Today was a great day. As usual, this great day really didn't have anything special happening. It just was, somehow, great.

One thing that wasn't so great was having to wake up in the morning to run. Project meeting after that. Muggsish with pegserenexuan at "home" at the normal camp-out at levs 3. Family members like chris, kenneth, spence, bobbs etc. Always good mugging company.

Had Als Jils with weimdzeveseerky. Yums to the tums. Shit feel damn hungry thinking about good dinns was. Watched Meet The Robinsons also. OMG DAMN NICE. One of the best movies ever. Please stop reading now and book tickets online.

Good to have a night out with the bros. Been a long while since we've been able to meet up. Overdue square.

Just another great day with friends.

buy buy seh woongs

Today was our last marketing lesson. Will miss seh-woongs and his jokes. I cannot believe that during his last few slides, seh-woongs wanted to play a bloody KENNY G track while he was saying his goodbyes. Unfortunately he couldn't get it to work. SEriousllllllly. Damn sad. Every week we had 1.5 hours of pure nonsense to look forward to. Now it's like meaningless kind.

To eric, serene, gabe and lloyd. Bestest proj group ever. pwnage square.

To be honest, just damn happy the classes are over and done with. DAMN TIRED. Dunno how to deal with my internship coming April 23rd. I need a break.

Damn glad for the friends I've made this term and the friends I've kept. Despite the amzingly amzing workload, It's been a great term.

boonsisthebest@hotmail

If my life was a tv show, friendship would be a recurring theme in the series. Just when you think you've figured out what it's about, it has a way of surprising you. This term has been a test of friendship. I've been swamped with work and well, work. And the same goes for everyone else. For some strange reason, everyone's just more busy this term. It's in your busyness that you realise the friends who always care. Who will ask how your day has been. Who will ask you to go to bed early and get some rest. Who will ask you when are we meeting for lunch next. The friends who don't ask for anything, no favours, but just your company. It doesn't take much, but it means so much. As life gets more complicated, real friendship becomes even more simple. Thank God for these friends. Thank God.

The Ian Retriever

Everyone who is dear to me knows that I lose things all the time. I have given up on pencil boxes because I lose all my pens before I get to put them inside the pencil box. But even more marvelous than my uncanny ability to lose things, is my ability to get things back. (laptop included)

Last night, the gate was open and cookie ran out. The next morning, he was missing. One of the neighbours maid's said he was led away by someone. Mike was first to go searching for cookie on his bike but couldn't find him. Me, armed with my tagalog speaking maid Margi, went to look for mike. In a prolonged game of treasure hunt with several helpful maids involved, they pointed us to a house. Luckily for us, they took cookie to the spca.

Getting to the spca was a beyotch. It's bloody north-east of the island. 31 mount vernon road. Armed with mikey and a vague recollection of streetdirectory.com, we got there. It was sad to see the animals. Some of them wouldn't be lucky as cookie. When we saw him, I think we were alot more happy to see him. Cookie just looked abit dazed. Like a whole night of partying and freedom and unbridled sex with strange dogs. Ok minus the last part.

So anyways I was happy to get my stupid dog back. Even if he is stupid sometimes. I was so grateful I bought 8 spca diaries. I wanted 10 but they ran out. Oh well.

* Bah if you're reading this:
1. stop reading my blog again
2. kidding
3. sending me photos of you taking the ski lift in japan is not making me feel better
4. if you're going to continue reading, just know that I need a electric keyboard soon
5. have fun in Japan
6. the appleshop carries the keyboard

Bought a shure mic with a stand today with Eric and Gabe. After a long day, it was nice to have some quiet time to record a full song. It's a duet haha. Well at least now it is. This one's one of my favourites. Hey Allison. This one's ones for you.

Now That I've Found You - Allison Krauss and Ian

For the first time in yonks, I had some time to kick back and relax today. Had a good time lunching with adelgabenricene and lazing with geric at the pacific coffee something. Good company.

This is track no.2. Part of it, I haven't got to chorus yet. It's very 80's rock. Original stuff this time, music and lyrics. Not a cover. I love the 80's rock sound. Longs lives Bon Joves. I swear during the hols I'll finish the tracks. Duet with Eric and Serene. Comsperm.

The mac is amazing. I'm inclined to go buy a proper mic instead of singing into the stupid isight mic and getting saliva on it. Ok overshare.

It's an untitled track for now. Hope it sounds good.

Untitled Track - Ian

Thanks to a little computer called the Mac, I've released my first single. Well ok actually a short one. It's a cover of the Guns n Roses / Sheryl Crow classic. Enjoy. This one's dedicated to Mom, and Norainee, who's going to be a mom soon! Enjoy.

click on the single cover to download:

Hmm I think I need more practice. I haven't drawn superheroes in awhile. Maybe its the yellow undies.

It's 2.32am and I'm not sleeping. Damn you mac. I was supposed to be doing work today and I ended up fidling with all your settings and downloading a million programs, serials and cracks. Thanks to Mark Cheng, I've downloaded $1000s worth of software for free and registered all of them. Got a million and one desktop widgets and random designing software. My only regret is not getting the 120gb mac. Damnit.

Damn you Steve for running the company that made this total time destroyer. My current sony MP3 player doesn't work with the mac and now I'm considering going to the apple shop to get a new shuffle. Orange please. Damn you jobbs.

Is the mac fucking addictive or is it fucking addictive. Screw microsoft seriously. If you lent a mac to every windows user on the planet for a week, they'd prob throw the mac out of the windows even before it reached the end of the week. I am really loving the mac. It's the best thing ever. With so much cool (free) design software on a virtually lag-free no-defrag-necessary system, I have really opened my eyes to a host of artistic capability on the best looking laptop ever.

Forget nintendo, Mac, you've done me in good this time.

If you spend $500 worth of money on an electric tablet for your laptop, you better have something to show for it.

Losing (and retrieving) Laptops 101 - coursecode: LARL101

This course will cover the basics of losing your laptop. For learning purposes we will be using the IBM T43 as our demonstration set to simulate real life settings. By the end of the term you should be able to lose your laptop and retrieve it with ease and finesse.

Method:

1. Lose your laptop in a place with many surveilance cameras. eg. Dover MRT station platform seating area

2. Call any number remotely related to the place you left it at. eg. All the MRT stations. Leave your handphone number with them.

3. Do not call IBM because they don't give a shit

4. Do not call CIT because they are shits

5. Call your best friend to feel better (or worse depending)

6. Get a Dad who will love you unconditionally

7. Tell your dad, even if the retail value of the relationship may drop to around the same price as the missing laptop

8. Do not go and buy a macbook and buy cute accessories for it just because you think no one will ever give your laptop back

9. Wait 24 hours for the MRT people to call you back and say some dubious person returned it

10. Do not assume people returned your laptop because they found out that they couldn't unlock your computer and they were scared shitless after looking at the surveillence cameras again. Good will was involved.

11. Find ways to convince your dad you did NOT intentionally lose your laptop just to get a white macbook to match your Nintendo DS

12. Post your IBM T43 on yahoo auctions

13. Laugh

Today I bought a $500 drawing tablet for my laptop. I didn't even think twice about it. In a way I knew that this purchase was long overdue.

I remember always painting and drawing when I was younger. Forever doodling in class, but I somehow stopped this good bad habit.

I don't really believe in God. But if he's out there somewhere, then I thank him for giving me the gift of art.

I'd be an artist now if it wasn't for the fact that I value a stable income more. But the thing about passion is that it can never escape you.

I tried using the tablet with corel painter and the results are pretty good. I'm still getting used to drawing on the tablet and looking on the screen to see where the brush is going, but I'll get there somehow.

I might be a banker, a marketer, an ice cream man in future. But one thing I'll always be, is an artist.

I love this painting. The inspiration for this was spontaneous. I think it's a reflection of myself because I love nature. There's a sense of balance in the painting. Land and sea. Sky and Earth. I believe it represents a quiet sense of harmony that I've been feeling lately. I like the enigmatic expression on his face because I myself have no idea what this boy is thinking. But I'm sure, like me, he's pretty happy right now.

Haha I think this cat is cute. I don't know why I chose purple though. I just wanted something random. I love drawing animals. People are so much harder to draw. And you can make animal eyes super big and anime-ish.

Promise

I'm glad you got a job with SIA. I think it's just about the right time you ditched Quiksilver for something bigger and better. I've always thought you have so much potential, and you're finally taking your first step towards achieving something big for yourself.

It'll be an amzing experience. You'll be able to see how big the world really is. I've told you about Canada, about travelling to Japan. You'll get to understand what I mean. I've been lucky to see many parts of the world, and now's your chance too. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, come visit.

I think back on all the good old days. All the swims, suppers and nonsense with fatso. It's amazing how we're all growing up. I haven't seen you in ages. And I bet once you start flying it'll only get harder to meet up.

But, I hope you'll always think back on the good old days. Those were some good times. Alot has changed I guess. But not that much. I'll always cover your back, and I'll be there for you every step of the way. Promise. Bros always.

Yay. Gabes got the Ernest & Young interview on wed. LUCKS GABES! The first thing Tiff said to me today was "subway lunch buddy". Tots. Lin Ting also got pdubs so lunch budds galores. There's a subway next to the pdubs building so I can see myself eating subway for aone month. Looks like we'll all be having a busy holiday.

I bought a $6.10 bag of potato chips today. The potatoes are from south america (whatever) apparently, thus the high price. Did I mention the potatoes are also blue in color? The randomness of it all. I almost expect a tan, skinny, latin boy rock climbing, picking blue potatoes from some 30000m high rock face in Peru. Ok not really.

I am thinking of buying a drawing tablet for my laptop. What it does is allow you to "paint" and "sketch" using a sensitive electronic pen. On the computer, it looks just like a painting. The only catch is that it costs $500. Ouch. I told bap about it this morning cuz i thought it was cool. The next thing I know I'm in the school library studying when bap calls me to say he's at Funan looking for it. WTH. Thanks bap. Luckily it was out of stock otherwise he would have bought it on the spot. Damn. Kidding. Actually damn. Thanks square bap. I'd do the same for you once I open my ice cream parlour.

I've always loved to draw, paint and sketch. I've almost forgotten that art is really my forte. Time to pick it up again.

Dear friend. I dunno what's been up with you, but you haven't been yourself. The other people around you will also agree you've been kinda missing in action. I think we all miss the old friend we knew. You seem very distant. And I only hear of you when you need a favour. I've been hoping to speak with you to make sure things are ok, but you seem hollow when I talk to you. I remember how we joked things would turn out this way. But it isn't really much of a joke anymore. I want the old friend back.

Simple

This was a good week. Nothing much happened really. But I dunno sometimes the best weeks are the ones where nothing much really happens. Supps with the specs, dunno how many Mario Kart races with Weims, 2 trips to the IT show.

The weekend was tiring, was in school on both days. Studied with weimseedel on sat and had als jils for dinner. Yums. Met Timnimah for 300 at great world city. Quite good a movie.

Sun was proj meets with Llangaberic. Went to the IT fair AGAIN, almost being crushed by hoardes of nerds gone wild volume 3. Carl's Jr for dinner. Yums volume 2.

Cheryl said she got an internship with MDA. Media Developement Authority I think. Or association. I think it will be cool. Gabe is applying for pdubs also and I hope he gets it so we can meet for lunch. Now that pdubs is out of the way I hope uncle loong can get back to me about my citibank internship. I'm hoping to do a back2back this summer before term starts. Norainee's baby is due in april, not say the biggest summer internship ever.

A simple, good week.

Baby Blue Bins

Today was an interesting day for 2 reasons.

1. I walked into the girl's toilet today.

2. I finally got my pwc internship.

More about the more important one, which is my first point. The story goes I was damn shack in school today cuz I slept late and woke up early for something on in school. So I left my project meeting to go to the toilet.

Because I am a social science student (excuses galores), I'm not exactly too familiar with the business toilets (excuses volume 2), so I pushed the toilet door open. For some strange reason, the toilets were DAMN clean and damn quiet also. Yeah so whatever right. Then I took about 2 steps into the toilet when I was thinking, "Eh where are all the urin.... OMFG!!!!!".

You know. Time totally stood still for one second. With the power of Roger Banister on drugs and Hiro Nakamura combined, I darted, no I FLEW OUT of the toilet and totally prayed no one saw that. Otherwise cool factor minus 1000000000000000 pts. You have no idea seriously.

Now I get the significance of the baby blue bins all around the toilet.

KNNCCB

Taking Charge

I think as we get older, every McDonald's meal we upsize seems to upsize our weight by two-fold as well. The start of the year was terrible for me because I ate at least 3 McDee's meals a week out of convenience, which is not healthy.

I been fortunate to always have been able to keep myself in shape no matter how much I eat, but the concern is not about how I look, it's about how I feel. At the start of the year, I felt sick eating all the junk I was eating. I don't know if it was real, but I really did feel my heart was taking a toll on all the unhealthy food I had eaten. My family has a history of heart disease and both my grandfather and father have had heart attacks before.

Recently, I started exercising and cutting down on all my junkfood. I feel alot better about myself now. I really don't feel like I'm going to die of a heart attack at any moment. Recently, I made the decision to cut down on my instant noodle suppers with miso soup instead. For 60cents a packet, I get a warming bowl of soup that doesn't do the damage of 2 packets (always 2) of instant noodles.

For those of you who don't know, miso soup has been known to prevent cancer like stomach, liver and breast cancer. Tons of fermented miso beans were sent to Europe after the Chernobyl radiation accident to counter the side effects of radiation.

"Miso Can Control Cholesterol Level. Soybeans which are the raw ingredient of Miso contain seven components (i.e., vitamin E, linoleic acid, plant sterols, soya lecithin, soya protein, food fiber, and saponin) that exhibit a suppressive effect on high cholesterol level in blood. Linoleic acid promotes the excretion of cholesterol from the body system. Plant sterol has an inhibitory action against the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine. Vitamin E is a rich component in HDL that transports unnecessary cholesterol in blood and plays a role in increasing the HDL level. In particular, these three components work synergetically to exhibit a significant suppressive effect on cholesterol. Such suppressive effect of elevated cholesterol level can be transferred to Miso and retain its original functions. "

Since 2 weeks ago, I've been taking a bowl a day before I go to bed or in the morning. I find it alot easier eating something that is delicious, and potentially beneficial for my health.

I remember cooking in Vancouver for a month. It was great to cook for myself because I could buy amazingly fresh produce from the grocers. I froze containers of tupperware filled with stirfried vegetables and chicken so I could defrost them and have them as and when I felt like a good meal. Thinking back on how healthy I ate in Vancouver, I think I should start eating healthy again.

I think as we grow older, we have to face the reality that at one point or another, we're going to face a major illness of some sort. And one way to best deal with it is by having a balanced diet. But I think the hardest part is commitment. We better start now. One miso soup at a time.

God is a DJ slash Commedian slash Gotcha Host

I was sleeping again. Then the phone rang and someone vague called me to say that she took so long to get back to me because they were opening new internships in Advisory (which is the act-consulting part of the company). HAHA... God, you funny. Trying to act Gotcha Host right? First I dream about my internship, and then next I get another dream about it?

Well as I was waking up and reaching conciousness, I realised that I was still talking to the vague person, and that vague person was actually Evelyn from p dubs HR. Ok. Shit. Totally trying not not to sound like I just woke up after skipping school today to sleep in, my brain immediately went into auto-pilot internship interview mode. She said she'll get back to me soon.

Hilds also applied for the same position and I think she said many others applied for it too. Apparently there are only 2 positions for grabs. Tiff told me she got p dub's tax internship already. Which means I have a subway lunch buddy if I get the internship.

Haha god. Good one. If you are reading my blog (again) can you leave a comment about when exactly Evelyn will get back to me?

Dear Nintendo,

I would like to thank you for making my day fun. I was in the library just now, and despite the fact that I was seated, I was actually racing my friend Weims until we burst out laughing, much to the disgust of the other (jealous) people in the library. Nerds Gone Wild volume 2.

Thank you for letting me hang out with the in-crowd. Today I helped Lara Croft find a missing temple and went racing with the Mario Brothers. It was fun today, but tomorrow I plan to catch up with my errands. I will probably have to walk Toby, solve a murder case, complete some IQ questions, and lead an army in war. It will be a long day.

I wish you knew the burden of having a nintendo dear nintendo. It's easy for you to say cuz you're just the company making the computers. But what about the millions of people who have to go to school every day and fight battles on the buses? The people feeding their dogs and cleaning up their poop during class? The people customizing their Need For Speed Underground cars on their way home? Sigh I wish you knew.

Dear nintendo, you've done so much for me. But I haven't even completed a single game yet. You keep releasing tons and tons of games for me but I cannot keep up. I... I have let you down.

I hope you're reading this. And understanding how it feels being a nintendo owner. Such a heavy burden, yet filled with so much pride. I dedicate Toby's master class frisbee trophy to you.

Sincerely,

Ian (and Toby)

The Latter

I had a stupid dream. The PriceWaterhouse Coopers people called me to say I got the internship. And obviously when I woke up there was a second of "omg did I actually get it?", and then another moment of "thanks ALOT God." Btw the two of us, I believe god has more of a sense of humor than me.

It's terribly sad to be so preoccupied with getting an internship, but it would be twice as ignorant and three times as daft to think that internships aren't important. So between the 2 stupids, I choose the less stupid.

It's when you dream about your damn internships do you know you really need to get a life. Either that or you just need to get the damn internship. The latter please. No joking this time God. Remember the song "what if god were one of us?". You'd be just about as anxious as me big guy.

Journey to the Best

Me, Gabe and Eric went to kops to meet Angsish and Pegs for lunch. Lo and behold, a new nasi padang stall had risen from the grave of the fallen Lezaat Stall. God bless Lezaat. In its short but eventful life, it served the best grilled chicken rice in the history of grilled chicken rice.

The new nasi padang stall had fantastic rice dishes but the mee soto kinda sucked. But it's ok because the nasi padang was awes poss and the curry was damn pedas square. It definately blows the rest of the stalls out of the water.

Seriously eric was on fire today. Totally Saltimbanco meets Saturday Night Live square. All you need is the "applause" sign and he's primetime ready. Serene also whole life, "OH MY ths eric seriouslyyyyy SHUTTTTSSSSS ar..."

Highlight of the day '07 was the pilgrimage to Al Jilani. Even more awes poss than the Journey to The West, I assembled Weims, Phoebes, Tiff, Da and Lance to seek the sacred Ayam Goreng Bryani. Was it good or was it good. Now I remember why we bother walking 400m carrying our 2.2kg laptops to Als Jils. Tots destroyers of fried chicken. We made the pocahontas savages look good. Kills Jils square.

mutton steak smiles for the camera