I received an email today from Get Your Sexy Back:

Thank you for supporting "Get Your Sexy Back" - Singapore's first youth-led responsible drinking programme. Get your GYSB Friends Card and start enjoying exclusive discounts at partner merchants' outlets today!

Simply email us at info@getyoursexyback.sg with the following details: Name + Gender + IC Number + Contact Number + Mailing/postal address

I wonder what partner merchants I could get discounts at?

I still don't really understand the appeal of the name Get Your Sexy Back. Maybe people lose their sexy by binge drinking? (I suppose they do, or maybe more than that... ahem).

Nevertheless, I wondered, so how again did I get on the GYSB mailing list? Oh I remember now.

In the large outdoor open area below the Central Library at NUS there are often mini fairs or bazaars. I suppose it's similar in concept to the various merchants you see passing through the SLC (at UW) throughout the term. Only, it's much better. They actually sell stuff you might be interested in buying ranging from electronics, to witty/cute/cool t-shirts, to Japanese snacks (yum, Pocky on the cheap). Occasionally they even have free stuff (the Milo truck is always a crowd favourite).

One day Jesse and I were passing by this area and we saw them giving out free cotton candy. Who could resist free cotton candy? So we get our cotton candy, and as we are about to walk away, someone motions to us informing us that we were actually only supposed to get free cotton candy after filling out some form. I can't even remember what I filled out on the form. All I remember was that it was something about supporting Get Your Sexy Back.

And so I guess penning down my information there entitled them to send me updates about the GYSB program.

Ok, that story didn't sound as interesting as it did in my head before typing it out.

Actually, the discount card sounds pretty cool. I just don't think I can use it here.

Oh anecdotes of NUS.

Over this past term, I've spent a lot of time with my design group project members over lunch or at the bar. Out of one lunch, the movie Before Sunrise was recommended to be a good movie.

I finally got around to watching this movie, and in a lot of ways, it was rather artful. For me, I found it somehow enjoyable, yet somehow not.

Perhaps because it shows the friendship that originates by chance and is developed only over a short period of time before the two parties are forcefully removed from each other due to life moving on.

I don't know what it is for me but this past year overall seems to have developed in me that sentiment to a marked degree. While not romantic in nature (as the movie's was), I couldn't help but recount my own experiences of just having such a great time with someone while both of us know that the time we have together is short. And once that time has expired, the chance of meeting each other again is perhaps slim.

The movie was pleasant. And then the end arrives. And during that scene, my own memories of parting with those whom you had come to regard as so close to you, over such a short period of time, played back in my mind sharply. The scene just felt too close to my own sentiment. And even now I sit wondering. What will five years bring? I actually sighed out loud during that scene.

And I wonder. I wonder why it seems that those whom you meet by chance for a short period of time are sometimes those whom you really wish you could keep with you forever? I suppose, I should just be thankful I was able to be in Singapore for longer than just one night.

Is it childish of me to have this sentiment?

Another year has nearly passed. It's been an extremely eventful year, and perhaps it's beneficial to begin to try to take stock things. Perhaps a bit more after I finish my last exam on Monday.

On the night of December 31, 2008, I sat in my room in Oakville packing. I rummaged through my closet in the quiet of the night. The year prior to that night had been a massive build up of anticipation for what I would do on January 1, 2009. It was getting late (probably approaching 3 AM or so) and I think my mother was fairly worried about my packing, so she came in to try to help me pull things together. In the end, I over packed anyway. I finished up at around 5 AM, so history tells me. Remembering back now, I recall that it was my quasi-plan all along to stay up so late that night, in some crazy attempt to get over my jetlag before I even got on the plane.

But eventually, I got some sleep. And soon enough, my new year started with a drive to Pearson International Airport. The new terminal at Pearson is quite cold in appearance, yet, very modern. Arching metal supports hold up a vast ceiling with large pillars and yellow-green dot-matrix-like signs to indicate the different check-in counter rows. Checking in at the Air Canada counter, I was a bit disheartened to hear that they could only issue my boarding pass for the first leg of my journey. I would have to look for the Singapore Airlines counter when I arrived in Shanghai.

It was still early, and we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. But somehow, the check-in area of the terminal was fairly devoid of any attractive restaurants. There was a small make-shift coffee place. We sat there for a while. I swapped SIM cards with my sister. Someone had to make use of my wireless contract while I was away.

But soon it was time to head out.

Making our way over to the security checkpoint, we said our goodbyes as typically as possible. I hugged my parents and my sister and entered the secured area where they could not follow without a valid boarding pass. I quickly joined the screening line and then it subtly hit me that I would not see my family again for eight months. It was a bit of a strange feeling. Not entirely sad, as I knew I would be back here again. Just, strange. Granted, for a lot of you reading this, you may gawk at this sentiment, since you've probably lived away from home continuously for much longer periods of time. For me, however, four months (one academic semester or co-op work term) had been the longest I had ever had to do before that day.

I don't really remember all that happened after that. I may or may not have gone to the business lounge. Thanks to my father's company sending him on numerous business trips to Asia in the year prior, we had collected enough points to get me free business class tickets. Something that's quite a once in a life time thing. I never imagined that I'd be blessed enough to fly business class ever in my life.

Sometime soon enough, I boarded the plane. And of course, everything after that was a blur. I slept for most of the flight, feeling quite nostalgic the whole way. Thoughts about my friends crossed my mind quite a bit. UWCCF had become such a large part of my life over the two years prior to my departure. But of course, you cannot pack your friends in a suitcase (well, safely and/or legally at least).

Many hours later (probably something in the order of 14 or 16 hours), I landed in China for the first time in my life. Specifically, in Shanghai. More specifically, in the Pudong region. Yes, the air looked different. I was told more recently that it was probably blowing sand that I saw.

It was good to be able to step off the plane after so many hours. I disembarked and slowly looked around - I was tired from the flight. Perhaps I should have just kept on moving with the crowd. But I didn't, and eventually everyone had moved on, and I looked as lost as ever. Sometime close to midnight and everything in the airport looked closed.

Somehow through a combination of whatever really bad Mandarin I could force out and pestering people enough till I could at least get them to try to speak English to me, I managed to navigate my way through Shanghai Pudong Airport, and actually ended up outside the secure area. I learned later that this airport didn't have any baggage transfer facilities, which explains why I had to pick up my luggage (行李 as I learned that night), exit the airport, sleep with it through the night until the SIA counter opened, check it in again, and then re-enter the airport. (Incidentally, jumping ahead, transiting through Beijing on my way back to Toronto was much, much easier than transiting through Shanghai Pudong).

Regardless, I felt relaxed once I got my boarding pass and checked in my luggage. This time, I remember going to the lounge. I only wish the SIA counter opened 8 hours before my flight, rather than just 1. I sat in the lounge for a bit and enjoyed the free internet connection, as well as some light food. The terminal gate area was otherwise empty.

Soon enough though, I was able to board the plane for the last leg of my flight: off to Singapore.

The SIA flight was very empty. There was no one in the seat beside me. Not that it mattered anyway. I was so tired that I slept for most of the flight again.

Some hours later, I arrived in Singapore. It was something like 5 AM in the morning. It was very warm. And my thick UW-branded sweater was making me sweat. Regardless, over a year of preparation, and I had made it.

And the rest, I suppose, would set the tone for the next year of my life. And quite possibly, well into the future.

我常常說很天真的話. 有可能我一點兒天真. 但是我覺得有時候不是我太天真. 就是因為我要說"加油"的話. 不過... 人們聽到我話的時候... 他們會煩惱嗎? 特別要是我不太懂他們的事情的話... 但是我還常常說:"哎... 別擔心!" 或者:"你的事情應該變更好"的話等等. (不是那些exact words, 可是,是這樣的感覺). 還有呢,雖然我懂他們的事情,我不知道他們想不想要聽見這樣的話. 有可能他們不要. 但是因為人們以為我是一個nice guy所以沒有人對我說:"哦. 你在說什麼? 我不要跟你說話. 你走吧. 你真的是討厭的人啊. 最麻煩的人就是你啊."

我真的不知道該說什麼話好. 我現在對自己有一點兒煩惱.

是的. 知道我不想那麼多. 可是這件事我最近很擔心. 我想又想... 但問題是我不會知道朋友們在想什麼. 看來我真的不懂朋友們的感受.

I was working in the lab the other day with my friend on our design project when he saw the wallpaper on my notebook, which had the name 張懸 (Deserts Chang) on it - it was one of the wallpapers available on her site featuring her new album, 城市. My member pointed and commented, "that's a good artist."

I was pleasantly surprised, as this was the first time that someone other than me knew who 張懸 was. According to my friend, she's actually quite popular. I knew I liked her music, but I didn't realize that she was as popular as my friend described.

One of the things that I appreciate about 張懸 is that she is a singer-songwriter. I've come to appreciate this genre a bit more, since I find that sometimes, their lyrics seem less fabricated.

He recommended to me another artist, 盧廣仲 (Crowd Lu). I looked him other the other day while taking a break from studying, and found his music not bad at all. Some of his songs remind me of David Tao a bit. But I like some of his songs already.

In particular, the first song I found on Youtube was Oh Yeah. The lyrics are really simple, but he sings it with enough feeling that you can feel a degree of happiness emanating from him.

Another song I found I liked was 愛情習作. A lot of the Mandarin music I listen to are actually from female artists (i.e. 張懸). So listening to a male singer-songwriter is pretty refreshing, perhaps in someways on the lyrics side. Guys and girls think about things very differently. And that may come through in lyrics.

And so a song like 愛情習作 is one that you would likely not find from a female artist. Which is maybe why I like it right now. (Though perhaps some may disagree with me...? I know I'm painting with huge generalizations here. Give me a bit of a break for now...)