tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62255592011-07-31T04:25:32.411+08:00Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comBlogger5281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-29888184775580911662009-12-28T03:46:00.003+08:002009-12-28T04:21:15.301+08:00

Another day has crept by, and the clarity of the flashbacks have become more and more vague. But here and there, you get the ocassional brush of the shoulder with a stranger or the sight of a police station that opens the floodgates on those memories. That very incident that happened so quickly, but had such deep repurcussions. I've found a slight fear of the night. The darkness has this devoring

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-25872741030167121272009-12-14T05:33:00.003+08:002009-12-14T05:55:49.453+08:00

I sit before my computer with notes strewn all over the table, bits of cereal stuck in between my keyboard tabs and a cup of coffee to keep that mind running. 2 more days, and this semester does its curtain call. It has been a semester worth shouting out for. There was the beginning of my massive culinary exploration through Western brigade-style kitchens, cooking up a storm amid the cacophony of

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-41480030766851635512009-10-13T10:39:00.003+08:002009-10-13T11:00:50.638+08:00

Bon Appetit!I must have forgotten the joy of pure silliness, because as I watched Julia Child come to life by the reincarnation that is Meryl Streep, I envied her for her ability to joke about herself, immerse herself in her love for food, cry when she feels like it and laughs when she wants to. Why am I here, I suddenly asked myself at some point of the movie. Not out there kneading dough and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-48069736023319918132009-09-18T10:18:00.000+08:002009-09-18T10:19:25.138+08:00

Please read my latest article on Cornell's Daily!http://cornellsun.com/node/37849

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-19425934146982892212009-09-06T22:22:00.004+08:002009-09-06T22:45:34.377+08:00

It is an awesome Sunday morning. My chives and cilantro are growing well into the golden rays that filter through my half-open windows. I love how the steam from my Nescafe coffee dances up a storm under the soft glow of my new table lamp. My pencil holder, like a commandeering sergeant, whipping its stationery upright from their supine positions and yet like a conical spaghetti container,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-35501314226046478322009-08-29T09:16:00.003+08:002009-08-29T09:53:45.463+08:00

The beginning of classes have reached its denouement. The end of the drama sees me exhausted, slightly wet from the night drizzle, at the almost empty Hotel School at 9:20pm exploiting the wireless internet, in my pyjamas no less. My new house of 12 Singaporeans still does not have working internet, and half of me wishes that I could stay and sleep in school till next week when my permanent

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-6372717301925325242009-08-23T06:22:00.003+08:002009-08-23T06:29:27.187+08:00

The lady beside me is holding on to a Starbucks Venti cup. She gushes to her partner how clear her IPhone is. She has brown hair, is slightly obese and does an accentuated American accent. And she is just like any other American lady I have seen.Why do I like travelling to different places? Why did I choose to endure the emotional arduousness of leaving home to study here? Why do I feel proud to

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-14464282609015677592009-08-16T19:35:00.003+08:002009-08-16T20:14:46.726+08:00

Today I bought a Subway sandwich. As I took the first bite, the richness of the honey mustard was sensory, olfactory to be exact. It was wheat bread, not white. Cold ham instead of cooked meat. A salad of olives, tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. And a Subway sandwich must go with a diet coke. It all reminds me of the ironic American psyche. 1000 calories from towering burgers - no sweat. But 100

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-64129334398828424152009-08-06T00:02:00.004+08:002009-08-06T00:50:04.044+08:00

Chiang Mai is a city which I will never forget. I don't think the word for it is quaint (there's still the dusty air and over-volumarised traffic that blemishes our idea of its beauty), nor is it spectacular (Bangkok takes the hat in being home to the most magnificent palaces and temples). What Chiang Mai has is character. It is lazy, yielding and indifferent all at the same time, without losing

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-59573554138736910902009-07-13T09:20:00.004+08:002009-07-13T09:48:51.505+08:00

A heaviness hangs on me like a load has been slapped on me uninvited. It's the first semblance of Monday Blues, a term, when conjured, reinforces the sense of feeling encumbered rather than suppresses it. Really it was hard getting to the office today.Was at the Hokkaido fair at Tampines Mall yesterday, and was treated to a spread of exotic nibbles. I say nibbles because most of what I ate, came

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-81492542940747383862009-06-17T11:35:00.002+08:002009-06-17T12:12:41.068+08:00

I was back at Fullerton last night. Might have been the towering pillars and high roof that made the place exude this familiar sense of grandeur, silencing me into admiration. Might have been the cascading flow of memories that had choked me, making me unable to speak. As guests with their roller bags passed by, I could not help but feel an urge to offer a helping hand, to tilt my head, to smile

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-64298276902894896462009-06-10T19:59:00.002+08:002009-06-10T20:35:33.686+08:00

Allow me to be ... what's the word? .... ulu, maybe?Just when I thought ruffling through the pages of a book to obtain information is slowly becoming outdated, the world has already moved beyond Web 2.0. You'd think being in the States and in the center of the world's buzz would kind of elevate me to a greater level of cosmopolitan worldliness, but my sophistication in technological knowledge

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-81464375738998983152009-06-07T19:44:00.003+08:002009-06-07T20:33:04.679+08:00

Why do people see Singapore as boring? Why is it that the only two things people know about Singapore is chewing gum and its governance? I kind of found some semblance of an answer from that office cubicle of mine. I think tourism is a creative industry. (Cue: Singapore does NOT do well in that department. Look at our empty theatres and censored films.) To manage creativity with the clockwork

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-66229514343401219812009-06-01T17:54:00.003+08:002009-06-01T18:20:12.737+08:00

The hardest thing about unplugging from a lifestyle of leisure and re-connecting into the socket of work life is probably staying awake. Becoz afternoon naps dissolve into your many cups of coffee, and couch-potatoing evaporate into the scented air. Day Number 1 was a quick preview of cubicle life. My bad habit of leg shaking has to re-emerge, to get rid of that feeling of immobility. One feels

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-60525777143331192422009-05-26T20:55:00.002+08:002009-05-26T21:11:50.836+08:00

As the plane slowed its sprint along the runway, the airport's signature yellow neon lights seemingly flickering in the distance, this long overdue return has finally materialised.I came back expecting a whole different Singapore, but as I laid eyes on every building on the taxi home, on the billboards, on the road signs, on the highway traffic, it feels like nothing has changed, and like I've

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-54608420111536518712009-05-16T07:22:00.003+08:002009-05-16T07:55:39.966+08:00

Today was the day I broke the news to my coach that I will not be rowing again next semester.It was harder than I had thought. It was a decision that I had arrived at, being tugged and pulled in all directions before it became final. How anyone can let go of the cumulation of the ridiculous amount of hard work that goes into a sport is beyond me, and but I guess I proved myself wrong today. At

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-80650082728265148492009-05-14T22:35:00.003+08:002009-05-14T23:12:50.681+08:00

All I knew was that I was in a Boston Medical Center in the middle of Chinatown. The ambulance had brought me there, with many a jerky turn that made me want to puke more than I already was. I had called the YMCA Front Desk Agent, whom I asked for medical attention, who in a moment of kan-chiong fit, called an ambulance. The medical personnel had asked me on the way to the medical center, "If it

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-90738739767099767902009-05-14T22:07:00.002+08:002009-05-14T22:33:33.921+08:00

BMA - Bite My Ass. Slogan for the Cornell Big Red. We are the 2009 CHAMPIONS of the Ivy League. Bite My Ass.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-52756886446389501632009-05-04T22:29:00.000+08:002009-05-04T22:30:10.108+08:00

The glass panels are a blank canvass, the table a foundation, the chairs a frame. Two by two, coffee aficionados, or simply academics in need of conversation, ease themselves into the picture. The cherry blossoms smoothly floats to the fore. The bitter-sweet aftertaste of that fresh brew bounces off that well-rested tongue. At some appropriate pause or at some moment of impulse, his hands reach

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-7588171776148492322009-05-03T06:46:00.003+08:002009-05-03T08:36:11.479+08:00

Whenever I reach the Facebook main page, my mind throws itself back to the time when primitives still saw leaves as clothes, smoke as signals and rice as luxury. People of the past just long to be fed, to have a roof over their heads, and put simply, to maintain the status quo. I think that's why we LOVE facebook because it gives us the exact opposite. Because change has become the cornerstone of

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-85508134658766710152009-04-29T08:01:00.004+08:002009-04-29T08:33:06.778+08:00

I don't know which is worse. Feeling like a cold duck rowing in the evening rain, or getting sunburnt on the same day in the splendid morning. Ithaca is full of surprises. The end of the semester is in sight. Really doesn't feel like a full academic year has passed, because when you are doing silly things and excuse yourself blatantly by saying, "I'm just a Freshman. Honeymoon period," time

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-83462209580981996462009-04-24T08:04:00.004+08:002009-04-24T08:23:59.520+08:00

What is this inner state,That leaves the newspapers stacked in odd dimensions,That builds dust on that age-old printer,And condensation in an empty bottle.What is this fine imagination,That turns an eye on cereal bits by the vase,The dustbin brimming like a popcorn maker,And the crooked blinds since 1984.My name is on a placard,I can only see some letters.My heart might be ticking over,I can feel

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-87603385481355633632009-04-21T08:41:00.003+08:002009-04-21T08:57:19.462+08:00

When you are in a boat, it takes 8 people to move it as fast as possible. It becomes presumptuous and ridiculous when people start fighting over who's giving more and who's holding back. I hate it when someone throws a tantrum and appeals to the excuse that someone else is not pulling hard enough. It just sows unnecessary distrust. Just do it man.My "favourite" groupwork has all come rolling onto

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-8838599921009256662009-04-10T09:14:00.002+08:002009-04-10T09:22:46.610+08:00

It's snowing now even in April in this god-forsaken place. Please stop snowing. There comes a time and place for everything and the sun needs to take reign.This Sunday, I am going to a restaurant for lunch and reviewing it. How amazing. EXPENSE-PAID REVIEW! This offer came from someone on campus who chanced upon my blog (hey there!) and enjoyed some of my rants about food. And this review is

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-5479923788051971152009-04-05T10:44:00.002+08:002009-04-05T11:06:16.898+08:00

It's easy to look at a row of eight people walk away from you, each rain-jackets with the words HARVARD embossed on their backs, and immediately feel a sense of creeping trepidation. I mean, there are only few words in this world that carry as much weight in one's mind as in another's. I wonder what kinds of storms brew in the mental troves of these Harvard boys. But outside of our bags of bones

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-29312144287532557182009-04-02T08:08:00.003+08:002009-04-02T08:26:35.717+08:00

Today the front page of our Cornell chronicle bore an article that announced that our dining halls were going to start serving beer. In another headline, the Dean of our school was going to jail because of corruption.I'm like what?Ok I totally forgot that it was April Fools' Day! And I was deceived big time. How dumb. Then I come back to my dorm and another headline caught my eye on the Internet-

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-59824376667934433892009-03-27T08:44:00.003+08:002009-03-27T08:48:50.889+08:00

I am getting reticent really. Writing more often here seems to ignite a departure from reality, a drift into a web woven by words. Upon landing, it gives great comfort and even a greater bounce back into where I come from.I hope it's just "one of those days", where you just don't want to listen to anyone, where you wished the world understood, where you wished that you didn't have to try. It's

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1508679920017428482009-03-26T08:35:00.003+08:002009-03-26T08:59:19.384+08:00

Why every meal should end with dessertChefs sometimes bust their heads thinking of new entrees. It seems like the longer the name (topped with xxx, drizzled in xxx sauce, with a tinge of xxx), the more it makes the menu sound more sophisticated. Well, for the unpretentious dessert, it's the other way round. Green Tea sorbet. Chocolate Pralines. Flourless Chocolate Torte.I think it's because

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-9311434155491341232009-03-22T07:49:00.002+08:002009-03-22T08:12:08.719+08:00

The night falls and all I can hear is the spinning of the fan on my flapping wet clothes. The recent food-to-eat is butter. I never would have thought that it would be my cup of tea, but yea, butter on rolls are hell good. No, I'm not becoming "angmoh" to quote Shazzy, but sometimes you cling on to sensations that excite something new in you, something that has been hiding in the closet for a

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-80409188869340733412009-03-19T08:22:00.003+08:002009-03-19T08:39:41.277+08:00

Today, it dawned on me that having a purpose-filled life can sometimes take the fun out of it. We always gawk at perfection and there's no point where we humans aim to backtrack on our paths. It's always BOOM! let's go, forward, no looking back! I envy the angmohs for being able to go home during Spring Break (one-week). Even the Singaporeans are travelling around, eating good food and snapping

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-54415398801638850922009-03-12T08:49:00.003+08:002009-03-12T09:14:37.717+08:00

Today I had lunch at a cafe. I can't really qualify it with an adjective because honestly, I don't quite know how to classify it. It has a clearly Japanese menu, with the usual ramen, udon, soba, don entrees... Yet it boasts a display of the most tempting American sweets like cheesecake, molten lava cake, brulee, all sitting beside transparent packets of chemical-green mochi. Its menu board is

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-32508484574789146002009-03-09T09:20:00.002+08:002009-03-09T09:31:39.100+08:00

Till today, the only two females that have caught my eye onscreen is Sarah Jessica Parker and Maggie Q! These two...really... make me do a double-take for their freshness and outstanding features. Today I saw someone in person from the corner of my eye and she was literally my Sarah Jessica Parker personified (I'm not saying Sarah is an object... but you get what I mean)... It was like the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1168547323295746872009-03-04T09:38:00.003+08:002009-03-04T09:52:45.777+08:00

Ever looked at an old photo, where you are beyond recognition?And the strange, equally unidentifiable people around you, worse. But you look more closely at each one of them. Each one is like a box brimming with nuggets of stories. Just looking at it, opens it. It takes a while for the moment to unfreeze, but somehow, it all comes back... whether the first thing that hits you is that shared burst

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-20181791898843461402009-02-25T10:14:00.004+08:002009-02-25T10:40:07.547+08:00

My throat's getting uncomfortable. I sucked a whole tube of HALLS today to get rid of that contraction in the throat that makes you cackle and crack. The sound when you tug and pull at an uneven zinc sheet. The sight of a bubble of dense, off-white phlegm in the sink. Next, the feel of a running fever.We had a Malaysian Cultural Night on Sunday, that gave us a treat to a cuisine that closely

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-73897593078494125862009-02-21T09:19:00.002+08:002009-02-21T09:37:31.993+08:00

I've concluded that my inner state is a pinball game with no outlet. The ball springs to life, and catapults into the unknown. It hits the walls that repel it. It never has a state of rest, it cannot hide in some cache, it works endlessly. It moves endlessly.~I look at chocolate and wonder what's the deal with it. It's so dark. It sits masqueraded in a block of brownie, lies basking on a

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-15129488515879441222009-02-15T01:45:00.005+08:002009-02-15T02:06:08.939+08:00

Everyone in the team gets a timing that each of us must hit for this 1250 metres piece on the rowing machine.I look at mine, and tell myself, "Holy Crap. No way, I can't go that fast!" I speak to coach about it. He says, "Believe it or not, this is a pretty comfortable pace for you." I say, "Ok, we'll see."He just had to say, "Don't see, go do it."Now, that made me haul it - HARD. I remember

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-3031214342024046022009-02-13T10:15:00.004+08:002009-02-13T10:22:42.846+08:00

Sometimes, no matter what happens:I still like the shorts and slippers.The sticky armpitsMummy's recommendation of armpit deodorant.Metal chopsticks.The faint sound of Pokemon from the TV.Aunt's incessant coughing.Fresh sheets and a round bolster.More greenery than white.The chipped, cheapo plate at hawker centers.Outdoor swimming pools.Cheap eatsTrains.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-24033358556289880682009-02-01T05:16:00.004+08:002009-02-01T05:31:07.759+08:00

After dinner last night, I was pregnant as usual coz of heavy eating. But funny thing was the bulge stayed and never went away, causing me a sleepless night and multiple trips to the toilet to just sit there, hoping my efforts to push something out of me would work.At 3.46am, it came. I decided to name it "Diarrhea". Its premature arrival in the middle of the night, coming in a shocking gush. It

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-40754400593926332872009-01-28T09:06:00.002+08:002009-01-28T09:34:35.123+08:00

GONG XI FA CAI DAWN! And to all the Chinese descendants of the world, enjoy the love!Chinese New Year this year made me realise that I am still very Chinese at heart, still very Singaporean Chinese in my core. The Chinese invented the idiom "People Mountain People Sea" to describe overflowing crowds you see at Chinatown, and the beauty of this language is amazing, because the imagery is majestic

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-83399656872601185712009-01-25T05:32:00.003+08:002009-01-25T05:34:45.508+08:00

Hey mum and dad, I'm ok, just have been busy with the start of the school term, so haven't been updating my blog. I'm still trying to figure out a good schedule by trying out different classes, so yep, everything is under control. As always. I'm taking an awesome classes.Scribblings at the Florida airportI’m sitting on one of those bar top tables that face the runway of the airport in which I

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-89822449271310879342009-01-01T00:19:00.002+08:002009-01-01T00:35:14.358+08:00

This must be the last day of the year because suddenly, it's all bright and sunny and I'm feeling hungry to start afresh. Boom.I'm reading this book, THE AMATUERS, and it has been my main motivation to head to the gym once or twice a day to row on the erg machine. Rowing alone without your team-mates is probably the WORST, especially for extended periods of time. I cannot imagine the boredom, the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-92073372516291317192008-12-19T10:14:00.004+08:002008-12-19T10:27:35.466+08:00

Today, my brother and I waited in antipication at 9pm US Time, in the confines of an MSN conversation filled with an air of tension, to witness his historic .... Post-BMT posting. He's going to Sispec, and I AM VERY VERY HAPPY for him. I mean, we have been brothers for years... (o man that's 20 years to be exact, and we have shared the same room for 20 years!) I guess the point I'm trying to make

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-11801472107312524992008-12-15T11:09:00.003+08:002008-12-15T11:19:26.081+08:00

I wish my bottle had a hole,Makes it leak and bones and balls.Folded papers crossed with more,I wish I had known it all.I wish I was all that wise,Takes more courage than a nut in bowl.Grains, cereal, bars and smore,I wish time could stop, doesn't it bore.People wish upon a star,I wished upon the biggest moon so far.Gloves that lost their furriness,Don't mind me, the snow will not thaw.Right upon

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-52523039711130497112008-12-14T08:37:00.002+08:002008-12-14T08:54:08.783+08:00

How do you respond when a girl from the same country as you are, tells you, "Hey! You are Brandon right? How come like(sic), I see you and you are like (sic) always never respond one! Like you don't know me like that? It's like (sic) so funny, ain't it?"Luckily, my friend was beside me to back me up as I gape in disbelief and frankly in a loss for words, "He's like that one la. Always very blur

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-35452889817414368052008-12-09T04:38:00.001+08:002008-12-09T04:38:27.087+08:00

Allow me to lament right now.We have this group project due this Wednesday. It is broken into 4 parts and each of the 4 members will do one part. I did mine on Friday and posted it on Google Docs, Member No. 2 finished hers on Sunday and uploaded it too. 1 hour before our group meeting today on Monday, the other two bangali-chocolate-eat-shit-bobos have NOT uploaded anything! When meeting started

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-41382656660046525822008-12-02T09:43:00.002+08:002008-12-02T09:53:35.688+08:00

If there is one thing you must do before you die, you HAVE to watch MIND YOUR LANGUAGE. I cannot believe I actually missed it in Singapore when it was showing on Arts Central! The jokes are so accessible and ridiculous. GO TO YOUTUBE NOW AND WATCH IT! NOWWWWWW!I just came back from dinner at Statler Hotel's restaurant, Banfi's. The food was awful! But everything else was great. Appetiser was an

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-69263805028900767172008-12-01T10:30:00.003+08:002008-12-01T10:59:46.448+08:00

Today is one of those days when I sorely miss home. If I write incoherently please forgive me.It's Thanksgiving and our classmates all head home for the weekend to celebrate with their families. And Cornell is dead except for the international students lingering around.I just went on facebook and had these thoughts:1) My American friends all have nice pictures uploaded with people with the same

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-71937585961530433462008-11-25T12:33:00.003+08:002008-11-25T13:01:16.220+08:00

Arrghhhh, cannot get work done. Surfing the web and just getting my eyeballs dislodged.I hate to rant about the weather, but it really rears its head so disconcertingly, it MUST be mentioned. Today I rode my bike again (quite a dumb decision, but I needed to save time), and it fell sleet. Almost like sharp needles piercing in your face. So I was covering my face (ok, it was painful) as I cycled,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-52674084613524488162008-11-22T13:08:00.002+08:002008-11-22T13:20:15.656+08:00

It has been snowing a shitload here. As white blankets cover poor grasses stopped short in their photosynthetic routines, things are really changing. My bike started to creak and make funny sounds. I have started to take the bus. I crave for hot apple cider or coffee in the morning and the feeling of it glide down your throat and warming your body.Today, the sun rose especially early today and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-66262720369556286302008-11-16T13:11:00.002+08:002008-11-16T13:29:00.758+08:00

A few of my muses:1) I had always wanted to try a CHEESECAKE FACTORY cheesecake in the U.S., but damn, the nearest one is actually in Philly in Prussia Mall which is ermmmm 5,6 hours away? So it's been kind of elusive and the more my boss at Fullerton urges me to find it, the more it seems like a must-try. Then one day as I was walking past one of Cornell's dining facility, I SAW IT! We actually

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-13745538523480546352008-11-08T10:12:00.002+08:002008-11-08T10:24:47.629+08:00

Today was a bad day. I bombed on the rowing/erg machine. Training 5 min-3 min-1 min piece x 2, and I started out good, and by the second piece was I really losing it and did so badly on the timings. Bad day. My legs are burning right now, and I dream of a really cold, water bed right now, with the smelly pillow back home with stains of dried saliva, and a round bolster instead of the rectangular

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-47913968317253666202008-11-06T12:08:00.004+08:002008-11-06T12:21:19.962+08:00

My eyelids are forcing a close, tilting the chin so high amid hard squinting. I am sooooo tired!What a day!Sensationalising Obama's victory to mark the unprecedented election of a black president is such an irritating elusion of hype. How remote are those roots to be honest? I see him as a capable individual, charismatic and forward-looking, directed in speech, sharp in policy. All this racial

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-33867465684745188942008-10-29T08:49:00.004+08:002008-10-29T09:07:45.706+08:00

As I trudged down the sheen of the wet roads, mini-whirlwinds spinning dried leaves into the merciless cold, I saw a lady in Cornell red, umbrella blown out of shape, oblique to the sky, quite against her wish actually. And me in Cornell shorts, for once feeling the numbness of the thighs, like my veins contained ice rather than blood, and for the first time in my 21 years of existence, touched

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-6282877475096071602008-10-03T10:06:00.002+08:002008-10-03T10:25:08.543+08:00

"Ha chew!"5 or maybe 6 people around me would turn to me, flippantly but quite reactively, "Bless you." If you get lucky, the lecturer might pause in his discourse and give you one too.And you know how these kinds of itch in the nose persists quite frequently, and you still get these heads turned towards you with no eye contact whatsoever, and blessing you like it was necessary to. Then, the '

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-8710723847246802802008-09-26T22:37:00.002+08:002008-09-26T22:58:20.192+08:00

I have officially ended the week which has daunted me with 4 Prelims. You have no idea how much lighter I feel right now.This week was kind of intense psychologically. The story's like this. Crew Team has a fix of RECRUITs and WALK-ONs. RECRUITs (about 12 of them) have rowed nearly all their high school life and have very good timings. We, the 'bo-bo' WALK-ONs are the newbies, who kind of with a

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-41882013242410718842008-09-13T09:40:00.003+08:002008-09-13T10:00:35.417+08:00

A fruitful week has passed again.The mornings and nights are getting chilly here. As I release my brakes and whiz down one of the many slopes here, my fingers freeze to a blue-white and my ears shudder with thrill.I MADE IT TO THE CREWING TEAM! For those who don't know what crewing is, imagine a banana that's white and that's pulled longer and slimmer and placed in water. Now that's a crew boat.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-50838090615905823542008-09-06T11:29:00.003+08:002008-09-06T12:05:49.793+08:00

Brother is reporting to Penguin Cruises, NorthEast of Singapore this Friday for his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ...Do a pull-up.O well, you know sometimes, brothers have this most unfathomable relationship. I mean, I never go to my brother to tell him that I've had a bad day or ask him out for a movie. It's like we have been sharing a room since 20 years ago, but until I sit down and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-80263719811725231542008-09-02T10:11:00.003+08:002008-09-02T10:45:45.495+08:00

"Hey, I'm speaking to...""Daniel. Daniel Thorpe.""Hi, Brandon here, nice to meet you.""Nice to meet you."This exchange replicates itself in yet another conversation. And yet another conversation. And (surprise!) yet another conversation. I have to say people here make friends very easily. I mean, the Hotel School is known to be the college with the most receptions, food spreads, social gatherings

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-79674395975593533442008-08-31T21:23:00.003+08:002008-08-31T21:30:16.920+08:00

I set up a bank account in my school with Bank A. Bank A sets it up and a debit card was set to me in a week. All looks fine.But suddenly I found myself sending money to a certain Vietnamese with the initials T.H. instead of to my own account. The lady in Bank A admitted it was all a screwup. Then a new card was sent to me a few days later.The card had the wrong name on it --> Teck Brandon Ho (My

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-31049851192141275012008-08-25T11:05:00.004+08:002008-08-31T21:32:03.431+08:00

Today's a Sunday, where the birds are chirping and the sun is shining and once in a blue moon, Cornell is actually kinda warm. Other than the distant and sleepy mall and the alluring scenery, Sundays are spent rotting and (gasps!) reading!Speaking of rotting, there's this rotting smell in my room, because I am too lazy to hang my clothes out to dry. (Cue: When I was in OCS, my buddy Wilson Ong

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-52553856015591540062008-08-17T11:11:00.003+08:002008-08-17T11:51:28.316+08:00

I must have read from somewhere:When the bride walks down the aisle, everyone forgets to look at the groom, though he is showing the finest glow, though he is the happiest in the purest form.As I walked past the immigration gate, I can almost see how this fits into my situation. Who looks at the tearing mother who is just heartbroken to see his son leave for years? Who looks at the silent father

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-43652924779057534832008-07-31T00:28:00.004+08:002008-07-31T00:57:56.127+08:00

Two movies have jolted me into rather serious considerations of what it means by... well, what things are meant to be.Whatever Cpt Miller (Tom Hanks) was doing in Saving Private Ryan, I am supposed to be doing as a Platoon Commander, if in any case, my country descends into war-time chaos and decides that hey, "to have a man die, is to save 10 others". I CANNOT advance that beach knowing that a

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-43819208114685462822008-05-08T01:01:00.003+08:002008-05-08T01:26:14.239+08:00

Is it not uncanny sometimes, when you don't know it but there's probably someone in the midst of some random crowd around you, who is a star, someone who is going to shine in the future, be the next Lee Hsien Loong or Rain or Zoe Tay. He could be digging a huge piece of gold from his nostrils or she could have just let off a fart. Or maybe just wearing a casual shorts and slippers and yet there

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-88742324491323562172008-01-28T22:15:00.000+08:002008-01-28T22:44:23.298+08:00

A few years ago, I was so into my academic life and pursuit for theatre that I sleep every night to the thought of some Geography concept in my head or to some preoccupation with a certain script which I have yet to fully grasp.Then, there was two years of the Army which I was totally sucked into as well. My legs always jogging to the tune of paced singing, my mind always running with solutions

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-36139908356706211212008-01-13T00:20:00.000+08:002008-01-13T00:48:15.726+08:00

Guest has no flight details. The occupancy is very high, and the rooms are not cleaned as quickly as we want them to. The rain pelters hard on the towering roof, and passers-by pour into the hotel lobby seeking temporary shelter, giving a false but affecting pressure on the staff to be more alert. The smell of curry wafts menacingly like a garlic-headed demon, causing my stomach to drum in fear,

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-36764693302569336282007-12-27T23:56:00.001+08:002007-12-28T00:26:36.691+08:00

This time of the night, my eyelids gain the most weight and cascade like red curtains draping dangerously near the stage floor. This week has been a tiring week.I think I've lost abit of steam at work and although it doesn't feel anywhere near a drag going to work, it isn't that fantastic and fulfilling either. Maybe it's just this week I suppose.Have you ever been hit by a certain phrase or

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-68885863056755244742007-12-15T20:43:00.000+08:002007-12-15T21:12:15.384+08:00

Recently, I read a report of Taipei's growth lagging behind the 4 Asian Miracles. I can't remember, are we (Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong) called Asian Tigers??But anyway, I kind of liked that Taipei isn't a city that is running too fast for its own good. There're people who can look wide-eyed at Taipei 101, and admire it for its sheer height and care not about the economic yields from

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-33455147587933536562007-11-26T21:21:00.000+08:002007-11-26T21:38:36.672+08:00

I just told my friend in a kind of matter-of-fact way, "I will miss Army in a nostalgic kind of way, but I will not find myself compelled to go back." I guess many things in life are like that. I mean, how many of us actually visit our Primary School or still love the very same thing that we loved when we were 6?We keep moving on and on, and we never know how many times this one point on a circle

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-13614834828844959582007-11-11T01:35:00.001+08:002007-11-11T01:35:28.956+08:00

I am finally a free man. The gates suddenly opened and my emotions, baggages and hopes are all splayed in some random order at my feet.ATEC Platoon Battle Course was the biggest bombshell that could have hit my head, and that bombshell certainky caused such a great concussion in my head - so much so that it's all etched in my mind, in a good, nostalgic, funny way. I'm glad I did it, it's over, it

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-59917741412429534782007-10-27T10:45:00.000+08:002007-10-27T11:01:36.560+08:00

I can't remember the last time I felt this way about transiting from one place and transported to another, in my humble little life. It's a week to ORD, and inside me springs this hardly dubious feeling of freedom that money can't buy. I know I make NS sound like a jailhouse and everything else like a desirable haven.I hate to reflect but I happen to, because the end is in sight. Kind of have to

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-80779838043428947392007-09-23T21:13:00.000+08:002007-09-23T21:36:56.349+08:00

Bread are balloons - they can even stomach anything from sausages to grated cheese. It heaves up like a dwarf beating its strong chest, you could almost hear Jane echoing from afar. Yet it's soft like a pillow (really, you must try!), plump!, it goes down in a sturdy, tough punchbag. The sweat of flour splattering on the marble, the bulldozer drive of the rolling pin, the flip and dust and knead

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-28714735460464018862007-09-02T20:53:00.000+08:002007-09-02T21:05:54.196+08:00

Life has va va vroomed in such colourful smoke, I feel like a character in Hairspray. The colour markers in my pencil box. The very rainy days that somehow speak of rainbows to come. And of course, fumbling in my hedonistic and carefree ways.I'm in my last week of course that qualifies me to be a CompanyCommander. To be on course is the greatest bliss coz you become a student again with no holds

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-41642061791860482082007-06-27T08:37:00.000+08:002007-06-27T09:11:47.002+08:00

I've gotten numb to the feeling of walking long distances because Brunei proved that even in the most trying circumstances (pouring rain, bursting load, wet boots, heat rash, sandfly bites), there is still some comfort in marching to the sound of the water flowing over smooth rocks, leaves shuffling in the wind or to the cleansing rain that pelters on your war-hardy body all day. There's the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-60567374931518236062007-05-31T22:31:00.000+08:002007-06-01T21:59:48.358+08:00

I was sitting in the plane, looking out through the window. The street lights were a sea of golden orange dots, like stars plucked from the sky and attracted by a certain allure on the ground. Once we landed, I was greeted by colours - the yellow signs, the blue signs, the purple carpet, the clothes, the food. My mum said, "I feel so shiok, finally. I'm so proud of our airport."Indeed.I was at

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-54530138180195421742007-05-18T23:52:00.000+08:002007-05-19T00:18:02.977+08:00

I wish in the near future, I would have earned enough money to buy a short street's worth of rental space. There would be enough for around 10 eateries.Eatery Number one: Bakery. Think Bake Inc./Crystal Jade's My Breadfeaturing Bo Luo buns, lots of floss, Donuts!, Tau Sar PiahsEatery Number two: Baos. Think Kong Guanfeaturing Honey-glazed Char Siew Bao, black Dou Sha Bao, BIG siew mais, Char Siew

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-10521919914785835322007-05-06T11:20:00.000+08:002007-05-06T11:41:52.273+08:00

I knew I had to capture this precise moment on my blog.My grandmother had just finished breakfast with me at her house's nearyby coffee shop. She stops by the staircase of a block of flats.She looks deep into the eyes of the uncle sitting on the steps. There is this weird electricity about the gaze.Then they start talking, like they've known each other for decades."Wah, this uncle, very good, the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-49135371570411905022007-04-29T00:19:00.001+08:002007-04-29T00:35:46.134+08:00

After a drought of movies worth hype and anticipation, Spiderman 3 is finally coming out. There are so many friends who, for the thirst for a blockbuster or for some common talking point, are going to catch it on May 1. I don't know if it's true for you guys, but it seems like it's forcing a consideration of whom I should be watching this with. "It's just a minor decision in life for sure", my

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-43171274564831587782007-04-29T00:19:00.000+08:002007-04-29T00:35:45.330+08:00

After a drought of movies worth hype and anticipation, Spiderman 3 is finally coming out. There are so many friends who, for the thirst for a blockbuster or for some common talking point, are going to catch it on May 1. I don't know if it's true for you guys, but it seems like it's forcing a consideration of whom I should be watching this with. "It's just a minor decision in life for sure", my

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-10036247445830524262007-04-22T10:33:00.000+08:002007-04-22T10:34:50.396+08:00

I learnt a phrase which I want to share with everyone.It basically means "There are exceptions to the norm."SPRINKLING OF OUTLIERS IN THE CURVE OF THE NORMAL HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-2099983060303534562007-04-21T09:59:00.000+08:002007-04-21T10:20:54.162+08:00

My blood froze when I heard from my mum the news of the Virginia Tech massacre.I was lying down on red, muddy, grimy earth. Beside me was a half-dug fire trench. In the darkness, I could merely make out the inconsistent sound of soil being hit here and there, the faint glow of fire flies making their rounds.It was especially apt, when my mother added in the message, "It's not worth it being angry

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-43825945507330522942007-04-15T10:00:00.000+08:002007-04-15T10:19:47.402+08:00

I feel like writing.I dropped an e-mail to Mr Wong Ah Yoke, gastronomic journalist who writes a weekly column on the last pages of Sunday Times, requesting to follow him for one of his food hunts. His articles have this kind of pull, aided by Singaporeans' love for food, which attracts you to read them even though you might not have tasted a foie gras, a truffle or suckling pig in your life. I

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-40417083324326234422007-04-01T21:26:00.000+08:002007-04-01T21:44:04.534+08:00

I just want to kind of pay tribute to Erica's blog entry about the geogers.http://harpingale.livejournal.com/, March 26th 2007It takes a spark like this to jolt back so many closeted memories.I think geogers became geogers, not because we forced ourselves to be geogers, but because we chose to be our very own self, that brought this most bizarre combination of people together. I read through all

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-6367986826386046722007-03-31T23:33:00.000+08:002007-03-31T23:54:45.375+08:00

How is it that one can feel so happy and sad at the same time? So much to be merry about, but so much to dread and fret.Love has a big heart. With someone whom you share this big heart, you can talk all day, in person or over the phone, even if it's pointless teasing each other, even if it's silly banter on the details of the enjoyable Subway dinner. At the end of it, you feel like you've had

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-50705496242893648832007-03-24T22:23:00.000+08:002007-03-24T22:39:37.883+08:00

Was halfway through a swim on a clear Thursday morning.Then a message arrives, "Congratulations on being admitted to the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration."It has been quite a long time since I felt ecstasy. It was such an invigorating feeling. Finally, finally, something out of the whole uni/scholarship shit that I've been messing around for a year now. Looking back at all the

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-68052367287959111202007-03-21T10:43:00.000+08:002007-03-21T11:05:01.511+08:00

When I sit down after a long hiatus at blogging, and want to conjure something to pen down, what follows is an intense rememory of the happenings for the past month, past weeks. It becomes sometimes a struggle ("Hmmm, what epitomises/encapsulates the past month?") and the best thing to write is about just any random thought. Spontaneous, unfettered and mostly nonsensical.Things haven't changed.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-14274837599432796152007-02-04T17:46:00.000+08:002007-02-04T18:03:44.639+08:00

Such a decadent field camp.As the men dig away, the OC, CSM, PCs and PSs cook in the training shed. Luncheon meat, sausages, instant noodles, tomtato pasta, corned beef. I have gained some weight from being spoilt for choice.But I kind of hate myself for being in this core group. I realised how sickening it can be to the men, as I close my eyes and listen intently at the kind of carefreeness and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-9506262571213882312007-01-28T00:33:00.000+08:002007-01-28T00:59:20.196+08:00

The week has passed like a fly out of a honey jar.What am I saying...Anyway, I have finally bought my TIMEX heart rate monitor. It's really useful to target different performance results, especially in running. I feel like I really really really really need it, it's not an impulse buy and it's going to be one of those things that will live to stay.To be very frank, I still haven't adapted well to

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1168001855273548712007-01-05T20:43:00.000+08:002007-01-05T20:57:35.296+08:00

It's this dusty Friday evening in camp. Lights are kind of dim, the night is kind of dark. The DYs have booked out, only Cedric, Jimmy and Zhi Yang are left in camp to rot with me in the mess. This week has been HUGE. It's when you hold such high hopes for your men and paint such a fantastic(al) vision, that you realise how much disappointment you can fall into. Never have I felt such

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1167495751570587452006-12-30T23:48:00.000+08:002006-12-31T00:22:31.606+08:00

After a long long wait, Cornell finally tells me that "they will postpone a final decision on your application". AHHHH. What a heartache. I will only know in mid-April the FINAL FINAL FINAL decision.The effort, is it worth it? Sometimes, it can get quite tiring, to be honest. All this scholarship and university application. Am I to APPLY for another UNI ALL OVER AGAIN!??! Scrambling to boil

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1166865370428799782006-12-23T16:46:00.000+08:002006-12-23T17:16:10.463+08:00

It scares me, this thing about abundance.Every festive season, we just can't seem to get enough of the resplendent lights along Orchard. It kind of gets blinding after a stroll down the busy street, dazzling, but still dizzying. And if my memory served me right, the government had recently plumped a plan to rejuvenate the night lives of duller crannies of Singapore. Yes, that's right.But

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1166284690985927742006-12-16T23:33:00.000+08:002006-12-16T23:58:11.016+08:00

5 SIR is like an old primary school. The walls are beige, the canteen is full of soldiers queueing up, the atrium is a sort of common area reminiscent of where kids play their five stones or hopscotch. S1 to S4 offices are located on one level, just like the staff room level. There's the rusty gym, the dreaded dentist, water coolers positioned strategically all around. There's COMMANDING OFFICER

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1165938305020848722006-12-12T23:30:00.000+08:002006-12-12T23:45:05.040+08:00

Really, I have commissioned.It's funny how we all die for this day to come, and when it finally does, we want to wind back the hands of time. I wish that toss of a cap froze in time, that all glory that we celebrated could be preserved in whatever preservative is deemed suitable. Of course, that's wishful thinking. "Sir, sir, sir," someone calls for me. An awkward sense of pride intermingled with

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1165065444085373142006-12-02T20:44:00.001+08:002006-12-02T21:17:24.143+08:00

Two weeks into JOINT TERM (to the uninitiated, JOINT TERM pulls back the reins that hold on to people from different arms and reunites us in an over-crowded congregation in SAFTI MI), and it has been a hectic period. Parade rehearsals are revving up our engines but far from raring to go, we're all so washed out with fatigue that we just want to go back to bunk, chill in ice and bathe in milk. The

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1163944791178902322006-11-19T21:46:00.000+08:002006-11-19T21:59:51.196+08:00

It's funny this addiction with food. You decide to go hungry for a bit so that you could settle for a huge meal, then you go on and reach your limit. Then unwittingly, you somehow decide to go beyond this limit, either because you know that it's going to take some time before you become full again (highly unlikely) or you are just insecure (not really!).Now I'm in one of those modes, sitting and

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1163857283698084752006-11-18T21:23:00.000+08:002006-11-18T21:41:47.493+08:00

This tagboard is giving me problems which I find hard to resolve. Why is there suddenly a need for a password?It's been a while since I updated. I've been really busy, don't know with what, things have just gone on and on. Every week's like a syllable of a long word of a convulated statement of a paragraph of an essay of a dissertation blahblah. Not exactly monotonous, not exactly bursting with

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1159359179083093382006-09-27T19:47:00.000+08:002006-09-27T20:25:41.206+08:00

This is the last night of RCP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yes, this very moment, I realise that once I wake up tomorrow, do my IPPT, I will be done, done and over. Woooooo hoo.Past few days, I've been working out to try to better my IPPT scores, which is quite hard really, because like the onset of a mid-life crisis, my fitness hasn't really gone back to what it used to be.

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1159015942278844602006-09-23T20:51:00.000+08:002006-09-23T21:09:53.393+08:00

I really feel like writing now. Not being able to get into blogger just now proved to trigger off an internal explosion that kept hitting on the walls of my brain.I have been charged with possession of blank rounds. It's one of the most stupid crimes to ever commit. How could I have forgotten to surrender them? As my sentence was read out, Wing Comd said, "Brandon, frankly I am abit disappointed

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1157765191326854642006-09-09T09:09:00.000+08:002006-09-09T09:26:31.346+08:00

No news is good news.Life has been sweet. Even in the most dizzying routines, there is still much joy derived from it. How weird, amusing and funny at the same time, that the Army actually gives me more satisfaction at this point in time compared to other human activity. There are things to be learnt, alot to be acquired, beyond what the academic and institutions preach.In a way, the Army is so

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1154833758331452712006-08-06T10:37:00.000+08:002006-08-06T11:14:17.450+08:00

Just a quick update for civilian friends out there, who wield the power of freedom and choice.I recently fell into the clutches of evil viral fever, and sucuumbed to 3 weeks of virtual inactivity. It's tiring. Like trying to fight a monster or a disease. It began with a 40 degree Celsius fever, which caused the medic at SAFTI to jolt back in his seat. He quickly rushed me to this room filled with

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225559.post-1152367632605451042006-07-08T21:56:00.000+08:002006-07-08T22:07:12.626+08:00

Peter chose not to walk down that lane. That perspective needed a sudden change, needed a change so that perhaps that rattan basket won't come flying into his face. He took a step forward.How could he forget that portrait? You know how. The pupils in those eyes tucked in one corner in booze of white, having that constant stare as if ready to explode if a crumb fell from your daily bread. That

Brandonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13374169524582922027noreply@blogger.com