Sunday, August 31, 2008

You know you've been spending too much time on YouTube when...

1. You've actually seen Pikachu's voice actress go "Pikaaa-chu!"



2. You've seen dudes from India showing off their crazy motorcycle skills.



and you've really seen it all when you've seen this:



And you know that you've been spending WAAAAAY too much time on the internet when you've read up on all of BloodNinja's hillarious cyber chatlogs.

wizard hat
I cast Lvl. 3 Eroticism. You turn into a real beautiful woman.

Oh well, guess that is the internet for you. The complexities of human nature at their very best.

Alright, guess I should try finishing up my marketing presentation which is due tomorrow now...

... and I put on my robe and wizard hat.

***

Update 1:53AM, 1st September.
Looks like I've discovered yet another YouTube clip before the day was done. Nayan, Nikhil, this final video is dedicated just for you guys.

Presenting to you, Benny Lava!



But I still think that I like the "Girly Man" one more. (:

***

P.S. : Happy national day to all Malaysians out there! I believe in change for the better for our country! We can do it!

HAPPY MERDEKA DAY EVERYONE!

Friday, August 29, 2008

The shiny red biplane.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who walked to school every morning.

Every morning without fail he walked by the big toyshop on the big, main road on his way to school. There was this big, red, toy biplane, sitting proudly right in the window of the toyshop, and it caught that young boy's attention every single day.

That young boy who walked to school every single day was fond of all kinds of aircraft, as he always dreamed of flying high in the sky, carrying out top-secret fighter missions, just like the stories of the old war dad always him about.

The shiny red biplane.

He always dreamed of going on top-secret missions in that red airplane - getting into the seat of the biplane, putting on big, heavy goggles, and blasting off into the air, feeling the rush of cold air in his face.

He wanted that biplane, bad.

He slowly saved up any surplus of the pocket money his mother gave him just so that he could afford to make that beautiful red biplane his. He only ate bananas and nothing else during recess because they were the cheapest thing possible. He stayed away from the cinema and the ice cream parlour. He was determined to make that airplane his, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

Bit by bit, the boy saved up for that big, shiny biplane sitting in the toystore's window. And his persistence finally paid off just two days short of that boy's birthday. He finally had enough to buy the big biplane of his dreams.

He walked to the toystore the following morning just brimming with excitement. His determination in tightening his belt had finally paid off, he thought. Putting off all that fun just seemed justified. He could already feel the smooth, cold metal of the biplane in his hands, he could feel just how solid the fuselage felt, and how fluid the propeller spun.

But when he walked by the window of that toystore he walked by every morning, without fail, his heart sank. At that very exact moment he could see a big, well dressed grown man lifting his plane off it's place on the window and towards the counter. He wanted to run crying to the man, begging him not to take what was rightfully his away from him, but his heart sank so low that his legs were firmly rooted to the ground. All that he could do was watch the man pay for the airplane in utter horror.

His eyes were transfixed on the scene, and he couldn't take his eyes off that big, grown-up as he walked out of the store and away from him. Eyes glued onto the big man, the little boy prayed with all his heart that that well dressed grown up would somehow just magically be an angel, and come running back, gently pressing the big package that contained the airplane into his very small hands.

The man never did, and that little boy watched the man walk away from him, around the corner, and into the hustle and bustle of the city.

And it was then when the little boy realised - sometime's life may seem unfair, and you may be unlucky, but a true man is never weak - and being someone that could put in so much effort into saving all that money, despite him being such a little boy, he was anything but weak.

The little boy clenched hard at the money in his right wrist, and wiped his moist eyes with his left cuff, and continued on his way to school. But he knew he wasn't the same little boy any more, this time, he knew that he was destined for great things for he knew how to keep his head up high, and to carry on, even when the fates dealt him his worst hand.

Carry on! Carry on!
Things never were looming so black.
But show that you haven't a cowardly streak,
And though you're unlucky you never are weak.
Carry on! Carry on!
Brace up for another attack.
It's looking like hell, but -- you never can tell:
Carry on, old man! Carry on!

- 4th stanza, Carry On, by Robert W. Service.

***

Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair, but the amazing thing is that the obstacles we face in life all come together to make us stronger, better and wiser people.

One day, I'm going to cross that desert.

I know I will.

And did I mention that I miss telling stories?

Oh well...

Hamlet's Hero out.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Rebels with causes.

I'm just so tired, sleeping late and waking up for 8:30am classes for two days straight, but I just have to blog about this - ANWAR WINS IN PERMATANG PAUH!

Looks like they did it!

Here's the news report:

Malaysia's Anwar heads for parliament after election victory

PERMATANG PAUH, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim won a "landslide" victory Tuesday in a by-election to return him to parliament, and said he was on track to oust a weakened government.

The vote in his home state of Penang cemented a stunning comeback for Anwar, who was sacked as deputy premier a decade ago and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges widely seen as politically motivated.

"We declare victory, the margin is very huge," said Tian Chua, information chief of Anwar's Keadilan party which leads a three-member opposition alliance.

"I think it's a landslide victory," he said, adding that Anwar's share of the vote could rise as high as 70 percent.

The official tally showed Anwar had won 27,977 votes, against 13,426 for his opponent from the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has dominated Malaysian politics for half a century.

- AFP

It's actually scary that people actually get used to seeing the nonsense we see in parliament every single day, day in, day out, that they begin to forget that change is possible.

But then again, let's not forget that the only constant in this capricious world is change.

Let's just wait and see how this all unfolds. I just hope that I'll change Malaysia for the better. I really, really do.

***

In other news, a very interesting individual was spotted in Canteen B, NTU, right after my marketing lecture imploring me and my fellow university students to "open up our minds" and "to be silent no more", and to actually have the courage speak up when we have too.

And he is no other than this gentleman here:

"Be silent no more!"

Recognize this face? He's no other than Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party. I first heard about him in this article published in the Far Eastern Economic Review titled "Singapore's Martyr, 'Chee Soon Juan'" (read the article here).

One thing to note is that because of that article, the Far Eastern Economic Review was sued by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the article supposedly suggests that he and his father, Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew, were corrupt. What happened was that the FEER was then banned from Singapore, leaving me without one of my favourite debate resources in late 2006.

Damned lawsuit. I loved the FEER, as cheem as it was.

Another interesting thing worth noting is that when my classmates and I realized that it was he and his sister giving out leaflets, none of my classmates dared to approach him for a picture for fear of being made the target of government lawsuits. Are Singaporeans really that conditioned by the iron grip of the government?

All I know now is that I really hope that everything turns out right.

Hamlet's Hero out.

***

P.S. One of my classmates is an synesthete! Go google of wikipedia it if you don't know what it means! But it is sooooooooo cool!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

A man's has to do what a man's got to do.

It's just so cold here in NTU. So cold that it actually feels like somewhere else, somewhere higher in altitude, somewhere just not Singapore.

But when I look at the work I have before me on my table, the illusion is broken.

There's just so much work, so much reading to do, that I spent the better portion of this beautiful Sunday on catching up on my readings and tutorials. Even after all that, somehow it still doesn't seem like it's enough.

But I don't just need to do well, I want to get out there and know people, enjoy myself, participate in the activities that excite and inspire me, as well as hopefully come up with a million dollar idea.

I guess that calls for better time management then. I'm sorry my two dear friends Wikipedia and YouTube, I guess uni life really is pulling me away from you.

A man's has to do what a man's got to do.

Guess it's back to more edventure then.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Of Free Hugs and Sleepy Ramblings.

Wouldn't it be great if there was more love to go around and brighten up everybody's day?

Free hugs anyone?



This is like the sweetest YouTube clip that I've watched for ages!

***

I really feel so exhausted and tired now. I've been feeling like this for the past couple of days simply because there's just so much to do here in NTU. There's so much I want to accomplish, to experience, and sometimes just so little of me.

Just been doing so much. Guess who's the one in red in the picture below!

Just trying out every thing I can.

Maybe I'm just expecting myself to do too much, in too little time, but then again I always believe that if you aim for the moon, even if you miss, that you'll still be among the stars.

But then again, it would help if I was less burnt out. Lets see if some sleep and Kbox tomorrow will help cure this. I don't know if that would, but I sure know of a cure for this, only that I don't know if the panacea will be arriving anytime soon.

But whatever it is, we'll just stick together and survive it together, right Chong?

"We are Dynamitez, together we unite!"

Either way, we're here for a reason, and we're gonna pull through this. The fun is only beginning.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Miyo's prescription.

It has been such a busy weekend!

Earlier last week, I met up with Miyo at the medical centre. She passed me this folded piece of yellow paper. When I unfolded it, it read:

"Daily dose of lepaking needed."

Yup, I so need that right now. It seems so much more appropriate than waking up for a Marketing tutorial in about 6 hours.

Maybe I'll write about the new sport I'm really considering to take up tomorrow.

Gonna get some sleep then...

... and just pass me the Valium.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Lies, damned lies and statistics.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Benjamin Disraeli

Just a little something that I drew during the last statistics lecture.

Isn't statistics fun?

And I must say that my drawing skill is definitely improving, because my caricature does bear a strong resemblance to my lecturer.

Here is his photo from the edventure website:

My beloved stats lecturer. I have nothing against you, seriously. It's just the subject.

What do you think?

Let's hope I survive the coming stats lecture at 2:30 today!

Hamlet's Hero out!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Feeling Peckish.

I have been keeping some rather late nights for the past few days. Here, in NTU, it's always someone's birthday, or a hall event happens to drag on till late at night. Or you could be up playing some board game of sorts with your hall mates.

For the past week, I have been having supper almost every night without fail.

So I guess there was little wonder why I couldn't fall asleep when I tried to sleep early today.

Hungry, I got out of my bed, switched on the computer and did what every other desperately hungry university student must have done.

I JUST HAD TO LOOK AT FOOD ON THE NET.

So I looked at the very suggestive-looking geoduck (pronounced "gooeyduck").

How's that for a manly looking clam?

Which actually is a delicacy served in high end seafood restaurants. The Japanese usually have geoduck raw as sashimi or slightly cooked, on sushi.

It certainly isn't a duck.

And then I had to look at delicious, tender looking beef recipes which I simply didn't have the resources to cook.

Yup, I ended up fantasizing about beef recipes.

Maybe I just need to find someone who can cook for me in NTU. Yup, that sure sounds like a good idea. And it always helps that the Washington State Beef Commission is all out to promote the healthy benefits of eating beef too! I'm serious (check them out here)!

This is why red meat is GOOD FOR YOU. MEAAAAAT!

And since I didn't have access to any geoduck chowder or lean, tender beef, I had to do with the next best thing...

INSTANT MEE GORENG AND A WARM MUG OF MILO.

Part of my emergency kit.

So much for all that delicious looking food. Guess this really is university life.

Hamlet's Hero out.

Monday, August 11, 2008

It's begun.

I actually dragged my ass to the NBS free access lab to get my notes printed. And also to get some reading done.

The studying. It has begun.

Eeeek!

Thank God I actually like the modules I'm taking this semester (with the minor exception of stats and qualitative methods)!

Friday, August 08, 2008

This is what happens when you're on the other end of piracy.

This is what I really wanted to blog about last week when I had absolutely no time and no energy to do so.

Mayshi messaged me on MSN last Thursday, and it went something like this:

May: Kevin?

Me: Yeah, here.

May: Haha, ok I went to Ho Chi Minh city these two days AND your face is plastered all over the city.

Me: My face?

May: Yes, yes. Your face.

Me: You mean, Kevin Chan's face?

May: Yes, Kevin Chan's face. The Kevin Chan I'm talking to right now. Let me show you what I mean.

(And she sends me this picture)


Me: *squints eyes* Huh?

May: I'll send a clearer picture

(And this pops up on screen)


Me: WTF!

May: I saw this and I was like OMG WTF!!! I took quite a few pictures too!


(I look through my blog archive, because that picture looks awfully familiar...)

Me: They ripped it directly off my blog! The picture of me and Tysern we took when we were in form 5! Look at it!

(Sends picture over)


Me: It's the exact same photo! Those bastards! And they cropped Tysern out of the photo! Haha!

May: Haha! They ripped it off your blog!

***

And so, that was how my face ended up thousands of miles away, all over Ho Chi Minh city, to be the poster boy for Broward College.

The rest of the poster.

Bloody Broward College, didn't even pay me to use my face.

But at least they thought that my face would be appealing to Vietnamese chicks. Yeah, that's not too bad for consolation.

Bloody cheapskate college! I want my money!

Hamlet's Hero out.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

The best dance ever

This is definitely by far the most touching thing that I've watched on YouTube for a long, long time.



Just watching it, and seeing how this couple can overcome all odds and disabilities to beat all their able bodied competitors in their national level dance competition makes me want to give everything I do my very, very best.

Carpe Diem!

Monday, August 04, 2008

Extremes.

Some days I have totally nothing to blog about, or I just am not in the mood to blog.

But some days I have so much to blog about, but yet another blog worthy event eats up all my blogging time again.

So just before I have to run off to get ready for the upcoming Hall bash tonight, some photos from the weekend.

Pouting in the sun.

It sure was hot, but we sure did have fun.

Did I mention how much I love my Panic shirt?

The crazy Singfest people with Bollocks Guy!

And did a certain someone mention that he managed to meet and greet Jason Mraz in person? And have a picture taken with him?

:D *BIG GRIN ON FACE*

More pics will come up soon after I get all my things settled.

Uni life is so fun that 3 years seems too short now. Now to run off for my Hall Bash at Zouk (it's only for $2!).

I'm loving it!

***

Update 5th August 2008, 2:10 AM

Back from Hall Bash and I can tell you that trying to pack all the hall campers into Zouk is one bad idea. There's no more place to really dance the way I like it. Somewhere bigger, like MOS would have been so much better.

And guys, alcohol ain't your friend. There's no point going home drunk and unable to enjoy the rest of the night, or puke on your best friend's shirt. Seriously.

Real men drink water, not vodka when they want to last all night at a club.

Someday I should come up with a club that actually serves water instead of alcohol so more can stay up and party all night.

Peace,

Hamlet's Hero out.

***

Update 5th August 2008, 3AM

I know it's stupid to stay awake till so late today but I just realised something awesome.

You're not on that pedestal anymore. Definitely not anymore.

Now, I'll really go and sleep well.

Nights.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Unnaturally Early.

Last night was my very first night sleeping at Hall 5. And so I had quite some trouble sleeping. There were lights by my window, random noises in the hallway but most irritatingly, and my cough that was keeping me awake.

And did I mention all my excitement for Singfest 08 later today?

So yeah, it took me some time to drift into dreamland last night.

But look at me now.

I bounded out of bed at 7:45 AM today, when I usually do so grudgingly at 11 AM the earliest.

Is this the power of NTU's clean, fresh morning air?

Or am I just too bloody excited?

Or maybe Twino's the one who's more excited?

Thank God I'm well enough to scream today.

Just checked in the hall yesterday and I'm going to be out for two days already. But it sure is going to be worth it. I just know it. Happening pictures will ensue.

Hamlet's Hero out.