4a.m.

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Dear TomHa,
Guess what? It is 4 a.m. now and I am here sitting in front of the computer, hairs wet from the shower as I just did a 5km run. Freaking eerie to run at this time of the day/night/morning/whatever, especially with the stray dogs staring at those sumptuous thighs of mine...

Oh ya, before I forget, my exams were over yesterday! Woohoo!

Top Gear

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Dear TomHa,
You should really catch this on BBC.. super funny motoring show with all that make you laugh until you drop Brit Humor... Lol...

Saw this on my cousin's facebook...
LIBRA - The Lame One

Nice to everyone they meet. Their Love is one of a kind. Silly, fun and sweet. Have own unique appeal. Most caring person you will ever meet! However, not the kind of person you want to mess with... you might end up crying... Libras can cause as much havoc as they can prevent. faithful friends to the end. Can hold a grudge for years. Libras are someone you want on your side. Usually great at sports and are extreme sports fanatics. Kinda dumb at times.

For once this things are accurate... lol

Aiyo.. very sian...

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Dear TomHa,
My last paper is next wednesday and my last paper before that last paper is last wednesday. So sian... Have to stay at home for the next few days. But I gave myself a complete rest this past few days. Went Kino on Thursday to give myself a break and catch up on my comic reading, and today, I went to climb asia to climb around with Joe and the usual Pacwest gang. Pretty fun, except that I kept failing to clear that particular 6B+... Photos to follow on flickr.. I shoot film... thus the lag...

Well, that's it... starting my thermal environmental engineering revision tml! Wish me luck!
Cheers!

叹

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汤母哈，

出师未捷身先死，长使英雄泪满襟
杜甫，〈蜀相〉

Quarantine

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Dear TomHa,
Ar... I hate to be stuck at home and not being able to go anywhere. Ultimate sian-ness. The closest thing that I can do to climbing is to hang myself on the door hinge with fingers, the pull up style, not the tie rope and hang on the neck style current record, 12 seconds, assuming my brother timed accurately...and also to practise my knots. I love my double decker bed, which I sleep below and my brother sleep on top. Lots of places to tie ropes and practise anchors! Woohoo! Hope I can still remember them when I go China.

Amazingly, I get near full mark results for my quizzes for my Robot kinematics and dynamics module. Super amazing as I have no idea what the hell I am writing on the papers. It is something like knowing the differential of x^2 is 2x without knowing what the hell it is for...if you get what I mean... Wow... how nice....

飞

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Dear TomHa,
Don't you just love Faye? Sigh... too bad she's with the A-xin guy....

No Reason

---

Dear Tomha,
Why am I still up?
Cos' I want to fool myself that I am preparing for my exams dilligently, and the time when u sleep always appears to be a really good indicator of diligence.

Why am i still not studying?
Cos' i would like to believe that I cannot work without coffee and coincidentally, there are none of that now in the house.

Why am I in the toilet typing this entry?
Cos' lazy people have lots of shit and urine... (Chinese Quote)

Cheers to the coming holidays!

Wildlife

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Dear Tomha,
Went to the wildlife stampede, which is like some sort of a parade of little children dressed up animals, in the Botanical Gardens last week. As it had been drizzling a little before that, the atmosphere was a little humid although it did not drench any of the participants' will to carry on the parade and the show after that. A colorful event, lots of cute little children, lots of creative costumes. Check out my flickr for more photos. However, in the end, the most important thing was still the rather sombre Jane Goodall speech to appeal for more conservation awareness, in which, she told a very touching story.

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There was this chimp, a rather angry one, which, for his character, was sent to a faraway place to live in isolation among the woods and 2 females. There was this person, who was appointed with the rather regretful task of sending the chimps food. And so, he went about his job by leaving the food at some corner in the woods, where the chimpss would collect by themselves at the end of the day. However, one day, as he went about his usual routine, the angry chimp was at the exact spot. For some reason, the caretaker reached out his hand with a banana and the chimp accepted it gladly. Emboldened, he stayed there longer than what he needed, observing the angry chimp.

Days went by, and everyday, the caretaker would feed the angry chimp by hand, staying there to observing him. As if fate would have it, one day, the chimp wasn't there but a young chimp came by. A sudden realisation that the chimps had produced an offspring came to him, and he reached out to feed the chimp excitedly, but he slipped and fell, startling the little chimp. The 2 females, thought that it was an act of provocation, attacked the caretaker. Being mightily stronger, the caretaker thought he was dead for sure. Then, he heard the roar of the male. Thinking that the male is out to get him, he prepared himself for the worst. However, a turn of events that he did not foresee happened. The male actually chased the two females away into the woods, saving the caretaker.

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If even chimps know what's gratitude, what about we homo sapiens???

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

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Dear TomHa,
Yep, that's what I am studying right now, for my thermal environmental engineering module. Module title sounds pretty cool isn't it? But there were like only 3 lessons that really touched on the environmental part of thermal engineering. The rest are just all pure, boring air-con stuff. I guess I am good enough to repair any air con in the world. Provided I have the right tools that is.

I am so bored. I should have taken lesser modules in the past. I am at an absolutely stressless state now that I only have 2 modules to study for. So stressless am I that I doubt I will do well. Thing is, although I always whine about work and stuff, they were a source of motivation, a warning that I do not have time to be tardy and fool around and watch stupid things like the finals of Star Search and extended crunchyroll viewing. These are so wrong. Things that I would not do should I be still taking my normal regimen of 6 modules. Oh wellzzz...

Ar... the lack of stress is killing me...

High School Musical

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Dear TomHa,
Wondering what all the fuss is about, I watched the show this morning on Kids Central. Seriously, it is all Disney's formula working in this show. Romance, Shakespearean style, cue Troy showing up at Gabriella's balcony, music with loud bass, nicely choreographed mass dance, fulfilling family expectations, and the world is your oyster kind of teen is power kinda thing.

No wonder kids like it so much.

Artists

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Dear TomHa,
Liverpool are drawing so much, they might as well go become artists, painters or cartoonists... really cannot make it. They knew Arsenal drew with Man U and Chelsea won. Wtf, and they still not motivated to win ar?

I wonder why am I so worked up over something that does not affect my life in any significant way...

Bowl

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Dear TomHa,
Recently, as I had really no interest in whatever module that I had bidded so hard during bidding for, I began to doodle during lectures and started drawing.... Wait... me? drawing? I must be kidding myself. But I did drew something. But as someone great, like the Ang-to the Augustus used to say,

---

people with little talent sees greatness in small accomplishments

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Here is a self-portrait of myself:

Triangle faced with bowl-cut hairstyle with a slit by the side. So RV-me.

Locked out

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Dear TomHa,
I don't usually get locked out of my house. Not that I always remember my keys, but it is just that I could always count on my family being at home to bail me out of the sticky situation. However, today, I forgot my keys and my family went out. Not wanting to spoil their dinner as what a lovely and kind boy like me would do, I decided not to call them and ask for help, as my mum, being the 24hour mum, would certainly freak out and rush the whole family's dinner. Hence, I just sat outisde the door, along the steps, and as I had brought my laptop out, started doing my work while turning on the stereo function of my phone, playing the latest mp3s. It was a good feeling, helped by the fact that there was a cool breeze and a really quiet night. I became super productive and finished my lap report which I would normally have took like 2 hours to complete. Did it in 1hour this time. Hmmm, very surreal feeling. Hard to explain, but it was nice.

Cheers!
Exams coming! and this blog is going to come alive again!

簡単なこと

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Dear TomHa,
Sometimes, all it takes is just a simple idea, a simple expression that revertebrates among the masses to bring all the money you need to you. Check this out. This is a new brand of sporty /fashionable lifestyle company that I took notice walking around Novena Square after collecting my Real Run race pack. In any case, I am beginning to regret my decision to run 15km. Seems a tad too long. Guess I shall go and crash the 10k party. =P



Well, finally I went to collect my photos that I took with my Holga. They were interesting to say the least. All of them photos that I would never have expected to say the least. Lots of light leaks that I never seal enough with my duct tape, all the unexpected vignetting (which I am pretty used to with my Sigma lens though, though this one takes this to a higher level), all the unexpected surprises. Really, as the age old lomo rule states, bring it everywhere you go and don't think about what that you are shooting. However, 残念だった. I am still constantly calculating the cost I am going to spend developing the photos at the back of my mind all the time. Pretty much limits a lot of things. Lol.

Well, now that the All Blacks are out, I seriously wonder if I would be interested enough to watch the World Cup final. Habana, as good as he is, still looks like a super beefed up version of Lewis Hamilton in my eyes. Oh ya, I hope Raikkonen wins the drivers' championships although I kinda like mclaren's cars. But the super cool demeanour of Raikkonen still appeals to me.

Oh ya, pool won the derby. Bloody hell, kept me on the edge of my seat all the way to the final whistle.

もう２２歳に成った

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Dear Tomha,
Sorry for the neglect. There was simply not much impetus to blog and the lack of photo taking these few days/months also means nothing on my beloved flickr site. So let me update on myself a little bit to all my blog readers:

1. I am going to straighten my teeth.

2. I still hate going to the dentists
and I presume it is very visible when the dentists kept telling me to relax and not be so tensed up.

3. I have a Holga, thanks to my Section!
Although I would still say that I am not much into lomography, but, the sheer mechanical nature of that plastic casing just entices me to shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot. Already 3 rolls of 120mm, 4 rolls of 35mm. I wonder how much that would cost to process...

4. I can't go for Aikido grading this December.
Now I am going to be stuck in the lower grade class. Not a good feeling.

5. Going Sichuan for Ice climbing!
if everything goes well and no one fly my aeroplane.

大事なこと

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Dear TomHa,
Yet another core member of the Lonely Hearts Club has graduated, as he had moved on as he what he had liked. Congratulation, really. It is a club whereby disassociation brings you glory, happiness and gratification. I wonder when is my turn?

So, another mid-autumn, another year that is about to end. Time waits for no one. How true...

何の為に？

---

Dear TomHa,
Had you read the papers? There is this supposedly new shipping route in the Arctic region due to the effects of Global Warming. Some of these people are like so people and I really don't know what is those euphoria for. Sure, you'll be able to travel Northern regions faster by sea-craft, but so what? It is time to despair and not to be elated over the opportunity that was presented to us. That the mighty icebergs of the Arctic had bent down to our will is just so disatrous and sad. Where are the polar bears going to hunt? Now that there is more boats to scare away all the seals and anything they eat. Sobzz...

In other news, Australian navy is paying for their female sailors' breat implant operation for psychological reasons. I wonder why...

Bastard

---

Dear TomHa,
I feel so bastard.

The first thing i do when i receive those career talk or recruitment mail is to delete it. It is like so wrong...

おもしろい

---

Dear TomHa,
This is interesting.. in Egypt, they actually used a cobra as a security measure against thieves of such treasures! haha... Time to hire indian snake charmers to get those babies!
Photos from bbcnews.com

Crazy week...

---

Dear TomHa,
Isn't she a beauty? Coupled with incredible storm warning systems and unparalleled barometer and compass readings. It is a definite must have for any rich mountaineering enthusiast! Sadly for me, I might fit the enthusiast bit, but I am definitely not rich... sobs...

And so, another week came and gone like no one's business. In another twinkling of the eye, I guess it would be New Year's soon. Not that I am complaining anyway. My year 4 timetable had been pretty good. Managed to have quite a lot of free slots that I, sadly, spent walking around and doing nothing productive. I had reached some sort of bottleneck with my FYP, with my sensors reporting that there are something within its range when there was nothing. Spooky. So glad that hungry ghosts' festival is over this tuesday. And also, I have absolutely no idea what my professors are talking about in all their lectures. I seriously hoped enough information diffused into my puny brain as I fell asleep in all the lectures, no matter the time.

I should be reading up on robots, programming and more thermodynamics. But, instead, I am like spending most of the time of the day reading the newspaper. Imagine 2h spent in the canteen or engin mac reading the news of the day. How boring had I gotten... Hence, some of the latest happenings that had caught my interest:

Mr Dave Teo Ming went AWOL with a SAR21
Perhaps all the RPs had heard about what I am doing with my FYP and decided that they can take a break. Please don't... My sensors can only sense those good brothers.

Luciano Pavarotti died, aged 71
One of the most incredible voices that I had ever listened to, Mr Pavarotti had left the world, leaving us mortals depressed over the lost of such a larger than life personality. Check out his orbituary here

Nothing much else. The rest of the news are always the same, though more interesting than any modules that I am doing.

Oh and before I forget. Saw this somewhere. If you had beedn reading Archie since young, check this out! It is incredible that someone actually spends time and effort in bloggin about these fictional characters' life, away from the comics. And yah... I still think Betty most chio.

Eerie
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

悲しい

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没有拥有过，又如何失去呢？
でも，どうして今の気持はすごくわるい？

Somebody's smokin!
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Inclement weather

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Dear TomHa,
No... this blog is not turning into a photo blog. The only reason why I am updating from flickr is because it takes such a long time to log in into blogger. So troublesome. Hence the photos in each and every post recently. Guess it will remain this way until I find a solution. Some photos are chosen to fit in with the theme of the post, others are just ermm... used because I had to use flickr to post...

Well... the first 2 weeks of school had ended, at least for me and next week is tutorial starting week. I have no tutorials or lab... so it is the same. Anyhow, many meetings, many old faces, and also, many of the same of grumbles about school and engine. Robotics is so hard. Thermodynamics saps so much brain juice. FYP is a i-dono-how-to-do-kind-of-thing. So, hmmm... oh ya... i got reprimanded for scolding in lecture for sleeping on the first day. How auspicious. The lousy thing about technical electives is that the class is so freaking small that lectures are not much different from tutorials. I miss those year 1 year 2 days of mass lecture. Wohhooo! Sleep until no one's business. This sem results confirm chui3 liao la like that... cannot sleep in class how to have energy to go home and mug! lol....

And then Xinru had her birthday celebration beside a pool, met up with fellow lonely hearts' club members to wallow in our self-pity, only to find out that one of our prominent members had disowned us... which is not much of a big problem since we don't see him around in the usual meetings... as in he's there, but we cannot see him... hope it is clear enough.

Cheers to a doomed semester!

Sitting out
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Sitting Out

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Dear TomHa,
I like this photo, quite a lot... Very good memories indeed of the good times spent in New Zealand. Dannies and Hock are the 2 leads in this photo, against a backdrop of whiteout, very nostalgic feeling indeed. I miss those days.

Anyway, I watched Bourne Ultimatum today and must say that it deserved all the accolades that it got, including the rare 5 star by ST's film correspondent Ong Sor Fern. I always followed her reviews, disagreeing with few of them and must say that her 5 stars went the right way this time. Good as Return of the King was, i think it was at most 4 and half stars. Fellowship of the Ring is still the best.. Perhaps as it captivated my heart on the first try. Anyhow, Bourne is the ultimate aikido master as he seemed to like kotae gaeshi and shihou nage very much, albeit doing it a little bit more violently. Very captivating movie and personally, I do not think you need to know the first 2 films to understand this one fully.

Hung out with the canoeing gang yesterday. Very nostalgic feeling, although we agreed that we had grown up as the same lameness does not seem to work as well anymore.

Cheers to maturity! or the lack thereof

Sobzz...
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Dear TomHa,
Ar... School starts tomorrow and I certainly do not want it to. This holidays sure felt long, as I felt to have done so many things. Helped Aileen and earn some extra bucks on those Malaysia trips, conquering Kinabalu for another time, went for an extraordinary trip in Japan, experiencing the wrath of nature hitting us in the face for the first time and, not to mention, countless educational commitments. But sad thing though is that I remained as single as a hermit crab and I failed to meet some of my old buddies. Was 3 months too short to arrange a meet-up? Lol.

And so, I am in my final year, the magical year number 4 which started on a bad note as I failed to get the FYP that I wanted. Believe it or not, I submitted 8 choices and I got none of them. Thanks to Weisheng's help, or I would not have a single FYP to my name, I got a project entitled automatic beacon system which is like designing an automatic sentry system which other than to warn of the intruders, it must also pin poin its location and trace that guy's movements in the area, before help arrives. Programming, robotics, OMG... big challenges ahead! Hence, I took a module that all my engin friends (only 2 actually) gasped and asked if I was ok. Robot kinematics, dynamics and control.. which is so not Kheng Wee. Well.. I took Fluids last sem, and got an A, which is also so not me again. Hope that the divine beings would help a bit this time!!

I'm pretty free this coming semester. Given that I only have 2 modules to my name, excluding FYP of course, hence, ring me up for lunch whenever u guys are free alright? although I still think that I would stick to my packed sandwich lunch...so conenient...

Till then!

Shibuya invaded
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Dear TomHa,

And so, I caught up with the rest of the world and finished Rowling's latest Potter episode. I still like Goblet the best, as it has the best mix of fun and darkness, I think. This one, however, carries with it a certain emotional attachment for readers who had been following the series for a while. I followed the series only in secondary 4, when the stress of the prelims, mounted due to my mediocre mid-year results proved too much to bear and I had to let it out somewhere. I found the imaginative world Rowling created a peaceful solace from the enormity of the papers that loomed and now, so it ends. Hence, I felt kinda sad but nonetheless happy that the awesome trio emerged victorious against the might of the Dark Lord and lived happily ever after.

Rainy Shibuya

Rainy Shibuya
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Dear Readers,

I am simply too lazy to post... Will share with you all my Japan Escapade cum Adventure when we meet up. To write is too irritating, given now that my Japanese teacher is demanding a write-up on the trip and souvenirs that I did not buy for her. Too many things to do, too little time, too little amounts of energy to use. Well, I am still pretty on about Flickr! So, do bookmark that site instead!

Cheers!

時をかける少女

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トムハ君

映画館でアニメをみる久しぶり。でもこの映画はとてもおもしろくて、ちょっと悲しいと思う、そして、あの少女はすごく可愛いね！みんな、もしお金と時間がある、絶対にこの映画が見えなければなりません！
Well, it's been a long time since I watched an anime in cinemas. A very interesting but a little sad show. The anime girl is super cute la! If I have a girlfriend like that, then I can die with no regrets. But alas... she is animation. Everyone! Should you have the time and money, do go and catch this show!

Should I divulge a little about the story? Nah... just go google and you'll find better reviews than what I can type.
じゃ、来週、日本へいくよ！楽しみに！

Buddha bless me ar!
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Ever since I came back from Kinabalu, I had not been running well, which is strange as I had came back from altitude, and by rights, I should have more oxygen carrying red blood cells in the body and I should run faster? Heck, reality always opposes me and now, I am just glad that I meet my usual Bukit Batok regime timings. Guess I need some divine intervention!

Alright, so it's the holidays and I had been reading my papers more conscientiously and thoroughly. Some news that struck me, and left a rather deep impression in me.

1. Death of the upcoming, promising RJC triathlete.
He looks like a eat potato, but that is not the issue. I guess pain is always good, but the main problem is knowing the threshold which the body can take. It is like climbing. The summit is near but you cannot feel your extremities. Would you spend another hour exposing yourself in the wind just to meet the objective and risk losing all the fingers and toes and be labelled a freak when you come down? Not worth it. All sports pushes the athletes to their limits. But, just remember, everyone has that limit that he or she cannot cross. I recommend watching Claymore, a japanese anime that will show you just what is meant by the disastrous effect of crossing the limit.

2. Mount Avarice
So the Chinese government are going to build a highway all the way to the base camp of Everest on the Tibetan side of the mountain. Nice. How about some cable cars to the summit, using cables woven out of yak hair?

3. Maggie Q is really chio
That explains it pretty much.

4. Christopher Lee gets out of jail and Fann Wong is not to be seen.
姑姑，你还在南海神尼哪儿吗？

5. We are all going to die from global warming soon.

Dual Identity
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Materials used for this shot:
1 Petzl Tikka Headlamp
Several sheets of paper
1 BK Venom toy
And lots of books for the make-shift tripod as I cannot find it in my house... lol..

Here's my first studio shot! And I like it very much... as as always, my sense of art is always very freaky. But somehow, don't you all find that the shadow presented a very different kind of emotive feel from the toy itself? Somehow, even though the toy is grinning monstrously, the shadow seemed to be grimacing in misery. The sort of thing that most people who only watched Venom as Spiderman's arch enemy would never understand.

Oh yah.. Transformers coming up! So exciting!

A friend commented aptly.. where had Tomha gone to? Hmm.. he also needs some rest from all my incessant grumblings one mah... lol

GuanYing Ma
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Isn't this photo nice? I just love the tranquil feeling that you get when gazing at GuanYin Ma's face. It gives peace to people.. no wonder she is a deity. Too bad i am a very unpious person. Better be the atheist that returns to the ground as nutrients than the Buddhist who got to hell due to bad karma and un-piousness...

Don't you all just love the color slides give? And this one expired some more...

Why am I waiting?
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Dear Tomha,
Really, photography really teaches you the essence of how one must really grab hold of the opportunities that is presented to you. Look at this one. I seriously thought it would turn out zai, but in the end, the exposure is a mess. Wasted opportunity, wasted film, heartbreak over wasted money.

Holidays

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Dear TomHa,
Aiyo... I am having a serious case of sleeping disorder lately.. I really cannot sleep enough... 15hours a day, with the rest of the nine hours spent on tuition and other miscellanous things like watching TV, it is definitely little wonder that I am failing to update this blog lately.. Oh, of course, the lack of subject matter is another reason for this lack of effort.

Yesterday, having bought some rolls of slides, I decided that I should get off to shoot some photos, or all of those things would just turn mouldy in my self-made dry box... An acrylic container with lots of thirsty hippo inside, which would not look too shabby from afar. So, looking around for subject matter to shoot, I decided that I would cover the stretch of road that would connect Bukit Batok to Chua Chu Kang more efficiently and how people are using it as an extended track to jog and more enjoyably, as I can see in their faces, to cycle.. Well.. It is about 10km, and 10km of tar roads without any risk of a car running you down is more attractive than anything to any road cyclists I suppose. Damn.. Pity I have no bike.

Next, I tried climbing the slopes which everyone can see ver clearly on the train as they pass by Bukit Gombak MRT station. I wonder what is inside those dense foliage, whether there is any hidden secrets or mystical lookouts.. But, being the very boring Singapore that we are, all I see were trees and more trees and of course, more mosquitoes, which made me pretty confused.. Am I nearing a largely stagnant pool of water, cos that's where you'll run into mosquitoes in swarms, which I did.. and being the very adventurous man that I am, I ventured further and lo and behold! There is a pond inside those dense forests that I had never known about after living all my life in this area. Given that it was 7 in the morning, couple with the fact that I am facing east, took some pictures of it and hope it goes well... and I must say it is a great pity that it is fenced up and it was pretty wet yestermorning, or I could have.... LOL

Then walking along the ridgeline, I encounter the sign, State land, do not enter.. Being the very obedient Singaporean that I am, I did not enter and just walk along the borders, lamenting about the bulldozers that I see and the fact that I do not have the telephoto lens to zoom far enough. then, I encounter some very thin dogs, and I closed in on them to take some pictures of them. Before I can do anything, they were baring their jaws and chasing after me.. Damn.. I had never ran that fast down any slopes before, and on hindsight, it was pretty scary, as inherently, I do have some dog-phobia.. Very heng they stopped as I reach human civilisation, or rather, they were too hungry to have the stamina to chase down me. Phew...

Well, I hope the pictures turn out well... That's the thing about film as it is like a box of chocolates... you'll never know what you'll get..

Nen Nen!
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

What a cute boy... Pity he will be leaving my family soon, as his grandma is reitring, and his mother decides that it will be cheaper to let her mother babysit than to let my mother babysit... No matter... a new baby is here! But pity he is nowhere as cute as this one... Bye Bye!

Definition

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Beauty Salon

Where women curl up and dye...
The Newpaper

Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

Given that I would be very happy enough if any of my photos ever hit 10 views.. that this photo garnered more than 200 is really a pleasant surprise! Hooray!

Netball

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Dear TomHa,
Doing history papers is always fun... Never the brain draining, mind blowing stuffs that engineering problems bring. Perhaps the only drawback is that the fingers always feel like they are breaking after the paper, which to my chagrin, is still hurting at this point. Whatever, had exams for History and Sports today. It was a fun paper, although I am still hitting myself for not being able to write fast enough to include my specialty on China and Taiwan cross straits relationships through the lens of sports.

Something which I think the whole world had already known before I started revision yesterday. Netball as it is, is a form of sports with all the rules written to make sure that the girls that were playing in it conform to the victorian ideals expected of a woman. That the court was sectioned as such is because, during those days, women were expected to be weaker and thus, the sectioned court is to prevent them from dying of exhaustion. Also,that you cannot dribble from one end to the other like men's basketball and that you have to pass the ball within 3s or was it 3 steps is to prevent any of the ladies on court from becoming a star player, as Victorian Ideals of a women dictates that the women must not make a spectacle of herself! Haha.. pretty interesting eh?

Ok now for Geography.. I hate MCQs...

CaoKheng on Women...

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Dear TomHa,
recently, I suddenly have a thought on the psychology of women which might be totally wrong or totally correct or not so wrong or correct....DUH??!! Whatever..

This is what I think.. Women are an insecure lot. They take interest in men who can give them security. Security from the security of the outside environment and also security for herself. Imagine one of the most sensitive William Hung surfaced on Earth... Would he be the most popular guy around? No! Cos he definitely cannot provide the woman with the security of by passer's criticisms and looks despite the assurance of inner security... Also, it also takes mammoth effort for him to be able to let women appreciate his inner strengths from the start! Afterall, it is perhaps more difficult to deal with those outside gazes than to endure through inner torment?

Thus, suave, loaded guys who might be bastards shall remain as the de facto popular man with girls...

Just a thought... i think not very sexist ba...

Fair weather

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Dear TomHa,
LOL.. I am rooting for the Chicago Bulls again! I is a super fair weather basketball club supporter who should be bashed up for my fleeting allegiances... Anyway, I am liking this team not just for the superfluous reason that they are actually beating Miami Heat (which I would have supported if not for the presence of Shaq... I hate Shaq... I hate bball players who bully others on size) but also for their plays! They are a team that can erase a double digit deficit with a minute to go according to an NBA scout as they are a team of talented pure shooters. Also, something I like best about them: they do not do post-ups. Which is pretty amazing! Ben Wallace, as he always does, is there for the defensive presence.

This team is way cool! Go Bulls!

自由が欲しい！

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トムハ君、
最近の気持が悪かっただよねええ。。。もし試験がなかったら、僕の世界は最高！
ハイ。。。いまから勉強して。。。
じゃね。。。

Noob

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Dear TomHa,
The other day I went for Aikido... instructor did not come as he went for a seminar in Indonesia... then another instructor came.. he a lot of pattern I could not sight read... very profound, and then I feel very noob... then he ask me out as uke... donno what he want to do and then he did goukyuu nage...have to forward roll.. then I just roll, but he kept shaking head... then I roll about 15 times, panting.. then he still not satisfied.. then roll me for like 10 more times.. the rest of people watch show... then he a bit satisfied, he asked Anna the Shodan out for the same kata... she roll no sound... kena *pwnage....

Life

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Dear TomHa,
Inspired by Wenyang, I guess I would make a list too, not of what I would like to do if everyday were my last, but my aims or rather, my dreams for the future of my life, however, dreams, being dreams can only be substantiated if I have a free rein on my life away from the tiring bonds of maral living, which I would say, to be impossible to break. No matter, dreams are always free and free dreams that become real can make you rich.. Hehe...

1. To climb at least one mountain in every mountain range in the world... no need the highest of each range, just one from each will do.
2. To really become a fireman, hopefully in the DART team to involve myself in rescue missions locally or regionally
3. To set up a regional Earthquake warning system that is good enough to at least pre-empt tsunamis in Singapore. Afterall, we are closer to the fault lines than we think and I think it is time somethings are done to help those pitiful Indonesians.
4. To master Japanese and court some Japanese kawaii girl
5. To master Japanese to court Japanese chio bu.
6. To take better photos as I think I am not passionate enough to learn.
7. To get San-dan in Aikido
8. Complete an Ironman
9. Forgive and seek forgiveness (which is pretty impossible as I very petty one..)
10. Be a better man... as I am listening to it at the moment..

Well that pretty much sums it all!

Ar! Cannot Concentrate!!

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Please come soon... 3rd of May, 7pm...

Free Willy

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Dear TomHa,
Just watched this program on national geographic about Costeau's ocean adventures, a documentary about the current state of marine life. Apparently, there had been a new work on a new form of pollution: acoustic pollution. As we all know, whales navigate and communicate via sonar waves, thus implying that they have ultra sensitive sense of hearing. Thus, as we human began building roads and railways along the coasts and also mega ships and ultrasonic aircrafts with their sonic booms, we are actually affecting these poor whales. A fodder for thought isn't it?

Hence, as we watch TV at night, or even, listen to the mp3s at night at full blast, are we actually affecting the bats that are flying around us, helping us catch all those undesirable pests? As we trek through the wild, in a self-imposed journey of self-discovery, deluding ourselves that we are only leaving behind footprints and taking away nothing else, are we actually doing harm to the natural environment just by being there? Afterall, we are the invaders, aliens to these communities which would have been so well left undisturbed.

Did you know? One of the reasons why limestone caves are actually collapsing, is due to the increased in human visits which led to more carbon dioxide being released into the air in the limestone caves, hastening the corrosion of these beautiful caves...

Hence, is there even such a thing as eco-tourism in the first place?

Anyway, just a side note, the earthquakes and volcanoes news sidebar at the side is just there to help me gain more knowledge on current developments as I am taking a physical geography module. Although I am freaky, I am still not that freaky... And oh ya.. do Google Earth Sudan... Whatever little thing that we might be doing, at least it is better than nothing...

Sedikit sedikit, lama lama jadi bukit!

遅くなってごめんね

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Dear TomHa,
The news feature that the Google-Blogger team had come out with is pretty cool... Now all the news that I really care for can be found directly from my blog! Cool! no need to go google news already.

Anyway, this is a general gut feeling, even more so manifested when I read a news article that sort of confirmed my feelings. As technological advancements carry on advancing, especially in the realm of communication, don't you find that people are beginning to lose the concept of time? Punctuality is becoming more and more so a thing that only the military or rather uniformed groups adhere to conscientiously and strictly. Now, when you are late, all you need is to type in a message or give the person a call to inform the poor punctual person that you are going to be late and that he actually has the authority to walk around on his own first when the very purpose of that outing was to meet up and perhaps to shop together! Well, this is just on eof the many examples and I am back to studying...

また今度ね！

悪い

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Dear TomHa,
Very frustrated, in a state of utmost turmoil... cannot concentrate in anything I do... sigh.. and it has nothing to do with school or girls or anything like that...

I think I am not going to have any kids in the future, whether or not I get married in the future. I am so not going to be a good father. If cannot be a good father, what's the point? In fact, other than ensuring that the human population do not go extinct and to help blacken the Greying Singaporean population, I find no point in raising kids. It is pretty much of a formality than something that human beings want. That's what I feel. I like kids, but definitely, the process of raising them up into fine fellas and ladies is too tough for me.

To quote Lynette of Desperate Housewives,
They can do whatever they want, as long as it is also what I want....
Yep.. That's me...

Loads of Bull..

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Dear TomHa,
I don't know what prompted this post, but I just felt that I had to let it out anyway.

Follow your dreams, blah blah blah.. Bullshit... All of these adages are only applicable to people who are fine on their own and do not have to worry about things at home. Afterall, if you do not have money, you just have to work for it. However, if you have something to worry about, to fend for, the money that you make does not go into your own pocket. That's the difference.

So shut up about all those adages that are only nice when they are applicable...

Hardwork

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Dear Tomha,
After attending several philosophy lessons with junjie, I guess I am getting pretty philosophical about things in life. What is philosophy? I guess it is just a subject that put words into the logic of human interaction, thoughts and actions, perhaps not only humans, but the whole world! Hence, it is a pretty interesting subject, something that I would read in further, but definitely would not take it as it is too hard a subject to be examinable for my little brains to take.

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In my opinion, there are only two kinds of hardwork. The first kind of hardwork brings about even more hard work in the future. For example, a boss works hard to build up his empire, and after his empire is built, he has to manage it such that this little piece of achievement remains at the forefront of things. This kind of hardwork normally exemplifies the ambitious and workaholic perfectionists...

The second kind is hardwork with a comfortable end in mind. For example, the only reason someone is working so hard now is to ensure that he would be able to retire early and enjoy life. This kind of hardwork exemplifies the laidback dude who have no competitive instinct and just want to lead a carefree life.

Which kind are you?

もうつもっている

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トムハ君、
いくら高くても、日本へ行く。

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Anyway, finally, the week is ending and Monday is coming. After Monday, when all of my major submissions are in, I can finally take a breather. Just noticed that I probably make the most interesting cover page. Not that it is really nice, but it is just different. No NUS logo as i think that it is ugly, no Times New Roman, and definitely, my things in the cover page are not aligned to the centre. How much effort do I put in? I guess not much, afterall, I am not trained to design.. I am supposed to write! Haha.. Take a look at the 2 below... pretty much gives you a good idea of which module I like more.. Lol..

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先生：コウさん、彼女がいるか。
私：ううん、いらない。
先生：残念だよね。
私（思っている）：悲しい！
じゃ、また今度ね！

眠りが欲しいだいよ

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トムハ君、
最近悪いだな。毎日急がしくて悲しい。。。
Been pretty busy recently, and thus, blogs are going to come in more frequently! Woohoo! Afterall, my blog is perhaps the only place where I can vent my frustrations easily! Kudos to the team that started this idea of open frustration ventilation.

One of my projects is a killer... I had done so much work only to be thought to be a slacker. Although I do not pretty much care about the results that follow, as I had upheld the policy of being the absolute follower with no inkling of initiative, being branded as a slacker is certainly not my cup of tea. I hate it. Nobody knows how hard it is to learn something that was never taught in any part of your educational life and produce results with those stupid skills in a period of like less than a month. Yes, I admit, some of the work is rough, but that I had spent like 3 whole nights and days, if we were to discount the fact that I had to go for lessons and the occassional runs, for something like that, I think I deserved some credit. Wait, perhaps it is because they did not know about the nights and days that I had sacrificed, so maybe I should forgive them? Hell no, sometimes, a little speck of consideration and shutting up at the appropriate time will suffice. Not all people crave praises. I just want my PEACE! Is that too much to ask for? Bloody hell, should have gone for exchange when I had the bloody chance. No need to do these kind of things if that was the case. Ar... whatever, one more year and a few months more and I will be off.

Phew... That felt good.

Another frustration that I am feeling is that apparently, I might be going nowhere this holidays as no one wants to accompany me... Sobz... 寂しね。。。Anyhow, just crossing my fingers that at the very least, I have enough bravery to step out of my comfort zone and go on a solo trip! Woohoo!
Cheers!

财神到！！

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トムハ君：
新年おめでとうごうざいます！
Ar... the very wonderful and much awaited CNY is here finally! A long wait due to the bloody 闰月 last year... This year of the pig was good. あいからず、マレエシアへ帰ります。As always, went back to Malaysia to visit relatives. Lots of good companionship and of course, good food and good relaxation on my part, swinging on my hammock, enjoying the cool Kampung breeze.. The urban uncles had a lion dance at their house which I took some photos... Check them out..

Ar.. New year, new resolutions, new plans, old objectives... Somehow, even though some people say that I am mad to be thinking about this now, but as graduation draws ever closer, I am seriously starting to get more and more disillusioned. Had I made the right decision to sign? Had I fulfilled what I wanted out of my schooling life. Questions that I cannot answer, questions that I want to be answered...

Anyway, let me not wallow in self pity in this festive season!
祝福各界财源广进，岁岁平安，有情人忠臣眷属，白头偕老，永结同心。发呀！！

I shouldn't be alive

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トムハ君、
Just finished watching the harrowing Denali climb of a British expedition. The show was really well made with attention paid to a lot of fine details, like roping up, ice climbing, knots, and also, a lot of good knowledge on hypothermia and the link between sun burn and frost bite. Bring your sunblocks dudes, for people travelling to cold countries.
寒い。。。

いつか?

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トムハくん,
こんねんのバレンタインはさぴしね...
I am in those kind of depressed sunset mood today. I hate Februaries.... Please pass by quickly...

トムハ くん,
大变だっだ
あああ!!!每日大变ですね！エンジニーアの課はぜんぜんわからない。
Dear all, if there is anyone reading this at all... please note that construction to make this a featureless blog is underway. Or rather, a featureless, and also blog-less blog is coming your way... I am simply too lazy to do anything to this thing that has accompanied me for like 3/4 years already... Ar... time for a change.
じゃな！

Devastating

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Dear TomHa,
Watching Federer play, you'll seriously wonder the differences in the manner he was brought up in, or was it the food that he ate, or was it the environment that he lived in, the delectable Swiss Alps? Note, before you question my england, delectable was used on purpose.. I know what it means... Well, the world tennis no. 1 just thrashed Roddick jialat jialat 6-4 6-0 6-2... Talk about devastating an opponent's career!

時計

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Dear TomHa,
This is pretty interesting... Rural residents have their body clocks closely attuned to the true time, based on the sun's position, while urbanites' internal clocks are set more by social cues, based on studies of people across a single time zone.
Got this from Scientific America's 60 seconds science podcast... Go subscribe! Uber cool...

FOOOO!!!

FOOOO!!!
Originally uploaded by Minas Morgul.

初めましょ

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Dear TomHa,
So sian... school started so quickly this time, it was as if there were no holidays at all! I had been so busy with I-donno-whats that I haven slept more than 8hours on any given day throughout this whole term of relaxation! KNN... Anyway, picture above shows a really cute beetle. It has a very nice green colour which I like very much. Too bad it died while trying to dig its way into my friend's locker. But also good. I am never a very good natural photographer, and I did not bring my SLR that day, so.. this is as good as it get...

So what is the point of this blog? I have absolutely no idea... Just that I think someone should wake up his idea soon...

2007!!!

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Dear TomHa,
しばらくですね long time no see
Paiseh.. it's the holidays and when I am free from educational commiments, there is apparently not much to grumble about. Ayway, the NEW YEAR is in! Woohoo! Very happy, because 2007 means that 2008 is just a year away, and why am I excited about 2008? That's because I am graduating in 2008! Woohoo! Well, I must say that 2006 had been rather eventful of sorts and really, puts my life into many perspective. So here I am, not going to put out some silly resolutions that I never keep to anyway, but to recount the year in the months that had passed...

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January
Still dizzy from the trip from New Zealand, I was bestowed with the beloved task of having to chose a peak for our expedition. My, my...I was whacked jialat jialat by the seniors for my presentation on my first task, as basically, all that I presented on my first try, Lobuje, Chulu East, was their heights and what they looked like. It was super unprofessional and of course I had to do it again and had to do it better. Swore that I had never sent that many emails in a week to strangers in foreign lands who might not even know what I was really talking about. Anyhow, all the peaks that I picked were either too hard or too expensive and in the end, we had to stick with Dannies' Mera. If we had known what that was going to happen, would we have worked that hard then? Haha, sometimes, you just laugh at the irony of your past...

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February
Media Launch, and merry happenings and dizzy workings and of course a valentine's to remember. I got on the newspaper for the correct reasons finally, as I am still trying very hard to forget the other time when we were on the NewPaper cover for hogging the chinese high - NY bridge queing up for the free tickets to the movie Go left Go right... haha.. albeit only a very small one at that. Anyhow, this time though, although the reason for appearing on News paper is correct, apparently, I looked like a masked assassin disguised with my sunglasses and beanie and helmet. Even my parents found it hard to recognise me as they identified Ben as me on their first try. Damn it. Haha... Climbed Kinabalu for the second time. Quite interesting as it had been a LONG time since I last climbed it, although this time, climbing it knowing that it is NOT SEA's tallest mountain. Seniors fucked us and I tried fucking back... Ar... sad things don't want to remember too much... We are amiable again right?? Right....

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March
Can't remember what happened in this month. Oh, perhaps a realisation that I am going to get my first C in University as my mid term for Feedback Control Systems came out. I got like 2/20 or something like that, while EVERYONE I know are getting like 95% or 100%?? True to that, I got a C. Sometimes, it is so easy to make bad premonitions come true, especially when it comes to the academic department.
April
War, War, War, and Liberation??? Nepal's internal conflict escalated, a cause for worry, a cause for everyone to start searching for an alternative location to continue MIR's 2006 expedition. Again, I picked peaks that we did not choose in the end. How that happened I cannot remember, then Singh came up, showed us that he had everything planned and within two hours, we have another peak to climb and prepared for. How much time did we spend on Mera?? Haha. Anyhow, I still find Singh very hard to trust.... Don't ask me why, and no... it is not what you think...
Exams and boy, the premonition was getting more real.

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May
Slept on a whole row of seats on an Airplane before? Ever felt like you are embarking on a war and might not come back before? Ever felt that perhaps Aljunied should win the seats there? A tumultous month, although one that I would cherish for my entire life nonetheless. Summited Hanuman Tibba on the 20th. So happy that I cried on the shoulders of Darren on the top. Almost died as I slipped in the utter darkness in the summit attempt. Lucky I had enough experiences in the falling department... I very skilful in falling one, although as the darkness falls on you, it is still a very harrowing experience. Stupid crampons that could not hold. こわいいです.
Experienced like 50degrees of temperature difference in a month. Wa kao... how come like that one... I was like freezing at one end and sweltering on the other end. Nonetheless, India is really unique and spectacular. No wonder Incredible India.

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June, July
Nothing happened. really. Nothing worth mentioning. It was a very boring holiday. Also, a lonely one at that.

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August
I am a year 3 student and my former male classmates are now 2 years my junior! WAHAHAHAHA! It was an interesting sight. Have to do design project which I swear that it is the most boring and un-interesting ever, working with 5 people that I had never seen before. But, they tried hard to get me fitted in, I tried hard too. But somehow, I just feel that I am out of place in there. My fault. Took HR with Jeffereson and Xinhong and Justin's elder brother. Coincidence of coincidence. Had to be honest, I still do not like to take modules with close friends. It just makes wayang in class so much tougher, as if it is not tough enough in the first place. So I wayang-ed lesser than what I would have done in the past in modules where class participation mattered.

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September
Thanks to Weisheng, I am affiliated to PacWest now. It was interesting to lead in the outdoors. Did well in my heat transfer mid term, and in 2 of the weeks, did not sleep to do projects for the HR and design. And then my leader just keep finding something wrong with my CADs as they were not done on Solidworks but photoshop, well, there is a reason why I only got a B- for my Engine visualisation. I have no freaking interest in drawing CAD. My fault. First time I designed such a nice cover page for aproject which if it was the usual me, would have just put on an NUS logo and my group members' names. It was in one of my previous entries. Readers can go have a look. The group members you have really determines how tiring a project can be.

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October
I am 21! Bought a lot of toys for myself. Haha... but of all days to have a meeting, Jefferson organised one on this day. Very sad. Nevertheless, the stingray dinner with canoeists was a rather hearty one. All in all a very quiet Birthday. Very suiting for me.

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November
Exams and presentations and a hectic schedule. Did not study much because of stupid presentations, not that I had done a lot, but because I procrastinated a lot. Lucky the company like what we did in the end. Had exams and for the first time and I suppose to be quite unprecedented in NUS history, the exam was delayed because tables were not printed completely. Haha. Damn it. Spoilt everything that I had planned for the last day of exam. 9am paper became a 10++am paper. Serious case of WTF!!

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December
Videographer for Ms Kuan's wedding. Weddings are happy things as you see 2 people in love finally tying the knot, promising each other accompaniment for good or worse for the rest of the life. Well.. nothing much else, and then, 2007 flew in.

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2007 is here and I certainly hope that it will fly past as quickly as how 2006 did.
じゃまたね!