Mamamia it's the leaning tower of Pisa!

Man i never thought that one day i'd be here (and complaining about admission fees after that!)



The leaning tower of Pisa. Damn entry costs 15 euros. Flipping extortion. 



The banana tower of pisa. Notice how it bends backwards. Up to this day i still can't explain how the shot came out like that. 



The tower of pisa with me in it. It's really tilted eh? You see people with a lot of stupid posing ideas around this area. It's hilarious. 



Just a little overtilted. haha....did it on purpose. Notice that the horizon isnt horizontal. 

Florence

Beautiful painted ceiling's of the church in Florence. Again i forgot the name of the church. Its the BIG one though. Poor Michealangelo must have got a real neckache painting this. 


Me polluting the Florence skyline. Oh yeah we had to climb 563 steps to get up here. And pay 6 euros. Like how a singaporean man who we met later that day remarked, " I think they should PAY ME the 6 Euros to climb up-ah! Haiiiyoh!" 



Looking at all those beautiful buildings in Florence with all that ridiculous attention to detail, i often wonder how long they took just to build a small part of it. And labour costs must have been dirt cheap too. 



My face really spoilt this picture but anyways this is the famous bronze(or gold) doors of the baptistry in the main square. Each panel is carved with a different picture which tells a different story from the bible. 



Neptune chilling out under the morning sun in his fountain. This is at the Square of the Lord's near the uffizzi gallery. 



A replica of Michealangele's David. I gather by now people back then have obsession with naked statues. Probably its some art thing. 



This is the Ponte Vecchio (Vecchio bridge). On it are many many jewellery shops, selling all kinds of crafts at inflated prices (tourist area lah). It does make a nice reflection in the water river though. 



The Uffizzi Gallery. Inside contains all the famous artworks from the 17th and 18th century (i think). It opens at 815am. We stated queueing at 8am. We got in at 1130am. Madness! 



A scenice view atop Micheangelo's Plaza. 

And that's Florence for you. There were tons of beautiful stuff that i couldnt get down on camera cos it was art galleries and stuff like that. And its hard to take good indoor pictures anyways. Hope you enjoyed it!

Venice

Ok people here are some pictures of Venice.


"gondola men" chilling out under the venetian sun 


Pretty pretty masks...it's a "thing" in venice, they're everywhere. Something to do with Venetian tradition. 



The HUGE Rialto bridge, where there are shops on top, and also millions of tourists 



On board a water bus. Just realized how long my hair was. damn... 



Forgot the name of this church, but it so BIG. Look at how small the people are. I wonder why they never let people go in and see the churches in venice. 



St. Marco's Basilica. It's the absolute must see when you get to venice. 



Overlooking the city of Venice from the top of the clocktower in St. Marco's Piazza. 



Gondolas chilling out after a hard day's work under the watchful eyes of its owner. 



The evening sky just makes everything look pretty. Took the picture from on board a water bus and was joslting with the people onboard to get into a good shooting postion. Nearly fell overboard. 



Maybe this is a better shot... 


ok thats all for venice! hope u enjoy the pics!

something's wrong with the "posting" page

....
but anyways, its been so long since i posted. errr...sheer laziness i suppose. Holidays with nothing much to do (again due to sheer laziness) has an effect on you. OK anyways here's some little stuff which has been going on since my last post:

Finished my last 2 exam papers.
Watched "star wars: the revenge of the sith" (i think thats the title, really cant remember the same day my exams ended and concluded that movies nowadays never live up to the hype.
Packed up, left london and went off to italy for a 10 day holiday - Venice, Florence, Pisa, Naples and Rome!
Flew back to Malaysia. Guitar and guitar case was damged on the way home- felt like flying back to London specially to smack the daylights out of the lady who idioticaly did not put the "FRAGILE" sign on my guitar case.
Realised that Malaysia is indeed a very hot country. Didnt stop sweating for the first few days.
Cut my hair.
Bummed at home for 2 weeks playing PS2.
Went off to the land where i was born, Borneo(East Malaysia) to conquer South East Asia'a tallest peak, Mt Kinabalu. Sabah rocks!
Died of food poisoining in Kota Kinabalu - Sabah curry noodles dont rock.
Back home in Melaka again, continue playing more PS2, and my thumb hurts really bad now.

So far it's been pretty interesting. KL this weekend, subang(maybe) next weekend....and then we'll see how things go from there.

On a side note, where did all the toolbar buttons such as numbering, copy, paste ,etc go??

So free that i can make 2 posts in 15 mins....

Modern Laws of Nature

Lorenz's Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Anthony's Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Kovac's Conundrum:
When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

Cannon's Karmic Law:
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat
tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

O'brien's Variation Law:
If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move
faster than the one you are in now.

BELL'S THEOREM
When the body is immersed in water , the telephone rings.

RUBY'S PRINCIPLE OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are
with someone you don't want to be seen with.

WILLOUGHBY'S LAW
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

ZADRA'S LAW OF BIOMECHANICS
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

BREDA'S RULE
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive
last.

OWEN'S LAW
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask
you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Oh yeah i got another 2 more papers to go....hooray!!!!!

bye bye econs....

After 3 years of torment, its finally over.


This damned book. Selling for 22.99 pounds. Anybody wants? leave me a comment with your details.


Or is it not??

(rumour has it that we'll see it in a different form next year....nooooooooooo)

Sweeter

Everyday with you Lord
Is sweeter than the day before
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Every morning I will worship
Every evening I'll adore
Cause everyday with You
Is sweeter than the day before

What a privilledge to know you
Like I know You
To be loved
Like You love me
What an honour to worship
Truly worship
From this heart that You have freed

From the rising of the sun
To the setting of the same

Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Every morning I will worship
Every evening I'll adore
Everyday with You is sweeter
Sweeter than the day before

What wonder to live like
Really live like
Overcoming anything
What a reason to lift up
Freely lift up
Everyday my everything

From the rising of the sun
To the setting of the same

Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Every morning I will worship
Every evening I'll adore
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Everyday, everyday with You Lord
Everyday sweeter than the day before

From the album "Cover the Earth" by Lakewood Church

Thank You Jesus!!!!!!

(you can guess that the stats paper went relatively well)

Anyways just a side note, if you like Joe Satriani or mad guitaring in general check this out by clicking here.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree may not blossom
Nor fruit be on the vines
Though the labor of the olive may fail
And the fields yield no food
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold
And there be no herd in the stalls
Yet i will rejoice in the Lord
I will joy in the God of my salvation

The Lord God is my strength
He will make my feet like the deer's feet
And He will make me walk on my high hills


No matter what happens, I choose to praise You.

Financial and Investment Math 03/05/05

First day of Uni exams today. I think in that 3 hour paper i aged at least 3 years. Never have i ever in an exam experience such paralysing fear, yet in that i experienced grace of untold proportions today.

The venue itself was an interesting one, it was held in the basement of and old catholic church(which is still in use today and the church is actually a very nice place) which is called the crypt. So i was on my way there nice and early. Not really feeling anything. There was a feeling of uneasy silence within me though, and i did my best to shake it off by singing some songs to myself on the way.

So in the exam venue itself....felt pretty confident looking through the paper during reading time. Somehow midway through the second question, there was something slightly abnormal about it, and it kinda threw me off course. The 3rd question was my bogey question, and at that time i knew my mind was in a state of panic. I tried my very hardest to refocus and get it back in check but i just couldnt. So bad till i couldnt read values off a table without having to recheck it 15 times. Skipped it and went to question 4, a very much easier question which i would ace on any given day. My mind was blank. I didnt know what to do or how to start. At this point of time i knew i was going to fail the paper if i went on. My mind started imagining coming back early to london during the summer to resit the paper, no scholarship money next term, no exemptions, everything negative that you could think of was bombarding my mind.

I stood up immediately without even asking the invigilators(did i spell that right?), and asked to go to the washroom, knowing that if i went on i would surely fail. That few moments in the washroom was so so crucial and tense. I even told the escorting invigilator "man i'm panicking man.." to which he gave a curt reply of "you need to relax". Yeah easy for you to say cause you're not the one taking it.

But i did come back from the toilet a lot more composed. And i managed to salvage most of the paper, including the 1st few ones which i panicked in. I didnt really get them right, neither was i able to complete a question at the end, but at least now there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Not excellent maybe(considering the fact that out of all my subjects this is the one i had most confidence in), but at least i have a decent chance of retaining my scholarship and getting that exemption.

Looking back, i can actually be bitter about the fact that i panicked and amost failed in the exam. But i guess i wont, apart from the side fact that it would do me no good to feel that way, but more importantly i guess this is a good chance to thank God that i actually escaped from the brink of failure. Never have i before in the middle of an exam began rebuking feelings of panic(which surfaced again after i came back from the toilet) and recalling all those bible verses of God's promises...and man...i really believe that was what saw me through today. The worst might not yet have come, but as Paul said "What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:26

i think the best way to sum this day's event up is to echo the words of the hymnwriter

And because He lives

I can face tomorrow

Because He lives

All fear is gone

And because i know, i know

He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives.

The next paper will probably be the worst of all. But i will not fear, or neither will i yield.

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerers through Him who loves us" Romans 8:37

Amen

Its a sick sad world

Was reading cnn today and came across 2 articles. Heres extracts of the 2 of them with the headlines:

Iraqi police: Abducted CARE official's belongings found

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi and U.S. forces detained six suspected insurgents Sunday during a raid in a Baghdad suburb and found a handbag, ID and clothing that belonged to kidnapped CARE official Margaret Hassan, Iraqi police said.
Hassan, former director of the humanitarian organization CARE in Iraq, is a British citizen who was taken hostage in October. A video purportedly showing her being shot to death surfaced about a month later on the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera satellite television channel....."

Prosecutor: Marine intended to make example of detainees

"CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina (AP) -- A Marine accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees intended to make an example of them by shooting them 60 times and hanging a sign over their bodies, prosecutors said Saturday during closing arguments in a pretrial hearing..."


The world is a sick place.

Just for laughs

Was chilling out a bit today doing some blog surfing and i came across this site-which i will not reveal, but i'll tell you its 2 clicks away from my blog- and there was this comment made which made me laugh like crazy:

"Untuk ATHEIS, maaf, anda tidak layak hidup di bumi Tuhan, sebab kalian tidak pernah percaya akan wujudnya Tuhan. Sila cari tempat lain yang tidak diciptakan Tuhan. Jangan hirup oksigen tuhan. Hidu oksigen yang kalian cipta sendiri sahaja."

And if you cant read it you're not malaysian so you wont understand the context of the joke(and more like cos i'm lazy to translate it into english).

But anyways (no offence intended to atheists btw), referring to that above, some ppl were talking about the religious scene in our country (which in my opinion the article was rubbish) and were talking about all those blahs about religions, of which i stumbled across that sentence.

Man there are some seriously funny people out there. And funny not in a hilarious way.

Oh yeah exams are soon. Like this tuesday. I need some motivation and psyching up.


-scene from the movie "Troy", where Achilles and his indestructable Mermidons sail in to fight the Trojans-

Achilles: Men! You know what lies behind those shores?

(Mermidons stop rowing boat and looks up towards Achilles)

Achilles: IMMORTALITY! TAKE IT AND IT SHALL BE YOURS!!!!!

(Mermidons there give a shout of triumph and proceed to swarm trojan beaches.)



Immortality. It shall be mine for the duration of this exams.


(Oh yeah by the way the only time the mermidons ever died in this movie was right after achilles' speech when they swarmed the beaches and got their asses shot to bits by trojan arches)

Bummer...

When life was good.....

Seems like an eternity ago when we had our eurotrip. This was taken in a park in luxembourg. When life was free and there was nothing to worry about.

Man i hate exams. Especially when i'm not prepared for them. And theres money at stake. Lots of it.

Hope dangles on a string.

WHY!??

why cant i do anything right?

Can't buy a guitar case right,
Can't exchange a new guitar case right,
Can't keep a pair of shoes right,
Can't do my bloody probability right,
Can't study right,
Can't live my life right,
Can't talk right.

All lights the end of the tunnel,
Were just freight trains coming my way,
Thought i was looking at the right channel,
But now how do you expect me not to sway.

Nevertheless, i will

Praise the Lord with all my heart
Praise Him for He has done great things
His banner over me is love, His love
His banner over me is love, His love

dim sum gurl.......

[Intro}
This song goes out to all you sexy gurl
Who push the dim sum car all over the world
You know who you are babeeeeee
You wok so hard and we lap u so much
Check it out yo!

[Verse 1]
It's been so long since i see you smile
Looking so quick coming down that aisle
Wit the sexy dress and the little dim sum
Make me klazee when i order chao fan
Peeeeple, they telling me that i shouldnt bother with a ladee like you
You lock my wol
Yes you, my dim sum gurl

Watching, waiting, waiting for you babeee
To tell me that i'm the guy for you and that chiu wanna be my ladeee
One day yes you will seee that i will always be
The one who make fly lice for you for all eterniteee

[Chorus]
Dim sum gurl
You leally lock my wol
My dim sum girl
I never thought i find her
Girl from nothern china
Make me feel so good (so good, so goood-2nd time)

Dim sum gurrrlllll
In such a crazeee world
My dim sum gurl
I'm going to make the order
You can party all night
So beautiful and pure
My dim sum gurl

[Talking]
Why you gotta tease me babee
You driving me craaazeeee
Dont chiu see
Dont play me like that baby
Please, just gimme one more chence

[Verse 2]
In the morning, at noon, at night
I think about you and it feels so right
So hap-pee when you look my way
When i talk to you you make my day
I see the tear, in your eye, pleasee my babee dont chiu cry
Tommorrow... is a whole new day
Its me and you sing kala-OK

Toogether, forever, that's the way its gott to be
Please make my dleam come true so i can lib my fantasee
Oh say that you be mine,
You know its a matter of time
Come eat my rice with your chopstick and leave the spoon behind

[Chorus repeats]

wooooooo
woah hooo ooooo
woah hooo oohhhh

[outro]

[Goes on in background x4]
I dont want to live without you dim sum gurl (dim sum gurllll - 2nd time onwards)
Take me awaaaaay into dim sum wooorrrld
I love u soooo, I love you soooo
Please say you will be mine oh mineeee

[Talking]
Hey babee you wear that dress for me?
ahh.. you look great
Wah time you get off work huh?
You must be sooo tired
Wot say you mee go get some bobile tea huh? relax...

Wahs long babee? wahs long?
Did I say something?
Dont leave me this way babee
Dont go
You are the only one for me
Please dont bleak my heart like this
No more fooling around
I'm not the player anymore
Come back to me babeee
Come back to meee...

(fade out)

Song by TheNotoriousMSG : Dim sum gurl. Check them out by clicking here.

Dammit it was hard figuring out what the heck they were singing and spelling it to make sound like how they sang it. (Tell me if u have better spelling suggestions, or if there's any mistake in the lyrics) Half an hour wasted where instead i could've used it to study probability. Oh wait, i still hate it.

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

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER:
THIS SONG IS ONLY A SONG AND DOES NOT, I REPEAT DOES NOT, HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYONE OR ANYTHING RELATED TO ME

I hate probability

I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability

ahh...that felt good.
oh btw, just in case you dont know...
i hate probability

The actuary

Often I have had many people ask me what course am i in exactly, and what i would be doing in the future. And mroe often than not when i tell them "Actuarial Science" and "Actuary" it would often end up with moments of deep thoughtful looks which ultimately ends up in the question "So whats an actuary again?"

So while flipping through my books i stumbled across a textbook defination of an actuary. Here's the answer to the great mystery:

"A person who passes as an expert on the basis of his/her prolific ability to produce an infinte variety of incomprehensible figures calculated with micrometric precisioon from the vaguest of assumptions based on debatable evidence from inconclusive data derived by persons of doubtful reliability for the sole purpose of confusing an already hopelessly befuddled group of persons who never read statistics anyway."

Steven Haberman (My actuarial methods lecturer)

So folks, i hope that you all have got your enlightenment on what actuaries do.

(By the way, my computer apparently is heading towards a hard disk failure-took a insane half hour to start up this morning. So if i disappear for some time, it probably means that my hard disk died...or i'm too lazy to post anything.)

Over and out.

Turbulence

Here is a free advert for Nike shoes.

Nike Air Turbulence





Pics courtesy of Lim Chia Wei who forgot about the chicken in the oven while taking the pics. Dont worry the chicken was fine.

Ok, ok i went shopping and feel the extreme need to show off.
Muahahahaha
Man i'm a walking billboard.

Some interesting pictures...

Of time, friends and love

Another week has gone by. And its sunday evening again, after church, and tommorow is the monday. A week drawn to a close, another week looming ahead..and passing by soon. I guess some of us never really appreciate time when we have it. And then often we run short of it, then complaining about how we have no time while we took it for granted when it was there all along. Was chilling out in my room after a long day not too long ago, reflecting on life in london so far. And it suddenly struck me that i've been here for a full 6 months. Which then made me think of how i've improved as a person, what have i accomplished, what have i done to be a friend to others and so on. "Not much.." i realised. Very much to my shock and fear. And time that has gone by can't be regained. And then you wish you can turn back time, which you cant of course. All you can do is try to make up for lost time, and hope you not lose focus again.
And reflecting on life, makes you think a lot about the friendships you have formed and made. I have never placed( or rather, fully understood) the issue of taking time out from your schedule to build relationships of such high importance till i came over here. Family, friends here, friends back home. Don't know what made me realize that. Maybe its the london air or the little bits of wisdom you get when u get older.
Speaking of which, you never know how much you love someone till something happens to that person.No i'm not talking about romantic love which the world so often sells and potrays, the best way to describe it is probably the same kind of love you have for a family member, a brother or a sister. Love that was formed by close and strong friendship. Unconditional and pure. Reading my friend's recent post on the lost of another friend made me think back on the events of that happened earlier in the week, where something i thought never possible happened to someone closest to me. Never thought i'd feel such anguish with concern and worry because of someone. Though it was never really a matter of life and death, I couldn't begin to imagine how my life would be like if i never met that person, be inspired, encouraged and loved. Definately nowhere near where or who i am today. Probably still wasting it away. Life that i was never really meant to have anyway. Only because of grace.
At the end of the day, what struck me was the realisation of how important people are. Family, friends, acquantainces, strangers on the street, they all matter. So here's a thank you to all of you, that have played a part in this life of mine, being there when i needed your support and encouragement, a friendly smile, or even if it was just taking time out talking crap together. A very big thank you.
I guess you can never underestimate the impact you can have on someone's life. Cherish people. Cherish life.

events of the past few weeks

Its been a while since i posted anything. Mostly due to the lack of time available. And time is still limited. Even as i'm smashing my way through my keyboard typing words and sentences that form in my head-occasionally stopping and deleting it cos it doesnt make no sense- the clock is ticking. Sometimes i wished that there were 30 hours to a day, then i could spent half of it cathching up on badly needed sleep, as i'm typing its been 18 hours(!!!) since i woke up this morning and had any rest at all, coupled with the lack of sleep that has been accumuated over the past week. And they say you're supposed to chill out on sundays.
So anyways the week has been hectic. I had a short sense of elation when i finished my 3 assignments(Finanacial and Investment Math, Statistics and Actuarial Methods-notice that they are ALL MATH!) only the find out the very next day we had a new MATH coursework to do. And also another Economics coursework (this subject continues to haunt me) due at the end of this month, not to mention an economics test in 10 days time, plus the fact that its already week 8 of the term(out of 10) and theres like another 4 courseworks coming up before the term ends, and also that i have major catching up to do in my studies(which includes this and last terms work), and also not to mention attending church related events 4(at least) days out of 7 (hey am not grumbling, i enjoy every moment of it-it keeps me sane), and also that i should be speding at least an hour a day practicing my guitar, plus going to classes....whoever needs a life, you can have mine.
But amidst all that, i still managed to plan up a trip to italy in the summer, which i'm really looking foward to. We(me and chia wei) are planning to catch a plane to venice, then go down to florence, rome and finally naples. Kinda excited about it. Wish i had a 1GB memory stick for my digicam. Also, not to mention helping other people's courseworks, mainly Human Resource Management and Math for Economists. There's a running joke here(which in truth isnt really funny if you are me) about me graduating with a double degree at the end of 3 years - when in truth i'm trying to survive and stay afloat in my 1st year here. Apparently now word has spread and i got a call from another friend from another course asking me to help her with her coursework also. Something about decision analysis-which i of course, honestly told her i had no idea what it was and politely declined. And also not to mention clocking up more hours on that satanic-time-wasting-violent-rage inducing game so fondly and affectionately known as counterstrike.
And today came wind about Matt Redman coming to Hillsong London for the 7pm service-to worship lead of course. After some initial hestitation, i decided to put away all the burdens and work and worries of my life(ie listed above) and go for the service. (For those who are wondering who the heck Matt Redman is, he's a famous british christian songwriter well known among christian circles all around the world, and also Hillsong London is the church i attend here in london, sister church of the more globally known Hillsong Sydney) . So as expected the dominion theater(thats where we have church) was packed to the brim, and squashing my way through to the front row seat where my friend had so kindly reserved for me. Anyways, Matt Redman came on, and then proceeded to lead the congregation in a time of praise and worship. The atmosphere was electrifying, and also ridiculously warm(maybe it was due the the fact that i was wearing long johns underneath in a tightly packed area) and indeed it was and awesome time of praise and worship.
One thing caught my eye though- Matt Redman is just an ordinary bloke. I dont mean that in a negative way, i'm not belittling him in any way, but rather that he is just like you and me. No aura of superiority or super holiness or whatever, just normal like you and me. And what i'm pointing to here is that here is a normal dude who chose to give and live his life to God, and through that has accomplished many amazing things that many of us only can dream of.
So folks, stop messing about and start living right. Me included.
"We were meant to live for so much more, but we lost ourselves"
How true is that.


Oh and it snowed proper snow this time. Enough for us to have snowball fight on the way to class. Totally awesome.

Peace out folks. Will post more if i survive the coming weeks.