New Year Resolution
Monday, December 31, 2007
To prevent myself from slacking tomorrow, I shall write this post now.in case you are wondering, it's 3.51am now.
Anyways, it's the last day of 2007 today, and the new year is approaching in less than 24hours' time.
Reflecting back on the past year, it hasn't been a very good one. From that quarrel, to the many problems I had to undergo...I wish things had been better.
Nevertheless, I felt as if I had grown up alot this year. In terms of thinking and maturity...it's like a completely different me. I learnt to let things go. I guess that's the most important thing.
Moving ahead, I have aims that I hope to attain next year.
Firstly, to get motivated so that I can do well for my A Levels, and get the choice of course I want. I think I know how to go about doing it.
Secondly, be a better friend, son and person. To those whom I have offended or angered or upset in some way or another, I promise I will try to be a better person.
Thirdly, don't procrastinate. Get things that are in my mind done. That includes scholarship hunting, SAT, do CIP...and the list goes on.
Fourthly, save enough money for a trip to north america alone next year. 4000 at least.
Lastly, ENJOY LIFE!!!
I think that should be all for now.
And to everyone else, have a happy new year!!!
Life is fragile and precious. Make full use of it.
Nicknames
Sunday, December 30, 2007
I was letting my thoughts go wild, and suddenly something very unique caught me.Nicknames.
I used to hate them. I used to see them as a form of teasing. but as I grew up, I realised it really isn't as bad.
Let's see how many I have acquired in my life.
- My parents and family always call me by this nickname ever since I was born. No, I won't tell you what. Don't even try asking. LoL. (I don't really like it, that's why)
- When i was in primary 3, my form teacher mispronounced my name as 'Yuan Hao'. I don't know why, somehow she just can't pronounce 'Yun' after correcting dozens of time. And since I was pretty plump then, my classmates used to call me 'Yuan de', literally meaning the round one. Lousy eh?
- The second one lasted till I graduated from primary school. When I was sec 4, my dear old boo gang gave me another one. Bear. Don't try asking how it came about. LoL.
- And in JC, my tenor section gave me the name Hao Yun, which means good luck, a twist of my original name. And eng yian gave it a twist once again, making it LG.
So, that's the brief history of my nicknames. My favourite is of course bear, but I will answer to any of them, as long as I know the person is referring to me.
Really, nicknames aren't that bad.
Retail Therapy.
Friday, December 28, 2007
I saw this extremely large advertisment by Zara (it took up one whole page mind you) yesterday, and so I decided to go to the outlet at marina square today.
and guess who I saw. LoL.
my good old friend.
weird guy la.
anyway, back to myself...instead of buying zara, i bought guess instead. 50%. not bad eh?
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i was reading my previous entries ytd, realised how silly i really was. over a stupid person lor.
point is, i guess i really grew up the this year. my views on alot of things have changed. i learnt not to hold onto things so tightly.
live and let live.
back from china.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
i came back on christmas eve, only felt like blogging today.you could say my trip was a flop, but still...it wasn't that bad.
for those who know me, i'm super lazy to blog about detailed events and post pictures...so you can ask me if ur interested. (not as if anyone would be...LoL)
christmas was like any other day...i was never a christmas person, in fact i always emo-ed during christmas. no exception this year. really missed the times i spent with my T1 mates. they really rock. miss you guys yea? look forward to the next outing, hopefully on cny.
and marcus, enjoy your vacation. snowy christmas yeah? LoL.
ah well. it's time to start my work, otherwise i would be screwed big time.
till then, tata.
china for a week
Monday, December 17, 2007
sorry guys, i wont be able to post the taxi thingy as yet, bcos i'm leaving for china in...less than 7hours time!!!
till then, tata!!!
Singapore's Public Transport.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
finally, the post on Singapore's public transport.previously, the singapore government has said that in order to reduce congestion on the roads, it hopes to have an efficient public transport system to encourage people to take public transport rather than drive.
has LTA managed to do that? let's take a closer look.
Buses
i wonder how many of you out there have spent more than 20min waiting for a bus, only to see the bus fully packed when it finally comes. frustrating, isn't it?
i personally have come across an incident which is unforgiveable.
i was waiting for bus service 174 at boon lay bus interchange, and guess how long i waited. 10minutes should be the norm, 15 was still alright. but i waited for 30minutes. at the interchange??!!?? i wanted to lash vulgarities at the bus driver when i boarded the bus. really.
if you are a frequent bus rider, you will realise that there are certain buses which are a hell difficult to wait for, while some others come every other 5 minutes, with most of them empty.
the irony is, SMRT and SBS both claim that they allocate buses according to their demand. so why are there buses which are always full and almost impossible to board?
in addition to that, one of the reasons it takes so long for a bus to arrive is because of the speed that the bus travels. traffic aside, some buses drive at a PATHETIC speed. if you alight and run, you prob reach earlier than your bus did. and so, the next bus that leaves the interchange will soon catch up, and you have a situation where 2 or 3 buses arrive together after a long long wait.
my opinion is, buses should depart the interchange at a frequency of 10 minutes, nothing more. and, other than the unavoidable reason of traffic, buses should move at an average speed of 50km/h at highways or expressways. remember, public transport is not about just meeting the demand, it is about providing a service that brings convenience to everyone. so SMRT and SBS, shut the crap about meeting demand.
MRT
i'm sure most singaporeans have taken the MRT before. its supposed to be one of the most efficient in the world. but is it so?
there are basically a few problems with the MRT. i will address them one by one.
1. Frequency is too long.
the average frequency of MRT in Singapore during peak hours is 3-5minutes, non peak hours is 5-8 minutes. (i have waited for as long as 10minutes before.)
every morning, thousands of people rely on the MRT to get to work. people will rush into the MRT so as to get into it. Others may find it rude, but you cant blame these people entirely. the MRT only comes every 3-5minutes, and the crowd gets larger and larger everytime one MRT leaves. and if you happen to take a MRT at about 7plus in the morning, its almost impossible to board sometimes.
the exact same thing happens when people knock off.
what about non-peak hours then? is the situation better?
unfortunately not.
you may be surprised to find out that sometimes, the MRT equally as crowded during non-peak hours as compared to peak hours. the reason is simple. the MRT takes far too long to come! and by 8 full minutes, the MRT is usually packed, and you will have to squeeze to get in.
imagine squeezing into an MRT at 11pm?
people have wrote into the forum reflecting about this problem, but what SMRT has said is that they have always been monitoring demand, and the MRTs that they send out if enough to meet the demand. they blame it on the passengers, saying that they don't move inside the cabin. (at peak hours, and when MRTs are packed, they do actually.)
so, its demand again?
in case you don't know, subways at other places like China and Hongkong arrive at a frequency of about 1-3minutes, regardless of the time. so, waiting for another train to arrive after you missed one is not at all a chore.
you see, Singapore's SMRT and SBS are overly profit driven. they already have the infrastructure there for them, all they need to do is to keep their pockets open for money to roll in. they don't care about the passengers, all they want is money, money, money.
best way out: follow hongkong's way. MRT arrives every 1-3minutes, regardless of the time.
fullstop.
and before they start comparing with other countries which are not as good, i have one word of advice:
don't compare with those which are worse off and say that we are better; compare with those which are better and say that we are best.
2. Air-con not working
this may apply to the buses as well.
i remember coming across a letter written to the forum, saying that the MRT's air-conditioning is not working. the reply from SMRT was hilarious: thermistor not sensitive.
for goodness, get a more sensitive one!
you mean you earn so much money from us, and yet you are not willing to get a better thermistor?
buses or MRT alike, there are some which are so cold that you can freeze inside; there are some which are so hot you sweat like you are in a sauna.
just a simple thing of getting a better thermistor, and setting a temperature of about 25deg, is it that difficult?
some first world country we are.
(taxis coming up in next post...)
life is fragile.
i just read peiyi's blog, who just came back from a cip trip in thailand. i'm glad that she learnt alot of things there.you see, you can never have everything in life. those children in thai, they dont even have the most basic ammenties, yet they are contented with what they have. in s'pore, people complain about not having a better gadget when they already have one.
i recently earned enough money to buy myself a camera. a cheap one though. and i felt happy over it. the thing is, its perfectly ok to buy yourself something slightly more expensive sometimes, to reward yourself. however, it is not ok to keep pursuing a materialistic life, especially when your income cannot afford it. you will not be contented with what you have, and the process of getting something better will eventually become a never-ending process.
besides, the thai children, or any other children, are courteous. the sincere thank you that they say when they receive a present touches even the person of the hardest heart. yet, s'poreans, ppl who acclaim themselves of being citizens of a first world city, lack this most basic courtesy. i once helped a pregnant lady pick up a letter which fell on the floor, she did not even say a word of thanks.
probably, people need to see for themselves before they realise that they are really very fortunate.
i hope i will get to do overseas cip one day. one of my biggest dreams.
great week? i wonder...
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
i haven't blogged for a pretty long time, have been busy with alot of stuff.last week, i was working at Discovery Camp (DVC). It was great fun working with the children who are so damn bloody smart, and it was easy money too. Great job recommendation for those who wanna earn money!!LoL
and so on fri, i met up with a few guys from T1 and had dinner at glass house fish n co. poor jinquan had such difficulty cutting that big big fried fish. after dinner, we took mrt to city hall, walked from city link to marina square to suntec to esplanade, and took a bus home. a bit silly, but we talked all the way. and i'm still bear, after so long. hmmm.
sunday met up with bp tenor section. had dinner at bugis junction. it was fun too, talking to a group of frens whom u didn noe u are so close with. and we ate swensens for desert....so basically we spent alot. we took a couple of photos too, but i'm just lazy to upload.
and today, had bpco BBQ, which was a complete flop. don wanna talk abt it.
anyways, i wanted to do a post on public transport in spore for quite some time, hope i get the mood to do it soon...
tt's all. tata.