Elloz =) Have been away for sometime, real-life stuff is really catching up on me but yea. This post is solely intended as a response to the mini message board somewhere down the right hand side of the forums. It only has a restricted parameter of 200 words so I guess that since I'm pretty long-winded and expressive, that I will lay it out in the form of a post.

Firstly, a big thank you to readers out there who frequent the boards, the constant support from people in the form of messages. It really amazes me how some people still, and especially Ling bothered to take the effort to peek in during their free times. It only goes to show one thing, that people still CARE.

It is a pity, however that this is the only avenue where I can still keep in touch, maybe we can organise a meet-up ? We are so involved with commitments and work these days that nothing seem to matter anymore. On the other hand, it is to no suprise that with the use of technology these days, we are just about able to socialise just as effectively as in real life through the use of forums and blogs. And with the power of the Internet, it enables us to simply sit in front of the computer screen at the luxury of our own homes after a tiresome day at work and ratter out whatever we feel about.

Anyway I'm feeling tired and un-inspired at this point of time to be writing anything further so I'll just leave things as they are at the moment. Hope to hear from your guys-girls soon, so please leave a comment/message so that I know how your lives are going on as well. And for Ling, yea if possible do post something, so that at least I know how you're faring at the moment ya ?

Rallying Anime fans, are you Odexed ?

The Odex Saga may be old news, but I took some time out to revisit the grave in an attempt to shed some light on burning questions left unanswered.

YOU should, EVERYONE should ‘beware of what you download’, because the next batch of downloads could land you in hot soup facing charges in court. Yes Odex is in town and it’s notorious rise to fame as download enemy #1 has incurred the wrath of the general anime community, which raises doubts to it’s legitimacy over collecting fines from errant downloaders of anime.

Of course, this affects mainly the Neo-Anime public, and to a certain extent avid-hardcore downloaders have became increasingly conscience about the consequences of coming under Odex’s crosshair. So basically what is Odex, and what does it do? Odex is a non government related organisation/wholesaler/supplier founded by a group of people with monopoly rights to distribute/supply anime commercially to retail outlets in Singapore. It came to shore with a big bang claiming that they were given legal rights by main anime licensees to order fines on errant anime downloaders on the net, which has no doubt led to a big public outcry. Victims who are unlucky enough to be traced by their unique IP address through the BitTorrent client are slapped with letters demanding payment of ridiculous compensation sums of $5000. One note worthy of mentioning is that the letter also outlines the consequences of legal proceedings in the event that the poor soul defaults on his/her payment after the given dateline.

Enraged by the ridiculous sum and dismayed over their methodology, fans have took to the cyber streets in the form of E-Forums and have not stopped short of flaming Odex, insults and criticisms have expectedly been forthcoming in what has now been coined as the Odex Saga. Overnight, they have become public enemy No.1, and stirred up high levels of discontent not limited to anime users. People who had never watched an episode of anime have also came into the equation, actively voicing out their support for the victims, and general objections to the Odex clause. Lead by the bullish Mr Stephen Sing(Odex’s CEO), he even went on record of issuing threats of fine and legal action on public forums, claiming that his company will not back down on its endeavors to clamp down harshly(through fines) on people. In the process, virtually taking the law into his own hands, and behaving almost as though he enjoyed taking people down as his personal achievement. Mr Sing’s insensitive actions have no doubt angered the community and sparked an outrage among the fans who swore to boycott the company. He received hate mails and even death threats and as if that weren’t enough, Odex’s website being hacked, goes some way to show how much (LOVE) Odex is getting.

The chief complain regards to whether Odex (who is only a sub-licensee of anime) had the legal rights to collect fines and compensation on behalf of its parent company from illegal downloaders who break the law? Secondly, the company is critically lacking of transparency where it matters, people begun questioning where all the revenues from fines were going to ? Was is properly channeled to its main licensee or was the money misappropriated to fund the spiraling cost of its lawsuits? Where are the financial documents supporting its claims? Finally, Odex’s social ethics issue has been called into question by the community. It is already proven that innocent parties such as poor parents and ignorant young children were indeed made to pay despite the fact that they had little knowledge(not to mention money) as to what was going on. Is Odex morally right in collecting fines from poor aunties and uncles living on a tight salary? Or school-going children who even constantly have to worry if they have enough money to pay for their next meal? We are not talking about a few hundred here, it is $5000 in reality and serious questions have to be asked as to what really constitutes to that amount, is there a set formula justifying that figure or is it simply determined by Odex? Even the local Internet Service Providers have not been spared, and rightfully so. Singtel recently came under the spotlight over privacy issues, taking no less flak from Singtellers horrified over the revelation that their private information had been released to Odex without consent. The debate rages on among the general public as to whether Odex actually have the rights to demand private information from ISPs, and whether Singtel obligating to release information without even contesting it out in court was the acceptable thing to do. At least Starhub ‘DID’ put up a fight. In the infamous case of Pac Net, they blatantly said that ‘Odex had no case against them’ and their heroic efforts were rewarded in court, where the judge ruled in Pacific Net’s favour. Odex were told that they had no legal rights as sub-licensee which raises another debate, what about those who received the doom letter and had already settled payment? Were they legally entitled to do so? Contrary to the company’s policy, are they able to demand a refund if Odex never had the rights to collect in the first place?

Unsurprisingly, the media wasted no time in zooming into this saga in a bid to keep the cash registers ringing. Providing extensive coverage of the controversial Odex saga, from it’s lawsuit against Pacnet to calling it a ‘PR Disaster’. As I write, rallying cries have already started to ring around a group of anti-Odex protestors campaigning to raise substantial funds and exploring the possibility of taking Odex to court. Many disgruntled users (and there are a lot of high-spending power people in this category) have already boycotted purchasing Odex’s product whilst others are still very much not bothered by Odex threat and continue to download illegally. Such is the declining dominance of Odex’s threat and presence that people who received the letters simply throw them away and brush them off their minds. The general consensus is that people cannot be bothered anymore, not because they condone piracy. But the fact remains that Odex messed up big time, offended the wrong crowd, did not respect the values and passion of anime fans, while doing everything that could possibly go wrong. As a result, sparking off a revolution of magnitude never once experienced before, into a fashion where fans are never going to buy from them anymore, even despite them being the sole distributor. Coupled together with their poor quality animes comprising of bad subtitles and dubs, one just cannot help but feel that downloading(for the time being) is here to stay.

NSF Blues ???

So what's the latest news, gossips that's been floating around in the media ? The issue of CPL Teo smuggling firearms out of camp whilst doing guard duty. Found in his possession was a SAR21 rifle and 5 live rounds. So whats the real deal ? Relationship breakup and a surge of emotional outburst in the course of serving his mandatory National Service. There has been forums and articles throughout the country increasing public awareness to this big 'hoo-ha' phenomenon created by an individual's moment of rashness and irrational thinking.

Let's bring ourselves back to the basics of history. Adolf Hitler and Sadamn Hussein was widely respected in their respective countries despite their dictarion ruling, although thousands of innocent lives were lost by their iron fists. Osama and his network outsmarted the intelligence of the CIA and FBI to crash 3 commercial aircrafts right into the heart of one of the world's busiest and most prestigious Business Trade Centres and the Pentagon. In the past, the Japanese Military conducted a pre-emptive strike to destroy an entire fleet of warships in Pearl Harbour even before the birds could chip. What more can we now debate to our local version of a similair fashion ? He's no champion nor extremist as compared to people in history, but CPL Teo has certainly created a story of his own that we can all digest and learn from.

Let's roll back the tape to my own sentiments and opinion. Losing a loved one through mandatory slave labour is not an easy bullet to bite. A person comes out tops if he is able to take the trials that comes his way, and turn it around to become a better person. A silly person is one that dwells in his own problems, laments about his luck and blames others for his misfortune. An intelligent person is one that has been broken into pieces, stamped onto the ground. And yet able to pick himself up, mend the broken pieces and learn from his mistakes to shape a better character. Life is a game, sometimes its based on luck, more often, its our decisions and actions that creates the results of our doings.

Fast forward the tape to CPL Teo. Through my analysis, he's gotten himself into a real mess and fell into a deep well that is almost impossible to pull himself out of. All of this caused by a petty issue of a relationship breakup. In terms of the law, anyone caught smuggling firearms is subjected to a trial of a period of no less than 5yrs coupled with mandatory capital punishment, which is caning. Any servicemen caught for an offence by the authorities whether Police or Military Police, that is punishable by law not exceeding a 2 yrs sentence will be investigated, charged and tried under the SAF Marshall Court. The place of sentence is the Detention Barracks in Kranji. The case of CPL Teo is much more serious and hence, he cannot be tried under the Military Court, but proceeded through the Supreme Court. Unlike the past, there can be no double punishment in the sense that it is not possible for both the SAF and Civil Courts to charge him. This case will be pursued in the High Courts and it is likely he will have to face a sentence of around 6-9yrs imprisonment with a minimum 6 stroke taste of the rotan. However, he has yet to unleash his triumph card. If the psychiatrist successfully diagnoise him with a mental condition/problem, then there is a high chance he will escape capital punishment, and serve his sentence in a mental Institute rather than a prison facility.

To satisfy the curiousity of many minds, the M-16 and SAR21 Rifle can be easily dismantled by a person who has knowledge of how to do it. People point to the security issues of the camp, however they fail to realise how easy it is to walk out of camp with firearms as guard duty personnals are sometimes stationed sentry outside the camp or patrolling around it's premises. Therefore it is almost impossible to monitor the movements of a servicemen all the time, especially at night when it is all dark. The missing person was only realised during a master check at 2359, but in actual fact he could be long gone before that time. Therefore the manhunt was mounted for CPL Teo and he was found near Cineleisure, rifle was retrieved and the live rounds were not spent. As to why an AWOL personnal possessing firearms would hang around that area waiting to be caught is simply beyond my understanding.

Let's face the fact, nobody is born perfect and there is no individual in the world that hasn't made a mistake in their life. So who are we to judge ? Some may laugh over this incident and may even find it amusing. However, personally it is all about sympathy and compassion (my prayers are with him). The government did not start the yellow ribbon project for no reason. It is not all doom and gloom after being released from prison. My message goes out to people who are not willing to give ex-convicts a 2nd chance, and THESE are the hypocrites who dare to stand up to the world to proclaim that they have never made a mistake in their lives. BULLSHIT! Even judges who judge people, pastors who preach to others, parliament leaders and ministers that lead the country have broken the law in one sense or another. I do not believe that any driver has never exceeded the legal speed limit before. Therefore, give that man a break, stop posting pictures/blogs of his and his ex on forums and newspapers. CPL Teo is already suffering from a mental breakdown/torture. Whether the 5 rounds were meant for some1's body is not for us to speculate. Here we are concern about what's going on with his mentality, an unstable mind is capable of churning out all sorts of bizzare actions.

In conclusion, an individual who has never experienced the bad sides of life will not know how to deal with the situation when the problem arises. As we are not born to be perfect, every good person has some bad points in them. And every person deemed bad has some good qualities in them.

-There are no perfect angels and devils in this world- Trust in what you believe, and stand firm to your own morals, ethics and principles.

Everything Under the Sun

3.14am and I have no intention to sleep as yet, its been 2 mnths since I last blogged hence it's time to type a post till I feel tired and concuss on the bed. So why the title Under the Sun?

'Under the Sun' is just a general terminology widely used in the English language around the world that emphasises on uttering anything you wish without the consideration of any particular topic. Neither does it have to be fictional, however I always make a point to be logical in my posts. Therefore, this entry will talk about anything and everything that held significance in my life.

Plants are known to be green creatures, and yet there are other colored plants. The sea and skies are known to be associated to the colour blue and yet they are often otherwise. So whoever created the term Everything Under the Sun definitely has to refer to anything that can be said or mentioned, because in proper English. It actually means being exposed to the sun.

We do face the sun everyday no doubt, as the earth revolves around it 24hrs, causing daylight and nightime. Thus, the sun does actually holds certain significance to our lives. Without the sun, the process of photosynthesis cannot occur to produce oxygen, and yet there are countries that can live in darkness for months. Which leads me to wonder how science actually works.

Enough of the scientific ranting I reckon, I come to tell my life story not Geography. Days are counting down to the release of my Uni Exam Results, and tension may be common amongst most people taking my course. I could be no different, however I choose to live each day by itself and let tomorrow worry about itself. For everyday is a new day, and each new day is a new challenge. Worrying, according to human nature, is an issue that is inenvitable itself but have we ever set down individually to self-reflect on whether worrying for the future is of any beneficial to us. We cannot predict the future, neither does worrying help us to change fate. Therefore let each day be a challenge to our lives and thank the Heavens that we can live each day peacfully in a liberal society.

However, not many people practice what they preach. And neither am I not guilty of this fact. Life is full of ups and downs, speaking on behalf of most people. It's a matter of Ascription vs Achievement. People always claim that nothing ever goes right for them in their lives, however they fail to realise that they neglect the good things also happening at the same time. This holds true for the majority of the human race. For example, a drastic phenomenon may have occurred in an individual's life, still at the same time, that very individual fail to understand that they are living in a society with excellent conditions. As compared to being born in a 3rd world country, where civil war occurs frequently and there's huge competition over basic needs such as food to keep them alive. As Singaporeans living in a modernised metropolis, we are lucky that we do not have to fight over our basic needs. However, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels and take it that all our needs will be met by the society. As the saying goes that 'There is no free lunch in this world' suggests that we will have to be competitive and work hard to stay among the top. The continuous struggle and lust for power and money is simply inevitable in a society dominated by Capitalism. Not that Singapore is as competitive as compared to the situations in Japan and HongKong.

People have differing views, perspective and translate them into actions as to how money is being derived. The ontological position of each and every inidividual is different, whether monetary gains are through legal or non legal manners and the ethics attached to them are subjective to each person. I, for one choose not the latter. Being my own boss of my own company has always been a dream come true. At a tender age of 24, with my birthday looming around the corner in 6 days time. It's time to be mature enough to look into the mirror and derive a reflection of my achievement for the past 24 years. And although it will be false to say that I have achieved much in these years, I can safely assume that I've hit a certain degree of success.

Managing my own tuition company is a dream which I've realished (not that I ever strived to be in the educational industry), being a boss for the first time of my life and closing my first few deals are experiences and feelings that cannot be put into words. In this capitalist society where workers are being exploited, for the first time I have the luxury of being entrusted to make important decisions and instruct the duties of my teachers for the well-being of the company ensuring that profits are consistenly ascending. Whilst at the same time pursuing my Honors degree from the University of London. Not to mention giving tuition 6 days/week. In other words, this is probably the busiest days of my life so far but seeing the finances rake in consistenly into the bank account just brings about a form of satisfaction that brings smiles to my face.

On another note, National Day has never been a day of significance in my entire life till 2007 where this is the very first year that my IC successfully ballotted for 4 tickets. Allowing me the opportunity to attend my very first NDP parade live at the esplanade, or they rather call it Marina South. For once in the stands, being swamped and surrounded by aunties and uncles, I stood up like a real Singaporean and experiencing a sense of irony of feeling proud to be a Singaporean. Sang and particated in the parade, which was something I would have never done in the earlier days in my life. It was far from boring, as the interactive performances and familiar faces of certain SAF individuals were enough to keep me hyped up throughout the entire parade. I saluted the National Flag like how I did during my NSF days. However the fireworks, no matter how grand or grander it could potentially be, brought back fond memories. Fireworks to certain people, is simply an entertaining display of the wide array of constructive burst of colourful flames that light up the sky. To me, it is more of a significance of a chapter once closed but re-opened everytime the night sky glows.

We hardly failed to miss fireworks during the time when we were together, and it has brought about a form of bonding and significance that I still hold firmly in my heart. Although we may lead our own lives now, following an eventful 3 1/2 yrs of relationship, fireworks had always been the center of our memories. Thus, to see such a magnificent display made my heart falter for that moment.

Life is life, it is given to us by God. And how we choose to play our lives, like actors on the stage or behind the stage, is up to each own's individual's perception of their views towards life. The ball is in our court, some may be less fortunate to have a poor racket to hit it. But for those who are lucky enough, hit it has hard as you can to the other side. Strike when the iron is hot, grasp your opportunity that comes your way. Because letting it slip away will only leave a tinge of regret.

For those who bother to read my blog, I hope it can provide food for your soul. Not that i expect many to read it, neither do I publicise this blog. But a strong person is one that can take hard blows and recover fast. A clever person is one that can seize opportunies and not let it slip away. A mature person is one that can let go of the past and begin a new chapter. A successful individual is one that is willing to learn from past experiences, realise their mistake and change to become a better person.

Time for me now to concuss on my bed and have a peaceful rest. May the blessings befall on all my families, loved ones, friends, brothers and enemies. Love you all^^

Thank you
Signing off at 4.36am

How time flies

Time to sneak in a post at this wee hour of 5.19AM in the morning where most people are probably sleeping, recharging energy to get ready for work or school the next day. Reason why I'm still awake at this time is due to my work schedule that starts at 4pm, hence I can afford to have late nights, which is always my favourite timing of the day. Disturbances, constructions, shoutings, naggings, sunlights are all blinded and shut away from my eyes and ears during the day when people are out working while I do my job in the evening. Another is due to requests from various people who constantly encourage me to continue blogging about my life story.

So well, this little blog has became my little diary, just that I am unable to have the time to constantly fill it with details regularly. There are much more to my life than what can be found here, my life story can only be emphasized using an Auto-biography as people who know me well enough understands that I've been through alot in life, more than most of what typical Singaporeans go through. Good or bad, I've probably seen and experienced more in life than what most people have in their lifetime whilst still at this tender young age of 24, striking 25 this year.

People who follow this blog will realise that my exams are now over, like probably 2 weeks+ ago. Therefore, school holidays has just began and I will be the first to admit how relieved the annual exams are over. Unlike other Unis, mine doesn't have summer/winter break, thus students from UOL will be expecting a snowballed 3-4 months break which is a long but well-deserved break for all of us who went through the constant lecture grinding throughout the year where others had their breaks/holidays and all.

In regards to how I think I'll fare for the exams, in all honesty, I have no clue. UOL seems to have a habit of springing up suprises and the latest has just arrived. If people have been following the newspaper closely, the headlines are splashed across 2 full pages of an Examination blunder where UOL failed to include the last question in the 'Principles of Sociology' paper that constitutes 25 marks! For those kaypos and curious peeps out there, the following links offer more details :

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,131362,00.html

http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/lse/sociology_letter.html

And yes, I was one of the victims (although I would rather not call myself that) amongst many students taking the same paper all over Asia. So far, nothing has been done to address the fault at hand and they claim meetings have been conducted but so far no concrete solutions have been provided to ease the worries of the poor students. Not that I'm worried, I actually do believe that this blunder will help most borderliners to pass this 'Very hard to pass' subject and those who have a stronger foundation to get their A's or B's. It's over anyway and nothing can be done to resolve the matter so there's no use worrying over spilt milk.

Life has been kind to me these days. Perhaps I've grown older, became more mature. The havoc and turmoil days are all but extinguished now and I'm living life to the fullest I can, and enjoying every moment, every second till the day I die. People say that as one gets older, we start to worry more. However I beg to differ, probably my worrying has all been done in the earlier years of my life and I always believed in life not being fair, but luck eventually evening itself out as the years go by^^ I wonder how many people suscribe to my theory ?

Got my pay and cut my hair short (although I havent really have any idea how to style it yet) on Sunday to prepare to meet my correspondence from Japan who arrived in Singapore on Monday, and yea she actually looks better than what she's like in the photo. Suprising thing is that we have alot in common, our birthday is just 2 days apart, same month, same year! Appreciates soccer (although she's a Man Utd whilst I'm a Liverpool fan), drive Japanese cars (but of course shes from Japan wdya expect) and we are shy creatures and shes sweet.

Was greeted with a nice handshake and the traditional Japanese bow, followed by gifts thats nicely wrapped up in the form of heart-shapped designs which till today I cannot bear to open. She claims its cookies inside but I guess there's no reason to open such a nicely wrapped packaged. Met her on the first day at Conrad Hotel where I found a cute demure girl sitting at the hotel lobby armed with a tourist book of Singapore hotspots filled with Japanese words. So I proceeded to bring her to where she wanted to visit, the biggest fountain, the merlion as well as the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world. It's simply impossible to tour the entire city in a night, so the 2nd day I got my car out and we went for a spin to Marina Bay. Nothing much there, so she suggested chicken rice, so ya I've got pwned by the price of Boon Tong Kee again^^ Spent alot of time talking and discussing about our lives and overall, I would like to think that we had a pleasant time together but nothing more than that thus far.

And oh I've been writing till 6.26am now its a little too late and the birds are chipping, so it seems like ill be tucking into my bed to have a good nights rest. Laters everyone and thank you for reading my life story, I'll continue to blog^^

-Geoffrey-

Exam Blues =(

It has reached a point where the intensity gets hotter by the day as the countdown to my UOL examinations draw to a near. May 15-21 are either make or break days, and crucial preperations for them have gone underway. Exam blues !!! Yes, that's what I always face at this time of the year.

Unusually faced with the pleasant scenario of being overly prepared with around 3 weeks to go, unlike my usual bad habit of doing last minute studies. I'm shooting to add to the 2 A's I scored for Economics and Mathematics last year. Of course, first, second and third Honors all depends on grades. But I've never admitted the fact that it is even possible to achieve a First Class Honors no matter how many hours I put into my studies.

This course is simply madness, the toughest of the toughest test a mind can take. And it really takes shear determination for an invidual to last the course, not to mention ultimately being awarded a worthy Certificate. However, this year im unfazed by the situation and the huge obstacles ahead of me. Going into Sociology which warrants a passing rate of less than 50% every year, and Informations Systems which revampation of the course makes it very technical. Self-Belief is the secret formula, continually doing revisions and paying attention in class of course do help. Dropping Accounting which is my weakest subject for the next semester is a great advantage too, hence I can be totally focused on other modules which I take greater interest in.

If the actual paper is gonna be around the same standard or easier than the mock paper itself, then that is sure to be great news to me. But I do not expect anything 'basic' from London Examiners judging from experience and their workshops. Where they expect you to know everything and gain better understandings by additional reading from outside sources, something which I fail to do too well. But let's face reality, the texts and notes itself is already thicker than an Encyclopedia so if i'm not one to study 24/7 then it is impossible to achieve. I have better things to do with my own social life and time of relaxation, rather than continually source for outside materials to read.

So yea, wishing myself the best in my revisions and the actual papers itself.

-Geoffrey-
3.24am

1000 Words

I know that your hiding things, using gentle words to shelter me, your words were like a dream. But dreams could never fool me, not that easily, I acted so distant then, dint say goodbye before you left, but I was listening. You'll fight your battles far from me, far too easily. "Save your tears, cause I'll come back" I could hear that you whispered, as you walked through that door, but still I swore, to hide the pain when I turn back the pages. Shouting might of been the answer, what if I cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart. But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart, cause a Thousand Words (call out through the ages), they'll fly to you, even though I can't see, I know they're reaching you, suspended on silver wings. Oh a Thousand Words, a Thousand Embrace, will cradle you, making all of your weary days seem far away, they'll hold you forever. The people and the friends we have lost... or the dreams that have faded... Never Forget Them

1000 Words
No Kotoba (Nobuo Uematsu)
Final Fantasy X-2