Defense of the Ancients (D.O.T.A.)

I think most of us have heard of DOTA before. It's basically a Warcraft III custom map that allows 1 team of players to play against another team. Each player is able to choose a hero that has his or her own unique strengths and abilities.

I first bought the game about 2 months back, and started playing quite regularly here and there.

Till date, somehow, I still have not really mastered the game. For reasons unknown, the team that I'm in somehow usually lose.

The screen capture below shows one of the few times that I actually won, and I managed to get some good items (come on, it wasn't easy for me to get a Butterfly).


And I actually did pretty average as compared to other players (I'm ranked 4th below).

There's something inside me that always want to win. Hence, I get very frustrated when I lose games, even computer games like DOTA. I had never liked admitting that I'm bad at something.

I have come to a conclusion: My dota skills are really quite bad, despite consistent practise.

But honestly, so what if I always win in DOTA? That's just a virtual world and there's no prizes for it (unless I'm so good I play in WCG & win!!). I would prefer to be able to succeed in real-life.

I should focus my energy and competitive spirit in other areas of my life - like how to become a good & inspiring teacher. I think that's something that's more worthwhile to pursue.

Perhaps we should all stop and ponder: Is there anything in my life that I'm going after blindly? Is this thing worthwhile?




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10.. 9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. Merry Christmas!!!

Yesterday night, I did something that I haven't done for a long long time.

I went to Orchard Road for Christmas Countdown.


I actually accompanied some students who came from China (and are going to NUS soon) down to Orchard Road.

It was really really crowded. I haven't been in such a crowd for a very long time. I think the last countdown that I went was like 5 years ago.

There were a good mix of older people (like me) and younger people (like you!). There were also people from different races as well as nationalities. And many of us were spraying that foam-can all over the place. The moment someone start "shooting", a mini-war broke out, and everyone "shot" at each other. It was kinda chaotic actually.

But, everyone gathered at Orchard Road just to do one thing: To celebrate Christmas!!

We all sang the classical Christmas carols and had a lot a lot of fun.

A season of giving.
A season of love.
A season of family.
A season of peace.
A season of thanksgiving.
A season of joy.

That's what Christmas means to me. =)








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Merry Christmas!!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year!!!

I'm sure everyone has heard of this Christmas carol before. And not to forget, there are so many other classics like Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Silent Night, etc. All of which, I really enjoyed singing them since I was young.




This year 2006, what is it that you want to have for this festive season? Why don't you drop a tag and share with us.

For me, my Chirstmas wishes are
1) I can spend this festive season with my family & girlfriend.
2) I can have a good rest before NIE term starts again in Jan.

3) I can have a new sling bag (Crumpler one?).

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Wantan Mee...

A few nights ago, I did something really quite impulsive. It was 11:30pm. I was hungry and was on my way home in my car.

I really had a craving to eat something. Finally, I remembered that there's a good wantan mee stall at Dumman Road Food Market. Since I was near, I went there and parked my car, and decided to tabao wantan mee home.

When I went to the stall to order, the auntie told me that I have to wait at least 25 mins for my wantan mee.

25 mins!! Wah seh!! I was a bit double-minded.. I wanted to go home and rest coz I was quite tired. But the very thought of the wantan mee made me drool and I told the auntie that I would wait.

I sat down at a table and drank a cup of kopi as I waited. While waiting, I suddenly find myself like quite silly. "What the heck am I doing near midnight waiting for wantan mee?" Focusing my mind on the food, I banished every negaitve thought from my mind.

After almost 30 mins of insufferable waiting, finally, the yummy yummy wantan mee came!! I paid the money and went home quickly as I was tired and hungry and I wanted to eat at home in my air-conditioned room. The photo above shows my wantan mee.

When I reached home, within 10 mins, whatever that you see in the photo was gone. All in my stomach. I was like a bit duh... After a short while later, the taste began to fade in my mouth, and I felt kind of empty.

For a moment, while I was eating the food, I was really happy. Then the next moment, I found myself feeling quite silly why I waited 30 mins for a bowl of wantan mee when it was so late at night and I was so tired.

I thought about it.. I realized that sometimes, without thinking, I just go for things that give me instant gratification. Yes, it might be enjoyable, but it lasted only for a moment. After that, emptiness just sank in and I kind of regretted wasting time over it.

For myself, I think I would want to go for things that will last longer. And not just instant gratification.



On a side note, the wantan mee auntie actually told me to call in to order wantan mee before going there to collect. That will minimize waiting time. The name card below shows it all.








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Best Magic Show in Town!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

The best magic show cum musical is back! This Christmas season, come and experience one of the best shows in Singapore! MAGIC OF LOVE!!!!

It's really a very good show!! And its tickets are going at very affordable price.


Don't miss this chance to catch this very exciting magic show!! Lawrence and Priscilla have gone to many different countries - including different parts of China and Japan to perform.

The Magic of Love has gotten many many great comments from everyone who watched it. And it has even helped improved ties between Singapore and Japan.


Check out the sawing bodies, levitating objects, head removals and of course, not forgetting the Death Trap!! And besides, Magic of Love is also about a heart-warming story of a father's love for his daughter.

For more details, visit http://www.fcbc.org.sg/christmas/ If you want to watch the magic show, please don't hesitate to contact me. Can drop me a tag also.

Below are some nice photos of the Magic of Love...

Synopsis (from Magic of Lawrenance )
"In the story, Lawrence and Priscilla are brilliant magicians. The dark side of fame eventually turns Priscilla’s head and she wants more - stardom, her own show, and big money. She spurns her father Lawrence and finds a new partner in Charlie, unknowingly entwining herself in a sinister plot.

‘Magic of Love’ features the Table Of Death, a 200 pound table of heavy steel spikes held by a single rope which when cut, comes crashing down on a chained and shackled Lawrence with a chilling boom. Will Lawrence be able to escape and cheat death, or will this be his gory end?"

Long Awaited Genung Ledang Trip Photos..

Ice Tales - Have It Your Way!!!

Ice Cream for Sale!!
1 Scoop with 2 topping -> $1
3 Scoops with 3 toppings -> $3

Mocktail for Sale!!
Blue Temptation -> $2
Chocolate Black Cow -> $2
...

As mentioned before, last Saturday, my NIE GESL group went to sell ice-cream and mocktails at Ngee Ann Civic Plaza (in front of Taka) at Orchard Road. (For those who don't know, NIE means the place where teachers are trained, and GESL is some kind of service learning project group.)

It was actually the Children's Charity Bazaar, whereby all the money earned from all the stalls will be given back to various charity organisations. My GESL group was able to secure 2 stalls (thanks to our dear Adrian and Huilian!!) to sell things, as part of our service-learning project.

We actually had 4 youths to help us with selling the products. They are Kenny, Yu Pei, Ron and Elmo!! Special thanks to all their effort and help in making the whole thing a huge success. You guys ROCKS!!

Yah, we enjoyed quite good business. We managed to sell off quite a number of tubs of ice-creams, and many many cups of mocktails. It was really great to see the youths try their best to satisfy all the customers. Below is a photo of my parents and sister who came to show support! Check out the nice stall behind in the photo.





I really think that the Charity Bazaar is something very meaningful. I hope that next year, I will have a stall too. Of course, I will get people to help me. Check out my stall next year, folks!! =)

(I promise more photos to be up. I will get photos from Adrian and Yong Heng when I see them.)

10km Standard Chartered Run...

Last Sunday morning, I went for the Standard Chartered Marathon (SCM). Heh, in case you're wondering, nope, I didn't run the full marathon (42km!). I only ran 10km. Yeah, there's 3 categories for SCM - 42km, 21km and 10km.

Actually, I ran last year too. 10km as well. But the difference is that, this year, I ran in a group. There were 11 of us!! When one of us was tired, we would slow down, encourage him, and then go on together. We even had a lot of fun taking photos along the way.

Well, I realized that running a race in a group is really different. There's strength in unity. When a team of like-minded people gather together and run after a common dream wholeheartedly, I'm sure they can achieve it. Exactly like DTFW (previous posting).

Special thanks to the following people who ran with me: Wai Mun, Tung Ying, Stephen, Junhao, Charles, Yao Tian, Weijie, Junwei, Jerome and Kenneth.

I'm really proud of Kenneth!! He's only 15 years old and was willing to go for 10km run! Amazing for his age (he's not in track & field in school, by the way)!!

Dream. Team. Fight. Win.

As mentioned before, I went Genung Ledang with the RI/RJC basketball team last week. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along. Jonathan, their assistant coach has all the photos. When I have them, I will add them into the blog. =)

Something that I really remembered from the trip was when the coach, Yeang Cherng had a good talk with the whole basketball team - including the 'A' Div, 'B' Div and 'C' Div guys. He told them of how he started building the team from scratch. And he reminded them again what the 4 key principles are: "Dream. Team. Fight. Win."

I was really inspired by what he said. I personally believe that in life, we can accomplish almost anything if we follow those 4 principles.

Very often, we have a misconception. When a team of people gather, we always ask everyone for opinions and consensus as to what to accomplish or achieve. It doesn't always work this way because we would probably end up doing something that is easy and convenient for everyone.

But, when the person in authority or the team leader sets a DREAM, those that are willing to go for that dream, form a TEAM around it, then great things can happen. Because there is a common dream for everyone, the team members will be willing to let go of their own personal interests.

When we have such a team, then we can FIGHT for the dream. And we can finally WIN!

To sum it up, to do something great:

1) Have a big DREAM.
2) Get a TEAM of people around the dream.
3) FIGHT for the dream.
4) WIN it!

LiFe uPDates

I haven't being blogging these few days.

It's not because I've lost interest in blogging.

It's not because I'm going to shutdown my blog.

It's not because I was sick.

It's because I've being real busy.

Last week, I went to Genung Ledang with the RI and RJC basketball team. Their coach is someone i know and he asked me to go along with him to help take care of the guys.

Then on Sat, I was selling ice-cream with some youths from Yishun SCS (Student Care Centre) at the Children Charity Bazaar at Ngee Ann City.

Today, I ran 10km for Standard Chartered Marathon 2006! Oh boy!! I'm so exhausted.. Need a good rest soon.

For the next few days, I will post more about the above events that I've went through. Akan Datang!!