And we are into quarter finals

Top 8 teams are just out of the oven! We have: Germany (host), Argentina, Italy, Ukraine, England, Portugal, Brazil, France. Needless to say, this is probably one of the most exciting line up. All teams are neck to neck with each other and theres no saying for sure who will win. Germany and Argentina is the first to clash and really, it is going to be a close fight. Germany is the host, and in history, has a higher placing than South Americans Argentina. Germany has won the world cup 3 times in history but Argentina only won one pathetic time. One thing to note though, Germany and Argentina met twice in the final of world cup and each team won once each. In 1986, Argentina won 3-2 against Germany to claim their one and only world cup trophy in Mexico. After that, in 1990, Germany beat Argentina 1 - 0 to get their last of the 3 world cup trophies as of yet. And the last time Germany met Argentina, that was in last year, the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Both teams also prove to be very fantastic with their results in this year's world cup. Germany won all 4 matches as of yet while Argentina won 3 matches and drew 1. Both sides are good. But my take on this, Germany with their Howitzers and Panzers.

Brazil 3 - 0 Ghana

And thats the score from the 2nd round of the World Cup finals. Very impressive match from what I watch minutes ago. Both teams did very well I must say. Yes, Ghana lost to Brazil by quite a margin, but they did well. I must say Ghana did the best they could, nearly scoring goals against Brazil a couple of times. And despite being down 3 - 0, they never gave up even into the last minute. They fought on, on and on and on. They did their best and they knew it. None of them were bitter about the results. They shook hands, there were no fights (unlike the Europeans), and smiles were all over the game. Great game. The results does not matter, they did what they could and that does it. World Cup is a festival of football and this is the way to play it. Bravo, Africa is proud of Ghana.

Italy Beats Australia

• I am no fan of either team, but I watched the match between the Italian Chefs and the Australian Roos last night. And I must say, the way it ended was pathetic. A goalless 90 minutes, and just when we all thought it was going into a bonus 30 minutes for everybody, a penalty was awarded to the Chefs. 5 seconds before the 3 minutes injury time is up, the whistle blows. Not for ending the 90 minutes, but for a penalty to the blues. And my word, it was a not a good decision by the referee. The italian obviously dived over the australian body. Italian fella should have been yellow carded for play acting instead. But the referee pointed to the spot in the box! Oh man, as the commentator said, it was the point whereby "the australian hearts broke." So sad. It is such a crucial time and the ref making such a stupid mistake. It was just too harsh from the referee. The aussie defender was helpless and had his back facing the italian! He could not move out of the position! Why did he slide? He was running and momentum brought him down. Italian fella could have just jumped over him but he chose to run right into the defender and trip over the body. Argh, bad decision.
• Right now, I am watching Brazil play Ghana. And Ronaldo already scored a goal for Brazil 5 minutes into the game. Game still going on... hoho.

A Day At CMPB

• Today is the day of my medical examination to test whether I am operationally fit for NS (National Service). This examination will determine which PES (Physical Employment Standards) I am in. PES will classify whether I am combat fit or not, so as to determine which vocation I will be allocated to. PES ranges from A (being fit for all operational vocations) to F (medically unfit for any form of service, probably paralysed or something).
• So my day starts with meeting Alvin at the Queensway MRT station to go CMPB. Took the 195 bus but wasn't sure which stop to alight, thus ended up missing the CMPB stop. Never mind. So we stepped into CMPB after some security checks. Saw Weihong who is working at CMPB when we passed the canteen. When we stepped into the building, we went to the counter and told the guy there that we were here for a medical examination. Yup, so we handed him our letters and ICs. Next we were asked to go to the photo studio.
• Dang, the moment I stepped in, a very unfriendly guy told us to put our bag downs and put on uniforms. I was abit shocked but then realised that this is the result of army life. So i put on this tight fitting green uniform (yes i looked old in it) and had my photo taken. With us were a few guys here for medical exam as well.
• Then we were asked to go the medical screening area. Went to the counter and the lady did not even bother to look at us. "Read the instructions", that was all she said. So according to the instructions, I handed in my IC, my blood donor's card (to show proof of my blood type so they won't take it again), the medical questionnaire I filled in. Then I was asked to take a seat, and watch television.
• "Ang Meng Hui", that was me. I moved along to station 5 as instructed. In this place, they tested my hearing capabilities. I wasn't prepared for this. I was told to read instructions again and I did. I was shoved into a sound proof room and put on this head phones. Supposedly, if I hear a very soft tone coming from the left side, I would raise my left hand, and if it comes from the right, my right hand. The tone super soft and is just next to silence. Thank God I wasn't that deaf. On my sheet, I was given PES A for audio, cool.
• Then I was sent to station 4. Here, they tested me on my sight. Well, the usual "read the word off the wall" test. But the instructions wasn't clear so I kept reading from the wrong rows. Lol. How pathetic. The guy asked me if I had any eye problems and I said myopia, but he said it ain't a problem. Really? Well, even the short sighted me got a PES A for this test, impressed.
• Next up, room 3. X-ray station. I waited outside the room for some time and then was called in with a whole group of other guys. Once inside the room, we were all told to take off our tops and ya, so our tops went off. Freak, I was the last in the row so I had to stand super long topless in the aircon room. Inside the room, there were articles showing that x-ray is not harmful to the body, hm. After the taking the X-ray, I wore my top and went off, to station 2. No PES for this one.
• Station 2 is dental. Checks my teeth and all. I hate dentists the most, thanks to the monster nurse in my primary school and her clipboard with recycled paper. But this one is ok. The moment I stepped in, the people inside asked me if I was religious coz I wore a cross on my neck, so I said ya... Then I was introduced to them and their churches and all. Turns out to be very friendly brothers in Christ, amen! Dental check up done and I got PES A for it, cool.
• Then comes station 1. I stepped in and was handed a bottle and a stick. I was clueless as to what this was for. That guy told me to go into the toilet and read the instructions (again). So I go in and was instructed to pee into the bottle and put the stick in it. Crap, I wasn't even urgent la! So I took awhile then i pee-ed into the bottle, put the stick in, poured out the contents then went out to show the fella the stick. Was supposed to have a blood test, but I was exempted after the guy saw that I declared to be G6PD deficient. So I was given a piece of paper telling that I can't take some drugs and some nuts and all. Am supposed to give this paper to my sergeant(whoever he is) on my enlistment day at Tekong. So, ya.
• After this, went to station 6. Again, I am asked to strip down everything but my shorts. So many people were in the waiting area with nothing but shorts on. Then I went to the ECG room after hanging around the area not knowing what to do.
• In the ECG room, they placed weird devices on my body to test electrical currents coming from my heart (?). No idea what for. And for some reason, the officer had problems putting the device on me. Weird. And I was given a "abnormal right axis..." result. Crap, abnormal heart? No way...
• Then I went to take my height and weight. That was simple. After that I went to take my blood pressure at a self-service measuring machine. The guy for that station was surfing the net la! Aiyo. So I hit the buttons myself and took my blood pressure, and showed the results to the net surfer.
• Next I went into a room called "Alpha, A". Consultation, where all your secrets leaked. The moment I went in, the guy told me to drop my shorts and underwear. I was taken back for a moment but did as told. Then I pulled them up again and went to sit down. Showed the doc my file and he saw my "abnormal heart" thing so he asked me to stand up and took my heart beat. He never said a thing. Then he gave me an overall PES B coz of my G6PD deficiency. How sad.
• PES B qualifies me for most operational vocations.
• Then I went to another room and registered at some board and was told to read the instructions (again!). So I did. Then I waited very long and took what I remember to be "MAPHAS" or "MAFAAS" or "MAFFAS" test. It is supposed to test my mental capabilities. Man, this test is tough! I was tested in the range of patterns, numbers, algebra, arithmetics, physics, my opinions, my reaction time, my memory etc... I couldn't complete all of them in time as there was a time limit. Crap.
• Then I went to the exit counter, handed in my pink form and was given another file. Inside was "Secrets of passing your IPPT & NAPFA" and "Recruit's Handbook, A Guide Through Basic Military Training"
• Ah, so welcome, Recruit M H Ang.

England Through

England just qualified for the quarter finals of the world cup!! And so did Germany, Argentina, and Portugal. In the last world cup, England also went through to the quarter finals with the top 8 teams, but to be beaten by Brazil in that super free kick from Ronaldhino which killed David Seaman. This year, England goes through to the quarter with yet another super free kick from David Beckham, meeting Portugal in the quarter finals. England vs Portugal, this is getting more and more exciting...

World Cup 2006

• Its that time of the 4 years. Its world cup time and its taking the world by storm. Ah, crap. Well, really, world cup is whats hot this June and July. And I am feeling the heat already! Bah, what studies, lets leave that for awhile... haha, no way, studies in the day, and world cup at night, woo hoo! Now don't tell me I don't have the energy... I know what I am doing.
• Lets start off with the team I am rooting for. England. No, they are not fantastic. They are not as show-off as Brazil. They only won the World Cup once through the Queen's intervention. But they are still a team I support. Hey hey, I got an England ball (courtesy of Mr Brighto) and an England wrist band. That makes me a fan, ok! Why do I support England? Coz their flag bears the holy cross... ah, I think theres more to that. Not quite sure though... but you don't need a reason to support a team, right? So lets get on with it. :)
• Hey hey, England's not doing too bad here, ya see. Top in the group with Sweden, Trinidad and Paraguay. Not bad not bad. This means they won't have to meet Germany in the next round. Not that they don't stand a chance against Germany, but well, just not yet. But poor Owen injured himself. How sad. And Rooney was throwing his temper like a kid when he was substituted out... they still pulled off a draw. Good one.
• Lets see, many of my friends are rooting for Brazil... I mean, COME ON, obviously they will do that. Brazil won the last world cup for goodness sake. They got the stuff in there. Ronaldhino swings his leg like a dancer. Ronaldo's gone a lil fat and slow but who cares. Kaka is up and rising. OF COZ everybody will support them. Why not? Everybody wants to support a winning team. Everybody likes to don the jersey of a winning team. Why not? I don't blame them... unless... there is an upset... hehehe...
• I have a friend who is a die-hard supporter of Portugal. To this friend of mine, I still remember. Check it out, Figo said he was gonna retire during the Euro 2004 but he's still here. Guess you must be very happy now. Dunno whether you are reading this or not, but who cares. I just write. Portugal's not doing badly too. Came up top in group D as well, winning all matches as of yet. Bravo indeed. But may the best team win :)
• But really, no matter which team you support, let us all have good sportsmanship, or "fanmanship". No matter which team scores a goal, lets cheer. No matter which team wins the world cup, lets cheer. The ball is round and many things can happen. So, may the best country win it all ;)

Lord...

Dear Lord, be with me now. In this darkest of hours, in this time of need. Lord, give me the strength and the wisdom to pull through this time. Let your hand be upon me, that I may be able to have the strength and abilities to excel in this time of tests and exams. Lord, if by your grace and strength, I come back with success, let your name be exalted. Let your name be glorified. That all may know that it is only by you that I have been able to excel. That it is only by your strength that I have been able to pull through. Lord, this prayer I pray not only for myself. I pray for all whom I am close to, for all to have come to me in this time for prayers. I pray, for Bright, for Vip, for Stanley and for all the people taking exams. Lord, bless them that they may know that prayers work. That you are the true and the living God. That they may come to know you one day. Lord, uphold us in this time of need. Bless us with abundant knowledge and wisdom. Bless us with strength to carry on. Lord, I thank you for upholding me all this time. Let your blessings befall on us once again. In Jesus name, amen.

Friends

TWO friends appeared on my mind today: Rebecca Tan and Zihao. We used to be close friends. Really good friends. Yet, for reasons that I do not know of, our relationship starts to collapse. We no longer talk to each other. No phone calls, no message, no meet ups. It is sad. I really like my friends. I sure hope that we can be friends again. It will not be easy, but its surely more than worth a try. I surely hope no other friends will leave my side.

Dear Mr Da Vinci.... its not your fault, really

• Many people have been coded by what is known as the "Da Vinci Code". But really, the code does not come from Da Vinci himself, it comes from some author called Dan Brown. For the benefits of the masses, 'The Da Vinci Code' is a book written by Dan Brown. Please do note that it is a story book, a fictional tale.
• A big controversy that the book states is the claim that Mary Magdelene was sitting beside Jesus at the last supper. Apparently Dan Brown was looking at the painting "The Last Supper" by Da Vinci and decided that John looked rather feminine, so he said that was Mary. Let me clear this up, really.
• First of all, can I note that Da Vinci drew "The Last Supper" purely based on inspiration and research on other last suppers drawn by other artists.Da Vinci was not there at the last supper with Jesus, neither did God send him a picture of the last supper. It was a fictional work in itself, open to interpretations like the one Mr Dan Brown did.
• There is only 1 true account to the last supper: The Bible. In all the 4 gospels, the last supper was described to be shared amoung Jesus and his 12 apostles. There really is no other interpretations for this one unless you start arguing who the 12 apostles are, and I am sure Mary Magdelene is not one of them.
• Yes, that guy in the painting look feminine, he looks like a girl. But for goodness sake, it is only a painting. I say just get over it. Besides, during Da Vinci's time, men are drawn to be graceful and pretty feminine, the only thing that seperates men from women were probably the facial hair. Maybe Da Vinci just forgot to add some hair...
• My point is, please get over it. "The Da Vinci Code" is only a story book, just read it for the mystery and get over it. You don't take Gulliver's Travels and decide that there really is a land of small people, a land of horses etc... I believe no one reads "Three Little Pigs" and thinks that there really are three little talking pigs building houses somewhere in the world, and a wolf that can blow houses down in a breath. No. So please.
• J U S T G E T O V E R I T

Mirrors

• I look into the mirror and I see a not so impressive looking young man... I think to myself "Ah, its just the mirror, it sucks". Happened to many of us, isn't it? We blame it on the angle, the shape of the mirror, the size of the mirror, colour of the mirror, brightness, time of the day, anything but ourselves. Kinda makes me laugh when I recall myself doing that. But really, we want to think of ourselves as good looking don't we? Come on, we all do, don't try to tell yourself you are humble again...
• Might not be mirrors, happens alot to the photographs we take too. Don't we all have the experience whereby a friend takes a photograph of us or we take one ourself, and if its a digital camera and the photograph tend to show a rather 'not so impressive' us, we will scream 1st thing - "DELETE!!!!"
• True, many people must be laughing at themselves right now for doing such things. But whats more true is this fact that we just cannot accept an ugly side of us. You name it, "Bad hair day", "Wardrobe malfunctions", all the excuses for us not looking good. We make sure we look good everywhere we go, wear nice clothes, do up our hair, for some people they put make up. And its quite surprising that sometimes we cannot even recognize ourselves! No wonder some people proclaim "hey, you look so different without make up!" Ya... some people look different.
• But really, we should accept ourselves for who we are. Don't try to run away from our ugliness. We are all imperfect, so come on, a pimple outbreak won't kill you, don't start screaming over a few red dots on your seemingly perfect face. But of course its always good to look nice. You know, make sure your hair isn't all messed up, that you shaved your face, that you are wearing decently. Its ok. Just don't stand in front of the mirror for 3 hours trying to cover all the imperfections on your face with some powder, or stay in your room trying on every single piece of garment you can find in your wardrobe for another 3 hours. Seriously, not many people will notice that belt you are wearing or the colour socks you have to match your shoe.
• So next time you walk by a mirror and it doesn't show that you are too pretty, just accept it. "Well, thats me on the ugly side" Really, different angles from the mirror shows different sides of us. Some angles really show us to be very very good looking, but we can't see life from only one angle, can we?

A Big Happy Mother's Day for all our Big Mothers with Big Hearts!!!!

• NO doubt it is already over, I must still wish all mother's in this world a very Happy Mother's Day. So how did you spend your mother's day? Of course the most ideal way is to spend it with your mum, bring her out for a very special dinner, give her presents and hugs and all. I am glad if you did that. Not what happened to me though. 14th May 2006 was spent at church, after that going home to slog myself over homework which I have not completed.
• In fact, thats not my main point (haha). I need to tell everybody about mothers. Hey, everybody has a mother so don't tell me to buzz off or what. Your mother might be evil to you, dead, sick, paralysed, indifferent, a stepmother, or just a normal mother, she is STILL your mother for goodness sake. As long as you stayed in her body for nine months or even shorter, she is your mother. So take it. You got a mother, theres no denying it.
• I believe mothers are the best people in the world, to their children at least. Motherhood starts from the 1st day our dad's sperm infuses with our mum's egg. Thats when we were 1st created! Hey hey, nobody might be able to see us coz we are so pathetically small but we are there! In that chamber called a womb. And for the next nine months we will grow in this womb, while our mother will be holding us, ensuring that we are protected, that we are developing well in the womb. It is tough OK! No joke, it is very difficult. And ALL of us came out from that nine months camp in the womb. So aren't our mothers great or what.
• Mothers are willing to sacrifice everything they have just to make their children happy. Ok ok, I know many people will start throwing stones at me coz they will say that this is untrue. Even if this is untrue for everybody else, I must hold that this is true to me. Sorry all, but I feel that my mum is the best (muaahhahaahah). Since my birth, my mum has been taking care of me. And almost everytime I want something, she will always try her best to give it to me. I might not say it out but I really feel very grateful for this. Many times I might have hurt my mum with my words and all, but she still loves me nonetheless, hey man, that ain't easy. Try to constantly sacrifice for someone who don't even appreciate it. The feeling SUCKS man! And to think that my mum did it for 18 years. Bravo!
• Still remember one day when I was down with a fever. I was 16 I suppose. I could have easily went to see a doctor myself, but instead I called my mum to tell her that I got a fever. Without a moment's doubt, she went down from the coffeeshop to bring me to a doctor. I tell you I really appreciated that but of course I didn't say it out loud. I mean who would? We always keep these things in our hearts right?
• Lol, but who will know it if we keep holding these things in our hearts? How will our mother know that we truly appreciate them for all that they have done? Thats why we have Mother's Day dude. Learn to appreciate your mum fully on this day ok? Its only 1 day out of 365 days in a year. Come on! Be a little generous. Clean the dishes, pack your room, do your household chores. Give your mum a break. Buy her a good meal, get her a nice present. I tell you, these things you do are nothing compared to what your mum has done for you, but such things will no doubt make your mother very happy! All mums need is to have her children appreciate what they have done. Thats all.
• To all the people who might not be as blessed as others with a good mum who will take care of them very well, please don't start picking up stones to throw at me. I have good news to share with all of you. There is someone who loves you equally much and is willing to sacrifice himself for you as well. And that person is none other than God. God loves all of us unconditionally. You don't have to be rich to get God's love, don't have to be handsome, don't have to be smart, don't have to be popular. God loves you for who you are.
• One thing that is even more incredible than what mothers do, God has loved you even before you existed on the face of this Earth. Before your dad's sperm meets your mum's egg, God already knew you and He loved you with all His heart! He knew you were gonna sin so He prepared a path for you by sending Jesus to take our sins 2000 years ago! All this done so that you can be close to Him!
• Even right now, God is still looking after you even if you had not acknowleged him. Why? Because God's love is unconditional. He loves you no matter what you have done. He loves the sinners, but He hates the sins. Thats why we all needed someone as big as Jesus to take our sins for us. This is done so that we can go to God clear of our sins.
• Sad thing is many people choose not to believe that this is true. They continue on with their life thinking that no one cares for them. This caused them to be depressed for their whole life and lead a very sad life!
• Hey man, life is tough, isn't it only better to have God on your side? God is always there to help you, and He's only a prayer away. Even faster than all the emergency hotlines that you can find. This prayer will reach God in an instant, even faster than the speed of light at 299,792.458 km/s! Ok that is fast right. No doubt.
• So like all emergency hotlines, there will be no response if there is no call in the 1st place. What to do? Call! Call out to God and I am sure he will respond because He loves you. Your mother might not care but God cares. Your mother might care but God cares even more! Muahahaahah! Happy Mother's Day to all!

Welcome back, Don! + A short post on exams

A big welcome to our writer, editor, publisher, Don!!! Ah, thats just me saying welcome to myself... well! After a long break from blogging, I guess I am back to the business. Lets see... how long has it been, a few months I suppose. Many things happened in these few months no doubt, and I am blogging from a different computer and in a different room than in the last post! Yes yes, I am blogging right now from my OWN computer :) and in my OWN room. This = total freedom of both time and space. The ability to blog at any time of the day! Ahh... as I am typing this, I am suffering from the aftereffects of a frostbite I got earlier. Jeez, they really bite. Ok, getting on with the post of the day.

Ya know, I had a test yesterday morning (16 hours ago) and I realised many things that seems to run in a trend in all tests I take. Oh yeah, on a side note, I was realising all these things as my mind was pretty blank when the questions hit me. So yes, one single trend: People who seems as though they are sick always exists in the exam hall. Either they fell sick while studying so hard for their papers, or they find that the exam hall is too cold, or they are just trying the make the silent exam hall a little less quiet. Whatever the reason, I realised that people always SNEEZE, BLOW THEIR NOSES, COUGH, COUGH CONTINUOUSLY, CLEAR THEIR THROATS. The above mentioned are things that you will SURELY find when you are doing your papers, especially in junior college. I've even seen cases whereby people seemed as if they were about to puke or something, clutching to their chest and all. This is crazy, is the exam hall so stressful that people start falling sick the moment they step into it and then recover again after they get out? I don't know. Leave that to you to figure then.

I said it was going to be a short post, so it is :)

IMM: I, Me, Myself

"Hey, its my turn!", "May you excuse me?", "I wanna see this!"... well, these 3 phrases are extremely familiar, and many a times, it comes from our mouth. Yes, I admit that I always say this. All of us uses these phrases. But does it mean that we are selfish? No, I didn't even mention the word selfish untill now. In fact, many of us are just "ALL ABOUT OURSELVES".
You see, almost everybody thinks that this world revolves around them. They tend to think that people will notice them wherever they go. When they get on the train, they think that everybody is noticing them. Well, I am not blaming anybody here, it is just our nature to think this way. We are created this way. No choice.
Let me give some examples. When you go out with a friend, and have a very very wonderful day of activites, do you go home, go online, and then go to your friend's blog and check if he/she has written about the day, and in particular, about you? Lol, no need to answer, I can expect pretty much "Yes" here. You see, this proves that we really pay alot of attention to what others think of us. When we hear people talking about us, we really want to know what they talk about. We want people to think highly of us. This is alright, its great to think this way, but we need to be careful here.
IF we are not careful, we might fall into the trap of wearing masks. We are start having 2 personalities, 2 lifestyles, double standard living. One is the wonderful self that you put up front for people to see and blog about, and the other is the true you that hides in your room.
It is best if we really show our true personality to other people. If everybody starts acting to be Mr.Nice Guy in front of everybody, it would be disastrous. Everybody will be the same! The true you is still the best. Yes, flaws here and there, but its alright. We are created with imperfections, nobody is perfect. Ok, don't give me your "Nobody is perfect, I am nobody, thats why I am perfect". Thats crap. That is totally stupid. You know what we should do, we should just accept our imperfections and just improve on these flaws. We shouldn't try to twist words and try to make ourselves look like we are perfect. Keep on improving ourselves and we might just be near to perfect, not perfect. In fact, all of us has a different definition of perfection, so I don't think perfection is something that can be applied to anybody.
And oh, sorry couldn't blog these few days as the modem isn't really happy. But anyway, wish all a merry christmas =)

Santa Claus Science?

Came by this article from a science magazine. Santa Claus true or false? You decide.

1. No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
2. According to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
3. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second.This is to say that for each household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house.Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but for the purposes of our calculations, we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest manmade vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second--a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
4. The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload--not even counting the weight of the sleigh--to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison, this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
5. 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as a spacecraft reentering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centripetal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

In conclusion--If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.

Fear

Its a fear I cannot understand. A fear I never had before. The fear of being reckless, fear of being daring. Yes, I am bounded, chained by a fear I never used to have. Its been 5 days since I got my bicycle back and trust me, I have been cycling for these 5 days. However, something is very different from the past. Now, theres a fear that wraps around me, causing me to be extremely careful. This extra attention that I give to the traffic. The slow speed that I move at on the pedestrian walkway. I know where this fear comes from. I suppose its what they call post accident trauma. Being knocked down by a car and losing a bike has certainly inserted a safety measure in me. This safety measure made me fear traffic, fear the road, fear speed. For these 5 days that I was on wheels, I hardly hit the road. Most of the time I would just cruise my way around on pedestrian walkways. I am afraid of the road. I am afraid of cars knocking me down. Even on the walkways, I cycle very slowly. Its very hard for me to go into gear 8, or even 7. I am afraid of knocking people down, I am afraid of falling. The guts that used to be with me when I cycle is gone. I feel rather lost, not knowing where to go. I do not know whether this is a good thing or not. Some might say this is good, that I pay so much care and attention to my own safety, but I don't know. I really want my guts back. I want to speed on the roads with no fear again. I want to ride down hills. I want to go off road. I want to be the biker I used to be. I want my guts back. Take away this fear from me. Release me from the bondage of trauma, break the chains of fear that lock me down.

Hotwheels!!!!

YES! Finally after about 8 months of waiting, the bike can hit the roads again! Yep, I have finally completed the bike restoration programme and the bike is now fully functional. For all of you who don't know, my cycle was rendered disfunctional about 8 months ago due a pathetic car accident. For 8 months, the bike laid motionless in my room. The bike restoration plan was started during late October this year. The plan was to, of course, restore the bike to back to functioning condition. It is not a simple task. I started out by going around many different bike shops and going online to look for good deals and compare different prices. All this took about a month to finish. Finally I caught a very fantastic deal online and brought my bike down to the shop to fix. I would not provide the details but the deal was really quite a bargain. The bargaining and negotiations took about 5 days to complete as there many parts of the bike to be discussed. Finally, on 21st November 2005, I brought my bike down to this nice shop to be fixed. The repair process took one day to complete. On 22nd November 2005, which is also my sister's birthday (for more information about this can go to my sister's blog at http://neverperfect-.blogspot.com), the bike was delivered to my house. Fully functional bike. Some new parts are: Giant Yukon Disc frame, disc brakes, new rims, front derailer, gear shifters and brake levers. With my fixed bike, I immediately sped off to my friend's house. Ah, I totally forgot I had to stay home to cut cake with my family! Sorry sis! When my mum called me, it was quite late already. I had half an hour to rush home but my mum wouldn't allow it. She was worried enough since the car accident so of course she wouldn't allow me to speed home. So, I just spent the midnight cycling around Bukit Gombak neighbourhood then stayed at my friend's home to watch Man U play Villareal. After that, we cycled for lunch then went home. And thats that. Reached home and I started blogging... typing this post and posting it...

Shopping, Not My Favourite Past Time

Imagine walking and walking and walking, at your left and right side are temptations that aim to rip a hole off your wallet. You continue walking with no aim at all, just walking and throwing yourself into temptation of spending money like nobody's business... Thats a situation I don't like to be in. And more than often, I find myself in this situation. Yes, you have no choice but to go shopping when you are out with girls. My sister in particular is one person who so loves shopping that she can spend hours walking around a 1km by 1km compound. No kidding. Wait, don't get me wrong. I still likes to go down to orchard road to buy stuff, but not shopping. I don't like the idea of walking around an area with no real intention or aim, looking at items through a glass panel and not really able to afford it. No. I like to go shopping when I have the cash, when I know what I want and when I see it, I will buy it. Just recently I went shopping with my sis and some other friends. It was quite an experience. I would just follow them and they would go into almost every single shop that they see, and I will just stand outside waiting. Occasionally I will hear someone ask me, "Nice?" I will just take a look and give a short comment. This can go on for hours, around the same compound, into and out of same shops. Sure is some good leg exercise. Some tips for guys out there though. Don't ever complain outwardly to your female shopping companion that you are tired or bored, just keep it to yourself and hope that they will end their shopping trip fast. If you really can't take it anymore, suggest to go for a meal or a break. If the girls ask you for comment, give your comment. Don't try to act cool by acting indifferent. Don't give false comments coz you won't want people to waste their money buying ugly things. When shopping with girls, just stand behind and follow them, don't ask why, just follow. Don't try to get a seat at any opportunity you get, it will only create a bad impression of yourself. And lastly, if you agree to go shopping with them, go shopping with them. Don't try to excuse yourself or leave halfway no matter how boring or tiring it may be. Be a gentleman for goodness sake.

Horrible Horrible Horrible Not So Horrible Afterall

I promised I will update... and ar, forget it. I am not here because I promised so, I am here because I really feel so... argh, frustrated. Let me tell you about it. My computer, which is I think 6 years or even older, is not as obedient already. Just last wednesday, it decides to break down. Well, I did my best to revive it but to no avail. So ya, I had to call the repairman down to fix it up. Sure, fixed an appointment. Well, I felt bored so I tried to mess with the com again. That piece of chips + wire + metal then decides to work again! My goodness. I was glad and shocked at the same time. Must be God's miracle. Thank God. So well, I had to call off the appointment. That repairman named Mike sounded disappointed (one business gone). Haha, so I am real glad that crap worked again. So I was playing happily when... dang, the modem started giving me problems. It just won't recgonize the stupid cable. Pathetic. Ok, I am no expert in cable so I had to call the technicians from Starhub down. Fixed an appointment for Saturday. So saturday came and I waited. Felt bored so I went to mess with the com again. You all can guess it. The internet is up again! Glad and shocked and I don't know what to do. That guy must be on his way. And yes he is. Technician guy called me and told me he is on his way. I told him internet is up already so he don't have to come down. Technician guy sounded glad and say ok. Ya, so thats it, pathetic computer back to working order with no external help, no even help from me. Thank God. Well, all I did was format the com... and ARGH! This is my second frustration. I lost so many files in the com that I can just go and bang my head on the wall already. All my project work, my literature, school research... and even my saved game files... especially my saved game files... especially the Need For Speed Underground saved game file! All the 111 races that I completed and all the cars that I modified and designed myself... all formatted... Right, smart move Meng Hui. I didn't even have a backup copy. I searched high and low for a backup copy but no, no backup copy!!!! Argh, I don't want to replay that game anymore, I'll just play other game... nah, I'll just get my bike fixed and go cycling. Haha! Yes! My bike is getting fixed soon! I am so glad! Finally, after months without getting those wheels on the road, I can finally hit the streets again!! Woohoo! Gladness overwhelms me and I can't even go to sleep with the excitement knowing that my biking days are coming back again... HEEHEE........:)

An Update (Obviously), About My Exams Results

Recently, I recieved complains that I did not update my little blog. Well, so here goes, an update or a new post, whatever you want to call it. Hey, did I tell you that I finished my exams already? Of course I did. But I didn't tell you the results right? Well, here goes. I PASSED! Yeah, that is really fantastic. At first when I had the setback in my economics paper, I really though I had no hope. There goes one subject. I only had geography and literature to push me to J2. Literature was definitely not my forte and you need 2 'A' Level passes and 1 'AO' Level pass to get into J2. I was desperate, but well, what can I do. Did the exams and prayed all thing would go well. When I got the results, I was overwhelmed with joy. Literature got me really fantastic results. That was unbelievable, thank God. Geography was pretty cool, and economics was not as bad as I expected. General paper was pretty cool. So the results on my result sheet (which is the combination of CA and Promotional Exams marks) are Economics (A): E, Geography (A): D, Literature (A): D, General Paper (AO): C5, Chinese AO: B3. That means 3 'A' Level passes and 2 'AO' Level passes! That also mean that I passed everything that I studied for! Praise the Lord! Of course it isn't the best of the results I could get but I am already very happy with this. Indeed I will have buck up through my J2 years in order to get a good enough results to go through to university. Well, an update, and I will update more frequently, no problem.

All In A Nutshell

Hey hey, been some time since my last post. Well, it always have to pass some time before I even post, but, I have just so much to say this time! I've been wanting to post some thoughts of mine so many times for the past week but just could not find the time to! It had been a pretty hectic period of time for me. Since 2 weeks ago I had been wanting to write something. That was the time my promotional exams ended and, darn, many things sure happened. I had one of the most major setbacks ever in examinations. I believe complacency caught up with me and I did not read the instructions for my 1st paper, the economics essay paper. Instead of the required 3 questions, I chose only 1 question and spent all my time on that 1 question. This caused me to lose 50 marks out of 75 for nothing. It was a hard blow for me as economics was one of my most confident paper. But I recieved much encouragement and was able to move on and finish all my paper. The exam week was 1 week of intensive continuous examinations. I was extremely stressed out due to the bad start but was still able to pull through. And after the last paper, I quietly took out a little choclate bar from my pencil case and congragulated myself... but only to find out there was still more work to do! Well, at least exams are over. But but but... there is still project work! Had hours of meeting and all even after the paper... well, then we were free! Wahahah. Enjoyed and destress the following monday at the southern island of Sentosa. Didn't get too tan though, the sun is acting weird nowadays... And after the monday... I don't want to say it but... its school again. Hours and hours of project work... and this sort of project work life just went on and on and on... and now... we are still doing project work -_-" Haiz, my CCA was announced to be closed down yesterday. The Humanities Club (which I am in) had our last meeting yesterday. Did nothing much but to give farewell speeches. Felt kinda nostalgic during the meeting, we did spend some quality time with each other anyway. I just can't wait for my results. They are going to be released next monday. I wonder if I can make it through to year 2. I really pray that everybody in the class will make it. Don't want to see anybody being held back. Don't want to see anyone leave the class. Especially all my friends. Without even a single one of them, the class wouldn't be what it is. Can't think of what it will be like if anyone should leave... the class is small enough, wonder if we will be rebanded if anyone should leave. Well then, I shall end on this note I guess. Not the best of endings I guess but its just everything over the past 3 weeks in a nutshell...