ABC, 123, Do Re Mi.

The ABC shot is the only shot you need for the night. It's not that easy as 1-2-3 and it'll result in a whole different Do-Re-Mi.

ABC ftw!! :P

Songs

You know how sometimes seeing or touching certain things makes you feel very nostalgic, a wave of memories come rushing through your mind? Well, I was listening to one of Teddy Geiger's songs and I was swept with that nostalgic feeling. It brings me back to the time when I was in KL, in my cave for a room.

Come to think of it, I've got a lot of songs that bring me back to the time I was in KL. Others, back to my matriculation days. Just shows where the memory milestones, if I may call it that, are in my life. It's been a good trip down the road called Life. Now with someone to share it with makes it all the more special :)

Now you really do thank God for his blessings.

Down

Youtube for the first time in my life, has been rendered inaccessible due to a, I quote, "500 Internal Server Error". Ah well..there's a first time for everything.

Primer

Had my first pre-session class today on Biotechnology. The point of the class was to introduce the basic terminology used in Biotechnology. Boy was it a killer. I did law because I had enough with the sciences and that is why I get off with miscalculation of numbers :P

I'm comforted by the fact that I won't have to be dealing with the science but much rather the law in regulating the technology created by the science. I must say it was a pretty interesting 3 hours to see what we have achieved and the possibilities.

I'm reminded of the episode on Family Guy where Peter (the dad) ate 40 hamburgers and got a stroke which resulted in his right portion of his body being paralysed. He then went to a stem cell research clinic and he was all better again. What's really cool is that in theory, that's really possible. The problem's that the human body is way too complex and lotsa other science stuff in the way. I was just intrigued by the possibility of it.

Well the good news is that tomorrow's the law stuff and class proper so should be relatively smooth sailing from here on out. I'm just worried about the assignments. keeping my fingers cross that there are not too many terms involved!!

Exious

I've created a new word. It's called Exious. It's the combination of:

EXcited + anxIOUS = EXIOUS.

At any rate, I've been feeling excited as well as anxious as semester school begins tomorrow. It's not so much as butterflies in your stomach but more of a creeping feeling. It's my final year and I guess the thought of me having to clear everything for me to graduate is subconsciously heaving little amounts of pressure on me. But like I said, I'm in my final year. I've been through 3 years of my degree so there's nothing to fear really.

I know I can do this.

I know I must.

~ All this stress is making me hungry. McDs!! ~

20 Reasons Why Singapore Is Great

Yes, it isn't 50 reasons. That was just an exaggeration due to my Singapore happy high. Instead, here's the 20 reasons why Singapore is great:

1. The public phones are free.

2. There is such a thing called a taxi co-ordinator.

3. The taxis in Singapore are really new. Not like in Malaysia where it's mostly old proton Sagas.

4. The driving school mainly use a Toyota Vios to train drivers. Waaaayyyyy better than using your little Kancil car.

5. You don't see any small cars like Kancil or Kenari on the road.

6. The toll system is superb. It works the same way as the Smart Tag does just that you don't have to slow down for it to scan. It just works soooo well.

7. . The ticket's you use for parking are colour coordinated and different colours have different values. Eg: Orange is worth 50 cents and purple is worth 1 dollar. So, if you need to park for an hour which costs 1 dollar, you can either put two orange tickets, or one purple one.

8. The same tagging thing for tolls can be used to charge for parking in HDB flats or other parking areas where it doesn't require a ticket.

9. They have very nice bak kut teh. Although it's very peppery, like I said, it is a good alternative to the herbal ones.

10. I can just leave my things in the car and don't have to worry about it getting stolen because people there are just so well paid that they don't resort to that. Hahahaha....

11. The train system there is great. Just like the Tube in London, most of it are underground. So you don't have to share space.

12. There's plenty of shopping malls. TOO many actually.

13. The primary schools here are huge and very nicely designed.

14. The secondary schools are even bigger!!

15. I like the bak chor mee. BUT BUT, kolok mee is still the best :)

16. Shopping is pretty convenient as most of the major shopping malls are located on the same street.

17. They have a 4 floor Forever 21!! How crazy is that?

18. The cling wrap at the airport is green in colour. IT'S GREEN!! Who wraps bags in green cling wrap? :P

19. The musical stuffs sold in Singapore are wayyyy cheaper than other places.

20. I have friends from Singapore who are willing to wake up at 7am to pick me up from the airport and take me out the whole day even though they are super sleepy.

Lion-pore Pt 2: The Malaysia Dilemma

I don't know whether it's because I'm so pro opposition (but I dislike the government no the country) or that I have very little Malaysian pride, I really love Singapore. I always told people that Malaysia was a great country, just that the government wasn't so great. The idea behind this saying was it is because of such governance that places like Murni's in ss2, PJ has managed to occupy the whole street as their mamak place and not get caught by the authorities. Or to be able to pee in public places as long as you're not caught. Or to eat chewing gum!!

Now, after a brief day trip visit to Singapore, this is my new saying. "Malaysia is a great country, but Singapore is even greater!" Yes my friends, it is this bloggers opinion that Singapore is indeed greater. The reason behind this being that it has almost everything that Malaysia has, as fas as I'm concerned la, and a better and more transparent govenrment. A very prime example on Singapore's good governance is how they've handle their finances. A small ass country with no natural resources has managed to hold a higher currency than Malaysia and almost rivals Australia. The paradigm shift here is the result of an unveiling of once overlooked things. Things like how the police officers are paid very well, hence less tendency for corruption. Or how ministers are paid very well, hence less likely for corruption. Or how the schools alumni really give back into their schools, knowing how important education is (maybe cuz they're just so freakin' kiasu. You decide).

Don't get me wrong. I am not putting Malaysia down. As I have said, it is a great country. My point is that it is possible for Malaysia to be even greater than it can be right now. There is just sooooo much room for improvement. What's stopping us? The government. And please get me right here. I am dissing the government. Of course, in every country, there is a form of government. And these are made up from people, human beings that were elected by the other people, human beings. So let's all be realistic here. Human beings aren't perfect so naturally not every government is perfect. While that is a valid and certain truth, the problem with Malaysia is that the government is too close to imperfection. Corruption is so blatant and widespread that even a screwdriver can cost RM500. Here's another thought. Why do you think we don't have super resorts like Sentosa beach or the Sands in Singapore? It's because it'll just cost too much!! Everyone here wants to stick their hand in as many cookie jars as they can, all trying to get the biggest cookie. Also, there are very lame rules in Sarawak on how buildings cannot be taller than buildings that the Chief Minister has built or owns.

It is sad to see that the government does not want to change and after 50 years, where has it left us? Very well behind Singapore. I really have lost a little bit of my Malaysian pride and I now fully understand why they are people who want out. I suppose this is a good wake up call to what my dad is trying to do in politics. Now, after finding out that Singapore has everything that Malaysia offers and much much more, the future of me staying in Malaysia is getting bleaker. I suppose this could just be a 'happy high' one feels after oooh-ing and aaah-ing, and may have clouded my judgments. Regardless, if there is a hope for change, then I guess I'm staying :)

Lion-pore Pt 1

If you're Malaysian and still haven't gotten the really lame joke, I suggest you get a CT scan :P That aside, it really was a mind blowing experience going to Singapore this year (18th Jan) because at my age, I paid attention to a whole different set of things. The last time I was in Singapore was 5 years ago and the only thing that I could remember was that I was always on the look out for pretty girls. My point is that my priority and focus has changed la for holidays now. Yes that's my point.

ANYWAYS..

Firstly, a big big thank you to Elvine Neo, Marcus Chew, and Lynn for the tour around Singapore. To Elvine and Marcus for their valiant efforts in keeping awake the whole day while showing me and my brother around Singapore. Also, a special thanks to Elvine for getting my new awesome Taylor 414ce for me and bro (just picked it from my cousin's place, he didn't buy it for me ok?*I wish :P*) And to Lynn, who managed to get her make up all done in the car, and still managed to tell me stuff about Singapore on the way to work.

So after coming back again after 5 years, Singapore has, if I may quote Russell Peters, BLASTED MY MIND. The moment I landed in the arrival terminal I told my brother that I was going to post on my blog "50 reasons why Singapore is great", which I am hoping to get done after this.

To start of the greatness of Singapore, I'll start with their very own Singapore bak kut teh. I must say that this was definitely a gastronomical treat/torture. Most Malaysians think that all Singapore foods are copied and changed a little by the Singaporeans. I suppose this could be one of the modified foods but I must say that it could be very well be an attractive alternative to bak kut teh. Now, for some of you people who don't know what bak kut teh is, or have heard and eaten and still don't know what it is, it's basically pork ribs in pork stock. Most Malaysians associate bak kut teh with pork ribs in black herbal pork soup and eaten with rice and yew cha kueh. All this is done similarly with Singapore's bak kut teh except one thing. Instead of herbs, Singaporeans put in a whole bag of pepper into their soup!! So the big difference here is that Singapore's bak kut teh is very very very peppery which I found to my own surprise, very good. The meat wasn't hard to pull of the bone and the food was complimented with an interesting tea that had a very sweet after taste.

Next up was Ion Orchard, Orchard Road's new shopping mall. A friend of mine said that Singapore has too many shopping malls. I now know why. Singapore really has too many shopping malls. Anyways, Ion was great. Apparently, the higher you go, the more expensive things get. A good guide would be if you're shopping with your friends, you might want to stick around B3 to B1. Level 1 and above, you've got to bring your parents :) Of course I went the whole 9 yards and went from the bottom to the top to window shop, obviously. Lunch was Singapore's bak chor mee at Ion's food court. I think that's how you spell it. It's translated to mean minced pork meat and mushrooms. That's what Marcus told me. Although I didn't see any mushrooms, it was uber good. There's a good mix of 4 different sauces including vinegar and chilli along with the noodles and the meat toppings went deliciously well with the noodles all except one; the dried fish. Apparently I'm supposed to eat that first before eating the noodles kinda like an appetiser before the main meal. Funny much?After lunch was a road trip around the major parts of Singapore city which included Singapore's CBD, the Sands resort and the very windy Marina Barrage.

Now I've been saving the mind blasting part for the last :D I found this to be the most jaw dropping, the most 'oooh-aaah' moments during the trip. Ok, so the mind blasting part were the schools. Be it primary, secondary or colleges, the schools in Singapore are big ass epic huge/gargantuan/colossal/go look at the thesaurus. The Paya Lebar Methodist Girl's School building was as big as KDU college. No joke. It could be that since Singapore doesn't have much land so the schools must be pretty big to accommodate all the kids. That's not the case. Check this link for the list of schools in Singapore.

Now this primary school was just the tip of the mind blast iceberg. Next up is Raffles Institution (RI). IF you're from Malaysia, you'll know that all schools have the same architecture. You have one block for the staff room, a few blocks for the classrooms, some blocks for the labs and etc. With that mentality, you'll never spot RI from a distance. That's because RI can pass as some sort of corporation HQ building. There's also the Australian International School which could pass off as a hotel. It's big very nicely designed. I didn't manage to see NUS but to top it all of was the School of the Arts (SOTA). Very very corporate building with a nice dressing of creeper plants. I am really sorry that I could not take any pictures as I did not have a good enough camera to take pictures on the move so to really get things in perspective, the reader needs to go to Singapore.

With all that's been seen and said, I know where I'm going for my next holiday.