Last Battle! Whistle-controlled-switch in my room?

There's just one more paper to go and the electrical engineering students in Monash will be free! MERDEKA! (translates to Freedom or Independence in english).

The freedom won't be long though. In another 3 weeks we'll be back in university again for the coming semester. I'm actually looking forward to that, despite the fact that there'll be a lot of stress and work. BRING IT ON! Haha. I'm just excited that we'll be designing our own stuff in one of the units called Engineering Design. It's a super cool unit I guess.

Speaking of design, I just noticed that I didn't include something in the To-Do list posted earlier. I wanted and planned to build a Whistle-Controlled-Switch in my room! Dad said yes. He's my Hero, as always.

Technically, there are plenty of things to build and precautions to take, due to the high voltage power supply coming from the wall sockets. Generally, what this switch does is, upon sensing a whistle, it turns on the lights or the fan in the room. Whistling again at a different frequency turns off all the lights or the fan. Cool eh?

Anyways, I intend to enhance this design by using micro-controllers (microchips), that's coming soon to my doorstep. Instead of using whistle, I plan to use voice command, or even better, smart voice detection that only the room owner could give the commands to turn off or on the lights. LOL. My mum's going to scream.

Looks like there's a lot to do after the exams. As for now, I want to concentrate on my last paper, scheduled tomorrow at 8.30 am! All the best to everyone!

A Soldier Without His Weapon

What is a soldier without his weapon? Will he die in the battle or is there another way to keep him alive? Which would I be? LOL. I left my whole stack of Telecommunication notes at home! And i'm only armed with a laptop and a book.

Oh my. The paper starts at 1.30 pm, in roughly about 4 hours time. AAAHHH!

**************

10.00 am: Dad took the notes all the way from home to Monash. Dad, you're my Hero! =P

Dear Daddy... p/s: I LOVE YOU.

Exams have been more than cruel to me. It's daddy's day today! Everyone else in the country and perhaps in some corner of the world is spending quality time with their dads and granddads and I'm stuck to my chair trying to do last minute revision for my paper tomorrow. Haha.

But it didn't stop me from jumping on my dad from the back this morning, giving him his first peck of the day and wishing him 'Happy Dad's Day' and telling him what a superstar he has been all along. I really love that man. I do. LOL. (Sorry, i just can't help but to express what i feel).

I guess daddy really understands what I'm going through (don't get me wrong, it's EXAMS, and not other things that might have crossed your mind) because he is just so cool when he told me that having us around (actually me, only ME. LOL just joking.) makes everyday a Father's Day to him. Awww that's just so sweet.

And for that, I want to honour him for the role he played in my life. Here. Ever since i was born I've been a part of everything he does. He was my driver (before i got my driving license), my gourmet cook (he always makes sure that i eat, even when he's busy with work), my drink buddy (we drink a lot) , my mentor in work, my work partner, my best friend (he talks to me about girls and well, anything and everything a teen goes through in life), occasionally my shoulder to lean on when i have problems, my ATM and mobile bank (LOL), a provider; he is much more than what a Father has been created for.

Bonus points for my dad: He gives me surprises all the time, especially on special days. What else could i asked for, sometimes i question myself.

To everyone reading this and all out there,

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

p/s: Daddy, I Love You.

2 DOWN, 2 MORE TO GO!

Exam fever has started hitting all Monashians (all campuses, M'sia, AUS and South Africa) students and lecturers alike, since 10th of June! Even the 'kakaks' (means sisters in English, crude translation for female general workers) who kept the campus clean felt the heat wave breezing through the edges of their orange uniforms. 10th June marked the day where students start to camp in tutorial rooms and every quiet corner they could find around the campus, with food and rough papers (lots of them!), and orange workers would have to hunt them down. Not the guys of course, but the leftovers of food and used papers. Armed with only a pair of tired legs, a broom and a mop, these orange soldiers sure have a lot to do.

Okay. Enough emphasis on the workers. The whole institution was dragged into this frenzy, this unavoidable 'zombification' period. Some read with mouths wide open, some had bubbles overflowing the oral cavity (just exaggerating) and some are just emotionless (all emotions drained by the notes right before their eyes). Even the security guards are stressed up. I think it's not due to the exams. In fact they look as though they haven't got much to do during this period. I saw new recruits. I think that's the source of their stress.

No doubts, us students and our 'beloved' (okay fine, i understand that not everyone agrees with me on this) lecturers are tied to our chairs, chained by the syllabus, head bombarded with right and wrong answers, and dread the all-of-a-sudden slow moving time. On the contrary, i know some who are not enslaved by the exams. Lol.

As for me, half the battle was fought. Two more papers to go on Monday and Wednesday and I will be free busy with other things. haha. I just notice that my To-Do list is as long as my Wish-list. And i want to list it down here so that i will remember to do all the things i promised I would do, and so that you guys can check if i missed out your name. LOL.

TO-DO List:

***********

1. KL Marathon

2. Movie Marathon

3. Steamboat with Marilyn, Natalie and the gang

4. Bake B-day (Birthday, also Bernard Day) cake

5. Celebrate B-day with different groups of peeps

6. Hang out with my best friend, Hsien Hooi

7. Buy B-day present

8. Hang out with Alvin Kok

9. Hang out with Marilyn and Nat

10. Fix my neighbour's internet problem

11. Fix my aunt's Garmin

12. Re-enrol (I JUST REMEMBERED, OMG)

13. Meet up with co-author and continue to pen the books

14. Research work

15. Year-end competition preparation

16. My own work

17. Buy photo frames (many of them)

18. Edit all the panoramas i have abandoned and some other shots

I think that's all. LOL. Note that there're no holiday vacations being planned ahead. Oh my. The question is, could i even do all the things listed above, within the short break period of 3 weeks?

Unwrapping HP Mini 210!

The long awaited HP Mini promised by TM has finally arrived! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO! There's no need for lengthy descriptions, just... feast your eyes!

The Box:

Top View:

Closer look:

The Computer is Personal Again!

Checking out the contents:

The baby, carefully placed and protected:

Surprise! The gang:

Sleekness. YUM.

Prior to removing the keyboard protective sheet:

Keyboard, naked.

Closer look at the keys.

And powering it up!

We still haven't found a use for the netbook yet lol since all of us have our own lappies at home. Specs aren't extremely good for any specific use, but good enough for its size. The specs:

10.1 " Anti-glare widescreen display

250 GB Hard Drive

1024 MB DDR2 SDRAM

802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth

3-cell Lithium-Ion Battery

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 with shared graphics memory

5-in-1 Digital Media Reader

Intel Atom N450 Processor (1.66 GHz)

Webcam

Windows 7 (32 bit) =P

LOL. What do you think? It's totally free.

Kick-starting the New Year.

"Twenty Ten". Definitely much easier to pronounce than "Two Zero Zero Nine", and i hope that it means this year would be better lived than the year before.

Well, so far the new year isn't so bad. With only just a few days passed, it sure has been happening. What a humble beginning. And what a number of beginnings around me that this new year has brought me. The beginning of a new life, new ties, new hope, new heart, new opportunities, new friends and a new attitude.

On the eve of new year, I'd decided not to go anywhere as it was still 2009. True that i should be celebrating the passing of 09' but i felt that it would be more meaningful if i celebrated 2010 when it HAS arrived.

The first day was great. The evening was spent in the warmth and comfort of a good companionship =) and late evening was filled with drinks and family chats. And nobody needs to know what happened for the rest of the day.

Haha. Up to date, there are reasonably few outings that i have gone to. With Hooi and the gang (photos posted on Facebook), old friends (Li Jia, and the rest of the form 6 gang, photos again, on Facebook), family gatherings, birthdays, special ones, and a reunion with brothers.

The dawn of new year has been a little funny and surprising too. Someone told me she had a crush on me and asked whether i felt the same. I had to tell her that i was unavailable, though i felt bad. Anyway, the funniest thing that happened so far was that i stepped outta my house, took the lift down to my car and went out to the shoplots in my boxers without knowing it. And i met so many people on the way. LOL. I thought i was wearing shorts.

Oh well, that's the updates for now. Too much fun stuff to tell here. Feeling lazy to pour.

Welcoming year 2010.

A brand new year is going to be here soon. =)

I haven't thought of serious resolutions for the coming year yet (though i have decided on some, listed below), but i sure have things to say to and about the year which is about to become history, year 2009.

Year 2009 saw plenty of challenges in many aspects, from trying to keep certain things alive, while my own life was barely balancing on the edge of an elephant's tusk, working hard to keep the balls up and juggling, to witnessing an act so cruel done so deliberately at such a mercilessly strategic time to me. Oh well.

***

Year 2009 sure had a lot in store for me. But i'm ready to forget it all. Living through the year would now just be a dream for me.

I will remember how cruel people have been. And i will pray for them, for i know they will get it one day.

I will miss those who had left the world dearly. I hope that they've found a better place.

I will cherish You.

I will not fall so easily.

Irresponsible words hurled at me, thank you but I'm no longer interested. Eat your words if you want.

I will drink more.

I will spend more time for '*'.

Less calls, more face to face conversations.

Bigger heart. For people around me.

Bake and cook more, for doing these things keeps me at peace.

Keep a discreet life.

More patience.

***

And of course there'll be more from where these came from.

On top of everything, after giving a thought about it for a long time, I will be a changed person in 2010.

Till the day comes, peace to all.

Happy New Year. May 2010 bring everyone blessings. Especially to those who need it.