To the REDLINE ... and BEYOND!

UPDATES Part III

2009-07-14T09:07:00.005+08:00

UPDATES on ecotrail 4.0, STA Grads pix, etc... (see 2 posts below)

12thJuly -> Another kart session ... it rained early morning. Track was kinda dry except for some parts of the track ... (Zee, Iqbal and Ravi). Eventful day ....
Major accident ... fortunately the kamikaze driver wasn't hurt badly ... ego bruised mebbi. BASKET!!!! Never thought somebody can 'fly' off track at Kartworld but this bugger really did the 'impossible'! He skidded after the chains came off, hit the slight slope around the 3rd bend and flew into the bushes, karts overturned and landed on his head. Luckily his neck wasn't hurt or he could have gone kaput! If that happened, we would have commemorate that bend and name it 'IQBAL Memorial Death Corner' but since he's still alive and kicking ... we'll just call it 'IQBAL Corner' .... geezzzzz .... !!! Lucky my kart did not suffer major damages ....

AND .... Daniyal equalled and constantly doing sub 32secs ... BUT .. .BUT .. Aqilah nearly equalled my time!!!! 27.81 secs .... I was so overjoyed .... Somebody was there and he was so impressed that he was willing to sponsor Aqilah with a new kart and train her for races!!! Wow ... I'm so proud of her ... :) (though I was saddled with few hundred $$$ setback for some repair works). NOT really hoping for that to materialize but to know that she, my 12 yr old girl is nearly as fast as her father (yes, I'm quite slow .... because of my weight ... heheheeee), only after less than 10 track sessions .... speechless .... I juz want her to enjoy karting ... its all up to her if she wants to go further. I just want her to gain self confidence and be more self motivated. :)

18th July - Sepang track session and C&C track day -> looking forward to it!!! Pictures and details to follow soon ....

UPDATES Part II

2009-07-02T14:17:00.006+08:00

9th May -> Sepang Day/Night Training Session .... AWESOMEEEEEEE!!! I lurrvrvvvv my track car!

5th June -> BOYS night out Part I before flying off to PErth the next day - Dinner with Iqbal, Zee, Nabil and Radzi .... at East Coast.

6th June - 14th June -> Went to Perth with family ... they lurrrrved it .... hhmmmmmm .... (more pix on facebook acct.)

25th June -> Karting session with Zee, Matt and Ravi at Kartworld, Jurong - exhaust burn marks ... swollen ribcage .... but super awesooommeeeeeeee! http://picasaweb.google.com/matt.x1r/GoKartSession?feat=email

Went for dinner with the GUYS ... Iqbal, Zee & Ravi ... BOYS night out Part II.

4th July -> Another kart session coz someone is hooked blazing down the tracks in the race kart .... excellent weather. (Zee, Ravi and kids)
It was more than a month since my kids karted ... The last time they karted, Aqilah was doing sub 31secs best and Daniyal was ard sub 33secs.

I was pleasantly surprise when Daniyal shaved off another sec from his best to do sub 32secs and Aqilah .... sub 29secs!!!!!!!!!! in fact ... it was 28.15secs! Well done my girl!!! She's looking very comfortable with the kart though it was old and badly tuned (dad's pocket not deep enuff). Minus my weight (more than double of hers) and the unsuitable driving position, I can only manage 27.65secs best.

UPDATES .....

2009-05-11T10:56:00.009+08:00

Feb 17th - March 1st -> Ecotrail 4.0 .... (Check out more pictures at Facebook account under Hanafi ... Sandra ... Hadi ...)

March -> Ecotrail 3.0/4.0 Chalet at Changi
(Check out pictures at Facebook account under Hanafi)
April -> Dila's B'day Chalet
(Check out pictures at Facebook account under Dila)
April -> Bunker 4 Gathering at Pasir Ris Bungalow
(Check out pictures at Facebook account under Sheila ... Faridah ... errr)

April -> STA Graduation Ceremony (check out pictures from Facebook account)

April ... Start of Semester 1 ... again ...

Last day of Semester 2008/09

2009-01-28T11:28:00.004+08:00

23rd January 2009 .... last day of school for the graduating 3rd year students. Nothing much happened .... except those who remembered, appreciated and extended an invitation for 'cikgu' to join the 'murid-murid' for the last official flying session at our usual haunt.

Alfi, Din and Syafiq .... great to see all of you again doing something that bind us together at the first place ... thru AIG (Aeromodeling IG). I wish all of you the best in your future undertakings and may we 'fly faster jet planes' again in future!!! :)

Dila, Arifah and Naq ... we'll catch up again some other time.

Flying with da boys .... !!!

Ecotrail 4.0 Ubin Training

2009-01-09T17:35:00.005+08:00

Pulau Ubin SL trainig for Ecotrail 4.0 Team ... 29th - 30th Dec 2008.

Ecotrail 4.0 (Chiangrai, Thailand) Team Leaders

STA Graduates in Ecotrail 4.0 Team

Trekking ....

Ecotrail 4.0 Team to Chiangrai, Thailand .... tentatively 16th Feb - 1st March.

Karting ... finally!!!

2009-01-09T16:55:00.006+08:00

After few agonising months, I finally got the 2 karts to run well ... problem was we were running the karts too SLOW!!! It burnt 8 of my expensive spark plugs!!! I guessed we were cruising down memory lanes while karting .... not suitable for 125cc Rotax Max engine race karts! It's supposed to be revved up till its 11k-12k rpm ceiling. Anyway, we did some 'illegal' karting sessions round the open field opposite the Christ Church Secondary School. Thanks to Zee, Iqbal, Radzi and Nabil for being ever so enthusiastic. :)

Soon after, we found better places to kart ... we did rounds at Tuas and Jurong track. I even bought a storage container to house the karts there but unfortunately the Tuas track is closed for karting at the moment due to some 'political' crisis. Karts stayed idle for now ... Thinking of transferring the karts to Jurong while waiting for the Tuas track to get the approval and the Arena Country Club track to be ready by April (hopefully).

Got myself another kart ... but this time a 270cc, 9HP 4-stroke engine adult size fun kart for my kids. Modified to fit the pedal extensions for Daniyal to drive it. He's so puny-looking when he's driving it coz he's supposed to drive a baby/cadet kart instead of adult size kart.. Its too huge for Daniyal but surprisingly he adapted very well! His best time around the Jurong track was merely 2-3 secs behind his sister!!!! AND sister is just 3-4 secs behind the father!!!

Some of the visitors at Jurong track were quite amazed by their ability! Being just the 2nd session on the track and driving the kart, their abilities were quite commendable. Once Aqilah is good enough, I guessed she'll be 'promoted' to drive my race karts. But for now, both of them have to build up some arm and neck power coz karting and the track itself is very demanding ... It was so challenging that I was literally thrown about in the seat just after few laps ... Well maybe I have to be whipped back into shape if I were to seriously pick up this sport. I was invited by a few individuals to race around Asia but I guess its $$$ concern ... and also time .... Its time consuming and not cheap ....

Anyway, both sister and 'lil brother are enjoying every moment of karting ... They can't wait for the weekends where they can kart nearly the whole day. There was once where they karted from 11am till 4+pm ... minus some intervals due to passing rain. They really enjoyed it so much that I have a hard time to get them to stop. Fortunately it rained very heavily ... no choice ... have to pack up. Hope to bring them for karting session every week ... kinda a reward for them for studying the whole week. Well I won't be pushing them to join official races unless they really want to ... For now ... its just karting for fun .... ;)

Two karts but no time to burn rubber ...

2008-09-24T11:49:00.005+08:00

This is by far the most stressful period since I joined RP ... Being the module chair (crafting module, problems and test questions) is no mean feat ... in addition to the 2 classes that I have to handle a week. AND that is on top of being appointed the in charge for EndLab (3D Scanners and milling machines). AND thats not all! Just arrowed to do some collaboration with external production house for some TV programme for Suria or Kids Central ... advisor for Ecotrail 4.0 .... Studio IG involvement in some campus activities ... 12 PP students and 2 FYP teams and ........... just GREAT!!!! Can't wait for this semester to be over.

Anyway, bought the used racing karts before my LA trip ... thinking that I'll have time to enjoy it with my kids/family ... but ... hhhmmmm ... not in the near future I guess ... This is so distressing ... :(

SIGGRAPH 2008: Los Angeles, California ... 9th - 17th Sep 2008

2008-09-11T10:02:00.007+08:00

Just one week after touching down from Perth, I was on flight again but this time to the other end of the world attending conferences and exhibition in Los Angeles Convention Centre for SIGGRAPH 2008: EVOLVE. More than 17 hours flight is really no joke. I wonder how people can withstand nearly 24hours flight. Torturous! Oh yeah ... my flight to LA (transit in Hong Kong) was delayed for more than 3 blardy hours coz the plane was not in flying condition ... long wait but I guess safety comes first ... Watt De Hal!!!

Los Angeles Airport, LAX .... quite busy ... and not as organised as Changi ....
Stayed for 2 nights in Kawada Hotel, Downtown LA... Around half and hour walk to the Convention Centre. My fault coz I did not book the nearby hotel earlier. Made the reservations last minute ... And I have to find another lodging for the rest of the trip ... all the way to Redondo Beach ... AND that is nearly 2 hours journey to the Convention Centre by public transport!!! I have to take the train and a 'feeder' bus to commute between these two locations. It was quite intriguing though ... the houses, apartments, crowds, buildings, spaces, shops, roads, terrains, etc ...The only evidence that I was there ..... The temperature was nice ... Sunny but with cool tinge in the air.The junction in front of the entrance. View from the LA Convention Centre.The bus stop at Redondo Beach. One time, I had to wait for an hour for the bus to take me to the nearest train station!!! But that's not the bus of course ... i dunno wat it was oso.
The view at Redondo Beach ..... Mostly family picnics ... Very relaxing ... excellent ... Down there ... most of the foodstuffs or tidbits are FULL size ... and way cheaper than S'pore ... The wallet is a form of comparison how huge it is. The Tortilla chips just costed me US$1.99 and the Ruffles was less than US$3. Oh yesss .... thats my diet there!!! Can't find much for me to 'safely' eat .....

WALL-E!!!! Disney/Pixar's booth ...

They had a full size F1 replica car similar to the Singtel F1 simulator but without the motion. I was asked if I'm interested to try ... Am' I interested???? Are you kidding!!!! Came all the way from S'pore and miss this chance??? Of course I said yesss .... The fastest driver will get some kind of cash voucher at the end of the exhibition. Each participant was only given 2 laps - 1 lap for practice and the flying lap.

And yours truly ... ehheeemmm ... tracked the fastest time with more than 13 secs lead for the day .... but I didn't check with them if my timing was the fastest throughout though ....
This computer rendering of Lamborghini was AWESOME!!!! Super detailed ... in REAL TIME!!!! Wowwwwwaaawweeeewwwaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Just imagine the future of PC driving simulators to be of this quality ... I was blown away ... fuyoooo!!!! Power beb!!!

Cute beetle buggy. My son really gonna love this!!!!

This was the nearest shopping centre I could find near the beach ... Have to take the bus which go all the way to the train station (ard 30mins-45mins route) and back to the beach (another 20mins) when actually if the bus just gonna go straight to the shopping mall would take 15minutes. :)

Anyway ... went round ... dunno what to buy ... In the end, just buy the 2 cinnamon buns to last for breakfast, lunch and dinner ...
Elevated rain station ... Redondo Beach stop ...
Road level train station ... PICO station ... stops around 5 minutes walk to the LA Convention Centre. No proper barriers .... so watch left and right before you cross the train rail tracks.
View from inside the convention centre. Quite huge ... I came across more African Americans and Hispanics more than the whites in this part of LA. It wasn't as enjoying as my Perth trip ... was all alone ... no vehicle to travel around (unlike Perth, get to rent a car) ... missed my family. AND yessss ... i did not visit the 'HOLLYWOOD' side of LA .... Disneyland ... Beverly Hills, Sunset Blvd .... doesn't interest me anyway ....

SECRET MISSION: DOWN UNDER 19th - 31st July 2008

2008-08-14T16:35:00.009+08:00

Mission accomplished .... report due soon. Nice place ... pace of life ... people ... kart tracks ... racing track ... beaches ... car shops ... Carousel Shopping Centre ... very very cold weather, at times below 10 degrees celcius. Freezing .... more text coming as soon as I can get my module/problems crafting out of the way! That will definitely be after my SIGGRAPH 2008 Los Angeles, California trip ....

REPORT ....

Well ... just to quell rumours ... I was there to visit my friend, attend some personal matters and went on a MISSION!

Soooooo many cars for sale along the roads. Spoilt for choice! Just imagine ... 1997 Toyota Supra 3.0L Twin turbo for less than AU$20K!!! Crazyyyyyyyy ... droool .....

Rockingham beach ... or was it Kwinana Beach .... nice ... quiet beach. There is a Masjid managed by a Singaporean imam nearby. Did our Asar, Maghrib and Isya' there. The Imam invited us to their humble house within the Masjid's compound. They even served us with food! I was so touched by their hospitality ...
Oh yeah .... the mission meant nothing if a Supra is not involved!!! Found a couple of them .... niceeeeeee!!!!

We (Anuar and myself) stayed at Anis's rented house. About AU$360/week. Great vicinity! Less than 5 minutes walk to the Greyhound Race Course ... where they race ... not cars ... greyhounds!!! Dogs!!! I guess its their fav past time .... Its also near Carousel Shopping Centre ... super huge ... got lost a couple of times inside.

MANDURAH .... Sentosa Cove is nothing compared to this! Each house has their own boat ... luxury yatch .... If i'm not mistaken each house costs at least AU$2M .... OOOooooooooo ...
Barbagallo Raceway ... where they race V8 supercars like Holdens and Fords ... missed the event though .... :(
Crazy enuff to do karting at Wanneroo Kart Circuit in the cold weather .... My palms were frozen at the end of the session ... The track was quick challenging and slippery .... Excellent!!! But I prefer the track at Cockburn Kart Circuit. More challenging ... a downhill cockscrew turn at the end of a long straight. Ribs breaking!!!! I suffered ribs ache after every session .... too old for this i guess ....
Yeah ... Wanneroo Track Circuit. If only Singapore has a few track circuits like this or Cockburn's. Kart Haven!!!
Old driver in action ..... Yeah eat my dust!!!!

Rainbows .... easily spotted after the rain there .... As far as the eye can see ... In Singapore??? Fat chance ... 1oom view oso got blocked by high rise building .... cheyyyy .... Sianzzz!
The coastlines are beautiful .... dunno what to say ... how to describe ... ocean view ... no land in sight .... just water ... strong waves .... No wonder they do lotsa surfing here.

We travelled more than 300km to the Northern Perth to experience the 'desert'. They call it The Pinnacles. Actually doesn't really look like desert larrr .... just small sand dune area with limestone rocks protruding almost anywhre .... Interesting though ...
On the way to Pinnacles .... Vast land .... I've never experienced such a view that I stopped the car and just absorb the atmosphere. Just imagine flying the Microlight around these areas .... speechless ... total speechless.

Houses along the Cottesloe Beach .... very scenic drive .... People strolling ... jogging ... cycling ... no pressure ... no crowd ... just enjoying the things they do .... awesome!!!

Oh yesss .... they also have the flying field ... i mean really specially dedicated RC flying field! Not like Singapore where we are playing cat and mouse game with the police each time we go for flying session. Bestest!!!

Next stop ... Los Angeles for SIGGRAPH 2008 Convention and Exhibition.

BLOWN AWAY!!!! SuperGT 21st - 22nd June 2008

2008-06-29T12:19:00.011+08:00

Yesss Nana ... i noe i need to update the blog more often ... Thanks a lot for tormenting me for the updates ....

Oh yesss .... Forgot to add these earlier ... early May 2008 ...

Thanks to Abi, Grace, Lisa, Sandra (did i miss anybody else) for the pleasant surprise on my birthday. Greatly appreciate it. Thank you for the cakes. :)

Also ... to Iqbal, Iqbal's twin sister (Myrah), Nana, Nabil, Zee, Ghaz(???), Lala (???), Gareth(???)etc ... ( I hope i didn't miss names again) ... thanks for embarassing me at the canteen by singing ... i mean screaming birthday song! And made me blow the candle on the cake .... Thank you!!! I'm so touched .... and never felt sooooo violated in my entire life!!! hahahahaaaa ....

Thanks a gazillion .... you people are wonderful!!!! (i think) ... ;)

AND also to all those who wished me well ... thank you. May you all have a great year ahead and many years to come.

TEXT WILL BE COMING SOON .... WHEN I HAVE THE TIME TO BLABBER .....
GREAT EXPERIENCE .... aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh .....

Thanks to Iqbal for accompanying me ....

April till end of May 2008

2008-05-30T11:55:00.008+08:00

This was one of the most dreaded time where we have to setup the SLA booth during the opening of Tan Eak Kheam Service Learning Centre (not sure if i got the name spelt correctly tho). Most of the Ecotrail 3.0 team members banded (or 'branded' ???) together in harmony (syeahhh rites!!!) as usual and did an excellent job in decorating the booth with whatever leftovers that they have of the recent service learning trip. Finally a chance for them to wear the fisherman pants in school and still look really cool ... NOT!!!! The new comittee (ie. Iskandar, Titima, Zul, etc.) coordinated very well to put up a good show for the visitors. KUDOS!!!!

Really not bad at all!!! Well done BRANDERS!!!Portrait of a 'Happy Family' ... and an old man! We even brought back one of the hilltribe person in beige outfit (above) to enhance the surreal experience at our booth!!! See how he looks familiar to one of our Ecotrail 3.0 team member Zayd??? Hhmm ... his long lost brother from Chiangrai i think ....

The usual camwhores and camgigolos .....They finally got rid of the old man .... Look how happy they are!!!! Cheetot!!!

Some of the exhibits at our booth ... laptop not included ....

RP was having their mid year SALE ... I mean mid year Open House. Its targeted more towards the Secondary school and ITE students who are still studying in their respective institutions. Ben and Jerry ... (lame) errr .... Ben and Nabil on the Roving camera crew ... Ilyas and Ghaz mostly doing the MC for the Studio IG booth ... They did a production setup, livecast interviewing some of the STA facis and students. Sorry gang ... have to decline the invites to be one of the panel coz I HATE being interviewed!!!! Don't ever come to me for interviews unless you want your internal organs inside out!!!! Last WARNING!!!!

2 of the newest member in the Studio IG junior intake ... That gerl on headphones and camera control looks familiar ... Oh yeah .... Iqbal's GF ... SIT student .... looking bored ... forced to join ... cheap labour .... :) I felt that our booth was like the highlight in that area .... Ilyas and Ghaz did an excellent job of provoking and intimidating the passerbys ... Dats why the visitors swarmed the other end of the STA's booth. ;)
Random shot .... its a FERRARI!!!!!!!!! F430 ..... droolll ..... but driver cannot make it .... moving off oso shuddering .... cheyyy!!!! Lucky I was driving Airwave .... else I could have taken a better shot of this beautiful scarlet ... :) I know this is a bad shot ... (tho I taught some of you u on how to take good shots) ... but I was snapping the pix and driving at the same time leiii .... pardon me!!! This scarlet engine's growl was ..... *speechless* ....... SHOW OFF!!!!!!!! Puuiikkkk .... drooollll .....

Biggest dissappointment of the season ... nice cockpit but ... hardware was *crap* ... could have provided better set of steering. They put it on AUTO shifting, steering, brakes, etc ... almost evrything is on AUTO!!! How can the visitors test their skills and feel the 'realism' ... if it ever gotten any near at all ... Note that the cockpit was similar to the one I constructed but of course this is of a MUCH better finishing and costs 100 times more!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of my FYP teams doing their production shoot in the AA Facis pod on Saturday ... burnt my Saturday .... but for a good cause larrr ... hopefully they don't dissappoint me with the end product. I DEMAND an exceptional output else all getting D from me!!!

Nevertheless .... they were very comitted .... quite professional .... but ... but .... we'll leave that to the Oral Defense in 2 months time. :)

PLEASE support ...

2008-04-27T19:56:00.005+08:00

Like every other Sundays .... my usual morning read ... the Sunday Times and painstakingly having to read CHEW ON IT comics week in week out! Something caught my attention this week ... on the top panel of his comics ... went to his blog. Quite curious since the last time I know, he closed his blog for some `personal' reasons. (Don't worry Cheech ... I won't blurt it here with regards to why u shut it down ... )

Just felt that I have to do something for the cause .... so went up to meet him and hand him something that would aid the cause. Great to see some `familiar' faces back in SPH ... I felt sooooooo exploited just now!!! (heheeheee) ... :)

Anyway ... if you happen to be a fan of his comics, pls show your support by purchasing his `collector's edition' comics compilation or `never gonna be printed anymore' T-shirt. I know his comics are arrr ... errr ... errmmm ... hhhmmm ... (wahahahaaa) but think of how much the boy will appreciate your kind donations. ( Hey Cheech!!! You should have accepted that `Japanese' man's offer to fund the course to improve ... hahahahaa. )

Visit http://chewonitcomics.blogspot.com/ ... for more information on how you can do your part to help. Cheech ... don't mind me giving you extra publicity on this matter.

Well actually ... Chee Chew is a good fren of mine in SPH ... AND he knows I think highly of his comics ... syeahhh rites!!!! (hehehheee) Anyway ... good to see u again ah pek!!! Inform me if u need the gfx card. U know my account number!!! :)

Feb - Apr 2008

2008-04-22T12:58:00.009+08:00

RP had its campus wide SLA (Students Life Activities similar to ECA, CCA) during the 2nd week of new semester. I happen to be the advisor for Aeromodeling IG and newly appointed Studio IG. They happen to be just a few booths away so it was easier for me to `shuttle' from one booth to another.
Good turnout ... managed to get commendable number of students interested in the IGs. The committee members of both IGs did a very good job .... Well done weirdos!!!! Unfortunately forgot to snap pics of the AIG booth. :(

Fresh after coming back from Ecotrail 3:0: Chiangrai - Attack of the BRANDING bangers ... a few of us decided to have a small reunion on tracks ... Go Kart session at Permas Jaya, Johor Bahru!!! Most of us were looking forward to it since we didn't get the chance to burn some rubbers while we were in Chiangmai.

The weather was good ... INITIALLY! We managed to get a good single dry session ... Iffah was not bad for a first timer! I was held up a good few laps behind her ... Could have overtaken her during the first corner but I guess I'd better stay behind and play it safe in case she lose control during the overtaking maneuvers ... Nevermind larrr ... give her face a bit. ;)

Took a break for lunch at Permas Jaya `huge' shopping Centre and it was raining super heavy while we were there!!! Sianzzzz ... We waited till the rain stopped ... road slightly dry ... then came out for the 2nd session ... All of us kept on spinning almost all the corners ... super slippery!!! Zayd looked very frustrated coz he kept on spinning in nearly evry turn. Well .. .thats wet weather `racing' for u!!!! But nevertheless, it was really fun `drifting', `slipping' and losing control of the kart. Fortunately no major incidents or injuries. ... All of us came back in one piece. Yeaahhh!!! :)

The RP's AIG (Aeromodeling Interest Group) guys took the opportunity to build some more planes and took it to the skies. Finally, we did not crash any planes during the flying session. The weather was very windy ... strong wind so they have to be very alert and careful while flying the F3A low wing planes.

I managed to build 2 EDF (Electronic Ducted Fan) jet planes ... the Thunderbird and the big and mighty F22 Raptor powered by 5 lipo cells! The suction from that ducted fan was so strong that it sucked my shirt and tore it during testing!!! Geeezzz ... there goes my depleting wardrobe collection! Still a few more planes to build ... but I guess its enough for now. We have more than 10 planes in the store room ... AND more coming soon in preparations for the new student members this semester.

Not bad ... it has been a year since I took over the advisorship and the club grew exponentially. We have like more than 20 active members (I think). I was in charge of buying, fixing the planes. Train the seniors ... conduct mini workshops on how to build the planes ... do outdoor flying demos, etc. Kah Weng in charge of the finance and accounts, etc. Unlike the other advisor whom, does not a single thing, just sitting on his damn huge butts and still dare to claim credits for building the club when asked by the directors. F#@$%#s !!!!

Anyway, we have more planes ... more students now know how to build the planes ... most members are confident enough to fly the real RC planes ... most members had the chance to fly the planes outdoor ... NEXT STOP: flying gas powered planes and mebbi helis. Yeahhhh!!!!

Haven't been flying the planes for nearly a year or more ... Fixed the EDF Electrajet ... syiok to be `flying' again. Met up with my old flying buddies ... now all of them flying gas powered planes ... some even flew the 120 size!!!! Thats like nearly 2m wingspan!!! Not bad ... not bad at all. Hands quite itchy to seriously fly again but ... my car cannot fit the size of those GP planes ... mebbi smaller 40size will do but then ... doubt so I have that much time to commit as I did before I joined RP .... Well ... win some ... lose some ... Mebbi some other time ... In the mean time ... I'll concentrate on building up the AIG .... and get to `fly' for free .... hehehehheheeee.

RP had its graduation show for the new graduates during end of March ... just before the new semester starts. It happened to be the first STA grad show ever ... We are only 3 yrs old!!! HHmmm .... hats of to a few of my students who were willing to assist me last minute in setting up the equipments and doing some video shoots and photo taking. Namely ... Iqbal, Tim, Kevin and Myrah (Iqbal's twin sister). Well of course CE points were the carrot for their willingness. hehehheee ... Thanks people!!! Arrrhhh ... don't forget to edit those videos okies!!! Its long overdue!!! OR i'll cancel your CE points!

Also ... a week plus before the new semester starts, STA held its First Year Orientation Programme for the noobs. Quite a low turnout ... I guess they were confused with the RP-wide FOP the week after. I `contracted' the same cheap labourers for this event ... Iqbal, Gareth and Tim ... as usual. They were professional enough going round snapping pictures and shooting the video. It was a 2 day event so we spent the night editing the videos and compiling the photos to show during the farewell part of the programme. I think the noobs enjoyed the video ... it captured their fun ... tired ... wacky moments. I have to say that coz I was involved! hahahaaaa ...

Ecotrail 3.0 - 10th Feb to 22nd Feb 2008

2008-03-18T11:50:00.004+08:00

10th Feb to 22nd Feb 2008 ...

Finally ... the dreadful day arrived ... still kinda half hearted to go ... but whaddaheck ... oredi at the airport ... How I wish I can just blink and get transported to 22nd Feb instead .... haiizzzzzzzz .....

First few days were torturous .... the food, the place, the toilet!!!! But after a while, getting used to it. Slowly enjoying it .... but towards the end ... can't wait to be back in Singapore!!!! Another tormenting last few days to touch down ...

Weather was cold! Especially in the morning .... freezing cold! When talk got smoke come out!!!
Afternoon was like Singapore but minimum humidity. Nearly evry evening at Baan Phasert village, we will open shop and cook instant noodles, etc ....

Most of the days spent going to places of interests .... sometimes up to 4 or 5 places a day .... quite tiring .... We did jungle trekking, road trekking, visit hilltribe villages, waterfalls, military camp, branch office, etc ..... will elaborate when I have the time.

Anyway, the very least, I have to admit ... I was glad that I signed up for this trip ... it was a good experience ... tho leaving behind my family for 2 weeks was quite tormenting.

Thanks to Gareth and the other STA students (Lala, Iqbal, Tim) who invited me to be the advisor for this trip. :)

More photos can be found in my Friendster and Facebook account.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=647875598
http://profiles.friendster.com/katako9

Service Learning Training for Advisors

2008-03-07T12:23:00.005+08:00

5th Feb ...

Still reeling from the end of semester ... how time flies .... Interesting part of life ... trying to understand what youngsters think and strive for in their life ... how i can assist them .... Really hope I made some micro contributions to their journey ....

Anyway, never did look forward to the Ecotrail trip in February ... But since I have `promised' students and OSG that I'll be babysitting the `kids' ... i guess it was too late to withdraw. Who would be crazy enuff to take up the advisorship at the eleventh hour???

With heavy heart ... made the longest walk in my entire adult life after NS ... from home to RP (sh*t ... it only takes less than 15 mins from home to campus!!!!), carrying like at least 10kg of load in my backpack ... reporting early for the service learning training at Ubin ... haiizzzzzz ... overnight there some more ... wah lau ehhh ... really in a bad mood sia ...

Started off the day in campus ... going thru the briefing before heading to Ubin in the afternoon. Really feeling like cr*p ... Not really looking forward to it AT ALL!!! Took the bumboat ... landed at the jetty ... the place looks so eerily empty!!! What do u expect ... few more days to Chinese Lunar New Year ... deserted ... !!!!
Okies I'm lying ... there r still people, tourists, stall holders keeping the place look busy. Loaded our backpacks into the van and started the training. As usual ... few checkpoints to visit ... gather info ... walk a LOTTTT (a few hours!!!!) ... grab pictures, yaaddaaa ... yaddaaa ... yaddaa .... Lucky Radzi come along ... if not damn super duper extremely bored! At least got kaki to share the same sentiments. Anyway ... wasn't prepared for the main shocker. The house we r going to live in!!!! Dogs infested area ... wah lau ehhh .... die larrr like dat!!!! How to perform my prayers???? I keep on wondering how ppl can live in these kinda conditions ... It took a while to sink in the rustic isolated feeling living in the other end of Singapore ... What have I gotten myself into oso I dunno ... AND the conditions in hill tribes, Chiangrai, Thailand will be worst!!!! DIE!!! DIE!!!! DIE!!!!! Feel like going back home there and then ... Sianzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....... On the hindsight ... it was a truly good experience ... too comfortable with city life ... It really was a great eye opener ... basic necessities ... simple life ... simple needs ... so peaceful .... hhhmmmmm .... Nevertheless .... can't wait for the calendar to switch immediately to 23rd Feb ... when evrything is OVERRRRR!!!!!! Yeahhhh .... that'll be the DAY!!!!

Last day of Semester 2

2008-02-25T13:51:00.007+08:00

Finally ... 1st Feb 2008, the end of Semester 2 ... Can't wait for the break but on the hindsight, gonna miss facilitating ... (syeaaahhhh rites!!!) As usual ... some photo taking sessions ... Can't believe most of them turn up for P16 ... must be the free food!!! Another session of Timezone ... time to beat 2min 49secs!!!
The Geylang Serai And Arab Street mobSTAs! (above)

MobSTAs United! (below)
Chinatown mobSTAs and Geylang Serai/Arab Street mobSTAs making peace!!! (below)MobSTAs Soccer Team. (below)Our all-gerl MotorGP Racing Team. (below)E24H Pizza eating Contest Team.Our very own E24H Toilet Cleaner Uncles (below) ... so dedicated and committed to their jobs (they supplied their own home made toilet paper dispenser for all to use). Kudos!E24H part time mime artists. Pls don't quit your day job people!!!Singapore drifters in the making .... NOT!!!!

Some random events ...

2008-01-29T11:58:00.001+08:00

Somewhere in October 2007 (I think) T'ang Quertet came to RP for rehearsals and a performance at TRCC as part of Reflections 2007. Very frenly bunch. The students from E24J were very fortunate to get the opportunity to interview them for T204 - Production Practicum module (EFP).

RP had their Open House in Dec 2007, just before I left for holidays at Bintan and JB. The turn out wasn't dat good, I bet there were more facis and students than visitors ... anyway, it was hard work but fun nonetheless.

During the term break, the students were expected to start production for their short film. Happened to be around during those days when Iqbal, Nabil, Souzanne, Nana and Nicholas were doing their filming. Its very heartening to see these students sacrifice their social life to do their `homework' during the break. Thought the end product was a bit unpolished, I can see that they have the potential to go far if they continuously put in the effort. Souzanne and Nicholas was quite a natural ... Iqbal sounds like C3PO ... Great effort with the props. :)

COMING SOON: Feb 10th - 22nd ... trip to Chiangrai, Thailand for Ecotrail 3.0 service learning trip. The students involved were carrying out some fund raising activities of selling lollipops and can drinks prior to the trip. They also had 2 days of collecting old newspapers and clothings during one of the weekends. We collected around $1,300 in total ... not bad .... Good for them!!!

Bintan Dec 2007

2008-01-29T11:28:00.000+08:00

Went to Bintan for 4days 3nights. My eldest brother's family, my mom, my domestic helper and my own family. Nice place ... beautiful beach but damn expensive food. The villa has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a private swimming pool. Not bad for a SGD$300 acommodation for 3 nights instead of paying the actual rate of SGD$800++ per night!!!
Also, u can forget about exchanging SGD for Rupiah coz you don't need it. Most items are in SGD!!! AND its more expensive than in Singapore itself!!!! Geeezzzz!!!
It was raining quite heavily on and off throughout the stay ...
Nevertheless, the kids had so much fun ... Each one of the grown up kids got to drive the private ferrying buggy each villa was equipped with.
Its so unfortunate that the kids only got to take pix on the ATV. Children under 12 years are not allowed to ride it. I was looking forward for the kids to have a go at it but well ... mebbi next time.
Anyway, it was quite a deserving break for all of us ... so just enjoy while it lasts ...

Home Sweet Home

2007-12-17T00:30:00.000+08:00

OK OK I know I haven't been updating the blog for quite a while. Quite a few students were also asking about it. AND you PIERRE!!! I'm updating this for u!!! Make sure you check back often!!! wahahaaaa ... :)

Been so busy lately ... especially with the house shifting/renovation and academic work. Shifted on the 24th Nov. Was really a big mess still. 2 weeks on, the house is more liveable but reno not completed yet.
3 weeks term break ... a deserving one. Taking a breather now ... going for a short holiday with family. Kids looking forward to it. Daniyal has been counting down the days. Aqilah been asking so many questions about the vacation.
Many more things in my mind ... feeling a bit unsettled still. Frustrations at work ... at least have a new `toy' at home waiting to be whacked since can't be kicking around somebody's ass at work! Added 16" Sabian Studio Crash ... looking for a nice thin splash ... 12" HHX Xplosion would do good ... I hope! GTR2 on 32" LCD, 5.1 channel speakers with subwoofer, racing seats .... heavennnn!!!!!

Anyway, Have a `Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year' to all in advance ... while I `enjoy' the fruits of the long labour. :)

HARI RAYA Open House 4th Nov'07

2007-11-05T16:23:00.001+08:00

I would like to extend my gratitude to those who came. You people had been excellent! I'm very sorry if there was any inadequacy in terms of the `service' and home-cooked food. I hope most of you had an enjoyable time and mebbi I'll be able to host this again (depending on demand .. wahahahaha...) but at a smaller venue of course. :) Yvonne, Jolene, Alex, Jobina, Jenell, Justin, Jon and Yasmin - Ya'all were excellent! Thanks for making time to attend my humble event. Also, thank you for the cakes and chocolate crispies. Delicious!! Very sorry if I was unable to sit down and chat with you all much. You people were very sporting in creating your own game and entertaining yourself ... heheheheheee. Next time I'll prepare playing cards and some other games to help occupy the time. Self maintained visitors ... I like! :)
Jon, Justin & Alex - You three looked a bit bored. Sorry if I was a bad host ... hope you had a good meal tho. :) Yasmin - Thanks for rushing all the way from Bugis! Really appreciate your presence.
Fadillah & Ariffah - Wished you all could have stayed longer .... Dila looked like she's quite hooked to the `racing simulator', trying out the PS2 and PC setup ... Ariffah was also game enuff to try out the PS2 setup! I hope both of you had fun trying it out. ;)
Nana - You should have stayed a little longer and get to know my two fishes in the tank better! They missed you and wanted to follow you home! They are well behaved pets and good for salted fish! wahahahahaaaa....
Amira - Sorry for your virtual `family emergency'. Hope you did not get into much trouble with your employer. :) Gareth, Ghaz, Nabil, Sharime, Tim, Iqbal and Zee - Hope you guys had fun, man! I'll make sure the batteries are charged for your mini racing and drifting pleasure next time.... Thanks again for dropping by! :) Ghaz, Sharime, Tim and Iqbal - Hope you got to clocked some good timings on the simulator! I'll inform you guys if I get the green light for building my simulator in one of STA's lab ... I'll definitely invite you guys to be my Test Drivers.... ;)
To my wife's ex-students - Thank you so much for coming. My wife was very delighted to meet all of you again after so many years. My kids also enjoyed your company very much. To ALL of you who were present: THANK YOU very very much coming to our humble home ... thanks for making our day ... hope all of you had fun. Sorry if it was not as fun as you all might expect but whatever it is, my family, were very grateful for your presence.

Thank you people!!!

Photos will be up soon ... :)

HARI RAYA Open House 4th Nov'07

2007-11-05T16:23:00.000+08:00

Photos and text will be uploaded soon. Thanks for coming guys!

Sepang Track Session on 29th October 2007

2007-11-01T11:30:00.000+08:00

Was really looking forward for this trip ... My first Sepang F1 track session. Had been on hold since early 2004 after the high speed accident at Pasir Gudang Race Track. Sold the WRX ... bought the Tucson ... now back with a vengeance! Been to PG track numerous times ... Now time to burn rubber where M. Schumacher, Raikkonen and Hakkinen, the World F1 Champions had driven before!

The journey started out great ... head off from S'pore ard 0815hrs with a scooby fren, Lim ... cleared customs and driving along North South Expressway around 0900hrs. Great view ... excellent weather. Along the way, I was `pushed' by a yellow Porsche ... not one but 2 yellow Porsches. A Cayman-S and GT3!!! Droooooolllll .... No choice ... must respect and give way .... Fades into horizon ....

Stopped over at Alor Gajah Restoran Jejantas (overhead bridge restaurant), off Malacca at around 1100hrs. Decided to have a bite at A&W ... Wow! When was the last time we see an A&W restaurant in S'pore! Anyway, now I know why it doesn't exist in S'pore anymore. Food looks good ... on the posters ... when it came ... haiiizzzzz ... lame! Tastes ok ok only ... Wat to do ... hungry like a wolf. Chow down whatever on the plate.

Stumbled upon the 2 yellow Porsches also ... stopping over for some bites ... Happens to be our track session groupies ... Introduced ourselves and head off towards KLIA ... Lim and I left first and left them with their chats. Frenly bunch despite their flashy cars ... Excellent!
Driving slowly ... keeping to the speed limit ard 120km/h along Negri Sembilan ... Suddenly the 2 Porsches, 1 MX-5 and 1 Starlet appeared at the side .... Gave way to them and we joined the convoy. Coooooooooooolllll!

Along Negri Sembilan ... clouds began to gather ... day looks darker ... sob ... sobbb ... sobbb ... wet road ... raining .... aahhhhhhh ... there goes my perfect first Sepang outing ... No wet weather tyres ... how to excel on track? Praying very hard the rain clouds will go away as I drive towards KLIA ...

No luck ... reached Sepang F1 Track ... drizzling ... roads still wet ... Haiiizzzz ... At least better than nothing .... saddddd .... dissappointed .... Travel all the way ... but no dry patch to be seen. We reached Sepang at 1300hrs ... There were bunch of Honda Civic VTis, WRXes, STIs, MX-5, Starlet and Porsches. Prepared the videocam tripod while waiting for the start of track session ... unload all unnecessary items from car and get ready for 1400hrs ... start of track session. Prior to 1400hrs, we had a pre-session briefing by our organiser ... GREEN Flag! Drive ON!!!!
1400hrs .... Most of them went out of pits and blaze the tracks ... I stayed on at the pits ... grabbing pix and capturing videos of the long straights ... Fuyyyyooooooo!!! The sound of boxer engines blazing down the straights .... downshifting ... backfires ... HEAVEEENNNNN!!!!! YEahhhh ...
My turn! My turn ...!!! Excited sia!!!! Long time never whack on track. Once most of the cars went in the pits to cool down their engines ... I started mine and go for few warmup laps ... Road still wet ... Haizzzz .... my tyres are perfect for dry weather ... cannot make it on wets ... Spin out even at the slowest corner .... How like dat????? Also at certain high gears, the engine jerks violently ... nearly went out of control due to the engine braking ... Came in after 4-5laps without really pushing hard. Haaaaiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... What a way to start an eventful trip!
Went in the pits ... cool off the engine ... went out again ... Same thing happens ... Less spin outs but the engine jerks still there ... Approached my tuner and got him to test my car. Wah lao ehhh!!! He whacked the car like nobody's business! Braked last minute before the corner ... even a `seasoned' trackie like me oso kana push forward when he braked hard. NOW that's late braking in racing! 180km/h down to 50km/h in less than 50metres!!! Like hitting the brick wall directly at 60km/h! The G-forces were ..... climaxxx!!!! Wahahahahaaa ... Syiokkk sia! Never tot my car's brakes are that good! The brake pads suppose to withstand ard 800 degrees!!!
He negotiated the corners at a higher speed than mine and spins out too ... Confirm! The tyres bad for wet weather ... not the driver! heheheheheee ... I bagan to doubt myself before that. ;)
Also ... he pointed out the aftermarket BOV was the culprit for the engine braking. Haiizzz have to get the stock BOV and miss the whooosh sound ... Well ... went into the pits again ... cool down ... and after 20 minutes, went out again ... this time round I was more careful and start to do some late brakings and high speed cornering ... pushing the car to its wet limits ... This time I spun out big time ... nearly hit the wall ... luckily counter the steering and went across the tracks. Nearly went onto the newly laid out astro turf grass ... Phewwwwww .... else $$$ pay again! That's it! That's the end of my track session for now ... There's always another time ... rather than coming back in pieces.
It was only 1600hrs ... 1 more hour of track session left ... snapped pictures ... capture some interesting straights videos and told Lim I wanna move out early to avoid the evening traffic jam. Lim agreed and we targeted 1630 to call it a day. Minutes later ... a Malaysian registered WRX (i think) came in with major damage to the left side ... I guess it hit the tyre walls. Damaged all the way from front to the rear .... Heart pain just looking at it .. even tho its not mine. That's it man! 1630 ... I'm out of here ... !!!!

Well ... nothing interesting happened later on! Did my evening prayers at Machap ... had dinner and back on the roads. Reached S'pore at 2100hrs ... Watched the vids and pix with family ... Can't wait for next session ... Hope its gonna be a super dry session! Yeaaaahhhhhh!!!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2007

2007-10-12T15:24:00.000+08:00

To all of you, have a Happy Hari Raya Aidilfitri ... May this year be a better year than the previous ones. :)

Okay now back to setting UT questions .............

Timezone, CP Outing Part II ... and more to come!!!

2007-09-29T12:31:00.001+08:00

YEahhh ... Timezone Part Deux. Unfortunately our favorite Racing game was being hogged by some people ... 4 stations but 2 out of order and 1 permanently occupied by someone who has no life but to occupy that seat for dunno how long. We ended up taking turns playing the only available seat. Managed to clock once for each one of us. We'll be back!!!!! I think Sharime, Tim and Hasif are hooked by it ... heheheheheee ... No photos to show ... :(
(no. 3 motorbike looked bored coz Tim didn't say `hi!' and refused to give him Henry's autograph .... wahahahahaaa)

RP Staff Soccer Team came in 3rd!

2007-09-27T16:32:00.001+08:00

Okies ... for those who didn't know, YESSSS, RP Staff Soccer Team came in 3rd in 2007 ITSS Soccer Tournament. On 11th Sep'07, NTU Stadium, we've beaten Temasek Polytechnic 2-0 during the 3rd and 4th placings. That's the kinda revenge that they were hungry for since being beaten 3-1 twice. Looking forward to future friendly games ... hopefully by then my injuries oso healed liao.

OR mebbi I should just concentrate on racing ... Goodbye to RP's tranquility coz it's just been hit by MASSIVE NOISE pollution! Only selected few knew and felt it! Please keep it to yourself okie guys! I prefer to stay low profile ..... Wooohhooooooo!!!!

Games Convention Asia 2007

2007-09-16T12:51:00.001+08:00

Went to the GCA 2007 last week. Brought along wife and kids. Kids were having fun going to nearly each individual booth and trying out the games. I dread driving down to the town area especially Orchard Road and Suntec ... Hate the traffic and the parking! This time round, no choice. Got to check on what NYP was doing for their driving simulator. NOT! They did nothing except the decal for the car in game. Hardware was provided by, by now a friend of mine, Mr Ken Knapp supplying D-Box motion actuators for driving simulators and cinematic motion experience. They used rFactor as the software platform to extract telemetry and G-forces data to be translated into motion. Hey! Thats my R&D project man! Haizzz .... Anyway, had a good chat with Ken and we agreed to explore the opportunities of collaboration. Yeah! I was given a VIP `tour' of the equipments and stayed more than an hour at his booth. Tried the driving simulator but unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with it. Though the jolts from the bumps and undulated terrrains did well masking what were important in a driving simulator though. Well ... at the end of the day, I felt the trip was very fruitful. At least now I have a lead to begin with for my R&D project. Hopefully it's soon ... or I'll be ******* RP soon instead.

My Lil' Girl

2007-09-10T13:11:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I just don't realise how much my daughter has grown ... To me, she's still my little girl always! She was given a choice to choose Badminton or Robotics for her CCA this year and chose the later coz I wanted her to. She reluctantly took Robotics but I feel she begins to enjoy it more now. She had a taste of a real competition at Science Centre 4th Sept 2007 the other day. She told me she saw Shaggy (E24M) and it was confirmed it was him alright. Sharp eye!

Her school did not win the competition but I feel the exposure was definitely a great experience for her. She acted so cool even though she was extremely nervous. I didn't get to watch her compete but my wife did. She recorded a short clip for me to see and I only have one thing to say ... "I'm so very proud of you! Win or lose, you will still be my lil' girl. And I love you so much!"

What happened so far ....

2007-09-04T11:24:00.000+08:00

RP students started their 3 weeks semester break last week ... but we facis still have to carry on with life as usual ... unlike those who took leave of absence.

Spent some time assisting one of my students to produce the following music/dance vidz. Hope you guys like it!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8kPomSgZ088

Staff Soccer Team - We'll be playing against TP again, vying for 3rd and 4th placings on 11th September at NTU Stadium at 6.30pm. Doubt so will be playing coz of STA's Staff Retreat ... Retreat??? Syeahhh rites ... more like a `%#$@^@$#*& session' to me. What a way to kill time ... haizzz ....

28th August E24R - BBQ ... the unthinkable happened!

2007-08-28T17:34:00.000+08:00

DMA - E24R haD a BBQ session at Justin's plAce, Casablanca Condo in the evening. Thanks guys for inviting me ... had good fun. :)

Yvonne, Jolene, Wahedah, Jobina, Jenell, GeRmaine, Justin, Vennon, Alex, Nic, Tim, Jon, Sharime ... tHanks again for being an excellent host.

BUT wait ... hhmMmm ... as i was going thru the 4 pix I captured with my K800i, the last photo looked kinda disturbing after further scrutiny ... look and stare very hArd at the space between Yvonne and Venon ..... gulp! Never really checked the photo since the K800i screen is too small to notice anything peculiar. By coincidence, Jon, Sharime, Nic and myself were exchanging some ghostly encoUnters and stories during the BBQ. No kidding! I leave it to you to beLieve or not ...... spooooookeyyyy ....

RP vs NTU, Today 7pm, NTU Stadium

2007-08-27T12:38:00.000+08:00

RP's Staff Team progressed to the next round. Playing against NTU this evening in the semi-finals. Very crucial ... Contemplating going for the game coz they don't have natural left winger but .... promised E24R students I'll be joining them for BBQ later today at Casablanca Condo ... Ankles feel better but knees still in bad shape ... Haizzzz ....

UPDATES: RP 1-1 NTU (NTU won 3-2 on penalty shootouts) ....
They did well holding on to a draw till the end of the official playing time despite NTU being the favorites to win this tournament. Didn't play coz of injuries and E24R BBQ. FYI, NTU beat SIM 5-0 in the first round! Anyway, the 3rd and 4th placings playoff will be played this Friday, 31st August at NTU Soccer Field, 6.30pm.

Thank you DMA - E24M & E24R!!!

2007-08-22T09:43:00.000+08:00

I'll be presenting to the Tote Board Funding Approval Committee later at 1235pm, Temasek Polytechnic, for my R&D on Racing Motion Simulator and Racing Game Devt.. Wasn't really thinking about it much so as not to add further intense pressure but now got butterflies in my stomach liao. Hate these feeling! This is one of the deciding factor to stay or to go. One big reason why I decided to join a tertiary institution. Will update by end of the day .... Anyway, to distract myself from the presentation ... I chose to update my blog especially about the last days taking DMA - E24R and E24M. I enjoyed `teaching' them and I hope they gained some valuable knowledge from my constant nagging in class.

E24M - P16 - I ask them to do CD cover, they oso go and make a music vidz. POWER sia! I was there monitoring their video shoots and was overly amazed at how spontaneous all of them were. I so paiseh ... dunno wat to say ... mouth gaping wide ... speechless. U can catch the vidz at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVEWmV-EduQ

Its called E24M - Technologic. Directed and choreographed by Darren Toh. It was done in less than 2 hours involving more than 10 people. Choreographed on the spot ... amazing sia???

Nic, Idly, Hasif, Azure and Vennon, I couldn't thank you more for the delightful gift. I'm not suppose to accept anything from students but whaddaheck! I lurrvvvv the car! Thank you very much .... I'm so touched ... tears rolling down my eyes ... mucus building up ... sob ... sob ... sob ... I think the IMPREZA WRC 2004 looks good in the box ... No heart to tear the plastic seal ...
Tim, Meme, Dila, Naq, Wahedah, Yasmin, Jon, etc .... We'll catch up again next time. MSN me when you are in campus ... we go grab bubble tea at canteen or TIMEZONE at Causeway Point ....
Wait .... no ideas liao ... will update later .... put pictures first ... later i'll edit the blog post. The rest of the pictures at my friendster account ... hehehehhe ...

RP Staff Soccer Team finally ....

2007-08-11T11:27:00.000+08:00

First of all, a big THANK YOU to Hasif, Shaggy and Meme again, for supporting us. You and the other guys really make ur presence felt ... :)

Yeah ... we finally crumbled, a repeat of the scoreline 2 yrs ago. I played better this week, winning tackles, crossing and shot at goal. Shoving and intimidating opponents are part of my strategy now. Playing through niggling knee and ankle injuries ... quite tough ... super tough. Tried not to show else I'll be rested. Ankle giving me sharp pains ... enduring it. What a way to spend my weekend!

Nevertheless, the team could have finished the game off during first half but instead it looked as if we were just doing shooting practice. Many chances left wasted ... Anyway, we won as a team, and we lost as a team. Everybody has a part in it, win or lose. Not sure if we're gonna proceed to the next round ... Wait and see ...........................

Percussion POWER!

2007-08-08T14:49:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the National Day Observance event at South Agora. Didn't come for the speech ... just tot of lending some support to the percussionists ... Some of them happens to be my students. Nabil(E24M), Naq(E24R) and Dila(E24R) was performing on stage. Looking at the way they `beat' the percussions, you'll definitely not want to be in their black books. One slap u'll end up from one end of RP to the other end, man! Only managed to say hi! to Dila while they were returning to the back of the crowds ... Was that lipstick on ur lips Dila? No wonder u looked a bit different ... Well, never really realised whether u do or u don't all these while. Anyway .... Well done percussionists! Keep it up! Keep up the enthusiasm! Hmmm ... it sounds all too familiar, ehhh?

My BOY with his mystery gerrrllll ....

2007-08-08T14:31:00.000+08:00

5th August ... One of those Sundays that we have to wake up super early. Daniyal had his first Sports Day ever ... he was so excited, he woke up earlier than his parents (what else is new ...). He couldn't wait! We head down to Yishun Stadium ... bla ... bla ... bla ... He was involved in one of those event. Sadly he didn't win anything coz his partner wasn't too ready for the event. Anyway, they had those food and games stalls. He spent some time playing the games. It was still early .. ard 10am so we decided to venture elsewhere ...

I didn't know there is this Bottle Tree Park where u can fish at the big pond. Also, some `Longkang Fishing' activities for the kids .. $10 for a small fish tank, fish feed, a small net and max. 5 fishes. Well good enuff for the kids ... they had fun. Suddenly Daniyal asked the mother "Why didn't u buy me the trophy? You forgot to buy me the trophy just now?" ... He's just too cute ....

There's a playground at that Park. Daniyal played with his sister, Aqilah. There's a very sweet little girl who joined him at the playground ... Sooooo sweet that my wife and I wanted to `book' her for an arrange marriage with Daniyal. Daniyal was blushing .... Look at that sweet little girl. :)

RP through to the next round of ITSS IF ......

2007-08-04T01:09:00.001+08:00

To E24R (DMA P14):
I did not abandon u guys under another's faci's care for P14 because of the soccer game. I had covered a few of Christina's class E24P. She offered to `pay back' and my Module Chair happily supported it. It was suppose to be last week and this week but she couldn't make it last week. SO I have to put you guys under her care for awhile. By coincidence, there was a soccer game on the same day. It was quite sweet of some of you to `question' the decision. Thank you ... now I feel slightly appreciated. :)

I'm so grateful to Nicholas, Jonathan, Vennon, Hasif, Sharime (DMA E24R) and Shaggy(DMA E24M) for sacrificing their precious time to support us clowns. Thank u guys! Really appreciate it. :) Did I miss any names?

Anyway ....
I had the worst game so far while representing RP Staff Soccer Team. Dogged by swollen ankles and knees since the futsal few months ago. Not as agile as before. Slow response. Lack of stamina but full of vigour. I didn't play well but i did my job to pressure the opponents into losing posession of the ball. I taunt and shove the opponents around. Didn't know I was that aggressive. Maybe due to the frustrations.

I was afraid that the team was over confident before the start of the game. It haunt us when we were still trailing 0-1 into 1st 10 minutes of 2nd half. Their playmaker already had his 1st yellow card. I did my best to taunt him by shoving, etc. I think he was agitated and for that he presented me with few stud marks on my knees as a gift. He was sent off. Thats when the game picked up ... We scored 3 consecutive goals and the game ended 3-1 in our favor. We were lucky ... very lucky actually. But kudos to the rest of the players. They played really well.

One of my team mates said "Why so quiet on field today?". I just shrugged it off coz I was quite frustrated with how we played today. Told them many times the field was in bad condition at the centre and along certain flanks. Told them to bypass NUS good players but they played one dimension. If they had played more flanks, I think I could have contributed more with the crosses. That's my specialty. Crosses and scoring. Didn't get much of that today. Instead I was losing almost every ball that comes my way ... which was just a handful anyway.

Well, whats important was, we won. I'm looking forward for the next game next week, I think. It'll be against Temasek Poly. We beat Nanyang Poly 4-2 during the first game. So we're through to the next round if we beat TP.

Though the crowd was barely a crowd; the roar and thunder when we scored was so motivating. Thanks to all those who came to support the team. That includes RP girls' and boys' soccer team. They have been very supportive towards all our games. :)

Soccer ITSS: RP vs NUS, 3rd Aug'07, 6pm, RP Stadium

2007-08-02T17:15:00.000+08:00

Those who have nothing better to do, pls drop by RP's stadium and support the staff's soccer team play against NUS. You'll definitely be entertain by the 23 HappyTreeFriends on the field. NO money back guarantee. Watch at your own peril! You were warned!

Due to the gross and violence nature of the match, viewers under the age of 18, pls seek parental consent. Consent forms are available at One Stop Centre from 0700hrs to 1759hrs. Please bring along ur frens, relatives, pets, neighbours, ancestors and anybody bf/gf/husband/wife/father/mother. You'll definitely regret it!

Cya!

PS: So far, these r among those who vowed NEVER EVER to turn up! CONFIRM P17 get `F'!

PM's Visit ... 31st July 2007

2007-08-01T11:19:00.000+08:00

RP's official opening by PM Lee. Students had so much fun. The J.U.M.P was not bad at all. An atmosphere encountered like ... errmmm ... umphh ... ahhhh ... errrr .... 16 years ago (1991, senior year)! That was the opening of SP's sports complex. Was performing on stage as a drummer. Now wrist all stiff as a pole. Fractured my left wrist and broke my metacarpal on right hand. Can only do shadow drumming.
I went `backstage' or more like `sidestage' to meet up with some of my students and wished them `ALL THE BEST!'. They r good ... not bad at all! Gareth(E24M) was emceeing ... Jolene (E24R) was singing mostly Japanese songs ... Sharime(E24R) was on drums and lead/rhythm, Tim(E24R) was on drums and bass (i think), Jonathan(E24R) on rhythm/lead, Nicholas(E24R) on mic, Hasif(E24R) on mic, Shaggy(E24M) on rhythm/lead (i think) ... Mickey/Joshua (E24R) was busy with the bulky video camera. Cedric (E24M) and Audrey(E24M) were cheerleading, only saw Cedric but didn't see Audrey. Didn't get to see Esmond (E24R) perform oso. Saw Fadilah(E24R) coordinating the performers ... They all look quite professional. Good for them! AND job well done guys! Went home ard 10pm with a smile ... and a half full stomach ... :)

5 days later .....

2007-07-30T08:01:00.000+08:00

Soccer result for Friday's frenly game: RP STaff (4 - 4) SMRT Veterans Its been a while since I scored in a semi competitive game coz I haven't been playing competitively for sooooooooooo long. Unfortunately, I have to be replaced coz old man sprained lower back after scoring 2nd goal just before half time ... Because of the injury, I missed my fren's wedding on Saturday. :(

Part of weekend spent pondering whether to change Tucson to STi. Backside itchy to go track again. The turbo spool, the G's, high speed corner, tyre screeching, the BOV, the bassy exhaust ... wah lao eh! Can climax da! Finance minister approved oredi but .... have to be practical larrr. Campus 5 mins from home ... mthly $1k+!!! How to justify like dat? Need to spend another $5K at least on stuffs to make it track worthy. What if high speed accident like last time??? $$$ down the drain ... haizzz ... back to couch racing ....... at least far better than MapleStory!

Oh yarr ... Need to find somebody who's willing to handle the camera for Friday's soccer game against NUS... hmmm ... who can i ask ahhh?

1 day later ....

2007-07-26T16:24:00.000+08:00

Orites .... got the timezone working.
DMA UT marking done! I hope my classes E24M and E24R did better than UT2. Very worried for them ... Left 4 more problems for each class ... then the whole cycle of getting to know students all over again will repeat itself ... haiizzz ..... I know I will miss them. First time `teaching' mah! But my wife always say, students come and go. Don't get too attached to them. Most of the time they don't feel the same way. They don't really care ... HHmmm ... so much truth in it.

Anyway ... friendster's account is up ... feel free to add into the friends list.

http://www.friendster.com/katako9

.... power siot (coz i say so!) !!! Will update with `juicy' photos ... jeng jeng jeng ... Uploaded some oredi. Make sure you are 18 and above to view it!

Tomorrow soccer friendly, RP Staffs vs SMRT, 7.30pm at RP Stadium. Preparations for the next 2 Friday games against NUS and TP. Time to get back in shape! Hubba hubbaa!

Well time to do problem crafting for T304 Design in Motion for 3rd year students. If only I can `teach' them 3D stuffs .... hhhmmmmm ....

3.5 hours later

2007-07-25T17:07:00.000+08:00

Cheetot!!! How come the time stamped is inaccurate? How to set the timezone to Singapore GMT+8? Haizzzz ..... give up sia!

I keep on forgetting my own super ancient old skool website address. Hopefully I'll never loose it again by putting it here ....

http://members.fortunecity.com/katako3d/

Anybody who have visited this blogsite ... its greatly appreciated if you'll just say hi in the comments. Free publicity larrr ..... :) ... Tengkiu .. tengkiuk ... tanks .... thanks ....

3 hours later ...

2007-07-25T16:49:00.000+08:00

Next ... setting Friendster account .... Me needs help!!! Geezzz ... all this is so troublesome ... gone were the days when i just need to program in HTML ... haaaiiizzz ..... this oso needs to PBL ... ^#$%^#$%@!*!@&*@# toot toot tooot &%^#%#!*^!#%@! ....

Back to UT marking again .... wooohooooo!!!!!

The Beginnings ....

2007-07-25T13:37:00.000+08:00

I realised many ppl ard me have their own blog site ... mebbi its my turn to have one too ... Keeping track of whatever life I have left. Most of my students have one ... some asking for mine. I think I might need their assistance in setting this up. Have to get myself updated with the current trend ... no escaping liao! Also need to compile all my previous work in one space. Websites r so yesterday ... so mebbi I'll merge my stuffs. Oso easier for my frens and students to keep in touch by referring to just one site. This is suppose to be a very very low profile site.

Ok ... back to DMA UT3 markings ... yayyyy! NOT!!!!