As promised to David and some others, the post on girls and other stuff.

well, girls in japan are almost the same: golden hair, mostly cute-looking, short skirt, high socks and boots. and i was lucky to spot a few schoolgirls, considering there was a holiday for the time i was there. they went back to school for CCA. my cousins and i spotted many many good-looking girls. there's this strange thing about japanese girls that attracts us to them. god knows what it is, but it's powerful. every time we stop at a tour destination, i'd find myself checking some of the girls out. and that's not normally something i do in public. after some discussion, we have concluded that the best looking girls are of eurasian-japanese descent, like a certain air stewardess.

oh...one thing i forgot to mention in the previous post...i also went to Ikkebukuro(sp?), in tokyo. there, there was this really "OOOOOOOOOOOH..." cashier at one of the stalls. i wanted to stay longer, but we had to go back to the hotel. too bad. v_v

school in about 2 days?? so sian...i dowanna go back. but i also wanna go back at the same time...so confusing. time to wiegh the pros and cons:

Pros
- Able to see friends
- Have something to keep you busy
- Training to keep you from going mad
- National schools

Cons
- DENIS LEONG
- Mucho stress
- Busy year
- Studying about 3-5 hours/day

oh well...they're evenly matched. guess i don't have a case to fight. countdown to 2004: 7h 26mins. countdown to school: 36h 56(?)mins.

~thingy of the day: Hiko trains Kenshin by hitting him with a technique and getting him to repeat it.~

I'm baaaack....hope everything's fine with all the people at home. to keep you all amused, i'll be providing a (not so) brief summary of my tour. keep in mind that this is NOT in chronological order. i post things as i think of them. i also don't remember the names of most of the places, but i'll try my best.

Intro of the people on the tour
Ronnie: Our tour guide. Very friendly and sorta perverted in a good way.
Thomas: Tour guide #2. He's actually a model, but he's doing part-time tour guiding.
Nara-san: Our tour bus driver. He appears to be a very nice, middle-aged man, but we would later find out he's the grand master of iku-iku
The Loh family: 1 grandmother, 2 parents, and 3 kids. Pretty nice people in general.
The Romanovs: A couple. Oh how I hate them.
The Sim family: 1 grandmother, 2 parents with 2 children, about 19 and 16(?). We made quite good friends with the 19-year old guy, but his sister was a little...distanced. Oh...and the father smokes.
The Goh family: 2 parents with 2 children. Pretty snobby. The younger Goh is an 18 year old girl with eyes that creep people out. The older Goh is a ?? year old, rather feminine guy.
Mr Tan and Ms Sim: Another couple. They pretty much kept to themselves.
Zi Wei and Wei Li: The third couple. Generally OK people.
The Lee Family: Us. My uncle and aunt, two cousins, my brother and me. I suppose I'd better explain something. My father's elder brother married my mother's elder sister, which is why our families are so close.

The flights
oh how they sucked. But i suppose it was mainly my fault. Couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep. Ended up watching Johnny English, My Boss' Daughter and The Hulk. All pretty good shows, actually. The staff were all extremely friendly too, possibly the only redeeming feature of the flight.

Some national park in Osaka
The first attraction on the first day. Very scenic, and very cold. We got to see how strong the Japanese people were, as old folks were actually out jogging in the cold wearing only a T-shirt and shorts. I admire their spirit. We tried genuine 100% Japanese octopus-y thingys, and they're better than Singapore-made ones.

Universal Studios Osaka
Very big place. Many attractions. However, the Terminator stimulation thingy was kinda boring. But Back to the Future was fun. Did some shopping and stuff as well.

Shinsaibashi
Osaka's Orchard Road. Many many shops. Did even more shopping and took lotsa photos. Japan is really open-minded. There can be posters of almost-nude girls in an open street where all kinds of people pass by. Too bad Singapore's not like this.

Hyatt Regency Osaka
Wonderful hotel. The most memorable thing was that you could control the curtains from the window. And that my cousin opened an emergency-exit window and couldn't close it. So, after calling the hotel staff, he decided to make the best out of a bad situation and screamed "JAPAN!!! I LOVE YOU!!!" out of the window. We were laughing for days after that.

The Temples
We visited many temples over the course of the whole tour. I'm just gonna summarize it. All of the temples have wonderful scenery and a whole lot of religious history. I prayed at all the temples for results in the o's, so I feel a little better. They really screwed up Buddhism quite a bit as it was sorta different from the original religion in China/India. In case you guys haven't heard, the original Japanese religion is called Shinto. I believe the translation is xin4 dao4, or belief in the way, but I'm not too sure. I also learnt how to pray, Japanese style. It's kinda complicated, so no elaboration here.

One particular temple that stands out is the Kyomizu (Clear water) Temple. It's on top of a mountain, and along the way, there were at least 200 shops. A particular shop caught my attention because they were selling katanas. They had everything I was looking for, but due to customs at the airport, I had to walk away. So sad. I will move to Japan in future and get everything I want.

Hotspring Inn
This is not the real name of the place, just one I made up as I don't know the real name. The hotspring there was WONDERFUL, but it was only accessible on one condition: You cannot wear any clothes into the pool. Sounds kinda...extreme for most Singaporeans, but that's the way it works. Besides, nudity is a small price to pay for the wonderful feeling of 40 degrees C hot water with great healing powers.

Mt. Fuji
The coldest place in Japan. 1 degree C. Had snow fights and I left my initials on the mountain. Really good place.

Tokyo Disneyland
It was fun. Many rides, and great staff. Tons of shops too. Did most of my shopping there.

Stuff we did in the hotels
Mainly play daidee, where the loser would swallow wasabi. I got hit about 40-60% of the time. But luckily, I escaped both sudden death matches, which had more severe forfeits. Ever tried Pepsi, tomato juice and wasabi mixed together? They said It tasted like milo.

that about wraps up my time in Japan. The thing i miss most is the wonderful service. imagine this: the staff greet you as you walk past their shop. You don't even have to go in. When you need help, someone will just materialize and try to communicate with you, even if they know nuts about english and you speak all of 6 words of japanese. It's really wonderful. too bad singapore's not like this. oh well. school in 4 days' time. how sad. gotta get it together and face it.

Now, the thing at the bottom of my entries can be anything. a quote, a fact *imagines happy dexter*, or a link to videos and whatnot.

~thingy of the day: "Never ask people to wait for you. Instead, catch up with them."~

It's been quite a while...just to let you all know i'm still alive. i'll be going off to japan on monday, and will probably return a week later. please don't expect any flight reports or any of those sort of things...the best you're gonna get is "the flight was good" or something similar.

please don't call my phone or sms me these few days. a very unfortunate thing has happened, but i won't elaborate yet. till next time, i'm out.

~quote of the day: Dreams that do come true can be as unsettling as those that don't.~

I just received one of the worst pieces of news in the year. wang jiunn and mr siau won't be taking my sciences next year. the possible candidates that will take my sciences are yee lin and ms foo. oh the pain. i'll probably fall asleep every chem lesson and learn nothing during physics. and i thought i could neglect sciences a little next year. guess not.

it's the asthe-thingy concert this evening. although i won't be going, i'll be there supporting the band guys in spirit. best of luck!! ^_^

*add-on* will the person who took my quiz under the name of 'xyz' please tell me who he/she is? if you don't want to publicly reveal your identity, you can always sms, email, or look me up on msn.

~quote of the day: The most perfect man has also failed in failing.~

So...tried to take another seaside walk, but this attempt failed miserably. for you see, it was raining. got caught in the rain a little though. and i found a new way of reaching the underpass to east coast without going through the long long tunnel/maze-like thingy.

also went for flu vaccination jab. i have up to a year's immunity from flu...can take o's in peace.

holidays are boring. so, to help waste 10 minutes of your life, i came up with a little quiz. take it here.

~quote of the day: The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.~

Went to east coast for an afternoon walk. it's good to have relatives staying near the seaside.

it was, well, relaxing to spend a few hours away from big buildings and such. and it gave me an idea of a future home. imagine spending your days sitting by the beach. maybe i'll hijack a plane and take it to some pacific island. and i couldn't resist taking a few pictures, thanks to my camera phone ^_^. it also got me into this philosophical mood. i hate it when that happens...i get all depressed-like.

i tried to write some stuff in the sand, but failed miserably. the waves were too quick. i was thinking: can i twist it so it sounds like a cheesy representation of life? i tried, and this is what i came up with. "life's all about writing stuff in the sand. the challenge is whether you can write something deep enough to withstand the waves of time." sounds rather...retarded. but oh well.

i also tried to make stones skip across the water. maximum was 4 times. i still don't quite get the physics behind it. what should be the angle of the sone hitting the water surface so that it will bounce up again? of course, i was doing it at the sea, so we have to take the rough water surface into account. maybe you should use more force to give the stone energy to propel itself across the water. or maybe i should do this with a still body of water for best results.

i guess the highlight of my day was the walk. my cousin tried (rather successfully, i think) to explain this sense of depression in the holidays. <quote>you feel like this because unlike ordinary schooldays, you're just drifting around aimlessly in the holidays, with nothing to look forward to.</quote>

oh well...that's all for me. i'm out.

~quote of the day: History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. -Sir Winston Churchill~

What can i say today?? ahh...i give up. quiz/survey time.

<Thanks Sherman!! ^_^>
Spell your first name backwards - Most of my readers will know that i never answer name-related questions.
Where do you live - Singapore.

Describe Your:
Wallet - Mostly blue and black. rectangle with an oval like plastic thingy on it.
Hairbrush - errr...none?
toothbrush - Braun...you know...those electric battery-operated ones.
Jewelry worn daily - Nothing daily, but a ring on certain occasions.
Pillow cover - Blue or yellow.
Blanket - None. Fans save electricity ^_^
Sunglasses - On rare occasions when i need them, OP.
Shoes - Grey New Balance ones.
Favorite top - Anything i dig out.
Cologne/Perfume - i forgot the brand (happens when you use it only once in a really blue moon). but it smells good.
CD in stereo right now - What CD?? MP3.
Tattoos - None as of now.
Piercings - Never.
What you are wearing now - Pretty casual stuff. just came back from bowling.
Hair - Just there.
Makeup - None.

WHO or WHAT (was/is/are)
In my mouth - Noodles and some drink i pulled out of the fridge.
In my head - Someone who needs a clue.
you Wishing - That they close schools in january due to some disease/bombing/whatever.
After this - PS2. or more internet.
you Eating - Noodles.
Person you wish you could see right now - 2 people. *someone* and *someone*
Is next to you - My cousin. Sleeping. i did mention i'm not at my usual home right?
Something you're looking forward to in the upcoming month - Japan.
The last thing you ate - Noodles.
Something that you are deathly afraid of - My imagination. i scare me.
Do you like candles - Yes...unless you get burnt.
Do you like incense - I won't say 'like', but i can stand it.
Do you believe in love - Yes...somewhere out there.
Do you believe in Heaven - Yes.
Do you believe in forgiveness - Yes. unless someone murders you or someone close to you.
Do you believe in God - Yes.
What do you want done with your body when you die - If it can be used to save lives, take it. if not, burn it and keep it somewhere.
Who is your worst enemy - nobody, actually. i have normal enemies.
If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be - A dog, cat, moogle, chocobo, tonberry, lion, or something similar.
What is the latest you've ever stayed up - All through the night.
Ever been to Belgium? - No.
Can you eat with chopsticks - Yes.
What are 5 cities you wouldn't mind relocating to - Tokyo, Auckland, Melbourne, Osaka, some ulu island.
What are some of your favorite pig out foods - *no comment*
what's something that you wish people would understand - The simple stuff in life.
What's something you wish you could understand better - My friends.
Anyone you miss that you haven't seen in a long time - Relatives in the US, and a few people.
my mother thinks i am: Intelligent. everyone thinks so. god knows why.
my grandmas think i am: A nice person.
my boyfriend/girlfriend thinks i am: I'll tell you when i find one.
your three best qualities - Mostly friendly, open-minded (i hope), generous (mostly to close friends)
three worst qualities - If i hate people, i show it. I can almost never tell some people what i really think. and i get moody when that happens.
three things you are often complimented for - Chem. efficiency in almost everything except schoolwork. and i'll tell you when i think of the third one.
makes you happy - seeing some people being happy as well.
upsets you - people being total asses.
you keep a diary - internet diary...where you're reading this now.
you like to cook - I don't mind it.
you have a secret you have not shared with anyone - Yes, of course.
you talk in your sleep - My cousins say i do, but i don't at home. funny.
you bite your fingernails - Yes.

some other stuff...my new number is 92721228. that's nine two seven two one two two eight. please update your phonebooks/records.

Today's quote is for Sherman. he's the first person i thought of when i saw it.

~quote of the day: Roses are red, violets are blue. All my base, are belong to you.~

So...here i am again after 7 days. it's been kinda long, no? i suppose an excuse which i can give is FFX-2, which is really addictive. i guess another reason is that nobody bothers to blog much during the holidays. after all, blogs are pretty much stress relief places and there's hardly any stress in the holidays.

now, a list of my holiday homework and the 'do by' date:
- sciences: by wednesday
- history: by thursday
- maths: by the end of the week
- geog: by term 1 2004, if i can find it
- chinese: by term 1 2004, if i can find it
i think that's about it. oh well.

~quote of the day: Your generosity is inversely proportional to your wealth.~

I'm sorry for the lack in updates these 4+ days. i was away at sentosa for a cca camp from 28/11 to 01/12 morning. and being the ulu place sentosa is, there's no internet, so i apologize again. ^_^"

the camp was kinda fun, and i gained even more insight in my seniors' and coach's way of assessing us. i guess our committee isn't as good as i'd thought. the captain's a little lacking in the leadership department. and a few committee members are still kinda fond of duty-pushing, or so they say. aaanyway...a quick recap of the camp to keep my readers amused:

Afternoon/Night 1
just settling in. it was pretty much slack time. just sat around telling jokes, watching tv and doing some pretty normal stuff.

Day 2
The boredom killer arrived. bruce almighty. i think i watched it about 5+ times throughout the course of the camp. some seniors also came. 2 sec 4's from this year, 1 sec 4 from last year, and 1 sec 4 from 2 years ago. they helped do the bbq that was part of that night's dinner. and i never properly thanked them. i feel so bad. went to the beach in the afternoon, but didn't go in the H2O as i didn't have enough clothes. tried archery instead. damn fun. went to watch musical fountain thingy in the night. rather good, and the fire totally caught me by surprise.

Day 3
Pretty average day. went to help clean up the bunks as checkout was the next day. got wet as i figured i had nothing to lose now. went to the musical fountain again as i missed the first 10 mins the previous day. turns out i didn't miss too much. oh well. and learnt how to play bridge, courtesy of alex.

Morning 4
Even more cleaning. after checkout, went to bk for lunch, then went home to drop off some stuff, and then came to my cousin's place where i am now.

a big thanks to everyone who have helped in one way or another to bring such fun to the camp. especially to the coach, the teachers, the seniors and the kitchen crew. thanks for giving me something that i won't forget that easily, and i hope i have given something in return as well.

i guess the camp did, to a certain extent, achieve its objectives. to provide a retreat, to bring about team bonding, and finally, to assess the students. i'm significantly closer to the sec 1's, and have strengthened bonds with the sec 2's and 3's. such fun.

btw. Brendan: you left your OP long-sleeved shirt behind. i'll return it on the 1st day of school next year.

~quote of the day: "God is a mean kid with a magnifying glass sitting on an anthill, and I'm the ant. He could fix my life in five seconds, but he chooses to burn of my feelers and watch me squirm." -Bruce~