seek.inspire.risk.adventure.

Torned, and piecing together the parts

2008-01-24T09:13:00.000+13:00

That is so right. This month as again, has been more than hectic for me as usual. I don't know why or how, that I'm consistently challenged for time. It sucks, and with less time=less things get done. But then again, now that I look back and review my steps, I seriously don't know where all the time went. GG.

Life's been tough. Really. So many things going on in my head its not even funny. I'm confused. I'm unmotivated. I'm screwed.

So that's my irritated rant. Looking forward:-
1) Leaving my current job
2) Starting my job at Canterbury Card on 1 February 2008
3) Spend more time with Church
4) Spend more time with friends
5) Spend more time with Eunice
6) Activities and more activities
7) Getting into more serious photography and digital art aka Photoshop
8) AIESEC, well....ugh.. we'll see about that
9) Starting Honours
10) Japan conference/trip

Hmm.. that's 10 things that I can currently think of, and I sure did miss out some, but it just doesn't register in my head at the moment.

On a side note, a week or two ago, the Macbook Air was released. That's right fellas. Thinnovation. "The World's Thinnest Notebook" . Dang, I'd seriously love to get one of those. Like, man, that is superb. It clearly does look so pretty just like Toshiba's Portege series. Heck, this is even better. I can see where the design came from, and I think not many care to even bother, but I'd say it anyway. That's right, it has the same design concept of the latest(3rd gen) iPod Nano. One that I have, and silver in colour too. Gorgeously curvy and sexy. OoooooooOOohhhh.

Rewind a couple of days back, and I was back playing World of Warcraft- in a private server. No fees. Nice. But laggy and consistently bugged, it's just not even playable. WoW has become so mundane, boring and repetitive that it isn't fun to play anymore. After a few hours, I felt like vomiting at my seat. Nice try Cheong, but I think I'd pass on your offer to play WoW again.

Fast forward to today, I felt like the for the last couple of weeks, or months to be honest, I had been seriously sleep deprived, possibly suffering from insomnia but that characteristic must've been masked subtly in my conscience, cheating me and my body. It's also quite retarded that pharmacists require prescriptions to purchase sleeping pills, and I doubt doctors here would even allow patients to purchase sleeping pills. Maybe its because it's the most common matter for drug abuse, mostly suicide attempts.
On that same note, look here

excerpt:-
Just months after struggling with insomnia and stress over two demanding film roles Heath Ledger is dead, discovered with prescription drugs, including sleeping pills, nearby.

"Insomnia was limiting him to an average two hours sleep a night.

He had taken a drug, Ambien, to little effect: one pill was ineffective and after he took a second he slept an hour but then woke, his mind racing.

"My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going," he said, while admitting he had "stressed out a little too much" about his role in the Bob Dylan film I'm Not There."

Yup, damn right, sleeping pills. AND insomnia. Couple that together and you have a potential timebomb that is ticking in your body. Sadly enough, what Heath is facing is exactly what I am facing now. Averaging two hours sleep a night. "My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going". "Stressed out a little too much". Yup, that sure sounds like me. Without the drugs (because I can't freaking get it easily here) of course. I have a potential timebomb in me that has begun started ticking already I'm afraid.

And now, time to change that all. Yeap, BE the change. Make it happen before i burnout and die without a cause, alone. So that should be my major concern for the next 2 weeks or so. To make changes happen in my life for the better.

Finally, I'd like to add that last night I was enlightened and inspired with reading a friend's friend blog, who goes by the name of Huei. Not that I really know this person, but only seen her a couple of times during my high school days and once, or twice during my early years in university, she is young, being 18 this year, and boy oh boy her graphic design skill just amazes me with her portfolio and all her graphic work.

Like, with that sort of level of creativity and competency in digital art, AS WELL AS photography, it becomes a deadly combo that is highly required in the digital media world. If she were to start her own design company today, she'd nailed it right on the spot and start making big bucks.

Not only that, she also has the ability to produce amazingly creative and fantastic graphics work in a relatively short time/notice. With just a minimal two hours into work, and she has a brand spanking new poster that is worthy of printing and putting up in the streets. For me, to work on one freaking touch up on a picture, hear me, I said ONE, takes me hours on end to get it right.
So with her level of ability, she is like a role model to me, even at her tender age. Geee, the generation nowadays. Looks like in time I'll be completely out of this technology age, just like my parents and their generation. Ugh, the horror !

To top it off, she has bought an entire darkroom set a year or so a go from a guy in Cashmere selling for only $200 where it would have costed about $5000. And so, she has a darkroom in her house. Fantastic.

Her photography. Damn fine I'd say. She uses a fully-manual film Yashica camera that is like what?, 30 years old? F***, if a young girl can use a fully-manual film camera in this day, her talent is equivalent to a professional photographer. I even have difficulties adjusting exposures on my easy-to-use Canon 400D DSLR. Huei is a person that I'd look up to, just because of this. Fully-manual film camera, darkroom processing (think chemicals,skill and time), and digital art and post-processing. This level of talent in a young girl is certainly hard to come by. Man, I'd seriously would like to date a girl which has these talents so that we can spend more time with one another sharing something that we're passionate about together.

Boy oh boy, writing this up already fuels me with the inspiration to get into more serious digital post-processing playing around and learning more and as fast as I can in Photoshop and photography. I need more practice, more time to go out and more pictures definitely! Practice, practice, practice.

p/s: At work at the moment, will post the link to the blog when I'm home.

So that's my long rant catch-up over the past couple of weeks. Ta.

New Year, New Resolutions, Start Blogging.. yeah like for real

2008-01-08T09:41:00.000+13:00

So back awhile ago, we bid goodbye to year 2007, and if there was anything that I have to add to that farewell note, I would say it had been a pretty fantastic year. Let me see, in a nutshell;

Got involved with AIESEC
Attended conferences
Made new friendships
Got closer to Eunice Jie Jie
Get 2 x A- in subjects
Became a class rep before i ended my time in undergraduate
Completed my BCom
Got accepted to BA in EU Honours
Bought a DSLR
Got into photography
Went broke even I worked full time

So that's the jist of it pretty much, for 2007. Although there are other smaller things left uncompleted.

For the weeks leading up to Christmas & New Year, some of the better times include;

- Playing bowling with Jie, and boy do I suck big time after not playing for ages, which explains the thrashing Jie handed to me.
- Got involved with Mosaic
- Met cousin, Chia Min, who came from Australia with her fiance. Did a photojournalistic shoot of them at the botanic gardens and what not.
- Brought cousin and fiance to Mosaic

So that's that, now we move on to 2008.

The start was pretty average, with lots of lazing about and not doing much, and also feeling extremely exhausted for whatever reasons. I need to sort myself out, and I think I have just begun my journey in that. Multi-tasking you say, eh? Lots of stuff that needs to be done, lots of planning and lots of performing.

Work is starting to cut down now, from both the full time staff and the sort-of-part timers, as we are spending less time worrying and not worth putting in the extra effort for work as we will be jobless soon.

I have lots to accomplish in this month itself, especially in terms of AIESEC, where members are starting to drop out and/or leave overseas or for whatever reasons, leaving ONLY and hear me, ONLY roughly about 12 active members now, and a good handful of that number has either summer school or full time work over the summer. This leaves me no choice but to plan and execute everything single handedly.

One of the important resolution that I have this year is to blog, OFTEN, and with this mentioned, I will ensure this gets done. Well, somehow.

ahhhhH~~~

2007-12-09T22:43:00.000+13:00

Its that time around again, that I've been totally bogged down with a ton load of stuffs to do and things to sort out that I barely even have any time to get down to blog. So... now that I have a couple of minutes to spare.. I think I should recap on what has happened over the past few weeks so I can come back to it at some point in the future.

The week 19/11/07~26/11/07
Melbourne
This week long trip was totally amazing and if I have one word to say about Melbourne, that's definitely gotta be "shopping haven" - ok fine, that's two. But yeah, I think that's a very accurate description of Melbourne, and because of that I've spent soooo much on shopping alone. Oh well~ this shopping spree would last me a year, so that's that. I'm too lazy to write an extensive review of this wonderful trip, as Ing Chia over at ingchia.blogspot.com had wrote a very detailed journal entry about the ins and outs of our week there.

Another thing to take note of, is that many thanks go out to Rhun Kiet who accommodated us for that week long and "sacrificing" his dinner for us to save and eat while we're over there. Deep gratitude to you my friend. It is because of this we managed to save alot.

Another side note, i HATE, HATE the freaking flies buzzing in my face everywhere I go as I walk in the streets of Melbourne. Apparently, this happens every summer, so.. travellers... BEWARE! Maybe bring some insect repellent on your trip to Melbourne.

Other stuff
That aside, everything else is just average. Normal work days 8:30-5 every day and then AIESEC planning and planning which leaves me with so much on my mind, every single second and minute. With a team that's half dedicated and everyone else working, I'm very doubtful that we can achieve our goals as a team, and I'm dead worried about that because my director looks up to me and obviously expects me to achieve those very impossibles.

I've also started to be a church activist and now taking part in their every Sunday evening worship. So today was my very first time "performing" as a guitarist. I've never in 22 years of my life had played the guitar in front of so many others, let alone jam with a team of musicians that includes a drummer, keyboardist, bassist and vocals. I can't really hear what I played live, but I do hoped it went well in other's ears. Being the first time jamming with others, I find it hard to get the timing, strumming and holding the chords correctly on a different guitar, but nevertheless I hoped I fared out well. ~ And of course, not forgetting the remarks that I get from others who had never seen me in such feat before. It's just very uplifting when people comment me on something that they've never seen me done before and amazed that I could do something that never cross their minds before. =) The feeling is just A W E S O M E .

Results
2 days ago, university results are officially released, and wallah, I got an A- for my final subject that I did, which means I am now officially done with an undergraduate degree. I wanted an A+ though, but A- would do well. =). I have to admit though, I prayed hard for an A to appear in the transcript, and more so than always, God answered my very prayer.

As my life progress on, I feel that my walk and journey with God is drawing closer and I more often than ever, see and feel the majestic powers He bestows upon me.

Hmm.. let me just think of what else that's in the air for this upcoming week; ahhh that's right; Tuesday is D-Day. D-Day in the sense of the announcement of whether the University is going to close Campus Computers down or not. I guess I will wait till then and see how it goes, before I start looking for another permanent part-time job for the year ahead of me. I've been thinking about the position at Ken's Digital Camera Shop... in which case.. I hope I can get staff discount, learn more about photography and tell stories and advice customers in the process, of which is a burning passion of mine.

The Intern and Parties, parties, parties

2007-11-19T02:08:00.000+13:00

Man, the week begun on Thursday 15th November. It was just intense. AIESEC Prizegiving Night, which was, quite alright, and for the next few days following...every night we just partied at Andy's house (mainly to give a warm welcome & bonding with our new Brazilian intern, Cristiano) till 4.30 am...Random chats, games and food for the past few days filled up every night and I couldn't even stay home and sort my stuff out- which are piling up now... So finally the parties are over because its a Sunday and now as I type this, it is soon that I'm departing to Melbourne.

As always, I stay the night up just because am afraid that I won't be able to wake up for the flight and so.. its an hour's time and counting down..preparing my ipod, camera, etc and all gadgets and stuff ready for a holiday.

Something that I forgot to mention was that Canterbury Show Day Friday 16th November (a day for farmers to show off their herds and whatnot) was just average. This is going to be my first time and last time attending it. A day to see farm animals and random farm machines- just not my cup of tea. And it costs a flipping hefty $18 dollars. If it wasn't for Cristiano, I wouldn't have turn up. But on the other hand, at least I've gone to one, for the five years that I've been here and have absolutely no clue about this annual festival.

Will blog if I get the chance, otherwise I'll leave it till I get back -_-

Sunday's Testimony

2007-11-12T00:49:00.001+13:00

It is indeed done ! Frankly speaking, I felt so unprepared and not knowing what to actually say but I am more prepared in mind than to actually speak through my mouth. Thanks to God, I am able to deliver the message (hopefully) to the others in the gathering. Haha, I sort of needed the reassurance from Jie alot the whole evening before my testimony. But it went well and am really glad at that. More even so that some of the people in church came up to me and thanked me for the testimony, and commented on how good and meaningful the message is. And even Pastor Jack- he himself said that he was surprised, that I am such a good talker. I think this must be due to me being reserved at times- I am more of a listener than a commenter. I have to say-- I feel awesome. My topic? Testimony on my journey of friendships: Eunice, and taking things for granted.

It is indeed that far too often we take too many things for granted until the verge of losing something or nearing the end, we will realise how important and valuable it is to us. Some of my very own personal experiences include;

University: I used to think that oh, 3 years is a long way away and didn't really enjoy university as a student which I should ought to. And upon the completion of my degree, I feel like I want to university- just a little bit longer and experience more, and getting the best out of it.

Work: Being told 3 days ago that Campus Computers in IT dept is closing down, hence losing my job soon and that previously I used to hate work everyday because of my work colleagues' mood swings. I should have treasured this privilege of working in University rather than be whining about human emotions.

Grandmother: I should have spend more time and talk to her more often before she passed away this year- even though she is in good health last year...

Friends: In this case, Jie... which I took for granted our friendship since we met in camp. It was about a year ago and she told me that she will be leaving NZ upon graduation or something.. But I was like.. oh that's still quite away... and time flew by, and now, as the date draws closer, I am sadden by the fact of her about to be- departure. I should have valued the time we had before and ought to spend more time with her.

There goes the saying that people come and go in your life; but I'll say; Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they are meant to be there; they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who you are.- and that very person is none other than Eunice Ho Sze Hui.

Thank you for the light you have brought in my life and helping me draw closer to God. It had been a significant and impactful journey so far. Amen to that !

The Roxx really Rocks

2007-11-12T00:41:00.000+13:00

So on Saturday, me, Mike (new guy met in church) and Benny went rock climbing at the Roxx (www.theroxx.co.nz). It was a flippin' fantastic experience. And also an excuse and opportunity to try out my new climbing shoes bought like ages ago. However, the charge was expensive though without equipment. $20 bucks without harness and without membership. Hmm... will look around to buy a harness if I can find enough dedicated people to go rock climbing with me. But definitely worth every penny for this day though.

Also met some of colleagues-acquaintance at rock climbing too... Hmm seems like alot of people are so into it...

That aside, I spent Friday evening-night and Saturday night at James' and Andy's place for welcoming AIESEC Canterbury's newest intern from Brazil, Cristiano. He's quite a fun guy to be around with and with the company crashing together at Andy's place. It was indeed fun, with all the random chats and Singstar sessions. Fun stuff Fun stuff.

Sigh... Made Redundant =(

2007-11-08T21:29:00.000+13:00

So the day has finally dawned upon all of us at Campus Computers. The idea of closing an extension arm of the IT dept has never crossed my mind before, and this was a sudden shock. To all of us at Campus Computers. Sigh. So a proposal was put forth and it looks like its going to get the green light to enforcement... Sigh.. have taken things for granted too easily... So, soon I'm going to be redundant...

SO DISHEARTENED... i guess there's people worse than me in this situation, being my other colleagues.. especially my manager John and the other colleague Yolanda..she's been here for about 10 years, and is quite old liao.... and since everyone was so down today.. 3 of them just went home after the meeting 9.30 am and left me alone and manager to hold up the shop till the end of the day...=/

sigh.. i guess i'll stop sighing and space out....no mood...........

6 am wake up !!! >_<

2007-10-31T21:30:00.000+13:00

Yup I did it. First time for so long that I've ever woke up at 6 am. Was planning to sleep at 10ish the night before, however didn't get around it... drama drama so addictive until I have to force myself to sleep at 1 am. Too nice la "The Last Breakthrough". It makes me feel like doing a DT internship/missionary work asap and also instilled my philosophy of "always help others unconditionally in every passing day". So inspiring la this drama..still haven't finish yet though...

So why wake up at 6 you ask? Well, today was my first time attending NZTE's Networking Breakfast.. Dragging myself out of bed paid off I guess. Was indeed a good breakfast and listening from the speakers about experiences in Vietnam and their personal experiences were really awesome. One Viet guy spoke of his experience how they ran away during wartime and had to restart their lives from scratch..twice.. living in U.S as a minority and the hardships and all. Today.. he owns a chain called Highlands Coffee (sorta like Starbucks in Vietnam) and still growing, and better still.. he is married to a gorgeous French girl, and even told how they'd met. During those days, this French girl didn't even spoke a word of English nor Vietnamese, and this Viet guy spoke Vietnamese and English. Wondered how they'd ever end up together. Life's mystery.

Wah.. when I dress up today, I feel so lengchai man.. I didn't even feel it until I came home from the event, walked out of my car and then managed to catch a glimpse of myself from the reflection from the car reflection as I walked into my house...and boy was I astonished with my amazing looks (perasan-nya).. so... I spent the next 30 mins glamouring in front of the mirror and snapping shots of myself. omg.... such a pic-whore...

Apart from that, just the usual work day until 6.30ish because of stocktake, but another thing I accomplished today was getting my new gym training schedule done up- and man I'm so pissed at this guy at the gym.. fukin gay-ass randomer keep smiling at me whenever I pass him. FUKIN GAY i feel like beating the shit outta him. and he's ASIAN too. GAY!

Free....but not quite

2007-10-29T23:50:00.000+13:00

So finally, I'm done.. done with undergraduate studies ! Finally!!! after 4 years.. its all over, however I find the time passed too quickly and I'm not ready to face the world yet. I feel the urge to stay back in Uni just a little while more, to learn more things and experience alot of other stuffs- so thats why I'm contemplating doing a Masters. Problem is.. I'm not sure how I'm able to handle Honours/Masters year. I pray that I'll be able to get through it in.. 2 years time.

So these 2 weeks I've been busy with exams, and right after that, I darted over to Auckland. It was quite a good trip, and an eye-opener for me in lots of perspectives. I guess I prefer the mundane and quiet Christchurch if I were to compare with Auckland. It must be the fact that I'm getting old and prefer a more toned down pace of life.

Also had brought my baby (DSLR) out for a test drive, and she is indeed an awesome babe! I've still got lots to learn though, in photography and in taking awesome shots. Soooo Sooo much to learn. Soon, soon I'll be an aspiring photographer.

Oh well.. that's my rant for now.. just came back and needing to adjust myself back to the normal life.. sigh.. work.. sigh... normal stuffs... oh well..

Oh, and thanks Jie for the satay last weekend, but it made my stomach ached for 2 days zzzzz.....
and u woke me up so early on Sunday............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZzzzzz

O..m..G

2007-10-16T00:49:00.000+13:00

Here I am, in the Dock, at 12:50 am. With a contented stomach and a filled soul, I really feel compelled to note this down. Jun, the amazing newfound Korean friend, is such a wonderful guy! Seriously man, the treatment I get from him is as good as a guy treating his girlfriend. Its damn hard to find such a true friend in today's world. So where does this credibility come from?

He came all the way from who-knows-what-he-was-doing, all the way to uni, just to drop me food. In addition to that, he tar-paued it from a restaurant too. He smsed me to ask me if I was hungry earlier, so I thought that we would meet up and go out to eat. Little did I know that he tarpaued for me and deliver it to me all the way here just so that I don't have to go out because I needed to study and no need to waste my time. OMG MAN SERIOUSLY THESE KINDA GUYS EXIST. plus its not a girl that he's treating nice, its a guy ! mannnnn... im honestly touched with his sincerity and love as a Christian brother. This, I believe, is the true essence of friendship. Brothers for life.

I believe that he is a rare Good Samaritan sent down from the heavens. Thank you God, for providing me the privilege to meet such a person.

Forgetting Names...

2007-10-15T17:24:00.000+13:00

As I was walking back to my car today, i somehow bumped into some randomer (at least to me) and he said "Hi Calvin, just finished work?". Boy! Was I surprised. He somehow looks familiar to me, and yes obviously I've met him somewhere before, however I can't recall where and what his name was. Geez, I feel bad and ashamed of myself for having a shitty memory where others could remember my name but I can't remember theirs. Anyhow, just to make things natural, just sparked a quick conversation saying I'm off home and bla bla...

I should start remembering names from now on... must...maybe I've met him in Mosaic at church last week.. maybe...well that could only be the possibility...sigh..so many random excursions and meeting new people that I myself can't keep track of, oh well all is good since after all, it is of utmost importance that others remember ME. WAHAHHAHAHAHA

Today 14-10-07

2007-10-15T01:56:00.000+13:00

Just a thank you that goes to my Jie, Eunice, for temaning me to Casino for dinner. When everyone else is busy, there's always you to be there for me =) Jie, thank you so much, and being there in the middle of the night, to cook me supper when i asked for.. at 2 am.. It's almost impossible to find friends like this... thanks so much *hugs*

And...thanks for introducing me Mosaic too.. its been great all along. Will see you there the next time around. =)

It was definitely a good catch-up in the Casino, talking about relationships, mid-life crisis, panic stage, and what not...We really need to catch up more often, especially between now and April. I'm disheartened that you're leaving...=( There's aboslutely no one else that would ever replace you Jie =(

My NameTag

2007-10-15T01:39:00.000+13:00

So... as part of University of Canterbury's employee... I received... a nametag;

free ! at least, it looks better than my Burger King nametag which I wore a few years ago.

Some of my recent toys

2007-10-15T01:07:00.001+13:00

To share;

Some of my recent toys;

My first laptop bought with my own money (NZD $1545)

A bag ... (NZD $40)

A Laptop sleeve (NZD $60ish) to go with Bag

New wallet, Billabong (NZD $60)

Van's Walking Shoe on Sale (NZD $79)

Man.... I spend too much money ... =(

Its Been Sooo.. Long

2007-10-15T00:57:00.000+13:00

Yeah... that's right... its been so long ever since i last blogged. Was tied up with soooo many things that I didn't even have a single minute to sit down, think and ...blog... anyhow... should get back to my routine blogging schedule.. sometime...

Recap on the things while I was away from my blog home:

Finished MSCI320 Assignment (reading 30+ journals in a span of a week)
Attended AIESEC SpringCo Conference
Got an A for MSCI320 Assignment
More and more AIESEC stuff
AIESEC social event
"Bonding" night outs with Jun and Andy

So many things happened over the past 2 months that its totally impossible to jot all the details down. However, in a nutshell:

Thanks to Ing Chia, who allowed me to use her office to complete my assignment while she was away on holiday. And also thank God for His amazing blessing upon me which I prayed hard to get an A.

And for the last couple of weeks, have been getting to know Jun and Andy better with the random night outs- and it was definitely worthwhile. You guys are awesome.

Also, got to know some cool people in conference, however I think I didn't socialize that much as I have ought to.

Anyhow, now... gotta focus on final exam.... sigh... =(

Updates of the hectic-iest week

2007-09-10T23:08:00.000+12:00

Damn.... I don't think I should even be blogging... Am sooooo time-constrained and hectic currently.

Things that have been going on:-

AIESEC PBOX Campaign

Damn damn and damn...so much time was spent on this campaign that isn't even a tad funny. From doing up the posters, alignment of logos and printing and getting stuff sorted, it just vacuums up most of the time of those involved..which is my team : Promo team and the person behind this: Sanjaya.

With the tremendous amount put in, I really do hope that this campaign turns up successfully at the end of the week.

LC BBQ

The local committee barbecue turned out to be a success. With a decent turnout (most being the new recruits) it was surely a good bonding time. We all had fun at the end of the day, with those little mishaps with organisation of venue and logistics. Wrapped up at about 7 ish and Hagley Park is freaking cold in the evenings no joke, even the day was sunny. And me being the driver of Kirsty's van-ish car, me and Sanjaya had to trolley the bbq set to and from the venue to the car, which of course, drains most of our stamina. Then as soon as I got home, bed was the only thing I had in mind.

Uplifting Comments

Andy Savage: Man, Calvin, you are really one awesome multi-tasker that inspires me. Doing so many things and taking part in so many stuff, u are just so awesome. Being on the exec board of Toastmasters, AIESEC, Uni work, and real-time work, wow... u're just.. mannnnnn......

Kirsty: You seem to be so organised and so good at time management so that's why I trust you with holding on to these tickets.

Fencing
Master didn't come for some reason and there were only a few of us at fencing. So what do we do? Warm-up and stabbed each other. Before that though, there was a quick training on how to use the stab pad and practice stabbing on target. Trainer's comment: Wow, you're really good at the targets, even I can't hit on target all the time. You hit the targets all the time! Really really good practice.. I shall make a stab pad for me to practice at home and become better at fencing.. keke

Anyhow, had a bout with a girl, beat her 5-3 i think. And next up, bout with a senior guy(I think he's the finance guy, Brett, I think that was his name). Beated him 5-1. Not bad for a newbie. Though he wasn't going all out, rather defending more. I went all out and all nuts. His comment? Man, you beat me quite badly there. Man, you are really quick. Keep up the good work.

Learnt skillset: Upon stabbing at a distance, extend arm first, followed by foot stepping/shuffling forward so that the enemy can't see your stance/move.

Things to come

Finishing my assignment
Attending tons of AIESEC Taskforce meetings
Attending MBA-course networking event (which I am really looking forward to)
Attending SpringCo conference
Sorting out tons of other stuff in my to-do list

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =(

omg.. finally !

2007-09-05T01:54:00.000+12:00

As of 1:40ish am Wednesday 5 September 2007. I'm finally done. Done with Phase 3. PHEW!!!

Took a long 2 weeks in and out to complete it asap. Have been really pushing it these few days though to complete.. Hence the severe lack of sleep! =/

My fingertips...they are all so sore that it hurts so bad with just a gentle touch.. I guess I've overdone it... over-using the physical limit- pushing myself beyond the physical limit... but oh well, with the drive, i persevered through the pain and finally accomplished what I set out to do. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT. I feel so relieved that something else is now out of the way.. Next up.. Assignment. FOCUS. FOCUS.

Time to catch a deep breath....................
....................................................................
and sleep.

Update

2007-09-03T01:24:00.000+12:00

Sooo.... its been quite awhile since i've updated....
One main reason: Too busy !

So its been a hectic week ever since my last exam ended and the holidays began.. Well, not actually a holiday for me as I am working full-time ....Also... have been seriouSLY deprived of sleep..I have no idea how I can stand it.. getting 3 hours a sleep every night.. is not a good idea at all.. but what to do...too much of stuff going on and needs to be accomplished.... ZzzzzZZzzzz

So anyhow... few things I've picked up and learnt over the long...week
1) Learnt how to use Windows Movie Maker(learning process & program crashing ate up most time)
2) Completed *phase 1*
3) Learnt a few additional features in Photoshop (but ate up sooo much of time in the learning process)
4) Completed *phase 2*
5) Learnt how to use Adobe Illustrator and playing with vector art
6) Accomplished an awful lot in AIESEC Promo-team even with the time constraint
7) Officially went broke

Hmm thats pretty much in a nutshell, this week's focus: ASSIGNMENT !

Reaching out to help others!

2007-08-23T20:56:00.001+12:00

Quoted from Google Talk:

Kimberley: Thankyou so much, I can never read anything in my student account.

It'll be a big help

me: no worries

Wow.. have helped another person (though on a smaller scale..to redirect Student email to Gmail)
Hmm.. it seems these days I've been playing a positive part in people! Feeling so great !

TEST !

2007-08-23T20:38:00.001+12:00

O.m.G

These three initials describe my test. So yeah.. What happened was I theoretically missed the test. Woke up early this morning and found my phone gone funny. So i reset the phone, plug it back to charger (was charging last night) and set alarm to 30mins later (9:00am) and went back to sleep. So I did that.. and guess what time I woke up? 2:45PM. DAMN OMG! So i sprung up from bed, rushed to get changed and darted to Uni without a jacket nor brushing my teeth. Exam was at 2:00pm btw....

So I reached like 10 mins later, and spoke to the lecturer...Being the class rep, and telling him about my alarm, and being the nice guy he was, he gave me a chance to sit the exam at 3:00pm, right after theirs... Phew !!!

I have an alternative which is to apply for Aegrotat, but since I've put in the effort to study for it, I really want to do it.. Though the exam was hard to be honest. Thank goodness for Pavel Castka, my awesome lecturer and thank God that I woke up at 2:45pm not anytime later.

First ever time I've missed a test in my life.. DAMN!

Oh well.. luckily everything turned out well in the end. Phew. =)

Brand Taskforce Leader

2007-08-23T20:32:00.001+12:00

So back a few days ago.. I was entrusted the task of the Brand Taskforce Leader in AIESEC. Right after the meeting, one of my team members sent me an email and below is an excerpt from it:

"Firstly before anything, I would just like to let you know that I am VERY pleased that

we are working with you. I respect you and also it's an honour to have you as

the Task Force Leader. I believe you are a leader we can rely on."

- W o W. Those very lines made me feel that I am leading an army (think 300) lol! =D
Didn't know that I have such an impact on others and the perception others have of me.. Well its definitely a good thing! But in saying that, I have to live up to those expectations and keep the momentum flowing !

GOGOGOGOGOGOOGOGOGO Calvin!

Monday- that time of the week again !

2007-08-20T21:34:00.000+12:00

Man, Mondays.....here it is, time of the week again.. as I approach work at 8.30, it dawned upon me that I'll be bombarded with 123456789 boxes waiting for me to check off in the storeroom. And boy, was I right. Blardy shit, spent my entire morning till midday just dealing with the incoming goods itself. ZzzzZzzzzzzzzz. Summore dunno which idiot go take the speakers out from the storeroom computer! My source of Youtube music entertainment also tak ada liao. Damn.. so I had to work in silence. damn pitiful.

The plus side: Jeremy and Amy were really in a good and joyful mood today and offered me a helping hand and teaching me things the entire day today at work. Wow... its a first time for them being this way...They've never treated me this way before...At least that made my day.

Well...... besides hearing from Ing Chia that the exchange rate was 2.3. Haih. Nevermind. Don't wanna comment liao...

Evening came and went, and Toastmasters marks the end of the day pretty much. Tonight we had Humorous Speech & Table Topics Competition (in which everyone is obligated to participate), with the turnout of 3 external guests.

My mind was jammed and didn't felt like participating so I opted not to take part but they made me anyhow, then a second later I was delegated the task of time keeper, so I was quite glad I didn't had to participate in table topics tonight... Wah.. hard man the topic.. Its ;

The New Zealand justice system is unfair towards the victims of crimes.

Geez... like 3/4 of the people answered plainly.. "To be honest, I've just been to NZ for only 6 weeks or so now.. so don't really know"

Hahaha.

And just when I thought I didn't had to take part. Matt had just had to make me go up and talk. So yes. I had to even though not as part of the competition. So he gave me this;

Do higher education get you a better job?

HAR HAR HAR ! SPOT ON ! I am so well-versed around this topic and I am oh-so prepared for it. And yes I managed to address everything and clearly... and I think this is the first ever time in Toastmasters that I spoke for so long, and with clarity too! (Vaughn approached me after the meeting and said, wow, its good you spoke for so long today) Yup. First for me. Its so easy to say something that you are very well-versed at, it comes as second nature.

The other guy, who didn't take part in the competition because he's a guest, was given this topic;

What is love?

Man, I think Matt (the one who prepared the table topics) read my mind. So the bottom line this guest gave was (he's like 50ish btw);

"Love is the relationship where we share, love is not selfish, its giving, its hoping, its about caring about one another, *and something along those lines la..forgot liao*"

"Love is a journey, Love starts out anew each day, it renews with every passing day, when the sun shines every morning"

Beautifully worded and phrased. Brilliant.

Oh and btw, the humorous speech (3 people made speeches) was urmm.. in my opinion.. not funny at all. Maybe its me being Asian & not understanding. I found DramaSoc practice session next door more funny.. (They were loud and we could hear them through walls)

We can hear really odd noises and shoutings from next door which goes;

"Somebody please KILL ME"
"ARRRRRRGHGHHHH"
"WAHHHHHHHHHH"

and all the most obnoxious things you can ever think of...

one of the guests even said "it sounds like they are having an exorcism next door"

..

oh well, that's for Monday.

My love shall renew when the sun rises tomorrow and carry on the journey ;p

Starry Starry Night

2007-08-19T19:53:00.000+12:00

Thanks thannnnnkkks for the little gift of glow-in-the-dark stars Ing Chia, I didn't even know that you were attentive to the little things I said, hmm did I even say it? Damn... I don't even recall it myself.. Sigh.. since you didn't put it up, I had to do it myself.. and here they are... up in my room ceiling...

if you stare hard enough... you can see

ok nvm, here's a brighter version

Now my room finally got stars liao.. after so long of wanting to get it up there but never got around doing it... yay !

And since I'm here, just dropping u a note saying that your urmm... lemon juice w/ honey taste fantastic.. Hmm at first I thought it was Powerade or something.. but yeah... its nice! =)

Wrapping up the week

2007-08-19T17:39:00.000+12:00

Here it is, once again, to wrap up the week 13th-19th August.

A few highlights;

1. Dearest cousin Hui Min has left for Japan / Thursday 16th Aug 2007
2. Dearest Ing Chia departed back to Malaysia / Friday 17th Aug 2007

The two people that are dear to my heart, who matters most to me, who cares about me, who looks after me, who are always there for me, through ups and downs, and all that...walking away...its quite heart-wrenching.. =(

Cousin Hui Min, I wish you all the best in your endeavors and travel in Japan. May you have the strength and determination to succeed in times of challenges and work overload. We will meet.soon. Till then, miss ya lots ! muakz & hugsssss

Ing Chia, I'll see you back here in 4 weeks... & hopefully I'll be fully prepared with the special day I've planned for you.

3. Finding out that I've actually inspired someone whom I barely know

From the small chat with Nicole Yeung;
" Nicole: Kirsty is your partner for some presentation right?
Me: Yeah.
Nicole: Yesterday I was chatting with Kirsty at the review board, and she was telling me all about you and she's in awe of the person that you are and all the things you do or capable of doing. She was like sooooo inspired by you and the positive impact you have had made in her. And then, I was like yeah, thats Calvin, he can be in 2 places at one time.
Me: Ooooooooo......*Sense of fulfillment kicked in* "

Wow, am I glad to hear from a third-party that I've actually managed to inspire someone, to make a positive impact in them by just being myself. Have to say that I've never imagined I could do such an awesome thing myself. Hearing it from a third-party really made me happy. If I can, I wish that I could do the same to everyone, to reach out my hands to those who need them, to share a portion of my heart, to give love & care, to bring happiness & joy and to drive people to be at their best. Then when they look back in their lives sometime in the future and recount their past experiences, they will go "oh hey, Calvin, yup, it's him, the one who "insert everything mentioned above here" in my life."

4. AIESEC Leadership Workshop

Went late, after lunch, because I opt to go for fencing in the morning. The sessions were amazing. There were only 2 sessions after lunch.

Presenters:

Rosita Guy (HRINZ)

Guy Associates, Christchurch

Natalia Chaban

NCRE

Rosita's session was highly interactive and humorous. She definitely is a people person, which explains her association with training businesses and HR practices. The way she introduced herself was by far, the most catchy yet meaningful introduction I've ever heard.

" Now just to introduce myself, I'm Rosita, and I admit I don't have triple degrees, nor a Masters, nor a PhD. But I have one thing; I have a PhD in life. And that matters the most because after all is said and done, everything in this world revolves around people."

So anyways, her agenda for the day is Conflict Prevention versus Conflict Management, which also includes the standard understanding yourself part. Topics covered are quite general around communication. But few things that I've taken away from this session;

Never assume - look at this way .. write the word assume
then we break it down: ass|u|me
Now, what does that say? It makes an ass out of u and me.

Brilliantly put! I think I should not assume too many things in life. Man, even Elaine told me not to assume so much. Hmm.. definitely will try not to assume too many things.

Focus on the good stuff; not the bad stuff, in life

Far too many times, we people tend to focus on the negativity that life brings even though there are 2 sides to everything in any situation. We make a big deal out of the negativeness and leaving the good and positive part shadowed in the background. So Rosita left us with this:

" Think positive, The sun will come up tomorrow"
" Stop worrying & get a life, GET OVER IT"

Regard everyone as a professional person

"Cleaners, cafe staff, admin staff, sales people, plumber; academic qualifications do not make a professional person"

The example Rosita put forth is sooo very true & gets straight to the point;

"Most people look down on cleaners, drainlayers and plumbers. What if one fine day in university, you were in uni and had trouble with the toilet not flushing or no toilet paper? At those moments, who is the one that looks after that? Who would you seek for help? The cleaners and plumbers in facilities management. So, this goes to show that your qualifications comes useless at times like these, where we seek help from people who may not have the same qualifications. They are the professionals in the situation and that is what we define professionalism"

Behaviour & performance defines professionalism; It's about who you are & what you do. It's about putting knowledge into skills that will produce.

"Of course, we mustn't shun qualifications. They are indeed important but that does not define your hierarchy above others. You should never look down on others because it's better to be nice to people on your way up, because you will meet them on the way down."

"At the moment of crisis, its the person who we looked down upon that will rescue us."

Getting the Edge

Be well-groomed and have a good sense of personal hygiene. So when we go out, the stylish look means "business" and its sort of like the edge of a knife. Sharp. Prim. Proper. That being said, its not the most important in carrying yourself out there. Manners, and classiness will take you everywhere. Address people appropriately and if they allow you to take a step back and relax, then you only do so.

Confidence & Making A Difference

"If you think one small person can't make a difference,
try going to bed with a mosquito"

- Ann Roddick,
The Body Shop

To communicate well

"Say what you mean,
mean what you say and
don't be mean when you say it."

Natalia's session was far more generic compared to Rosita's, as her one is about presentation skills. So we covered very very generic stuff, like the posture we should stand, the tone of our voice, our eye contact and such. Which of course, Toastmasters session had paid off well in this sense.

But anyhow, was glad that I did attend this workshop and kudos goes to Rasha Rushdy who managed to put this together!

5. Church stuff & Photos from last week's Baptism

Free bible for me

....... Certificate too

Summing up, was quite a fruitful weekend, except that I haven't started any studies for my test on Thursday... zzzzZZzzz....

My Birthday 12th August 2007

2007-08-14T01:49:00.000+12:00

My day started off early with me being baptised at the church.. Hmm must say that it's a one-off experience.. Being submerged in water in a swimming-pool like design in the church building itself.. its definitely a worthwhile experience and once in a lifetime thing.. and officially..feel the first steps of Christianity? as I've missed it for 11 or so years now?

Anyhow.. right after church.. was asked to go for lunch at McD's. Had a quickie lunch with Leon, Jie, Benny, Yun Han.

Darted over to Ing Chia's upon finishing lunch as I was already running late and wondering what was on the agenda for the day (as she wants it to be a surprise). Upon arrival, I questioned what she had in mind....to be told that I was too late for the cruise in Akaroa as it departed already... so she presented me 4 choices:

1) To go Hanmer Springs
2) To go Kaikoura
3) To go Arthur's Pass
4) To go Akaroa

Hmmm... tough decision.. especially coming from two like-minded people who always go "I dunno" or "anything la".. So have to do some evaluation here...

1) Hanmer Springs
- the idea of soaking in the pools sounds good...

2) Kaikoura
- not prepared for whale watching/cruise as we were already running too late for the cruise and also I did not know where I left my binoculars....

3) Arthur's Pass
- we both haven't been there before

4) Akaroa
- too common

So... finally decided to head over to Arthur's Pass as we both haven't been there before, and wondering what Arthur's Pass holds for us. And also to see the Kea.

After roughly 2 hours, with us stopping at scenic spots for photos and getting directions to Arthur's Pass when we were lost about 30 mins prior to destination... we finally did arrive at Arthur's Pass National Park.

This national reserve is enormous with a huge cluster of mountain ranges and forests...And everywhere here is so greeen ! With sooooo many tramping tracks to pick from... one definitely can't finish the entire park in a span of few days... It's just so amazing !!! There are some specialised winter tracks that takes about 8 hours return journey and from the pictures.. the views are spectacularly stunning at the peak in winter...however, due to the lack of time and preparation in the bitterly cold weather...we can't do the tracks this time around..
Will save this place in our minds till summer comes eh, Ing Chia? I'm just waiting.... waiting for you.... to be back .... for summer... This place would be such an adventure!!!! And I'm so looking forward for it.... !!

And speaking of Keas... birds that apparently "can't" fly... are supposedly all over the town..but due to the time of the day..we did not see many...only a measly 3 birds on top of a roof...and then.. minutes later.. they flew off... notice.. ."flew". Hmm.. new point of information... They do fly..maybe short distances and low altitude....Which explains how they got on top of the roof.

On our way back.. we stopped by Cave Stream to see how it looks like...Wow.. have to say that this place..would be another good adventure too..This cave is a one-way 1 hour walk in entire darkness with knee-deep water and unguided. Would be a good caving experience for the inexperienced as it is straightforward... Hmm first steps to picking up extreme caving...Hmmmm... soooo tempting.. but then again.. because of the coldness...will delay this adventure till summer when it gets warmer..
"Oh hi Ing Chia, this place is calling for your name"

Cave Stream inlet

Majestic view leading to Cave Stream

After posing for a few shots, its really time to head back. After a good shower, and with stomachs growling for food, its time to head out for buffet dinner... at the Casino. Another fine dining place in Christchurch. Dinner was awesome...especially the availability of fresh salmon...MMMMMMM yummmmmmm!!!! I've been craving fresh salmon for a looooong loooong time nowww.. and yeah, you guessed it.. I took a plate stacked with salmons and kept eating the same. I guess after this, I'll stop eating salmon for some time...kekeke..

I suggested to go my house to get candles after dinner so I can blow it to make a wish... But never did I know nor expected that Ing Chia had something up her sleeve all the while...She requested to a slice of cake with a candle on top and I sooo did not even see you hinting at the staff to bring out the cake! You're a master of disguise! Again, you surprised me...
I'm so happy that you've planned the surprises really well for me..you're of course, the greatest!

Complimentary picture

Right before the place closed, the waitress came over and asked to take a picture of us. So we did, but it included all the food on the table (which was alot because the staffs told us to take whatever we want as they were closing the buffet area in 5 mins).. Hahhahah.. make us look so greedy nia...

Complimentary gift

After having a fabulously satisfying meal, its time to go home.. Stopped over at my place since Ing Chia wanted to give me my birthday present.. Oooohh I've been waiting so long for it...
Simply put... the present was the most valuable, priceless and memorable gift that I've ever had in 22 years! The effort and time you, Ing Chia, had put into it, had shaped the simple gift to include so much meaning, emotions, feelings that it portrays.. I am so emotionally touched for the first time in my life.. thank you Ing Chia, thank you sooo soo much. You made me feel so special and the fabulous friendship we share. I have to even hold back my tears and emotions before I burst into tears in front of you... hahhaha =p It's THAT touching, seriously. Hmmm.. looks like you know how to make guys cry, eh? =) I have to say that I'm seldom appreciated in all my life so far, and have not received such a personalised gift, and I've been longing for this for a long long time now. And you gave it to me. All that I wanted. Plus appreciation that I was deprived of all this while...

You're such a wonderful friend, Ing Chia. You're the closest friend that I ever would have dreamed of, and I deeply thank you for that, for being my best friend, for being there whenever I need to reach out, for sharing wacky laughters and jokes, for supporting each other, for being a boon of inspiration, for all the moments and adventures that we have shared so far, and for everything else that you are and for everything that you bring into my life. Words can't fully describe the amazing friendship that we share, and the colors that you bring into my grey life. I hope we will see more of the world, embarking in adventures and enjoy more memorable moments together.

This post, is specially dedicated for you, the one and only Phang Ing Chia. The one girl who brought sunshine in my life and being a pillar of strength and support. The one who gave me new experiences, instilled hope and opened my eyes to lots of things. One that helped me developed myself to my fullest potential that I had never ponder of. Someone who made me feel at the pinnacle of my life with every passing day. One who makes me feel that I can achieve great things. Thank you for being that special someone in my life and I'm grateful for knowing you. Again, I thank you, deeply, from the bottom of my heart, for preparing such a fantastic weekend for me. With such a joyful celebration, I certainly hope this is not the last. I look forward to you coming back and soon start on our journey for more adventures ahead. Thank you, Ing Chia. *hugs*

link to the awesome weekend:

August 12 2007 /Arthur's Pass

The past long week

2007-08-14T00:36:00.001+12:00

Back. For updates once again.

See, the past week has been such a havoc for me. Have been so busy with full time work, classes, and lotsa AIESECy stuff. Its such a mental drain planning for AIESEC Canty's Induction Day on Saturday 11th August 2007. With stuff to collate from people and getting items at the very last minute isn't helping much. But oh well.. finally its all over now.. I am glad to say that with the help of others in AIESEC and especially Elaine and Ing Chia, we were able to pull the day off with minimal flaws. Thanks for all those that have helped, and of course Ing Chia, for being the boon of inspiration and support for me. You are definetely number ONE.

In the past week, I've also learnt to;

Brew a traditional recipe of Ginger Tea

First trial run of Calvin's Ginger Tea(as seen in some HK dramas)

The healing properties of this very traditional drink includes curing nauseaness, vomiting, cold, flu and ermm something within those lines.

This is the first time I've ever prepared something like this for someone, let alone for myself. And first of its kind too ! Because Ing Chia was having a cold and flu, coupled with the feeling of nauseaness, I took this opportunity to learn to make something meaningful and yet useful for someone else. I know it taste bad and you might not like the taste being too sour and all, but even though it tastes so bad.... its good for your health and your sickness... I really hope it had helped you in a way.. Forgive me for making you drink yeah? I want you to get better =) Don't forget its also my first time making something like this =p I took alot of effort tau =p

Induction Day 11th August 2007

As mentioned before, this day was a full-on full-day event of AIESECy stuff. Being the head of coordinating the facilitation of this event, boy, I made so many trips running around, its so hectic! When evening came, and reaching the pinnacle of the day, I was given an unexpected surprise planned by Ing Chia, and boy, I have to say that you're such an awesome planner, I SOOOO did not see this coming! And so I got a wonderful handmade card by your very own hands with the signature of some of the LC members.... plus a cake ! I'm so happy that I got this surprise!

With so much appreciation from others, I feel a sense of warmth flowing through me =)

But on the other hand, right after the presentation of the cake to me and Sanjaya (his birthday was on this day itself and I've actually planned for his only), the whipped-cream war started! Seeing 3 girls running in amok with cream in their hands, I didn't even have enough time to react and run away. Them being; Elaine, Mia and Ing Chia. With so much cream on their palms, my entire face and hair was constantly bombarded by cream by Mia and Ing Chia respectively.... ZzzzzZzz.. Sanjaya was the main target, not ME !!! <--- I wasn't supposed to be in the plan!!!.... So yeah... of course I got them back after my senses came back to me.. chased Mia, whom smudged me first, then moved on to Ing Chia and of course, she couldn't run away from my grasp and hahahahah she was totally showered with cream. A H A H A H A H A H A! Right after, the first and rational decision was to wash up first before going over to James Carr's flat to chill out before he left for Turkey. Nothing much to say here, besides the fact that I enjoyed his Margarita and free shots of Tequila. Nice.

Bottom line: Thank you Ing Chia, for organising this surprise that did not even cross my mind at all... and the experience of celebrating with such a big company today.. is definetely one to remember.. You're such a mastermind! I enjoyed the cream war though, and everything that you have planned for and of course the pre-planning with Elaine too... Here's a hug from me to you... *hugs*

Back from a weekend, to meet Blue Monday

2007-08-06T23:46:00.000+12:00

Soooo..... i spent my weekend as follows:

Saturday 4th August 2007
Fencing session (2nd class) in the morning, and had lunch right after that with the fencing club members at Spice Traders in Uni. And... the lunch dragged on for an hour or so because one girl by the name of Margaret just can't shut up and kept debating about cultural assimilation or something like that with the fencing master. Haiyo.... talk talk talk .... i also got nothing to say.. =/ Oh, and Ing Chia, being the slow eater she is, got so tension'ed when everyone had finished their lunch.. Hahahah make me laugh nia when i see you being pressured to eat quicker hahahaha

After that, spent the remaining of the day doing up the AIESEC website and playing with Adobe Dreamweaver 8. I tell you people lah, anyone with half a brain and some free time can do wonders in the world. Technology is making life easier for everyone, especially in designing web pages. Dreamweaver is a WYSIWYG editor and the help files are there for you when you get stuck, and sure they did their part in helping me. So.. after a couple of hours and playing around from a complete noob who has never touched Dreamweaver before... the result: a template made:

AIESEC Canterbury Test Pilot Page

Then at night, after Ing Chia's work, we went grocery shopping, and boy the amazement that I spent $120 on groceries alone <-- only junk food and tidbits.... its like OMGGG!!!!
After that, we both had the wacky idea to do some wine tasting so that she (Ing Chia) knows that to buy to bring back to Malaysia. So we bought Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. 2 big bottles. We ended up drinking half of each bottle. Amazing. Oh and the bottom line: RIESLING is the wine to go for a light and sweet tasting wine without the strong alcohol taste.

Sunday 5th August 2007
Woke up late, cos stayed up late the night before, and headed to the Cantonese church service at 1pm. I am still not used to the Cantonese church service as I am more accustomed to the Mandarin one, and thus I find the Mandarin one to be more livelier and merrier. After the service ended, I had a chat with Pastor Jack regarding next week's baptism. So he told me what to bring (khakis pants and light coloured t shirt), to be there at 9:30 am (very hard task for me) next Sunday, and told me what to say (speech and "Yes I Do" answers to 2 of his questions). So, I'm looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience on my birthday next week. Cool.

Oh and in this very night, I popped over to Jie's house to try and fix her new Dell Inspiron Laptop that she got for 1199. Awesome deal for the specs. So as usual, I showed off my super uber awesome MacBook first before helping out. So Jie was abit retarded and thought Microsoft Office came standard shipped with the laptop. ZzzzzZzz. So yeah we headed out back to my house to install Office. Before that, I must claim and confess that on this very night I became an uber pro champion/ super literate support person for Windows Vista. I shall be promoted to IT Helpdesk in Uni man.

Why so? I managed to set up a very very hard process in setting up network sharing with Windows Vista. Time spent = 1 hour ++ . Result = A++. Yes. Pro man. PRO. Coming from someone who hasn't really touched Vista summore.
Oh and last words? Vista = slow. Its just a ripoff of the Mac OSX system. Except worse. And by worse, i mean a whole lot worse. Microsoft is such a failure with copy and paste. Geez. Make something that works. Mac = "it just works". With MAC OSX 10.5 Leopard around the corner. BYE BYE VISTA.

So yeah, all in all in this very night I became Vista competent instantly, and managed to set up all the applications needed to use in Jie's new laptop. Have fun with VISTA, while i have fun with MAC.

Monday 6th August 2007
I hate Mondays. Period.
1) Work
2) Bad luck
3) More bad luck

So why do I say work sucks at Monday? That's because the entire stockroom is full with inwards goods and since I'm working on Monday mornings, its hell for me. So it is. Spent literally the entire morning until 12 midday sorting out the goods and stock items. ZZzzzzz. And then somewhere in between I get told off by the receptionist that I'm supposed to bring out and stack the toners while she do the smaller items. I mean how gay can that be? Geeez the toner area is like right in front of you hello!!! and yet you can be so lazy to save that few steps... GEEEZ ! "Not in my job description" crap that Kiwis give as excuse. Lazy arses i say.

Bad luck. The whole day having bad luck sucks arse. Shall not go into further detail,

Rewarding Ing Chia

2007-07-30T00:02:00.000+12:00

I told you I will reward you handsomely for helping to clean up my house right? So anyways, we were off to Christchurch Casino for a lovely dinner of steak and a glass of Lindauer wine (which from this moment i learnt that it was one of your favourite) and then after that, off to Hoyts to watch Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix..

While we were waiting for the movie to begin...like in 30 mins time.. here's what we did

...hoped you enjoyed the night as the reward =)

House Clean Up

2007-07-29T23:12:00.001+12:00

Ing Chia, thanks so so much for helping cleaning up my house... sorta like a fresh new start everytime my house gets cleaned up =)

While you were cleaning........ =p

And the aftermath...

a clean house !!

jackets nicely hanged (rather than sitting on the chair previously)

books scattered are now piled up nicely

files and books are neatly arranged in shelves

clothes folded and stacked nicely

Thanks Ing Chia, you've made a change in the house.. Told you i needed a girl's touch in the house =)

Back for Updates 2

2007-07-29T23:07:00.000+12:00

Been so busy and lazy the past week, but things that I have done;

* Came back from trip as said
* Prepared and gave a presentation to RHS year 13 students (Again, thanks to Ing Chia for helping me with the preparation and all)
* Getting Ing Chia to clean up my house (Thanks heaps)
* Watched Harry Potter: The order of the phoenix
* Celebrated Wei Chia's and Murni's birthday at their flat
* Came back to blog

Back for Updates

2007-07-29T22:49:00.001+12:00

Saturday 21 July 2007-Sunday 22 July 2007
Weekend away with Ing Chia...

Ing Chia, thanks for the weekend away! The trip was such a blast!!! Best time of my life.. Thank you for being such a good company! The moments and sights we shared during this trip is definitely unforgettable ! From cooking a cincai spaghetti meal, to ice skating, to star gazing, traversing across a frozen lake and all those funny moments .. and everything that happened within these 2 days are moments that would be treasured for life =)

With that said, I've uploaded all the pics from this trip, which could be found at:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/calvinhkw/TekapoMtCook2122July07

(Didn't link them direct into the blog as there are 200+ pictures and would lag the page)

Also, there's a blog post over at Ing Chia's (ingchia.blogspot.com) that has got really good captions of the pictures and a description of our tour...

The joys of a new semester.....

2007-07-16T21:58:00.000+12:00

Today was the day.. the dawn of a new semester.. for most students... man... i tell you there's like a gazillion people flocking about in the uni not knowing where to go or just hanging about.. First time ever see so many people about for some time now liao... Soooo soo many people.. and soo soo many people so ever eager to study until some of their courses not even fully enrolled then come to IT Helpdesk and ask questions about WeBCT not showing their courses, when in the first place, they not fully ENROLLED in it yet... zzzzz... kept me busy until the end of the day nia... zzzz

Seeing so many people enthusiastic about the new semester, I could strongly say that it has also sparked up my adrenaline and kept me optimistic about this second half of the year... Plenty of goals and missions needing to be achieved.... Will see around planning that sometime soon !

Just came back from the usual Monday night's Toastmasters meeting...I was caught with the table topic "killing 2 birds with 1 stone" when i taught i would totally evade the topics as I was doing the time keeping... However.. I was ever-prepared to answer this question... kekeke... shall keep my answer to myself.. too secret liao hahaha...

After that, had the Executive Board meeting and they concocted the idea to prepare toasts to attract attention on Clubs Day.. like literally toasting toasts.. with jam and peanut butter... =.=" No doubt, I would have to say that is a brilliant idea as people always go for free food! Since I was part of the board, I'm obligated to help out at the stand...then what about AIESEC stand??? OMG how... feeling so bad now! But as for AIESEC, we have 38 people, so I also don't see why they shouldn't have an overcrowded stand as well... But oh well... see what happens

Friday 13th July

2007-07-14T12:59:00.000+12:00

Soo yeah.. another post-posts. Anyhow, this day was quite a day for myself. Work as usual at 8.30, and spent the first half of the day in the stockroom as there were tons of goods that came in, summore for the most part of the day I was just a mere delivery boy, sending out like 10 monitors and 8 desktops upstairs. It gets a little physically demanding, but oh well..I guess it builds me up in the process. Good thing that I was doing the goods for the most part of the day as I don't have to face my douchebag colleagues. Good, very very goood thing.

Upon the end of the day, a few of the staff from downstairs were carrying down monitors from upstairs... Apparently its some old CRT monitors that were gonna be recycled as departments have now moved on to LCD flat screens...Oh well, I went up and took a look at the monitors and boy were they quite new and of course very very nice monitors.. So I took one of em 17" Viewsonic monitor home as my other monitors at home are crapping up and needs an upgrade.. Hmm wonder if I could get more next week... Hmmmmmm... paiseh la though.. since I took one already...=p

The monitor damn nice la wei.. summore black and grey in color which matches the rest of my desktop .. most parts are in black including my DeathAdder mouse and pad etc..see how it matches with my workspace....soo matching la... its all "one" now... fuyoohhh

Had a very informative chat with Sanjaya and potential OGX interns in the evening, followed by a "dvd night in" with Ing Chia.. which turned out to be a marathon until 3.30 am... u arrr !! But you soooo should have cried Ing Chia.. I wanna see... hahahhaha..

Fast-forward to today.. I woke up early, paid my stupid student allowance repayment and then now... 1.07 pm.. gotta go out with Ing Chia for walk-walk as the weather is soooo goood today..in winter la that is..

Thursday 12 July

2007-07-13T00:29:00.000+12:00

One damn hectic planned out day.. with no lunch break.. I opted to help out at the Canterbury Card Office during my lunch break 12-1, so effectively I'm working from 8.30 to 5 pm with no lunch break .. my only hope for a lunch is to have no one doing cards during the lunch hour so i can get a munch on something...

And as usual, I can't get up in the morning.. which means no time to prepare/buy food. Thankfully, by pure chance I met my newfound good pal, Ing Chia, on Gchat in the morning before she left to uni.. So I asked her to drop me some breakfast or food of some kind so I don't starve and die.. Thanks thanks for the bars and biscuit! Hey at least I'm doing a favour cleaning up your stocked cupboard !

At 12ish... there you were.. coming in to the Canterbury Card office as you gave your word to do your card.. I hope I have did a average picture on your card.. haha.. oh.. and u sure did surprised me with a sandwich for lunch. I really appreciate it.. thankieeee sooo much.. it meant alot to me as I then did not have to starve. Plus, was it sardine that was in it? Those are my favourite type of canned sardines! The spring water one right?? Although, I hope you didn't put your lab plant experiments into the sandwich as part of the alfalfa that was in it.. hahaha ! =D

Leaving the good things that happened today, it was overall quite a lousy and shitty day.. Got told off at work for several times today which gave me the impression that my colleagues see me as being incompetent.. I mean wtf la ... You guys been there longer and know how everything works and yet you all don't share your knowledge enough to me neither do I have any documents to read regarding the stuff that goes around.. how the F am i suppose to know lah? Geez....

And also my pay didn't go through today from the last 2 weeks because some colleague didn't bring it up to the finance admin.. so it would only go through in 3 weeks time from today (the next payday)... GEEZ !!!! plus, getting told off in the process, that I am directly responsible to hand in my timesheet and my fault for not handing it in last week.. no one told me, wtf??? Hello ! Manager(on leave) say this colleague was supposed to handle it for me so I just assume she would do her job la.. but nooooo... i get told off... seriously man this shit is just getting too much..

Sigh.. I think I'll lose my job soon... it sucks to be around some douchebags too!
Hectic and stressed out.. I'm getting so worn out everyday... sigh... sucks.. and plenty of shit pending for me to do as well.. damn it...no energy.. no motivation...

Anyhow... I'm hoping tomorrow would be a good day and looking forward for the planned night random event with Ing Chia.

Wednesday 11 July

2007-07-13T00:25:00.000+12:00

Ing Chia, thank you thank you thank you again for allowing me to use your broadband when mine is crapped out... and thanks for helping me find a layout for the blog and giving me advice and stuff.. really appreciate it !! although i think i did kacau'ed u reading your journal.. sorry ya !! but thanks heaps !! My blog is up.. because of all your help.. otherwise i don't think it will ever happen.

Tuesday 10th July

2007-07-13T00:15:00.000+12:00

Have to say it again, thanks Ing Chia for burning me the DVD with the Dunedin pictures !! Those sure did turn up amazingly stunning !! Who shall the credits go to ? The photographer? The Camera? The company of friends? bottom line..is that it all ADDS up ! Thanks Rhun Kiet for being such an amazing photographer.. I usually suck at taking photos but these sure turn up well for the first ever time !

I'm so amazed by the wonderful pictures taken throughout the trip... Thanks guys (Ing Ling, Ing Chia, Rhun Kiet) for this trip ! =)

Have a nice and safe trip back to Melbourne, Rhun Kiet..

Monday July 9

2007-07-12T23:48:00.000+12:00

This night with you was such a wonderful night.. Hahaha never laughed so much myself especially with others.. WAS SUCH A GOOD LAUGH... u're a great company Ing Chia! So to recap...

At first.... the info somewhere on web regarding the difference between sea lion and seal states "sea lion or was it seal ? that has visible ear flaps" and that being said.. we came to a conclusion that it looks something like this
omg la.. how can u laugh so much at this drawing? i mean urmmm ok it looks weird... but hahahhhha seeing u laugh makes me wanna laugh too.. and also i've never seen a friend laugh so much for a long time already... brings a sense of joy to me as well haha.... ok i know my drawing sux... =( but still ur imagination must be wilder than this ! especially with your theory of the hush puppies ear...

Secondly, the darn fern image
source: Wikipedia

Ok, so we were browsing from brochures then came across this funny looking plant as set out above and we begin questioning what in the world is that ! Then smartly you go say fern, which then u searched in Wikipedia.. and bingo u hit jackpot ! Ok lo.. i lost again... =/

Thirdly, some Calvin theory of g-force effect on coconut trees

Yeah, so the picture of the trees in the brochures looked something like that, I can so confirm that it looks exactly like a coconut tree.. in fact it sure is ! except that got wind blowing from the ground up... urmm yeah..

Got what else arrr....
Hmm i think thats all the funny stuffs that came up that night.....

=)

July 7-8 Dunedin Trip

2007-07-12T23:38:00.000+12:00

Ing Chia, thanks so much for inviting me to the awesome road trip down to Dunedin. Despite having the travelling done in such a short timeframe, it was definetely awesome and it was the most fun-filled 2 day trip i have ever had ! Once again, I apologize for making you travel back with me through the wee morning hours because I had to go to work the very next day and also thanks so much for holding up a conversation through the whole journey back, which was nearly 5 hours else i'll fall asleep...=/ .. and also having u wake me up so early and all... sorry sorry ya !!

Thanks for one my best trips so far Ing Chia !

p/s: It's great to know you Ing Ling, and Rhun Kiet... hope we will meet again soon !

.. lazy to add pics now.. maybe at some point later.. in the mean time, some pics can be viewed via ingchia.blogspot.com =p

blog finally up??!!

2007-07-12T23:31:00.000+12:00

yea, it is finally official now ! my blog is finally up after so much of procrastination... first and foremost... Ing Chia, thanks for showing me how to set up a blog, letting me use yer net and all!!! I've credited your initials to my blog address.. cool ya?? =)

Will do some post-posts on events that took place over the previous week ..