'm getting a little sleepy and I'm not quite sure of what I've blogged about or going to blog about already. But I'm not drunk! Till next time... I'll call even more names (NO negative connotations intended)!

On the 9th January...

2007-01-12T01:24:00.001+08:00

On the 9th of January 2007,

(1) It's D-4 Day to Bizbash PUNKiNUS

(2) The Gunners beaten the Reds 6-3 for the 2nd time at Anfield in 4 days

(3) Most Significant of all... I'm an L-plate NO MORE! Yes... Mr Genki is a qualified driver... Yay!

(4) However, blogger.com was down on that night

(5) I don't have a fifth point but I just don't like the number 4

(6) Why not I just continue?

(7) And Seven is my favourite number

That's all Mr Genki wanted to blog about so badly on the 9th January.

PUNKiNUS at St James Powerhouse

2007-01-05T01:00:00.000+08:00

I'm back, though in the middle of a busy schedule.

Saturday 13th January 2007 PUNKiNUS at St James Powerhouse. Come punk with Mr Genki and many other hot babes and dudes in this very first event of the Semester. Live Band performances by the KR Band. Fashion Show by Bizad Pageant Finalist. Hurry! Get your tickets now! Click on the posters for more details.

Such is what Mr Genki was busy with. So show your support by joining the event!

Sensational

2006-12-19T23:58:00.000+08:00

Top draw from Frank Lampard. Look at how the ball swerve.

Here's the beauty from DD Drogba. I mean the strike.

And there's the typical Morinho... It's so him... He loves this game...

Devils in Blues

2006-12-18T02:08:00.000+08:00

How about that from Didier Drogba!!! It's yet another lovely piece of football from the Blues. Grrr... Mr Genki just couldn't stand it when the Blues are so persistent, as he hates the Blues. On the other hand, the Red Devils are dropping more points after a defeat in Upton Park by the Hammers. So the Reds and the Blues takes a good step closer towards the Premiership leader, while the Gunners slipped down the table but still inches towards the Devils after a hard fought point at the Emirates.

Ahh... The adrenaline rush that football fans feel as they watch how their favourite teams battle against their opponents in the a highly exhilarating 90 minutes the game - FOOTBALL.

And Sir Alex, you are letting the Blues breathing up the Devil's neck. So is everyone elses neck. Whenever the Blues clinch a victory, some of my friends will feel depressed. Not over it's victory, but over life. Which makes Mr Genki quite upset as well. Strange but true.

And thanks to the Monsoon Rain, it's exacerbating everyone elses mood. Such gloomy weather leaves Mr Genki little choice but to stay indoor. Which is why he couldn't play football today. Unhappy......

In order to undo the Monsoon Rain, even for just a day, Mr Genki desperately tried to do something that is similar to a "reverse rain dance", i.e. play songs that are associated to the Sun like "The Sun" by Maroon 5, "Catch the Sun" by Jamie Cullum, and Stephanie Sun's songs and move with the music. Not forgetting that Stephanie Sun's 天黑黑 top in the ban list. Which means my favourite DT's 找自己 is forbidden as well. ArgH! Also, I do encourage the reading "The Art of Sun Tze" to boost the effect of the reverse rain dance.

Someone will just have to stop the Blues from getting so rampant. Just ANYONE! So that my friends can be happy again. As for the rest of us, we'll do the reverse rain dance. That's it for this gloomy entry. Up next will be Genki's wish list for Xmas!

Blue Vacation

2006-12-12T00:06:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki almost went insane when he saw how the Gunners managed a breakthrough to a deadlock with patience in the London Derby yesterday. He thought it's deja vu for the Gunners (like how they done it against the Red Devils at the Old Trafford). However, the Blues were no pushovers. Gunners stupefying triumph at Stamford Bridge proved to be short-lived as a few minutes later, Michael Essien hammers home a long swirling shot from mid-field to nullify the Gunners effort. Alas, the Gunners didn't manage to do it again (Courtesy of Ref A Wiley leniency on A Cole).

As a Arsenal Fan, Mr Genki feels the kind of disappointment that the Gunners feel after what would be called a symbolic victory is being snatched away by the Blues.

The cry, the laughter, the joy, the pain and the disappointment. Ahhh... The emotional struggle that passionate football fans go through. This is all about the game... The Beauty of the Game!

Mr Genki hates Blues. For it prevented a victory against the Gunners. For it caused so much trouble for Mr Genki. More importantly, for it strucked some of his friends recently and had caused unhappiness to them. My friends, I hope so much that I can do things for you all and restore happiness for you all. No more blues, but smiles and laughters of happiness.

And to Mr Wenger, please restore the once vigilant and triumphant Gunners. Mr Genki has faith in you. Crush the Blues and never let them strike us again!

Messive Spring Clean...

2006-12-04T00:55:00.000+08:00

I'm back! Bet my loyal friends have been missing me a lot... More importantly, exams are OVER! Mr Genki is so relieved...

And what would Mr Genki be doing on the first Sunday morning after his exams? Slack? Boooo... (If you thought I will slack...)

Honestly, Mr Genki went for a 10km run organised by Standard Chartered. Well, since I paid a hefty $35 for the run, there's simply no reason for me to slack. Maybe because Mr Genki turned hermit mugging at home for too long, he thought it was really fun to see supporters screaming and the happy faces of many others.

However, I was so appalled by some of the very ugly behaviours of Singaporeans. Water points had been set up along the route for the welfare of the runners. Of course, there are also trash bags for the used paper cups. Does the road looks like a trash bag to them? Why are there so many many used paper cups on the road then? Strange.

Too bad, I didn't have a camera with me to capture this horrendous scene.

Alright, civil-mindedness issue apart... Mr Genki promised that he'll get organised after his exams right?

Before...

After...

Evidently, Mr Genki did get organised... With David Tao in the house...

And this is the David Tao Soul Power Concert CD... Yes, I miss the concert so much... DT, please come to Singapore to perform again soon!

Weapons of Mess Destruction to make a Mess of my life...

2006-11-24T03:24:00.000+08:00

Would you believe that? Mr Genki is blogging at 3:17am during 5th day of reading week. I'm addict to you - blogger.com.

Anyway I'm going to make this post a real short one.

Thanks to reading week, Notes and any other academic material are just piling up on my desk.

What a mess!

And the Weapon of Mess Destruction - Calculus in 3D space.

Will get organized after my exams. Promise!

Reading Week... Read and Reap What You Sow...

2006-11-20T00:52:00.000+08:00

It's Reading Week... What it means is exams are up next! More importantly, holidays are up next next! Well, Mr Genki has been working whole day long, though slowly and sluggishly, nevertheless he worked right?

Yes, like everyone else, Mr Genki gets bored after hours of study and he decides to divert his attention a little to more light hearted activities like blogging... Here's what Mr Genki had been up to for the last 2 days... I'm saying 2 days because I only remember the events back 2 days ago and I know I have volatile memory. Hopefully it does not carry over to my exams... Shivers...

Mr Genki Loves Billy Bombers! Though it's a bit costly to dine there, it's definitely quality food that one is going to get. NO REGRETS!

And what you're seeing in the pic on the top is Seafood Combo. Crispy fried fish fillet, Calamari Rings and Fries, topped with juicy mussles... Oh... I'm in heaven! As for the bottom, it's a dummy jukebox for cosmetic purposes. Note that the coin slots are sealed up (To prevent people from putting coins in?!).

Courtesy of a good scholastic old friend from the NS days, the cost of this sumptous meal was waived. Thanks a lot Chun Kiat (Though Genki knows he may never get to visit his blog).

Yes, I was meeting friends back from NS days. A good session to reminicise the whiny and yet eventful days.

Mr Genki got up late on a Sunday afternoon and merely flipped through the Sunday Times. Nevertheless he was able to find something impressive.

"Role Models to Real Models"

As he thought the photos of this article are merely pictures of some professional models, he was WRONG. These photos are in fact pictures of Soccer Stars!

Impressive isn't it? For all you know they only looked sweaty and unglam when they are on the pitch, they can look
like this after a makeover. From top-right counter-clockwise: Shevchenko, Kaka, Henry and the best of all Mr Genki(without the makeover)!

Well that's all for this entry, hope you didn't mind the poor quality pics taken with a pathetic integrated camera from a Sony Ericsson W550i. Yes, for those who have read my blog, I still want the camera from the previous entry! Good luck to those who are taking exams and those taking them soon. Cheers!

Death Note = Ghim Zhua?

2006-10-29T01:05:00.001+08:00

Nope... Death Note is a HIT! Not "Ghim Zhua" (or Hell Notes some may call it). It's one of those movies with the more complex and yet comprehensible plot. Exciting!

But why does the Death God like the forbidden fruit so much? Just like how Sir Issac Newton enjoyed it... Looks like apple is the ominous fruit, first it's Adam, then it hit Newton's head, now it's associated with the Death God... Geez...

And here's the pic for The Departed... You think the Pseudo-Japanese Mr Genki had forgotten cleanly about Big Daddy Costello after watching Death Note? How can I forget about a charmer like him!

Mr Genki loves the movies!

All Italiano for the Pseudo-Japanese

2006-10-23T23:14:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki simply loves going to the movies. The Prestige, The Departed and The Black Dahlia are The 3 upcoming ones which caught my attention.

Every great magic trick consists of 3 acts. The Pledge, the Turn and the Prestige. Of course, the last of the 3 is the most important one which is always kept secret. Don't spoil the Mojo...

Secrets are invaluable because they are secrets, so don't anyhow tell anyone your secrets. People out there if you want to keep your secrets better don't even let people know that you had one in the first place. So keep out of magic tricks!

"I don't wanna be a product of this society, I wan the society to be a product of ME!", says Big Daddy Costello (Jack Nicholson) in the new blockbuster, The Departed.

When the impressionable Mr Genki heard this in the theatres, he began to think that Italian is so cool. It made me think for a while, is it possible to be Costello? To not even tremble when you held on to a hand (I'm referring to a broken hand that looks like The Thing in the Adam's Family)? To kill people so damn casually like it's nobody's business? Movies are simply amazing.

What ever that is, Italian food in Spizza at Harbour Front is another Italian thing that impressed me dearly. Mr Genki was quite surprised to even find some of his friends appearing in the menu.

So did you find your friend in the menu as well? Well, Mr Genki not only found but eaten his friends. Sounds crude? Not at all as the Italian food in Spizza is simply delizioso...

So what's left on "The" list is The Black Dahlia. My loyal friends out there who have been reading my blog... Who's in?

Mid Autumn Festival In Autumn (MAFIA)

2006-10-06T03:05:00.000+08:00

Mid Autumn Festival of course falls in Autumn lah! Well, as Mr Genki uses too much of his brain juices in academic stuff, he's only able to think of "lame" things as he blogs at 3am this time round!

I should say it has been getting a little hazy recently. On top of that, the haze actually created a mystifying effect by blurring the full moon a bit (Like horror movie hor).

Here's one particular song that Mr Genki would recommend this festive season. That is 月亮代表谁的心 by 陶喆(David Tao). Get yourself into the mood by listening to this piece of oriental flavoured music as you gaze the blurred full moon in MAFIA! Happy MAFIA!

Mr Genki is back... for just one entry... New Hair-do you like it?

2006-10-05T01:57:00.000+08:00

Yes! I'm back... But just for one entry. Says Mr Genki: "New Hair-do you like it?" Still, no pictures to illustrate the "new hair-do" since I ain't got no sponsor to buy a decent camera.

Mr Genki should reiterate the fact that he has been so tied-up with school work that he's left with little choice but to post at 2am. I apologise for being so inactive but I really don't have a choice!

Back to the topic... Melancholy is what Mr Genki has been throw into for the past few weeks. Drowning in deep thoughts about the purpose of paying for University Education. Drowning in thoughts if I've been in the right course. I'm asphyxiating!

Hence, Mr Genki decided on a bad move, that is to vent his frustrations on his hair (those on the head and not anywhere else that you're thinking). The result: Daniel Wu look alike? More like "Damn You, Fool" why go and cut your hair like tat?!

It's Double Trouble for Mr Genki!!! Will it be tripled? Or multiplied by 4? Or worst case tends to infinity??? Beats me...

Well, as I post this latest entry, you still notice that I haven't got any pictures up yet since I ain't got no decent camera. Maybe I should show some improvement by putting a hyperlink. If you are wondering what kind of link is that, think no more... Just click on it... And if you've click on the "Back button" or hit the backspace key and return to my blog, here's my last message to you:

I Want that Camera!

Yeps, to my loyal friends who've been reading this even it has not been updated, the wishlist is now updated!!! You know what to get for Genki this Christmas right? Haha... It just doesn't get any better when it comes to wishlist since they are just wishlist... Cheers!

Discipline! I need Discipline!

2006-09-09T01:36:00.000+08:00

See... Mr Genki displays a lack of discipline as he starts to fade away... ... Fear not, he's back again to bring you more exciting entries on his life.

Recently, I've been strucked with some kind of a sleeping diorder, which caused me to sleep and sleep and sleep. I slept so much that I had to woke up in the middle of the night say 4am to get going with my school work. Such a sudden switch on the "body clock" caused me to take longer afternoon naps. Which in turn caused me to be late for my Japanese lesson.

However, what shook Mr Genki today was how he learnt that people can be so cold towards each other. As I settled down and got started with tutorial today, no doubts there'll always be late birds flying in. One particular hostile late bird caught my attention. Firstly, she's real late. Secondly, she did not try to settle down as quickly as possible. One kind soul was so nice to have stood up and offer his seat to the late bird so that she would save the trouble of squeezing through the row of people to get a chair. But what poor nice guy got was a very cold attitude stare from the late bird and then he was ignored!

Mr Genki was so surprised with how homosapiens can react to such pleasant behaviour with a hostile stare. Seems like Mr Genki's ideal of World Peace is getting more and more distant... ...

Steve Irwin, we'll miss you a lot...

2006-09-05T00:51:00.000+08:00

Mr Genki was very saddened and horrified when he tuned in to the 10pm news at channel 8 and learnt that the renowned "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin had been stung by a stingray and had passed away as a result.

Mr Genki had vivid memories of how the late Steve Irwin once lived as a conservationist and an animal lover. I also remembered how he managed to tame a crocodile and many other dangerous animals with even his bare hands or nothing more than a mere stick that he picked up from the surroundings. His adventures had never failed to bring excitement to his viewers.

Now that Steve Irwin had departed, I'm sure many of us will miss him dearly. However, there is one very little observation that Mr Genki had made which he thought was very endearing. As Mr Genki browsed through his MSN contact list, he noticed that there quite a number of his friends tagging their nick to a turtle emoticon (tu). This was done in remembrance of the joy that Steve Irwin had brought to us through his adventures.

天有不测之风云，人有旦夕祸福... Life is indeed unpredictable, even for the experts. Though Mr Genki was shocked that World Cup winner Italy stumbled to only force a draw with... Erm... Lithuania (!!!), he was more saddened by the departure of our dearest Crocodile Hunter. We'll miss you...

Tough Life! 大変ですね

2006-08-31T00:26:00.000+08:00

Rain! The pseudo-Japanese Mr Genki finally found his Korean counterpart to be the weather today. However, together with rain, comes gloom. Yes, a gloomy day for me as I mugged for Microeconomics through the day learning the bare minimum. Sigh...

As the hardworking Mr Genki sits down seriously to do his Economics Readings on "Latin America's Economy; Drowning in Cheap Coffee", he discovered that he had been ripped off real time by cafes like "The Coffee Connoisseur", "Starbucks" and etc. The article had repeatedly mentioned about a slump in coffee price, but Mr Genki had never felt that in the cafes mentioned. Maybe we're paying that kind of money to feel like a connoisseur (and drink like one too?). Since we're paying that much, we should take small sips like a connoisseur to make our sips worth it right?

I think I should drop those academic subjects for the moment. Mainly because they are deemed to be "no life" subjects (and my blog is All About Life). Or maybe when I become more "pro" in it, then I'll talk about it in greater depth. Can I pay money to feel like a "pro"? Maybe I'm already doing it...

Pay to get your Degree

2006-08-29T00:04:00.000+08:00

As Mr Genki kicks start week 3 of school, he's beginning to get very whiny about things. At the same, Mr Genki misses dearly the lecturers and tutors in Jurong Junior College and the kind of concise but yet useful notes he used to get when he was studying in Junior College. Those were the good old days......

Before I begin on this part, I should say my opinions are solely based on what I think the system has been so far. 3rd week in school and Mr Genki's still struggling to settle down with academic works. Largely because

1) Academic stuff are totally new to me and naturally I should find it hard to adapt in the beginning right? Read On...

2) In lieu of being concise, the lecture notes given were far too concise till the point that it becomes vague. As a "Freshman" or a "Student", I attend school because I want to learn something. And if lecture notes get so vague, students are going to shrug their shoulders or even worse adds on: "I don't know what I don't know!"

3) Again, this part is included due to some kind of learning experience that I had for the day. I was 25 minutes late for a tutorial class today and surprisingly I did not miss a thing. The tutor had barely introduced himself as I scrambled myself into the room looking for a seat. Well, guess puntuality is no longer a virtue already? What's worse? The tutor lacked clarity when speaking and had even claimed that some questions in the Statistics tutorial assignment are rather contentious and had no standard answer to it when he's challenged by the class (I may buy that if I was in a GP class, but Statistics?). I should say at least I've been lucky being deterred by the $2 peak hours cab surcharge, otherwise cab fare would be unjustified.

Generally, some of the lecturers lacked clarity when conducting lessons. Unfortunately for Mr Genki, these lessons are those that he seemed to be more alien to. Now that I can't rely on the notes and a tutor, I would only have my textbooks and peers to turn to (quite fair as most MCQs have 4 choices).

Of course Mr Genki is a fair person (though he had always preferred to be tanned). I should say what's written were mostly based on the more unpleasant experience I had in school so far (and it's only the beginning) which does not apply across the whole of the university. And yes, it's all about independent and self-study in order to get through the program (which there are quite a number of successful examples). Well, if you're paying like more than 6 grands per year to study like that, you can't help but to be disciplined in self-studying right? Hopefully, learning experience will get better and better in time. And also, Gunners, please win your next game!

Blogs also have make-up entries one...

2006-08-28T18:14:00.000+08:00

Well, well, well... Finally I am so "determined" to get my lazybones on the move to bring you guys this 'make-up' entry.

For the past 2 days, Mr Genki became rather 病気 or Byou-ki in Japanese (which means sick). Couple of days back, I attended the NUS Biz-Ball and seriously, the resourcefulness of organising committee again proved to be very impressive. Just $29, I got to enjoy 10 course Chinese dinner (and it was very good food that I'm talking about!), watch all the babes and dudes in the Bizad pageant and a live band performance at Raffles Town Club. More importantly, Mr Genki was given special privilege to interact and take pictures with the pageant contestants.

And of course, we'll have to party till day breaks! As the fortunate Mr Genki gets further privileges of staying back in a room booked by the committee with the other pageant contestants (nothing suggestive huh), the real party - or maybe disaster - begins. Well, I should say even though it's the 七月(the 7th month in Chinese calender, which is also the 'ghost month'), we were more excited than scared to see the amount of spirits we had for the night. Chivas, Vodka, Wine and Beer. But, wait... No Mixers!? Cheers, and 乾乾乾, Bo Tar Bo LP(censored)... Yes, no mixers and so we mixed them altogether. Rounds and rounds of drinking game left Mr Genki without much choices but to drink.

Yes, like you've guessed, I drank like a fish, and puked like the Merlion. #$^&%... What's worse was that Mr Genki saw the Gunners being defeated at the City of Manchester Stadium with his very eyes. With all the alcohol in my blood and the emotional blow due to Arsenals defeat, no doubt I didn't manage to function well the following days. But fear not, the Gunners will come back. Just as I will...

Worries and more worries

2006-08-25T00:14:00.000+08:00

Melancholy is the word of the day. As I stared at my Economics textbook, I am starting to get anxious as I was so overwhelmed by the contents of the book. Can I make it through the program? Still early to tell.

Nevertheless, the Premiership's always full of surprises. Chelsea is definitely blue with melancholy for their early defeat in the Premiership (Maybe Boro just happened to be their nemesis). Will the blues stay blue for long? Beats me...

As Mr Genki brings you this entry, he realised it's already 0000hrs (and he has a class at 0800hrs the tomorrow). Well, people in blue shouldn't be talking or typing too much, but should be in bed being drowned in all thoughts. Till next time... Good Night Jose...

A boring day leading to an astonishing night...

2006-08-23T21:43:00.000+08:00

If every Friday is Friesday, then every Wednesday is MyFreeDay(at least for this semester). Well, no link. While Mr Genki takes his time off his free schedule to bring you this entry of his boring day, he's slightly astonished about certain things.

Sunny is the weather for the day. Thus, I decided to hit the pool and take a short dip. Pouring oil all over the body, lying on the sun-beds to enjoy the sun, oogling at bikini clad chicks(none that I've seen today :P) are the routine things people do under good sun at the pool. Well, Mr Genki promised that he'll talk about Anything Under The Sun. However, as you read on, you'll notice that this part was included only to make up the length of this entry.

As Mr Genki had only been schooling for the past 10 days or so, he had already felt the pressure of being academically overwhelmed and not forgetting financially troubled. Buying textbooks and printing academic materials probably made up the core of my financial burden. And as such, Mr Genki decided to look into financial aid or scholarship the Residential Constituency or RC can provide and hence attended an interview at night.

Wow! I was rather surprised by the fact that how much attention I've been putting on the bigger picture while neglecting the smaller one. I must admit that I've been very passive in participating in the activities organise by the RC (To be fair, how many of you guys have been active?). However, that should not be an excuse of my ignorance of the humanitarian efforts put up by the RC. Apart from my knowledge of the existence of a hospice under the flat where I live, there's actually another humanitarian organisation called "The Loving Hearts Foundation" (if I had not mistaken). I was told that this organisation was set up to help needy people who have problems to even cope with daily basic needs and provide many other services to the RC.

While I thought I was totally embarassed by my ignorance, I think again and again and again. Something's not right. Here's a couple of observations that I've made earlier this month:

1. 8th Aug, NUS flag day. In lieu of me asking for donation, an old man came to me, dumped all his pride, and begged for $2 from me so that he can get on with his dinner. What an irony.

2. 12th Aug, NUS rag day. While I was at the bus shelter near my place waiting for bus 198, I saw another old man, bare top and limping inch by inch, picking up whatever "valuable" he can find in the rubbish bin or on his way.

It simply upsets me when I see all people, I mean old people, struggling to get on with life, where they've already spent their prime years doing so. If humanitarian efforts had been substantial, then why are the hands not reached out to these people? Things like that reminds us that we should put some of our attention at the happenings of the grassroots level and not be too concerned about how Chelsea and Man Utd both owned their opponents in their opening matches of the Premiership. Well, Mr Genki promised he'll talk about anything right eh?

お元気ですかo-genki-desu-ka?

2006-08-23T00:12:00.000+08:00

みんなさんお元気ですか。Finally, after months and months of hesitation, it's decided that I should start this before someone else takes this name. Yes, and Mr Genki is the name where Genki or 元気 in Japanese means healthy. Well, and my purpose of joining the fellowship of bloggers is that I think it'll be very beneficial in improving my use of the English language. But sometimes, indolence just kicked in and then the blog is abandoned. Yes! Discipline, I need more discipline, not only in maintaining the blog but also in many other aspects of my life. And yes, this blog is all about life, talk about anything under the sun, from astro-physics(as if I can) to... Erm... maybe bak chor mee? Cheers people!