April 2004 |
May 2004
| June 2004
Farewell Toronto, Hello Singapore
The title might be a little misleading, as I wouldn’t be back in Singapore until 3 June. I’ll be flying off tonight to visit my sister in Taipei for about a week before going back to Singapore.
I’m still a little confused about how to get from the bus stop to her place. Normally this isn’t be a big problem since I can ask around or just make a few wrong turns before finding the right address, but it wouldn’t be that easy with four pieces of luggage in tow. However, it’s all going to be worth it when I see my niece Megan smile.
It’s almost time to leave for the airport. Farewell my friends, ‘til we meet again.
26 May 2004 ·
My Life ·
Fire Alarm
I was roused from my deep slumber by a loud beeping sound early this morning. In my grogginess I took a while before realising it was the fire alarm. I was contemplating whether if I should walk down 14 flights of stairs in my shorts, and wait in the bitter morning cold for the fire truck to arrive; or to hide beneath my blanket and let the fast spreading fire provide me with the much needed warmth.
Then I remembered Angela telling us that we have a faulty fire alarm system in our building, and it sometimes goes off for no apparent reason. The designers are foresighted enough to install a button for stopping that irritating noise, conveniently located in every apartment. I gladly put the button to good use, but the alarm went off another four times before it finally stopped.
But the question remains. What’s the point of having the best fire alarm system in the world, when it can be turned off with the push of a button by somebody unaware of the real situation?
18 May 2004 ·
My Life ·
Ah, Spring
The results are out and I didn’t do as well as I hoped. I’ll probably get slammed for saying that a GPA of 3.78 is a bad grade, but it’s frustrating to miss an A by one or two marks for so many courses. Looking on the bright side, at least I’m back on track in getting my high distinction, equivalent of a 1st class honours. That of course depend heavily on how I perform in my fourth, and hopefully, final year.
Believe it or not, I used to be one of the poorer students in class. I can still remember those days back in VS when our chemistry teacher Mr Goh Khern Hai would hand us back our tests in ascending order; that is, students with the lowest marks were called up first. Neo, Yeow Seng and I would be sitting at the back and crossing all our fingers and toes, praying that we wouldn’t be the last in class again. Although we often occupy the last few spots, none of us was ever a reigning champion; the honour of getting Mr Goh’s headshake and his customary “What happened?” question was passed around regularly. We already had a sense of fair play even at such a young age.
And of course, there was the kite-flying incident. It was our first A Maths test, and Mr Phua Chee Gua was reprimanding Joon Leng about how atrocious (that was the exact word he used) his result was. The entire class was laughing at him before Mr Phua turned and told me that I could go fly a kite with my marks. It was a moment of revelation for me: not only did I realise kite-flying was incompatible with being a good student, but that mathematics would remain my nemesis for the rest of my academic life.
I’ve come a long way, from one side of the bell curve to the other; and I consider myself very fortunate since where I am today has a lot to do with luck. Not that it matters at the moment.
Right now, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the beautiful spring weather in Toronto before I return the tropical — which is just a catchy term used by tourism promotion boards for hot and humid — country named Singapore.
A place I call home.
15 May 2004 ·
My Life ·
The Missing Dollar
Three men went to a motel. The motel manager said a room cost $30, so each man put up $10 and went to their room. A little while later the manager realised the room was only $25, so he sent the bellhop back to the three guys’ room with $5.
On the way to the room the bellhop couldn't figure out how to split the $5 between the three men, so he gave each one of them $1 and he kept the other $2.
This meant that the three men paid $9 each for the room for a total of $27. Add the $2 that the bellhop kept: $27 + $2 = $29.
Where did the other dollar go?
10 May 2004 ·
Fun ·