politics aside, business

Professor Babin was talking about the significance of speeches and the power of positioning: Did you notice how the Republicans have been trumpeting Palin as the instrument of change? Well politics aside, whether that's true if it's a wise move yadda yadda blah blah, it does put an entirely different slant to things. And i didn't realise it one bit.
With Palin and Obama doing all the talking, Biden is conveniently taken out of the picture, and McCain is pushed up, untouchable even. So we have the Democrat Presidential candidate doing the slinging with the Republican VP candidate. Now that's a superb tactic to put your competition into a hole and keep them inside, while elevating your product in the consumer's mind.

Business aside, I really hope Obama and Biden gets elected.

now and then we get to believe in something old yet new

goodnight

Rebirth

Pete Maravich
Passed on January 5, 1988, at age 40


Pistol Pete, 6'5 (1.96m), 198 lb (90 kg)





----------------------------------------------------------------





Ricky Rubio
Born October 21, 1990, age 17


Ricky Rubio, 6'4 (1.92m), 180 lb (82 kg)

small change

the same homeless guy has been sitting at the same spot for the past six months.
is our routine any better?

思恋是一种病

it's easier to blame myself

Road Trip and meeting Chris Martin

The trip to niagara falls took 7 hours, and Eric and I took turns to drive.
I was driving at 6 am in the morning, dozing off, and I swerved off the road, to my horror. I snapped out of it in time to steer back, to my relief.
I think I appreciate my father much more now, him toiling in his cab for the past 20 years, almost every day for a good 10 12 hours.
The drive back to Philly was a good reminder of how tiring driving can be.

So Jens and I took a bus to NY to catch Coldplay for their MSG show. And on the bus, i thought this bugger that looked really like Chris Martin.
But we didn't do shit. In fact we were distracted by a lively argument/ conversation between a hispanic/african-american woman and a white man.

On further inspection at the concert posters, and seeing Coldplay at Madison Square Garden, we think that was really Chris Martin, in the same bus as us from Philly to New York. What are the odds! Dang, we should have just taken a picture with him at least.

He's a good 90 percent lookalike, at the very least.

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do

what if we stop having a ball

i went to catch ingrid michaelson kick off her tour last sunday at TLA at south street, and she was really good, quirky and nice.

she did this song, this really affecting love song.

What if we stop having a ball?
What if the paint chips from the wall?
What if there's always cups in the sink?
What if I'm not what you think I am?

What if I fall further than you?
What if you dream of somebody new?
What if I never let you win, chase you with a rolling pin?
Well what if I do?

I am giving up on making passes and
I am giving up on half empty glasses and
I am giving up on greener grasses.
I am giving up.

What if our baby comes home after nine?
What it your eyes close before mine?
What if you lose yourself sometimes? Then I'll be the one to find you
Safe in my heart.

I am giving up on making passes and
I am giving up on half empty glasses and
I am giving up on greener grasses.
I am giving up.

I am giving up.
I am giving up.
I am giving up on greener grasses.

I am giving up for you.
I am giving up for you.
I am giving up.

Everything you do in life, every choice you make, has a consequence. When you do things without thinkin', then you ain't makin' the choice. The choice is makin' you.

i try to picture a girl
through a looking glass
see her as a carbon atom
see her eyes and stare back at them
see that girl
as her own new world
though a home is on the surface, she is still a universe

a kind much closer than friends use
but i still can’t say it after all we’ve been through

say it isn't so

i don't
i don't

Alicia Keys was quite something yesterday. Her moments on stage gave me goosebumps (as in "brrwoaaahhh i can feel the ground shake and my body tremble" that kind).
My camera sucked though, (3X zoom is bullshit when u get the cheapest tix), so hopefully vijay gets his pics/vids up soon enough.

Today till Friday's going to be tough, one slow mad rush before barcelona and latvia. I'm actually gonna miss out on the playoffs (game3@wachovia!) because of stuff. But if it's any consolation, things always pan out don't they, and my legs look pretty long in skinny jeans.

and yes i came out of skydiving alive; moments of my life went flashing past, but it was all good. Hmm on further recount; I can remember cursing my way on the freefall down, and then wondering what my last thoughts would be if the chute didn't open, and then pooop! the chute did open, there was no need for last thoughts, and it was one long float down to the grass on the ground.

and above's a video from Ms Keys, for my grandma, my mom, sis, the girls in my life.

words are cheap fool

A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her.

Oscar Wilde

Did she decline? No
Didn't she mind? I don't think so
Was it for real? Damn sure
What was the deal? A pretty girl aged 24

Shelby Lynne @ Trocadero

Electric Factory

When the world keeps spinning around
My world's upside down
And I wouldn't change a thing
I've got nothing else to lose
I lost it all when I found you
And I wouldn't change a thing

i dreamed two nights ago that i was swerving through corners, crank courses, at speeds too fast. barely making the corners, almost scraping the mirrors.

is that a sign to slow down?

haha nah. i can't be going slower.

from Sacred Hoops

There's an old Zen story that illustrates this point. Two monks were traveling together in a heavy downpour when they came upon a beautiful woman in a silk kimono who was having trouble crossing a muddy intersection. "Come on," said the first monk to the woman, and he carried her in his arms to a dry spot. The second monk didn't say anything until much later. Then he couldn't contain himself anymore. "We monks don't go near females," he said. "Why did you do that?"

"I left the woman back there, " the first monk replied. "Are you still carrying her?"

.

.

go on

If I had eyes in the back of my head
I would have told you that you looked good as I walked away
And if you could've tried to trust the hand that fed
You would've never been hungry but you'd never really be
More of this or less of this or is there any difference
Or are we just holding onto the things we don't have anymore

Sometimes time doesn't heal
No not at all
It just stands still
While we fall
In or out of love
Again I doubt
I'm gonna win you back
When you got eyes like that
That won't let me in
Always looking out

A lot of people spend their time just floating
We were victims together but lonely
You got hungry eyes that just can't look forward
Can't give them enough but we just can't start over
Building with bent nails we're falling but holding
I don't wanna take up anymore of your time
Time time time

Sometimes time doesn't heal
No not at all
It just stands still
While we fall
In or out of love
Again I doubt
I'm gonna win you back
When you got eyes like that
That won't let me in
Always looking out

In my rear view
I watch you
Watching the twilight
Behind the telephone lines
With nothing to prove
Or to assume
Just thinking that your thoughts
Are different than mine

I see you slowly swim away
As the light is leaving town
To a place that I can’t be
But there’s no apologies

Just go on
Just go on
There’s still so many things
I want to say to you
But go on
Just go on
We’re bound by blood that’s moving
From the moment that we start

I see your perfect little eyes 
Watch the shadows of the clouds
On the surface of the ocean
Out the window of the plane
I get nervous when I fly
I’m used to walking with my feet
Turbulence is like a sigh
That I can’t help but over think

What is the purpose of my life
If it doesn’t have to do
With learning to let it go
Live vicariously through you
You could do the same
It’s the least you could do
Because it’s a lonely little chain
If you don’t add to it

So go on
Just go on
There’s still so many things
I want to say to you
But go on
Just go on
We’re bound by blood and love
From the moment that we start

i think i bought this around ten years back. i caught their video, the tune stuck, and i had to find the track. so i went round clementi looking in cd shops and lo behold one day i finally found one that had it. the shop was outside the Empress building, outside kfc. haha i had to ask my mom for $20 to buy it.



all the pain money can buy

anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved in gold
it's always summer they'll never get cold

did i tell u my favourite song?

raining now more than ever
we still have each other

his after moan though cries oh no
he's building up a shine but he’d take it slow
and he knows it's time to make a change here, and time to get away
and he knows it's time for all the wrong reasons, time to end the pain

oh what a lovely day to have a slice of humble pie
oh recalling of the while we used to drive and drive here and there
going nowhere but for us, nowhere but the two of us

and we knew it was time to take a chance here
time to compromise our lives just a little while
and it was time for all the wrong and lonely lonesome reasons
but time is often on my side but I give it to you tonight

1:21

coolness

we couldn't be superman

today Andy Seidel, CEO of a water company, came to class to talk to us. Who would have thought he could be so interesting? i mean, he spent the past decade and more selling water processes and systems? hm.
Well, he exhibited a fine art of engaging people. I was suitably impressed.

"take a look around you. this is the last time you are going to be surrounded by so many smart people in a classroom."

Prof Flavio had a pretty good quip today too.

"Look at this slide. Remember this slide for life. I would want you to print it out and fold it and keep it in your wallet. On your wedding night, take it out and have a look at it when you have any doubts. Well, not that it is going to help anyway."

the next time i find myself about to spend more than 5 minutes of my life in front of the screen doing nothing constructive i will:

1) read the econometrics textbook
2) read the google PageRank book
3) or any other book that im supposed to read
4) work out at pottruck. or in my room
5) tidy my table, cabinet, or my whole room
6) go to the shipping center. write or send something home
7) go to the library
8) read the newspaper
9) go skiing

my classes at penn, fortunately, features professors with quite a sole sense of humour. which is quite important in education if you ask me. taking things with a dose of laughter helps in most causes, in this case (higher?) learning.
Babin's class is at 9 in the morn and most times I am kept awake by him. I go into Flavio Cunha's class with half the mind to drop the bloody econometrics class but i come out with a renewed intent to read through the textbook and attend recitation.
which could explain why i am up at 0345 doing homework. haha it's most probably my last minute self at work again.

sharleen

Chapel Hill

Carolina Tar Heel Blue rocks!

there are people saying obama is not all he is made out to be as he is in the media, and hillary she has been called out on her income sources,
but this video

-- is --

pretty good.
It would be nice to believe, inspire and achieve.

and i thought of some time back

this morning

i was walking to office and the weather was great. Day was shining behind me and the sky was casting light above when lifehouse's take me away came up on my ipod. it was a moment

and i continued walking.

and today, accuradio.com for brazilian jazz

3 weeks

I have been here for 3 weeks now, it's time i make myself write down something everyday (or at least every other day) that i feel makes the day worthwhile. or something to that extent. we all have ways of finding meaning to our lives.

so today is this, pay it forward. that's the only sure way of doing good for good and having faith in one another.

Love is in the Heir

i don't know the script, the plot, and who's acting and who's in whose dance.
but
Rock the stage Eusoff!

Hi mom i know i said i wld try to be self-sufficient here in philly but i just blew 500 at ikea last week and thats not a very good thing cos my funds are running low but let me show u wad i got for the 500.


welcome in everyone. this was how my room looked from outside before ikea. that empty space right there is where my bed is now.


thats 135 for the bed and base, 20 for the light and bulb


thats 140 for the table and chair and another 70 for the cabinet


and the rest of the cash goes to things like boxes laundry bag pillows quilt and covers table and chairs for the kitchen and yes delivery too.


look on the bright side! now im more experienced with assembling furniture from ikea. tough part is selling all this stuff in a year from now hmm

hi everyone i finally got my digicam to work with my ibook. which means pictures can be uploaded and posted! wooo

i'm a young soul

thought of the day on the bus: which came first? the circle or the wheel?
most prob the wheel right. but did the caveman have an idea of the circle in his head before forming a rudimentary wheel?

made a trip down to atlantic city and blew $70 on a Korver 76er jersey, a pair of basketball shorts, a pair of CK trunks and a CK tshirt. ah the CK tshirt was an impulse buy the kind where u buy because you think you are not spending enough money.

it snowed today man! it started out as negligible little white drops of water, and then it was this big shower of white specks from the sky, complete with wavy winds. Cool stuff. not to mention mother cold. Vj braved it without headwear or a thick jacket haha he's the man.

HI ALL

Hi everyone, I'm here in Philly.
First purchase: cup of coffee
First dinner: pizza at allegro's
First shopping: two chicken thighs and Kellogg's bran at Fresh Grocer's

here's a pic of most of us, outside allegro's, with jens behinds the lens.


oh yea i saw scarlett johansson at Minneapolis. She was headed to philly too.

it is enough

this is enough.

Black and blue from the wind and the rain

we're hurt
Said I'm sorry for the lies and the pain
i'm sorry for the words i didn't say, the pain i didn't take away
I never ever meant to make you cry
it breaks my heart when u cry

If I could take you back, you know I would,
sometimes.
I wanna burn up and die
sometimes.

So take a look at me now
who do you see?
Since I told you it's over
since you told me it's over
You got a hole in your heart
i hope it gets smaller
I'll find a four leaf clover
will it work?
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me

You've seen a cross, it's a cross I bear
is it like yours?
You're drinking, hard up, living without a hope or a care
it's hard
You're making do to please, see what makes you smile
it's sad
You're not around for long, you gotta see what's gonna move your life right along
to move on.

So take a look at me now
do you see me?
Since I told you it's over
did it hurt? when u said it
You got a hole in your heart
will mine get bigger?
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
we take turns
This far down the line
are we too far past?
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
when love finds us

I'm lost
I'm cold
I'm getting old
My head is filled with lies I told
promises made, lies not said


I've been down
we've been down
I've been around
we've been around
But I've fallen on my own two feet
i'm crying
And I've left you out to drown
did i?
I never meant for that
i never meant for that

I look around, sometimes I stare
all the time
I think back now and then, I hope you know I care
i wish you knew
I walked away that day, trying to treat you right
was it you?
But you were on your track, it was me turning back, I left you freezing outside
it was cold

that has no past

a little bit more mature, a little bit wiser, a little more disillusioned, a little bit more accepting, a little more understanding, a little bit more hopeful, a little bit better than before.

yesterday back around

there are times to take a step back so we can see wider

Always Love

Jason Mraz

sleep all day

春风一吹想起谁
有所谓没所谓　
只要不后悔
春风一吹忘了谁
我上一次流泪又几岁
你会退我想追　
会不会对不对
也难怪我有点累
到夏天我变了谁

if i gave my heart to you

My Heart

magic

Run

Every Little Thing

1:58

Euro trash pop

run

every little thing

So who's to worry
If our hearts get torn
When that hurt gets thrown
Don't you know this life goes on
And won't you kiss me
On that midnight street
Sweep me off my feet
Singing ain't this life so sweet

i woke up yesterday night to puke my guts out. it was a mind-blowing minute, but i hope i'm never gonna do that again.

i was having this kick-ass headache on sunday (it really was kicking my ass), and i laid on bed wishing for nothing but the headache to be over. It disappeared in the morning.

What do u think of when u are running the last lap?
every breath is a desperate grasp for oxygen, every running step pounds into the body, and the head screams for you to go/stop.

i think of the calm and satisfaction that comes after the lap is done and put away. and i wash that thought over and over till i cover the distance.
meanwhile fear limits; it tells you that your body is going to crumble any moment.

when i was little i didnt have that kind of fear; it was a battle between physical limits and the power of youthful pride.

well i was deliberating whether to go for the 2.4 again, when the rain decided for me.

10:58

i ran again today, and it took my breath. i kept looking down at the markings on the ground that told me how far i have run, and i'd work out in my head how far i have left.

i remembered how i ran in sch and bmt, where i wasn't clear of how far i had ran, and i would just look ahead. either that or i'd stare at the ground, watching my feet cycle like clockwork.
there was the bridge in pandan reservoir to tell me midpoint, and in bmt there was only the finishing line when it came into visibility. and there always have been my feet and the ground to keep me going. i ran much faster then, and i think i ran lighter.

"but they were supposed to last" the girl said in between sobs.
"The flowers are supposed to bring u joy, not tears" the boy replied.
"They are going to end up in the bin anyway," he added, trying to be pragmatic.

the boy wasn't there to see what she saw, feel what she felt and be as she was.

2 months later they get each other.

Another constellation dies
Do what you want 'cause it's your own sky
Just call me when the phone stops ringing
Thanks for coming by
I'm just glad I'm on your good side
Where it's smoldering or freezing
It's never all that easy to decide

This is the land of a thousand words
But it seems so few are worth the breath to say
Except I'll be looking after my own world
And you just keep on saving the day
I'll try to stay but it's in vain when you're far
I'm on the run to wherever you are

And that's the nature of the chase
You fall so far behind you end in first place
Pass the torch this time we're running to each's own regret
There's no harm in playing hard to get
Boundlessness deceives me
Baby you may turn the corner yet

This is the land of a thousand words
But it seems so few are worth the breath to say
Except I'll be looking after my own world
And you just keep on saving the day
I'll try to stay but it's in vain when you're far
I'm on the run to wherever you are

YAWN

---

farking sian in more ways than one

30 days more now! Whoooeee

The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or in defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment
----- Bruce Lee

andy warhol, as in "war-hor", kcpkcpkcpkcpkcp

wonbubollah

minnie mouse

hallo here's monkuputubom zheng zhihong (trysayingthatthreetimesfast) in faraway europe. i like her big pink shades and her white earrings and the way her hair curls and hangs on her ears.

Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Be my baby
I'll look after you

night and day

Like the drip drip drip of the raindrops
When the summer shower is through
So a voice within me keeps repeating you, you, you
Night and day, you are the one
Only you beneath the moon or under the sun
Whether near to me, or far
It's no matter darling where you are
I think of you

wow im still awake heya out there hows it going its just pouring here and it doesnt seem its going to stop in a while

toto also not so lucky la

i plugged in the refrigerator that i thought was not working into my room yesterday and voila, it turned out to be working! so my fridgee has been collecting dust and braving the sun and rain outside my room for the past 5 months or so for nothing.
then this morning today the hall conducted room checks, and my room kena checked.
Undeclared fridge.
Payment of 126 bucks.

wah lau i should go and buy 4d.

magical

Hi Seng Liang,

I'll miss your smile. You never failed to smile each time we met, wherever it was, whenever we met, even if it's just coincidental. I'll miss your deep voice that will dead pan jokes amidst our small talk. Did i tell you that you look like Garfield? =) I always thought u had a classic Cheshire grin. hahaha it cracks me up a bit thinking of your antics.
I won't forget your personality, you were always there to help if you could. A selfless man you are indeed. I'll miss your optimism and attitude. I just felt you tackled your problems with incredible optimism. With your passing, i think all of us, your friends and family, are missing a good man.

I promised to treat you to Starbucks didn't i? I'm sorry i never got down to doing it. I'm sorry. It's my loss not to have known you better, but it is my good fortune to have met and known you.

I'll remember you for all the above, and maybe more.
I'll remember your smile the most. =)

May you rest in peace.

junhan

jabuticaba

Hi Jun Fa,
this is really an odd time to be writing you a note. And i think this is the best way to write, where others can read too.

I had the opportunity to interact with you for close to 9 months in OCS. And you left your impression on me, even if we didn't talk or do much together since we were from different platoons. You were selfless, helpful, kind, and you always had an approachable demeanour. I admired your plucky spirit. You were a small guy, but always one of the tough ones.

I was at your wake yesterday. Your cousin gave a small speech/presentation on you, and kiat yang and ur classmate gave testimonials too. What they said, reinforced my belief that you were a bright young man who had so much to offer, to whomever he met, wherever he went.
I said to my girl, that the you are part of the people that makes the world a better place.
And if i hope that this note reaches you, i just want to tell you that you have been an inspiration to me, simply by seeing how you were in the short time in ocs, and i want to thank you for that.

Rest in peace.

junhan
(echo wing platoon1)

rest

it gets hard to blog nowadays. for myself i mean. How do u make your private feelings public, and ur public feelings for private viewing?

Things have been busy, and so i was reading the ridge yesterday.
what can be said, to make the happiest man, sad, and the saddest man, happy?

And this too, shall pass.
and this past week has been busy, painful and sleep is much appreciated.

angels or devils

ive been listening to this over and over.. the play count stands at 89. wah
counting blue cars stands at 20 and counting

this is the last time
that I'm ever gonna come here tonight
this is the last time - I will fall
into a place that fails us all - inside

I can see the pain in you
I can see the love in you
but fighting all the demons will take time
it will take time

the angels they burn inside for us
are we ever
are we ever gonna learn to fly
the devils they burn inside of us
are we ever gonna come back down
come around
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could make us cold

this is the last time
that I'm ever gonna give in tonight
are there angels or devils crawling here?
I just want to know what blurs and what is clear - to see

still I can see the pain in you
and I can see the love in you
and fighting all the demons will take time
it will take time

the angels they burn inside for us
are we ever
are we ever gonna learn to fly
the devils they burn inside of us
are we ever gonna come back down - come around
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could break us

if I was to give in - give it up
- and then
take a breath - make it deep
cause it might be the last one you get
be the last one
that could make us cold
you know that they could make us cold
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could make us cold

why. what. how

if

hmp.