Happy Chinese New Year 2009 and photos of the week.

Happy Chinese New Year 2009 to all my friends and fans (if there was even any to begin with). Wish you all good health and family harmony in the new year amidst the economic recession. May the year of the Ox brings about a bull market for the Singapore Economy.

As for me, I had just completed the first lecture for all 3 Uni modules I had embark on for the first Semester at SIM. So far so good, lots of self initiated studies to be made and time discipline to be committed. That could mean less time spend on my 2 past times, blogging and modeling. Today is the eve of Chinese New Year but my family had already sat for the traditional reunion dinner yesterday. This morning, mum and dad had set off to Genting Highland for a 3 day holiday. I think its a long over due break for mum who work long hours for the past few weeks at the laundry factory during the festive peak period and dad who spend days doing spring cleaning and CNY decoration. I admit I did not help out at all due to work and studies. Its time for them to take a break, relative visit can come later since CNY had always been 15 days long traditionally.

Right after school on Friday, I headed down to Telok Blangah Crescent to close a small business deal with a new customer. Manage to sell a used Oakley Ski goggles and added more new fundings to the big future plans of mine. I decided to head up to Telok Blangah Hills and check out the night atmosphere of Henderson Wave bridge and the night view of Singapore from atop the bridge. Nice and breezy... decided to take some photo with my HTC Diamond phone.




Saturday morning was spend shopping at Wisma Atrium for a leather shoes in preparation of the numerous "red bomb" invitation from my brothers. Got one from Beetle Bug. Lots of sneakers and shoes from Beetle Bug and Aldo caught my attention as well, its the style I like and I probably will be spending my next pay check for a nice pair of sneakers from either store. Late breakfast with my sis at Toast Box located at Wisma's Food Republic. The soft boiled egg are super smooth with the soy sauce and pepper and I wish I could emulate those quality every morning.

A cup of breakfast kopi while enjoying the morning sight of Orchard Road.

How to hold on dearly to the MRT's priority seats without feeling guilty??? Pretend to sleep!

Man in a cradle, on a priority seats. Identity are protected.

Got this really sweet and cute thank you notes from my neighbor.

HAPPY "牛" YEAR!!!

Fluid is dry.

Fluid Mechanics, not too fluid for the brain, a really dry subject I had been doing my pre-lecture reading. My brains are dried from overloading. The math is mind boggling and I realize I left most of my mathematics skills back in Polytechnic.

Right after work at 5pm, I drove 27 km to Singapore Polytechnic to attend the first lecture on Fluid Mechanics. I'm tired and its only the second lecture of the many more I will be attending for the next few months. The first thing on my mind is sleeping, the last thing on my mind is a boring lecturer. The combination of both will make 7pm to 10pm a agonizing learning experience.

Thank goodness. Mr J.Selva Raj is a bubbling lecturer full of spontaneous teaching energy. For the working adults who had spend most of their energy on their job from 8 to 5, his lively and humorous teaching method is a injection of energy into a drained body of ours. The lecture was delivered in an interesting and visualizing (use of videos) explanation to some "dry" Fluid Mechanics theories, but he also took the effort to find out our academic background so he can fine tune his next lecture to better deliver the teaching especially for people from electrical and electronic background. Today I gave him the nick name - Master Yoda. I look forward to his upcoming lab lessons.

2 lectured had past. Part time studies really occupied all the free time I had after work. Life is changing. An object in motion will be in constant velocity and object at rest will be at rest when there is no resultant force. When there is efforts, there be no outcome (positive or negative) and free time will just be idle time. Lots of self studies got to be done on top of the lectures and lab.

Ben and Jerry so EX! What is Leadership?

A pint of Ben & Jerry Ice cream cost S$5 in USA. A pint of Ben & Jerry Ice cream cost S$10. Is this a lesson on inflation or evidence of price jacking? Its imported from USA, and to send it all the way from US to Singapore, refrigerated, does incur additional cost. But an price increase of 100%? No wonder it status becomes "Premium" or "Luxury" in Singapore. I gain weight eating B&J ice cream at less 2 times a week ( once I had it daily).

Now for a short lesson on leadership, be it war or business.

"Any Leader, Military or Civilian, has one priority: the quality of the people under his command. Without their skill & Spirit, the best plans & policies turn to dust."

USA Circuit City, short circuit, burn...and died

SO SAD!!! My favorite electronic hunting ground in USA had gone bankrupt. This show how bad the retail market are getting in USA. Brought couple of stuff from them in the past and generally got good experience with their customer service staff and product support. Let us all, current and former member of PP Det who raid the store every weekend, give a 1 min silence in memory of Circuit City...

34,0000 associates will be losing their job as a results of. We can only pray they find a new job under Obama's economic recovery plans.

Circuit City To Shut Down

In the meantime, a liquidation sales is going on starting 17th Jan 2009 (US date). This will ironically be the best sale events of Circuit City history and it will be the last.

Old Japanese Drama MTV

I seldom watch Japanese Drama, the craze of young girls and boys during my secondary school and Poly times when Korean Drama haven't even had a foothold on our TV. However I got this compilation album that features popular 90s Japanese TV Drama Songs that I like to listen.because It reminds me of the younger innocent years where most of us got outrageous dreams and believed that things in life is as dramatic as TV series. Recently I converted all the songs into MP3 for my 80GB IPod. While sorting out my timetable for my first semester in UniSim, I took a short break and decided to check out some of this Japanese Drama's Opening on Youtube...

Tokyo Love Story

Great Teacher Onizuka G.T.O

GOD Please Give Me More Time

Under The Same Roof I

魔女的條件

Misson Accomplished thanks to "Gui Ren"

It was 3 days of planned mission that did not go according to plan. A mission faces accidental footage erasure, heavy cargo movement, poor weather, fever, diarrhea, acute hunger, sudden lost of buggy support and equipment malfunction. As most boss always like to quote "I don't need the process, just the results". Today I conclude its mission accomplished despite all the hiccups and the results seems a bit hasty due to the short time frame I got to complete it. I own the success to the following selfless old and new found friends,

1- Call sign - "God Speak". But I called him "God Send" for he is riding beside the two Chief of our respective Organization when he offered to give the me a lift on the buggy. Without his support and generosity despite the huge rank difference between us, I would not have the chance to capture some important videos of the day.

2- Alan a.k.a Thai Speaking Photographer. He is actually Singaporean but he speak really good Thai! Thanks for his creative direction in ensuring the mission success.

3- Toh Choon. Bringing the laptop with out the power adapter...now I'm screwed. Sheer coincidence that he brought his laptop along (full accessories) and offered to hook it up to the big screen.

4- Palm. She helped me personalized the welcome and thank you message of the video in Thai writings. I am sure our foreign counterparts are impressed with our effort.

5- Ah Khor. Unconditional and unquestion actions when I requested for his assistance with administrative issues of the day. The little little things that could had bog me down.

6- Encik Hui PLAB. His generousity to loan us his flights video camera else I would had contracted neck cramp and eye strains from just solely using the view finder.

7- Timothy. For thanking our efforts and showing us the importance of this mission to maintain Peace and Harmony of the 2 nation.

8- Encik Ong. High resolution RTAF logo.

9- Our Foreign Counterparts. Thanks for the gift of a USB drive cleverly disguise as a pen!

Selling Solar Charger

Save the Earth! Use Solar power whenever and wherever...

Solar Charger at S$35

Hobby and Past time - Modeling.

Not exactly the cat walk in the spot light kinda modeling. Its the art and craft kind involving cutting, sanding, cleaning, priming, spray painting and visual checking of plastic model kit. From the popular Japanese robot Gundam to racing bikes and sports car and finally military vehicles and helicopters, the theme to choose from for any one embarking modeling is numerous and within each categories are tons of makes and model to choose from.

I prefer working on robots not because I am all crazy over Japanes Anime robots but they require the most attention and effort due to the sheer number of parts involved. Secondly, I am an man full of fantasy and imagination, I like to hands on and work on that does not exist in our world (at the moment I guess). To make something that does not exist and to make it appear as though it does is called realism.

I like to thanks my close Empire Colleague and great travel partner Ah Chiang for giving me his modeling supplies that could easily cost me 100++ dollars if I had brought it from the store. At less 10 can of Tamiya spray paints, tweezers, primer, gloss coat, Tamiya bottled paint, high quality paint brush ... etc etc. Those spray paint cost 8 bucks and I recently run dry of white paint after just one model kit. Good think the gift of good will contain a can of Racing White and the results are way way better than using Matt White.


My current project is the refurbishment of a Gundam RX-78 model I crappily built years ago. Right now I am dismantling it, sanding off the unsightly plastic riser, getting rid of seam lines using plastic putty and changing the silvery coat of colors into white, the orginal color. Gonna be using lots of white paint and primer in this case. Currently I had only complete the head and I know the quality could be better. Forgive me for I am still an apprentice in modeling and especially spray painting. After this Gundam refurbishment project, I gonna work on a Honda Repsol themed Racing Motorbike and give the finish product to my generous friend as promised. Hopefully the my skill and finishing quality would be much much better by than.

Hobby is something to keep a person positively occupied during the free time. Rather than staring into thin air or blank space, using the hands and minds keep one active and slow down the death of brain cells that make adult much more stupid than 8th graders. After 19th Jan, I guess I will have less time for the Hobby I just pick up recently for school had started and the books are mighty thick and many many!


Frankly, I am a bit worried... this journey will be enriching, challenging but painful.

Everything Happen For A Reason - The King and His Aide

Once upon a time, there was a English King and there was his Aide (PA in present career term). The King love to go hunting and his Aide, well...lets call him Riccardo that, will always be by the King side helping him spot the prey and prepare his arrows and quiver.

So Riccardo had been with the King for a decade and the King always consider him an irreplaceable adviser. Of course, with decade of hunting, the King always come back the to castle with at less a big catch in hand each hunting trip. One day the King ask Riccardo "Why am I always victorious every hunting trip?" Riccardo replied promptly "My King, everything happen for a reason." The King goes "I see... the reason is obvious isn't it? I am gifted in hunting".

One fine day, yet another of those regular hunting trip. Rabbits, Deers, Ostrich, Rhino, Ox, Elephant, Yeti, Troll, Wolf...whatever the nature could offer, the King had hunted. However while stalking in the forest, the King and Riccardo were attacked by a huge African lion! Since when did a African Lion appear in a English forest, no one could figure out but it took a big bite off the King pinky finger before it was finally killed by his soldiers, always lurking in the background to protect the King!

Bleeding and in pain, Riccardo brought the King back to the castle for treatment. Nothing life threatening though, its just a pinky finger. The King however was furious! "Why did we not see the African Lion coming and why was this hunting trip a failure!!!". Riccardo calmly replied "Everything happen for a reason my King". This statement was like fuel to the fire and the King had his final straws " For years and years, everything good or bad that happen to your King, your kept on saying the same thing over and over again!!! You irritate me! Guards! Execute him!" The guard grab Riccardo and drag him out of the throne room while the King made a sarcastic remark "Everything Happen For A Reason for you too!!!".

Well the King still got some attachment to his favorite subject, thus he decided set the execution to next month. The King continue with his hunting trip 2 days later without Riccardo and was ambush and captured by African Tribal People. How did the African Tribal People end up in the English Forest is yet another mystery of the story. African Tribal People tied the captured king on a elaborated Altar and with their steely knife in hands, they are ready to offer his as human sacrifice to their Tribal God. Just before the knife meet the throat, the Tribal Chief suddenly shouted "STOP!!!! This guy is missing one pinky finger!!! He is not complete and not worthy of a pure sacrifice to our God. Release him!"

And so the King was set free to the English Forest and was rescued by a search party send by the Kingdom. The moment the King is safe and sound back in his throne room, he ordered his former Aide to be released from prison. The King told Riccardo that he was right that Everything Happen For A Reason... losing the pinky finger to the African Lion means he did not end up as sacrificial offerings to some African Tribal God. With that, Riccardo was pardon from death execution and was reinstate as the King Aide/Advisor.

The King ask Riccardo what he got to say about this whole episode. Riccardo replied "My King, you are absolutely right that Everything Happen For A Reason. If you had not get irritated and had not sentence me to death row, I would have join you for your last hunting trip. You and I will be captured and they will had me sacrificed instead. Close call...phew...".

Something Stupid.

Forgot to set the hand brake, nearly roll into another car.
Forgot to take the pail after car washing, nearly lost a pail.
Forgot to wind up window after parking, nearly lost my IPOD.

Sometime I wonder how forgetful and stupid I can get before I become the victim of Darwin's Theory Of Evolution. I often get myself into predicament and had to do lots of salvage operation in the end to get the right thing that went wrong right again. Sometime I get myself into schedule clashes.

I think I lack planning and foresight. Or simply lack of focus. Seems to be bother by something in my mind today, something or someone just running me tired in my mind. Got to shake the thoughts off, got to shake the thoughts off...this is getting to be an obsession.

How to cure a hangover

Seems like lots of hassle for preparation. If you are someone who likes to head out regularly for a drinking session, having all the "hang over first aid kit" at home will definitely come in handy. Click on the link to view the video guide. Pretty good actor.

HOW TO CURE A HANG OVER

Riccardo Talk Cock, Sing Song and Play Mahjong blog 2008 in Summary.

Could had started writing this blog earlier, right at the stroke of mid-night in the year 2009. However the New Year Eve was spend with my good brothers and sisters, an evening of pot luck makan, Nintendo Wii gaming, Guitar Hero and ended up spending the New Year whee hours playing Mahjong till 4am. It was jam pack activity from Eve till the evening of 2nd Jan 2009, right after work.

Slept at 5am after cleaning the apartment and had to wake up at 10.30am for I had a New Year Day consultation appointment with a Numerologist, "Mr Kumar". The year 2009 had been forecast to be a tough and challenging year for me. Of course it is! I am embarking on my studies starting 19th January and juggling work and studies can only spell hardship. There will be unavoidable betrayal in January, found love in May, a family issue after June, pressure from bosses at work, roller coaster love life throughout the year. Woah... tough shit... However I am still kinda skeptical with all this forecast and the guidance he gave me like chanting the mantra "Ara Kara" 108 times daily, changing my signature to "Riccardochen" instead of "Tanjianwei" and writing it 41 times for 9 months and going to the Indian Temple at Waterloo Street every Saturday to worship "Hanuman", the Monkey God. I am still gonna strictly follow the guidance, an arcane experiment to discover the effects of this efforts and also to observe the reality of the forecasting.

Ended the New Year Day having Dinner with "Ah Girl" at Bedok and we went Prawn Fishing. Caught 10~12 Tiger Prawns over 4 hours. Seeing her excitement and enthusiasm makes me forget about feeling tired from all the activity of the New Year. Gave all to her mum since I don't cook at home.

Ok, its time again to look back at 2008 and dig out the significant events blogged within the 218 blog entry I made for year 2008...


HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008
"First blog of 2008. Resolution making for year 2008 and unfulfilled goals of 2007...all in a nut shell."

Head Concussion and 1 Hour Chapter Lost In Life.
"First time I really lost my memory".

Ski Apache Photoblog
"Went Snow Skiing for the first time."

Did I or Did I Not Chiong The Red Light?
"Always obey the stop line in the United States"

1 Good News And 1 Bad News
"1 kanna chain and 1 kanna burn"

We Need A Shovel!!!
"Why audit is all about cover-up?"

Operation "Precious Human Cargo"
"The longest VIP driving experience I ever had, as a driver"

My thoughts of the Empire
"A final day write up of my experience in PP Det"

Japan Tour Photo Blog
"First trip to Tokyo, Japan"

Completed 2nd 21km run.
"First 21km "illegal" run after coming back from USA"

I try so hard and got so far
"Completed the 42km Marathon".

The highlight of the year should go to my completion of the 42km Singapore Marathon. I met the goal I set for year 2008. Since than, I had stopped running and the shoes are getting dusty. Switch to swimming and eating in an effort to put on more weight. Looking at the summary, it seems most of the "happening" things happen overseas. Haiz...more crazy before coming back, had become "tame" now.

Goals for the year 2009 will be getting through semester 1 and semester 2 of my degree course without failing the subjects (not aiming for distinction). Next will be aiming to pass at less 4 more CAAS SAR66 certification papers in April and October (I had passed 6 subjects so far). I like to get a basic diving license through PADI during the study break in June. In November 2009, I am planning for a 1 week backpacking trip to Vietnam, Thailand or Taiwan. By the end of the year, I aim for a Class 2 motorbike license.

On the resolution side... its time to curb some old habits like smoking 2 sticks a month. I love Malboro Menthol Light but I know smoking is bad for health and wallet. Time to stop. And its time to stop blogging any more things about work... I think its very sad to talk about work in my blog, make my life misery all revolving around work. Its time to start working on freelance journalism that will be crucial in to my goal in life.

Thats all for Goals and Resolution for the New Year 2009. Just wanna keep it short and achievable.