architecture

architecture is in fact a really fascinating subject. beyond art, there's a practical component to it that requires the 'creator' to think about so many aspects before he work can be complete. My research takes me to this excellent architect, Santiago Calatrava.

“Yeah you see I started in an art school and or you see my intention was to became a painter. This what I do more personally in which I think is more intimate you see and in which myself you see I can expand maybe as a person you see inside the in a dialogue with myself is the painting and the sculpture.”

Here're some of this works and inspirations.

The eye

City of Science Museum and Planetarium Valencia, Spain

the body

Turnng torso, Malmo, Sweeden

the secret room

so basically for the last 2 weeks i morphed into an Engineer.

(p.s. Engineering courses at this college have so much homework, you could literally build a mountain)

4 mid terms. 4 core subjects. hell-of-a-period.

and so there's this place that we find solace in - the secret room.

We spent an average of 3 hours a day in there. Last weekend the statistic rose to 10. It was ridiculous. But i guess we get work done there. and we even have a facebook group. reminds me of JC and the night friends with the late night studying for the horrendous A levels. It's been a long time.

and just for memories sake. the best night ever! cant believe its been 3 years.

+++

on another note... Middlebury here i come!

It's beautiful. i can't wait. but a ton of apprehension due to a heavy air of unfamiliarity. Ah what the hell. Guess I am on this track. might as well run as far as i can.

EBITDA, EBIT, NOPAT and WTH

EBIT, TATO, FCF, OCF... financial ratios represent my life right now.

There was a wonderful event at the union last night titled 'culture shock', featuring almost 50 performances from many different cultures. Chris was dancing the Palestine-dance which had an uncanny resemblence to a Turkish folk dance we saw in MUS133 last semester. The Malays put up some Sarawak dance and there tons of others. (including a radical Asian-American guy ranting about Racism i could imagine him whipping out an Uzi after his emotion filled prose was completed. ok. but seriously...)

The sad thing was. I could only see about... 100 people there. The seating capacity was about 400. That's the sad thing about this country. I might be committing a hasty generalization right here but many of them are just too ignorant about the world outside America. Looking across the hallroom, one could see only a myraid of colors less the whites. I wish there would more of them to come and see what other cultures can offer them, beyond their RnB, alcohol and politics.

A random rant to take me away from my financial ratios, and i am about to dive back in right NOW.

++

p.s. a picture from Brazil to recollect some wonderful memories.

p.p.s.

Kang stop being emo.

the founding father

If you have time, go through this whole interview transcript. It's really insightful and I am thankful the man who once lead our country still gives wonderful words of wisdom.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/annex/MMinterview.pdf

Building sandcastles in the air

The 4-Hour Workweek.

An epiphany hit me and i let my fingers do the work. 10 days later this book arrived at the mailbox. 2 nights, 2 lectures and 1lunch break later, I was done with it. Pumped, phsyced up, ready to start living life. Then again I think, don't all these new business books recommend you ideas that have worked specifically for them? Or they say "you don't have to be in the Ivy's to be successful", but they clearly graduated from Harvard Yale or Princeton. It's like Willy Wonka telling you that his chocolates are good, and that you don't have to be Willy Wonka to make good chocolates. I mean true, but COME ON.

However... ...this book is slightly different, and here are some of the captivating points:

1. Dont plan for retirement. Have mini-retirements all through lifeIt's not about working for 11 and 1/2 months and then trying to squeeze a round the world trip in 2 weeks. To quote the author "... it's like feeding a buffet to a dog which has been starving for 2 weeks."

2.The (80/20) principle - google Pareto's Law80% of satisfaction and happiness are derived from the top 20% of the productive activties in our lives. Pursue them.80% of stress and worries are derived from the top 20% of the problems in our lives. Rid them.

3. Squeeze time - google Parkinson's LawAsk yourself if you're more productive with a 1 day deadline or a 1 week deadline for submitting a paper. Reduce time boundaries.

4. Outsource anything and everythingThis sounds easy but really isn't practical for students I guess. Read the book to find out.

5. Go on bold tripsI think it's self explanatory. Go.

love and economics

So considering the moutain of work i have due, i really shouldnt be penning down my random thoughts now but today's economics lesson was extremely interesting. It's times like these when I wonder why i don't attempt to pursue Economics as a major because the Economist's ability to link almost EVERYTHING in the world to the study of economics is ridiculously sensible.

From consumer preferences, to utility functions and eventually indifference curves. For 2 whole weeks a ton of graphs flooded the classroom together with a bunch of alien-looking like symbols within formulas. That's how it all began.

Today is Valentines Day.

What does Economics and Valentines Day have in common?

(For the layman's understanding)

We all have preferences. I prefer to type out this post instead of doing my homework right now because I enjoy this much more. Also, we derive preferences because of our personal view (information) on things and issues. This is private information.

On Valentines Day we shower our loved ones with gifts; yet we learn in Economics that benefits are maximised when our own preferences are met. We determine what we want. Hence, between giving you cash and giving you a gift, I should be giving you cash so you can maximise your benefit by purchasing something you like, with your private information in mind. You might prefer owning a pair of Nike sneakers over a bunch of 100 roses because you are desperate to go running.

Well the last time i checked, Tom got dumped when he gave that $50 bill to his girlfriend for Valentines Day.

So why is this so? In a relationship, just like in economics, information is asymmetric.

Giving a (assumption: IDEAL AND CORRECT) gift represents knowledge; it represents that you have knowledge of her private information. This has a direct correlation with the amount of love you have for her because you make an effort to find out what she likes. Hence, a gift signals your interest in her private information, which would otherwise be, private and unknown. (duh) In addition, other factors such as time and effort plays a role in the whole 'getting a gift' process. Walking to the ATM to withdraw $50 takes 10 seconds. Choosing an appropriate gift may take forever.

Hence Utility from gift = F( K, T, S)

where

K = knowledge of her private information

T = time

E = effort

This is an absurd and ridiculous post.

during my research..

so i'm starting a research project on architecture and the human body...

i found this to be terribly interesting:


-Fetuses can hiccup.

-The longest recorded sneezing fit lasted 978 days.

-There are no two tongue prints that are alike.

-The average person's skin weighs twice as much as their brain.

-The three things pregnant women dream most of during their first trimester are 1) frogs 2) worms 3) potted plants.

-Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

-Bone is stronger, inch for inch, than the steel in skyscrapers.

-In a hot climate, you can sweat as much as 3 gallons of water a day.

-Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.

-You're ears secrete more earwax when you are afraid than when you aren't.

-If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

Opinions

Headlines under the 'Singapore' section today read: Ah Meng, icon of Singapore Zoo, dies of old age.

My heart skipped a beat; it was a piece of news that mattered to me, it really did. News clips ranging from 'explosion in chemical plant on Jurong island' to 'Rapist on the lurk in Jurong' didn't quite bother me, much less catch my attention. I was surprised that Ah meng's death did; i declare a national tragedy.

I think beyond an icon of the zoo, Ah Meng consitutes one of the very limited few national icons. For those who were born in the 80s (well, even the 90s), Ah Meng was an icon who we could associate with. I guess a kid growing up in today's context can only associate with entities such as the Singapore Flyer or Terminal 3.

It was good while it lasted; having a 'personal-national' animal icon that we could all identify with.

To quote the news source, "...As an icon of the Singapore Zoo, Ah Meng has met numerous foreign dignitaries and world-renowned celebrities such as Prince Philip, David Copperfield, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor." Wow. Can you live to 48 years and claim a whole list of people you have met to be so star-studded?

Random rants aside, i think a minute of silence should be observed for this national icon of the 20th century.

Or actually, a national holiday should be declared in commemoration of him. This would remind generations of children about this national icon that we once had. Wouldnt it be wonderful to have an "Ah Meng day"? Generations that follows will be left absolutely bewildered; asking, 'was Ah Meng our first President?' Indeed.

On a serious note, it's another great loss to our country, and i really cannot think of another creature that can so uniquely represent the zoo again.

sandcastles in the air

and its February.

Some people mentioned that as you grow older, time seems to pass faster. When i was 10, that seemed like an urban myth. Now that i am 22, that seems like Newton's 4th law. I know how everyone says "...it seems like yesterday when..."; but i have to say this, it really seems like yesterday when i took that flight to this land of the free. and it's been almost 6months.

let's see, i try to recollect and think about the things i've accomplished/tried to accomplish, i didnt get too far. It's school after all, it's just school in the middle of nowhere. I was looking forward to a lot of personal time but that didnt get too far; there're tons of activities and HOMEWORK to do. the latter is simply ridiculous because i thought when JC ended, that was the last time that term would surface in my dictionary. (i guess when real work begins there'll be 'homework' too, just that it ll be coined some other term that i ll eventually find out)

the career fair took place last week. i prepared all my resumes etc etc, went to bed at 1am, decided not to go to the fair after all at 2am. there're tons of implications... an internship = not being able to go back this summer. and since my mother really wants me to go back, i decided to give that up. on the other hand, i do sorta-kinda have a job/bond to serve, hence.. well. let's just close one eye. i mean, i actually closed both. I still try to hold on to the fact that the person up there gave me this wonderful opportunity, and i really should be contented. It's just tempting; this is a nice country to live in also. but i am resolved. i am going home. i am.

These are a few of the many thoughts that flood my head daily. I spend alot of time just building kingdoms in the air. I swear i created a whole new civilisation last week. But i guess that's just me. On another note, the retreat with inter varsity last weekend really brought me back to even look at the bible with immense thought. I know he's holding on and i just have to keep on striving; it's just reassuring to know how we're really sorta-kinda like the stuff that goes into jars of clay. hard pressed but not destroyed. We studied 2nd corinthians yes, i didnt get very deep in, but i really hope this semester shapes up well...

I am blabbering so much but i guess this post kinda encapsulates my current position in the whole spectrum of my life.


Joyce emailed me and told me about nick. i almost fainted.
Ah Lorr emailed too and updated about the whole forest she is trying to plant on her BALCONY
Panda gave a summary of the happenings back at church

So much happened! but in fact, it isnt too much. it's been SIX MONTHS.

Well, as much as i'd love to travel .... i ll be home soon.

p.s. HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR all:P

bye!