The Nutcracker

Secret War Journal[9 December 2010][Long Post][Picture Heavy]
Here is where there some overlaps of events. I won't make much sense stating the context for this particular case as it requires some background information which should be addressed at another post.

Basically, on that day, I was watching a drama with my aunt (which is very rare but I enjoy it okay! :D) when Johnston invited me to a musical play called the Nutcrackers.

Despite the play being in Singapore for quite some time, I never got the opportunity to watch one so I was really looking forward to this one. :)

That was one problem then, I had no access to my wardrobe then. Hahas! Johnston says he intends to go there in MJC uniform since he doesn't have the time to go home and change. I was planning to go there in shorts but my aunt was like horrified by that idea (well, I guess I should be but hey, I had no access to any pants right now.) and she sent me off to collect appropriate clothes for the musical. Hahas!

I watched for a few more episodes of the drama with my aunt before leaving to collect shoes and cloths. It took one hour to retrieve them. Phew! When I come back, my aunt was still watching the drama. Hahas! Continued to watch with her, of course. :)

Johnston's handphone was going low battery so we quickly made sure we planned everything so that we can (hopefully) find each other at the meeting area.

Oh, before I forget, on that day, I actually forgot about Punggol's LRT system. I was reminded by my aunt who was telling me I do not need to take a bus 83 then transfer to MRT when I was like giving a very confused look because I only knew that way to the MRT station. Hahas!

Punggol MRT station is still as spooky as ever. Can't they add more things, like set up some shops? It's so empty.

The musical play would be held at the Vivocity near the HarbourFront MRT station.

The MRT Station seemed to have changed by quite a bit since I last went there since there are many more exits than I recall. I was a bit lost when I came out of the station (as usual, given my pathetic sense of direction). Hahas!

Well, I definitely never foresee it being having so many exits so apparently there was an ambiguity in our planned meeting location. Oh great, I'm so lost. Fortunately, Johnston's handphone was not drained dry yet. He smsed back that is the exit with the Yogi Bear Movie advertisements. But there was a problem, I don't see any Yogi Bear advertisements. I'm officially very lost. Hahas!

At that moment, Johnston's phone ran out of battery. :O

Well, I wasn't aware yet but I knew for sure that happened when he started calling me via a public phone.
Well, at least, we did not lose so much time that we end up missing the musical. Hahas!

Had dinner at Burger King before setting off for the musical. (At least the inside of the vivocity didn't change much, hahas) The venue of the musical is at the rooftop of the shopping mall which was like sort of cool because I didn't know the rooftop had something. Hahas!

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The play

Well, the ticketing system was short of defeated since you can catch a peek of the musical from the sides outside. Well, at least if you have tickets, you get to side while you watch. Hahas!

(My camera isn't very good so I hope you don't mind if the quality isn't top-notch. ;)

Thus, the magic (I meant musical) begins

They started to dance!

Sorry, big guy. O.o

The story officially begins

Welcome to the rat kingdom! :D

Oh, I forgot to mention this. Did you realise the nutcracker had already appeared?

Duel!

The nutcracker is now human!

The strange ice king and queen have appeared.

That's one weird fairy as well, hahas!

Happily ever after. O.o

Photo-taking session!

Rats! Hahas!

The Prince and the Princess!

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After the photo-taking session, we went out and took pictures of the nearby gigantic christmas tree! (That tree went up on the news too, by the way)

 Merry Christmas in advance? XD

There, that's the big tree I was talking about. Magnificent, isn't it?

This was a bit of a fail shot. We did not know it was so dark in the picture. Hahas!

A final look at the tree before we headed home! :)

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Actually, I already observed that that day. Stay strong and don't lose heart, my friend for you do not stand alone. There are many who will stand by you, I'm sure. So stay strong...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Secret War Journal[25 November 2010]

The penultimate movie for Harry Potter is out!

I don't think I need to explain why it is penultimate and not the final movie, right? :)

Anyways, this is an outing organised by Wei Ting. :)

We went through a lot of hurdles to have this movie outing, well sort of. Hahas, I will illustrate why later, sort of. XD
--
I have school that morning but since the lessons end like super early, like 10AM and we plan to watch the movie in the afternoon, This means that I had plenty of time to go eat breakfast/lunch/brunch with Pei Shi, Laura and Debbie. :)

After that, I headed home. Wei Ting and I decided to meet up earlier to buy the movie tickets.

We went to buy snacks for the movie. Wei Ting already bought milk tea beforehand, super smart. She went to buy fried mushroom while I decided to buy Prawn Crackers later. I decided to forgo popcorn since no one want share cost with me. Hahas!

15 minutes before the movie starts, Bao Lin and Jie Sheng have not arrived! Oh dear, I was starting to panic. Wei Ting called Bao Lin while I called Jie Sheng. It turns out that Jie Sheng was still in CCA. Noooo! He was like saying that most likely he cannot make it for the movies. I was like, "Come man, I bought the movie tickets already!" Hahas, evil me.

In the end, Jie Sheng and I reached a compromise. He would rush to the cinema. When he reach, he would get me a call and I would come out and give him the ticket. There, settled. :)

Bao Lin, on the hand, was able to arrive at the nick of time. I think she ran or something. O.o

Luckily for Jie Sheng, the advertisement for this particular movie at that particular timing was unusually long. After roughly 10 minutes after we had entered the Cinema hall, the movie had not started yet. After around the 20th minute mark, I received a call from (yep, you guessed it) Jie Sheng. (Smack yourself in the head if you guessed wrong, haha!)

By then, the movie has started by a bit. :O

Now, about the movie. The movie was, in general, not bad though the middle of the film was rather anti-climax in my opinion. I guess it is because the opening was so climatic and adrenaline pumping that makes the audience demanding more action only to be disappointed that the middle was somewhat lacking in that manner.
As you would had probably heard from other reviews, this film is more towards the romance genre. I can't say I disagree for that matter. Hahas.

I know there is a need for the movie to be split into two parts but I feel that it would be much better if it just one big film. It would definitely be much nicer. :)

Oh, if you intend to watch this film, here's a word of advice: go re-read the book first! ;)

I believe we headed home after the movies so see you all at the next post then. :)

NCHS Prom 2010

Secret War Journal[19 November 2010][Long Post]
Okay, I know this is weird. No, JC1s in Singapore do not have Prom Night. That would be crazy to have Prom Night yearly, I think their parents would scream. Hahas!

No, it's not a Prom night by MJC nor am I the organising committee for a Prom Night. It is...

I guess the picture above spoilt things pretty much already. Hahas!

I guess you people must be wondering, "Didn't you already graduated from NCHS? How in the world were you allowed in?"

Well people, to answer you questions, I was there on official reasons as a NCYM exco. Together with the rest of the exco who were present that day, we were sort of advertising during their prom night about NCYM and hope they would join us next year. :)

Joining us tonight are

• Leroy (Vice-Chair)
• Yee Teng (Secretary)
• Keller (2nd HR)
• Leroy (Public Relations)
• Yong Liang (Member)
• School Staff
• Secondary Four graduates

This year's theme seems to be similar to mine - Live Your Dreams. Hmmm....

This year's venue would be at the Holiday Inn, Attrium and they would be having dinner served! This is a far cry from my Prom Night where we had a conference room and had a buffet-style dinner. Theirs is so much more high class. T.T

Hahas, to be honest with you, I wasn't expecting myself to be attending their Prom Night with them, since I had CCA before the Prom Night which was virtually a clash of events so I was intending not to attend the event but lo and behold! My CCA ended earlier than expected so I was able to go home and attend their event.

Furthermore, chances are that we are not allowed into the prom night since it's not our Prom Night. It should be like the last time the Alumni people did, having a booth at the entrance, asking people if they're interested to join.

Well, this year is a bit different. Firstly, we hardly used the booth. We decided to change tactics for this year, something like an experiment. We would distribute the registration form to each and every one by entering the attrium first and placing them on the tables. This would help to increase the outreach of our target audience. :)

After that, Keller was nominated to go up to the stage to advertise in front of the whole cohort. His speech is right after our Principal. :)

(I bet Keller must swearing at us for 'nominating' him. Hahas!)

Meanwhile, we were watching the emcees for the night rehearsing. :)

Here's the seating plan:

After Keller's speech, most of our work is done. With our junior's Prom Night, we were deciding where to have our dinner since we're not allowed to eat their food anyways. Hahas!

We discussed for a good half an hour, I guess? Turns out we're allowed to attend their Prom Night. (Boy, look at their shocked faces). We even had a table (shared with the councillors, of course) hahas!

This is roughly where we sit(not the table that the hand was pointing at, it was table 22):

Yep, our table is all the way to the front, just beside our teachers, the VIPs. Hahas!

Our junior's Prom Night had a lot of amazing food! Their appetizers had a lot of variety of food!

That's the appetizer, crazy much? O.o

I mean, Keller was saying he was full after the appetizer. Wow!

After the appetizers came abalone soup! My Prom Night didn't have such high-class food, you know.

(I think it was a 7 course meal, not sure)

One bowl for each of us! Mmm!

Then came chicken, sea bass, mushroom with oysters, etc. 

 Pork but I'm not sure of it's official name. Mmm!

I was full when desserts arrived. Hahas!

Of course, Prom Night isn't just about food, we went taking photos with our juniors and teachers. These are some of them. :)

Infocomm Club unite!

Hahas, they were shocked when we appeared because....well we graduated already. There was no reason for us to appear in their prom night right? XD

NCYM Exco!

From Left: Keller, Leroy, Me, Mdm Teo, Yee Teng

Food! See Yong Liang there? Hahas!

Yummmmm---seh!

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Okay, that should roughly all. I shouldn't say too much about their Prom Night, it's theirs, not mine anyway. :)

After we finished what we came to do, we left after taking pictures and head home. Saw the Orchard Christmas Lights. Oh my god! I must say, as I'm sure many would, it is nicer than previous years. :D

Do take a look at the Orchard Christmas lighting when you can. :)

P.S: See Philbert, I did say I was going to gatecrash your Prom Night. Hahas, oops? :p Too bad, we never take photo together in the end. :p

Flyer - The Third Experience

Secret War Journal[16 November 2010][Long Post]
Yes, yes. I know. Sorry for the unannounced absence from the Blogger Universe for close to half a month?
(Before you people start counting the days, I was indeed away for around half a month despite the previous post being less than half a month ago. Yes, it's entirely possible. :)

I don't like it either, you have no idea how many drafts/posts I need to post right now. Definitely not a good sign for me. Hahas! Well, let's stop wasting time and start finishing this post, shall we? :)

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Wait, Flyer? Again?!

Oops, my bad. Hahas, yeah I'm aware that I had board the glorious Singapore Flyer twice before this already thank you. To spare you guys, (and myself), the agony of saying my views about Singapore Flyer, or anything related about it for that matter, those details would be kept to the bare minimum.

No, I don't think the post would be short. (Shorter than a full length post but not too short, I hope. Well unless I got too tired or I ran out of time, that is. I mean c'mon, it's getting longer as I talk more trash at its prelude than the actual post? Oops? XD)

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Laura's House

Before I begin, please bear in mind my memory sucks and it's been a long time since the actual event. Anyway...

School was dismissed in the morning/afternoon (I forgot why) and thus, we went for lunch. We did not have lunch together. (Look, I forgot why for that part too, drop that throwing dagger, thank you)

After lunch, we went to Laura's House to well... play and slack. His brother was with his friends, playing PS3.

Boy, her house is....very empty. Oops? Well, either it is because it is in good order or it's too big. XD Anyway, her house is two stories high. Not sure if there's a third. *Shrug* I did not do much exploration since I was in fact, rather tired that day. Hahas.

Played Bridge there and oh man, I can't believe there was this one match where Debbie just won without any resistance at all and her partner did not need to do anything. (HA!). Basically, pure ownage on her part. There's a total defeat for the rest of us, I can't believe Debbie could so lucky. :S

On the other hand, Laura has a rather comprehensive bookshelf (as do all readers, well maybe except me. :()
I don't have much interest in most of the books there though. Oh well, hahas. At least some of the series she reads, I read before, I guess. :)

Lastly, you should visit her house with Debbie. I should assign the job: Treasure Hunter to Debbie. You will know why if you ever get to have the chance to visit Laura's house with Debbie. Hahas!

P.S: Hmm, maybe not, I think Laura would just throw us out. :p

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1st Floor please. XD

After that, they went shopping. I was dragged along, wow. They went to many places. I think we should call it the walk-a-Singapore Shop-a-thon. Hahas.

Sidetrack a bit,

There was a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows exhibition at Illuma, not sure if it's still there. :p

Still sidetracking...

Those were some of birthday presents we considered for Pei Shi. Ironic that we end up buying neither.

One particular thing of interest that happened during their fast-track shopping spree was the one where we never got past the basement of Plaza Singapura. Seriously, that's a first for me. I guess that day I experienced the true power of people shopping. Hahas! So what happened? Well... we were eating to our hearts' content at the basement. Boy, can Debbie eat snacks. She should be dubbed "Snack Queen" Hahas!
Mental note to self: Never compete snack-eating with Debbie. XD

Here's a certain scene:
~Debbie just bought a snack
Debbie: Should I buy that? (Looking at another food stall)

Owned. I think she's the first I met who thinks about eating something else when she just bought a snack. A true master. *Salutes*

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My first Popeyes

We had popeyes at the sort-of newly opened branch near the Singapore Flyer.

This is my first time eating Popeyes and I had heard quite a good number of positive feedbacks about it so I was looking forward to tasting it myself.

Sadly, I must say it was a let-down. I have no idea why people say it's better than KFC. Chicken-wise and taste-wise, KFC wins Popeyes hands down. I mean, if you omit the storage method that KFC uses. (I have no idea how Popeyes stores their chicken, probably the same way?)

Price wise, KFC win by a bit? This makes it more pathetic because KFC is cheaper and much more DELICIOUS. Zzzz much?

Conclusion: Popeyes is overrated. Hahas!

In other news, KFC now has Pepper Chickens.....

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My third flying capsule

Going to Singapore flyer was rather retarded for us that day because it was raining. We alighted at the nearest MRT station and there wasn't a sheltered pathway to the Singapore Flyer.

Wonder why they don't want to just walk. Hmm... (okay, I asked myself a retarded question.)

Anyway, they(or we) decided to hail a taxi to Singapore Flyer.
(Yes, it's crazy. LOL. Hold that thought, I'm not finished. XD)

Yes, we managed to hail a cab.
Yes, it was hard to find a taxi stand there. So much for that station being a new MRT station.
Yes, we managed to find a taxi driver to go along with our crazy idea. (well, he would get paid anyway, no reason to say no and well he wanted to do a short one before going home....so yeah)
Yes, it wasn't cheap. Hahas!

Here's the real painful parter: The surcharge was much higher than the distance fare. So basically, we paid a bomb not because of its distance, but its surcharge. I bet that taxi driver must be thinking he just struck lottery after leaving us. Hahas!

Met up with Gerald, Wen Zi, Stephanie and Joanna before going aboard the flyer.

Attendee(s): Pei Shi, Debbie, Laura, Wen Zi, Stephanie, Joanna, Gerald.

First Time: With a professor, keller, and Qi Xiang - Day View with everything in sight
Second Time: Prom Night - Night View and all its splendor
Third Time: Raining, a new experience.

Well....I'm not only one who had board the Flyer many times... so when we board the flyer, the behaviour was well..... not like one who has just board the flyer for the first time. So yeah, you see people getting bored there and the likes. Wow, never thought I would witness that. Hahas!


One thing to note is that this time, the Integrated Resorts are completed and can be viewed from the Singapore flyer! But.....not everything completed yet, meh.

Met up with Yao hui and co after that. I headed home after that, too tired.

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Hmm, this post is rather crappy. I got tired as I typed this too. Wow, remembering how tired I was that day made me tired now, amazing. Hahas! Well, at least I managed to put some random stuff which couldn't by itself sustain as a post. That helped to clear many things off my mind that I being wanting to clear. Hahas!

Hey, at least I managed to persevere and finish the post from the start to the end. Phew. Ciaos people!

Next up, the post on NCHS Prom Night 2010. All right!

Let's Take A Walk 2010

Secret War Journal[18 December 2010][Long Post]
Took me some time to finally post this. I sort of give up of the pictures been released, guess I shall work with I have. =]

Let me begin by informing you what is this event about first:

Rally your friends, colleagues and family to walk for a good cause this Christmas! Make this December extra special by taking part in this overnight, round island endurance walk!
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There are three categories for Let's Take A Walk 2010, 10km JalanWalk, 50km PowerWalk and 100km ExtremeWalk. These three walks are specially designed to cater to the varied participants and their interests. Registration fee is at S$25 for 10km JalanWalk and S$60 for 50km PowerWalk & 100km ExtremeWalk.
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10km JalanWalk (Individual)

The 10km JalanWalk is ideal for classmates, colleagues, families, groups of friends who would like to enjoy a relaxing workout. The 10km route will take you through a combination of both quiet and bustling corners of the city as well as new hotspots such as Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sands. (Subject to change, pending approval from authority)

Reporting Date : Sunday, 19 December 2010

Reporting Time : 7:30am

Official Flag-off Time : 8:30 am

Start & End Point : Liang Court, 177 River Valley Road

Fees : S$25
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50km PowerWalk (Team 3 to 6 people)

Calling all sports fanatics, athletes, musclemen and sporty ladies and anyone who is gamed to put their fitness level to an endurance test. The 50km PowerWalk is a great chance to gather your like-minded friends, colleagues or relatives to take part, as co-walkers and be part of a meaningful event.

To take part, simply form a team of 3 to 6 people and register as a team to take up this challenging endurance walk. Spending the whole day walking together for a good cause through the heartland, park connectors and local attractions could easily bring your friendship closer.

Rally your friends as your own “ra-ra” support team to meet your team in between your walk to give you a moral boost, some tender loving care with their surprise late-night visits, massages and snacks.

The lovely night walk route will bring you through the less travelled western part of Singapore and ever popular Southern Ridges.

Reporting Date : Saturday, 18 December 2010

Reporting Time : 7:30 pm

Official Flag-off Time : 9:00 pm

Start Point : Singapore Turf Club, 1 Turf Club Avenue (next to Kranji MRT)

End Point : Liang Court, 177 River Valley Road

Fees : S$50 (early bird, register before 1 Oct) | S$60
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100km ExtremeWalk (Team 3 to 6 people)

You walk every day, so what's so difficult about walking for an extended period of time, you may think. The 100km ExtremeWalk is the most challenging route in Let's Take A Walk. This walk is no easy feat and is both mentally and physically demanding. The walk is not for feeble-minded individuals, but with strong determination, good pre-walk training regime and a never-say-die attitude, nothing is impossible.

Put your endurance and mindpower to the ultimate test with this challenge.

This year route offer something different so even if you have completed previous 100km route, you can re-join us to discover the hidden treasures round the island.

Reporting Date : Saturday, 18 December 2010

Reporting Time : 7:00am

Official Flag-off Time : 8:00 am

Start Point : Tampines 1, 10 Tampines Central 1 (next to Tampines MRT)

End Point : Liang Court, 177 River Valley Road

Fees : S$50 (early bird, register before 1 Oct) | S$60

That's basically what the event that I'm helping out at is about. I was assigned to help out at two checkpoints.

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First Duty: Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall

This is checkpoint 2 for the 100Km Extreme Walk

Our job is rather simple, whenever a team arrives, we just need to make sure that all the members of the team has arrived before giving them the stickers to certify that they have completed this checkpoint. After that, they are free to proceed with the walk and onto the next checkpoint! :)
 
For our checkpoint, we gave out water bottles to the participants. Some of them were wondering where are the fruits and they were informed that the fruits (if I recall, bananas) are available at the next checkpoint.
Certain checkpoints give out freebies to the participants to rejuvenate them since the walk is not an easy one. As previously mentioned, the checkpoint I'm in gives out drinks.

What really made the whole duration that enjoyable was the courtesy of the volunteers and the participants. It's been a long time since everyone I meet are so polite, cheerful and friendly. It really gave me hope that the world isn't all dark. :)

The volunteers had KFC Black Pepper Chicken for lunch but I didn't order one because I feel a bit bad for them to treat so I decided to just eat lunch after my duty. Hahas!

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50KM Opening Ceremony

Next stop, Tuas!

Guessed I came a tad early but hey I had nothing to do for 3 hours! (that's the time gap between my duty hahas! Actually, I forgot what happened during this period of time. Oops.)

Anyhow, the place is already closed in preparation for the event but I can't enter yet because the co-ordinator who can verify my involvement is not here yet. (Because I'm so early, hahas!)

Had a chat with participants who also came early to prepare themselves, I feel so Wow-ed by them. :)

Night is upon us! The co-ordinator came and the guards allowed us in as we carried items to prepare for the opening ceremony. This is when times go hectic and crazy as we rush to prepare!!!

Had some time to take a breather while we were making balloons and tying them around the railings.

Looking at the seating complex, I wonder how it feels to be in the VIP lounge. Ahhh, life. 

Sadly, after the preparations, we have duty at the entrance so I didn't have the chance to take a peek at how the opening ceremony went. Nevertheless, the 100Km Walk is still on and this place is one of the checkpoint as well. Lookie at the clock! Hahas!

Did some checkpoint duty before I headed home!

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Update: This is recent. They actually went to officially thanks for our involvement in the event.

"Our young and energetic student volunteers from Meridien Junior College
Heng Wen Zi, Gerald Chan, Cynthia Tang, Debbie Sim, Jackie Lam, Leon Loh, Yeo Yao Hui, Germinian Gan, Kan Wei Chong, Gordon Goh, Leroy Lim, Joshua Tan, Timothy Lim, Kwek Jin Cheng, Goh Jia Lin, Lim Si Jie, Benjamin Ong Shao Jun, Ng Wei Jie, Ong Sim Juan, Ng Zheng Yi, Masaki Kor, Alan Khoo, Darren Teo, Muhd Asyraf Zainol, Joh Kia Meng, Pua Si Yan, Wang Xiu Hui, Kang Lei, Ahmad Naufal, Ang Weiyi Jerene, Benjamin Kitson Bok Jia Wei, Daniel Lim Zheng Yi, Darren Eng Kai Jie, Khoo Wei Quan, Koh Wei Yang, Lee Ying Hui, Tay Jun Hurng Ryan, Derick Tan, Chew Ee Zeng, Chong Kejin, Lee Jun Zhou, Tan Tian Hoe, Woo Wei En, Jeanette Soon Xiu Yi, Starnia Quek Ping Hwee, Goh Xuan Hong, Bryan James Leong Wei Xun, Esther Wan Yee Shuang, Sydney Tan Yu Ke" - Let's Take A Walk Committee

Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale

Secret War Journal[16 December 2010]
Finally, after so long, I have managed to pull off an outing. (I'm a lazy person, organising kills brain cells at a very high rate. Hahas)
Attendee(s): Bao Lin, Cynthai, Dolly, Jie Sheng, Wei Ting

Well, I will rush to talk about the movie first. :)

Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale is one of the best movies I had seen for 2010. In fact, I will strongly recommend anyone to go watch unless you people think it is too 'lame' then I have no comments.
For the record, this movie is considered a comedy by me, which was basically I went to watch. Hahas!

Apart from it being extremely hilarious until the ending, one should also take note the hard work required to animate the god-knows-how-many strands of hair she has. It is well animated for something so crazy. Hahas! However, logic wise, there's some places where the hair goes extremely short. I wonder why, okay, I know the reason. Hahas!

Still, it's a disney movie so you can see some of the elements of it are still the same, including those I don't like.  But hey, it's one of the few movies that actually impressed me. XD

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Nex Serangoon

This is a new shopping mall which is very messy in my opinion. Well, the people above us really did a good job making full use of all the land space provided but at the cost of making the place too crowded as every spare space offered by pathways are taken up by portable stalls.

Well, on the bright side, this shopping mall sells almost anything. Well, wonder why it me feels that I should not go back there? Maybe because it's too confusing for someone like me who has no sense of direction to be in...

Colorgenics Profile

Secret War Journal[6 December 2010]

Recently came across this personality test and out of curiosity, I went to try it out. Here's my result:

You have always been on the move seeking affectionate, satisfying and harmonious relationships. Your ultimate goal has been the realisation of an intimate union in which there could be love, self-sacrifice and mutual trust. It has often been said that 'True love is just around the corner' and - if you haven't found it as yet - you possibly soon will.

You are feeling very vulnerable at this time. Nothing seems to be going in the right direction - business wise, private-life wise, everything. You need some emotional security and an environment which could possibly provide fewer problems, but the way you are feeling you can't be bothered even to make the effort.

You lack confidence and that is a great pity because deep down you are indeed a warm caring person. This lack of confidence is making you wary of being drawn into any open discussion or conflict and so you feel as if you should let matters lie and leave well alone. But there may be a pleasant surprise in store for you. You are beginning to grow and very soon - sooner than you believed possible - this warm loving new you will be available for all to see and to appreciate.

You are an emotional, sincere and impressionable individual experiencing frustration and unnecessary stress. You are carried away by other people's enthusiasm and looking for that idealised relationship, be it in a business or personal situation, which you are able to share with a mutual depth of understanding. You have lowered your defences in the past and you have been hurt, so you are now extremely wary of being exploited. You are still ready to trust people on the condition that they are prepared to offer you proof of their sincerity.

You are inclined to be too trusting and you feel that you need to be on your guard against the possibility that your endeavours and actions may be misunderstood. Too often you have been taken advantage of and you have been mentally abused. Now you are seeking a relationship which can provide peace of mind, where you can be yourself and not have the need to put on a false front.

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Hmm... well, you guys can also try it out on http://www.colorgenicstest.com/form.html :)

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I'm working on the other posts. I just wanted to post this first since 1) I would forget the link. 2) I hardly need to type much for this. :)

Ciaos!

Startup @ Singapore: Entrepreneurs Unplugged

Secret War Journal[15 November 2010]

Ah, business. I guess it's been a long time since I talked about that. Hahas!

Anyway, in case you guys didn't knew, 15 November 2010 was the start of the Global Entrepreneurship Week and to kickstart the week, there was panel discussion from Startup@Singapore and also a nEbO Biz Challenge [Finals] being held at the same day, same time.

Well, since I can't split my body into two (rather obviously, XD), I had to choose one.
I decided to go for the panel discussion since I didn't know what's going to happen at the nEbO Biz Challenge since no one I know is in the finals. XD
Furthermore, Johnston has questions for the panel. :)

Sadly, Johnston is not free for the panel discussion that day so I help him to ask the question the panel. :)
However, Keller, being my good friend, accompanied me to grace the event. I feel a bad for him though he was like questioning himself why he was present. Sorry! But I'm sure you learned a few things from the panel discussion and it was enlightening(I hope)! Hahas!

I must say Keller and I were rather funny that day. We were like constantly discussing what's the dress code for the event. I said business wear but Keller don't like that dress code. In the end, I sort of scam him since I ended up wearing Business wear to the event which Keller either claimed I was overdressed or he was underdressed. Actually, the dress code is loosely defined so it's alright for both of us.

We were almost late for the event which would be embarrassing since it's an official event and being late for a penal discussion is like super obvious! Hahas. I was rather clumsy that day, especially since I had no school that day, and I was actually later than Keller, who had school. Sorry, I was distracted by my phone. O.o

Not to mention that this is one of the rare times that I'm the travel guide given my pathetic sense of direction, I did not foresee Keller not having come to HDB Hub before and it's been a long time since I went there.
But I guess my luck was holding that day since I managed to get there without taking a wrong turn(which is to say get lost) unless Keller consider that going one big round when the place was just behind us is a wrong turn. Hahas, opps? (I would take that as a yes. :)

Apparently, we made it in time, still early in fact. yay! I was a bit retarded that day (I said that already, didn't I?) and went to re-register when I had do so beforehand. Hahas!

I was given the rare opportunity to become a nEbO member for free(normally, that cost money) but Keller dissuaded me from signing up. I'm still not sure if that was a bright move but what's done is done.

Finally, before the panel discussion started, someone shocked me when they knew about MJC BizClub and it being a company(of sort) when they found out I was from MJC Wow, I thought we were rather low-profile but we're rather well-known. Wow! Wow! Hahas!

They seems happy that someone from MJC came(though I don't think they know I am from BizClub :P). Hmm. hahas!

Time to get seated for the panel discussion!

Before the panel discussion start, perhaps it would be better for me to inform you who are the panelists and of course, the moderator. I would giving you a brief introduction later when the panel discussion starts. :)

Today, our moderator would be Ms Pranoti Nargarkar Israni, Founder of Zimplistic Inventions and Open Category Winner of 10th Start-Up@Singapore. The panelists are

1. Mr John Yap, co-Founder of Awfully Chocolate and Everything With Fries
2. Ms Christina Lim, Founder of Ocean Healthcare
3. Ms Susan Chong, CEO of Greenpac
4. Mr Leonard Tan, CEO of PurpleClick Media

 Now the panel discussion has begun! Here's the gist of it:

Moderator
Ms Pranoti Nargarkar Israni
Founder, Zimplistic Inventions and Open Category Winner of 10th Start-Up@Singapore

Only in her 20s, she left her job at a leading electronic manufacturer to start-up on her own. She recently won the prestigious StartUp@Singapore 2009 grand champion trophy, which comes with $28,000 in prize money and one free year of office space. Prior to this, Israni's Zimplistic was awarded the YES! Spring Singapore grant for young entrepreneurs valued at $35,000. Israni aims to partner or license with a consumer appliance brand to bring Rotimatic to market in 2010.

Panelists
Mr John Yap
Co-Founder of Awfully Chocolate and Everything With Fries
Mr John Yap co-founded Awfully Chocolate in 1998. Today, it is a popular dessert franchise with 22 stores in 8 cities. He has since ventured into the eatery business with Everything With Fries, which has outlets in Holland Village and Joo Chiat. A father of three, he runs the businesses with his wife, Ms Lyn Lee.

What I learned from him:

• Motivation to do well: Enjoying thecareer/field you're in
• Raising the barrier to entry
• Use of advertisement for endorsements
• Bulk purchase may not be wise for F&B (depends)
• Franchise enquiries: The importance of contract (best locally) and danger of imitation
• Sometimes, it is not that important to go to the most crowded mall

Ms Christina Lim
Founder of Ocean Healthcare 
Ms Christina Lim is a trained pharmacist and MBA graduate from Singapore, and she founded the Ocean Healthcare (S) Pte Ltd in 1995. Ocean Healthcare (S) Pte Ltd now distributes Ocean Health, Therapeutic Dermatologic Formula and Ocean Derma products throughout Asia. Christina still spends her time pursuing her passion: formulating new products, delivering lectures and sharing with people ways to improve their health condition for a better quality life.

What I learned from her:

• Importance of research/background information
• Importance of acquiring technology
• Importance of gaining support from others.
• Application (how to apply)
• Think of future plans: Venture aboard?
• Use of advertisements
• Difficulty in expanding to regional: Difficulty in acquiring factories and the importance of contracts
• Health supplements are not patent-able
• Importance of communications: Communication between clients to prevent imitation of products.

Ms Susan Chong
CEO of Greenpac
Greenpac (S) Pte Ltd (“Greenpac”) is a knowledge-based company that specialises in designing and distributing environmentally friendly packaging products and solutions. Since starting the company in September 2002, Susan grew Greenpac from a one-woman start-up into a thriving multimillion dollar company.that serves Fortune 500 companies and is the market leader for environmentally friendly packaging solutions in Asia. Susan has won several prestigious awards, including the Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 and the Enterprise 50 (E50) 2008, where Greenpac was ranked #4 in the exclusive list of 50 of the most enterprising privately-held local companies in Singapore.

What I learned from her:

• Importance of networking
• Identifying a niche market
• Identifying a hole/gap in the market
• The need to be hardworking
• Aware of your visions
• Getting aid from government
• Importance of perserverence
• Need for creativity
• Aware that SMEs have very little resources: Most operations done in-house
• Use of avenues to obtain financial help
• Seek advices from senior entrepreneurs

Mr Leonard Tan
CEO of PurpleClick Media
He founded PurpleClick Media Pte Ltd, an online search marketing agency, specializing in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and online media in 2006. PurpleClick Media is also the first and only agency in Southeast Asia to achieve accreditation from both Yahoo and Google, and has established offices in Singapore and Malaysia.  His ability to create a successful and profitable enterprise that is socially responsible also garnered him the “The Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009” and “Entrepreneur of the Year Award for eCommerce 2009”.

What I have learnt from him:

• Marketing skills is important
• A need to have the ability to sell
• Must be able to market your products.

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With that, we adjourned for dinner.