Divine Inspiration

Ok, I'll like to say upfront that I've got a tonne of things that I'd love to blog abt. It's been a great month, my favourite time of the year being christmas and with my birthday and all, met up with some really great pals, hung out, did what I'd like to do.. but really.. I haven't exactly the mood to blog abt them..

I have been and still am pretty bogged down abt my FYP. I'm pretty much stuck with my back against the wall at this point in time.. As with all things, I'm aware that I need to keep the faith that I'll be seen through this period, but it's getting increasingly hard.

I need some sort of a Divine Inspiration of sorts.. cos there's no way that I can single-handedly think of how to solve my problem to complete the project, it just seems too big. I pray it comes soon..

Ramblings on 221208

It’s been a while since I’ve left anything, and I figured that things are starting to collect dust around here.. but I don’t really have anything concrete to mention, so I figure I’ll just ramble off here. You’ve been warned, do proceed with caution..

Well, first thing’s first.. I thank God for the opportunity to meet up with Alvin, Eugene and Justin just earlier today. I’d say it’s pretty much my highlight of a rather eventful day. It’s been a good 2 years since we had four of us sit down and catch up.. so many thing’s changed, but yet, still so many things remain the same.

Everyone says that u put a bunch of guys together, and they’ll definitely start talking abt the army.. well.. in a sense it’s true.. but I’d say that it’s pretty different in this case. To begin with, it’s the very thing that brought us together in the first place, so really, you can’t expect much deviation from this ‘glue’.. and it’s sad to say, but sometimes, I do feel closer to them, as compared to friends whom I’ve spent more than 18 years growing up with..

In a short 5 months, or 2 years, we’ve been put against adversaries of different levels, so definitely, some sort of a bond develops there.. sad but true. But perhaps the vary life-and-death demands of the jobscope DOES require such high levels of camaraderie, which is probably why if you open ur ears on the train, bus or at Star Bucks, you’ll hear the typical ‘army talk’ float by eventually..

It’s quite a pity that not all 8 of us were gathered, but I’d say it’s a pretty good start, and one that’s worth every second of my time.

Moving on, the interview today was alright.. I would say that I’d like to have exercised a little more wisdom in answering some of the questions, but all in, I’ve given right about my best.. so I’ll leave Him to do the rest. I’ve learnt in the past weekend, from dar’s interview to the healing service, that He’s really in control. Some things are hard to explain in words and this is probably one of them.. even the interview itself was a miracle, being that I almost missed the information sent from the HR team right up till the last minute.. so like what the catch phrase says, God’s never failed me, but He’s sure scared me to death.. looking back now, I guess it was very much a simple test of faith, and one that I perhaps did not fare too well for..

Did I also mention that you should watch what you pray and ask God for? By now you would have known that I’m a proud daddy of 2 chubby (ok, they’re now fat) hammies, Hamlette and Omelette. Perhaps what I didn’t mention was that on the night of the 25th, one day before I came home finding the 2 hamsters on my table, I was praying and I asked God (for some reason, *what was I thinking*) to make me a ‘bigger’ person, in terms of being more responsible and teaching me how to handle more responsibilities.. to make me a more efficient and ‘useful’ person..

Lo and behold, I return the next day after my last exam paper to find myself in charge of 2 tiny little lives.. talk abt a lesson on responsibility.. but in a way that’s just how things are.. similar to what Morgan Freeman mentioned in the blockbuster Evan Almighty, ‘..when you ask God for faith, do you think He’ll just *snap fingers* and give you faith, or do you think He’ll put you through different situations to teach you faith..’ as much as we don’t like it, I guess we all know the answer to that question.. so perhaps I ought to be a little wiser in the future abt what I’m asking God for.. (not that I’m complaining or anything though..)

Life-less

Ok, I’m not too sure what this post should encompass.. hah. It seems more like an outlet for me at this point in time. I’ve been stuck with my FYP and I honestly think the outcome’s starting to look gloomier and gloomier by the minute. If there’s such a thing as a good ‘time’ for a miracle.. it’s probably now.

Previously I wrote abt Combat Arms.. I have to say it’s really quite an interesting concept for a game and it’s fun. Bottom line, it’s fun. But as with most games, there’re hackers everywhere which really suck the fun out of the game.. so I’m sorta starting to dread it now.. unless of course it’s with friends whom I know.. are you into it too? Maybe you could start and we could have a ‘clean’ game without all them cheaters out there..

that’s not exactly my avatar.. since I can change it like everyday.. but still, one of the more interesting looks I’ve put together. =)

My hammies are growing fat too! Haha.. that’s what happens when you leave the food lying around and you have parents who always think that the hamsters are hungry just because they’re gnawing on the cage or stone or whateva. So how? Next time, if you’re gonna have hamsters, keep the food hidden away.. out of reach of ur ignorant parents.

Got me 2 hamster balls too, so now they’ll have something to climb into and explore the house with, without me having a bawl of a time trying to find them after..

Hamlette and Omelette.. Ham and Eggs.. haha..

The green one would be Hamlette’s ball.. had to put them in the stand, cos it’s kinda hard to get a shot with them rolling abt. Haha..

Latest Earwax, Richie Sambora’s Undiscovered Soul. Spent some time digging through my old cds the other day and found this jewel, still remember listening to it on the loooong bus rides to school during my poly days.. good stuff. =)

Richie Sambora - Undiscovered Soul

and yes, I seriously need a life..

DIP Update V

Ok, so it’s been more than a year since the adventures with the DIP group, and I honestly thank God for that opportunity. Looking back now, I see it as a chance to get to know friends, true, honest, not-gonna-play-you-out type of friends in uni..

For that matter, had it not been for the Design and Innovation Project, I wouldn’t have gotten to know a good many friends, and I’ll prob be sitting along in lectures most of the time.. so in all honesty, I thank God for the experience.

Not so much to reminisce, but more as an update; that’s what this post is abt. Prof Handsome, as you know, has left for Curtin University, Australia and he’s been good. He’s also published a paper on our Z-Source Inverter and has thanked each of us by name in the paper.

It’s quite cool really, the first time that my name’ll be appearing in a technical paper! Haha.. but really, we all thank him for that, cos he really didn’t have to.. as with most profs he could have just well said a ‘thank you’ to NTU and the students (he’s no longer with us anymore anyway), but yet he bothered to mention us by name..

So here’s a big CHEERS to our prof Handsome.. you can download the paper here.

Redolence

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

-Romans 12:15

Attended a wake on Friday evening.. This evening, as I read his blog, I somehow miss my own grandpa.

Without knowing it, it’s been 10 years since he’s passed.. and I can only regret that I couldn’t be there beside him at the final few moments. I still remember I was at home when I got the news and the next few days going to school was hell. I miss him dearly, and perhaps the only source of comfort would come from the fact that I’ll be seeing him again soon.

Amongst the various regrets, perhaps I’d wish I had gotten to know him better. To know him not as a gum-ball machine where I’d shake and poke to get candies and nice treats from, but to know how things were like for him.. to converse and hear him tell me how it was like to come down all the way to singapore. To hear abt how life was like from the province he’s from. To actually CHAT with him..

As the youngest grandson of my generation, I guess I pretty much had it all.. it was only during dinner with Shirley 6 months ago that I realized there are actually loads of things that I didn’t get to know abt.

So perhaps, it’s a good thing for me to be living in my own bubble.. that way, memories remain sweeter, albeit at the expense of the above-mentioned.. I guess I just miss him dearly..

Which also makes my heart ache too, knowing that I haven’t seen granny in quite a bit.. and that I don’t see her as often and prob not as close as we were last time.. I miss the old times, where they were just a 5 min walk away. Now as much as I want to, I feel that there’s this geographic/physical/mental barrier in the way..

Then again, perhaps I’m just making up lame excuses for my own inadequacy.

I miss you..

I’ve-got-no-idea-what-this-title-should-be

Thank God I managed to get what I wanted for my time-table earlier this morning. For a moment I didn’t get a particular slot I wanted, but thankfully after like 20 minutes, someone gave up a slot, so I took it. =)

Now just have to wait and see which elective I’ll get. Hopefully it’s the photography one.. sounds quite fun..

FYP’s beginning to be a real chore. I suddenly realized that there’s a tonne of things to do. Like suddenly, there isn’t enough time.. and it’s gonna be Christmas. For once, just once, in 24 years, I find myself not looking forward to Christmas. Cos that’ll mean that the hols are ending and that means FYP deadline’s round the corner.. help.

So anyway, maybe the holiday mood just hasn’t set in yet, but come to think of it, there doesn’t seem to be much of a holiday to begin with actually. Hah..

Thanks to Wilson, I’ve now got a new installation on my computer.. Combat Arms. Think Counter-Strike meets online RPG. Where you get to upgrade ur gear and ur rank and what not.. come to think of it, it’s pretty similar to COD4, except that here, your upgrades don’t last forever.. and u get points or ‘Gear Points’ with the experience level you get thru the games. These points can then be used to get a wide range of new upgrades ranging from a muffler for ur rifle, to a scope for ur pistol, to a red beret *ooh* for ur avatar. And the interesting thing is that, you can pop by to 7-11 and get one of those cards to ‘buy’ more points to use.. that’s if you have some how used up ur points or are lazy to level up.. but honestly.. I don’t see who will actually pay money.. real-life money for a game’s possession.. some things I’ll never get. =P

The surprising thing is that it isn’t laggy.. the initial round I played had some sound issues, but after that, all subsequent ones were quite fun.. perhaps it’ll be even better if it’s with ppl you know, so I’ll try my best to psych the DIP clan to get in on this.. =)


On a different note, it’s interesting to note how games are evolving.. with the rise of massive internet bandwidth, games are now available for free, charging only for augmented services within the games.. quite different from how it was last time..

Latest earwax, Jared Anderson.. something also tells me that I should be spending more time on my guitar; the PODxt Live’s collecting dust already.. Urgh. Great, a tonne of things to do, a dime of a time that I’ve got. Think I should pull up a to-do list soon..