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Spending the last few hours of the day before going to sleep packing clothes is surely one of the most arduous task to complete. Was bugged by my mum to get some of the old clothes that i haven’t been wearing out of the cupboard to give it away to some less fortunate and people from the more backward countries.

I knew it was going to be difficult, considering that i do have A LOT of clothes. As i begin packing, there were many of them which i had never actually seen or wore before. To make a decision, whether to keep or to give away, these are some of the criteria that i take into considerations.

1) The clothing quality

In my take, the top priority on the list would be comfort. I hate clothes that makes me feel uncomfortable wearing it, i think it defies the whole purpose of wearing them. Why bother so put on something that will make you feel uneasy.

Also, clothes that are too old have to be taken off the shelve. Remembering that there will be newer ones to replace them.

2) Branding

Well, if you think I’m not the materialistic kind of person, then think twice. Somehow, the brand of clothes that you wear tells another story about yourself when one walks on the street. People do notice about the type of shirts you are wearing and judge you just by it. Though the saying goes.. “Never judge a book by its cover”, somehow its just not applicable here.

Most of the time, good brands come with good quality material and design. So, its a hit for three. Why not?

3) Design

You’ve got to admit that some shops do sell clothing that has pretty good and interesting, though they are not very branded or popular. Its just another personal feel, when the designs look good, why care so much about the brand. Though the quality and material of it still stands.

4) Sentimental

Some clothes you just have to keep them, not because its nice or whatsoever. Its just the priceless value behind the piece of rag that is deemed treasure in the eye of the beholder. Some of them would include the old class t-shirts, or band t-shirts. Its definitely something that you can’t just pick it up from the stores, even with the purchasing power to do so.

So, my criteria seems to be rather strict aren’t they? But somehow.. Whats left is still massive.

The Reason: I do have really loads of them.

My sources of clothings are huge. I have relatives and friends that contribute to them, my dad who never fails to get Adidas’s merchandise from India everytime he visits there (he’s coming back soon), also some by me myself and my mum.

Sometimes, i do wish that i can have multiple bodies, so that i can ever finish wearing all of them. I think at this rate, i can afford to wear one every single day, without replacing them for at least 2 months.

The problem lies when there are some which are considered to be favourites and is more frequently worn than the others, resulting the others to be neglected and forgotten.

My wardrobe has exploded. I would invest in a walk-in wardrobe next time, if i ever own a house of my own. Something which will look like this..

More picture..

The stacks and bags of clothing that is going to leave Daryl soon. May you find a better owner, or find a better purpose in life. Maybe as a rag or something, rather that lying in my shelves collecting dust.

The leftovers, though its still a lot.

Yes thats so much of clothes i have.

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, actually not recently, quite long ago, MSN launched their new messenger, called the Windows Live Messenger. This launch is with conjunction of the new Operating System Microsoft has came out with the Windows Vista.

Few months back, they forced users(like me) that were using the old MSN Messenger to get the new update, if not they would not be able to sign-in. I had no choice but to abide by it, though i knew that the new program would have a high consumption of RAM, furthermore i had to open 2 messenger accounts due to the fact that i had 2 accounts. Blame it on them that they restricted the number of people that one could add to a number of 250 contacts last time, due to the exploding number, i had to open another account.

Overtime, i realised that the RAM consumption is really too high and my system is unable to afford it, thus making me switch to Trillian, a third-party MSN Messenger client where i can sign on multiple MSN Messenger on extremely low RAM usage. However, Trillian is not without its negative sides. It is less appealing visually compared to MSN Messenger and that there were many functions like sending of files, Web Conference, and writing options that were void from Trillian which were once a favorite for me.

Today, i managed to get away from things and a breakthrough from the restriction.

I got hold of this article where by there are MANY others out there which shared the same sentiments as me. The love for the Old Version of MSN Messenger. Now i shall share with you guys how to get hold of it, if any of you all want to do the same.

First, download the old version of MSN Messenger. Its available here .

Second, you got to uninstall all other newer MSN Messenger on your system.

Third, install the file which you have recently downloaded.

If you want to patch the Messenger, with stuffs like ads removed and polygamy. Use A-Patch.
You have to download the correct version. Which is the MSN 7.0.0820 version.

Then BINGO! You will have your “new” MSN Messenger. It will defintely make your system less lag if you are not high on memory. Especially for people like me who opens loads of application on the go, this will give your system a boost.

Enjoy the “new” look on your MSN.

Good nights.

 

 

 

Share something that i have recently heard from a master somewhere, to take you away from the boring daily dosages that i have been writing.

The 5 pillars of life.

These 5 pillars of life are indicators to make someone a better person. It is definitely very general, however it covers a great aspects of life. It is important that one lead life through these pointers to make him/her a better person. It is almost impossible to follow and perfect all of the indicators. If you can, then you would be saint already and not be here reading, trying to be one.

The 5 pillars. Not in any order of importance and priority.

1. Be a good son/daughter of your parents.
2. Be a good student of your teachers.
3. Be a good follower of your religion.
4. Be a good citizen of your country.
5. Be a good friend of your friends.

1) Parents are the people that bring us to life. Furthermore, their role does not just end there, they have taken the extra mile and bore the responsibility of nurturing us to useful people in life. Hence, in my own point of view filial piety should be the most important and it can come in many forms. It may not be just speech recognition or materialization of life. It might be the small nitty gritty things in life that actually shows the true heart and feelings.

2) Teachers are the bearer of knowledge, hence as important as knowledge is in life, the carrier of it should share the similar amount of significance. Though some teachers might be overbearing at times or not showing the correct attitude in teaching, but still we as students we got to acknowledge the fact that it is only through them that we are able to get wiser and more learned.

3) Religion is something which i believe can craft character out of a person. As long as the religion is orthodox and it does a greater good for the society. To strongly believe and be a good follower of the religion you are in, it will ensure that the path that one takes and actions one does it rightfully accounted for.

4) The country is like a nest for its people. By being a good citizen of your country, it is just the gratitude one can show for the country for accommodating us all these years. Being a good citizen can exists in many forms, which some include obeying the laws and being considerate to the people around us, and also not make oneself be a social hazard.

5) Friends are people around us that we can’t live without. They provide the support both physically and emotionally to one which others in the family cannot give. The companionship friends give in times of need, by lending a ear or shoulder is truly remarkable. You won’t really feel it until you desperately need it.

The above are just a rough guideline to follow to becoming a better person in life. I have to admit myself that i ain’t no saint myself, hence constant self reminders of these easy guidelines would be great in daily life, especially when making a difficult decision or in a dilemma.

If you have something which you think is too an important pointer in life. feel free to share by leaving your comments.

Thank You.

When we were still young, we could play all day without worrying about work.

When we were still young, we could make mistakes and be expected to be forgiven.

When we were still young, we want to grow up quickly.

When we were still young, nothing seemed to trouble us.

When we were still young, day passed by slowly.

When we were still young, we stayed in class after school everyday.

When we were still young, we envied the grown ups.

When we have grown up, we missed our past.

Band Perth Trip 2003

Racial Harmony Day 2/1 2003

Last day at 2/1

 

 

2/1 X’mas Party

Thousand Hands Statue @ Sentosa

4/2 Graduation Day 2005

Have you seen this new vehicle on the road?

 

Yes indeed, this is the new fleet of bus models presented by SBS Transit. It does really look pleasing both in the interior and the exterior.

However, do you know what’s the special traits of this bus that other models of such doesn’t posses?

Bingo! This is a wheelchair-accessible bus. Meaning that they are slightly wider than most other buses in Singapore, also they have a nice position at the standing area for the wheelchair-bounded. There is also a special bell built just for them.

So, how many of you out there have truly seen someone in a wheelchair board such buses. Let me share my experience.

I was at YCK Bus Interchange waiting to board bus 76, there was this wheelchair bound lady also waiting to board bus service 76.

Alright, here’s the start of story..

When the bus arrived, the bus captain had to refuse entry to passengers who are boarding the bus. Just in case there are people who do not fatefully tap their EZ-Link card without someone keeping an eye on the machine.

The captain then had to open the door at the rear, and manually deploy the ramp that enables the captain to wheel her up the bus. After that, the captain will situate her comfortably in a nice and safe position in the designated area.

Then the captain had to assemble back the ramp and allow entry to the other passengers. The whole process takes about 1-2mins.

Thats for the entry part. When the lady wanted to alight, she would press the “special” bell, which sounds different from the norm.

Upon stopping, the captain would then repeat the whole process again. Refuse entry, deploy the ramp…

-

This whole thing might not seem as good as it is deemed to be.

Firstly, if its the peak hour. The number of passengers on the bus would be high, which makes it difficult for the bulky wheelchair to maneuver around.

Secondly, the time taken for the whole process. Imagine you are rushing for time. I bet you would curse and swear.

Thirdly, due to space constrains, it only allows 1 wheelchair.

What i think of this is that, the biggest barrier for these physically handicapped people would be that they think of themselves as a burden to the society. Even with the new arrangements, they might still feel ostracized.

I guess its all about being considerate and tolerant to the people around us. In order to make Singapore a more gracious society, these are the efforts that we have to put in to make things come true. Maybe we should have more people like Sebastian and Poh Boon around.

 

 

Thanks to Glenn’s recommendations, i have a new spot for running; the MacRitchie Reservoir.

All along, I’ve know that place to be a great place for Cross Country. But now, I’ve truly understand and experience the joy of running there. Its really a perfect place for running in my point of view.

After all the kind of places I’ve ran at; roads, treadmills, track, park, sand.. By comparison, MacRitchie is really awesome.

• Firstly, the air is superb. High oxygen level with little pollution. Eases running and reduces chances of bad breathing. Unlike roads and parks that are near the road and with inconsiderate people smoking.

• Secondly, the heat. As mentioned in the first point, the high level of oxygen makes the air cooler. With addition, the canopy of the tall trees makes heat difficult to penetrate through.

• Thirdly, the terrain. There are many upslope and downslope route, which makes the run more challenging and interesting. Also, the land is gravel and some soil and stones. This gives the run an extra push as one has to concentrate in order not to fall.

• Fourthly, the routes. There are many different kinds of paths and routes that one can take upon reaching there. There’s the HSBC Treetop Trail, the Jeultong Trail, and many more. The furthest one is the trail to Bukit Timah Hill, its 11KM. Thats my target for the week and the upcoming or so. With these different routes, running can never be interesting enough. There are also nice scenery and interesting creatures like squirrel and monkeys around for you to spot them!

• Fifthly, the MIND. As mentioned by WaiSze, this is an important X-Factor that determines the journey. One doesn’t tend to give up easily while running there because of the yet to reach destination.

I managed to complete about 4KM in the trail, and the journey back home with Glenn today. It’s time for him to increase his training at Bishan Park before hitting back there again, all the best.

A word of caution, for those intending to run the trail. It is best that u leave the trail to the main road by 1845. If not it would be terribly dangerous as there are no lights in it and it will be pitch dark. Surely you wouldn’t want to get lost in it do you?

Run with a watch and keep track of the time especially if you are running in the late afternoons. Best is get a partner and not push one’s limits when its getting too dark.

So, anyone want to join in the trail?

Till we meet again,

Happy Belated Children’s Day (Gerald’s Birthday)

In the recent months, there has been a new fad, the new fad about doughnuts. Mind that it’s doughnuts, not donuts. How long will this trend follow on, we don’t know. But one thing we know for sure is that in Singapore, it won’t last real long.�

Recall back the craze of bubble tea and luohan fish, and you will know what i mean.

Some�histroy and tales�about doughnuts

• Tale #1

Captain Hanson Gregory whose mother sent him off to sea with– what else?– fried pastry (also known as doughnut now). During a violent storm, Captain Gregory needed both hands free to man the wheel of his ship, so he impaled his doughnut upon the top spoke of the wheel, thereby creating the center hole.

• Tale #2

A more likely explanation is that the center of the pastries had been notoriously hard to cook thoroughly. They usually ended up a doughy, oily goo. By punching a hole in the center, more surface area is created, therefore allowing for faster, more even cooking.

�It’s all up to you to decide in which one to believe in

-�

What i feel that is appealing to the customers are the way Mr. Doughnut dresses up himself. Other than the orginal icing sugar, chocolate and rainbow rice coats he has, now he has a brand new wardrobe of coats to choose from.

Interesting coatings include tiramisu, oreo cookies, strawberry, ceral, cheese, wasabe, and the list just goes on and on.

However, the fact that it’s still a doughnut remains as it is. It’s just made from dough and just adding of toppings on the surface. Though i can’t rebut the fact that it is indeed more appealing and tasty, but the truth is that it’s making it more unhealthy.

Just imagine the amount of sugar that u are consuming from each doughnut, not forgetting the carbohydrate from the leading actor. Also, some doughnuts do contain trans fats which makes it even worst.

So, despite these, why are people still queuing up hours and hours for them. I guess the main factor is still the way it presents itself to masses. People now do not buy them individually, most of them buy it in dozens. Just to have a huge array of varities of doughnuts to choose from. Its too definitely sweet, really “sweet” to recieve such gifts from friends as such.

The few powerhouse for doughnuts in Singapore are Munchy’s Doughnuts and Doughnut Factory. I tried e-doughnuts and it doesn’t really taste that good, its too sweet. Munchy’s a good deal i thought after trying some bought by my cousin for birthday. (The picture is in the post of “Birthday Bashed“)

One way i would reccomend in eating doughnuts if it’s not straight from the oven would be that by heating and toasting it up in an oven for about 3mins. Do remember to thaw it first if you have left it in your fridge. The doughnut will taste just right, with the outside crispy, inside soft and tender. Most importantly with the chocolate topping melting as it reaches your mouth.

So, the bottomline would be that enjoy your doughnuts while its still trendy and available. Not consuming�excessive amount of them, which will eventually jerpodise your own health. Exercising can�make the deal less sinful too.

Alright, i stumbled upon this piece of writing/compilation on facebook.

It states the title as born in the 80�s, well it would somehow to appropriate to me, cause I�m born in 1989. Thats considered 80�s, though that was the last year of the decade.

I�ll elaborate more about that below, some were pretty true while the others somewhat irrelevant.

You would remember:

• You grew up watching He-man, MASK, Transformers, Silver Hawk and Mickey Mouse, Ninja turtles, Carebears, Robocop, My Little Pony and Smurfs.

This definitely a yes, my favourites were Ninja Turtle and Captain Planet then. Though it slowly got replaced by Power Rangers.

• You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in Primary school during recess time. You would squat by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brush your teeth with a coloured mug.

It was only Wednesday that i remembered doing so. So, no qualms about that. Just that at some point of time toothbrush and toothpastes gets missing which makes my mum pretty mad about things.

• You hated or loved the school nurse (she was either pretty or mean).

Well, was there one in my era? Probably those that come and do health checks. Can�t remember much about them though.

• You know what SBC stands for.

Nah, i don�t. I got it checked, it was the brand name of the local media then before TCS. It stands for Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.

• You paid 40 cents for cartons of Chocolate or Strawberry milk every week in class.

I was plump and healthy, i don�t need this. It was only for those underweight if i didn�t forget.

• Everyone�s wallet used to be the velcro type

Yea, velcro wallets was the in-thing. Especially attached with the springy rubber pinned to your pants in case your wallet falls off.

• It was cool to have pagers in primary school.

Yea, sad to say i didn�t owned one.

• SBS buses used to be non-airconditioned. The bus seats are made of wood and the cushion were red. The big red bell gave a loud BEEP! when pressed.

More or less scraped when i started taking public transport. Though there were still bus stamps that states that they were only for non-air conditioned bus rides. Which no one buys them actually.

• There were still bus tickets and bus conductors would come up to check them.

Tickets are memorable stubs, especially its out of the fad now. It comes along with the pink magnetic strip bus card we used to have .

• Envelopes were given to us to donate to Sharity Elephant every Children�s Day.

It still does continues now even in JC, just that the name�s change. They had to deploy the stupid elephant to trick young kids of their already pathetic daily allowance.

• You�ve probably read Young Generation magazine.You know who�s Vinny the little vampire and Acai the constable.

These were famous household names by the famous publisher �Pan- Asia Publishing�

• You know what PETS are and the hidden animals in all the text pages. You hated penmanship.

Thats how we killed time during English lessons. Penmanship were cruel, my mother had to erase everything i�ve done because i get a big redo everytime the work gets return back.

• Writing lines and caning hands were common, esp if you failed chinese spelling (caning was actually allowed. no shit).

No qualms about that. There was something called ??, which makes things even more difficult when we were in upper primary. Every single word and punctuation have to be correct. What stupid way of learning!

• You were there when they first introduced the MRT here. You went for the first ride with your parents and you would kneel on the seat to see the scenery.

Precisely thats why i hate travelling towards Orchard area because all you get to see is pitch darkness.

• Movie tickets used to cost only $3.50.

Can�t remember this, it was my parents who paid during the movie treats. By the time i paid for my own movie, it was already 6 dollars.

• Gals were fascinated by Strawberry Short Cake and Barbie Dolls.

No idea about that.

• You learn to laugh like The Count in Sesame Street.

Who�s the count? But i certainly loved Elmo, its like the cutest creature on Sesame Street. I once had a figurine of it, but i fell into the pond somehow.

• You bought tidbits called beebee (20 cents per pack, 10 cents in MGS), and mamee (30 cents), that had a different sticker in it every time.

They come in boxes with ??? picture on it. The mamee had stickers that don�t really stick.

• You carried a lunch box to school but either threw away the food or brought it back home again.

My mum gave up and gave me coins instead.

• You watched TV2 (also known as Channel 10) cartoons because Channel 5 never had enough cartoons for you.

The transmitting were sometimes quite bad, and a disappointment when its the most exciting part.

• Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, Famous Five and Secret Seven were probably the thickest story books you thought you would ever read.

Never did i once finished them.

• KFC used to be a high class restaurant that served food in plates and had metal forks and knives.

I don�t really remember this. Though some posters on KFC showed that they do served Chicken in plates with metal fork and knives. Guess people were more environmentally friendly then.

• The most vulgar thing you said was asshole and idiot and THE MOST EXTREME WAS �chicken pie��you just couldn�t bring yourself to say the hokkien translation.

My virgin vulgarity occurred to me before i was Primary 1. Which landed me in great trouble.

• Catching and pepsi-cola was the IN thing, and twist was the
• magic word.

Apparently, twist doesn�t help in catching nowadays.

• Your English workbooks were made of some damn poor quality paper that was smooth and yellow.

AMKsians, does that reminds of the brown shit that we receive as worksheets?

• You came to school 15 mins before the bell every morning just so you could copy someone�s homework.

Nah, i was a good boy. I don�t even bother to copy.

• CDIS was your best friend.

That�s the educational programme that teachers will bring us to AVA room to watch. Just because i was the AVA Monitor, i vividly remembered those tapes that i retrieved from the old and dusty cupboard.

• The only computer lessons in school involved funny pixellized characters in 16 colours walking about trying to teach you math.

That pitiful, i had computers at home with more colours. Probably 256.

• Waterbottles were slung around your neck and a must everywhere you went.

That explains the number of children now with back problem.

• Boys loved to play soccer with small stones or tennis balls in the basketball court.

Anything could replace a soccer ball.

• Science was fun with the Balsam and the Angsana being the most important plants of our lives, guppies and swordtail being the most important fishes.

These were the only few plants and animals thought in Science lessons.

• Who can forget Ahmad, Bala, Sumei and John, immortalized in our minds from school textbooks.

Not forgetting Ali too.

• We conducted experiments of our own to get badges for being a Young Zoologist/Botanist etc.

I had the entomologist badge. I trifled with insects.

• Every Children�s day and National day you either got pins or pens with �Happy Children�s Day 1993? or useless plastic files with �Happy National Day 1994?.

These were good stuffs. One year we had G1 pens.

• You wore BM2000, BATA, or Pallas shoes.

We had to use white chalk to maintain the whiteness on the shoe to prevent a earful from our mothers when we get home.

• Your form teacher taught you Maths, Science and English.

Also PE, health education, moral education.

• You went to school in slippers and a raincoat when it rained, and you find a dry spot in the school to sit down, dry your feet, and wear your dry and warm socks and shoes.

Provided when my mum was at home.

• There would be spelling tests and mental sums to do almost everyday (you hated them).

Yea, full of crap.

• Your friends considered you lucky and rich if your parents gave you $2 or more for pocket mone everyday.

i had only 50cents – 1 dollar.

• You saw Wee Kim Wee�s face in the school hall.

I only saw Ong Teng Cheong before.

• Boys liked catching fighting spiders, earthworms or tadpoles.

We would buy the plums in a bottle, and throw away those plums to contain our live specimens. Not forgetting to poke holes with our name tags to provide them with a source of oxygen. Sad to say, they don�t last.

• Collecting and battling erasers was a pastime for boys.

They were considered gambling and were banned subsequently.

• Class monitors and prefects loved to say, �You talk some more, I write your name ah!�

And the teacher only trust those asses who abuse their authority as class reps.

• You got booked for muddy shoes in class.

There were no tmuch mud in the school compound to step on.

• There were at least 40 people in one class.

more or less i guess.

• You brought every single book to school, even though there was a timetable.

I had my bag packed everyday.

• There was a pro-yo/bumblebee, digimon craze at some point in time.

Digimon were battle objects, we tried making cheat codes by pulling the tabs and pressing ridiculous buttons. Also not forgetting the temporal tamagotchi.

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