La Vida Es Un Carnaval!!!

Salsa song: Life's a Carnival! Wad a week its been so far! And spent with the best of buddies: Leowy! Wed night was a carnival all in itself as Leowy, Marcus and myself made our way to Zouk. We won't mentioned wad happened there save that each of us had about the equivalent of about 16 shots! Very tipsy, nearly drunk but complete laughter and wild fun! Ah even the Bak Chor Mee was funny! Thanx guys for wad must be one of the best clubbing times of my life!
Today was great too! Leow brought moi down to union square, a salsa club in Tanjong Pagar. Had arranged with my classmates to come down today too. And although it was a little slow and we were slightly timid at first ... the music finally drove us to the dance floor! This was my best salsa experience so far cos there isn't the stress of the class room where u gotta absorb all the material in one seating (so to speak) just plain dancing to your own tune, OTOT, as you like it! And I'm quite happy that I've finally managed to catch the beat on ALL the songs ... not just slower ones! I'm thinking salsa's gonna be my major extra-curricular activity in UK! Hah but one thing I noted though ... we got a LOOOONG way to go ... there's some major pros at the place and they just twirl and whirl their way around the floor in effortless breezes. Wouldn't have imagined myself picking up DANCE of all things but hey ... I never would have imagined that Leowy is like a performance-level pro also! Haha! All I need now is a regular dance partner ... drats!

Ambition vs. Kiasuism

You know salsa is getting to be pretty interesting and fun ... despite the fact that I am in the (wad Eugene calls it) unconcious incompetent state (i.e. u suck but u just dun know it!). Will be going down to union square (a salsa dance studio) on friday to practice with some of my classmates. Ah just hope I reach a certain standard b4 getting to London so that I can learn over there!
Oddly unperturbed about the London bombings. Think we're prob gonna be safe cos none of us i dare say will be taking the tube/ bus during rush hours. Just stay away from those kinda places during rush hours and I think you're pretty safe! One note I made however was that the prices of bikes are likely to rise following the bombings as their demand has sky-rocketed. Bad. I wanted to get a bike!
Met a whole bunch of the freshers yesterday at the Brit Council Reception. Lotsa of em. Apparently their bunch is gonna be much bigger than ours! I'm sure it woudn't have been the case if the bombings were even 3 mths earlier. Quite a few of em are from VJ! Yay! And I even know one dude from the soccer team. Seeing as there are so many of em ... hope more of em come for our camp in Aug. Really would like this last of the last events to be succesful!
Had this pretty eventful tok with Marc just the other day. Seems there are lessons to be learnt from everything in life. Some are hurtful, memorable, joyful; we agreed however, that we shouldn't ever give up without stretching as far as possible.
Speaking of which ... we were discussing ambitions. Some frens remarked that I get along pretty well in fulfilling my goals and that I'm ambitious ... look ahead in life that kinda stuff. But on the contrary heh I'm not. I've got remarkably short term goals. I think its easier to live life that way ... setting up many short term goals ... pushing on ahead and setting newer challenges only when u've conquered the first few. I'm also endowed with a rather competitive spirit ... and that is where a lot of my drive comes from. Some proclaim the wisdom of "challenging oneself", but for me the only thing that happens when I do that is ... I'll slack. So ... I got no choice but to pit myself against others. Heh so I'm not really ambitious but just ahem 1. Kiasu 2. Competitive 3. Like to hit my (short term) goals.
So izzit better to be Kiasu or Ambitious? Well actually without a doubt the latter. Mash for example is one ambitious guy. You can see he goes much further than me even minus my substantial resources. Aha but in the absence of the latter the former helps give u steam in life till you find a passion for something ... then u can really press ahead with your ambition.
Hmm ... some things ought to be said ... silence, contrary to popular opinion is not the best cure ... but sometimes u just can't find any words ... certain situations don't help ... your emotions might get in the way. That's no excuse however. When I'm ready, I will.

And All The Roads We Have To Walk Are Winding ...

Oasis - Wonderwall

Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk along are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now

And all the roads that lead to you were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
I don't know how

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me

I'll be loathe to leave everything again come September 7th. My best hols ever so far! I now realize you can have fun in so many little ways. You dun need a goal, you dun need a purpose ... just the simple things in life with the best of buddies makes every moment an adventure.

Flight to Korea is finally booked. After all that hassle ... I'm still going myself haha. But I guess I should spend more time with my dad ... won't be spending so much time with him in the forseeble future anyway.

A Pleasant Surprise!

Wee! Its been a great 2 days! Wednesday was one ass hell of a hectic day. Ran another 15 klicks in the gym and later I met Urban, my Economics B teacher from Slovenia! He sent me an email the day b4 telling me that he would be arriving in Singapore! So I met him for tea at Newton where I treated him to some sambal stingray and osyter egg (which I had forgotten was called or lua and hence had trouble ordering ... sheesh!). Later it was a dinner at Ang Mo Kio with the Khatib camp guys. Our largest gathering to date with 7 of us actually turning up! Although i don't really have much to say to them its nice to see these faces once in awhile since after all many of them helped me one way or another during those 2.5 years. Later it was ZOUK! Lotsa fun this time round and I almost had one drink too many ... but thankfully was still walking and talking straight at the end of everything. Met lotsa new people as well (introduced by Mash and Alex whom I met incidentally with their buddies).
Tennis in the afternoon with ZH, Pierre, Mimi and Kenny ... gettin to really enjoy the game a lot as I get better. Cos Mimi and ZH are still the best ... the former has his squash skills (translates into irritating slicing shots) and the latter took tennis lessons b4 ... but I think I can catch up soon!
Received a pleasant surprise today! Yay! Feel so much better now!

I Want SOCCER

Yet another crazy night with the guys! This time was the first time in like nearly a year that all 7 of us were able to meet up! Yeap for one reason or another its always been around 4 of us ... but now it just feels great to have everyone bumming together. LAN again at Katong Shopping Centre (can you believe I was actually refused entry cos I was wearing the VJ PE T-shirt! Sheesh had to borrow Mimi's car back to change my shirt!). More senseless shooting and banging around on the PC till our hearts' content! Sometimes its just great to have mindless, thoughtless activity like this where u can just laugh, shoot and blow the brains out of your frens (actually most of the time its mine getting blown!).
Well just had a thought whilst I was running on the threadmill yesterday. My dad and I really are exercise freaks. We derive our greatest pleasure from torturing our legs and lungs! Few incidents give me as much pleasure as completing a daunting run and pushing my body to the limits! Ah ... to be exercising again! Only thing that's missing now is SOCCER. Nobody seems to want to play it anymore ... no sport gives me the kind of thrill that one experiences chasing the leather ball around the court. Once on the field or in the court, the entire world shuts down and we become detached from it ... single-mindedl focused on the ball and the goal. It can be fluid, graceful and pretty to watch but I think when it comes down to it football is the most primal of sports ... the aggression, the chase, the desperation, the telepathic link with buddies that can only come from playing with each other hundres of times and of cos the sheer delight of scoring a goal or robbing your opponent of one ... WILL YOU GUYS BE MORE ON AND GO PLAY SOCCER!!!!!!!

All We Need Is Not Enough

Double goodbyes to my bro and dad. Gore left for the army yesterday and my dad left for Korea just half an hour ago. Hmm oddly I don't feel much save for the fact that the house is very much quieter now. Sometimes I turn to the central PC looking for Gore (who is ever present and STUCK to that gaming chair) and the terminal is empty. Its weird having this house without him ... cos despite all the fights we had when we were younger ... he's realli a fun guy to be with ... we have late night suppers together ... bum and watch movies together ... tok cock and play games together. Gore often says our family is detached and stuff but I think we get along pretty well ... closer than most families and siblings are at any rate. My dad too, I'll be missing him as well. Previously he'd just be gone 3-4 days a week but now he'll be gone for six months b4 he's next visit. Well I've had some time to get used to this but Den especially might find it slightly harder?
The guys were over again yesterday for RISK. It was just complete fun, noise and chaos! Just like old times (minus the fights mebbe haha!) ... Alex the ham-ji, Mash the tactical-idiot, etc! I'm really fond of the JC days. Yet there is a difference now. Everyone has their own direction now and even if we're still close you see the different paths our lives are taking. We dun meet as regularly for one thing and secondly with more girlfrens the guys are just disappearing more and more. Heh save mimi pang. Just the same old guy I knew 5 years ago. Anyhowz I think life just tends to get lonelier when u grow older. Leowy was telling me of his dad and from my dad's own experience ... the hypothesis seems to be right. (The one person who goes against this trend is my aunt who seems to have frens in umpteen countries - but she's not married).
I'm thinking some piece of the puzzle is missing. I've made a resolution however ... I need to get back on track! Enjoy myself and all but can't let my focus get lost ... its easy to get distracted (as my results on the 13th will show) sometimes and it takes will power to centre yourself but I've done it b4 so I can do it again! I've never regretted any action in my life so now is not the time to make the first ... I will leave LSE satisfied that I have made the best of my 3 years!

Unpredictable Minds

In any case I've returned a certain routine to my life now. Salsa (at JJ as well as private lessons with leow!), gym, run, intensive french and church on sundays plus a few outings per week with frens rounds up my week.
Had a bad falling our with the dear leader. Its been itching for awhile now ... I mean granted a guy should be given certain leeway to pursue his enjoyment and spend time with gf and all that - all work and no play makes jack a dull boy after all - but when it comes down to it we all have our tasks to accomplish and they should be carried out to the best of our abilities especially when when we have volunteerily taken up those cares. Well I'm not complaning that I have to shoulder some of those tasks, merely that I lack the necessary information in many cases. Plus it must be admitted I am a little blur sometimes haha and love to micromanage too much.
Sun burns over my neck and face. Ow. Received more sunlight in one afternoon of tanning than you normally do get in 2 weeks in UK! Reinforced with the hyper-powered dark tanning oil ... I'm finally erm tanned!
Some lessons I learnt from the Venus-Lindsay Davenport match - longest ever women's finals.
Firstly pure tenacity and determination can overcome a more skilled opponent! Secondly ... luck is just as important as skill and preparation - Linday was I would say the better of the two with a consistency in play and calmness of thought that reflected mental strength, yet she has always somehow fumbled in the finals of the Grand Slams despite being one of the tennis greats! Sheesh wads does this say about MOI???! Thirdly ... the forces of light sometimes lose to the forces of darkness! Hehe.
Life is unpredictable. Twists of ups and downs. You NEVER know what to expect. In fact sometimes u dun even know what to make of situations even after they occur! Worst however are people. People are VERY unpredictable. Ah well we wouldn't be such interesting life forms otherwise.