Statistics

2342hrs: I just added a hit counter on this blog on Sunday. Guess how many hits I've had since? A big fat SEVEN! That's how popular my site is. Actually that figure is not entirely accurate. I suspect two of those hits were my own so I've had a total of FIVE hits in 48 hours. Then again, I can't really blame anyone for that. This blog is so bare and the colour resembles that of a corpse. And without any features to zest it up, it's a double whammy. I've promised myself to revamp this site for awhile now but I always procrastinate thinking no one reads this anyway. The story of Ben...doesn't sound like a bestseller to me. Worst, during the month long hiatus I almost forgot I had a diary. Fine just to see who really bothers to read this web, I'll revamp this site over the weekend and see if it helps. And if it doesn't, it just proves my theory accurate. Hmm...I hope my HTML isn't too rusty. I'm not too familiar with the customizing of blogspot's blogs. But never the less I'll make this my very own.

Alright way way way past bedtime. Had a crappy driving lesson today if anyone wants to know. But I hit my highest speed today! 80km/h! I hit 80km/h! Alright that's like first gear in Ferrari speak but that's my fastest speed. I can't hit that speed on my bike! Which makes this a new experience. On this day 30 August 2005 at 20:17HRS, Ben hit his fastest speed in a vehicle. He broke his previous record of 60km/h by 20km/h. Which makes the next top speed 80km/h!!!

Wonder when I'll hit speeds like this...



By the way, the speedometer reads 190km/h. And yes, it's a real picture my friend took while in Malaysia. He leaned over to the driver's side and snapped this. No they weren't in some high powered twin-turboed baby seal clubber that takes out 1 square mile of Antarctica everytime it revs. It's a 1.6L Nissan Sunny.

120 mins past snooze time @ 0005hrs

The Hunt For Red October

2229hrs: YES! YES! YES! I've finally finished something I started 7 years ago. I've finally finished reading Tom Clancy's 'The Hunt For Red October'. I picked it up when I was 14 but the book just seemed so boring to me then and I couldn't read more than a few pages without nodding off. But I recently picked it up after 'Bear and the Dragon' and once I started, I couldn't put it down. I finished it a little more than a week and I watched the movie right after. Well, the movie was disappointing. It didn't bother to follow the story at all. Other than putting faces to the characters in the novel, it didn't serve much else.



I was never quite interested in submarine warfare but reading how submarines stalked each other in the open oceans was pretty exciting. I always thought excitement only came from zooming around at 30,000ft in 30 million dollar jets with blood rushing to your head. But when you think of it, submarine warfare is pretty similar to dogfighting except it happens at a much slower pace. I was browsing through some books yesterday when I came across a book titled 'Fleet Tactics'. It did look interesting but the only thing I ever wanted to do with ships was catapulting off the deck of an Aircraft Carrier in an F-14D Tomcat. Even that fantasy is coming to an end with the Tomcat now in it's final phase of decommissioning. But now I'm having second thoughts about that book. I wouldn't mind having it in my library if it's cheap. Guess I'll go check it out again next week and see if it's still there.

The end of another weekend at 2242hrs

Just Another Saturday Night...

0213hrs: Just finished watching Adam Sandler's '50 First Dates'. Like all of his other movies, they always come with a nice love story though with many quirky moments. In this Henry(Adam Sandler) meets Lucy(Drew Barrymore) who has short term memory loss which renders her unable to remember anything that's happened the day before. And everyday Henry has to remind her that he's her boyfriend and that they've been seeing eachother for ages. And he does this everyday even after they're married. I guess it's the sort of story that warms the heart.



Actually it just reminds me that I'm single(which I'm not saying is a bad thing). It'll be nice to bring meaning to all those love stories I've read about in my books. I guess I just miss playing the dating game. The flirting, the uncertainties and the closeness. But at the same time I'm comfortable in this current state as well. Th freedom I have without being shackled to a relationship. Guess what I'm looking for is just an even mix in my social circle and a couple of close girl-friends wouldn't hurt too. I just want it to be like the old days but this time it'll be without all the silly crushes and uncertainties. This was how my social circle was 5 years ago:



The proximity to the centre in relation to the dots represent the closeness I had with the people represented with the blue and red dots. Blue being guys duh! and red being girls double duh! As you can see, the ratio of guys to girls is quite balanced even right up to the centre. And I was happy then. Saturday nights would find me out doing something ANTYHING. I always had friends to hang out with and loneliness was unfathomable then. But now 5 years later:



Things are vastly different. The last 3 Saturdays found me home alone doing nothing of great importance. The recent Saturday gone by found me hanging out at the library alone and joining my married friend his wife for dinner. How much more depressing can it get? I know the reason why things are like that now is because unlike my friends who got introduced to a new social circle in their tertiary years, I didn't. Worse I lost my church friends when I stopped making appearances in church. I stopped contacting anyone not even on ICQ/MSN. Thus now 5 years later I'm feeling the full force of my actions. I don't know how to solve this problem now. All I can do is go with the flow of things and use what available time I have to study my Math, catch up Tom Clancy novels and perhaps cycle a little more.

Only the lonely 2225hrs

Management lessons

2223hrs: I know I haven't been updating this blog for awhile now but I just haven't had the inspiration to write. But during those spasms of inspirations I've had in the last month, I was too lazy to get on and type. But here I am sharing some funny stuff I found...enjoy.

Lesson Number One

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not."So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management LessonTo be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson Number

TwoA turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy.""Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with Nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the Tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a hunter who shot him from the tree.

Management LessonBullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson Number Three

When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions."The feet said, "We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go."The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money."And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss.So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered.Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed.All the other parts did all the work while the Boss just sat and passed out the shit!

Management LessonYou don't need brains to be a Boss - any asshole will do.

Lesson Number Four

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm andhappy, and soon began to sing for joy.A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

Management Lesson

1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.

2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.

3) And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

Still lazy at 2227hrs

Chopin's Minute Waltz

2327hrs: That's the newest addition to my favourite classical pieces. And a friend of mine (soon to be my piano teacher) played it for me yesterday on his baby grand piano. It was really a joy to see the inner workings of my favourite instrument with the 'hammers' striking the string with such ferocity and speed. It just sealed my determination to master this instrument.

It's funny how my friend and I always bicker and fight when we're in camp but the moment he starts playing a piano, he gets infinite respect from me. I loved watching him play La Campanella on his grand even his cute younger sister didn't manage to steal my attention away from his hands. I'm just hoping that one day I'd be able to play some of my favourite Jazz and Classical pieces on the piano. I guess the piano to me has always been the inspiration to expand my acoustic knowledge. Thus I have decided to pick up on the instrument starting next year after my Army stint is over. And with a part-time job while waiting for the Poly term to start, I just might be able to afford the Clavinova pictured below.



Saw this baby in the Yamaha showroom but thought it was way over budget with it's SGD$3200 price tag. But saw this particular one on Yahoo Auctions Singapore going for SGD$2000. Which is quite a bargain considering it's new. The reason why I'd rather have this than a conventional upright piano is cause this allows me to plug in a set of earphones and let's me practise without bothering anyone. Second of all it's smaller than an upright. And since my piano friends says there's no difference betwen this and his grand piano, I guess that's enough for me. At least enough through the learning stages.

Still Waltzing along at 2347hrs