The Human Instrumentality Project

Wednesday, October 31, 2007



Monday, October 29, 2007

Something just now left me puzzled. Really puzzled. Despite my supposed optimism and everything else, I still cannot come up with a reason why. Maybe.. there really was nothing interesting about it. Maybe.. a busy mind has no time for idle chatter. But it doesn't make sense.

I don't know, this isn't something I can tackle by myself.


Sunday, October 28, 2007



Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Some things just cannot be prepared for, just like a tsunami, even if you know it's coming and you lay the sandbags and brace your feet you're still gonna go under when it hits. Sometimes running away is just not a choice.
I think a tsunami is coming my way. And although I'm doing everything I can, which doesn't include running away, I know it's gonna sweep me away when it hits. Now I just hope I don't take too long to find my feet again.


Tuesday, October 23, 2007

You know you're busy when: taking a break from one homework means doing another. I never thought this'd happen in Sweden..


Monday, October 22, 2007

Sometimes, I just feel powerless. Why is it that I am so good with things that don't matter, and so lousy with things that do?


Sunday, October 21, 2007

Cool quotes from an article on Lifehacker:
Every student should have duct tape and WD-40, because with these two materials you can fix anything. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.

if you bring those two don't forget a blue tarp. for when the first two don't fix it you can always put under the tarp and act like it never existed


Saturday, October 20, 2007

News 1: I will pass the exam on Wednesday. I hope. It turned out almost identical to the past year paper, which I did half of. It's been a long long time since I last went for an exam after studying only the night before. Luckily the lecturer is a kind man. =)

News 2: Package from Singapore finally arrived! Took 1 entire month, and had the whole family (myself included) worried to death. Mooncakes arrived still edible, and were yummy. =D However mum didn't pack any chopsticks.. =S Instead there was a pack of wolfberries (whoa), instant noodles (-_-"), bah kut teh spices (yeah), ginseng tea satchels and instant coffee (used as space-filler). I'm just glad it arrived. =)

News 3: YE's cooking chicken rice for everyone. It's a 30-minute ride in ice-box temperatures to his place, but it's chicken rice! Not totally like the ones in Singapore, of course (no pandan leaves here, no special chilli sauce), but as close as it'll get. And I don't have to waste time preparing dinner myself.

2 assignments, both due Monday. One more exam on Monday as well. Then I'll get 2 days more or less to myself, some sort of a mid-sem break.. I just gotta hang in there, and make sure I churn out the stuff these 2 days. Yup.


Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Stressed. A million and one things to do, and not enough time to do them all.
- Assignment that was due Monday is still not completed. No idea how to make it work and partner is of limited help now that the code has become a behemoth that only I understand. Next part of it is due next Monday, some more.
- Exam tomorrow and I haven't studied for it. At all. GG no re.
- Exam next Monday as well and, guess what, I haven't studied for that either. Yay.
Yeargh.


Monday, October 15, 2007





All in all, I had a good weekend. =)
Saturday was lunch with a new Swede friend, who's to be my buddy for the next 3 months. And she's going to make some Swedish food for me. =)
Saturday dinner was cook-together with YMS, as well as YE and his visiting friend. Things turned out pretty well and YQ makes very good sticky chocolate cake. And while the girls watched movies, I stayed in the kitchen with YE and his friend and had a very good talk. Talking to Singaporeans is a much missed activity, made all the more enjoyable when everyone clicks and the conversation goes smoothly.
Sunday was spent working on the damn assignment, and at the time of writing it's still less than half done. But I chatted with my nephew, cheered up YE's cousin and am going to get a present from my English friend (probably to thank me for bailing him out at the last assignment, though it's not necessary), and I'm in a pretty good mood now.
Coming week's exam week, and I haven't started studying. I hope I pass..

Hope everyone's happy. Especially Windz, please go and read PF's blog. And think about it.


Saturday, October 13, 2007

From some Horoscope thingy on Facebook:
Often people in high positions in industry turn out to be born under the sign of Virgo. In power, however, Virgos sometimes have trouble getting along with their coworkers. They have difficulty communicating their displeasure without being biting and critical. If a Virgo boss thinks John acted badly at the office party, he may call him on the carpet, saying something like "John, you acted like a perfect idiot last Friday night. This behavior of yours is pathological. You had seventeen Scotches." Diplomatic, Virgos are not. But their ability to analyze complex situations is at the least astute.

So, maybe I should just keep my thoughts about others to myself, huh? Or at least find some other outlet for them. =P It's easy to forget that this is a public blog and that quite a fair number of the people I care about (and therefore the ones I'm bothered enough to write about, whatever I can't say to their faces) read this. Oh yah hi everyone and hope you're doing fine. =)


Friday, October 12, 2007





Reading his words, seeing what has happened, scares me. He has always been a very giving person, and for the person he thought the world of, he drained himself dry. It is probably something I will never experience, since I'm not as giving as he is, by nature. But it scares me all the same. And I realise that my words and gestures of encouragement and comfort are but drops in the ocean, that do nothing to fill the gaping void within him. But I will not despair in you, so I hope that you will not despair in yourself, and will work hard towards the day when you'll be as fine as, erm, you can be. The scar will always be there, but the wound will not be crippling forever.

And I really should get on with my assignment. Sheesh.




I'm doing everything except the assignment that is due tomorrow.

Temperatures dipped below zero for the past 2 days and the weatherman's saying that it'll snow tonight. I keep forgetting to bring gloves when I go out and my hands don't like the cold at all. The town ice skating rink is in operation already and the local ice hockey team is training with gusto.

I'm still waiting for my 'aid package' to arrive and I'm starting to doubt if it'll ever arrive. Sian because there're quite a few things inside that I'm looking forward to.

It took its time coming but homesickness has finally arrived at my door and wish I was home now. I guess I've finally run out of adrenaline, the initial rush of being in a brand new environment is over. So I'm gonna head upstairs and see if I can get a hot cup of tea and some conversation from my English friend. =)


Monday, October 08, 2007

Someone dug some old skeletons out of the closet today. I used to think that I know that person quite well, but it seems that there're more layers to the onion. A year and a half ago, I would have been very upset by the sight of these skeletons. Now all it stirs is an urge to blog, and the temptation to retort with a bit of spite. I think that, if people want to take skeletons out of their closet, it should be to throw them away, not to display them in a place where everyone can see them. And I really wanna remind someone (I shouldn't, but I'm gonna post it here anyway and hope that that someone doesn't read this) of what a fortune-teller in some bazaar at the Arts forum said, some year and a half ago, about not being too picky.

Well, whatever. It's none of my business now, and probably never was.


Sunday, October 07, 2007


Can I pass mine to someone also?




Saw something on a friend's blog that spurred me to comment. But something's wrong with her blog and I couldn't leave my comment there. So, weird as it is, I'm posting it here.
Maybe you're trying to steer too much. You've got your hands on the rudder and/or the oars and you're trying to go exactly along this imaginary course that you've plotted for yourself. However, sometimes you should just loosen your hands, sit back and relax, and let the wind and the waves take you along. After all, it's taking you in the correct general direction, isn't it?

I'm saying that partly because you talk about a relationship so scientifically. It's like you think you should have one and it should be like this therefore you're gonna just grab someone and do what should be done.

Truly, a relationship is about sharing your life. However, it's not something you have to consciously do -- if you really like someone, you'll do it naturally, without thinking, and without feeling like it's a tiring thing to do. There's no conscious action to it -- if you force yourself to like someone or dislike someone or do this or not do that, it's gonna hurt a lot and ultimately it's not gonna turn out well.

And don't you feel that, at least with good friends, you might not know every bit of their lives, but when you start talking it is as though time had stopped since you last met them? And you can laugh and joke and catch up like it's the most natural thing to do?

I'm not sure what else to say, just a) take care and b) you're not alone at all and c) don't let things get you down.



I vaguely remember hearing about a project where someone broadcasts friendly messages into outer space, hoping to come into contact with another sentient race out there. Don't you agree that blogging is often the same? Or like putting a message into a bottle and sending out into the virtual ocean. Hmm, I don't know. And I've got no time to think about this now because I gotta go get groceries before it starts raining.


Saturday, October 06, 2007

Yeah, so once again I shot my mouth off without thinking, and someone got upset. And apparently not everyone's like me, not everyone will be ok after one night's rest. So I really should find a chance to say sorry, even though I'm thinking: it's just an idle comment about something of no importance at all, get over it already. Then again some people have their red, "Do Not Touch" buttons in weird places, so, who knows, maybe I stepped on one by mistake. Aargh, people are so troublesome sometimes.


Thursday, October 04, 2007

This song just popped up in my head all of a sudden, and wouldn't go away.

城里的月光 - 许美静
每颗心上某一个地方
总有个记忆挥不散
每个深夜某一个地方
总有着最深的思量
世间万千的变幻
爱把有情的人分两端
心若知道灵犀的方向
那怕不能够朝夕相伴
城里的月光把梦照亮
请温暖他心房
看透了人间聚散
能不能多点快乐片段
城里的月光把梦照亮
请守护它身旁
若有一天能重逢
让幸福撒满整个夜晚

I've got so much to say and I don't know where to start. And this ain't the place to say things like that, anyway. It would be nice to get things off my chest, but I suppose I'll just have to keep it in for a little while longer.




Finally managed to get back from Estonia yesterday morning, one day later than expected. It's been a trip where literally everything that could go wrong went wrong, but we still managed to have fun.

However this trip blew my travelling budget way out of the water, so I'm forced to go on a diet in a bid to scrounge up a bit more money for further travels. A diet is good, anyway, because I think I'm getting chubby.

Temperatures here are steadily sneaking their way down the scale, and we're getting 4-6 minutes less of sunlight everyday. When I first got here it was still bright as day at 9pm, now it's already dark before 7pm. Some trees have caught on and are shedding their leaves, while others are still a brilliant green. The contrast is beautiful, and sadly pictures do not do them justice.

Already it has been more than a month since I got here, and I only have 3 and a half months more to go. Hope everyone's doing ok.


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