Yesterday went to a talk at NTU about tapping into the brain. Well Friday I had no lessons, the only thing is this seminar. Well some told me are you crazy? Just going to school for this kind of talk. But after attending this talk I'm so amazed how we are all wired up when we go through the process of growing up. And our behavior, temperament and IQ are actually almost genetically preset. From what I can remember, 20 - 30% of our temperament and 30 - 60% of our IQ are passed down genetically! Means that part of your behavior and IQ is already preset once you are born. Of course during our growing process we learn and change. From the age from baby it's best to teach your child all sorts of skills like reading and talents, once at ages 12 - 15 your brain takes a break from all those thinking and learning. There's were teenagers become rebellious and have their own thinking cause it's the period where they start to have their own principals and values. After that, their values will stick with them for life. And we continue to learn and change our behavior up till about the age of 20. And after 20, we tweak our abilities and behaviors to become better. At the age of 30, that's it, we are what we have become.
We played a game, which was very interesting that she was able to guess what we wrote. it's not hocus pocus. It's actually because we are all wired in the brain to write that answer already. Amazing.
Our brain loves challenges and newness. To be able to have an efficient brain, the speaker mentions about a few things we can do:
Diet Exercise Challenge Newness Love
The first few we always have heard of it. But for love, hey that's something new, to be smarter, you need love! It can come from your parents, or siblings or your love partner. All the showers of love and motivation maybe make our brain feel good and we also learn from our partners and simulate each other. Love make you live longer and smarter. Wow.
I read today in the papers that lonely people are lonely because..... their immune system is all in a mess. Again it touched on genetic relation as there are genes which codes for lonliness?
Do genes control part of our lives? I don't know but seems that studies have already come out some proven facts. In years maybe we will know.....
"A Getai (literally song stage) (Pinyin of Simplified Chinese: 歌台), is a usually boisterous life stage performance held during the Ghost Festival commonly held in Singapore, in contrast to the generally solemn mood of the festival. The stage setup is usually composed of temporary structures and situated in the suburbs of the city in any empty field or even in carparking spaces.
The event is usually meant to be performed to the spirits and also the people alike during the seventh month. The backdrop of the stage is usually made of cardboard and clothes painted in bright colours. Also, spotlights, usually consisting of brighter colours, like, red, blue, pink and yellow. The performers would normally don loud and glittery clothing, and the compère would spout crude jokes all in the name of fun.
The younger folks in Singapore would normally relate to a Getai as kitsch, as the performers would sing and talk in Hokkien, which is a dialect they label as crude and passe. The older people would normally enjoy watching a Getai, dance and sing along to the staple songs." Quote from Wikipedia.
Getai, once a dying unique trade in Singapore is now once again uplifted in 2007 thanks to Royston Tan's movie: 881. These performances are held only during the Hungry Ghost Festival, where there will be performances by various Hokkien (福建) singers. Usually these performances are well attended by the old folks who enjoys such performances. But you'll tend to observe 90% of the crowd are old men as usually the main draw of the performances are having young girls or women dressed in glittering skimpy clothes singing and dancing to upbeat hokkien grooves. But mind you, they have real talent in singing their hokkien songs. Although Hokkien sounds crude, it's somewhat a language which can make people laugh due to it's crude language and many straight forward jokes either dirty or decent. Well most Singaporeans will use it for dirty jokes, especially in the Army. It's somewhat a language most Singaporeans can understand even if they don't speak.
Most of these getai singers are local or from Malaysia, maybe even from Taiwan. It's a once in a year thing for them to perform and earn some money. It's quite a tiring thing to do especially those who have to come from Malaysia to Singapore, sing in the night, then return back to Malaysia on the same night. The past few years, getai was facing a crisis as there is less and less people coming to watch the performances. Organisers were facing huge losses. Young people don't watch this kind of stuff. Once, there was even some sexy pole dancing performance to attract the crowd again. It worked, for a while. But soon died off. This year 2007, there is once again alot of hyped about getai in newspapers. Maybe due to the popular movie "881", getai was revived once again. Some youngsters, so influenced by the movie went to even watch getai to experience the feeling of watching such performance. Will getai be a dying trade in Singapore again? Not for now.
One thing to note if you are intending to watch getais, you'll notice that the front row seats are always empty. These front row seats are meant for the "good brothers and sisters" to sit on. So don't ever sit on those seats.
It was after school when I bumped into Ryan, Leroy and Peishan. Looking for a relaxing day after hectic school, the 2 guys are craving for some nice food in Queenstown. Since it's been a long time I have been to Queenstown to eat. Went off with them for dinner. Peishan joined us later. We ordered Char Kway Teow, Chicken chop, chicken cutlet and finally a half chicken. Yummy feast. So full. Then chatted and waited for another League member Ewan for his dinner again. Lol. Finally reached home at 11.30 pm. Tired!
The third of the Bourne series. I guess everyone has waited quite a long time for this since The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy. Finally you'll get to know the ending of the conspiracy involving Jason Bourne and his lost memory. The movie is excellent, keeps you excited about every Bourne movement and the amount of effort the CIA is trying to catch him............. or kill him. I highly recommend this for those who has watched the first two parts of the Bourne series. 5/5 Stars!
Watched it with Neil and Jenny, Ratatouille has scored another since Finding Nemo. Watching the film is really enjoyable, following the little mouse's adventure and aspiration to be Paris finest cook along with linguini the garbage boy. The graphics get even better in this film as most of the stuff in the film are as real as in the motion picture film. I'll recommend you to watch this film! 5/5 stars!
Singapore's inflation rate has risen to 2.6%!!!! Highest in the history!! I guess everything prices has risen is due to GST hike. That means that every year you'll be spending more than earning.
Dunno why felt so lost in school.... felt so aimless. Going to tutorial, felt so panicky that I can't understand what they are teaching. Difficulty understanding French today. Suddenly the time spent in school is so long... returned home at 9 pm to have my dinner!
Celebrated lp's birthday at Tony's Roma. First time eating at there in Suntec, Ordered a Roma's Feast which has corns, salad, chicken and honeyed Ribs. The ribs were good! After we finished our meal, there was an Australian family beside us. Lp has a weakness for cute babies, having saw the cute kid they had, she went to play with the kid. The baby was really beautiful, beautiful eyes and really cute chubby cheeks. Couldn't resist taking a photo with her. Naughty but cute!
After that, had a surprise for her at Swensens. A birthday ice cream cake! Yummy!!!
During our stay in Singapore, we planned to go to Malaysia on a Sunday cause we had exhausted those visitable places in Singapore. Well we didn't want to go far in cause of safety reasons, so we chose Johor Bahru as our destination. Supposed to go with some other friends but they turned it down later. Sunday wasn't exactly a sunny day. It was raining in the early morning-afternoon, we almost abandoned our trip cause of the rain. Luckily it was just a short rain. At about 1 pm, I looked out the window, signaled the all clear sign and sneaked out of the house with my gf. (Didn't want my mum to know or else she will nag me to death about going to Malaysia)
As was my first time going alone to Malaysia, feeling abit "sua ku" (山龟) at the customs. Singapore customs was fine. Just that going to the Malaysia customs, forgot to bring a pen to fill in the visitor's pass. Ended up in the police post...... (Just kidding, we went in to borrow a pen from them to fill our cards)
After the customs, we walked to the nearest shopping centre, City Square for some shopping. Lots of people cause they are having a computer fair there. Shopped around, didn't buy anything except for LP who bought a pair of heels cause her slippers broke halfway while walking. Didn't get to holiday plaza cause I didn't know where it is although they said it's near. Walked in the streets around, seeing many shops are actively selling pirated DVDs. Some seem so desperate to sell them even go out to the streets to ask people to look at their goods.
Buying kaya puffs.
Returned to the customs at about 6 pm but damned, it's the peak hour and everyone is trying to return to Singapore at this time also. The bus terminal is so packed full of people. Once returned to Singapore, still have to wait for the bus. Even saw some woman fighting with a man over some issue. Should be the woman was trying to cut the queue and the man said something about her. Who wouldn't be pissed to see that someone was cutting your queue? A tiring journey, we stopped over at Rail Road for some pizza, but alas! It has moved to Clementi, feeling so hungry, we settle for Murtabak at some coffeeshop nearby. It's almost 11 pm when we reached home. Tired!
The crowd around the Esplanade was PACKED and crazy. It was only 3pm in the afternoon and there are tons of people. I could not get to the Esplanade bridge as it was closed off by the police. Dismayed, I tried to find another good spot for photo shooting. Luckily found a place near Marina Bay where the view was even better than the Esplanade side! Really generous view of the stage and buildings. Posted some of the pictures.
Sounds suggestive? That's the new OSIM foot massager. I didn't know what product they are promoting when I saw the word "uSqueez" when walking with Neil through a OSIM promotion event. I was thinking of some kind of bust enhancement massager until I saw the video. OH foot massager. Gee seems like almost every of their products have a very suggestive theme. Just look at the iGallop. It just look so wrong! Lol. I will wonder what's the next new product they are coming out. iSqueeze? uGrab? iJump? uShake? Lol.
My first day of school in NTU. Well, ended up late for the lecture but wasn't too bad cause it's just the first lecture, only a very brief introduction of lessons. Soon to come where those lectures that you can't even understand and process what the lecturer is talking about. Got 2 subjects exempted for my first semester! Woo Hoo. Explored the around NTU for some familiarization. Anyway , the food at Canteen A really sucks! YUCKS! Ate this bak chor mee, and I thought I had gone back to the days of outration food. The noodles are bland, the soup taste like drain water (I really wonder did they used the water from the canal). Yucks. Not a very gastronomic start in NTU.
Watched the Simpsons movie on Saturday night. I would say thumbs up for this movie, although you will think it's a rip off for showing something that was a television entertainment to a full length movie theatre just like power rangers some other "extended" television series. But the whole movie is just full of funny jokes and laughs. Homer Simpson never fail to make you laugh off your chair. It's a must watch movie!
Baybeats is back! From tonight onwards (3 Aug) to Sunday (5 Aug) be treated to live performances from our local and overseas bands. Held every year it's an audio treat for all music band lovers!
Went to the NTU Freshmen Welcome Day. Went in a bit late. But it's alright, missed nothing much at all. Just listening to the various lecturers talking about their experiences as fresh undergrads. Got some goodie bags. A torch light, a sling bag and a slip of paper that tells you to collect another welcome gift during the middle of the month. After their talk, we were told to put on the graduation gowns (harry potter style) and say some NTU code (Blah Blah Blah). After that we were treated to some HOT hiphop jazz and cheerleading performance. Lastly there was a singing session by various students from Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam etc. In the Finale, they ended with "I believe I can Fly" which is the main theme of the Welcome Ceremony. It was errrr felt like dying instead of flying...
Went for a 麻辣 Hot Pot with Ewan and Jenny at Bugis. Ewan got a craving for some hot stuff so we had our trio League dinner. Lol. Anyway when asked for the type of soup, you can choose between fish soup, chicken soup, tom yam or the 麻辣 soup. You can have 2 soups at the same time. We ordered till 3 soups, chicken, fish and 麻辣. Ewan asked for the ultimate spicy for 麻辣!!! Eating your food cooked in 麻辣 just really burns your tongue. Jenny's lips was swollen and her tongue went numb after eating some of the 麻辣. But the spicyness was very shiok. Our butts are going to burn the next morning! Hahaha! So to cool down our burning stomachs after the meal. Had a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream of chunky monkeys and coffee chips. Didn't think we can finish the tub, but we did!
These few days I've been learning a lot about insurance and protection. Although it's tiring to sit through the lectures, everyday it's a full day lecture but I felt that's it's fruitful! Better than slacking at home doing nothing. Today is a rest day for me after taking a series of tests yesterday. Getting a license as an advisor isn't easy. Lots of government and internal tests to take and study, going for lessons and training. The working environment at my agency seems good also. Doing sales isn't my forte, but I hope to try this line in the financial sector and also to educate people about the importance of saving for retirement or other financial goals they want. Hope it goes well!
I learnt a little about investment today. Investment is about long term commitment, not just 1 or 2 years, but 10, 20, 30 years. It's a really long time period. But if you got the right investment, you'll see your returns. Don't be afraid of short term loss. High risk = high returns. But remember the risk is yours to bear.
This month of July will be my busiest month after working in OCBC. Before that I thought July will be the time for me to take a break before heading on to University, since I got the most suckiest job in my life working with OCBC which have to work everyday (Monday to Sunday) and being paid $6 per hour. But at least the working with other people who had the same fate as me was fun. To update you guys, I have been attending lessons and taking financial & insurance tests for a job as Financial Advisor. With so little time I have to study thick books within a few days and pass the tests for the job. Crazy! Next week will be lessons everyday. Still more tests to come. After that I'm qualified to give investment advice to people. As you may know that banks interests are extremely low, and their fixed deposits don't give much interests at all. So sometime in our life we need to invest to grow our money. Guys like me, not young anymore, after 2 years of NS, after graduating from NTU with a degree, it shudders me that what I'll earn is almost the same as what a female degree holder will earn when she is just sweet 21. 4 years to get my degree in Biological Sciences. I'll be 27. 27 and just started working as a fresh graduate? It's quite of a laughing stock. You have only 38 years to earn as much income as possible before you retire. I want to be successful when I'm 30, I'm sure many will want to do that also. Still a degree is a must. Knowledge is power. Right now I'm still sitting at the crossroads wondering where my path will lead me to happiness, growth and wealth. Will I be a potential Nobel Prize researcher or a successful Financial Advisor? It's so hard so hard...
It is the largest man-made structure in the world that is visible from outer space.
Petra, Jordan
Amazing piece of architecture located in the desert. It's totally carved out of rock! I remember seeing this in Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail movie.
Christ Redeemer, Brazil
Remember I saw this structure when Brazil won the world cup on television.
Machu Picchu, Peru
Such a cute name, sounds like the name of a Pokemon. But looks very very beautiful!! Often referred as "The Lost City of Incas".
Chichen Itza, Mexico
Built by the Maya civilization
The Roman Colosseum, Italy
Very popular icon. Where the ancient Romans have their entertainment on Gladiator fights.
Tomorrow will be the start of the LIVE Earth performances from all 7 continents of the world (Shanghai, Sydney, Johannesburg, London, Brazil, Japan and the United States) from 7 pm to Sunday 7 pm. Yup 24 hours of performances with famous stars like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Bon Jovi Etc. What's the purpose of this performance? It's the create awareness that our Earth is in danger of Global Warming. As might have noticed, that the weather in the world has gone haywire, you see flowers blooming in winter, snow in summer for those with 4 seasons. For Singapore, not much difference except that it's getting hotter and of course, pray that we don't get hit by the haze from Indonesia. I remembered there was one day that the haze was really bad till I can't really see object which are 50 metres away. Now does this concert really create any awareness about global warming? I must applaud Al Gore for his efforts in creating awareness about global warming in his talks and even has a documentary movie on it. But what I feel that people are just going to watch the concert JUST FOR THE SAKE OF WATCHING. After this concert, everyone will just forget about what's conservation of Earth. It should have some documentary in between the breaks to educate the viewers. I think it will get some message across. Well in Singapore I see some start in conservation of plastic bags. Environmental bags are the latest fashion among aunties! I have started reject plastic bags when buying some small stuffs, so you guys should get started too!
