2 decades.

Tomorrow I would have completed a whole 2 decades on earth. Currently, mixed feelings are welled up within me. Apprehension for the next stage of my life as well as a certain tingly feeling of excitement are building up within me, among many others. For those who drive, turning 20 feels like the stage in life when you remove your 'P plate' from your vehicle after an year of acquiring a license. Which will be arriving soon as well, in December. Actually, this would be a more accurate description of turning 21. But well, 20 is no joke either. It feels like you can no longer make a mistake on the road and point to the P plate, which serves as a self-explanatory mechanism to inform the driver affected that you're an inexperienced driver.

In any case, for some reason adding a tiny 2 in front of my age feels like a humongous change to my life. It almost feels like the 'next stage', whatever that means. But whatever it is, change comes and this is just one of those changes. I shall accept this bend at the end of the road, which shall wrap up my teenage years and head me in a completely new direction. But at the same time, I think nothing much will change and maybe this will just be my twen-TEENth year, so to speak. I'm excited for what's to come my way, although apprehension's attached to that excitement.

Oh and with the global recession and financial downturn and what not, people should utilise this ingenious idea of a shopping cart (see picture below) to minimize their spending and stick to their bare necessities. I should market this product someday - it'll work wonders. :)

Black House

Obama won. Phew. Thankfully McCain no longer has the avenue to follow in the footsteps of a certain republican predecessor. You know who I'm talking about. And what a historic day yesterday was. America's first african-american president. Something that would have been unimaginable and hard to swallow decades back. I surely hope big changes in the positive light are implemented. We know where most eyes will be focused for the next 4 years at least.

On a more micro level, the semester's drawing to an end SOON. It's one of those instances where you look back and wonder where all the time went. For some unfathomable reason it just feels like the semesters are getting shorter and shorter. Maybe the body's biological clock gets adjusted to the yearly schedules and rhythm sets in. Amazing system, we have. Right from the components of human cells to arms and legs.

In any case, the end of the semester also implies the onset of a system of torture and agony manifested in the form of repeated blows from question booklets conducted during a period of silence - the finals. This is one of the main reasons behind pre-mature ageing of hair for some, and insomnia for others. Whatever it is, the brain cells definitely get more exercise than the body does. Or so has been the case for me, at least. For a long time. Hence the accumulation of 'tyres' around my waist.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Cheers!

Directions.

How many people can say they know exactly where they'll be maybe 5 years from now, or know exactly what is to happen, when and where? I highly doubt anyone can. Well, unless he or she claims to have supernatural, psychic insights or something of the sort. But even then, we don't and will never know exactly where we're headed until it happens and *BAM!* realization throws cold water in your face.

Life is like a maze of some sort. You make a turn and see a corridor in front of you, but when you reach the wall at the end of it, there's another decision to make - to turn right or left. Once you're in the maze, you have a whole series of decisions to make to finally reach your destination. And when you do, another destination commences and you get thrown into yet another maze.

In this loony world of possibilities, anything can happen at anytime. But I do believe one thing strongly, that things happen for a reason. Spiritually speaking, God knows what's best for one. Knowing that works wonders when one has no clue as to why certain things transpire in their life. But at other times, the pile of questions one has overshadows all logical thoughts or thinking processes and leaves one in a daze and completely muddled up.

And in spite of all this, I'd rather not consult a crystal ball for what's to happen in the future (if there ever were such a ball). Maybe we're not meant to have a map of our life with the directions scribbled on them. We're meant to figure these out for ourselves as we tread along the path of life. We're all born with a blank sheet. When we leave this world, we have a map of the directions of our life.

Phelps-piration.

First of all, congratulations to Phelps on having won 8 gold medals. (like he'd ever chance upon this humble blog of mine. But well, you never know.) It was sort of expected though, given his performance in the 2004 olympics (his first shot at the medals). One can really grow and develop himself or herself within a span of a few years if he or she sets her mind, heart and soul to it. Anything is possible. Success comes to those who think they can succeed.

In any case, I subjected myself to the sport of swimming for the first time in maybe 6 years today. I still prefer jogging, but swimming truly works out every inch of your anatomy. Truly and surely. Well, that's if you actually bother to swim laps and not float in the water and look pretty. I'm going to have to endure the aches for some time. I feel fulfilled though. Speaking of swimming, attached below is a video that'll crack you up for sure. A classic, might I add.



Cheers!

The Season of Sunglasses and Umbrellas.

The heat from the 1pm sunshine is enough to fry an egg or a patty on the sidewalk these days. Even if one is indoors enjoying the bliss of a personal air-conditioning system in one's abode, one stare outside the window in the afternoon is enough to make one shudder. Hence the remarkable rise in numbers of umbrellas, classy sunglasses and well, people clad in sun-proof clothing (less clothing). Sunglasses do work for multiple reasons. Eye protection from UV rays is one thing. It also causes the brain to interpret the external heat as more tolerable (due to the shaded effect or the feel of one being in a shade) and hence they perspire less. My personal theory. Logic or not, that's for you to decide.

It feels as though human beings have this innate need to create problems and then fuss over them. Global warming wouldn't exist without the involvement of thousands of millions of people burning fuels excessively and unnecessarily or refusing to do something as simple as recycling a piece of paper. And then we complain about the heat and the suffering we have to endure. More people should give the song 'Man in The Mirror' by Michael Jackson a thorough listen. The chorus, especially. I've pasted it below.

I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
(Ooh!)
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make A Change)

Anyway, that's about it for today's random rambling. Cheers! And God Bless.

The Mummy - Flop.

This entry is my critique of the movie 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor' so if you've yet to catch the movie or are contemplating watching it, continuing to read on is strongly unadvised.

0.5 stars out of 5 is what I would give the movie. This is me being completely honest. The lines used in the movie sounded like they were being read out by amateur actors from a horribly assembled manuscript. They sounded over-rehearsed to the point that they lost their fresh, crisp feel and it didn't help that the dialogues were cliche and predictable. I could predict what the actors were going to utter more often than not. It was that bad. Ok, I'll give some credit to the special effects and what not. But the delivery was just thumbs down. I enjoyed munching on my popcorn more than watching what was being shown on the screen. I very much prefer the older two versions of The Mummy.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Cheers!

Pleasurable Kneading.

I just realized my post title can be interpreted in several ways. I could be referring to kneading dough to make, say, pizza, which I, for some absurd reason, found immense pleasure in. Or it could be another sort of pleasure from kneading. Up to your interpretation. By pleasurable kneading in this case, I'm referring to the lovely massage I went for today. My very first massage. At a discounted rate thanks to Sharifah's voucher.

My masseur happened to be a woman from China who obviously conversed in Chinese and only Chinese. Now how do I convey the message that she's applying pressure to my muscles (or flabs) to the extent that my nerve cells signal to my brain the presence of immense pain? - my very first thought when I entered the private room. My second thought was how many articles of clothing am I supposed to remove exactly. It was my first massage. How was I supposed to be knowledgeable about something of this sort?! They should have a poster with the specifics. Yes they should. However the ambience of the room was lovely, with the soothing music playing in the background and the scent from the aromatherapy candles.

On the whole, it was an enlightening and tension-relieving experience. I'm itching to go for a second massage. Now all I do is wait for a stable job in the future or hope that I get a discount voucher some time soon. OR some kind soul could sponsor it. Massages are rather expensive. Cheers!

Bidding Schmidding.

The time has come. When it's every man and woman for himself/herself. When one wrong move will throw one into misery and extreme sorrow. When paranoia and anxiety hit the top of an emotional parabola. Yes, you guessed it right. Bidding has begun.

For all those not in university yet, bidding is the process by which one acquires modules each semester. Points are accumulated in the accounts as we move from one semester to the next. Basically, we buy modules. This is mostly the period of time I want to get done and over with ASAP so that I no longer have to fuss over my timetable. Long gone are the days of spoon-feeding and being given pieces of paper with our entire academic timetable printed in black-and-white. Long gone are the days when we needed to give excuse letters to avoid doing PE. In fact, long gone are the days when a plate of noodles cost a mere 60cents. Well, things change and the world keeps revolving so we should keep moving along with the flow. After all, no change isn't good either.

In any case, I really hope I get the obstetrics and gynaecology module as my GEM (general elective module). May this period be over in a jiffy. Cheers!

A Clean Slate.

Starting anew - something we do every now and then. Be it after narrowly missing being hit by a double-decker bus or after one has quit a nasty habit and wants to start afresh. My want to start from a clean slate is manifested in the form of my new blog. Perhaps the old blog simply doesn't cry out 'update me' anymore.

In any case, the third semester of university will be commencing soon. No matter how cliché it sounds, time really flies by. No really. It seems just like yesterday or maybe the day before yesterday that I stepped foot into NUS without a clue on how bidding works or where the best eateries are located. And here I am, entering my second year. It's only a matter of time (a few months) before I complete 2 decades on this planet. If you think hard enough, 2 decades is no joke. 20 whole years. Plenty of events can transpire within 20 years. Over the span of 20 years, 2 platypuses (or is the plural platipi? have always been confused) can mature, grow old and die consecutively. I'd have lived the maximum number of years a porcupine can survive for on earth. My goodness. I'm ancient and counting.

In any case, this is about it for now. My very first post. My clean slate. Cheers!